Author: Money Mechanics

Stocks sold off Thursday as rising bond yields and surging oil prices spooked market participants. Poorly received earnings reports from a pair of Magnificent 7 stocks didn’t help matters, with the main indexes now on track for another week of losses.At the close, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 1.0% at 51,711, the broader S&P 500 was 1.2% lower at 7,408, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 2.2% at 25,137.Rising bond yields were one headwind for stocks today. The yield on the 2-year Treasury jumped 4.9 basis points to 4.351% — its highest level since February 2025.…

According to the Zillow lender marketplace, the average 30-year fixed rate today, Thursday, July 23, 2026, is 6.514%, down 4.4 basis points since yesterday. The 15-year fixed loan is currently at 5.826%, 15.4basis points higher/lower than yesterday. The 5/1 ARM is 6.336%, 15.2 basis points lower than on Wednesday. Weekly survey of mortgage lenders with the lowest rates Today’s mortgage rates Here are the current purchase mortgage rates, according to our latest Zillow data, for Thursday, July 23, 2026: 30-year fixed: 6.514% 20-year fixed: 6.385% 15-year fixed: 5.826% 5/1 ARM: 6.336% 7/1 ARM: 6.271% 30-year VA: 5.998% 15-year VA: 5.705% 5/1…

“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” star Anson Mount has enjoyed the kind of prolonged Hollywood success that few actors ever manage to achieve—and he’s done it in spite of turning his back on the L.A. lifestyle entirely. Mount, now 53, began his acting career in the late 1990s, but shot to global fame in 2002, when he starred alongside Britney Spears, Zoe Saldana, and Taryn Manning in the movie “Crossroads.” Since then, the actor—who was born and raised in Tennessee—has appeared in dozens of other projects, including the AMC series “Hell on Wheels” and, most recently, Paramount’s latest “Star Trek”…

The U.S. government is warning that Iranian state-backed hackers are actively breaking in and disrupting industrial control systems at American water and energy providers. This new alert comes months after federal agencies warned of an escalation in hacking from Iranian actors amid the ongoing war. In an advisory updated Wednesday, the FBI, the NSA, the Department of Energy, and CISA said Iranian hackers were targeting programmable logic controllers on internet-connected operational networks, allowing them to manipulate data on their displays, causing outages and disruption. The Iranian hackers were initially discovered earlier this year to be targeting controllers made by Rockwell,…

(Investing) – Oil prices surged on Thursday, with the global benchmark topping $100 a barrel, as Iran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen said they had struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. At 09:16 ET (13:16 GMT),  expiring in September jumped 6.3% to $100.06 a barrel, surpassing that level for the first time since May 26. U.S. West Texas Intermediate () crude futures expiring in September climbed 4.8% to $90.95 a barrel. The Houthis said they targeted the Saudi tankers after accusing them of violating a recently announced maritime blockade, raising fears of deeper supply disruptions across key Middle East shipping…

In today’s financial advice marketplace, consumers are bombarded with marketing messages from financial advisors, wealth managers, brokers, insurance agents and investment firms — many of whom describe themselves as “fiduciaries,” “wealth advisors” or “financial planners.”For the average investor, the differences can be difficult to understand.That confusion is exactly why the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors — better known as NAPFA — was established as a nonprofit trade and membership organization more than 40 years ago. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4…

Every year, the FAFSA changes a little, and every year most families skim the headline and move on. This year, it’s worth having a closer read. The 2026-27 form carries some of the biggest scoring changes in years, and they cut in two directions.A few families will open their aid offer and find it suddenly brighter. Others will discover a door that used to be open has quietly closed. The trick is knowing which side of the line you land on before you file, not after.The friendlier part: Your business or farm may stop counting against youFor years, one of…

Investors with large, highly appreciated stock positions can face a challenge: how to diversify those holdings without triggering a large capital gains tax bill.Enter Section 351 exchanges.Instead of selling an already diversified basket of appreciated securities, qualifying investors can contribute those holdings to seed a newly created ETF and receive ETF shares in return, deferring capital gains taxes. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues CLICK FOR FREE ISSUE Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best…

Some of the most financially anxious retirees aren’t the ones who failed to save. They’re the ones who did almost everything right.They built the portfolio, paid off the home, delayed gratification and made thoughtful decisions for decades. Then retirement arrives, and something surprising happens: The spreadsheet says they’re secure, but they still don’t feel free.For affluent retirees, and many of the clients I help as a financial professional with three decades of experience, financial confidence doesn’t automatically appear once a certain net worth is reached. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe…

Severe convective storm (SCS) insured losses in the United States are projected to be below average in 2026 based on recorded losses seen in the first half of the year, according to catastrophe risk modeler Karen Clark & Company (KCC).In recent years, severe convective storms, which includes tornadoes, damaging winds, and hailstorms have continued to grow in intensity and expand geographically across the U.S. Nevertheless, despite the occurrence of multiple multi-billion-dollar events this year, KCC notes in a recent commentary that the losses during the typically active spring months, particularly in May, were relatively low this year due to a…