Author: Money Mechanics

Each week, in our Ask the Editor series, Joy Taylor, The Kiplinger Tax Letter editor, answers questions on topics submitted by readers. In the Ask the Editor July 18, 2025 column, she answered four questions on the new $6,000 senior deduction. This week she’s looking at five more questions on the topic. (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Tax Letter or subscribe.)1. What is the new $6,000 senior deduction?Question: I heard that there is a new $6,000 tax deduction for seniors. Can you explain it?Joy Taylor: Last July’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” created a new senior deduction of $6,000…

Nearly 45,000 sellers who delisted their homes last year relisted them in January—the highest January number in records dating back a decade. This could further boost housing supply, enabling homebuyers to score even bigger discounts than they’re already getting. Relistings are most common in pricey West Coast markets like the Bay Area, and least common in affordable parts of the Northeast and Midwest, such as Pittsburgh.  Nearly 45,000 U.S. homes that were delisted last year were relisted for sale in January 2026—the highest January figure in records dating back to 2016. That represents a record 3.6% of homes that were…

Dario Amodei said Thursday that Anthropic plans to challenge the Department of Defense’s decision to label the AI firm a supply-chain risk in court, a designation he has called “legally unsound.” The statement comes a few hours after the DOD officially designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk following a weeks-long dispute over how much control the military should have over AI systems. A supply-chain risk designation can bar a company from working with the Pentagon and its contractors. Amodei drew a firm line that Anthropic’s AI will not be used for mass surveillance of Americans or for fully autonomous weapons, but…

Key Takeaways Systemic barriers continue to prevent women from building as much wealth as men.For many women, career interruptions, pay gaps, and lower investment participation compound over time, limiting wealth and affecting retirement security.Individual action plus supportive policies like retirement access and pay equity can help close the gap. Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. Women now earn more college degrees than men and make up nearly half the U.S. workforce. Yet when it comes to building and controlling valuable assets, the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances shows that they still lag behind. Longstanding…

(Oil Price) – The global LNG shipping market has turned sharply higher in recent days, with charter rates for modern LNG carriers surging from roughly $40,000 last week to around $300,000 per day as traders scramble to secure vessels amid escalating disruption in the Middle East. According to shipbroker Fearnleys’ latest weekly LNG report, cited by Riviera Maritime Media, daily spot charter rates for 174,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers along the U.S. Gulf-Europe route have climbed to approximately $300,000 per day, up about $260,000 compared with last week. Rates on the key U.S. Gulf-Asia route covering Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China have also…

Key Takeaways The average retirement account balance for Americans in their 70s is $250,000, but the median is significantly lower than that.Once required minimum distributions (RMDs) start at 73, it’s wise to have a plan for your taxes. Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. You’ve spent decades building your retirement savings. Now comes the part where you make it last. In your 70s, the questions change. It’s no longer about how much you can save—it’s about how much you can safely spend without running out of money. The average American in their 70s has $250,000…

Key Takeaways According to Fidelity, millennials (ages 30-45 in 2026) had an average 401(k) balance of $80,700 as of September 2025, with an 8.8% average savings rate. As of October 2025, according to Empower, people in their 30s had a median of $81,441 in their 401(k), and 40-somethings had $164,580.The averages, Empower found, were higher: $211,257 for 30-somethings, and $419,948 for 40-somethings. Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. The average millennial had about $80,700 saved for retirement as of September 2025, according to Fidelity Investments. That looks modest next to Gen X’s $217,500 and boomers’ $267,900,…

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) is one of the S&P 500 stocks that Jim Cramer shared his take on. Cramer showed optimistic sentiment toward the company’s stock, as he remarked: Next up… was another data center play with a fantastic bang-up quarter last week, Dell Technologies, up 29.4%. Now, this stock had been steadily sinking lower throughout the last fall and into the new year as Wall Street thought they’d be crushed by skyrocketing memory and data storage costs. But last week, Dell shocked Wall Street with a huge fourth quarter beat driven by strong AI product sales and far better…

Making less money but making steady headway may be a crude way to boil down what early 2026 was looking like for many homebuilding business leaders. Public homebuilder execs were not discussing a plain-and-simple “recovery trade.” The most consistent post-earnings themes – across demand, pricing, margins and capital strategy – indicated a market that is functioning – even promising, but requiring grinding effort and deep stores of patience. Demand is tracking slightly higher overall, but affordability remains the main barrier, and incentives are carrying much of the load that price increases could not. Vestra Advisors’ Q4 2025 earnings summary highlights…

Key Takeaways Warren Buffett’s 90/10 strategy involves allocating 90% of assets to a low-cost S&P 500 index fund and 10% to short-term government bonds.The 90/10 rule offers simplicity, lower fees, and the potential for higher returns.The strategy is based on historical returns for the S&P 500, as well as Buffett’s skepticism about the performance of the average fund manager.Critics say such a high allocation to equities isn’t suitable for all investors, particularly those nearing retirement or already retired. The 90/10 rule comes from legendary Warren Buffett’s advice for average investors. Put 90% of your money into a low-cost S&P 500…