Author: Money Mechanics

Jada Jones/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.If you have Bluetooth speakers, you may think their use cases end with wireless pairing to one source device. The truth is, you can squeeze additional utility from your speakers around your house and in your home entertainment system, as long as you’re willing to get creative. Also: I traded my Sonos Era 300 for Denon’s new home speaker – and see no reason to go backWhether you connect a Bluetooth speaker directly to your TV to create a makeshift center audio channel, or you buy a small audio receiver to turn your…

(Oil & Gas 360) – The United Arab Emirates’ decision to exit OPEC after roughly six decades is one of the most consequential developments in the modern oil market, not because it alters global supply overnight, but because it exposes the structural limits of cartel governance in a world of diverging producer incentives. The move comes amid wider global fragmentation. Multilateral institutions are under strain, trade is increasingly bilateral, and energy is once again being treated as a strategic asset rather than a neutral commodity. That backdrop matters. But it is not sufficient to explain the UAE’s decision. The drivers are…

In the first quarter, there seemed to be one thing after another to create further uncertainty for markets.The artificial intelligence (AI)-related selloff that began late last year spilled into early 2026, as investors worried about spending on AI and the businesses it could disrupt.We also saw a(nother) partial government shutdown, impacting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which needs to review initial public offering (IPO) filings.Then came the Supreme Court decision to undo the International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs, upending trade policy.And after all that, the Iran conflict has roiled markets.Iran conflict boosts energy commodities, but hurts bonds, stocks and goldFrom a macro and markets perspective, the biggest impact of the conflict has been on energy, which has rallied significantly from the start of the conflict through the end of March (the relevant period for our…

(Image credit: Getty Images)The weather is warming up and so is Americans’ urge to spend. And while spring doesn’t revolve around major shopping events in the same way as other seasons, that doesn’t mean we aren’t finding ways to part with our money.According to a report from Inmar Intelligence, 58% of Americans say convenient shopping matters more in the spring, and 95% say coupons and discounts are critical to making spring spending a possibility.Meanwhile, just 53% of Americans say they’re currently following a budget, according to a YouGov report. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter,…

(Image credit: Future)For the fourth year, we’re pleased to present the winners of our annual Readers’ Choice Awards. In a survey we conducted on Kiplinger.com in January and February, more than 4,200 readers rated the financial products and services they use in 13 categories, from credit cards and banks to brokers, wealth managers and annuity providers. The results here offer valuable insight into the everyday experiences that Kiplinger readers have with their financial providers.Respondents made their judgments on such criteria as their interactions with customer service, the likelihood they would recommend the product or service to others, and their overall…

(Image credit: Future)For the fourth year, we’re pleased to present the winners of our annual Readers’ Choice Awards. In a survey we conducted on Kiplinger.com in January and February, more than 4,200 readers rated the financial products and services they use in 13 categories, from credit cards and banks to brokers, wealth managers and annuity providers. The results here offer valuable insight into the everyday experiences that Kiplinger readers have with their financial providers.Respondents made their judgments on such criteria as their interactions with customer service, the likelihood they would recommend the product or service to others, and their overall…

(Image credit: Future)For the fourth year, we’re pleased to present the winners of our annual Readers’ Choice Awards. In a survey we conducted on Kiplinger.com in January and February, more than 4,200 readers rated the financial products and services they use in 13 categories, from credit cards and banks to brokers, wealth managers and annuity providers. The results here offer valuable insight into the everyday experiences that Kiplinger readers have with their financial providers.Respondents made their judgments on such criteria as their interactions with customer service, the likelihood they would recommend the product or service to others, and their overall…

Whitney Leavitt has announced her exit from “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” after four seasons—having left her life in Utah behind to launch a new career on Broadway in New York City.The 32-year-old revealed during her final performance of “Chicago” at the Ambassador Theatre that she will not return to the hit Hulu series, sharing the news while still in character as Roxie Hart. Video footage obtained by TMZ shows Leavitt, who shares three children with her husband, Conner Leavitt, suddenly pivoting from the script to read a newspaper that was being held by one of her co-stars. “What…

A severe security vulnerability affecting almost every version of the Linux operating system has caught defenders off-guard and scrambling to patch after security researchers publicly released exploit code that allows attackers to take complete control of vulnerable systems. The U.S. government says the bug, dubbed “CopyFail,” is now being exploited in the wild, meaning it’s being actively used in malicious hacking campaigns. The bug, officially tracked as CVE-2026-31431 and discovered in Linux kernel versions 7.0 and earlier, was disclosed to the Linux kernel security team in late March, and patched after about a week. But the patches have yet to fully…

Link to Report: Macro Volatility DigestWHAT STANDS OUT:Implied volatilities were mixed last week as oil prices continued to climb and the Fed came out more hawkish than expected. Brent oil prices briefly jumped to over $126/bbl – their highest level since the Iran conflict started – while oil volatility (OVX Index) remained elevated in the 88th percentile high. In contrast, the VIX® Index ended the week near a 3-month low of 16.9% as the SPX Index hit an all-time high on the back of better-than-expected earnings.As we enter the 3rd month of the Iran conflict, what stands out is just…