Author: Money Mechanics

(Image credit:  Dan Brouillette/Bloomberg via Getty Images)CEO Greg Abel made a major housecleaning of Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.B) stock portfolio in the first quarter. The holding company, of which Warren Buffett remains chairman, initiated stakes in Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Macy’s (M), and added to some other key positions. The big news, however, was a mass exodus from more than a dozen holdings.Abel now oversees Berkshire’s equity portfolio, although Buffett keeps his hand in and plays a key advisory role. Investment manager Ted Weschler also continues to manage perhaps 5% of Berkshire’s stock investments.But the late-2025 departure of former co-portfolio…

Please enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser or access the information through the links provided below. May 15, 2026 Federal Reserve Board names Jerome H. Powell as chair pro tempore; Powell will serve as chair pro tempore until Kevin M. Warsh is sworn in as the new chair For release at 5:00 p.m. EDT As Chair Jerome H. Powell’s term as chair concludes, and with the swearing in of Kevin M. Warsh as his successor pending, the Federal Reserve Board on Friday named Powell as chair pro tempore. This…

Amid AI disruption fears, some software leaders are actually strengthening their moats. Snowflake, Reddit, and Workday each possess unique assets that make them essential in the new tech landscape. Their current valuations present a compelling opportunity for investors seeking growth and resilience. While the rapid ascent of artificial intelligence has rattled investors across the software sector, it has also opened the door to buy high‑quality platforms at more reasonable prices. Snowflake, Reddit, and Workday sit squarely in that camp. Each has faced skepticism about how generative AI might change their business, yet all three are leaning into the shift, building…

Born and raised in Hampton Bays, NY, Taylor Jayne always imagined she’d build her life in the place that raised her. But like so many locals on the East End, the dream kept slipping further out of reach.  After a decade of renting in Southampton, most recently paying $2,200 a month for a one-bedroom apartment above a garage, Jayne decided she didn’t want to spend so much money paying someone else’s mortgage.  So at age 31, Jayne and her mom started hunting for starter homes online. With Southampton’s median home-sale price hovering around $1.7 million, the hunt was hard.  But…

(Image credit: Getty Images)After months of relative stability, the outlook for Social Security benefits has taken a sharp upward turn. The 2027 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) projection has surged to a forecasted 3.9%, up from its previous steady estimate of 2.8%, according to the latest data from the Senior Citizens League. This shift highlights a volatile economic landscape where persistent inflation continues to drive up essential costs for older Americans.In April 2026, the average Social Security benefit for retired workers stood at $2,081.16, according to the April Monthly Statistical Snapshot from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The average monthly…

Have you ever heard the expression, “You don’t know what you don’t know”?Let’s add: “Until you do”!Social Security is a one-time decision you must make correctly and is becoming increasingly complicated, especially if you are coordinating benefits with a spouse, if children are involved, you continue to work, you have an ex-spouse or you are a surviving spouse. Knowing your particular situation and what options are available to you is key. Listed below in plain English are areas to consider when developing your claiming strategy. Also, you may be able to help a friend because now “you know.”If you are…

Your paycheck may be growing, but “inflation contagion” is eating up those gains—and then some.Despite some frustrating macro headlines, there are real silver linings in the housing market worth paying attention to. Mortgage rates are holding steady, sellers are recalibrating their expectations, rents keep softening, and new research puts a hard number on what buyers can save in operating costs by choosing a new-construction home.Inflation is running hot—but markets saw it coming The latest economic data confirmed what many economists anticipated: Inflation is running hot in the wake of Middle East tensions, and the pressure isn’t confined to energy prices.Realtor.com®…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Stocks closed lower Friday as market participants took profits on red-hot tech stocks. Still, all three main indexes were higher on the week, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notching their seventh straight weekly wins and the Dow Jones Industrial Average bringing its weekly win streak to three.Treasury yields spiked heading into the weekend, which didn’t help the equity market either. The yield on the 2-year Treasury jumped 8.7 basis points to 4.079% and the 10-year Treasury yield climbed 14.2 basis points to 4.601%. It’s the highest level for both in nearly a year.”A bear-steepening yield…

Toyota Motor (TM) and Tesla (TSLA) are generally seen as rivals in the global auto business. Toyota is the manufacturing powerhouse, selling more than 11 million automobiles a year in almost every major market. Tesla is the electric vehicle disruptor that pushed the industry to embrace batteries, software and autonomous driving. But Toyota’s latest earnings report underscores how the relationship between the two is more complicated than just a simple rivalry. Toyota announced operational income of around $24 billion for fiscal 2026, below Wall Street estimates of about $26 billion. More importantly, the car company anticipated an operating profit of…

Accessible Keys for Video [Space Bar] toggles play/pause; [Right/Left Arrows] seeks the video forwards and back (5 sec ); [Up/Down Arrows] increase/decrease volume; [M] toggles mute on/off; [F] toggles fullscreen on/off (Except IE 11); The [Tab] key may be used in combination with the [Enter/Return] key to navigate and activate control buttons, such as caption on/off. Introduction Thank you, President Schmid, for the invitation to join you today, and thanks also to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City for hosting this conference for community bankers on the future of banking. While I am not able to be with you…