Author: Money Mechanics

ZDNET’s key takeaways The Wiim Sound smart speaker is available in Black and White for $299.It offers great sound, a neat touchscreen display, and an inoffensive design.The display is more for aesthetics than utility, and Wiim doesn’t support Apple Music or AirPlay. Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.There’s a shift in the smart speaker market. More companies are investing in multi-room streaming, intuitive displays, and higher fidelity. The Wiim Sound smart speaker is the latest player in this game, eyeing competitors such as Sonos’ Era 100, Amazon’s Echo Show, and Apple’s HomePod 2. The Wiim Sound speaker both lacks…

(By Oil & Gas 360) – While global attention remains fixed on geopolitical tensions and U.S. foreign policy moves, China is steadily strengthening its position across energy and trade, often with far less visibility but growing impact. Recent economic data points to a more resilient Chinese economy than many had expected, even as global markets focus on conflict in the Middle East and shifting U.S. policy priorities. At the same time, Beijing has taken steps to secure its domestic energy position, including restricting refined fuel exports to preserve domestic supply, its in a strong position to weather the current oil shock.…

February 2026 HighlightsMarket UpdateU.S. equities total market Average Daily Volume (ADV) rose 2.87% month-over-month to 20 billion shares, up 28% year-over-year, making February 2026 one of the highest ADV months on record.Cboe’s overall market share increased 18 basis points to 9.8%.Periodic Auctions and QDP excel at sourcing non-displayed liquidityCboe continued to see strong momentum in its premium products, with member firms increasingly leveraging both Quote Depletion Protection (QDP) on Cboe EDGX and EDGA Equities Exchanges (EDGX and EDGA) and Periodic Auctions on Cboe BYX Equities Exchange (BYX) to access high‑quality non‑displayed liquidity. February ADV reached 52.8 million shares, representing 8%…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Stocks opened comfortably higher Tuesday, but lost steam as the session wore on as market participants weighed the latest developments in the Middle East. Rising oil prices were also in focus as the Federal Reserve kicked off its March meeting.At the close, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1% higher at 46,993, the broader S&P 500 was up 0.3% at 6,716, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.5% to 22,479.While the central bank is widely expected to keep rates unchanged, Wall Street will be watching to see how higher energy costs will impact the Fed’s…

Money market accounts (MMAs) can be a great place to store your cash if you’re looking for a relatively high interest rate along with liquidity and flexibility. Unlike traditional savings accounts, MMAs typically offer better returns, and they may also provide check-writing privileges and debit card access. This makes these accounts ideal for holding long-term savings that you want to grow over time, but can still access when needed for certain purchases or bills. Find out which banks have the best MMA rates today. The national average interest rate for money market accounts is just 0.39%, according to the FDIC.…

After their dramatic falling-out, it doesn’t seem as though Anthropic and the Pentagon are getting back together. Instead, the Pentagon is building tools to replace Anthropic’s AI, according to a Bloomberg conversation with Cameron Stanley, the chief digital and AI officer at the Pentagon. “The Department is actively pursuing multiple LLMs into the appropriate government-owned environments,” he said. “Engineering work has begun on these LLMs, and we expect to have them available for operational use very soon.” Anthropic’s $200 million contract with the Department of Defense (DOD) broke down over the last several weeks after the two parties failed to…

Are you one of millions of taxpayers trying to track your IRS tax refund status? Whether you’re waiting for an update from the federal tax agency or simply checking your bank account daily, you may be asking yourself: Why’s my refund taking so long? While the IRS typically processes electronic returns within 21 days, accidental errors, like opting out of direct deposit or forgetting important documents, may trigger a manual review. According to the Taxpayer Advocate, an IRS review can turn a three-week wait into a 45- to 180-day delay.The good news? Most of these setbacks may be preventable. So…

A viral online trend claims artificial intelligence can help taxpayers uncover a bigger tax refund — even after a return has already been filed.Users on X (formerly Twitter) have been sharing examples of using AI chatbots to review their tax filings for deductions or credits that may have been overlooked.In one widely circulated post, a user claimed their refund increased after asking Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s AI company xAI, to double-check a previously filed return. The post quickly gained traction online, attracting tens of millions of views in roughly a day.Article continues below From just $107.88…

Altcoin market rises slowly, driven by selective narratives rather than broad market enthusiasm Macro pressure persists as oil, inflation fears, and weak US data shape sentiment Stronger projects like Ethereum, Solana and FET hold interest despite mixed market signals There has been some movement in a few altcoins, but the overall market is moving up slowly in March. It even touched a $1 trillion valuation earlier in the month. Still, the recent rise feels selective. It is driven by specific projects and narratives rather than broad excitement across the market. At the same time, the market is dealing with bigger…

This Week In A Nutshell: We’re expecting rates to continue bouncing around this week, as the Middle East conflict continues into its third week with no clear off-ramp and markets anticipate the upcoming Fed meeting. Upcoming Attractions Markets will once again be focused on the evolving situation in the Middle East, particularly whether the White House can find a way to contain the disruption to energy markets. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s second-to-last FOMC meeting is on Wednesday. They will hold rates steady, as markets expect. They will release new projections for rate cuts this year as well as inflation and…