Author: Money Mechanics

Vibe coding has taken the tech industry by storm, and it’s not just the Lovables and Replits of the world that are winning. The startups building the infrastructure behind them are cashing in too.  Supabase, the open-source database platform that’s become the backend of choice for the vibe-coding world, raised $100 million at a $5 billion valuation just months after closing $200 million at $2 billion. But co-founder and CEO Paul Copplestone has a surprising strategy: he keeps turning down million-dollar enterprise contracts from deep-pocketed but demanding customers. He’s betting instead that if he sticks to his own product vision, the world will come to him. So far, he’s been right.   Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Julie Bort sat down with Copplestone to explore Supabase’s rise and what…

(BOE Report) – A Reliance Industries joint venture will invest $11 billion over five years to develop 1 gigawatt of AI data capacity in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, the companies and the state’s government said on Wednesday. Canadian multinational company Brookfield Corporation and U.S.-based real estate investment trust Digital Realty are the other partners involved in the joint venture, called Digital Connexion. The project aims to establish an AI-native data centre campus across 400 acres of land in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam city. In October, Google disclosed it will build AI data centre capacity in Visakhapatnam over five…

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a private American corporation that self-regulates financial institutions, found in its 2025 National Financial Capability Study that 64% of Americans think they have a high level of financial knowledge. But are Americans as good with money as they think they are? The Confidence Gap: When Self-Perception Meets Reality Despite the confidence Americans expressed in their financial savvy, they are, as a whole, engaging in more and more risky financial behavior. The study finds, for example, that since 2021, the number of people who claim to always pay their credit card bill in full each…

Key Takeaways Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving and is one of the largest shopping days of the year in the United States.Cyber Monday was created in 2005 by Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation.Cyber Monday now sits within a broader lineup of shopping days that includes Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. What Exactly Is Cyber Monday? Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving. It’s a day when retailers roll out some of their best online deals all year. No matter what gifts are on your holiday wish list, you’re likely to find a deal for…

Key Takeaways Loyalty programs, student discounts, and offseason travel can help budget-conscious travelers cut their expenses.Most Gen Zers—63%—spent money on travel in 2024.About 28% of Gen Zers say they’re unable to pay all their necessary expenses every month, so careful budgeting is essential for these trips. Generation Z may not be the wealthiest generation, but that hasn’t prevented them from exploring the world. Surveys show that nearly two-thirds of Zoomers spent some of their limited funds on travel in 2024. The generation of digital natives has learned to use the internet effectively to find the best deals and destinations, despite…

The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) will usher in many changes. The most significant involve updates to the U.S. tax code in regard to charitable deductions for philanthropically minded Americans.High-net-worth donors must contend with stipulations coming into effect on January 1, 2026:New floor on deductions for itemizers. Philanthropic donations at or below 0.5% of a filer’s adjusted gross income will not provide any deductions. 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 of expert advice on investing, taxes,…

On the heels of the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, the holiday shopping season is here, and Americans are not letting recent economic pressures stop them from making their list and checking it twice.According to a survey from ecommerce marketing company Omnisend, Americans are expected to spend nearly $80 billion on Black Friday today and Cyber Monday.That’s a $20 billion increase from last year. But with tens of thousands of job layoffs, mounting credit card debt and lingering inflation, how are Americans affording this? From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor.…

This holiday shopping season, Home Depot is looking to regain some momentum after a disappointing year. The home improvement retailer’s Black Friday promotions, which end Wednesday, are aimed at driving traffic after a soft third quarter in which rival Lowe’s outperformed on same-store sales. Both companies were cautious with their forward guidance. “I admit that I’m in Home Depot for my Charitable Trust, and I actually wish I were in Lowe’s ,” Jim Cramer said on CNBC last week, shortly after Lowe’s post-earnings stock pop. However, Jim has said that Home Depot is the best play on lower rates in the…

Zooey Liao/ZDNETWhen is Black Friday? Black Friday 2025 is today, Friday, Nov. 28. Cyber Monday follows shortly after on Monday, Dec. 1. When do Black Friday deals start and end?Black Friday deals at many retailers last far beyond the one day of shopping. Most Black Friday sales are already happening, and will last through Cyber Monday, Dec. 1, though some will come and go. Here are the current and upcoming sale dates from major retailers: Amazon Black Friday Sale: Nov. 2 – Dec. 1.Walmart Black Friday Sale: Nov. 25-30. Deals available online only from Nov. 25–27, followed by online and in stores from…

Key Takeaways The average student loan debt in the U.S. is almost $39,000 in 2025. Those between the ages of 50 and 61 have the highest average federal student loan debt at $46,556. About 42% of students who borrow money for college are still paying off their loans 20 years later.  The borrowers carrying the biggest student loan balances aren’t 22-year-olds fresh out of college. They’re in their 50s. Borrowers between 50 and 61 years old owe an average of just under $47,000 in federal student loans, the highest of any age group, as of the fourth quarter 2024. That’s more…