Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways Intel stock soared on Wednesday, extending a recent run-up fueled by increasing confidence in its foundry business. The federal government and Nvidia both announced multi-billion dollar investments in Intel last year, helping to stabilize the company’s finances and reassure Wall Street of its future prospects. Shares of Intel (INTC) jumped more than 6% on Wednesday as investors grew more optimistic about the future of its chip manufacturing business. Intel earlier this week unveiled its new “Panther Lake” AI PC chips, its first product made with its long-awaited 18A manufacturing process. The launch marked a milestone for the company…

Key Takeaways These four towns—Lafayette, Louisiana; Pella, Iowa; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Fairlawn, Ohio—offer crawfish boils, tulip festivals, mountain hikes, and access to national parks, plus 10-gigabit municipal internet.Median home prices in these towns run 14% to 35% below the national average, with costs of living 4% to 14% lower. About 14% of Americans now work remotely, more than double the percentage before the pandemic. If you’re one of them, you likely need little more to work than some space and a solid internet connection. If you can log in from anywhere, why not do it somewhere cheaper? These four towns…

Key Takeaways After hinting at “aggressive” reforms in the housing market, President Donald Trump wrote on social media Wednesday that he is seeking to ban large investor home purchases.Investors accounted for more than 10% of home sales in the 2025 second quarter, but the majority were made by smaller investors. President Donald Trump provided the first details of his plan for “aggressive” reforms to the housing market on Wednesday. Trump wrote in a social media post that he is taking steps to ban large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes. He also said he is asking Congress to write it…

KEY TAKEAWAYS Federal student loan borrowers who defaulted on their loans will begin receiving wage garnishment notices Wednesday, the Department of Education said.Borrowers have 30 days from receiving their notice to pay off their balance or request a hearing.They can also consolidate or rehabilitate their loan, which will bring their loan back into good standing and help avoid wage garnishment. Millions of federal student loan borrowers are expected to get wage garnishment notices starting Wednesday, but there are ways to prevent withholdings before they begin. The Department of Education said it will begin sending notices to defaulted borrowers stating that their wages…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Christmas came twice for UK retailer Next. It increased its forecast for full-year revenue and pre-tax profit on Tuesday, on the back of better than expected seasonal sales. Investors who have now watched the company upgrade its forecasts five times in the past year may feel like they have unwrapped this gift before.Next is one of many that has a habit of setting the bar low and then clearing it with ease. In the US, in a typical quarter, almost two-thirds of…

(Image credit: Getty Images)All three main U.S. equity indexes opened in the green but struggled to hold gains during a mixed trading session on Wednesday. Still, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 set new all-time intraday highs before slipping into the red, and the Nasdaq Composite is rising on breadth expansion and sector rotation.One big name was a big winner and another big name was a big loser, but health care stocks still managed to join communication services and tech stocks in positive territory.Consumer discretionary faded late, and energy stocks reflect a market still digesting President Donald…

Key Takeaways Chevron produces about about 25% of the country’s oil. It’s the most direct play on Venezuela’s economic opening.Oil services firms such as Halliburton and SLB could win billions in reconstruction contracts, but any gains are likely years away.Gulf Coast refiners such as Valero were purpose-built for Venezuelan heavy crude and could see better margins if that oil flows again. The U.S. is planning big changes for Venezuela’s oil industry after ousting the country’s president. Shares of a handful of U.S. companies stand to benefit from the upheaval. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Wednesday said that the U.S. will…

Mark Peterson / Getty Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. While joining the millionaire club may feel out of reach for many young Americans, the power of compounding can make it possible. It’s simple: you invest a small sum of money each month into a low-cost index fund. When you earn dividends, you automatically reinvest those proceeds to buy more shares, and your returns grow over time. But there’s a catch, says personal finance YouTuber Mark Tilbury: the magic only really happens after you’ve invested your first $100,000. “Don’t worry…

In-brief analysis January 7, 2026 The U.S. retail price for regular grade gasoline averaged $3.10 per gallon (gal) in 2025, $0.21/gal less than in 2024. This year marks the third consecutive year of declining nominal retail gasoline prices, according to data from our Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update. Crude oil prices are the largest component of U.S. gasoline prices. U.S. gasoline prices fell in 2025 because of lower crude oil prices, which were driven by oversupply concerns and a weaker global economic outlook in the first half of the year that dampened demand. U.S. retail…

Homes in Hercules, California, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesMortgage rates moved lower to end 2025 and start 2026, but that did little to pull demand back to the market. For the week ended Jan. 2, 2026, total mortgage application volume fell 9.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from two weeks earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. There were additional adjustments made for the holidays, and the read is for two weeks because the MBA did not report last week. Over those two weeks, the average contract interest rate…