Author: Money Mechanics

(Image credit: Getty Images)For much of the past three years, the U.S. housing market has felt frozen in place. Millions of homeowners who locked in mortgage rates below 3% during the pandemic-era boom have been reluctant to sell, knowing that any move would likely mean trading a historically low monthly payment for a far more expensive one. That dynamic, known as the “lock-in effect”, has been one of the biggest forces constraining housing supply.But new data and early 2026 market signals suggest that the grip of that effect may be starting to loosen.Mortgage rates have eased from their 2023 peaks,…

If you’ve been keeping up with the stock market in any way in recent years, you’ve probably heard about the semiconductor giant, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). It’s hard not to know about it, given its amazing performance of late. Check it out: Time Period Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » Average Annual Return Past 3 years 113.9% Past 5 years 68.8% Past 10 years 74.7% Past 15 years 47.4% Data source: Morningstar.com, as of Jan. 23,…

are holding near recent highs even as the remains firm, signaling that investors are increasingly pricing structural macro risk rather than reacting purely to currency moves. Instead of trading as a simple inverse Dollar asset, Gold is behaving more like a macro hedge against systemic uncertainty and policy credibility risk.Dollar Strength Is No Longer Enough to Pressure GoldThe US Dollar still matters for Gold price action, but Dollar strength vs Gold is no longer the dominant driver in the current macro regime Financial conditions remain tighter than in the ultra-loose cycles of the past, and real yields are elevated compared…

By David Enna, Tipswatch.com One of the great “joys” of having an account at TreasuryDirect is hunting for information on federal taxes you might owe on last year’s transactions. It’s not easy, and even when you find the information, it is surprisingly cryptic. You need to find 1099 forms for each account you have at TreasuryDirect. You will get nothing in the mail, but you will get an email that is easy to miss. I got an alert from reader Doug on January 21 that the 1099s had been posted (seems earlier than normal), and three days later got the…

A five-month process of finding the next Federal Reserve chair appears to be down to its final days, with one candidate emerging as the betting favorite even as others remain in the mix.BlackRock fixed income chief Rick Rieder is seen by prediction markets as the frontrunner to replace Jerome Powell at the helm of the central bank. Kalshi has the Wall Street veteran holding a 48% chance, well ahead of the next-closest competitor, former Governor Kevin Warsh, at 31%.But sentiment has been volatile, and it was Warsh who held a decided advantage less than a week ago.What has swung the…

Autonomous vehicle startup Waabi has raised $1 billion and struck a partnership with Uber to deploy self-driving cars on the ride-hailing platform — the company’s first expansion beyond autonomous trucking. The funding consists of an oversubscribed $750 million Series C round co-led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners and roughly $250 million in milestone-based capital from Uber to support the deployment of 25,000 or more Waabi Driver-powered robotaxis exclusively on its platform. The companies did not provide a timeline for such a large-scale deployment.   The partnership represents a bet that the startup’s AI technology can succeed where others have…

Key Takeaways If your newborn’s college is already covered, you can improve their financial future by investing in accounts that serve other life goals.For custodial accounts, 20% of the funds are counted for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Student Aid Index formula.Only 5.64% of the funds in parent-owned brokerage accounts and 529 plans are counted for the Student Aid Index (FAFSA).You could take a hybrid approach by splitting funds between a state 529 for tax benefits and a taxable account for flexibility. A recent post on Reddit’s r/personalfinance captured a planning dilemma: Just had our first child.…

(Oil Price) – Saudi oil giant Aramco has issued a $4-billion bond as it tapped the debt market for the first time this year amid persistently weak oil prices in the low $60s per barrel. Aramco, the world’s top crude exporter and biggest international oil company, on Monday announced the start of issuing U.S.-dollar denominated international bonds under its Global Medium Term Note Programme, saying the issuance amount is subject to market conditions. Saudi Aramco ultimately placed $4 billion in a four-tranche bond, which received more than $21 billion in orders, Reuters reports, citing fixed-income news service IFR. Thanks to the high investor demand,…

Stock futures were headed for a higher open Wednesday, a day that will see the Federal Reserve announce whether it will hold interest rates steady as well as earnings results from several Magnificent Seven tech companies.  Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed up 0.9%, 0.3%, and less than 0.1%, respectively. Yesterday, the major equities indexes finished mixed, with the benchmark S&P 500 setting intraday and closing records and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising 0.9%, but the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping more than 400 points as shares of UnitedHealth plummeted. The Fed is expected to stand pat on interest rates at…

Key Takeaways An affordable home means you’re not living paycheck to paycheck. Your home shouldn’t strain your finances.There are two popular housing affordability rules: the 30% rule and the 28/36 rule. You can also check whether your housing payment passes the cash-flow test, the shock test, and the stress test. Are you wondering whether you can actually afford your home? Well, you aren’t alone. Maybe you can pay your mortgage or rent and cover basic expenses—but that’s it. Saving feels impossible. Plus, if you don’t have an emergency fund, one unexpected expense could derail your finances. A recent New York Times/Siena…