Author: Money Mechanics

Mark Peterson / Getty Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. While joining the millionaire club may feel out of reach for many young Americans, the power of compounding can make it possible. It’s simple: you invest a small sum of money each month into a low-cost index fund. When you earn dividends, you automatically reinvest those proceeds to buy more shares, and your returns grow over time. But there’s a catch, says personal finance YouTuber Mark Tilbury: the magic only really happens after you’ve invested your first $100,000. “Don’t worry…

In-brief analysis January 7, 2026 The U.S. retail price for regular grade gasoline averaged $3.10 per gallon (gal) in 2025, $0.21/gal less than in 2024. This year marks the third consecutive year of declining nominal retail gasoline prices, according to data from our Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update. Crude oil prices are the largest component of U.S. gasoline prices. U.S. gasoline prices fell in 2025 because of lower crude oil prices, which were driven by oversupply concerns and a weaker global economic outlook in the first half of the year that dampened demand. U.S. retail…

Homes in Hercules, California, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesMortgage rates moved lower to end 2025 and start 2026, but that did little to pull demand back to the market. For the week ended Jan. 2, 2026, total mortgage application volume fell 9.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from two weeks earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. There were additional adjustments made for the holidays, and the read is for two weeks because the MBA did not report last week. Over those two weeks, the average contract interest rate…

Over the past few days, several posts on LinkedIn and Twitter/X went viral after one of the most talked about AI companies in San Francisco suddenly vanished from LinkedIn: Artisan AI.   The company’s LinkedIn page, individual employee profiles, and posts from executives all displayed a “This post cannot be displayed” message.   The startup had been banned from the site, Artisan CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack confirmed to TechCrunch. However, after working with LinkedIn over the past two weeks — and addressing the social network’s concerns — Artisan is now being reinstated.  “Every startup inevitably has some kind of thing that comes back…

Key Takeaways President Trump’s latest critique of how many public companies use their cash aligns with progressive positions.His hands-on approach to public company deals has raised eyebrows. The age-old practices of buying back shares and issuing dividends have a new—and perhaps unlikely—foe. President Donald Trump on Wednesday took aim at defense companies with stock buyback- and dividend-programs, saying they “will no longer be allowed or tolerated.” In doing so, he revived a topic that has in recent years been a source of debate between those who see share repurchases as a straightforward method of supporting a company’s stock and critics…

(World Oil) – The Independent Petroleum Association of America is urging the Environmental Protection Agency to revise elements of Subpart W in the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program that affect low-production and marginal-well operators. In a letter sent from Washington, the group said wells producing 15 boed or less represent a substantial share of U.S. output and require a regulatory framework aligned with small-business realities. IPAA said the existing facility definition and the emission factors used in Subpart W could subject thousands of small operators to disproportionate compliance costs. The association has opposed the facility definition since it was first proposed in 2010, arguing…

Key Takeaways Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the chipmaker is looking forward to selling its H200 AI chip in China after winning President Trump’s approval last month.The Chinese government’s latest moves to halt sales could endanger those plans, however.  Will Nvidia ever get to sell more of its AI chips in China? Investors see the country as a big opportunity—but getting there has been a challenge. CEO Jensen Huang said this week that Nvidia (NVDA) is looking forward to selling its H200 AI chip in China after winning President Donald Trump’s approval in exchange for agreeing to give the U.S.…

An early run to new highs at the start of December was offset by a mid-month slide of nearly 2.5% for the S&P 500® Index. That decline was followed by a rebound that left most equity indices with little change by month-end. Closing levels confirmed a decline of 3.5 points, or 0.05%, for the S&P 500 Index while the Russell 2000® Index slipped 0.74%. For the year, the S&P 500 Index gained more than 16%, while the Russell 2000 Index was up 11.29%. The Cboe U.S. Lag 50 Index (LAGX) increased 11.12% in December while the Cboe U.S. Lead 50…

Key Takeaways In November, the percentage of workers with multiple jobs rose to its highest level since 1999.The uptick is likely because people can’t make ends meet on their normal paychecks, as the cost of living rises faster than wages for lower-earning workers. Here’s the irony of today’s job market: Hiring is slowing down, but people who are employed are more likely to be working multiple jobs than at any time since 1999.That’s according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which found that in November, 5.8% of working individuals had more than one job. That’s the highest percentage of moonlighters…

Key Takeaways Liquid assets—such as cash, stocks, and brokerage accounts you can tap immediately—create flexibility that other assets can’t match.Growing your income matters more than pinching every penny, especially if you don’t let lifestyle inflation creep up on you.Staying invested during market drops prevents the timing mistakes that cost the average investor over 1% per year. A married couple in their mid-30s recently shared their financial situation on Reddit’s Financial Independence community: they have $2.3 million in liquid assets and a plan to hit $4 million before age 42. They pull in around $550,000 per year combined. “Once someone reaches…