Author: Money Mechanics

Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsCourtesy of Built TechnologiesA 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.If you rent an apartment, you’ve probably “talked” to an AI agent to help get your leaky toilet fixed. But what if you’re a builder making a request for funds from your lender? That’s a much more complicated process — and there’s…

Jason Hiner/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysThe right add-ons can drastically improve your laptop’s user experience. The best accessories boost productivity and enhance comfort or usability. There is no shortage of gadgets out there, but ultimately, the best are up to personal preference. Laptops are a complete package, but that doesn’t mean the user experience can’t be improved. Not everyone can use a trackpad effectively, and being trapped by your laptop’s small display can hamper productivity. Luckily, there are some great accessories that can make using a laptop a whole lot better. Also: The top 10 laptops our readers bought this…

(Oil Price)– Petrobras will be paying higher dividends for the third quarter compared to the second quarter as production and earnings jumped sequentially, the Brazilian state-owned oil giant said. Petrobras booked a net income of $6 billion for the third quarter, up by 2.7% on the year and a 27.3% jump on the quarter, despite the decline in oil prices. Higher production and start-ups of new fields helped the Brazilian giant cushion the impact of the more than $10 per barrel decline in oil prices. Oil production from the Buzios field hit a record high of more than 1 million barrels per…

Key Takeaways Despite a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026, 39% of middle-class Americans fear Social Security benefits will be cut in the coming years, according to a recent report. Many retirees say the annual COLAs haven’t kept up with real-world costs, and polling shows broad skepticism that the raise is “enough.” Retirees now know the Social Security COLA for next year is 2.8% Payments reflecting the increase begin in January 2026, but the modest bump of $56 per month, on average, won’t likely quell deeper concerns about the program among. Many retired workers fear that their actual costs are rising…

The practice of parents paying their kids an allowance is still going strong.A recent Wells Fargo survey found that 71% of parents who have children between the ages of 5 and 17 give them an allowance, averaging $37 a week. However, about half of parents who responded to the survey struggle to discuss money in a way their children will understand.Offering your kids an allowance can be a great way to teach them financial responsibility and introduce conversations about spending and saving money. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. CLICK FOR FREE…

Tidying my drawers this week, I found some research notes I wrote in the late 1990s. It was my last job in stockbroking — I was an internet stock analyst at a time when technology, media and telecoms (TMT) shares were shooting skywards. By 2000, commentators were screaming “bubble”. That April my firm, Dresdner Kleinwort, alongside Goldman Sachs, led the IPO of Deutsche Telekom internet subsidiary T-Online. The market was jittery. Remarkably, the T-Online IPO got away successfully — its shares rising more than 40 per cent at the end of the first day. It was probably the last to do so.…

miners’ stocks have skyrocketed this year, hitting extraordinarily-overbought levels a few weeks ago. With gold in a similar exceedingly-stretched technical situation, that necessitated big-and-fast drawdowns in both which are now underway. Yet despite those gross excesses, gold stocks still never neared extreme valuations. Not being really-overvalued argues this powerful gold-stock bull will resume after this selloff. Gold stocks are 2025’s Cinderella story, shining as the belle of the market ball after being forgotten and neglected for years. The leading gold-stock ETF reclaimed some long-lost popularity as this year marched on. At its latest interim high in mid-October, GDX had soared…

Lambert quoted Pulte as saying: “I anticipate that the president will make a decision either this quarter or early next year as it relates to the IPO.” The future of Fannie and Freddie has been a hot topic in President Trump’s second term as the two government sponsored enterprises spend their 17th year in conservatorship following the great financial crisis. Releasing them from that conservatorship is complicated, since they now backstop about 70% of all mortgage loans in the U.S., providing liquidity and stability in the market. Privatizing Fannie and Freddie would take years, experts say, because it will require…

Rivian has given its founder and CEO RJ Scaringe a new performance-based stock award that could ultimately be worth around $5 billion if all the underlying goals are met, according to a new filing. Scaringe’s salary is also being doubled to $2 million per year, and he was given a 10% stake in Rivian’s newest spinout Mind Robotics, the filing shows. The announcement comes just one day after Tesla shareholders voted to approve a compensation package for its CEO Elon Musk that could be worth $1 trillion — the largest in corporate history. Unlike Musk’s pay package, Scaringe’s isn’t subject…

Key Takeaways Median monthly housing costs for homeowners with a mortgage rose to $2,035 in 2024, and median gross rent reached $1,487, outpacing the rate of inflation. These costs are 43% (homeowners) and 31% (renters) of the median household income, both higher than the 28% that financial experts recommend for housing costs. A household earning $5,000 per month ($60,000 per year) before taxes should aim to spend no more than $1,400 on monthly housing costs (rent or mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and utilities). Financial experts recommend spending no more than 28% of your monthly pre-tax income on housing costs. But…