Author: Money Mechanics

National average rates for second mortgage home equity loans and lines of credit are nearing 7%, their lowest point since late 2022. Over the years, your home has grown in value. Now you can access that equity at very favorable interest rates. According to real estate analytics firm Curinos, the average HELOC rate is 7.23%. The national average rate on a home equity loan is 7.44%. Rates are based on applicants with a minimum credit score of 780 and a maximum combined loan-to-value ratio (CLTV) of less than 70%. With mortgage rates remaining in the low-6% range, homeowners are unlikely…

The typical home is taking 67 days to go under contract, the longest span in seven years.  U.S pending home sales fell 5.8% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending February 15, the biggest decline in a year. The typical home that does go under contract is taking 67 days to do so–a week longer than last year and the longest span since early 2019.  Would-be buyers are sitting on the sidelines largely because it’s expensive to purchase a home. The median home-sale price rose 1.1% year over year, the biggest uptick in two months, and the weekly…

Key Takeaways The average retired worker received $2,012 in monthly Social Security benefits in 2025.Retirees in Connecticut have the highest monthly Social Security checks, averaging $2,196, while those in Mississippi have the lowest at $1,814. Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. About 75 million Americans collect Social Security, averaging just over $2,000 each in benefits. The bulk of these Americans are retirees. The amount you get is largely based on your work history and age when you first claimed benefits. This year, recipients received a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment, which should bump up these average figures.…

Key Takeaways Many cash options continue to pay competitive yields in the 3%–5% range if you know where to look.Top savings accounts, CDs, brokerage cash accounts, and Treasuries offer solid returns with almost no risk—some with a guaranteed return.Choosing the right home for your cash can meaningfully increase what $10,000—or more—earns over time. See Where Cash Is Paying the Most Right Now—All in One Chart With the Federal Reserve currently in a holding pattern, cash yields are likely to remain fairly steady for the near term. And at current levels, today’s safest places to park money continue to offer attractive returns. Across…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Stocks were volatile on Friday as market participants sifted through an onslaught of headlines – including the Supreme Court’s ruling that most of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies are illegal. The price action stabilized in afternoon trading, though, with the three main indexes finishing the day in positive territory.At the close, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5% at 49,625, the broader S&P 500 was 0.7% higher at 6,909, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.9% to 22,886.Ahead of the Supreme Court’s monumental decision – which was widely expected by many on Wall Street…

Key Takeaways Shares of Pinterest, Meta, Google parent Alphabet and other companies that sell ads saw their stocks rise Friday after a Supreme Court ruling against President Trump’s tariffs.Digital advertisers could stand to benefit from easing tariffs, if clients choose to channel refunds into higher ad spend, marketing research firm EMARKETER said. Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. Companies that sell advertising were among Friday’s gainers after the Supreme Court struck down most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The gains helped both Big Tech stocks and some smaller players. Shares of Pinterest (PINS) jumped 6%.…

ETF outflows and macro pressure keep Bitcoin in consolidation mode. Key resistance at 76,000 to 78,000 caps near-term recovery attempts. Support at $62,800 is critical to prevent a deeper sell-off toward $55,000. The first quarter of 2026 has been a tough period for 1057391. It is trying to show that it has a real role in the corporate world while also dealing with broader economic pressure. For the first time in years, the crypto market is facing three major tests at the same time. These include money moving in and out of ETFs, changes in global investor risk appetite, especially…

QBE, the global re/insurer, sees alternative reinsurance capital as an important lever to allow the company to deliver sustainable returns in the mid-teens, according to its CEO Andrew Horton and CFO Chris Killourhy, with recent catastrophe bond and casualty sidecar initiatives seen as early deals to help in building a profile within ILS markets.It’s always notable when major global insurance and reinsurance players acknowledge how efficiently tapping capital market investor appetite for more direct access to the returns from their underwriting can help them essentially lever their own balance-sheet capital. One of the key themes resonating through the QBE Group…

Parked along industrial streets, tucked behind warehouses and clustered in residential neighborhoods, thousands of Bay Area residents are living in one of the only forms of housing they can afford: RVs.Across California, the number of people living in vehicles has surged in recent years, as soaring rents and a chronic housing shortage have pushed even full-time workers out of traditional homes and into makeshift ones on wheels. Booming tech wealth, soaring homelessnessIn Santa Clara County — home to Apple, Google and eight of America’s 50 most expensive ZIP codes — the number of people living in recreational vehicles full time has…

ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.Unlike last year, Google’s new affordable Pixel 10a is closer to its predecessor than the base flagship model, the Pixel 10. Last year, the Pixel 9a bridged the gap between A-series and flagship Pixel phones. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Google’s lineup in 2026. The Pixel 10a doesn’t compete with the Pixel 10 as well as the 9a did with the 9. And it isn’t just because of its minimal upgrades.Also: I went hands-on with every Google Pixel 10 model – and was surprised by the one I loved mostIn 2025, Google upgraded its base…