Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways Median bank balances for Americans under 35 have risen steadily over the past decade, even as many are early in their careers. Comparing yourself to averages can be misleading, so savings guidelines often matter more than hitting a specific dollar number. Earning higher interest can help savings grow faster, whether through today’s best high-yield savings accounts or top CDs. How Much the Average American Under 35 Has in the Bank If you can save, you might wonder how your bank balance compares with others your age. While savings vary widely by income, expenses, and life stage, balances generally…

Pittsburgh-based R&R Family of Companies has sold its logistics subsidiaries — WLX|WLE (doing business as WLX and Western Logistics Express) — as it continues to unwind parts of its business following weeks of liquidity concerns and employee layoffs. Minnesota-based CJK Group announced Jan. 15 that it has completed the acquisition of all of the assets of WLX | WLE, according to a news release. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. WLX | WLE is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, and provides logistics and transportation services across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. WLX has 66 trucks and 39 drivers according…

The market has seen extreme moves in January. Since the start of the year, silver prices have climbed more than 30%, and over the past 12 months, they have been up more than 200%. Part of the rise comes from long-standing supply shortages and rising demand from the renewable energy and electric vehicle industries. Political risks are also adding fuel. Tensions linked to Greenland and the growing risk of a trade dispute between the European Union and the United States are pushing more investors toward silver as a safe-haven asset. With demand rising on several fronts, silver prices are now…

President Trump called for a ban on Wall Street investors purchasing single-family homes, and reiterated an order for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy billions in mortgage bonds.  President Trump’s speech at the World Economic Speech in Davos on Wednesday was partly focused on housing reform, though the housing message was largely overshadowed by discourse on Greenland. The White House reiterated calls for policies meant to combat the country’s housing affordability crisis: A ban on investors purchasing single-family homes, and an order for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion worth of mortgage bonds.  Here’s an outline…

Some of the team responsible for maintaining SGLang, a popular open source tool used by companies like xAI and Cursor to accelerate AI model training, has transitioned to its recently launched commercial startup. That company, called RadixArk, was announced last August. RadixArk, which originated as SGLang in 2023 inside the UC Berkeley lab of Databricks co-founder Ion Stoica, was recently valued at about $400 million in a round led by Accel, according to two people familiar with the matter. TechCrunch could not confirm the size of the funding. The startup previously raised angel capital from investors, including Intel CEO Lip-Bu…

Key Takeaways President Donald Trump proposed a 10% cap on credit card interest rates that would start on Tuesday.On Wednesday, Trump urged Congress to pass a one-year 10% cap, a sharp reduction from the current average credit card APR of about 21.4%.However, a similar bipartisan bill proposing a longer five-year cap is stalled in Congress. A deadline to lower credit card interest rates passed this week without action, despite President Donald Trump’s urging. Earlier this month, Trump called for a 10% cap on credit card interest rates, effective Jan. 20 and lasting one year. As of Wednesday, there were no…

(Oil Price) – The European Union has been looking for rare-earth suppliers outside China for a while now. Last year, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen declared, “The aim is to secure access to alternative sources of critical raw materials in the short, medium and long term for our European industries.” It seems one of these alternative sources will be Brazil. “We will speed up work on critical raw materials partnerships with countries like Ukraine and Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Chile and Greenland,” von der Leyen also said in October last year when she made the alternative sources declaration. Brazil was…

Key Takeaways Intel shares popped Wednesday, adding to their recent gains amid growing optimism about demand ahead of the chipmaker’s earnings report due Thursday. Wednesday’s rise brought Intel’s stock to its highest level in four years. Intel’s stock has been on a tear lately, as expectations grow ahead of the chipmaker’s quarterly results due after the closing bell Thursday. The shares jumped nearly 12% amid a broad market rally to close above $54 Wednesday, extending the stock’s recent gains as several Wall Street analysts pointed to signs of better-than-expected demand for the company’s AI products. HSBC, KeyBanc, and Wedbush told clients…

Key Takeaways The Supreme Court sharply questioned a Trump Administration lawyer during a Wednesday hearing, expressing skepticism about whether the law allows Trump to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.Trump’s attempted firing is viewed by some experts as part of a campaign to exert more control over the independent central bank and push it to sharply lower interest rates.Betting markets lowered the odds of Cook leaving office following the questioning. President Donald Trump’s effort to remove a Federal Reserve governor faced scrutiny on Wednesday when Supreme Court justices questioned his authority to fire Governor Lisa Cook. The Supreme Court heard oral…

Key Takeaways Some forecasts see mortgage rates dipping under 6% in mid-2026—perhaps even as low as 5.5%—before moving higher again.The potential dip is tied to a slowing economy, softer inflation, and increased demand for safe-haven bonds.Most experts caution that trying to time the market based on rate forecasts can backfire for buyers and refinancers. Mortgage rates are finally coming down, but some forecasts suggest the window for lower borrowing costs could be brief. According to Freddie Mac, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.06% for the week ending January 15. That nearly one–percentage-point decline from this time…