Author: Money Mechanics

Stock futures edged lower Thursday after President Donald Trump signed a funding bill to end the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history.  Futures associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.1% after the blue-chip index set an intraday high and closed above 48000 for the first time Wednesday. Those affiliated with the tech-heavy Nasdaq and benchmark S&P 500 were a respective 0.3% and 0.2% lower. Late Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to fund the federal government until Jan. 30 and end the record 43-day shutdown, which President Trump then signed into law. The shutdown delayed paychecks for federal workers, held…

Key Takeaways Brokerages are starting to roll out copy trading on their platforms for U.S. users. eToro founder Johnathan “Yoni” Assia said its copy-trading product would be “an important driver of growth in the U.S.” “Copy + paste” is becoming a trending investment strategy. The masses have long tried to emulate legendary investors like Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch, religiously reading their shareholder letters and tracking their portfolio changes in the hopes of capturing some of their returns. Copy trading, also known as mirror trading, isn’t new, but brokerages see opportunity in rebooting the idea—powered by a social networks and…

Key Takeaways Settling in an affordable state can help you stretch pension, Social Security, and retirement account dollars. Mississippi ranks as a top state for retirees, given its combined monthly housing, food, and transportation costs.Virginia, meanwhile, offers a low monthly cost of living with high average annual retirement incomes.Other top states for stretching retirement dollars include New Mexico, Arizona, Georgia, and Texas. Many retirees struggle with financial instability. In fact, nearly half (45%) of households headed by those 60 and older don’t make enough income to cover basic living expenses, and 80% couldn’t weather a serious financial emergency “without falling into…

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) is one of the best undervalued stocks to buy under $50. Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) received a rating update from RBC Capital on November 3, with the firm lifting the price target to EUR 8.50 from EUR 7.50 while keeping a Sector Perform rating on the shares. Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) Is A European Bank That’s Not A Loser, Says Jim Cramer The rating followed Banco Santander, S.A.’s (NYSE:SAN) release of results for the nine months of 2025, with revenue stable at €46.3 billion and record net fee income, up 4% year-over-year. Operating expenses, however, dropped by…

U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON DC 20585 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 12, 2025 The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published its November Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) with forecasts of trends across the energy sector through 2026. Key takeaways from the November STEO are below. U.S. energy market indicators 2024 2025 2026 Brent crude oil spot price (dollars per barrel) $81 $69 $55 Retail gasoline price (dollars per gallon) $3.30 $3.10 $3.00 U.S. crude oil production (million barrels per day) 13.2 13.6 …

In a recent panel discussing how reinsurance strategies can expand insurance access in India, Mahipal Reddy, Executive Director, International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), GIFT City, Gujarat, suggested that the analytical framework already set in place for catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS) will drive the popularity of parametric solutions.At the 29th Federation of the Afro-Asian Insurers & Reinsurers (FAIR) General Assembly in Mumbai, India, experts and leaders discussed closing India’s insurance protection gap. According to Satyajit Tripathy, Member Distribution, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, accessibility, awareness and affordability are the three As that will help close the…

Eoneren/E+ via Getty ImagesFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysA recent paper found that AI can experience “brain rot.”Models underperform after ingesting “junk data.” Users can test for these four warning signs. You know that oddly drained yet overstimulated feeling you get when you’ve been doomscrolling for too long, like you want to take a nap and yet simultaneously feel an urge to scream into your pillow? Turns out something similar happens to AI.Last month, a team of AI researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, and Purdue University published a paper advancing what they call “the…

(Oil Price) – Chevron plans to grow its free cash flow into the next decade as it focuses on higher profits and returns to shareholders instead of growing oil and production, the U.S. supermajor’s five-year plan to 2030 showed on Wednesday. Chevron will raise output, but its primary focus will be on boosting free cash flow and earnings per share via deeper cost cuts, synergies from the Hess acquisition, and reduced capital expenditure (capex). “Chevron expects to maintain capital and cost discipline while investing to extend cash flow growth into the next decade,” the second-biggest U.S. oil and gas firm said today. The…

Key Takeaways The AI rally has stumbled in recent weeks as investors have questioned whether big tech’s massive AI investments are inflating an AI bubble.Some investors argue tech giants are spending too much, too fast on a technology that is unlikely to generate a healthy return on investment anytime soon. AI bulls argue bubble concerns are overblown. Nvidia is slated to report quarterly results next Wednesday. It could be a make-or-break moment for the bull market.  Anxiety about AI is running high on Wall Street heading into Nvidia’s (NVDA) print. AI stocks weighed on the broader market last week, when…

Eric Payne (left) and Ron Mencias (right).Courtesy of Payne & Mencias Group Team Name: Payne & Mencias Group Firm: Merrill Wealth Management Senior Members: Eric Payne, Ron Mencias Location: Indianapolis, IN Team Custodied Assets: $3.2 billion Background: Eric Payne and Ron Mencias met as young CPAs at Ernst & Young in 1997. Payne, a Butler University graduate and CPA, joined Merrill in 1999. Mencias—born and raised in Indianapolis and Notre Dame tennis alum—left EY in 1999 for PaineWebber’s training program, earned his MBA at night from Butler University, then teamed up with Payne at Merrill in 2002. Today the Payne…