Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways UnitedHealth Group shares tumbled Tuesday after the health insurer reported disappointing earnings and the Trump administration announced Medicare rates would be effectively unchanged next year.Shares of CVS Health, Humana and other health insurers also fell sharply. Health plans have struggled with high healthcare costs in recent years, leading some insurers, including UnitedHealth, to cut back their services. Shares of UnitedHealth Group led a sell-off in health insurance stocks on Tuesday after the company reported its quarterly results and the Trump administration announced Medicare rates would be effectively unchanged next year.  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Talk about putting useful information to work — our January 13 article, Billed 12 Hours for a Few Seconds of Work: How AI Is Helping Law Firms Overcharge Clients, riled up several readers.The article notes that some law firms are using AI to produce — in seconds — documents that would normally take hours to draft. Yet, they’re billing for those hours as if the work had been done the old way.This lit a spark under many who read the story and had “are you kidding me?” discussions with their lawyers. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger…

(Image credit: Getty Images)The start of retirement is an exciting time.For years, you worked and perhaps raised a family while always keeping an eye on the future.You consistently set aside money, with the express purpose of funding your lifestyle during your golden years. 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 of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more – straight to your…

Using new tech in the workplace and at home is nothing new. But the November 2022 introduction of ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence service, made the use of AI the norm, and at breakneck speed.Since the end of 2022, anyone who purchased the so-called Magnificent Seven (Mag 7) stocks, all of which are embracing AI, should have profited handsomely. The stocks are Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSFT) and Tesla (TSLA). Collectively, these stocks were worth about $20 trillion recently, up threefold from $7 trillion less than three years ago. But stock market…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Deciding how your assets will be transferred once you’re gone is essential, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Estate planning forces people to have tough conversations with their closest family members — and that can be emotionally challenging.Talking about it appears to be particularly difficult for Baby Boomers, according to a recent Fidelity study, which reveals a major disconnect between older and younger and generations.According to Fidelity’s 2025 Family & Finance study, 97% of respondents recognized the importance of discussing estate plans with their loved ones, yet only about half of them had actually engaged in those…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Every time your car insurance is up for renewal, you’re faced with the decision of where to set your car insurance deductible. If you raise it up a bit, you could save on car insurance premiums each month. If you lower it, you could ensure that an accident won’t completely wipe out your savings or, worse, push you into debt.But, how high a car insurance deductible is too high? How low is too low? As with most personal finance questions, there’s no one right answer. That’s why rules of thumb like the one-month car insurance deductible rule…

The 2026 tax filing season officially began on January 26, and it was already shaping up to be a challenging one for the IRS due to staffing and funding challenges.But now, some wonder whether a looming government shutdown at the end of January could disrupt operations just as the season kicks off.Last week, congressional leaders released a “minibus” spending package designed to avert a government shutdown on January 30. 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…

Key Takeaways Shares of a number of health insurance providers sank sharply Tuesday following a proposal from the federal government.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it was proposing a 0.09% increase in Medicare payments in 2027, far less than expected after a 5.06% rise this year. Several health insurer stocks tumbled Tuesday following a proposal from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that would raise payments to insurers less than expected in 2027. CMS proposed lifting Medicare insurer payments by just 0.09% next year, well below what the industry was anticipating. Wall Street had forecast a bump…

Lucid is building an EV business from the ground up. The company increased production by more than 100% in 2025. Lucid will need to grow even more before it can compete with its larger peers. 10 stocks we like better than Lucid Group › Lucid (NASDAQ: LCID) has made great achievements in its short history. For example, it has award-winning electric vehicles (EVs) and industry-leading battery technology. However, that’s not enough. It still has more to do, with its 2025 production highlighting the problem it faces. Image source: Getty Images. In some ways, 2025 was a banner year for Lucid.…

US prices dipped today amid profit-taking by traders, after soaring by over 117% in the five days to Monday, Bloomberg has reported, noting the benchmark jumped by 30% on Monday alone. Last week, gas prices went up by as much as 70% amid frigid weather that apparently took gas traders both in the United States and Europe by surprise. This surprise led to frantic short-covering and position exits at a hefty loss. Currently, natural gas is trading at over $6.60 per million British thermal units, which is the highest in four years and up from around $3 per mmBtu in…