Author: Money Mechanics

Moody’s has announced that it has launched its North America Severe Convective Storm HD Models, which according to the firm redefines the standard for assessing tornado, hail and wind risk.According to Moody’s, throughout the last three years, U.S. insured losses from severe convective storms (SCS) have exceeded $50 billion annually, even surpassing hurricanes in insured impact. With SCS losses continuing to rise, the majority of existing models reportedly still struggle with a number of fundamental limitations, such as coarse hazard resolution, small event sets, simplified vulnerability curves and constrained financial modules. Moody’s recently revealed that insured losses from U.S. SCS…

The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate by a quarter point at its last meeting of the year.December’s move marks the third time in a row the central bank has lowered interest rates, shaving three-quarters of a point off the federal funds rate since September to a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. The cuts could have an effect on many of the borrowing and savings rates consumers see every day.Although the federal funds rate, set by the Federal Open Market Committee, is the interest rate at which banks borrow and lend to one another overnight and not the rate that consumers pay,…

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysComcast has introduced all-new TV packages.The packages are available for new and existing customers.New plans have up-front pricing with no fees or commitments.Earlier this year, Comcast rolled out big changes to its internet service. Now it’s revamping its TV offerings.The company’s new video plans, which offer all-in pricing, are available to new and existing customers. They’re designed to bring “simplicity and transparency” Comcast says, by having a simple, up-front price that includes all major fees and requires no contract or commitment, doesn’t have any equipment…

Stock futures were mostly lower Thursday, a day after major indexes neared closing records following the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates, as Oracle shares sank following weaker-than-expected revenue, dragging AI-tied stocks.  Futures associated with the tech-heavy Nasdaq and benchmark S&P 500 were down a respective 0.5% and 0.3%, while those affiliated with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average reversed earlier losses and were up fractionally. Yesterday, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq finished up a respective 1.1%, 0.7%, and 0.3% after the Fed cut its key rate to a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. The S&P 500 missed setting a new…

Key Takeaways By volunteering your time, you can fill a void in your life that may be caused by the end of your full-time job.Volunteering can involve welcome physical activity and exercise that can help stave off arthritis and cardiovascular problems.Volunteering can come with some small tax advantages, and fewer recreational expenditures because you’re busy. Normally, a huge sigh of relief is heard from workers embarking on the more easy-going days of retirement. However, for many such people, their next thought may be, “Now what?” Retiring can mean more than leaving the full-time workforce. It can sometimes mean loss of…

(Image credit: Getty Images)For most of your career, saving pretax dollars in such accounts as a 401(k) or IRA has been a smart move. You got the upfront tax deduction, your money grew tax-deferred, and it felt like the right play year after year.But once retirement hits, that same strategy can become a double-edged sword. Suddenly, every dollar you withdraw is taxable income.If most of your nest egg is sitting in pretax accounts, you’ve effectively made an unspoken deal with your “silent partner,” Uncle Sam, to decide how much of your retirement he’ll own. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger…

Key Takeaways Micron Technology shares hit a fresh record high Wednesday after Wall Street analysts boosted their price targets for the stock ahead of the company’s earnings report next week. Analysts say that surging demand for memory chips made by Micron and other companies is causing a shortage and a massive increase in prices, which should boost Micron’s sales and profits in the coming quarters. One of the hottest AI stocks appears to have more room to run. Shares of Micron Technology (MU) have surged to all-time highs this week as analysts continue to raise their targets for the memory…

The Nasdaq-100 Index® (NDX®) fell from its October all-time highs as it finished a turbulent November 2025 lower by 1.6% though a strong last week of the month helped to temper the losses. NDX is still up by 21% YTD. Despite a strong Q3 earnings season, AI capex concerns, elevated valuations, and shifting market pricing of Federal Reserve rate cuts led to the sell-off in November. The reversal in risk appetite also hit cryptocurrencies with Bitcoin falling by over 30% at one point from its highs. Performance across Nasdaq’s suite of indexes finished modestly lower in November with 62 of…

For Toll Brothers, whose enviable core customers are ones whose financial wherewithal effectively shields them from worries about high prices and high interest rates, the question is not “can they buy?” It’s will they? And will they buy now? “America’s Luxury Homebuilder” continues to rely on its move-up, active adult, and luxury segments — and their pursuit of “the home of their dreams” — to navigate a languishing housing market, where other large, medium, and small enterprises have been largely hampered by affordability constraints, economic uncertainty, low consumer confidence, and stubbornly high interest rates. This product-mix strategy helped Toll Brothers…

A pregnant woman in San Francisco gave birth inside a Waymo robotaxi Monday night en route to UCSF Medical Center, marking the latest milestone in the driverless car saga that no one saw coming — except everyone with more than six months of experience behind the wheel of a ride-share vehicle. According to The SF Standard, Waymo’s remote team detected “unusual activity” and called 911, though the vehicle beat emergency services to the hospital. Some traditions, it seems, are immune to disruption. For decades, expectant mothers have been racing against biology in the back seats of taxis and Ubers from…