Author: Money Mechanics

Some time ago, I had a prospective client meeting with a gentleman whose daughter had special needs. The goal of his investment strategy was to leave enough money for her.That makes sense, but what didn’t make sense was his “how” — he planned to live off dividends and pass the principal along to her.Even if you can afford to do this, I don’t think it’s advisable, for a few reasons. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. CLICK FOR FREE ISSUE Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best…

Participation trophies don’t put food on the table when you’re retired. Rather than relying on such feel-good gimmicks, high earners are better served by mathematical stoicism in their risk tolerance and capacity decisions.Sure, that might sound like a mouthful, but it just means taking a disciplined approach to saving and investing both before and during your retirement.Why risk tolerance questionnaires failHere’s the problem: currents within the investment community have led people down a primrose path of unintentional deception. Are you an unsuspecting victim of this? If you’ve ever taken a risk tolerance test, you may be.“Trying to determine willingness to…

Key Takeaways Consumers expect inflation to get worse, according to surveys, but many economists and Fed officials are optimistic that it will ease.A relatively tame inflation report in September gave ammunition to inflation optimists, but some of its details pointed to sustained upward pressure on prices.Inflation in September was held in check by a surprisingly low increase in a key housing cost measure, which is unlikely to be repeated, while core goods prices rose at a much faster rate. Consumers fear that the persistently high price increases plaguing their budgets may not get better anytime soon, according to a recent…

Key Takeaways Meta is set to release its third-quarter earnings report after the closing bell today, with Wall Street analysts widely bullish on the social media giant’s stock heading into the results. Meta is seen reporting record revenues on gains in its ad businesses, and investors will be eager to hear updates on the company’s AI plans. Meta is set to release its third-quarter earnings report after the closing bell Wednesday, with investors likely to be watching closely for more signs that its AI spending is paying off. Compared to many of its big tech peers—some of which are also set…

KEY TAKEAWAYS Student loan borrowers who qualified for loan forgiveness in 2025 will not have to pay taxes on their discharged loans.Borrowers must have made a certain number of payments and be on an eligible repayment plan to have their loans dismissed. While the Department of Education has resumed student loan forgiveness, you may still need to complete a few tasks to ensure your loan is dismissed without having to pay federal taxes. The Department of Education resumed granting student loan forgiveness on most income-driven repayment plans earlier this month. However, there is no confirmed date for when qualifying borrowers…

Key Takeaways Fintech firm Fiserv’s third-quarter results missed analysts’ expectations, and the company lowered its 2025 guidance significantly.The Milwaukee-based company also announced a new CFO and board changes, as well as plans to move its listing to Nasdaq with a new ticker. Fiserv shares are on pace for their worst day ever Wednesday after the fintech company released a disappointing earnings report and announced key leadership changes. The Milwaukee-based company, which provides payments processing and digital banking services, reported adjusted earnings of $2.04 per share on revenue that grew 1% year-over-year to $5.26 billion. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had…

Key Takeaways According to surveys from Charles Schwab and Fidelity, respondents’ retirement confidence was at 67% and only 34% felt it’s “very likely” they will hit their retirement savings goals.The groups surveyed said they expect to need anywhere from $1.26 million to $1.6 million in retirement, close to Investopedia’s own projection from earlier this year. Americans are growing increasingly uncertain about their retirement plans amid persistent inflation and mounting concerns about the future of Social Security. In a trio of recent surveys from Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and Northwestern Mutual, Americans’ confidence in their ability to retire, retire comfortably, and the…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping entire industries, but few investors realize the scale of energy required to power this transformation. The Data Center Solutions Market is projected to explode from $448.95 billion in 2025 to $1,105.28 billion by 2030, a staggering compound annual growth rate of 19.7%. This surge is driven by the need for facilities capable of handling AI workloads, including training and inference for deep learning models. Yet this rapid expansion comes with a cost. U.S. electric grids are now under pressure from energy-hungry data centers. Policymakers are even considering emergency measures to bump these facilities off grids during power shortages.​…

Wednesday promises to be a rollercoaster ride for the markets, with the potential for significant volatility and opportunity. First, during market hours, the financial world will hang on every word from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Then, once the closing bell rings, the real fireworks begin as a trio of tech titans—Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta—report their highly anticipated earnings. Looking for actionable trade ideas? Subscribe now to unlock access to InvestingPro’s AI-selected stock winners! Wednesday promises to deliver one of the most frenetic and market-moving trading sessions of the year, combining a highly anticipated and Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference…

Speaking during RenaissanceRe’s Q3 2025 earnings call today, Kevin J. O’Donnell, President and Chief Executive Officer of the firm suggested that third-party capital is not likely to be the primary driver of pricing in 2026, adding that pricing in 2026 will be driven more by reinsurers’ comfort with return levels in the property catastrophe segment.In its Q3 2025 results, the global reinsurer and third-party capital manager reported a 24.1% rise year-on-year in fee income earned from its reinsurance joint-venture vehicles and insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds. During the call, O’Donnell was asked whether RenRe is seeing signs that third-party investor interest…