Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways President Donald Trump’s company announced a $6 billion all-stock merger with fusion power company TAE Technologies.The combined company plans to begin building a utility-scale fusion power plant in 2026. Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) shares entered Thursday down nearly 70% this year. They’re making a chunk of it back this morning. Shares of Trump Media, the Truth Social parent company part-owned by President Donald Trump, soared more than 35% in morning trading after it and privately owned fusion power company TAE Technologies announced a $6 billion, all-stock merger agreement. Shareholders of each would own about half the…

Stock futures pointed higher Friday, a day after the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and benchmark S&P 500 snapped four-session losing streaks following cool inflation data. Nasdaq 100 futures and those associated with the S&P 500 were up 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively, while those affiliated with the Dow were little changed. Yesterday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, and Dow finished up a respective 1.4%, 0.8%, and 0.1%, after the November Consumer Price Index reading came in better than expected. Still, the three major stock indexes entered Friday down for the week. Friday is a “quadruple witching” day, when index options, single stock options, index futures,…

These days, it seems like every other TV commercial is for yet another insurance product. While consumer choice can be a good thing, not all insurance is as essential as the ads make it seem.”There’s a lot of sales and marketing based on fear that especially targets retirees,” says Jonathan Howard, a certified financial planner with Accurate Advisory Group, as well as a former insurance salesman. “People end up buying because they’re terrified of a loss rather than to cover an actual insurance need.”Although Howard believes insurance plays an important role in anyone’s financial plan, some products are more about…

Key Takeaways Buffett attributes his wealth to opportunity, privilege, and long-term compounding.Growing up in the U.S. gave him access to a successful market system and economic mobility.He describes being born with “lucky genes” as a major advantage.Compound interest multiplied his returns across decades, amplifying his wealth accumulation. Warren Buffett often downplays the idea that his wealth is the product of extraordinary genius alone. Instead, the “Oracle of Omaha”—who plans to step down as chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025—points to three forces that shaped his financial life: living in America, being born with what he…

(Image credit: Getty Images)As the Great Wealth Transfer moves trillions into new hands, women’s longer life expectancy, growing financial decision-making power and dual inheritances as spouses and daughters position them to direct a significant share of philanthropic capital.Let’s explore five key trends shaping the landscape and how women can lead with clarity and confidence.Trend No. 1: Wealth is flowing toward womenMany researchers have cited the Great Wealth Transfer that’s underway from Baby Boomers to successive generations. But what isn’t often noted is that women will have more time to spend as inheritors than men, as they generally have five years…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Lay-offs are replacing PowerPoint presentations as the heraldic emblem of the management consultant. McKinsey & Co is the latest to swing the axe, pruning its workforce by a reported few thousand over the next two years. The blue-blooded management consultancy was preceded in its payroll trimming by Accenture in the US and some of the UK’s Big 4.Sure, the spectacle of management consultants swallowing the advice they routinely mete out to clients will afford observers more than a little schadenfreude. It shows…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Caring for both your aging parents and young children is tough.It can be an overwhelming drain on your time and your finances, and attending to their needs often means putting yourself last.One in four Americans (25%) are part of the sandwich generation with a child under 18 and a living parent, according to the 2025 Annual Retirement Study from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement*, part of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. 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…

(Image credit: Getty Images)When you think of natural disasters, you probably think along the lines of hurricanes on the East and Gulf Coasts, earthquakes and wildfires out West and tornadoes in the South and Midwest.But that mental map is about as current as knowing all of your neighbors by name. (And don’t pretend you do.)The last couple of years have been a master class in geography-free chaos: near-historic tornado seasons in the central U.S., catastrophic hurricane-driven flooding pushing far inland, repeated flash floods in places that used to call such flooding a once-in-a-generation event and a West Coast fire season…

Dec 17 (Reuters) – OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) has held preliminary talks with some investors about raising funds at a ​valuation of around $750 billion, the Information reported ‌on Wednesday. The ChatGPT maker could raise as much as $100 billion, the ‌report said, citing people with knowledge of the discussions. Reuters could not immediately verify the report and OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. If finalized, ⁠the talks would represent ‌a roughly 50% jump from OpenAI’s reported $500 billion valuation in October, following a deal ‍in which current and former employees sold about $6.6 billion worth of shares.…

By David Enna, Tipswatch.com The Treasury’s offering of $24 billion in a reopened 5-year TIPS — CUSIP 91282CPH8 — generated a real yield to maturity of 1.433% to strong demand from investors. The mild October/November inflation report, issued this morning, could have had some influence on this auction. This TIPS trades on the secondary market and earlier in the day it was trading with a real yield of 1.41%. The auction’s 1.433% resulted from its inflation-breakeven rate slipping lower. In addition, the November inflation index will trigger a 0.46% decline in January inflation accruals, so a higher real yield was…