Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways Many people open new bank accounts without closing their old ones, a trend known as soft switching. Having multiple accounts can help you take advantage of higher interest rates, protect larger balances, and keep your money organized. Pay attention to bank fees, balance requirements, and dormancy rules when you open a new bank account while keeping your old one. Soft switching is the trend of opening a new bank account without closing your current one. This allows you to, say, try new account features or a higher interest rate without disrupting your financial setup. It’s OK to have…

Social Security Payments for January 2026: Here’s When to Expect Yours 2 minutes ago The Social Security Administration distributes benefits to almost 74 million people each month. Here is when to expect yours in January. Payments are primarily distributed according to beneficiaries’ birth dates. However, for those who began receiving retirement, spousal, or survivor benefits before May 1997, they typically receive their payments on the 3rd of every month. Supplemental Security Income, a program that provides additional income for people with disabilities and adults aged 65 and older with limited or no income, is distributed separately from Social Security benefits…

This live blog is refreshed periodically throughout the day with the latest updates from the market.To find the latest Stock Market Today threads, click here. Happy Tuesday. This is TheStreet’s Stock Market Today for Dec. 30, 2025. You can follow the latest updates on the market here in our daily live blog. Good morning. The dawn rises on the second to last trading day of 2025. This year has had its ups and downs, but this storied year will soon be history — and we aren’t just saying that. Barring some meltdown of biblical proportions, the U.S. markets will have notched a third consecutive…

posted its strongest weekly gain since 1998, surging 18%, driven by the “China factor”—specifically, Beijing’s announcement of mandatory export licensing effective from 2026. This echoes the 1979 silver squeeze, when inflation soared and the Hunt brothers attempted to corner the market. An ounce of silver now costs more than a barrel of , and daily trading volume in the reached USD 9.6 billion, a frenzy not seen since the peaks of 2011 and 2021. Octavio Costa of Crescat Capital even interprets this rally as a sign of hidden hyperinflation, largely overlooked by mainstream financial media. The shift in sentiment has…

John Lund/Photodisc/Getty ImagesFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Cloud-first approaches need to be rethought.AI contributes to escalating cloud costs.A hybrid model assures the best of both worlds.A decade or so ago, the debate between cloud and on-premises computing raged. The cloud handily won that battle, and it wasn’t even close. Now, however, people are rethinking whether the cloud is still their best choice for many situations. Also: Cloud-native computing is poised to explode, thanks to AI inference workWelcome to the age of AI, in which on-premises computing is starting to look good again.There’s a movement…

Key Takeaways Enroll in a 401(k) to capture employer matching. Use an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) for discounted company stock.Check for valuable workplace perks like tuition assistance, commuter benefits, and wellness reimbursements.Take advantage of tax credits, which reduce what you owe at tax time.Earn rewards on everyday spending with a credit card, but always pay your balance in full. The odds of winning the lottery are 1 in hundreds of millions. So what’s a smarter bet for getting “free money?” You can leverage your employer benefits, make the most of credit card rewards, and claim available tax credits. Here…

Key Takeaways “Coin roll hunters” are having a hard time getting rolls of pennies to search through now that the Mint is no longer making the coin.Many coin collectors hope the public discourse on the penny will inspire more people to take up the hobby. Ryan Quinlan belongs to five banks, but he can’t he get withdrawals in the denomination he wants? Why? Because, he says, he wants pennies by the thousands. For years, Quinlan has picked up boxes—usually containing 50 rolls, or 2,500 pennies—for “coin roll hunting,” in which he roots for rare finds like coins with wheat embossings…

Selling a business in New Jersey can be a big win if you plan it properly. NJ is dense, high-income, and packed with buyers, from local operators in Newark and Jersey City to strategic buyers from NYC and Philly. The flip side is that buyers in NJ tend to be thorough, and state-specific items like bulk sale notifications, sales tax clearance, and entity standing can slow down a deal if you leave them until the end. Want a realistic sale price range before you go to market? Start with a clean valuation so you don’t underprice your business or set…

The stars look like they’re finally aligning in 2026 for Home Depot — one of seven out-of-favor portfolio stocks that Jim Cramer has called a buy. Although shares are down nearly 11% year-to-date, three recent developments point toward a recovery for the home improvement retailer. 1. November’s cooler-than-expected consumer price index (CPI) is helping the case for further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts next year. While Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has presided over three rate cuts in 2025 and three others in 2024, he has been cautious and data-dependent. Powell’s term as Fed chief, however, ends in May. Investors are…

At TechCrunch Disrupt, three investors took the stage to dissect what makes — and breaks — a pitch deck. Jyoti Bansal, a founder-turned-investor; Medha Agarwal of Defy; and Jennifer Neundorfer of January Ventures shared with the crowd their candid views on what works in a pitch deck — and what doesn’t. Their biggest pet peeve? Buzzword overload. The more a founder says AI in the pitch, Agarwal said, the less AI the company likely uses. “The people who are doing things that are really innovative, they’ll talk about it, and it’s built in, but it’s not the core of their pitch,” she told the audience.   Bansal, who built and sold multiple companies…