Author: Money Mechanics

(Image credit: Getty Images)Raising a child with special needs presents unique and long-term financial planning considerations.Parents need to focus on ensuring their child has the care, resources and support they require — today, and, quite often, well into adulthood and their own retirement.This level of planning often involves complex financial decisions and, in some cases, trade-offs that may impact other priorities. And parents in this cohort are hungry for more guidance. 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 FREE…

Stock futures rose to start the holiday-shortened week, with tech shares continuing their advance after a strong end to last week.  Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.5%, while those associated with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively. Major stock indexes closed sharply higher for a second straight session Friday, with AI-related shares again leading the charge as risk appetite returned to the market. The tech-heavy Nasdaq and benchmark S&P 500 closed slightly higher for the week, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.7% lower over the five days. Shares of AI-tied firms Micron Technology (MU), Oracle (ORCL), Advanced…

(Image credit: Getty Images)As the year draws to a close, it’s a great time to review your financial and philanthropic goals.For high-net-worth individuals, charitable trusts combine generosity with tax and estate planning. They deliver benefits beyond those of a direct donation or simple bequest — such as an immediate income tax deduction, potential capital gains deferral, estate tax reduction, income for a term of years or for life and the ability to leave a legacy for your heirs.Charitable trusts in practiceCharitable trusts are split-interest vehicles, dividing a gift into two parts: an income benefit and a remainder benefit. This structure…

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) is AI Stocks in the Spotlight for Investors. On December 15, Jefferies upgraded the semiconductor equipment maker to “Buy” and raised the price target to $1,500 from $1,100. The firm believes that KLAC’s run is “just beginning,” citing expanding AI accelerator use cases and a robust outlook for leading-edge and advanced packaging demand. Besides KLAC, Jefferies also identified Nvidia and Broadcom as companies with sustainable demand from the build out of AI infrastructure. With chip complexity increasing, the firm sees upside for KLA as rising process control intensity plays directly on its strengths. “We are seeing power…

Mortgage marketing has been hooked on a single lever — rate — for far too long. In a category as cyclical and commoditized as ours, chasing a number that whipsaws with macro forces is a race to the bottom. The shift that matters now is from price-forward messages to people-first experiences: trust, guidance, and partnership across the life of the loan. That’s where durable value and differentiation live.  Over the past decade, borrowers moved from print ads and branch lobbies to search engines and social feeds. Like home search before it, lender discovery migrated online, with all the benefits and…

(BOE Report)– Oil prices ticked down on Friday and were set to close lower for a second straight week, as rising prospects of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal offset concerns over supply disruptions from a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers. Brent crude futures fell 9 cents, or 0.2%, to $59.73 a barrel by 0456 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading 13 cents, or 0.2% lower, at $56.02 a barrel. On a weekly basis, Brent was 2.3% lower while WTI was down 2.5%. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he believes talks toward ending the war in Ukraine…

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.It’s that time again when I start to reminisce about the literally countless gadgets and gizmos that have been through my hands over the past year. And just to give you an idea of how many that is, the content that gets reviewed here on ZDNET is just a fraction of what I’ve started testing. Less than half. Most that don’t make the cut are just not up to scratch, others I have some issue partway through the review, and the item gets pushed to the back burner (I can’t spend too much time…

Calvin McDonald’s nearly seven-year tenure as the chief executive officer of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) can be compared to a pair of luxury yoga pants that don’t quite fit: Uncomfortable at best, and an expensive mistake at worst. McDonald will step down from the company’s helm at the end of January 2026, and, thus far, the stock has responded positively to this announced change in leadership. Shares of Lululemon surged more than 6.5% from the announcement as of close on Dec. 17. A renewed energy is now benefiting Lululemon. Elliott Investment Management even went so far as to build its…

Silver futures continue to exhibit constructive price behavior within a defined cyclical advance, as highlighted on the 15-minute structure. Price is currently holding above the Daily VC PMI pivot near $65.57, which remains the dominant short-term mean-reversion reference. Sustained acceptance above this level confirms bullish price momentum within the present cycle window, while intraday pullbacks toward the pivot should be viewed as rotational rather than trend-ending, unless momentum structurally breaks below it. From a time-cycle perspective, is progressing through a short-term expansion phase following the prior corrective cycle. The advance from the mid-$64s into the $66+ zone aligns with a…

The Bank of England (BOE) in the City of London, UK, on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe Bank of England voted narrowly to cut interest rates on Thursday, in its last monetary policy move of 2025.The central bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) on Thursday voted 5-4 to trim the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%, marking the fourth cut of the year. Economists had widely expected the rate trim, which comes at a time of lackluster economic data, softening labor market and a recent decline in inflation that outpaced expectations.Nonetheless, the…