Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported quarterly results that topped analysts’ estimates, with revenue setting another record high.The chipmaker’s stock and others in the semiconductor industry surged Thursday following the results. Semiconductor stocks rallied Thursday morning, after stronger-than-expected results from an industry giant pointed to growing demand for AI hardware. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM), the largest contract chipmaker in the world, said Thursday that it generated record revenue of 1.05 trillion New Taiwan dollars ($33.73 billion) in the fourth quarter, with profits of $3.14 per American Depositary Receipt. Both figures topped Wall Street estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.…

Key Takeaways Impulse spending and social pressure can drain your finances, but small changes—like making it harder to online shop and setting clear boundaries with loved ones—can help you stay on track.It’s never too late to kick-start retirement savings: take advantage of employer 401(k) match and increase your contributions after you receive raises. Last year, did you splurge on a pair of shoes you couldn’t afford or fail to open an IRA even though you told yourself you would? If so, you’re not alone. A Credit Karma survey of more than 1,000 Americans found that the top financial regrets for…

If you were counting on filing your 2025 taxes directly with the IRS for free, you’ll have to change your plans.That’s because IRS Direct File, a program launched two tax seasons ago, was ended by the U.S. Treasury Department late last year despite the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and a majority of taxpayers who utilized the service hailing the two-year pilot program a success.According to a report to Congress, the Treasury Department said that Direct File had a low participation rate (fewer than 0.5% of the 146 million tax returns filed in 2025). The Treasury also pointed to the…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Private equity is in flux as the threat of consolidation looms and more expensive debt reduces firms’ ability to rely on deal structure and leverage to deliver outsized returns.Economic conditions have changed, and private equity needs to change along with them, focusing less on financial engineering and more on traditional business-building principles.Private equity’s boom yearsSince interest rates peaked in the 1980s, U.S. financial markets benefited from a secular decline in interest rates from 19.0% to 0.0%. Declining interest rates create accommodating conditions for high-risk assets, creating the foundation of several decades of success for the private equity…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Women have long been the chief operating officers of their households — the ones who remember the dentist appointments, plan the birthday parties and keep everything running thanks to countless tabs open 24/7 inside their heads.I get it, because I’m a wife and mom first. But we can’t let the invisible labor and emotional burden of the day-to-day stand in our way of long-term planning.Married or not — and it should be noted that more Millennials are unmarried than previous generations at the same age — women need to be the chief financial officers of their households.…

Georgia’s path to a zero-percent income tax just got a lot clearer. Last week, the state legislature unveiled a landmark proposal to phase out the current 5.09% income tax rate by 2032.Following a special committee led by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, the plan offers a double-edged sword: A future without income tax and new immediate benefits for residents (provided the state hits its revenue marks). However, the path forward isn’t without drawbacks and hurdles. Between cutting state tax breaks and a growing push to prioritize property tax relief instead, the future of your paycheck remains a hot debate under the…

Key Takeaways Applied math/statistics (BS/MS) and Financial Engineering / Quantitative Finance (MS) graduates are landing the highest-paying fintech roles. Six-figure salaries are the norm, with the median pay for software developers, data scientists, and cybersecurity analysts ranging from the low to mid-$100,000 range. Employers say they are prioritizing candidates who can analyze data, build models, and automate systems. While layoffs have rocked workers across the economy in 2025, one corner of the financial world has kept hiring: fintech. The reason is straightforward: money is going digital, and the companies building that infrastructure, along with other massive technological changes in finance,…

(Image credit: Getty Images)U.S. retirees often become both givers and receivers of care and financial support. Usually, they are providers early in their retirement and end up as the recipients as they grow older and possibly outlive their retirement funds.People don’t often include these situations in their retirement planning. Understanding how retirees might find themselves giving or receiving help, and then figuring out how to prepare for it, can protect retirement security.Providing care and support in retirementA growing percentage of U.S. retirees care for family members. A 2025 AARP/National Alliance for Caregiving survey estimates 63 million Americans provide care for…

January 15, 2026 08:23 AM EST Vail Resorts Stock Drops on Sharply Lower Skier Visits FROM 1 minute ago Vail Resorts’ season-to-date skier visits are going downhill. Shares of Vail Resorts (MTN) fell nearly 4% in premarket trading Thursday after the company reported season-to-date skier visits for its North American destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas through Jan. 4 were down 20% year-over-year. Vail Resorts added that season-to-date dining revenue was down 15.9%, ski school revenue was 14.9% lower, and total lift revenue was down 1.8%. “We experienced one of the worst early season snowfalls in the western U.S.…

Question: I’m 61 and want a divorce, but worry it will wreck my finances. Should we just live separately but stay married?Answer: If it seems like more older Americans are getting divorced these days, it’s not in your head.In 1990, only 8.7% of all U.S. divorces occurred among adults 50 and older (so-called “gray divorces”), according to data published in The Journals of Gerontology. By 2019, that percentage had ballooned to 36%. 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…