Author: Money Mechanics

(Image credit: Getty Images)American stocks have performed well over the past three years, with annualized returns greatly exceeding the long-term average of 10.5%. That is true of both the S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq. The big question now is: What are the best bets in 2026?”At the end of every year, I get the question of whether investors should buy stocks that have dropped or should I stick with my winners,” says Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at research company CFRA. “It depends on what happened the prior year.”Broadly speaking, if the market was loss-making in the previous…

Question: I waited until 75 to retire with $1.4 million. Do I have to follow the 4% rule, or can I take larger withdrawals since I’m older than the typical retiree?Answer: Some people opt to retire at age 62 because that’s the earliest age to claim Social Security. Others like to wait until 65 because that’s when Medicare coverage begins.A 2024 MassMutual survey found that retirees and pre-retirees alike think 63 is an optimal retirement age. But ultimately, it’s your decision when you want to retire. And if you enjoy your job and are able to keep at it, you…

(Image credit: Getty Images)The top 25 stocks in the S&P 500 this year might be dominated by tech names taking off on the AI trade, but big-time market beaters can be found in the industrials and materials sectors, too.First, a quick recap: A volatile spring sell-off (sparked by the “Liberation Day” tariff shock in April) couldn’t stop the bull market from stampeding through 2025. Indeed, thanks to a strong outlook for corporate earnings and the continued frenzy over AI infrastructure spending, equities are set to end the year at record levels.With just a few days left of 2025, the S&P…

(Image credit: Getty Images)The U.S. stock market set 36 all-time highs in 2025 through October — remarkable for an aging bull that entered its fourth year that month. The S&P 500 Index returned 17.5% over that period (21.5% in the 12 months since we published our 2025 Investing Outlook), and a cumulative 91% since the bull market began in October 2022.So why do some investors feel like there’s a piano tied with a fraying rope suspended above their heads? The risks they’re worried about include sticky inflation and a weakening job market, continuing trade tensions and potential cracks in the…

To help you understand what’s going on in politics, the economy 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…2028 will mark another milestone in American history: The first presidential race since 2012 without Donald Trump on the ballot. Since becoming the GOP nominee a decade…

Stock futures pointed lower and precious metals retreated from record highs to commence a holiday-shortened week with no significant corporate earnings on tap. Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures were down 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively, while those affiliated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average were fractionally lower. On Friday, after traders got the day off for Christmas, the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down 0.1%, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell fractionally, and the benchmark S&P 500 set a new intraday high before finishing fractionally lower. The three indexes had five-session winning streaks snapped but still all rose by more than 1% for the week, with investors hoping for a…

Most retirement planning is centered on general assumptions and rules of thumb. For instance, a typical plan assumes you will retire at 62, which is the average retirement age according to MassMutual’s 2024 Retirement Happiness Study (1), draw down 4% a year from your portfolio, based on the golden rule developed by William Bengen, and have at least eight-10 times your annual salary saved up by the time you’re ready to quit work, according to Vanguard. (2) But if you’re one of the 18% of Americans who would like to retire before the age of 55, based on YouGov’s polling…

When Kevin Hartz’s security system failed to alert him as an intruder rang his doorbell and tried to enter his San Francisco home late one night, the serial entrepreneur decided existing solutions weren’t good enough. His co-founder Jack Abraham had experienced similar frustrations at his Miami Beach residence. In 2024, they launched Sauron — named after the sinister, all-seeing eye from “The Lord of the Rings” — to build what they envisioned as a military-grade home security system for tech elites. The concept resonated in Bay Area circles, where crime had become a constant topic during and after the pandemic,…

Selling a business in Washington can be a huge win, but it’s also one of those “measure twice, cut once” projects. Buyers pay more when your financials are clean, your operations are documented, and the deal feels low-risk. Below is a practical, friendly guide you can follow, plus Washington-specific places you can go for help (state filings, mentoring, tax resources, CPA and legal directories). I’ll also cover Washington’s biggest cities and what tends to matter most in each local market. Selling a $1M+ revenue business in Washington? Start with a free valuation. If your company is doing $1M+ in annual…

(Investing)– Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as potential sales of Venezuelan crude seized by the United States were countered by heightened supply disruption fears after Ukrainian attacks on Russian vessels and piers. Brent crude futures rose 6 cents to $62.13 a barrel by 1221 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 2 cents at $58.03. Prices had risen by more than 2% on Monday, with Brent registering its biggest daily gain in two months and WTI climbing the most since November 14. “The market appears to be wrestling between the oversupplied bearish factors and the latest supply concerns from…