Author: Money Mechanics

(Image credit: Getty Images)A quality cell phone plan can help older adults stay connected with loved ones, access important information on the go and call for help in an emergency, making it an important safety precaution as well as a modern necessity.With the Mint Mobile 55+ plan, you can get unlimited talk and text and 5 GB of data for just $15 per month. The plan runs on T-Mobile’s nationwide network and offers key benefits like free scam protection and international calling.Before you sign up, we’ll help you review your phone habits and data usage and walk you through the…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldThis article is an on-site version of our Unhedged newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every weekday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newslettersGood morning. The very last American penny was minted yesterday. Its fatal sin: costing nearly 4 cents to make. Absence may make the (consumer’s) heart grow fonder, though. Businesses will eventually have to round up prices to the nearest nickel, which the Richmond Fed estimates could…

Being a loyal customer is usually considered a good thing. Many brands reward loyalty with discounts, perks, or special offers that make you feel valued for sticking around. It’s a relationship built on trust and the idea that long-term customers should benefit from their commitment.But when it comes to car insurance, that loyalty can sometimes work against you. Staying with the same insurer year after year might actually be costing you more. Instead of rewarding your consistency, some insurance companies quietly raise your rates over time.This practice, often called a loyalty penalty, means you could be paying higher premiums simply…

Stock futures edged lower Thursday after President Donald Trump signed a funding bill to end the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history.  Futures associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.1% after the blue-chip index set an intraday high and closed above 48000 for the first time Wednesday. Those affiliated with the tech-heavy Nasdaq and benchmark S&P 500 were a respective 0.3% and 0.2% lower. Late Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to fund the federal government until Jan. 30 and end the record 43-day shutdown, which President Trump then signed into law. The shutdown delayed paychecks for federal workers, held…

Key Takeaways Brokerages are starting to roll out copy trading on their platforms for U.S. users. eToro founder Johnathan “Yoni” Assia said its copy-trading product would be “an important driver of growth in the U.S.” “Copy + paste” is becoming a trending investment strategy. The masses have long tried to emulate legendary investors like Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch, religiously reading their shareholder letters and tracking their portfolio changes in the hopes of capturing some of their returns. Copy trading, also known as mirror trading, isn’t new, but brokerages see opportunity in rebooting the idea—powered by a social networks and…

Key Takeaways Settling in an affordable state can help you stretch pension, Social Security, and retirement account dollars. Mississippi ranks as a top state for retirees, given its combined monthly housing, food, and transportation costs.Virginia, meanwhile, offers a low monthly cost of living with high average annual retirement incomes.Other top states for stretching retirement dollars include New Mexico, Arizona, Georgia, and Texas. Many retirees struggle with financial instability. In fact, nearly half (45%) of households headed by those 60 and older don’t make enough income to cover basic living expenses, and 80% couldn’t weather a serious financial emergency “without falling into…

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) is one of the best undervalued stocks to buy under $50. Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) received a rating update from RBC Capital on November 3, with the firm lifting the price target to EUR 8.50 from EUR 7.50 while keeping a Sector Perform rating on the shares. Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) Is A European Bank That’s Not A Loser, Says Jim Cramer The rating followed Banco Santander, S.A.’s (NYSE:SAN) release of results for the nine months of 2025, with revenue stable at €46.3 billion and record net fee income, up 4% year-over-year. Operating expenses, however, dropped by…

U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON DC 20585 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 12, 2025 The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published its November Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) with forecasts of trends across the energy sector through 2026. Key takeaways from the November STEO are below. U.S. energy market indicators 2024 2025 2026 Brent crude oil spot price (dollars per barrel) $81 $69 $55 Retail gasoline price (dollars per gallon) $3.30 $3.10 $3.00 U.S. crude oil production (million barrels per day) 13.2 13.6 …

In a recent panel discussing how reinsurance strategies can expand insurance access in India, Mahipal Reddy, Executive Director, International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), GIFT City, Gujarat, suggested that the analytical framework already set in place for catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS) will drive the popularity of parametric solutions.At the 29th Federation of the Afro-Asian Insurers & Reinsurers (FAIR) General Assembly in Mumbai, India, experts and leaders discussed closing India’s insurance protection gap. According to Satyajit Tripathy, Member Distribution, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, accessibility, awareness and affordability are the three As that will help close the…

Eoneren/E+ via Getty ImagesFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysA recent paper found that AI can experience “brain rot.”Models underperform after ingesting “junk data.” Users can test for these four warning signs. You know that oddly drained yet overstimulated feeling you get when you’ve been doomscrolling for too long, like you want to take a nap and yet simultaneously feel an urge to scream into your pillow? Turns out something similar happens to AI.Last month, a team of AI researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, and Purdue University published a paper advancing what they call “the…