Author: Money Mechanics

(Image credit: Getty Images)U.S. retirees often become both givers and receivers of care and financial support. Usually, they are providers early in their retirement and end up as the recipients as they grow older and possibly outlive their retirement funds.People don’t often include these situations in their retirement planning. Understanding how retirees might find themselves giving or receiving help, and then figuring out how to prepare for it, can protect retirement security.Providing care and support in retirementA growing percentage of U.S. retirees care for family members. A 2025 AARP/National Alliance for Caregiving survey estimates 63 million Americans provide care for…

January 15, 2026 08:23 AM EST Vail Resorts Stock Drops on Sharply Lower Skier Visits FROM 1 minute ago Vail Resorts’ season-to-date skier visits are going downhill. Shares of Vail Resorts (MTN) fell nearly 4% in premarket trading Thursday after the company reported season-to-date skier visits for its North American destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas through Jan. 4 were down 20% year-over-year. Vail Resorts added that season-to-date dining revenue was down 15.9%, ski school revenue was 14.9% lower, and total lift revenue was down 1.8%. “We experienced one of the worst early season snowfalls in the western U.S.…

Question: I’m 61 and want a divorce, but worry it will wreck my finances. Should we just live separately but stay married?Answer: If it seems like more older Americans are getting divorced these days, it’s not in your head.In 1990, only 8.7% of all U.S. divorces occurred among adults 50 and older (so-called “gray divorces”), according to data published in The Journals of Gerontology. By 2019, that percentage had ballooned to 36%. 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…

Integra LifeSciences used its update at the ongoing 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco to frame 2025 and 2026 as a deliberate transition period. The company described a shift from disruption and remediation toward more predictable execution, supported by product relaunches, a more resilient supply chain, and reimbursement changes that could make parts of its wound portfolio more economically attractive in outpatient settings. Integra spent a meaningful portion of the presentation on its “two horizon” plan. As presented, Horizon 1 is about rebuilding a sustainable foundation through quality systems, supply chain reliability, and better working capital discipline. Management…

One of the joys about writing about bond markets is that I always get questions in real life about whatever crisis du jour is being spread about bond markets. The thing to keep in mind: if you are a developed country with a freely-floating currency that you control, it takes a concentrated dose of stupidity to create crisis in your government bond market. Unfortunately, concentrated doses of stupidity are in great supply in the 2020s.However, if we avoid stupidity, do we need to worry about debt levels? The answer is: one needs to worry about inflation created by fiscal and…

A home with a “Sold” sign from a real estate company in North Patchogue, New York.Steve Pfost | Newsday | Getty ImagesSales of previously owned homes in December rose to a seasonally-adjusted, annualized rate of 4.35 million units, a 5.1% increase from November, according to the National Association of Realtors. That was higher than analysts’ expectations for a gain of 2%. Sales were 1.4% higher than a year earlier. For the full year, there were 4.06 million existing home sales, unchanged from 2024.After adjusting for seasonal factors, December sales were the strongest in nearly three years. Sales increased in all…

Jack Wallen/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysQ4OS is a great way to test the Linux OS.A special Windows installer makes things easy.You can install and use Q4OS for free.Over the years, I’ve claimed so many Linux distributions to be “the one” for new users. From elementaryOS to Zorin OS, the list is fairly lengthy (and seemingly continues to grow by the day).Most of those user-friendly distributions tend to be based on either Ubuntu or Debian because those two platforms go out of their way to make things easy.One such distribution that I believe could be the…

Key Takeaways Venezuela’s collapse in oil production stems from nationalizations that drove out technical expertise, sanctions that blocked investment and buyers, and having a heavy crude that’s expensive to extract.Rebuilding the industry would require a decade of work and $80 billion–$100 billion in investments, according to analysts—and that assumes political stability. Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves—303 billion barrels, about 17% of the global total and more than Saudi Arabia’s 267 billion. Yet Venezuela produces fewer than 1 million barrels per day, less than 1% of global output. That’s less than a third of what it pumped in…

Key Takeaways Net worth is a clear way to see your full financial picture, showing what you own, what you owe, and how your wealth changes over time.Comparing your net worth to national medians can reveal whether you’re ahead or behind your peers and can motivate you to set realistic financial goals. The Average Net Worth by Age—Here’s How You Compare Ever wondered how your finances stack up to others your age? The best way to find out isn’t by comparing salaries or home values—it’s by looking at your net worth, which is essentially the amount of what you own…

The start of the year has brought several reasons for higher prices in commodity markets, including . WTI crude has risen by about $4 per barrel in recent days. This is a noticeable move, but it does not signal panic. Investors are watching events in the Middle East closely. Anti-government protests in Iran are intensifying, and the situation could worsen if the US decides to step in militarily and support the opposition. Such a move would likely support demand and help oil prices stay above $66 per barrel. At the same time, attention is also on Venezuela following the removal…