Author: Money Mechanics

(World Oil) – Vitol Group is in late stage talks to sell its shale oil venture VTX Energy Partners LLC to a consortium of two private equity buyers – Carnelian Energy Capital and EnCap Investments, a deal that would mark a scaling back for the trader in U.S. upstream oil and gas production. The companies could sign the deal as soon as next week, according to people familiar with the matter who declined to be named citing confidential talks. The valuation being discussed is around $2.3 billion, one of the people said. A deal would mark Vitol’s second U.S. shale oil exit in two…

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) reported record second-quarter 2026 results, with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Solomon citing strong client activity, an acceleration in strategic dealmaking and rising demand tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure investment. Goldman generated record quarterly net revenues of $20.3 billion and record earnings per share of $20.98. The firm reported return on equity of 23.5% and return on tangible equity of 25.5% for the quarter. Chief Financial Officer Denis Coleman said Global Banking & Markets produced record revenues of $15.5 billion, while Asset and Wealth Management revenues rose 20% year over year to $4.6 billion.…

Mark Twain said, “Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.” Coming from a long line of procrastinators, that sentiment rings true. It was also my approach to retirement. I put off the decision again and again.Until now.After spending much of my career writing about retirement, I finally decided it was time to start living it. I assumed I was prepared. I had spent years researching the topic, interviewing experts and helping others think through one of life’s biggest transitions.Then I turned in my retirement notice.What I expected to feel was relief. What…

Planning a family reunion takes more than booking a venue and sending invitations. Every successful reunion needs organizers, memory keepers and people who bring everyone together. It’s those different strengths that turn a single gathering into a tradition families look forward to for generations.Take this quick quiz, inspired by our story about a family that’s kept its reunion going for more than 40 years, to discover the role you could play in planning your own family’s next reunion.More on Family Gatherings: From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99,…

Over the past 12 months, Capital Group Dividend Value (CGDV) sports one of the best returns in the Kiplinger ETF 20, our favorite exchange-traded funds. Its 33% one-year return through May beat the S&P 500 as well as 88% of its peers (funds that focus on large-cap stocks trading at value prices).The exchange-traded fund aims to generate an above-market-average dividend yield by focusing on high-quality U.S. companies — 90% of the portfolio holdings must be stocks of companies with investment-grade credit ratings, and 90% must pay dividends. The fund currently yields 1.3%; the S&P 500, 1.1%.The result, says fund comanager…

Welcome to Kiplinger’s My First $1 Million series, in which we hear from people who have made $1 million. They’re sharing how they did it and what they’re doing with it. This time, we hear from a 68-year-old single government lawyer in Henrico, Virginia, who vows she’ll never retire.See our earlier profiles, including a writer in New England, a literacy interventionist in Colorado, a semiretired entrepreneur in Nashville and an events industry CEO in Northern New Jersey. (See all of the profiles here.) From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just…

Recent changes in the housing market bring good news for home buyers. According to Realtor.com’s June 2026 housing trends report, asking prices are easing and buyers have more leverage than they’ve had in recent years.The national median listing price was $430,000 in June, down 2.5% year-over-year. It marks the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year asking price decline.Falling asking prices may be a sign that sellers are becoming more flexible. Rather than holding out for pandemic-era prices, they’re adjusting to current market conditions, giving buyers more opportunities to negotiate and some welcome relief on price. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger…

42 years ago, my grandfather, his cousins and their parents organized the first of what would become a biannual family reunion with well over 100 relatives in attendance. In those decades, our family has grown so large, it’s becoming unwieldy and a little detached.The generation that started the tradition were fairly tight-knit, and many made an effort to see each other outside of reunion years anyway. But for the younger generations to come after, we only ever see most of our distant cousins at the biannual reunion.The biggest challenge with planning a family reunion is less about the logistics –…

Imagine opening your mailbox less than seven years from now to find your monthly Social Security check chopped by nearly a quarter. That’s exactly what will happen in 2032 if lawmakers fail to shore up the retirement trust fund, according to a Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) report.Under current law, insolvency triggers an automatic benefit reduction. This nationwide event, in which “no state is spared,” would affect roughly 63 million Americans — more than one in five people in the country. Depending on where you live, individual losses are projected to range from $459 to $556 monthly ($5,508…

Bamboo Ide8 Insurance Services, LLC, a data-driven insurance distribution platform, has finalised a multi-year sidecar transaction through Greenshoots Re, the first MGA-sponsored sidecar. The deal supports Bamboo’s new California admitted programme with MS Transverse.In April 2025, when Bamboo was part of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd., the company’s reinsurance renewal included a reinsurance sidecar transaction via Greenshoots Re Ltd., which issued $70 million in preference shares from a broad group of institutional investors. We then reported last September, that Greenshoots Re was leveraged to provide reinsurance to cover an E&S program jointly launched with specialty insurer Accredited, however no size…