Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways A Fed rate cut is expected this month, but top high-yield savings and money market accounts still pay up to 5.00%, while the best CD rate stands at 4.45%. Brokerage and robo-advisor cash accounts currently offer up to 4.04%, while U.S. Treasuries yield as much as 4.60%. See how today’s top rates stack up across all the options. The full article continues below these offers from our partners. Cash Yields Reach up to 5.00%—For Now It’s always smart to make sure your money is earning all it could, since the right account could add hundreds more to your…

It’s been another busy week on the financial front with Kiplinger covering he shutdown, Medicare and vehicle recalls, among other stories. But how much do you remember about the week’s financial and business news? Our editors have put together a quiz to test your knowledge… (And if you slip up on an answer or two, you can follow the links below the quiz to refresh your memory.)If that’s not enough, test yourself with last week’s quiz, or dig into our quiz archive and try one of our retirement, tax or investing-themed quizzes.Read more on our featured topicsRead more on the…

Stocks opened lower and bounced around the breakeven line before optimism about U.S.-China relations and earnings from banks both big and small took hold among buyers during the last session of the trading week. Trade war and credit concerns ebbed, and a risk-on mood prevailed as a volatile five days ended on positive notes.In an interview with Fox Business, President Donald Trump acknowledged that a maximum 157% tariffs on exports to the U.S. from China can’t go on for long. “It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is,” Trump said. “It’s probably not, you know, it could stand. But…

The Department of Education is resuming student loan forgiveness under all current income-driven repayment plans. In a court filing on Friday afternoon, the department confirmed that it will start processing loan discharges under the Income-Based Repayment, Pay As You Earn, and the Income-Contingent Repayment plans. The Department of Education said it will also ensure that borrowers who reached the qualifications for loan discharge in 2025 will not pay taxes on it. Earlier this year, the department paused forgiveness under all income-driven repayment plans to comply with a court ruling. That means that borrowers who had met all the eligibility requirements…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The motto in markets right now is “shut up and take my money”, as the fear of missing out seeps into almost every major asset class. Nowhere is that clearer than in corporate bonds.This market has struggled for the mainstream limelight this year, bumped out of view by the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut that is stocks. But just as stocks have ripped higher over the past six months, corporate credit is on the receiving end of rampant investor demand too.The whole way in…

29% of U.S. homebuyers are paying in cash, down essentially unchanged from last year and down from a peak of nearly 35% two years ago due to declining mortgage rates.  The typical down payment is climbing, partly because in today’s expensive market, many buyers are affluent. It now sits at a record $70,000, and in percent terms, it’s 19%—up slightly from last year.  All-cash payments are most common in Florida, and down payments are biggest in the Bay Area and Southern California.  Just under three in 10 (28.8%) U.S. homebuyers paid in all cash in August, down just incrementally from…

Key Takeaways Shares of a major credit card issuer surged on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, as spending by wealthy cardholders helped drive record revenues, while a retreat in gold prices pressured a top miner.American Express shares climbed to a record high after the company posted strong results, bolstered by a refresh of its high-end credit cards and strong spending by affluent consumers.Gold prices fell from record levels, weighing on shares of the world’s largest gold producer. Shares of a major credit card issuer moved higher as a refresh of high-end cards and strong spending among affluent customers helped drive a…

(Oil Price)– U.S. LNG developer NextDecade Corporation has decided to invest $6.7 billion in the expansion of its Rio Grande LNG facility in Texas in another boost to America’s LNG export capacity in the coming years. NextDecade has just announced a positive final investment decision (FID) on Train 5 at Rio Grande LNG, closed financial transactions to fully fund Train 5 and related infrastructure, and issued full notice to proceed to Bechtel Energy for Train 5. Project costs for Train 5 and related infrastructure are expected to total approximately $6.7 billion, including engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) costs, owner’s costs, contingencies, financing…

We have often discussed ways to make trading more efficient for investors. A lot centered around proposals to trade at more economically appropriate ticks, either through stock splits or tick size reform.Today, we revisit this topic in three sections:Revisit our list of stocks we said had the highest trading inefficiencies for investors. As it turns out, many have split, and investors are saving around $500,000 each day as a result.Update our list of stocks where splits would save investors the most.Look at new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules reforming round lot sizes that also (at least partially) fix…

Key Takeaways Consumers will pay $592 billion for President Donald Trump’s import taxes by the end of 2025, according to a recent analysis.Companies are passing through higher trade costs to consumers, and that’s pushing up the cost of living, according to separate reports by Goldman Sachs and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. U.S. consumers are footing much of the bill for tariffs, and are likely to pick up an increasing share of the import taxes in the coming months, several separate economic analyses said this week. President Donald Trump and White House officials have denied that his import taxes…