Author: Money Mechanics

(Image credit: Getty Images)The three main U.S. equity indexes opened in the green, trended higher through the morning, buckled after lunch and took off during the last two hours of another trading session defined for better and for worse by President Donald Trump.At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.2% to 49,077, the S&P 500 had added 1.2% at 6,875, and the Nasdaq Composite was higher by 1.2% to 23,224.Early in the day, President Trump said he wouldn’t use force to annex Greenland, but he did argue for a peaceful transaction before the Davos crowd shortly…

Key Takeaways Software stocks should rebound when Wall Street realizes they “hold the key” to unlocking AI’s benefits, according to the founder of tech-focused private equity firm Thoma Bravo. The software industry has been hammered by concerns about AI’s uncertain commercial potential, as well as fears that the nascent technology will upend established business models. Anxious software investors worry that artificial intelligence is disrupting the multi-trillion dollar industry. One veteran tech investor says those concerns are misplaced. Orlando Bravo, founder and managing partner of tech-focused private equity firm Thoma Bravo, on Wednesday called the narrative that AI is going to…

Key Takeaways ARM applications reached 12.9% of total mortgage applications in September—the highest since 2008—though the share has since declined to around 6%-8% as fixed rates have eased.Adjustable-rate mortgages contributed significantly to the 2008 housing crisis, as many borrowers with poor credit struggled to make payments when their rates increased. High mortgage rates have been overwhelming homebuyers for the past three years, and some are turning to a mortgage option that helped fuel the 2008 housing crisis. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) offer fixed introductory rates that later adjust—typically to a higher rate—to reflect current market conditions. These loans have become more…

Key Takeaways A below-market loan from a relative sounds like free money, but IRS rules set a floor on what family lenders must charge.Should a relative who lent you money die before you’ve repaid it, the balance becomes part of her estate. A recent post on Reddit’s r/Mortgages laid out a dilemma many people would love to have: Got the call of a lifetime last night. My grandma called me and decided to play bank and loan us what I presume would be our inheritance—up to $500K—at 1% interest to pay off our mortgage and any other debts. We would…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Retirement looks very different when you’re a business owner rather than an employee. For employees, retirement is a clear line in the sand: One day you’re working, the next day you’re not.But for owners, stepping away can feel like deserting the cause, abandoning the team or even losing part of your identity.That’s why exit planning is not just about money — it’s about meaning, legacy and risk management. You need a plan, and you likely need advisers to help with the plan. Just make sure they don’t exit their business before you do. From just $107.88 $24.99…

In-brief analysis January 21, 2026 When military aircraft are retired, they live out their days in the sunbelt at the U.S. Air Force’s facility on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, otherwise known as the Boneyard. As data center operators have searched for rapidly deployable sources of power for their facilities, some have looked to companies modifying jet engines for use in commercial power. Data center facilities in Texas have recently deployed modified jet engines as generators, each with 48 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity. Is there electricity generating potential in the Boneyard? Maybe. We…

Speaking today during the quarterly earnings call of US insurance company Travelers, CFO Dan Frey explained that even with the lower retention it now has, thanks to adding a new $1 billion lower layer to the treaty, the firms 2025 catastrophe loss experience would not have seen it make any recoveries from the tower.As we reported earlier today, Travelers renewed its corporate catastrophe excess-of-loss reinsurance tower for 2026 at the January renewals, adding $1 billion in additional protection through buying a lower layer. That lower layer reduced the attachment of the corporate cat reinsurance treaty to $3 billion, down from…

Lisa Cook, governor of the US Federal Reserve, left, and her attorney Abbe Lowell outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesFederal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook’s job seemed safe from firing by President Donald Trump after Supreme Court justices skeptically questioned the Trump administration’s lawyers on Wednesday about the grounds for Cook’s would-be termination and its effect on the Fed’s historical independence.Justice Brett Kavanaugh warned Solicitor General D. John Sauer about the effects of his argument that Trump could fire Cook or other Fed governors “for cause”…

Key Takeaways Netflix shares slid Wednesday, extending their monthslong decline after the streaming giant failed to impress investors with its latest financial results.Netflix’s earnings narrowly topped fourth-quarter estimates, but the streaming giant’s first-quarter outlook disappointed. The company also said it would pause stock buybacks in order to finance its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Investors are scrutinizing Netflix’s results more closely than ever. They don’t like what they see. The streaming giant’s stock was down nearly 5% in recent trading, sliding after reporting earnings that narrowly topped analysts’ estimates, as Netflix (NFLX) failed to impress investors with its outlook amid…

Key Takeaways The average IRA balance for Americans in their 50s ranges from about $120,000 to $245,000, but many people have far less.Median balances tell a clearer story than averages because a few people with massive accounts skew the numbers upward. Fidelity’s latest analysis of 18.3 million individual retirement accounts (IRAs) shows the average balance hit a record of $137,902 in the third quarter of 2025.  For Gen X savers (ages 45 to 60), that figure sits at $120,273, an average that’s inflated by people who’ve saved far more. The median tells a different story. Transamerica data on Americans in…