Author: Money Mechanics

What’s Changed About Life Expectancy—and Why It Matters People are living longer nowadays. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average life expectancy was 75.8 years for males, 81.1 years for females, and the average for both sexes is 78.4 years in 2023. But these averages don’t tell the whole story. Medical advances mean more people are living into their late 80s and 90s than ever before. A longer life means more years in retirement, and that shift has real consequences on retirement planning. Some people face shorter retirements due to health issues, while others may…

Key Takeaways If you buy market folklore about January being an indicator for the rest of the year, the start of 2026 bodes well for small-cap stocks.The table is set for a “positive surprise” in small caps, according to State Street’s Michael Arone. A stock market surprise almost a decade in the making could arrive this year. Experts have time and again called for small-company stocks—roughly defined as those with market capitalizations below $2 billiobn—to outperform large-company shares. And they’ve been wrong for the past nine years. This year, according to State Street chief investment strategist Michael Arone, that could…

Key Takeaways Palantir shares tumbled Thursday, extending their recent slide as the data analytics software provider’s stock gained another bearish call from high-profile investor. Michael Burry, who inspired the film and book “The Big Short,” said he believes the stock is overvalued, based on his analysis of the company’s fundamentals. The bears have been piling into Palantir lately. The stock fell nearly 5% to around $129 today, extending this year’s declines, after former founder and CEO of Scion Asset Management Michael Burry, who inspired the film and book “The Big Short,” suggested it was worth as little as $46, based on…

Key Takeaways U.S. consumers are shouldering the vast majority of the cost of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, according to a pair of analyses this week.The research contradicts Trump’s statements that foreign companies are paying the import taxes. If you were wondering who is paying for President Donald Trump’s sweeping import taxes, look in the mirror: nearly every penny ends up coming out of U.S. consumers’ pockets.That’s according to a pair of research reports this week by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Congressional Budget Office, both of which found that the burden of tariffs was falling hardest…

To help you understand the trends surrounding AI and other new technologies and what we expect to happen in the future, our highly experienced Kiplinger Letter team will keep you abreast of the latest developments and forecasts. (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Letter or subscribe.) You’ll get all the latest news first by subscribing, but we will publish many (but not all) of the forecasts a few days afterward online. Here’s the latest…It’s an AI risk straight out of dystopian science fiction, only it’s very real. There are rising worries about AI chatbots causing delusions among users. This…

Major change is afoot in Washington. A new chairman of the Federal Reserve has been named to fill arguably the most important job in the country for shaping the course of the economy. What can we expect from the new chair? Kevin Warsh will do things differently once he is eventually confirmed to take over for outgoing Chair Jay Powell, in office since 2017.He will want to tighten the Federal Reserve’s focus, concentrating on core monetary and financial policy, and dispensing with what he has called side issues, such as climate change and combating inequality.He also won’t let the Federal…

Key Takeaways CDs provide predictable income through fixed interest rates and defined maturity dates.FDIC insurance makes CDs one of the lowest-risk income investments available.CD ladders can balance income stability with reinvestment flexibility.CDs are best for conservative investors who prioritize capital preservation over liquidity. Certificates of deposit (CDs) are perhaps among the most familiar financial products, yet they’re often misunderstood or overlooked when markets become volatile. With interest rates elevated, CDs have regained attention as a way to generate steady income without taking on market risk. Still, CDs are not designed to maximize returns or provide day-to-day flexibility. Instead, they offer…

Key Takeaways Shares of Apple dropped 5% Thursday after a string of bad news. The latest: Federal regulators sent Apple a warning letter Thursday about its news app.A day earlier, Bloomberg reported some of Apple’s AI features have been delayed. It was a rough day for Apple. Shares of the tech giant and Magnificent Seven stock slumped 5% Thursday, the stock’s worst session since April, on what was already a rough day for tech shares. The drop followed a string of bad news, as the company’s news app drew the ire of federal regulators and reports emerged that its latest…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Early indications of a risk-on mood gave way to aggressive selling as the rotation out of software expanded to include hardware stocks on Thursday. Technology and AI-related names took their toll on all three main equity indexes, while risk-off sectors such as utilities and consumer staples surged.”There’s clearly a lot going on beneath the surface,” Mizuho analyst Dan O’Regan says, “with no shortage of headlines and chatter driving tape action” amid steep losses for large-cap tech stocks, growth stocks and higher-risk assets generally.The analyst suggests emerging concerns about the impact of new artificial intelligence (AI) companies on…

Key Takeaways Dealers often have more flexibility to structure deals when you finance, because price, loan terms, and add-ons can all be negotiated.Financing can lower your total cost through rebates, 0% offers, or a quick payoff—if you avoid fees and prepayment penalties.Keeping your cash can be smarter for those who don’t have easy access to their funds. If you have enough money to buy your next car outright, paying cash may feel like the obvious move—and many financial advisors recommend it. But ruling out financing too quickly can cost you negotiating leverage, valuable rebates, or even a cheaper overall deal.…