Author: Money Mechanics

A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.The U.S. office market has been in a tailspin since the start of the pandemic, when workers were first ordered home. Some, especially younger workers, never came back — leaving many office buildings half full or empty. The overall vacancy rate for offices, however, fell 20 basis points in the…

Hugging Face co-founder and CEO Clem Delangue says we’re not in an AI bubble, but an “LLM bubble” — and it may be poised to pop. At an Axios event on Tuesday, the entrepreneur behind the popular AI platform and community site agreed that bubble talk is today’s “trillion dollar question,” but said he doesn’t believe AI’s future is at risk if the bubble bursts. Instead, as Delangue sees it, it’s large language models (LLMs) — like those powering ChatGPT, Gemini, and other chatbots — are receiving outsized attention and that attention may not last. “I think we’re in an…

Key Takeaways Workers filed 232,000 unemployment claims the week ending Oct. 18, the Department of Labor said.The number was unusual mainly because we weren’t supposed to see it: the department said the release, the first after the government shutdown ended, was a mistake. A week in late October, 232,000 people filed for unemployment, an uptick from 219,000 in late September and a remarkable figure for the simple fact that we know what it is.That’s according to the Department of Labor, which released the figure for unemployment claims made the week of Oct. 18 on a website tracking historical data Tuesday.…

Key Takeaways Fewer homeowners are hiring contractors for repairs and renovation, and some are selecting less expensive countertops, Home Depot executives said Tuesday.The retailer described this as a sign that its relatively affluent customer base may be growing fatigued. Homeowners aren’t taking a siesta when it comes to projects—but they might be losing steam. Contractors and home improvement professionals are adding fewer projects to their pipelines, and their clients are choosing less expensive materials, Home Depot (HD) CEO Edward Decker said Tuesday. The shifts aren’t tied to a given income group, Decker said on a conference call, but the big-box…

Key Takeaways The Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates to boost the job market.Many of the labor market’s persistent problems, such as a shrinking workforce and the rise of AI, cannot be solved by rate cuts. The Federal Reserve’s current round of interest rate cuts is meant to boost hiring, but experts say they may not be able to fix what’s wrong with the job market.The Federal Reserve officials cut their benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point at each of their last two meetings, and there’s a chance they’ll do it again when they next…

Half a century might seem like forever to own your home, but a 50-year mortgage is the Trump administration’s latest proposal to address the U.S. housing affordability crisis.Earlier this month, President Donald Trump released a graphic on his social media platform Truth Social titled “Great American Presidents.” Inside the graphic were the words “30-Year Mortgage” above a photograph of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and “50-Year Mortgage” above a photo of Trump.The post sparked debate as industry experts and elected officials weighed in on a proposed 50-year loan term to help first-time buyers afford a home. From just $107.88 $24.99…

As the holidays approach and prices for everyday essentials remain high, discussions about new government stimulus payments have once again captured public attention.Online searches for “stimulus checks” are climbing, and speculation about government payments has intensified after President Donald Trump revived one of his attention-grabbing ideas: sending some U.S. taxpayers $2,000 “tariff dividend” checks.Trump claims his tariffs on imported goods have generated enough money to fund the plan and to pay down some of the deficit. However, since tariffs are taxes, U.S. consumers are bearing much of the burden of the administration’s trade policy, and some fiscal experts say the…

Year-end is when many employees and executives choose how much of next year’s income to put away for the future via nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans.gettyNonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans let employees and executives defer income for retirement or other purposes beyond the yearly limits on deferrable amounts in qualified retirement plans, such as your 401(k). It’s crunch time now for NQDC plan deferrals. Year-end is when most companies require you to choose how much of next year’s pay to put away for the future.At year-end 2025, you have at least three major planning considerations that affect whether and how…

Key Takeaways Bitcoin’s price has dropped by more than $30,000 in the last six weeks, a reminder that the most popular cryptocurrency’s value is highly unpredictable. Even when conditions seem favorable, crypto assets can be volatile because of limited supply, concentrated ownership among “whales,” and hair-trigger market sentiment. Bitcoin’s volatility presents great risks for everyday investors, but also the chance for gains from significant price swings. Just this fall alone, the price of Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, has plunged by more than a quarter (28%), dropping below $90,000 before rebounding about 4%. At 2 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, the price…

A Roth IRA conversion is one of the most powerful moves a retirement saver can make, offering the promise of tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals forever. A Roth conversion allows you to move pre-tax money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth IRA, fundamentally changing how your retirement savings will be taxed. Unlike contributions, there are no income limits on conversions, making them a key tool for high-net-worth individuals and those planning for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs).From the tax implications on the conversion itself to the separate withdrawal rules that apply, understanding this financial maneuver is essential for…