Author: Money Mechanics

Refresh 2026-05-18T20:37:47.321Z Stocks close mixed to start Nvidia week All three main indexes opened higher Monday, but only one was in positive territory at the close. Tech stocks were the biggest decliners as bond yields continued to climb, while energy stocks outperformed as oil prices jumped to their highest level since early April.At the close, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 0.5% at 26,090 and the broader S&P 500 was off 0.07% at 7,403. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3% at 49,686. Nvidia (NVDA) also closed lower today, falling 1.3% ahead of Wednesday’s earnings announcement.”We fully expect the leading supplier of AI silicon will again exceed estimates and guide above…

(Image credit: Getty Images)As the 2026 travel season hits its stride, the allure of the open sea is being met with a sobering reality check. While most travelers are busy packing formal wear and sunscreen, recent reports of Norovirus clusters on major lines and localized Hantavirus warnings have shifted the conversation from excursions to endurance. For those relying on Medicare, the risk isn’t just physical — it’s fiscal.Beyond the discomfort of a “stomach bug” or the severity of respiratory distress lies a complex web of “territorial waters” and a “Six-Hour Rule” that could leave you responsible for a five-figure medical…

(Image credit: Getty Images)All three main indexes opened higher Monday, but only one was in positive territory at the close. Tech stocks were the biggest decliners as bond yields continued to climb, while energy stocks outperformed as oil prices jumped to their highest level since early April.At the close, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 0.5% at 26,090 and the broader S&P 500 was off 0.07% at 7,403. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3% at 49,686.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures, meanwhile, climbed roughly 3% to settle at $108.66 per barrel. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger…

Gold (GC=F) June futures opened at $4,547.60 per troy ounce on Monday, down 0.3% from the previous closing price of $4,561.90. Gold moved even lower in early trading, falling to $4,541.50 by 6:47 a.m. ET. Silver (SI=F) July futures opened at $76.21 per ounce on Monday, 1.7% lower than the previous closing price. The price of silver edged down in early trading to $75.95 by 6:47 a.m. ET. Once again, the president’s Truth Social posts are part of the headlines this morning. Last week, it was President Trump’s weekend reaction to a peace proposal from Iran, calling it “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!”…

Brent crude () is trading at $110.08 in the New York session Monday after touching $112 earlier in the day, with the violent reversal lower coming on the back of an Iranian news agency report that the U.S. had accepted a temporary waiver on sanctions during ongoing negotiations. The single-day decline from $112.60 yesterday morning to current levels represents a 2.23% pullback, but the bigger picture remains unambiguous: is up 18.03% on the month versus $93.27 one month ago, and up an extraordinary 67.14% year-over-year against $65.86 on this date in 2025. That $44 absolute price increase over twelve months…

Higher mortgage rates, rising gas prices and continued economic uncertainty over the war with Iran are all still weighing on potential homebuyers. Builders, however, are feeling slightly better about their businesses, seeing a potential late spring surge.After a sharp drop in April, homebuilder sentiment in the market for single-family homes rose 3 points in May to a readout of 37 on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Housing economists had expected the index to remain unchanged month over month. Still, anything below 50 on the index is considered negative sentiment. The index stood at 34…

Jack Wallen/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysConfiguring the Hyprland window manager is challenging.I wanted to see how well AI would perform at creating a .conf file.There’s an important lesson to be learned here.This is the year I realized how much I enjoy tiling window managers, and Hyprland is my favorite so far.If you’ve never experienced a tiling window manager, know that they aren’t exactly for the faint of heart. They are driven by keyboard shortcuts, of which there are a lot to memorize. On top of that, most of them require configuration via text…

(World Oil) – Glenfarne Group and ConocoPhillips Alaska have signed a gas sales precedent agreement supporting Phase One development of the Alaska LNG project, adding another long-term North Slope supply commitment to the proposed pipeline system. Under the 30-year agreement, ConocoPhillips will supply North Slope natural gas volumes for the first phase of the Alaska LNG project, which includes construction of a 739-mile, 42-in. pipeline designed to transport gas to Alaska consumers. According to Glenfarne, the agreement provides sufficient committed gas volumes to support a Phase One final investment decision and meet projected in-state energy demand. The Alaska LNG project is being developed in…

A woman in her 80s sitting on a sofa at home with a health care aide. gettyIn its efforts to prevent alleged widespread fraud in Medicare, federal regulators have blocked for at least six months any new home health and hospice providers from participating in these federal programs. This strategy may succeed in grabbing headlines but it won’t stem corruption and may limit access to care for many who need it. In the name of fraud prevention, the initiative appears part of a broader Trump Administration effort to restrict access to federal health and long-term care, especially through Medicaid. In…

Homebuilder sentiment perked up in May as the market for new single-family homes improved and a bill aimed at boosting housing supply gained traction in Congress.Confidence in sales conditions, expectations for the next three months, and buyer traffic all increased in May, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.The index improved three points to 37 for the month. But the gauge, which rates builder confidence from a scale of 0 to 100, still remains firmly in bearish territory.Builders have been largely cautious this year. The index fell to 38 points in March, then 34 points in…