Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways Investopedia asked economists at Vanguard to share their predictions for 2026, as their 2025 forecasts are on track to be among the most accurate on Wall Street.The U.S. economy will have solid economic growth, lower unemployment, and slightly lower inflation than in 2026, according to their forecast.Tariffs will continue to push up inflation in 2026, but the economy will likely get a boost from tax cuts, economists said. The year ahead will feature stubborn inflation, an improving job market, and solid economic growth, according to a group of forecasters who nailed their outlook for 2025.With all the different…

Stock futures pointed higher Friday to ring in the new year after major equities indexes ended 2025 on four-session losing streaks. After markets were closed yesterday for New Year’s Day, Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up a respective 1%, 0.6%, and 0.4%, with AI-related stocks leading advances. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, benchmark S&P 500, and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished lower for a fourth straight session Wednesday following a five-session winning streak through Christmas Eve, but still closed the year up about 20%, 16%, and 13%, respectively, powered by strong advances from several AI-tied firms. U.S.-listed shares of…

(Image credit: Getty Images)There’s a lot to ask yourself when you start investing beyond your retirement account: How much money should I allocate? What types of investments should I make?But one investing pro says the most important questions new investors need to ask themselves are, “What am I trying to achieve?” and “What are the financial goals for this?” This is according to Cullen Roche, author of Your Perfect Portfolio, which comes out January 6.And Roche should know. His career as a financial adviser has spanned more than 20 years – most recently as the founder and chief investment officer…

China’s carmakers are on track to capture about one-third of the global auto market by 2030 and generate most of their profits overseas, according to UBS, underscoring the resilience of the country’s electric vehicle (EV) advantage despite mounting trade barriers in the West. The Swiss bank said its forecast had remained unchanged from two years ago, even as Chinese carmakers accelerated factory construction in Europe and some global rivals scaled back electrification plans. “The main drag was due to Europe’s slowdown of EV adoption, and tariffs and protectionism against Chinese EVs,” said Paul Gong, an analyst at UBS specialising in…

Russia’s Novatek exported 21 cargoes of liquefied to China from its Arctic LNG 2 facility last year, data from Kpler cited by Reuters has shown. Arctic LNG 2 is under EU and U.S. sanctions. One more LNG cargo went to China from Gazprom’s Portovaya facility, also under Western sanctions. China’s CNPC and CNOOC are shareholders in Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2, with a 10% stake each. Russia’s total exports of liquefied natural gas to China in 2025 hit an all-time high despite the sanctions, with September flows specifically doubling from a year earlier, to 1.6 million tons from 751,000 tons. Novatek…

“The Court accepts as true all of the well-pleaded facts in the Complaint and draws all reasonable inferences in favor of Plaintiffs.” So said U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama on 12.4.2025. According to Reuters: “A group of companies that lease land for mobile homes has convinced a federal judge in Chicago to dismiss a proposed nationwide class action accusing them of conspiring to inflate lot rents.” That suit in the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division styled “Manufactured Home Lot Rents Antitrust Litigation,” Case No. 23-cv-06715. “U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama on Thursday said the plaintiffs had failed for now to…

Key Takeaways A Zillow study showed that mortgage rates in many major U.S. cities would have to drop well below levels of around 6.2% to make housing affordable.Mortgage rates need to fall by two percentage points in places like Dallas, New Orleans, and Nashville to make borrowing costs accessible for homebuyers. But in Pittsburgh, Birmingham, and other cities with low housing costs, mortgage rates could tick even higher and still remain affordable. Some housing markets are so expensive that they would still be unaffordable even if rates plummeted. In other areas, a small decline in rates would be enough to make…

(Investing)– Oil prices were trading modestly higher on Wednesday but still heading toward their steepest annual losses since 2020, as persistent supply surplus concerns dominated markets through the year despite recurring geopolitical risks that offered only intermittent support. As of 05:30 ET (10:30 GMT),  expiring in March traded rose 0.2% to $61.47 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were also higher 0.2%, exchanging hands at $58.11 per barrel. Both benchmarks are set to end 2025 sharply lower, with Brent down about 18% and WTI on track for a near 20% decline, marking their biggest annual percentage falls since…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK financial regulation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The UK’s financial watchdog has closed 100 investigations without taking enforcement action in less than three years, slashing the number of active probes to the lowest for almost a decade.The unprecedented cull of legacy cases highlights a strategic change at the Financial Conduct Authority since Therese Chambers and Steve Smart became co-heads of its enforcement arm in April and June 2023 with the aim to focus on fewer but higher-impact investigations.The FCA completed 24 investigations between April and November last year,…

Jason Hiner/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET key takeaways Samsung is rumored to unveil a brain health feature at CES.The feature could detect early signs of dementia. It will also provide recommendations for prevention. Samsung’s next health feature could address and aim to prevent a condition that impacts over 6 million Americans. At CES 2026, the tech giant is rumored to unveil a Brain Health feature, developed to detect early signs of dementia, according to rumors. Details are sparse, but Sammobile reported that the feature will analyze various metrics to detect early signs of dementia. These include gait patterns, changes in a…