Author: Money Mechanics

Pending home sales climbed in April both on a monthly and annual basis, signaling that the spring housing market is finding its footing despite rising mortgage rates and lingering geopolitical uncertainty.Contract signings were up 1.4% month over month and 3.2% year over year, according to the National Association of Realtors® Pending Home Sales report.NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the latest data signals market resilience despite economic headwinds. “Buyers are coming out with cautious optimism despite increasing economic uncertainty and a slight rise in mortgage rates,” he said. “Demand will easily be even higher once mortgage rates retreat to the levels they…

Key Takeaways Gold trades inside a recovery structure after a sharp repricing phase across metals The active framework is centered around 4530–4550, with 4575 acting as the first recovery barrier UK labor and Canada CPI add to the early-week macro mix, while real yields and USD positioning remain the dominant drivers The current Renko structure reflects stabilization after downside pressure, with momentum still rebuilding Macro Context: Labor, Inflation and the Real-Yield Channel enters the May 19 session after a volatile repricing phase shaped by stronger data, firm Treasury yields and a still-sensitive backdrop. The market is now moving into a…

Kevin Warsh, nominee for chairman of the Federal Reserve, is sworn in to his Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump will swear in Kevin Warsh, his hand-picked choice to lead the Federal Reserve, during a ceremony Friday, a White House official told CNBC.The move will end a process that started in the summer of 2025 and culminated last week with the Senate confirming Warsh in a nearly total party-line vote. The new chair will succeed Jerome Powell, whose term…

Marshall/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysThe Milton ANC is Marshall’s latest pair of on-ear headphones.They shouldn’t compromise on sound, durability, or battery life.The new Marshall headphones are priced at $229.Marshall has announced an all-new pair of on-ear headphones, the Milton ANC. They promise to deliver the signature sound experience without compromising battery life, in a portable, durable, and premium-looking design. While the Marshall Milton ANC look similar to the current-generation Marshall Major V on-ear headphones, they boast some crucial design and sound upgrades.For instance, they have larger ear cushions, which should help keep the sound in…

Building a family fortune requires a totally different playbook. Catch up on the latest from the Realtor.com® Generational Wealth series.When Lauren Miller and her husband sold their first home in 2023, they had what many Americans are chasing today: home equity.After six years of ownership in the Greater Boston area, the couple walked away from the sale of their condo with about $150,000 in proceeds. For a brief stretch, that money did exactly what homeownership is supposed to do—it gave them breathing room.“I slept really well at night knowing that … we had all this money in savings,” Miller says.But…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Editor’s note: This is the final article in a five-part series about all-asset retirement planning that covers such topics as using lifetime annuities and housing wealth, making the most of tax benefits, and managing investment portfolio risk. See below for links to the first four articles. In writing this series, we saved the topic of managing investment risks in a retirement plan for last. Not because it’s either least or most important, but rather, it’s an area where things could get complicated, particularly if it got into security selection or hedging strategies that go beyond our retiree’s…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Is your car out of warranty? Are you concerned about potentially expensive repairs? Have you heard spots on the radio or seen TV or internet ads from companies offering an extended auto warranty that covers all sorts of expensive repairs on vehicles with expired warranties?More importantly, are you tempted to buy one of these service contracts? If so, wait! If you do it, you could be ripped off.While some of these companies do, on occasion, pay for repairs, I’ve learned from experience that at least a portion of the extended-warranty industry is a scam. (The exceptions are…

Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (NYSE:FIS) is one of the best low priced technology stocks to buy according to hedge funds. On May 12, FIS announced that its Supply Chain Finance Platform, formerly known as Demica, was selected by Glencore PLC to power an inaugural $2.55 billion trade receivables securitization program for its oil and gas commodity business. This facility, backed by a consortium of six leading financial institutions, stands as one of the largest oil and gas trade receivables transactions ever executed. Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) Supply Chain Finance Platform Selected by Glencore for $2.55B Program Glencore used…

The Government of Jamaica has now successfully secured its one-third upsized target of $200 million of parametric named storm and hurricane insurance protection from its new World Bank facilitated IBRD CAR Jamaica 2026 catastrophe bond issuance, pricing the coverage within guidance, while ILS funds were the main supporters of this deal.It marks Jamaica’s third successful sponsorship of a catastrophe bond and also the largest amount of protection it has secured from the capital markets, in cat bond form, to-date. As we reported, Jamaica came back to market for its third catastrophe bond sponsorship at the end of April, initially targeting…

Congress will again take up its major bipartisan housing legislation package this week.The 21st Century Road to Housing Act, a wide-ranging housing reform package, will come to the House floor for debate Tuesday. Sources on both sides of the aisle tell Realtor.com® that some congressional leaders would like to see a vote Wednesday or Thursday.President Donald Trump has called for progress on the deadlocked bill. While he urged the House to pass the Senate’s version, he hasn’t weighed in on the House’s new amendments.The bill, one of the most comprehensive housing reform packages in decades, is a shot for both parties…