Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways In 2025, individuals can give up to $19,000 per recipient tax-free under the annual gift tax exclusion. Certain gifts—like those to a spouse or direct payments for tuition or medical expenses—are generally exempt from the gift tax, regardless of the amount. Whether you’re giving your child cash for a down payment on a home or your best friend a luxury watch this holiday season, the gift tax exclusion allows you to give gifts annually under a certain threshold without incurring tax. In 2025, an individual can give a gift worth up to $19,000 per person without having to pay taxes…

Key Takeaways Nvidia rival Broadcom, which counts Google as a major customer, has seen its stock surge recently along with Alphabet’s. With its recent gains, the custom AI chipmaker’s stock is one of the top performers in the S&P 500 this year, outpacing Nvidia’s rise. Alphabet’s stock has been on a roll lately. One big beneficiary of that move? Broadcom. The rise in shares of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has helped inject some energy back into a flagging AI trade. That’s had knock-on effects on a range of tech stocks—though few have benefitted as much as Broadcom (AVGO), which counts Google…

Key Takeaways Sandisk will join the S&P 500 index on Friday, replacing Interpublic Group, which is set to be acquired by Omnicom Group.Shares of Sandisk have gained 500% since the company was spun off in February from Western Digital. Another deal has created space for a shake-up in the S&P 500, which is now set to welcome one of the year’s hottest stocks. S&P Dow Jones Indices late Monday announced that data storage company Sandisk (SNDK) would join the benchmark index before the start of trading Friday. The company, which was spun off from Western Digital (WDC) in February, is…

Major U.S. equities indexes gained Tuesday afternoon, extending Monday’s rally to start a holiday-shortened trading week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up over 1%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ticked 0.1% higher. Kohl’s (KSS) saw its shares surge 35% after the department store chain reported a surprise third-quarter profit. The results came a day after the retailer said it would remove the “interim” tag from CEO Michael Bender’s title to take over the top job permanently after its prior CEO lasted just months before being ousted over allegations of improper dealings with a vendor. Abercrombie…

Key Takeaways U.S. retail sales slowed in September and were worse than economists had expected, indicating that consumer momentum may be waning.Meanwhile, wholesale inflation rose as expected in the September data released on Tuesday, following a delay due to the government shutdown.Economists said the data could strengthen the case for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next month. Consumers lost some of their heat as summertime faded, which could help pave the way for another interest rate cut. Federal Reserve officials likely gained a clearer view of the economy in September after the release of data on Tuesday that had been…

Key Takeaways Famed investor Ray Dalio said it’s time to reconsider your safe-haven assets in light of recent government policies and economic changes. He advises investors to allocate 10% to 15% of their portfolios to gold. Dalio says that the primary risk for Treasury holders will be from continued money printing by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Dalio raised a red flag on Treasurys, telling those at a launch event for Abu Dhabi Finance Week that he was instead buying gold as his preferred safe haven. He argued that Treasurys are no longer the most secure investment due to the ballooning…

This article is an on-site version of our Unhedged newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every weekday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newslettersGood morning. Nvidia’s shares fell and Alphabet’s rose yesterday. Google has been quietly making its way towards becoming “the clear-cut AI leader”, our colleagues reported, including making inroads in chip design. Nvidia’s response: “We’re delighted by Google’s success — they’ve made great advances in AI.” At Unhedged, we are infuriated by our rivals’ successes, but you do you, Nvidia. Unhedged will be off for the rest…

By Abdel Fattah al-BurhanKhartoum, SudanSudan is a country with a long memory: Our history stretches back to the biblical Kingdom of Kush, one of Africa’s greatest civilizations. The war now waged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia is unlike anything we’ve ever faced. It is tearing the fabric of our society, uprooting millions, and placing the entire region at risk. Even so, Sudanese look to allies in the region and in Washington with hope. Sudan is fighting not only for its survival, but for a just peace that can only be achieved with the support of partners who recognize…

Key Takeaways Dick’s Sporting Goods missed sales estimates in the third quarter and said it plans to close an unspecified number of Foot Locker stores.Dick’s deal to acquire Foot Locker closed in September. Foot Locker’s new owner is doing some straightening up in the sneaker aisle. Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) announced plans to buy Foot Locker in May, and the deal closed in September. Analysts said that Foot Locker would likely benefit from being owned by a “highly capable and efficient operator” like Dick’s, singling out brands that collaborate heavily with Dick’s and Foot Locker already—like Nike (NKE),—as potential winners…

As labor shortages, geopolitical shifts and changing sourcing strategies roil the global supply chain, logistics providers are racing toward automation — and fast. Few companies are seeing that shift as clearly as Alpha Augmented Services, a Switzerland-based AI optimization platform that said demand for digital decision-making is accelerating across every major trade region. “We’re seeing inefficiencies every day, and the main driver is people and the decisions they’re taking,” CEO Massimo Rossetti said during an interview with FreightWaves. “The experience that used to anchor warehouses is disappearing. The workforce is changing, and companies need a way to capture decades of…