Author: Money Mechanics

The financial professionals who contribute to Kiplinger’s Adviser Intel are always here to make sure you have the information you need to make critical decisions about your retirement planning, estate planning and tax planning.In the past week, they’ve written about the financial implications of gray divorce, how having a positive mindset a la Ted Lasso can affect your retirement planning and how a widow needed an annulment after she was scammed.This quiz is designed to test what you’ve learned from them. Let’s see what you know! (And don’t worry if you miss an answer: You can follow the links below…

The main indexes pulled back from record highs Tuesday as several mega-cap stocks declined. Market participants were also tuned into an early afternoon speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who chimed in on the central bank’s recent rate cut and stock valuations.At the close, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 1% at 22,573, the broader S&P 500 was off 0.6% at 6,656, and the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.2% lower at 46,292.Artificial intelligence (AI) heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA) was one of the worst Dow Jones stocks today, shedding 2.8% as investors took profits off the table. But fellow…

Key Takeaways Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the economy is pulling the central bank’s policy in two different directions, as the job market weakens while inflation remains elevated.The central bank has started cutting interest rates, but could change its strategy if inflation gets worse.Two other Fed policymakers spoke Tuesday, with one advocating for gradual rate cuts and the other for more decisive cuts. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there is no easy answer as the Fed grapples with whether to use its key interest rate to fight inflation or to boost the struggling job market.Powell covered familiar ground speaking…

KEY TAKEAWAYS The OECD on Tuesday raised its growth forecast for the U.S. economy in 2025 on the back of AI investments, but noted that tariffs and lower net immigration are taking a toll and would lead to slowing growth next year.The OECD said it expects the U.S.’s annual real GDP growth rate to come in at 1.8% in 2025, up from from its previous projection of 1.6%.However, U.S. GDP is projected to grow by just 1.5% next year, the OECD said. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on Tuesday raised its growth forecast for the U.S. economy in…

Key Takeaways Nvidia shares lost ground in early trading Tuesday after logging their largest one-day percentage gain since July on news the AI Favorite plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI. The price broke out from a symmetrical triangle on Monday, indicating a continuation of the stock’s broader move higher.The measured move technique forecasts a price target of $207.64, while bars pattern analysis projects a target of around $255.Investors should monitor key support levels on Nvidia’s chart near $165 and $150. Nvidia (NVDA) shares lost ground in early trading Tuesday after logging their largest one-day percentage gain since July…

Key Takeaways Firefly’s stock plunged Tuesday after the aerospace company’s first earnings report since going public last month revealed widening losses.The stock had popped on its first day of trading, but enthusiasm has waned since, with recent losses dragging the shares below their IPO price. Firefly Aerospace (FLY) shares tumbled Tuesday, a day after the aerospace firm posted widening losses, as a mishap that grounded its Alpha rocket weighed on its results. The stock was down nearly 12% in recent trading around $43. Monday’s quarterly report was the company’s first since it went public last month, with Tuesday’s drop dragging…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Nigeria’s central bank has lowered its benchmark lending rate for the first time in five years, delivering a half-point cut amid cooling inflation and continued stability of the local naira currency.Tuesday’s decision lowered the bank’s key interest rate to 27 per cent and was in line with the median forecast in a Bloomberg poll of economists.Central bank governor Olayemi Cardoso said at a press conference in the capital Abuja that the decision of the 12-member Monetary Policy Committee was based on disinflation…

Fans of late-night talk shows and Jimmy Kimmel are no doubt happy with the announced return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC. Some consumers, however, won’t be able to watch Kimmel’s return because one of the largest regional television operators in the country is refusing to air his show.Jimmy Kimmel ReturnsABC owner The Walt Disney Company DIS announced Monday that it would bring back “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after a suspension that lasted less than a week.”Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our…

Current-Account Balance (Table 1)The U.S. current-account deficit, which reflects the combined balances on trade in goods and services and income flows between U.S. residents and residents of other countries, narrowed by $188.5 billion, or 42.9 percent, to $251.3 billion in the second quarter of 2025, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The revised first-quarter deficit was $439.8 billion.The second-quarter deficit was 3.3 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product, down from 5.9 percent in the first quarter.The $188.5 billion narrowing of the current-account deficit in the second quarter primarily reflected a reduced deficit on goods.Current-Account…

In-brief analysis August 7, 2025 Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration analysis based on Global Trade Tracker, Argus, and VortexaNote: Data for 2025 are preliminary. 1H25=first half of 2025. figure data From 2020 to 2024, crude oil and condensate exports from Russia averaged 5.0 million barrels per day (b/d). Exports from Russia in the first half of 2025 (1H25) were 4.3 million b/d (compared with 4.8 million b/d in 2024). Even as crude oil export volumes from Russia have remained relatively high, the destination of these exports has shifted, mainly due to…