Stocks
Rivian unveils its new R2 EV. Here’s what you need to know.
Rivian Automotive Inc. on Thursday launched its next-generation EV, a compact SUV that can go from zero to 60 mph in less than three seconds.
MindMed’s stock soars 58% after FDA grants breakthrough designation to LSD therapy for a form of anxiety
The FDA’s move will speed up development of MindMed’s LSD-based drug as a treatment for generalized anxiety disorder.
BlackRock, Fidelity together rake in more spot bitcoin ETF inflows than Grayscale is losing
BlackRock and Fidelity have seen big inflows into their exchange-traded funds tracking spot bitcoin prices, attracting more assets combined than what has flowed out from Grayscale’s bitcoin ETF, according to Deutsche Bank Research.
I’m afraid inflation will eat into my retirement. How do I plan for Social Security and our pension?
“The pension is not a large one.”
Mortgage rates edge down. Home buyers are seizing the moment — while it lasts.
The 30-year mortgage rate is averaging at 6.88% Freddie Mac said in its latest weekly survey on Thursday.
President Biden has created a ‘strike force’ to combat high prices. Experts wonder whether it will work.
‘This is an exercise in marketing, not competition promotion.’
Oil prices pull back after boost from U.S. inventory data
Oil futures consolidate after getting a boost from a big drop in gasoline and distillate inventories.
Stocks are taking the elevator up and the escalator down, which is very unusual
There is an old saying on Wall Street: stocks take the escalator up and the elevator down. But over the past few years, investors have flipped this tendency on its head.
Micron’s stock gets new buy call as it’s deemed another chip-sector play on AI
Stifel cheers roughly 25% upside as Micron makes a bigger push with high-bandwidth memory and sees DRAM supply tighten.
Trade deficit widens 5.1% to $67.4 billion in January, largest trade gap in nine months
The U.S. international trade deficit widened 5.1% in January to $67.4 billion, the Commerce Department said Thursday. It is the largest trade gap since April 2023.
Kroger’s stock surges after profit beat, pursuit of Albertsons buyout continues
Kroger’s stock leaped toward a near two-year high Thursday, after the grocery chain reported quarterly profit and same-store sales that beat expectations, and indicated it was still pursuing its acquisition of Albertsons Companies Inc. despite regulatory pushback.
U.S. unit labor costs revised slightly lower in fourth quarter
Overall productivity unrevised at 3.2% annual rate
GE’s stock extends weekly rally as GE Aerospace sets $15 billion buyback plan
The stock is on pace for the longest such streak since the nine-week streak that ended Feb. 18, 2011.
‘CPA is used generically.’ How to shop smart and save money when hiring a tax preparer
Tax season is here, and someone has to prepare your tax return. But who?
DWAC says Delaware court has cleared path for March 22 vote on merger with Trump’s social-media company
Digital World Acquisition Corp., the special-purpose acquisition corporation that’s seeking to merge with Trump Media and Technology Group, former President Donald Trump’s social-media company, said a Delaware court issued a ruling late Wednesday that will allow it to...
Wall Street is divided on whether bitcoin ‘froth’ will undo Fed’s rate-cut plans
What does the bitcoin rally mean for stocks and the Fed’s rate cutting plans? Two Wall Street banks weigh in with opposing views.
Novo Nordisk stock hits new record as it advances oral weight-loss drug
Novo Nordisk’s stock hit a fresh record high as the Danish drugmaker held a capital-market day, presenting the next-generation of drugs that have propelled it to becoming Europe’s largest company by market capitalization.
These mutual fund and ETF investing tips help you compete in any stock-market ‘March Madness’
Slam-dunk stocks, star managers, and bitcoin buzz.
Nikkei 225 slides, yen surges on Japanese wage growth acceleration
The Nikkei 225 fell below 40,000 and the yen surged after data showing accelerating wgae growth in Japan, boosting the prospects that it will soon end its negative interest-rate regime.
Nationwide to buy Virgin Money for £2.9 billion in challenge to Big Four U.K. banks
If completed, the merger would see Nationwide overtake NatWest to become the U.K.’s second largest mortgage and savings provider
Lobbyist group claims 97% of the public have a view on bank capital rules. Here’s its justification.
Does 97% of the public really have a view on Basel III Endgame bank capital rules?
Fed’s Kashkari says it’s possible he pencils in only one interest-rate cut this year
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said Wednesday that he had penciled in two interest rate cuts in 2024 during the central bank’s last forecasting round in December, but added he may reduce the number of cuts he see at the Fed’s next meeting in two weeks.
Victoria’s Secret shares plummet on weaker sales forecast, amid subdued apparel demand
Victoria’s Secret said it forecast sales of $6 billion for the year ahead, below Wall Street’s estimates for $6.19 billion.
My daughter’s father died in a horrible accident, but he was not on the birth certificate. How can I prove paternity to claim her inheritance?
“He helped pay for school things, and bought her anything she said she wanted.”
My wife and I are selling our $1 million rental property. Should we pay off our $7,000 monthly mortgage — or invest the proceeds?
“My wife is inclined towards paying off the mortgage to achieve stress-free living and freeing up more cash.”
The future of IVF — and how much it will cost — is still up in the air
In vitro fertilization patients in Alabama can breathe easier now that state lawmakers have moved to protect access to the fertility treatment, but the future of IVF is still up in the air.
Why this stock-market timer just turned bearish, for a drop until mid-April
The tax deadline may be a key indicator of when investors may start selling.
NYCB’s stock plunges 45% after report it’s exploring a stock sale, highlighting uncertainty about its future
Troubled regional lender has asked banks to gauge investor interest in buying its stock, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Apple terminates Epic Games’ developer account in latest clash between the two companies
In the latest conflagration between Apple Inc. and Epic Games Inc., Apple has terminated Epic’s application for a developer account to launch an app store for iPhones in Europe.
This five-star fund manager keeps beating index funds by picking ‘hidden compounders’ and holding them for years. Here’s why he held Super Micro.
John Barr takes a long-term approach while waiting for selected companies to bloom.
Biden’s State of the Union: How it could shake markets — or reassure them
President Joe Biden is getting his annual chance to talk directly to millions of Americans with his State of the Union address Thursday night, and he’s sure to address inflation, immigration and other issues important to voters in this election year. His remarks are...
More high schools require financial literacy — a silver lining of the pandemic
The number of high-school students required to receive personal-finance instruction before they graduate is about to increase substantially — and bleak early-pandemic memories could be one factor driving the surge, some financial-literacy experts say.“The pandemic...
Magnificent Seven no longer a monolith as performance continues to diverge
The Magnificent Seven stocks are no longer a market monolith. After driving the bulk of the S&P 500 index’s 2023 advance, the group of seven megacap companies — typically defined as Nvidia Corp. NVDA, +2.43%, Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.35%, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, -0.95%,...
Oil prices rise after Saudi Arabia raises prices for crude to Asia
Oil futures rose Wednesday after Saudi Arabia raised prices for crude sold in Asia, its largest market, and extended gains after official data showed U.S. crude inventories rose less than expected last week.Price moves West Texas Intermediate crude CL00, +2.80% for...
For 14th year in a row, the S&P 500 beat the majority of actively managed funds
A majority of active funds focused on U.S. large-cap stocks failed to beat the S&P 500 index last year, extending their track record of underperformance, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Sixty percent of all active large-cap U.S. equity funds lagged the...
Job openings in the U.S. stay at 8.9 million at the start of 2024
Job openings in the U.S. were unchanged at 8.9 million in January, the Labor Department said Wednesday.
EVgo’s stock jumps as EV-charging revenue triples
Shares of EVgo Inc. got a nice boost Wednesday after the company, which operates an electric-vehicle-charging network, reported fourth-quarter results that beat expectations, with charging revenue more than tripling. The company said growth in the usage of its...
Abercrombie & Fitch’s stock falls as sales beat by smallest margin in 6 quarters
Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. pulled back Wednesday, as the apparel and accessories retailer’s quarterly results and outlook were good, but apparently not good enough to keep fueling the stock’s recent rocket ride to record highs. The stock ANF, +1.93% fell...
ADP says 140,000 private-sector jobs created in February. Labor market softening but still strong.
Story developing. Stay tuned for updates here. The numbers: American businesses added 140,000 new jobs in February, paycheck company ADP said, in a sign demand for labor might be slackening after a frenzy of hiring last year. Economists polled by the Wall Street...
Foot Locker’s stock dives as price cuts hurt margins, profit outlook disappoints
Shares of Foot Locker Inc. took a tumble Wednesday, after the athletic shoe apparel retailer provided a full-year profit outlook that was below expectations, and pushed back the timing of reaching its target for adjusted margins by two years. The downbeat outlook,...
United Natural Foods lowers guidance after sales fall short of estimates
United Natural Foods Inc.’s stock shed early gains to trade flat early Wednesday, after the grocery retailer’s fiscal second-quarter sales fell short of estimates and it lowered its full-year guidance. The Providence, R.I.-based company, which is attempting a...
There’s one big mystery in the everything rally: gold’s record-setting ascent
It seems almost every asset class has been hitting records: U.S. stocks, Japanese stocks, German stocks, bitcoin, gold. That last one is unusual. Rising prices usually generate speculative interest in an asset, but not here: Jim Bianco of Bianco Research posts this...
Mortgage rates stay put at 7%, but first-time buyers aren’t holding back
The numbers: U.S. mortgage applications ticked up, driven by an increase in first-time home-buying activity, despite rates staying over 7%. The overall market composite index — a measure of mortgage application volume — rose in the last week, according to the...
Grifols’ shares plunge further on short-seller’s new report
Grifols shares plunged by a further 14% on Wednesday following publication of another report from short seller Gotham City Research, raising additional questions about the Barcelona medicine maker’s “transparency, integrity, and ethical conduct.” Grifols’ share price...
Where home prices are rising the fastest — and the slowest
Home buyers continue to face rising prices due to a dire shortage of homes for sale in the U.S., and a new report reveals that Midwestern cities are facing the most upward pressure. According to a monthly report by the right-leaning think tank American Enterprise...
Final curtain call: The 2024 Chevrolet Camaro honors its muscle car roots, plus plenty of modern tech
ProsConsWhat’s new? Taking a curtain call in 2024, Chevy Camaro is the epitome of the all-American muscle car with heart-stirring performance and iconic styling. Pricing starts at $30,900. The 2024 Chevrolet Camaro returns basically unchanged. It sticks to its roots...
The 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV: Reimagined, futuristic, luxurious off-road champ
The 2024 Hummer EV SUV is an electric SUV with stunning performance numbers, the latest tech features, and stellar off-road chops. Pricing starts at $96,550. After a hiatus of more than a decade, the Hummer nameplate is back. This time, it’s a sub-brand of GMC, and it...
DHL owner forecasts no recovery this year after 25% decline in full-year profits
Shares in DHL owner Deutsche Post fell on Wednesday after the German package courier posted a sharp drop in its full-year profits and said it expects to post similar results at the end of 2024. The Bonn headquartered company performed in-line with analysts’...
Box posts first $1 billion fiscal year as AI sales pick up
Box Inc.’s stock rose about 2% after hours Tuesday after the software company reported its first $1 billion fiscal year and announced a $100 million share-buyback program. “Customers in financial services are upgrading to Box AI,” Box Chief Executive Aaron Levie said...
Donald Trump met with Elon Musk seeking campaign donation
Former President Donald Trump met on Sunday with Elon Musk and other possible donors, according to multiple published reports Tuesday, citing unnamed sources. Trump hopes to have a one-on-one meeting with Musk soon, and it’s not yet clear whether Musk plans to give...
Tech investor Jason Palmer vows to deliver ‘conscious capitalism’ in his presidential bid
This interview was initially published in December. Palmer was the surprise victor in the American Samoa Democratic primary. Tech investor Jason Palmer wasn’t planning to launch a bid for the White House until he decided he had no choice. “I kept waiting for someone...
OpenAI says Elon Musk backed for-profit plans, and that it has emails proving it
OpenAI shot back at Elon Musk late Tuesday, refuting claims Musk made in a lawsuit filed last week, and publishing emails from Musk that appeared to show he had supported the company’s for-profit business plans. Last Thursday, Musk filed a lawsuit in San Francisco...
This stock-market breadth indicator is at its strongest level in nearly 3 years
A handful of megacap technology names were responsible for most of the S&P 500’s gains over the past year — but that has started to change in 2024, according to Bespoke Investment Group. While the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks — a group of top-performing...
Stocks with strongest demand for bullish options keep outperforming the S&P 500
Surging demand for options contracts has accompanied a rally for stocks this year as both professional and retail traders have piled into bullish bets on individual stocks at the fastest pace since the meme-stock craze, according to data from Cboe Global Markets. To...
Opinion: Nervous about the U.S. market at all-time highs? Buy China stocks.
Wary of U.S. stocks because you think the valuations look rich? China stocks are a solution. If you’re reluctant to buy, given all the negative headlines about China, counterintuitively that’s part of the reason to buy. Sentiment towards Chinese stocks is so negative,...
Gold looks to score another record-high settlement, but it’s ‘no gold rush’
Gold futures extended their rally on Tuesday and may mark a third consecutive session at a record settlement, but don’t call it a “gold rush” in the West, according to one analyst. Weak U.S. economic data lifted expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest...
Dementia is not an inevitable part of aging — these 3 things can help
One very normal concern we have as we age is the question of whether we will gradually slip into dementia, or Alzheimer’s (there is a bit of a difference between the two, by the way). The basic definition of dementia is a decline in mental function. Don’t worry:...
Music therapy provides new hope after strokes: ‘Patients got better faster.’
As a board-certified music therapist, Brian Harris knows firsthand the power of music to treat patients and transform care.He served as the first music therapist at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, the teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School’s...
New York Community Bancorp may attract buyers for mortgage-servicing rights, says KBW
New York Community Bancorp may be able to raise capital to strengthen its balance sheet and cover potential loan losses by selling mortgage-servicing rights, analysts at KBW said on Tuesday. New York Community Bancorp’s stock NYCB, +10.81% was up by 10% Tuesday, after...
Jason and Travis Kelce’s ‘New Heights’ podcast could sign ‘$100 million’ deal
Star offensive lineman Jason Kelce retired from the NFL on Monday after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, but will continue his burgeoning career as a podcaster. Jason and his brother Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast, which launched in September 2022, has...
ISM service-sector gauge continues on soft pace of growth in February
The numbers: The Institute for Supply Management said on Tuesday that its service-sector PMI fell to 52.6% in February from 53.4% in the prior month. The drop was bigger than expected. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had expected the ISM index to inch...
Biden is slashing credit-card late fees. When will charges shrink?
Federal regulators are slashing credit-card late-payment fees.The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule on Tuesday that caps credit-card late fees at $8, a fraction of what most issuers typically charge. The rule is part of a broader campaign within...
British investors plow billions into U.S. stocks while avoiding U.K. markets
U.K. investors have started plowing billions of dollars into U.S. stocks, while continuing to pull their money out of British equities, in another sign of the troubles faced by the U.K.’s stock markets which are continuing to suffer from a lack of liquidity, low...
Here’s why AT&T’s stock should be taken more seriously, according to a new bull
AT&T Inc.’s stock may conjure up the sense of “apathy” or “negative muscle memory,” but Wall Street’s latest bull says it’s time for investors to take the stock more seriously. “Fundamentally, AT&T is on course,” Wolfe Research’s Peter Supino wrote in a...
Target’s stock surges as lower markdowns and shrink costs fueled big profit beat
Shares of Target Corp. shot up toward an 11-month high Tuesday, after the discount retailer reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit that was well above expectations, as lower markdowns and lower shrink costs boosted margins. The company said maintaining “appropriate...
The ‘nuclear renaissance’ is upon us. What investors need to know about uranium.
The market for uranium has calmed a bit after seeing prices for the commodity more than quadruple since the start of 2020, but bullish analysts say the nuclear industry continues to “build momentum,” and uranium production will fail to meet demand.The “nuclear...
Novo Nordisk says Ozempic helped patients with Type 2 diabetes in one new way
Novo Nordisk A.S. said Tuesday a five-year trial of its Ozempic weight-loss drug helped reduce the risk of kidney disease-related events in people with Type 2 diabetes by 24%. The Danish company disclosed the results of the trial called Flow after it was halted on the...
Macy’s bonds rally along with stock after investor group sweetens takeover bid
Macy’s Inc.’s shares climbed 15.4% Monday, and its high-yield bonds rallied along with them, after an investor group seeking to take over the department-store chain sweetened its bid by roughly $800 million. Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital raised their bid for...
How Morgan Stanley’s bearish strategist may be right for the wrong reason
Surely everyone’s contrarian impulses were triggered by the sight of the guy nicknamed Dr. Doom saying the biggest risk to markets is that the economy does too well, and given the S&P 500 SPX did end lower (barely) on Monday, maybe a few people shared that...
My mother-in-law gave me a ‘diamond’ ring. It’s a fake. What should I do?
My mother taught me never to hold a grudge. It’s proven harder in practice than in theory: My mother-in-law gave me a “diamond” ring and said she wanted me to have it for everything I’ve done for her. I thanked her and let her know that it makes me happy when she is...
Oil prices consolidate as investors weigh China demand
Oil futures hovered near unchanged early Tuesday, consolidating after a pullback the previous session as investors weighed the demand outlook for China after the country’s leadership outlined its economic plans.Price moves West Texas Intermediate crude CL00, -0.22%...
Treasury yields dip as traders eye Powell testimony and jobs data later in week
U.S. bond yields fell early Tuesday as markets awaited midweek testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell and February jobs data on FridayWhat’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y fell by 2.3 basis points to 4.587%. The yield on the 10-year...
10 top used sedan models you can get for under $30,000
The sedan segment has been “dying” for more than a decade now, and while it has certainly lost some ground to SUVs, the sedans that remain are among the best cars that have ever been made — sedan, SUV, or otherwise. If you’re shopping for a lightly used sedan with...
Tesla’s Berlin factory halted due to power outage
Production at Tesla’s Berlin factory was halted due to a power outage, German media reported Tuesday. The halt was due to a fire, suspected of being arson, in an area near the factory, Berliner Zeitung reported. Recently, environmental activists have been protesting...
S&P 500 futures dip amid concern of rally exhaustion and China worries for Apple
U.S. stock futures fell early Tuesday with Apple shares leading big tech lower after report of slowing China iPhone sales.How are stock-index futures trading S&P 500 futures ES00, -0.32% dipped 14 points, or 0.3%, to 5124 Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00,...
Jeff Bezos overtakes Elon Musk as world’s richest person, as Tesla stock slides
Tesla Inc.’s stock sank again on Monday, costing Elon Musk his title as world’s richest person. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos replaced the Tesla chief executive atop Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index on Monday for the first time since late 2021. It was the first time Musk...
GitLab’s weak earnings guidance is punishing its stock
GitLab Inc.’s stock dropped 22% in after-hours trading Monday after the company posted quarterly results that topped analysts’ estimates but issued weak guidance. GitLab GTLB, +1.58% reported a fiscal fourth-quarter net loss of $37.6 million, or 23 cents a share,...
Stitch Fix and ThredUp shares hit hard amid ambitious transitions
With clothing demand still muted, online styling service Stitch Fix Inc. on Monday said it was trying to become a more “fun” destination for customers, while online second-hand shop ThredUp Inc. has been trying to make a bigger push into consignment sales. But both...
My stepmother wants me to relinquish my rights to my father’s estate. What now?
Unfortunately, he died unexpectedly last September. He had been battling a terminal disease. He was immunocompromised, and a double whammy of pneumonia and COVID-19 was just too much. My stepmother said if I claimed a share of their house, I would be responsible for...
Apple’s stock has had a sour 2024. This bull sees ‘a host of tailwinds’ ahead.
Some of the technology sector’s big 2023 winners have continued their ascents into this year, but not shares of Apple Inc. Shares of the iPhone maker were down 3% in Monday trading and they’re off about 10% to start 2024. But an Evercore ISI analyst sees “a host of...
EU’s record Apple antitrust fine is the start of a Big Tech regulatory crackdown
As Apple Inc. absorbs the regulatory body blow of a record $1.95 billion antitrust fine from the European Union on Monday, its legal team is bracing for yet another epochal action. The U.S. Department of Justice is in the final stages of a yearslong investigation into...
Two more U.S. stock indexes on track for record highs as rally broadens
Another two U.S. equity indexes are poised to reach record territory for the first time in more than two years, indicating that more U.S.-listed stocks are joining a rally that has been criticized for its dependence on Big Tech.The S&P 400 MidCap Index MID is...
Fed has the luxury of making policy without pressure of urgency, Bostic says
With the labor market strong and growth above trend, there isn’t pressure on the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said Monday. “The good news is the labor market and economy are prospering, furnishing the FOMC the luxury of...
Boeing’s stock rises after American Airlines shows confidence in 737 Max jets
Shares of Boeing Co. turned higher Monday after American Airlines Group Inc. included the aerospace giant’s troubled 737 Max line in its orders for 260 new aircraft, which aims at boosting premium seating by 20%. American said its orders include 85 Boeing 737 Max 10s,...
Super Micro’s stock continues its huge surge. Here’s why Goldman is cautious.
Super Micro Computer Inc. is a proven “AI winner” according to Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should buy the stock. With the shares up about 1,000% since the start of 2023, they’re “fairly valued,” in Ng’s view. He initiated...
Nvidia among best-performing stocks that seem to be better values than a year ago
Some investors love to ride along with momentum, and the biggest question is always how long the big market moves may last. Over the past year, the U.S. stock market as a whole has gotten more expensive on a forward price-to-earnings basis. So this may be a good...
Opinion: What you need to know about taxes on bitcoin ETFs before you buy or sell
For all its opportunities, bitcoin BTCUSD, +6.05% has posed a number of challenges for investors. On top of the inherent difficulties of understanding blockchain terminology and the underlying technology, the challenges of understanding how to convert a fiat currency...
Bond yields edge higher as investors look ahead to Powell’s testimony
U.S. Treasury yields edged higher on Monday, struggling to unwind the big rally in government debt from weaker-than-expected economic data last week, while traders awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony and a fresh slew of labor-market...
True inflation may have peaked in late 2022 — at 18% — and still hovers around 8%
“Consumer borrowing costs in the U.S. have skyrocketed, but the CPI doesn’t count this. ” There are widely divergent perspectives between Wall Street, where exuberance has led the U.S. stock market to all-time highs, and Main Street, where the average American...
Vista Outdoor rejects unsolicited $35-a-share all-cash bid from MNC Capital
Vista Outdoor Inc.’s stock fell slightly early Monday, after the maker of sports and outdoor products including ammunition said its board has rejected an unsolicited bid from MNC Capital offering to acquire the company for $35 a share in cash. The offer was reported...
Low VIX caused by ETFs, not options-hungry day traders, says the BIS
Persistently low levels for the CBOE VIX index are likely the result of investors piling into yield-enhanced exchange traded funds, according to the umbrella institution for central banks. The Bank for International Settlements, based in Basel, Switzerland, says in...
JetBlue, Spirit Airlines terminate 2022 merger agreement
JetBlue Airways Corp. and Spirit Airlines Inc. said Monday they have reached an agreement to terminate their July 2022 merger agreement, sending the former’s stock up 6% in early trade. “Although both companies continue to believe in the procompetitive benefits of the...
‘Free Fire’ parent Sea’s stock soars after revenue beat amid e-commerce strength
Shares of Sea Ltd. soared toward a seven-month high Monday, after the e-commerce and online-gaming platform company reported fourth-quarter revenue that beat expectations. The Singapore-based company’s results were fueled by strength in its e-commerce business,...
Bank of America boosts S&P 500 target to 5,400. Here’s how it got there.
Futures suggest Wall Street’s new week will get off to a cautious start, albeit with major stock barometers holding at record highs.Over just the last three months the Nasdaq Composite COMP has climbed 13.8% and the S&P 500 SPX has gained 11.8%. Worrywarts are...
NYCB’s stressed multifamily loans cloud its outlook, Moody’s says in downgrade
New York Community Bancorp Inc.’s exposure to stressed loans for rent-controlled multifamily apartments and office space continue to weigh on the outlook for the bank, leading to its second debt downgrade in about a month from Moody’s Investors Service. “The...
Opinion: Big losses are pushing venture-backed startups and IPOs over a cliff
Startup companies increasingly are tumbling over a financial cliff, while others are hanging in mid-air like Wile E. Coyote before the inevitable fall. Startup shutdowns hit 770 in 2023, up from 467 in 2022, and for those startups lucky enough to get funding in 2023,...
Goldman Sachs says this tech stock rally is grounded in reality
There are several key differences between the tech-stock rally of this year and that of 2021, even as the euphoria has similarities with the last wave, Goldman Sachs’s top stock-market strategist says. David Kostin, in a note to clients, says companies that have an...
The 10 greenest cars of the year: No. 1 is not an EV
Millions of Americans want to cut their carbon footprints, help the U.S. economy get off of foreign oil, and save money at the gas pump. They’d do well to buy an electric vehicle. But, if they want to make a difference, they should buy a plug-in hybrid (PHEV). That’s...
Traders will be looking for subtle signs of shift at ECB meeting
Christine Lagarde is expected to give little away at the European Central Bank’s upcoming monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt this Thursday meaning markets will be left looking for subtle signs of the bank’s intentions as investors are increasingly pricing in cuts...
S&P 500 futures pause after another record-setting session
U.S. stock futures were steady early Monday, pausing after the S&P 500 advanced for the 16th week in 18 to reach a new peak.What’s happening Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -0.21% fell 75 points, or 0.2%, to 39067. S&P 500 futures ES00, -0.14%...
2024 vehicle loyalty study: Tesla has the most loyal buyers and most ‘conquests’
More than half (51%) of people who bought a new car in 2023 bought the same brand they had bought last time, according to S&P Global Mobility’s Automotive Loyalty Awards. Tesla TSLA, +0.38% claimed higher owner loyalty than any other car brand, repeating its win...
February job report, Powell’s visit to Capitol Hill are on investors’ radar this week
It is a crucial week for economists and investors as key economic data will be released, along with two days of testimony from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell before Congress. Powell testifies before CongressWednesday, Thursday at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Fed officials have been...
OPEC+ extends oil-production cuts, signaling no rush to restore lost volume
OPEC+, made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, including Russia, will extend voluntary production cuts into the second quarter, Saudi Arabia’s official press agency said Sunday. The move was widely anticipated and signals that...
What to stream in March 2024: Taylor Swift, ‘3 Body Problem,’ ‘Shōgun’ are tops
Big names, big budgets and big events are on tap for March’s streaming calendar.However you look at it — from Kate Winslet’s steely glare to Jake Gyllenhaal’s ripped abs; from Netflix’s $160 million series “3 Body Problem” to Apple’s $200 million movie “Napoleon”; or...
Investor group raises Macy’s buyout bid by nearly $1 billion
Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital are raising their offer to buy Macy’s by almost $1 billion, in hopes of taking the department-store chain private. In a statement Sunday, the investor group said it was increasing its bid to acquire Macy’s M, +3.27% to $24 a...
Stock rally, rate-cut forecasts get tested by Powell’s testimony and jobs report
A four-month-long U.S. stock market rally, partly fueled by investors’ expectations for interest rate cuts in 2024 by the Federal Reserve, faces a test posed by pair of big events in the week ahead.The first is Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s semiannual...
Dow companies made bigger-than-normal adjustments to profits in Q4
When public companies tell the world how much money they made over a quarter, they have to follow accounting guidelines intended to keep those financial figures honest and consistent. However, for better or worse, alongside the profit figures that comply with those...
Opinion: Investors need the U.S. to be the world’s growth engine. That’s a tall order.
“Optimism is fine, but pay attention to economic headwinds and risks. ” What happens in the United States does not stay in the United States. The global economy depends on America to act as a main engine of growth, and global financial markets depend on U.S....
Opinion: U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan threaten to derail Nvidia and other tech giants
The concentration of advanced semiconductor manufacturing in Taiwan has raised fears in the United States about the vulnerability of this supply chain should China blockade or invade the island. The U.S. CHIPS and Science Act seeks to address that vulnerability...
Opinion: This ‘Roaring 2020s’ market will keep stocks up and bring inflation down
Since the start of the 2020s, we’ve been comparing the current decade mostly to the 1920s and the 1970s. However, the S&P 500’s SPX 42.3% melt-up since Oct. 12, 2022, to a new record high last week has us considering whether another period represents a possible...
Heads up, millionaires: If you didn’t file taxes, the IRS will be contacting you
As millions of people in the U.S. file their annual income-tax returns, the Internal Revenue Service is telling millionaires who haven’t filed in years that they had better get to it. The IRS says it’s starting to send out more than 125,000 notices about unfiled tax...
Japanese stocks are at a record high, revealing a primary lesson about investing
Investors are drawing the wrong lessons from Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index JP:NIK topping its 1989 high last week. Many investment professionals claim this proves that stocks eventually produce a profit, if you just hold on long enough. In truth, the correct lesson to draw...
Opinion: Nvidia, AI-fueled tech stocks are heading for a ‘magnificent exuberance’ bubble
“ This will not end well, but not yet. It’s still early in the bubble.” Technical deteriorations in the U.S. stock market were apparent last week, but Nvidia Corp.’s NVDA, +4.00% blowout earnings report saved the day. The tech giant’s results beat Wall Street’s...
Opinion: How the power of ‘no’ can get you exactly what you want
In the business world, the word “no” holds significant power and serves as a crucial aspect of leadership and entrepreneurship. While it may be difficult to utter this simple two-letter word, mastering the practice of doing so takes practice and perseverance. Start...
Forget about Super Tuesday. For Trump, it’s going to be March Madness in court
Just as the presidential campaign season is set to kick into high gear with the Super Tuesday primaries, Donald Trump finds himself mired down in a perfect storm of legal problems. In March, the first of four criminal trials Trump faces is set to begin. He also must...
How to save for retirement while caring for an elderly or disabled family member
Becoming a caregiver for a family member is rarely a responsibility that people are financially prepared to undertake. Adult children of aging parents are often thrust into a position of taking parents to medical appointments, providing financial support for...
Opinion: Meet Sirius XM’s new odd couple: Warren Buffett and John Mayer
Warren Buffett, the famed investor, and John Mayer, the popular songwriter and guitarist, would seem not to have much in common. But one thing they both share is a big bet on Sirius XM Holdings Inc. SIRI, -3.39%, the satellite-radio company. Buffett’s interest comes...
Spanish online bank to offer clients AI-derived S&P 500 and Europe price targets
While the financial world is still in the early stages of figuring out how artificial intelligence will work for — or against — it, one bank is putting the technology to work picking stocks for clients. Openbank, the Spanish-based online unit of Santander Group SAN,...
I’m losing money on my rental. I have a $420K mortgage and a 7.9% interest rate.
Dear Big Move, I’m struggling with the idea of selling a rental property that has both a high monthly maintenance fee and a high mortgage rate. The costs to keep this house are currently higher than the monthly income it generates. I recently refinanced in order to...
Opinion: Can we cut Oprah Winfrey some slack? The struggle to lose weight is real.
Leave Oprah alone.Yes, Oprah Winfrey is in the news again — in this case, for her decision to sell her stake in WW International WW, +8.33% (formerly known as WeightWatchers) and leave the company’s board. The decision came after Winfrey announced, to considerable...
Nvidia’s stock sees one advantage that only two other chip makers share
You are probably aware that Nvidia Corp. shares have soared over the past year. But you might not know that as this has happened, the stock has become much more attractive by the most commonly used price-valuation metric. Shares of Nvidia NVDA, +4.00% closed at...
How much money do you need to buy a $400,000 house with a 7% mortgage rate?
Home buyers in the U.S. are facing an increasingly challenging real-estate market once again, as the 30-year mortgage rate heads back over 7%. But just how challenging is it to buy a home? MarketWatch worked with Redfin to estimate how much a potential home buyer...
Amid ‘streamflation,’ consumers are spending more on TV streaming than ever
“Streamflation” has been a hot topic with streaming subscribers recently amid a slew of price hikes by media companies like Walt Disney Co., which raised the price of its Disney+ and Hulu streaming services yet again in August. Yet escalating prices don’t seem to be...
U.K. pension funds to disclose domestic investment as U.K. stock market falters
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Saturday said U.K. pensions will have to disclose how much they have invested domestically, in a move meant to boost the faltering U.K. stock market. Under the plan, defined contribution funds by 2027 will have to disclose their level of...
How bitcoin’s upcoming halving differs from the crypto’s previous cycles
Bitcoin halvings have historically been viewed as a bullish event for the cryptocurrency — and the upcoming one, expected in April, could benefit from an even more ideal setup than in previous cycles, according to crypto-market observers. Halving is a mechanism...
AI is fueling a gold rush in data centers, the hottest buildings in real estate
The latest hot spots in commercial real estate aren’t in Manhattan or Miami.Instead of snazzy hotels or glistening office towers, the new property darlings are power-hungry data centers, often in places like Northern Virginia; Columbus, Ohio; and Salt Lake City....
How investors can ride along as a global commodity market shifts away from China
China has long dominated the world market for rare earth minerals, which are required components of many devices, including the one on which you are reading this article. NYCB saga continues Shares of New York Community Bancorp were down 24% in afternoon trading on...
Want free tax prep from the IRS? Direct File will open soon in these 12 states.
The Internal Revenue Service’s free tax-prep platform will soon be open for business. After slowly increasing capacity on its Direct File platform, the IRS will make the platform available to a wider audience on Monday, the agency said. The platform is expected to be...
Car sales climb 5.4% and offer fresh proof of strong economy
The numbers: Sales of new cars and trucks in the U.S. rose 5.4% in February, rebounding from a slow start at the start of the year and offering fresh evidence of the strength of the economy. Automobile sales increased at an annual rate of 15.8 million last month from...
Super Micro, Deckers to join S&P 500, replacing Whirlpool, Zions Bancorp
Data-server provider Super Micro Computer Inc. and footwear maker Deckers Outdoor Corp. will join the S&P 500 SPX stock index later this month, replacing Whirlpool Corp. and Zions Bancorporation, S&P Dow Jones Indices said Friday. Shares of both Super Micro...
Opinion: Most AI, software and semiconductor stocks are a crowded trade right now
“Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that every tech company which mentions AI belongs in your portfolio. ” Artificial intelligence is one of the most revolutionary technologies of our time, as I’ve been saying since 2022. Given Nvidia’s NVDA, +3.79% blowout...
Spirit AeroSystems’ stock up 14% after report Boeing in talks to buy supplier
News that Boeing Co. is interested in buying supplier Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. was met with a mix of surprise and skepticism on Wall Street Friday. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Friday that Boeing was interested in buying Spirit AeroSystems, a...
‘GRANOLAS’ vs. the Magnificent Seven: Which should you dig into now?
“Does the GRANOLAS’ impressive trailing performance mean the group is a good bet going forward? ” Wall Street loves a good story, as evidenced by the recent focus on a group of stocks called the “GRANOLAS.” These are a group of 11 European stocks that have led...
Kellogg’s ‘cereal for dinner’ controversy and price increases spur boycott calls
Days after the CEO of Kellogg’s KLG, +0.75% suggested that inflation-weary families should eat cereal for dinner, some outraged consumers pointed out that the cereal and snack company had raised its own prices in recent years and called for a three-month boycott of...
My friend invited me to a concert — and then asked me to take him for dinner
Dear Quentin, I have a good friend whom I like very much. He is one of those people I feel very comfortable around, as if I have known him for years. It’s hard to make friends in New York. People have so little time for friendship after work, the gym, kickboxing...
CVS and Walgreens will start selling abortion pill in select states shortly
CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said Friday they will start to offer the abortion pill mifepristone in select states starting this month. The drug-store chains will offer the medication by prescription only at their pharmacies in states where’s it’s...
No Fed rate cuts in 2024, top Wall Street economist warns investors
How about nothing? Does nothing work for you? Investors came into 2024 looking for six or more quarter percentage point interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, but now see only three. They should further revise that all the way down to zero, argued Torsten Slok,...
Plug Power resolves ‘going-concern’ issue, but stock drops as results underwhelm
Plug Power Inc. has resolved “going-concern” issues, but its stock was still falling in Friday’s premarket action after the alternative-energy company missed the mark with its annual results. While the company’s fourth-quarter earnings release was scheduled for before...
Why Dell’s stock is having its best day on record, lifting Nvidia, AMD shares
Dell Technologies Inc. is becoming cool again, emerging as a beneficiary of the artificial-intelligence trend that has sent shares of chip stocks like Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. soaring over the past year. Wall Street continues to look for AI plays...
We’re physicians with 457(b) plans that we can’t roll over into IRAs. What now?
My wife and I are both physicians and we have been contributing to our employer-retirement plans since residency training. This includes Roth 403(b), tax-deferred 403(b) and tax-deferred 457(b) plans. I am 60 and my wife is 56, and we expect to continue working until...
US. manufacturers contract again in February, ISM finds, but business seen picking up
Story developing. Stay tuned for updates here. The numbers: A barometer of business conditions at American manufacturers fell again in February as orders declined and more workers were laid off, but executives said there were preparing for expansion later in the year....
VW stock slumps as automaker forecasts slowing sales growth
Volkswagen shares slumped Friday afternoon as the German automaker released its preliminary results showing virtually flat profit growth last year as it forecast modest sales growth. Europe’s largest automaker said its operating profit before special items for 2023...
Nio, BYD see EV deliveries drop sharply in February, but stocks rally
Shares of Nio Inc. and BYD Co. rose Friday, while those of fellow China-based electric vehicle maker Li Auto Inc. fell, after the companies reported February deliveries that fell from last year and last month. Nio NIO, +5.89% said it delivered 8,132 EVs in February,...
DWAC discloses new lawsuits seeking to block merger with Trump Media & Technology
Digital World Acquisition Corp. on Friday again amended its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding its planned merger with Trump Media and Technology Group, former President Donald Trump’s social-media company. In the new filing, the...
Here’s what a neutral chatbot thinks of Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman
It’s the story of the day — Elon Musk is suing Sam Altman, and OpenAI, for allegedly failing to develop technology for the benefit of humanity. Who better to turn to than a chatbot for an opinion? Obviously, ChatGPT is biased, seeing as it’s produced by OpenAI. More...
Regional bank stocks dragged down by NYCB
Regional bank stocks were lower across the board early Friday, dragged down by the latest bad news from New York Community Bancorp Inc. that included the disclosure of ”material weaknesses” in its accounting. NYCB NYCB, +5.51% was down 25%, after it announced an...
Oil prices rise after Gaza deaths heighten tensions
Oil futures rose Friday after a strike by Israeli forces a day earlier was said to have killed more than 100 Palestinians waiting for aid in Gaza. President Joe Biden said the deaths would complicate talks around a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, according to...
New York Community Bancorp ‘is on its own’ to work out accounting mess: analyst
New York Community Bancorp Inc. “is on its to own” to figure out its accounting and other issues as it gears up to update its financials in the coming weeks. That’s according to Citigroup analyst Keith Horowitz after the regional bank disclosed “material weaknesses”...
Stocks can still rise even as momentum signals suggest caution, history finds.
The records keep tumbling. The Nasdaq Composite COMP has joined the S&P 500 SPX in securing a new high. Early Friday futures suggest a marginal dip from those levels at the opening bell.The S&P 500 has risen four months in a row, gaining 21.5%, its best...
Bond yields slip ahead of ISM manufacturing report
Bond yields slipped on Friday ahead of a key manufacturing report and a bevy of comments from Federal Reserve officials.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y was 4.6%, down 3.3 basis points. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices....
10 critical financial actions to take if you get laid off
Almost two million people in the U.S. get the bad news every month: they have been laid off. Whether they are retail clerks or rocket scientists, their bosses have decided that the enterprises will be more efficient without them. Being on the receiving end of a pink...
The 2024 Genesis G80: luxe interior, cool tech and tops in safety
The 2024 Genesis G80 continues to assert itself as an intriguing midsize luxury sedan contender. Pricing starts at $54,150.Midsize luxury sedans are alive, well, and thriving. There are exciting new generations from a couple of German contenders, comfy and dependable...
This chart shows why the Fed’s rate-hike campaign hasn’t generated a recession
One of the enduring puzzles of the current economic strength is how little impact the Fed’s rate hikes seemed to have caused — not generating the recession or crisis that every previous hiking cycle over the last 70 years has done. The hikes, from zero all the way up...
SoundHound’s monster stock rally cools after earnings
SoundHound AI Inc. had its first big moment in the spotlight Thursday since emerging into broader consciousness as an artificial-intelligence play, but its buzzy stock was taking a tumble. Shares of SoundHound SOUN, +17.03% fell 21% in Thursday’s after-hours action...
New York Community Bank’s stock falls on CEO change, ‘material weakness’ notice
New York Community Bancorp Inc. on Thursday announced an immediate leadership shakeup, including a new CEO, after the bank booked a big hit to its profits last year, said it had “material weaknesses” in its accounting protocols and disclosed other financial-reporting...
Opinion: Look out, Super Micro: Dell is cementing itself as an AI play too
Look out, Super Micro investors, as Dell is starting to cement itself as a major player in artificial intelligence in the computer-server and storage market. On Thursday, Dell Computer Inc. DELL, +1.51% and its quarterly results also overshadowed another rival,...
Congress votes to avert government shutdown
Congress on Thursday approved a measure to avert a government shutdown, delaying key deadlines and buying themselves more time to finish a bigger funding agreement. Facing an end-of-the-week deadline, the House of Representatives passed a bill to temporarily fund one...
Student-loan servicer blocking borrowers seeking debt forgiveness, report claims
Since January of 2023, Jason Evey has been calling into his wife’s student-loan servicer, MOHELA, to get the organization to process her debt forgiveness. His wife, Abigail Linn, has been teaching since 2007 and at her current public school since 2009. During all of...
The stock market ‘doesn’t look very bubbly’ to billionaire investor Ray Dalio
“‘When I look at the U.S. stock market using these criteria, it — and even some of the parts that have rallied the most and gotten media attention — doesn’t look very bubbly.’” — Ray Dalio, founder, Bridgewater Associates Stocks have made big gains off their October...
Low-income seniors get $115 million in housing help, but the need is far greater
Low-income older adults, including those raising grandchildren, just got a boost for housing assistance, but analysts say funding more is needed. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced $115 million in grant funding to support the...
I borrowed $20K from my mother, and repaid $5K. She has since died. What now?
When we sold our late mother’s house last year for $600,000; the equity was supposed to be divided equally by us four siblings (around $146,000 each). In 1996, I borrowed $20,000 from my mother interest-free to help buy my condo. I promised to pay her back in two...
U.S. stocks are off to their best start to a year since 2019
U.S. stocks remain on pace to cap a strong first two months of 2024. While the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks continued to lead much of the stock-market rally that propelled the S&P 500 SPX and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA to record highs this...
Mortgage rates hit two-month high ahead of spring home-buying season
U.S. mortgage rates rose for the fourth week in a row to a two-month high, in a major blow to housing affordability. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose and averaged 6.94% as of February 29, according to data released by Freddie Mac FMCC, +0.23% on Thursday. It’s up...
Doing my mother’s last tax return is the hardest financial task I’ve ever had
The official Internal Revenue Service instruction book for survivors, executors and administrators filing returns for deceased individuals in 2023 is 51 pages long, and that would seem to be sufficiently detailed and definitive. Yet, it hasn’t helped with most of the...
U.S. oil prices nudge higher, attempting to shake off rise in U.S. crude inventories
U.S. oil futures nudged higher in Thursday dealings, shaking off weakness attributed to data a day earlier that showed a further rise in U.S. crude inventories as prices for the commodity look to score back-to-back monthly gains.Price moves West Texas Intermediate...
What $1 million buys in the world’s most expensive real-estate markets
A million dollars doesn’t go very far in the most expensive real-estate markets in the world. According to the 2024 Knight Frank Wealth Report, $1 million would only buy 16 square meters of prime property in Monaco, the tiny but extremely wealthy country perched on...
I sold my home, but I am trapped by rising interest rates and prices. What now?
I wanted to share my experience with the current housing market and ask for advice on my next moves in a seemingly impossible situation. Let’s take a trip back to 2017. I was married at the time with three young children, and my then-wife and I were renters. We both...
Pending-home sales fall in January as mortgage rates rise
The numbers: Pending home sales fell in January as rising mortgage rates pushed buyers out of the housing market. Pending home sales fell 4.9% in January from the previous month, according to the monthly index released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors...
Apple to send buy-now-pay-later data to Experian, a ‘positive first step’ for users
Users of Apple’s AAPL, +0.02% buy-now-pay-later platform will soon have their payment history reported to one of the major credit bureaus, but it won’t affect their credit scores — at least not yet. The announcement marks the latest move by credit bureaus to gradually...
Best Buy’s stock jumps as gaming growth offsets smartphone weakness
Shares of Best Buy Inc. climbed toward a seven-month high Thursday after the retailer reported quarterly results that beat expectations, as growth in gaming sales helped offset continued pressure on other consumer electronics sales, including smartphones and tablets....
Jobless claims tick up in latest week
The numbers: Initial jobless benefit claims rose by 13,000 to 215,000 in the week ended Feb. 24, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated new claims would rise to 210,000. Key details: The number of...
Viking Therapeutics offers new shares after stock soars
Viking Therapeutics Inc., the clinical-stage biotech that wowed investors this week with promising data from a mid-stage trial of its weight-loss drug, is bolstering its balance sheet by issuing new shares. The company, whose stock VKTX, +11.11% has gained an...
Bath & Body Works’ disappointing guidance overshadows earnings beat
Bath & Body Works Inc.’s stock fell 8% early Thursday, after the soap and perfume retailer said it expects earnings to fall in fiscal 2024, overshadowing better-than-expected fourth-quarter numbers. Columbus, Ohio-based Bath & Body Works, which was spun out of...
Opinion: Why the ‘golden age’ of retirement is a lie
There was never a “golden age” of retirement in America. Retirees 30 or 40 years ago did not have it better than retirees today. Retirees do not have it so much better in other countries. There is no nirvana of free everything for the over-65s. Anyone who thinks the...
Six Flags swings to a loss as company absorbs costs of Cedar Fair merger
Six Flags Entertainment Inc. SIX, -0.16% said Thursday it had a net loss of $22 million, or 27 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, after income of $10 million, or 12 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The loss was due to merger-related transaction costs...
Bank of England to have majority women voters
The Bank of England will have a majority of women on its board as the U.K. Treasury said it’s named OECD chief economist Clare Lombardelli to be the next deputy governor of the Bank of England. Lombardelli will replace Ben Broadbent, who’s served two five-year terms...
Air France-KLM sinks to fourth quarter loss, IAG posts record profit
Shares in two of Europe’s top flag carriers took opposite trajectories on Thursday after British Airways owner IAG posted record profits for 2023, while its rival Air France-KLM reported it had swung into loss in the final three months of the year due to Middle East...
The Bud Light troubles at Anheuser Busch InBev continue as it redefines target for Argentina hyperinflation
The boycott of Bud Light by U.S. consumers continues, its parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev reported Thursday. Revenue fell 17.3% in the U.S. during the fourth quarter, including a 12.1% decline in sales to retailers, primarily due to the volume decline at Bud...
Science and sky lovers are gearing up for the 2024 solar eclipse
People in the path of the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse will be praying for a cloudless day. My husband and I’ll step out on our deck as we did seven years ago for a partial view of the 2017 eclipse. But this one is different, as we’ll be front and center for the big...
SEC reportedly probing OpenAI’s Sam Altman
The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly investigating whether Sam Altman misled OpenAI’s small coterie of wealthy investors. Altman was dismissed, and then brought back, as head of the company that produces ChatGPT last year. The Wall Street Journal...
Universal Music CEO on TikTok dispute: ‘My phone is open, unfortunately, 24 hours a day.’
““With regard to all of these platforms and I suppose specifically around TikTok, we like to be friendly. We’re friendly people, more than happy, my phone is open, unfortunately, 24 hours a day. And we hope that we will be able to find solutions.”” — Universal Music...
Opinion: Will Apple create a better AI? Questions abound as Tim Cook hints at what’s to come.
Apple Inc. has reportedly shelved its electric-car project and will be moving some of those engineers to work on AI, leading to questions such as how the iPhone maker will incorporate more artificial intelligence into its products, and whether it is creating its own...
Apple shareholders reject AI-disclosure proposal
Apple shareholders rejected a proposal that would require the company to disclose its activities with artificial intelligence. The proposal, brought by AFL-CIO Equity Index Funds, would have required the company to generate a report on its use of AI in operations and...
Paramount posts surprise adjusted profit, as higher streaming prices boost revenue
Shares of Paramount Global Inc. were up after hours on Wednesday after the media and entertainment giant reported a surprise adjusted quarterly profit, as higher subscription prices fattened sales for its Paramount+ streaming platform. Adjusted for impairments and...
10 stocks you can bet on being inflation-proof
New research shows that “quality” stocks — companies with high operating profitability but which are out of favor on Wall Street — are the type of stocks most likely to do well if inflation heats up. This same research also determined which stocks are the best bets if...
Why traders are focused on an obscure, but crucial, part of the financial system
It may be months before Federal Reserve officials are ready to take any action on interest rates, so traders are focusing on something else that ordinarily gets less attention: The undercarriage, or plumbing, of funding markets, where things could start to go awry in...
Coinbase error: some users are seeing $0 balances after traffic ‘surge’
Coinbase COIN, +3.04% has seen a “large surge of traffic” that has led some of its users’ accounts to appear to have a $0 balance, company CEO Brian Armstrong said Wednesday. The Coinbases Support X account stated that there may be errors in buying and selling on the...
Robinhood launches retirement benefits for gig workers
Brokerage platform Robinhood launched a new retirement product aimed at helping gig workers at Grubhub, Taskrabbit and Gopuff save for their future. With the new Robinhood Retirement For Independent Workers product, workers at those companies will get a range of...
Here’s how much money you’ll need to be part of the 1%. It varies by country.
Joining the world’s most exclusive club — the top 1% — has arguably never looked more doable, but a lot depends on the country in which you’re trying to achieve that status. That’s according to the 2024 Knight Frank Wealth Report, which lays out how many millions it...
Fed’s Collins wants to see inflation cool more before supporting rate cuts
The slowing of inflation must broaden out to other sectors before it will be appropriate to ease policy, Boston Fed President Susan Collins said Wednesday. “What would I need to see in the data to determine when it will be appropriate to ease policy?” Collins asked in...
Viking Therapeutics’ weight-loss drug data makes company takeover target
Viking Therapeutics Inc.’s stock rose another 8% Wednesday to extend its week-to-date gains to 145%, as analysts weighed in on its positive weight-loss drug news with some bullish commentary and said the company has become an attractive takeover target. The news from...
Alabama IVF patients turn to GoFundMe after court ruling affecting embryos
When Heather Maurer first saw on the news that Alabama’s Supreme Court had ruled that frozen embryos could be considered “extrauterine children” under state law, she didn’t think much of it. She and her husband, Chris Maurer, had already scheduled an appointment in...
Oil prices rise, buoyed by bets that OPEC+ will decide to extend its voluntary output cuts
Oil futures climbed on Wednesday, buoyed by a report that said major oil producers in OPEC+ may consider extending their voluntary production cuts into the second quarter. Data from the Energy Information Administration, meanwhile, revealed a fifth straight weekly...
Opinion: Think Donald Trump has promised not to change Social Security? Think again.
I have spent days trying to get a response out of Donald Trump, or one of his press officers, regarding a key issue about Social Security. In response, campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung sent me an email calling Nikki Haley a “moron” and a “birdbrain,” before...
Stripe’s $65B valuation means that fintech is attracting interest again
Stripe Inc. said Wednesday it’s providing liquidity to current and former employees in a so-called private-IPO transaction valued at $65 billion. While the “private initial public offering” may appear to be an oxymoron, it’s a term that bankers have been using to...
We have $3.9 million, but face a $60,000 college bill for our child over 5 years
I am 61, and recently retired with no current income. My wife is 55 and earns about $150,000 per year. I have approximately $1.5 million in 401(k)s while my wife has approximately $975,000 in her 401(k). Between the two of us, we have $300,000 in Roth IRAs. We also...
Disney teams with India’s Reliance Industries to form joint venture
Walt Disney Co. announced Wednesday an agreement with India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. and Viacom 18 Media Private Ltd. to form a digital-streaming and TV joint venture that will have exclusive rights to distribute Disney movies in India. The joint venture will...
U.S. economy’s growth in the fourth quarter downgraded to 3.2%, GDP shows
The growth of the economy in the fourth quarter was downgraded slightly to a 3.2% annual pace, but the U.S. is still expanding at a rapid clip and shows few signs of slowing down. The increase in gross domestic product in the fourth quarter followed an even stronger...
U.S. trade in goods widens 2.6% in January
Story developing. Stay tuned for updates here. The numbers: The U.S. trade deficit in goods widened 2.6% to $90.2 billion in January, according to the Commerce Department’s advanced estimate released Wednesday. Economists polled by Econoday were looking for the...
Warby Parker’s stock drops after surprise quarterly as gross margin keep falling
Shares of Warby Parker Inc. pulled back sharply Wednesday after the eyewear retailer reported a surprise fourth-quarter loss as gross margins continued to fall. The stock WRBY, +7.66% dropped 8.6% in premarket trading. The stock had run up 18% month to date ahead of...
Advance Auto’s stock rises after upbeat guidance for 2024 offsets quarterly loss
Advance Auto Parts Inc.’s stock jumped 7.5% early Wednesday, after the car parts maker’s upbeat profit guidance weighed against a quarterly loss as it continues to overhaul its business and rein in costs. Raleigh, N.C.-based Advance Auto AAP, +7.31% had a net loss of...
Actually, the U.S. is one of the least concentrated stock markets in the world.
For all the talk about the Magnificent Seven and the ultra-reliance of just a handful of companies to drive stock-market returns, it turns out the U.S. is in fact one of the least concentrated markets in the world. That’s according to the latest findings of the global...
Treasury yields hold steady with U.S. GDP revision due
Treasury yields were trading steady on Wednesday, as investors awaited fresh data on the state of the U.S. economy. What happened The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y was steady at 4.691%, after finishing slightly lower at 4.712% on Tuesday. The yield on...
Is leap day lucky for the stock market? Here’s what history says.
Leap day 2024 is almost upon us and investors may be wondering if a date associated with once topsy-turvy traditions has any significance for a stock market that’s kicked off the year with an epic rally. The answer, though it should be taken with a huge grain of salt,...
My friend’s husband pressured her to give up her job — and ‘lost’ her passport
I want to help a friend who is going through some challenges with her husband. My friend and her husband are both from India and work in the Pacific Northwest. They have twin daughters who are two years old. My friend’s husband appears to be a friendly and agreeable...
These are the 2024 SUVs that get the best gas mileage
Electric SUVs are becoming increasingly popular — and plentiful — but they are also expensive, and not everyone has access to a good home charger or public charging network. Thankfully, conventional internal combustion SUVs, hybrid SUVs, and plug-in hybrid SUVs are...
Bitcoin climbs past $59,000 as rally continues ahead of halving event
The price of bitcoin surged past $59,000 on Wednesday, touching levels not seen since late 2021 as a bullish run for the top cryptocurrency continued. Bitcoin BTCUSD, +4.50% was last up 3.7% at $59,142, just off a session high of $59,482. The crypto is roughly 14.5%...
Virgin Galactic narrows losses, but the space-tourism stock drops
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. lost less money than expected in the latest quarter, but its stock declined in Tuesday’s extended session. The aerospace and space-travel company logged a fiscal fourth-quarter net loss of $104 million, or 26 cents a share, whereas it...
Apple reportedly ends its longtime plans to build a self-driving EV
Apple Inc. is scrapping an ambitious, decade-long effort to develop an electric car with self-driving capabilities, according to reports Tuesday. Bloomberg News first reported that Apple AAPL, +0.81% executives made the announcement internally Tuesday, and that some...
I lost $240K after a friend I met on Instagram encouraged me to invest in crypto
Over the past six months, I was crypto scammed. I just retired and lost $243,000 that I don’t think I will ever see again. I have reported the company to the FBI, Federal Trade Commission, and a few others. Some of the money was from a SEP IRA. Is there something I...
Surge pricing has come to Wendy’s. Here’s how it already affects your purchases.
Surge pricing could be coming for your Wendy’s chili order.The fast-food chain with a red-headed mascot is leaving some people red-faced after the news that it plans to test “dynamic pricing” starting as early as next year. After the grilling, Wendy’s issued a blog...
Opinion: How the U.S. economy could slide into a Japan-like âlost decadeâ
In the 1980s, Japan appeared to have the world by the tail, only to see its economy collapse into a âlost decadeâ and general malaise. A similar fate for the U.S. seems unimaginable nowadays. The U.S. is scoring big wins in the latest, fast-growing...
Goldman CEO: People living paycheck to paycheck are cutting back even more
“‘I’ve talked to a bunch of CEOs that operate businesses that would have good insight into what I’ll call a more paycheck-to-paycheck kind of spending behaviors. I think that in the last few months you see a pattern of those behaviors tightening up, which means that...
How a government shutdown could affect you and your money
Parts of the federal government are soon set to start shutting down in the absence of a deal to extend funding, with some consequences for Americans’ pocketbooks — but not, traditionally, the stock market. With leaders in Congress remaining apart on a spending deal as...
Goldman Sachs could profit as IPO and merger activity climbs: analyst
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s stock was initiated with a buy rating at Edward Jones on Tuesday on expectations the it will outpace other financial stocks over the next five years as capital-market activity picks up. Analyst James Shanahan said a stronger environment for...
I inherited $70,000 in savings bonds. How do I avoid tax issues when I cash out?
Got a question about taxes or investing? You can write me at beth.pinsker@marketwatch.com. Dear MarketWatch, I have many mature EE savings bonds that I inherited from my mother as her pay-on-death beneficiary. I have been redeeming a few every year to avoid paying...
AMD CEO Lisa Su just sold $20 million in stock. Was it âopportunisticâ?
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Chief Executive Lisa Su recently unloaded more than $20 million in stock in a move that struck one expert as a deviation from her past behavior but that the company said was nothing unusual. Su sold 125,000 AMD shares AMD, +1.02% last...
AMC shares set to continue winning streak as Q4 results loom
Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. are up 5.9% Tuesday, putting them on pace to extend their winning streak to three days and register the biggest daily percentage increase since Feb. 14, when they rose 6.9%. The movie-theater chain and original meme stock...
Why Caitlin Clark could make more money staying in college â instead of the WNBA
Caitlin Clark is one of the biggest stars in college basketball. She is just 51 points away from setting the all-time scoring record in Division I history â menâs or womenâs. Peter Maravich currently holds the record with 3,667 points.Clark will likely be the...
Dow Jones edges lower as markets consolidate after run to records
U.S. stocks struggled for direction Tuesday, as traders eyed fresh data on slipping consumer attitudes but braced for a closely watched inflation gauge due later in the week. How stocks are trading The S&P 500 SPX dropped less than a point, or less than 0.1%, to...
Loweâs stock rises despite home-improvement retailerâs downbeat outlook
Shares of Loweâs Cos. Inc. fell Tuesday, after the home-improvement retailerâs big quarterly profit beat was overshadowed by a downbeat full-year outlook. While profit increased amid improved gross margin, sales fell from a year ago due to âa slowdown in...
AT&T users call $5 outage credit âa joke.â Legally, theyâre not owed anything.
Some AT&T customers are not satisfied with the $5 credit the company is offering for its massive service disruption last week, saying $5 is no longer enough to buy almost anything these days â and is not adequate compensation for the inconvenience caused by the...
Norwegian Cruiseâs stock jumps after company says it expects profit this quarter
Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. rallied toward its biggest gain in 16 months, after the cruise operator provided a surprising profit outlook for the current quarter, citing continued âhealthy consumer demandâ and record bookings. The company NCLH,...
Macyâs to close 150 stores as part of plan to boost growth and revitalize brand
Shares of Macyâs Inc. fell Tuesday after the department-store chain announced a plan to revitalize its business that includes closing 150 stores and that resulted in a $1 billion charge. Macyâs said the plan also includes monetizing up to $750 million worth of...
What Keynes wouldâve done to fund the war in Ukraine
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday gave her strongest endorsement yet of the idea of using frozen Russian assets to fund the war in Ukraine. But at a press conference from Sao Paulo, Brazil, ahead of the Group of 20 finance minister meeting, she did mention...
Smuckerâs profit tops estimates as Hostess acquisition sweetens its business
The J.M. Smucker Co. on Tuesday reported stronger-than-expected adjusted third-quarter profit, as it integrated its acquisition of Hostess Brands and total sales rose 1%. J.M. Smucker Co. SJM, -0.53% said its net income dropped to $120.4 million, or $1.14 a share, for...
Viking Therapeuticsâ stock doubles after company reports positive results in trial of weight-loss drug
Viking Therapeutics Inc.âs stock soared 100% early Tuesday, after the company announced positive results from a Phase 2 trial of its weight-loss drug VK2735, a GLP-1 receptor agonist that itâs developing in both injectable and oral form as a treatment for obesity...
I rent a duplex for $3,000 a month with a 3.5% mortgage rate. Should I sell?
I have a duplex rental property which brings in just over $3,000 a month in rent. I have a 3.5% mortgage with about $240,000 left to pay off. I net about $900 a month cash flow. There is potential for big-ticket maintenance items because the furnaces are 30 years...
Nvidia is now the king of the U.S. options market
Nvidia has already conquered the U.S. stock market. Now, it’s taking over the options market as well. Traders sunk more money into trading Nvidia options ahead of its earnings last week than the next four most-popular options plays combined, according to an analysis...
Therapist Allison Applebaum shares the lessons she learned as a caregiver
When Allison Applebaum talks about being her father’s caregiver in the last years of his life, she is referring to much more than changing sheets and doling out medicine. Perhaps the most important task she took on when she was helping her father, she says, was...
Jamie Dimon doesnât see an AI bubble: âThis is not hype. This is realâ
“âWhen we had the internet bubble the first time around ⦠that was hype. This is not hype. Itâs realâ” â Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive, JP Morgan Chase & Co. Thatâs JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon on artificial...
34% of Americans have never seen an EV in their neighborhood, survey says
Most automakers plan to sell all- or mostly-electric lineups in a little more than a decade. But, as with most new things, people are reluctant to say they’d consider buying something they’ve never seen. Studies show that Americans grow more willing to buy an electric...
When teens and young adults help older people learn technology one-on-one, great things can happen
British writer and theologian C.S. Lewis once said, “Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and hard to bear.” With all the attention to mental health and well-being, communities are trying to find ways to tackle this issue, which...
Chevron deal to buy Hess at risk as Exxon, CNOOC eye Guyana stake
Chevron warned it may not complete its planned buyout of Hess as Exxon Mobil and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation are saying the planned deal would trigger their right to boost their stakes in a Guyana venture. The warning came in a Securities and Exchange...
Record share of Americans call illegal immigration top problem facing the U.S.
A record share of Americans see illegal immigration as a “critical threat to the vital interests of the United States,” and the issue ranks as the No. 1 most important problem facing the country, according to a new poll published Tuesday by Gallup. Fifty-five percent...
Call Japan rally the âend of deflationâ market, says JPMorgan strategist
The current bull market that has seen the end of Japanâs lost three decades should be called the âend of deflationâ market, says JPMorganâs top Japan strategist. The note from JPMorganâs Rie Nishihara came as inflation data out of Japan once again came in on...
Bitcoin rallies to highest level since November 2021 as investors eye record high
Bitcoin on Monday rallied to its highest level since November 2021, as exchange-traded funds investing directly in the cryptocurrency attract more capital into the space, while investors await the upcoming “halving” event, which has historically been bullish for...
Retirement balances at their highest in nearly two years: Fidelity
The fourth quarter ended on an upswing for retirement savers. Retirement-account balances hit their highest levels in two years amid improved market conditions and consistent savings rates, according to Fidelity Investments. The average 401(k) account balance was...
The big engine that could: U.S. economy barrels ahead and puts recession forecasts in rear view
The U.S. was supposed to suffer a recession from higher interest rates. It didn’t. Next economists predicted a big slowdown in growth. No dice. And now? The economy is going to be just fine after all. That’s the latest forecast by the nation’s leading business...
Dow Jones index struggling for relevance despite adding Amazon, say researchers
Amazon.com Inc.’s inclusion in the more than 125-year-old Dow Jones Industrial Average index still leaves the popular stock-market barometer with a “relevance” problem, according to Ned Davis Researcher. Amazon AMZN, +0.25% replaced Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. WBA,...
Chief AI officer: A necessity for companies or an expensive impediment?
The hottest new job in the C-suite may also be the most challenging to fill and, ultimately, the most endangered.The mention of a chief artificial-intelligence officer elicits equal amounts of exuberance and eye rolls. It’s either the most crucial post within a...
Why investors should look beyond U.S. megacap stocks as interest-rate concerns ease
The âMagnificent Sevenâ stocks have shown no sign of slowing down so far in 2024. For investors who want to look beyond U.S. large-cap equities as the economic growth remains solid and concerns about higher interest rates seem to ease, one way to diversify and...
FTC sues to block merger between Kroger and Albertsons
The Federal Trade Commission on Monday sued to block the merger between grocery-store chains Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos. Inc., saying the deal would stifle competition, raise grocery prices and harm workers and product quality. Nine attorneys general — from...
My father died without a will. His wife moved â and Iâm paying the mortgage.Â
My father died in 2021 with no will. He shared a home with his second wife. The house is financed under both their names with a small amount of equity ($40,000). She moved out of state shortly after he died. I moved into the house and have been paying the note...
Treasuryâs $63 billion auction of 2-year notes produces solid outcome
Mondayâs $63 billion sale of 2-year notes was met with good demand, according to a strategist.The 11:30 a.m. Eastern sale drew more indirect bidders than usual, with that group being awarded 65.2% versus an average of 62.8%, according to Vail Hartman of BMO Capital...
Dominoâs stock jumps as âemergency pizzaâ offer helps fuel earnings beat
Dominoâs Pizza Inc. delivered sharp gains for its shares Monday, after the pizza chain logged a profit beat for its latest quarter, amid strength in both delivery and carryout sales. What helped drive results that its rewards program increased by 3 million active...
Stock marketâs âalmost unprecedentedâ rally, as shown in three charts
This year, the normally grim month of February has delivered stock-market records around the world â in the U.S., Europe and Japan â although much of that is thanks to Nvidia Corp.â blowout earnings. Zeroing in on Wall Street, Deutsche Bank strategist Henry...
Amazon lost nearly $1 billion on its Rivian investment last week
Shares of Rivian Automotive Inc. rose Monday, but only after it just suffered its worst week since going public, in the wake of the electric-vehicle makerâs disappointing earnings report. That selloff has been pretty painful to some high-profile corporate investors...
Sales of new homes tick up in January
Story developing. Stay tuned for updates here. The numbers: U.S. new-home sales rose 1.5% to an annual rate of 661,000 in January, from a revised 651,000 in the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Monday. The number is seasonally adjusted, and refers to how...
Is Disney lagging on AI? Thatâs part of an activist investorâs latest critique.
An activist investor blasted Walt Disney Co. on Monday for its âmediocrityâ on artificial intelligence and augmented reality and continued a campaign for seats on the media giantâs board of directors. Blackwells Capital said that Disney DIS, +0.43% faces...
Dow futures steady ahead of busy data week as investors look for fresh catalysts
U.S. stock futures pointed to a mostly flat start for Wall Street on Monday, as investors braced for a busy week of data, and looked for more catalysts to take the market higher following a boost from Nvidia last week.How are stock-index futures trading S&P 500...
Jack Maâs Ant Group piles into fight with Citadel for Credit Suisseâs Chinese business: report
Jack Maâs Ant Group has reportedly outbid Ken Griffinâs Citadel Securities in the fight to acquire Credit Suisseâs Chinese banking business, in a sign the Alipay owner now intends to revisit prior ambitions following an easing of Beijingâs yearsâ-long...
Bank of Ireland stock sinks as provisions for commercial real estate rise
Bank of Ireland became the latest to flag worries about commercial real estate as it announced higher provisions linked to the sector, and saw its shares tumble on Monday. Alongside annual results, Bank of Ireland BIRG, -11.50% reported that its underlying net credit...
Opinion: Weâre spending more on leisure and travel. These 11 stocks will soak it up.
Leisure stocks are likely to outperform this year as emboldened consumers kick back and relax. Hereâs more on three economic trends supporting this trend and 11 stocks to consider, according to five money managers I check in with on this theme. 1. Consumer...
Opinion: Hereâs what Gen Z wants employers to know about how they work
“An increased expectation that work should have positive impact and meaning.” The majority of Generation Z have little to no memory of what office culture was like before the COVID-19 pandemic. Theyâve not had much opportunity to socialize or acclimatize, given...
Oil prices extend slide as traders assess demand outlook
Oil futures fell early Monday, extending the previous week’s decline as traders fretted about the global outlook for demand as expectations central banks will begin cutting rates soon continued to fade.Price moves West Texas Intermediate crude CL00, -0.27% for April...
Bond yields steady with two auctions on tap
Bond yields were steady Monday ahead of two big auctions and key economic data later in the week.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y was 4.69%, up 2 points. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices. The yield on the 10-year Treasury...
The 15-minute city explained, and why the concept is gaining momentum
I slide my phone out of my pocket and click on the little green man. He says I’ve gone about 5,000 steps this morning. Yes, I’ve walked the dog around the block, but mostly it’s been errands: six blocks to the CVS CVS, +0.13% and back, a little less than that to the...
Boeingâs delays could see Ryanair hike prices by 10%, says CEO OâLeary: report
Mounting problems at plane manufacturer Boeing could see Ryanair forced to cut its schedules and increase prices by another 10%, the budget airlineâs CEO Michael OâLeary has reportedly warned. The low-cost carrierâs schedules were drawn up on the basis it would...
The all-new 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe: A roomy 3-row SUV with a minimalist interior
The Hyundai Santa Fe is all-new for 2024. It boasts a boxy new design, a roomier interior, and a class-leading warranty. Pricing starts at $33,950. The Hyundai Santa Fe will enter an all-new generation for the 2024 model year. It has a decidedly blocky new design and,...
Alcoa offers $2.2 billion in takeover bid for Australiaâs Alumina
SYDNEY â Aluminum producer Alcoa has agreed to an all-stock deal to acquire Australiaâs Alumina that values its equity at some 3.35 billion Australian dollars (US$2.20 billion). Pittsburgh-based Alcoa AA, -4.43% is offering 0.02854 of its own stock for each...
AT&T to credit $5 to many customers who were affected by service outage
AT&T Inc.’s chief executive apologized on Sunday for an hours-long nationwide service outage that affected some of its wireless customers last week, and said it will credit the accounts of many of those affected as compensation. AT&T later specified on its...
Half of aspiring home buyers say they earn too little to afford a house: survey
Home prices are so high that nearly half of would-be home buyers say they earn too little to afford a house, according to a new survey. The survey, by Bankrate, included responses from nearly 2,300 adults, 864 of whom were aspiring homeowners. It found that 54% of...
Should stock-market investors stop worrying about the Fed and just keep loving AI?
It might seem at times that investors care more about Jensen Huang than Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.Huang is the longtime CEO of chip maker Nvidia Corp. NVDA, +0.36%, which stole the show last week by blowing away already lofty earnings expectations and...
Clothing and electronics retailers report this week, analyst caution endures
Over the past two years, clothing and electronics haven’t exactly been a big priority for shoppers, as they try to cover higher-priced groceries and gasoline. In the week ahead, results from retail chains like Macy’s Inc., Urban Outfitters Inc., TJX Cos. and Best Buy...
Trump could deliver lower oil prices but âmixed storiesâ for oil and gas stocks
While former President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans often proclaim they want to stop what they call President Joe Bidenâs âwar on American energy,â analysts and environmentalists say the Democratic incumbent has not exactly acted in complete...
South Carolina primary: Trump beats Haley, but hereâs why sheâs staying in race
Donald Trump was projected as the winner in South Carolinaâs Republican presidential primary on Saturday over rival Nikki Haley, keeping him on track to become his partyâs 2024 nominee. The Associated Press called the race in the former presidentâs favor as...
Nvidia is now worth more than the GDP of every country except these 11
Nvidia Corp.’s NVDA, +0.36% meteoric rise makes it not only the third-largest company in the U.S. in terms of market capitalization, but also bigger than most other countries’ economies, based on gross domestic product. The chip maker’s stock closed at $788.17 on...
Iâm 58, earn $4,400 a month. Do I really need to replace 80% of my income?Â
Dear MarketWatch, Iâve heard over and over that I will need 80% of my current salary in retirement. If Iâve been putting away 20%, will I need 80% of what I bring home or 80% of my gross salary? Iâm also curious if I will be able to retire at age 60. Iâm...
We want to retire to somewhere our kids and grandkids would want to live too. Our budget is $7,000 a month â where should we go?
Iâm retiring in six months and live outside of Los Angeles. Itâs really pricey here.  Iâm 68 and my wife is 61. We will have about $800,000 in total savings and IRAs, and an income of $7,000 monthly including my Social Security. We currently rent. We want to...
This practice can drastically reduce your risk of getting dementia
I don’t want to get dementia.I really, really, really don’t want to get dementia. Almost any other way of dying would be OK with me. Just, please, not that. And now it seems I will learn to play a musical instrument, too — though whether it ends up being the piano,...
How parents and grandparents can manage the expense of multiple college tuitions
Jared Young has been thinking about paying his children’s college tuitions their whole lives. Longer than that, in fact.“Before they were born, we were thinking about it,” says Young, 52, of Castalia, Ohio. With two children in college now and two children in high...
EAâs college-football game âtaking advantageâ of players with $600 payment?
Electronic Arts Inc. has finally revealed how much it will pay college athletes to appear in its highly anticipated upcoming videogame âEA Sports College Football 25.â A total of 11,390 college-football players from 134 FBS schools will be eligible to receive $600...
Managing billions while living paycheck to paycheck: Donât do what I did
Anne Lester knows a thing or two about financially overreaching, overspending and living paycheck to paycheck. Her own finances were stretched thin for a time, even as she successfully managed billions of dollarsâ worth of retirement assets for other people as the...
Buffett praises âarchitectâ Munger, but doesnât reveal new investment for 2024
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett began his annual missive to investors on Saturday with a touching tribute to his longtime business partner, Charlie Munger, whom he credited as the conglomerateâs âarchitect.âBuffett also lamented the difficulty of...
My husband lost his job. Iâm a full-time mom. Should we sell our $400K rental?Â
Dear Big Move, My spouse lost their job during the pandemic and now our mortgages are well over the percentage of income/repayment guidelines. We have young kids and it made more sense to go the stay-at-home parent route given the cost of daycare. We still have our...
Opinion: IBM reopened their defined-benefit plan. Will other companies follow?
IBM announced last November that it would no longer contribute a traditional company match and instead reopen the cash balance component of its previously frozen defined-benefit plan. The question is, what other companies might follow suit? The answer is mainly big...
Iâm 73 and my adviser told me to buy $1.5 million in annuities. Should I do it?Â
I have $1.5 million in my 401(k) and $1.1 million in my IRA. I will be 73 in 2024 and must start RMDs.A financial planner suggested that I purchase $1.5 million in annuities and invest the other $1 million in stocks and bonds. Should I take my adviserâs suggestion?...
Nvidia flirts with $2 trillion valuation, but fails to finish there
Nvidia Corp. just fell short of finishing as one of only three U.S. companies to fetch a closing market value above $2 trillion. The chip maker’s stock NVDA, +0.36% rose as much as 4.9% in Friday’s session, which would have implied a market capitalization of $2.06...
Opinion: The âcardboard-boxâ recession is over. An out-of-the-box recovery is coming.
“The more goods that factories ship in cardboard boxes, the better it should be for the economy.” Now that Super Bowl LVIII is over and the Kansas City Chiefs won, many people are predicting it will be a down year for the stock market. Why? According to the âSuper...
Is this the new normal Xi Jinping promised the Chinese people? Yes and no.
Investors, consumers and homeowners — and just about everyone in China — are making adjustments to what appears to be a “new normal” of slow growth for an economy that had been white-hot for decades.Chengdu homeowner Zhong Weiyi, 58, worries whether his shrinking home...
Amazonâs stock could lose to Walgreensâ this year if the Dow jinx holds
The keepers of the Dow Jones Industrial Average have been very good at making sure the changes they make to the venerable stock-market barometer are seamless to investors, but nobodyâs perfect. How the 128-year old index DJIA is constructed is a secret closely...
Fed plans to keep interest rates high through the spring â no doubt about it
The modern-day Federal Reserve is often a Tower of Babel of sorts: Different voices saying different things about how high U.S. interest rates should be. Not so now. Top Fed officials are entirely in lip-sync these days about keeping a benchmark short-term interest...
Opinion: Nvidia earnings keep the stock marketâs bears in hibernation
The stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 index SPX, pulled back by a modest amount prior to Nvidiaâs NVDA, +0.36% earnings report Wednesday. The large-cap benchmark finally retreated enough to touch its rising 20-day moving average for the first time since...
Two years after Ukraine invasion, the corporate fight against Russia continues
Two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv’s efforts to defeat Moscow are being played out not just on the battlefield but also in boardrooms around the world.Following its invasion and the imposition of U.S. and partners’ sanctions and...
After Nvidiaâs latest blowout, here are 20 AI stocks expected to rise as much as 44%
With Nvidia Corp. reporting another set of amazing numbers, itâs time for a broad look at the artificial-intelligence landscape to see which stocks are most favored by analysts. Hereâs a sampling of coverage of Nvidiaâs NVDA, +0.36% results for its fiscal fourth...
Some investors switch direction as Nvidia and AI stocks soar
Coverage of the stock market has been dominated by Nvidia Corp. this week, as another eye-popping set of numbers has made the case that we are still in an early phase of the infrastructure rollout to support artificial intelligence technology. But something else has...
Why Jamie Dimonâs $150 million JPMorgan stock sale could be reason for caution
JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon dumped $150 million in the companyâs stock Thursday in his first-ever sale, a recent filing shows. He had previously indicated an intent to unload stock. Dimon sold 821,800 JPMorgan shares JPM, +0.50% at average prices near...
H&R Blockâs online tax prep tricked customers into paying more money, FTC claims
H&R Block made it too hard for taxpayers to opt out of pricier tax-preparation plans and tricked customers about what types of taxes could be done for free, according to allegations in a new complaint by federal regulators. The Federal Trade Commission said Friday...
More stocks are joining the marketâs rally, even as Big Tech gets the attention
A rally in Big Tech stocks received most of the credit for driving global markets higher this week. But in the U.S., they couldnât have done it without a little help from their friends. As the S&P 500 SPX booked its best weekly advance since early January, one...
Opinion: The scourge of fine print: Even Donald Trumpâs new sneakers come with caveats.
Like anyone else, Iâve made my share of financial mistakes, small and large. Iâve sold a house at the bottom of the real-estate market. Iâve bought exercise equipment I didnât use. And Iâve spent way too much on lottery tickets.But nothing quite frustrates...
My husband secretly set up a trust that includes our home. What should I do?
My husband and I married 10 years ago. It was a second marriage for both of us. I recently found out that after five years of marriage, he put all of our assets into trusts controlled by him alone. At that time, at his request, I also gave up a job that I loved...
Intuitive Machinesâ stock sinks 32% after Odysseus moon lander falls on its side
Intuitive Machinesâ stock fell more than 30% after hours Friday after the space-exploration company said that its Odysseus lunar lander had fallen on its side while landing near the moonâs south pole, hampering its communications with Earth. Intuitive Machines...
Trump merchandise sales are 80% below their peak at this yearâs CPAC, vendor says
Donald Trump is cruising toward the Republican nomination once again. But has the luster gone from his golden throne? Iâm outside Washington, D.C., at this yearâs Conservative Political Action Conference, which is pretty much MAGA central these days. And the queen...
Nasdaq 100 rose 3% for the first time since the dot-com bubble era. Why it brings up old memories of this âscaryâ period
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index on Thursday scored a daily advance of over 3% to close at its all-time high for the first time since March 2000, a scene in some ways reminiscent of the dot-com era over two decades ago which led up to the bursting of the bubble...
Home foreclosures are rising in these states, but not at a worrying level yet
Foreclosures ticked up in January, signaling distress among some homeowners, according to a new report. The report by Attom, an analytics company that specializes in real-estate data, noted that the number of U.S. properties with foreclosure filings rose to 33,270 in...
‘No-landing’ scenario and strong stock market raise the risk of a bonds selloff
U.S. stocks soared to new heights on Friday amid growing investor optimism, which gave way to a new risk in financial markets: The possibility of a strong selloff in long-term U.S. government debt. Yields on long-term Treasurys â which were lower on the day, but not...
Iâve been diagnosed with dementia. I suddenly could not spell or write legibly.
I have been diagnosed with brain damage and dementia. Word to the younger folks: I woke up last year and suddenly could not spell or write legibly. No warning. No symptoms. I am getting worse, so I want to protect my wife of 24 years, and our finances. She will get...
How to write a memoir, according to retirees who have actually done it
At age 80, Sly Stone has written a memoir. The musician reflects on his ups and downs with brutal honesty, recalling his early fame, drug abuse, arrests and failed comeback attempts.Celebrity memoirs are nothing new. Their often-harrowing content can offer cautionary...
30% of Medicare Advantage subscribers arenât using their extra benefits
Medicare Advantage programs often tout their supplemental benefits such as hearing, vision and dental care as enticements for customers. Yet, many people arenât even using these benefits.In fact, three in 10 of Medicare Advantage customers arenât using any of...
A new Rivian bear emerges after rare two-notch downgrade; EV maker âheading off-roadâ
Rivian Automotive Inc. is âheading off-roadâ amid weaker demand for EVs and a strategy that is hard on profitability and cash flow, analysts at UBS said in a note Friday. âWe had been optimistic on [Rivianâs] product and brand ultimately winning out,â the...
Why are credit-card APRs so high? âNo reason other than greed,â advocates say
Credit-card issuers have been padding their interest rates, causing cardholders to pay inflated borrowing costs, according to new research from federal regulators.Though credit-card annual percentage rates have climbed since the Federal Reserve began hiking its...
American Airlines is changing frequent-flier rules â hereâs who is most affected
American Airlines will soon stop letting customers earn frequent-flier miles when they book trips on third-party travel sites â and the change will hurt some road warriors more than others. At the moment, American Airlines AAL, -0.84% passengers can earn miles when...
Nioâs stock dives after analystâs call to sell, given increasing competition
Shares of Nio Inc. were driven lower Friday, after J.P. Morgan recommended investors sell, as the dearth of new models could hurt sales given new launches from competitors. The China-based electric vehicle makerâs stock NIO, -7.44% sank 6.6% in morning trading, to...
“AI will double everyoneâs productivity,” says ex Google CEO Eric Schmidt
“âIâm going to claim without any proof whatsoever that AI will double everyoneâs productivity.â” â Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google This is what former Google CEO Eric Schmidt had to say about the way artificial intelligence will transform the world, as he...
Why Citi analysts think banks will handle commercial-real-estate exposure
While commercial real estate loan delinquencies will increase, the $39 billion that banks have already set aside to cover losses should be enough to cover any impact to the system, Citi analysts said Friday. In reaction to regional bank-stock losses following trouble...
Bidenomics? More like Mr. Magoo, says hedge-fund manager Dan Loeb
Third Point founder and chief executive Dan Loeb, in a colorful way, isn’t a believer that the current economic growth will be sustained. In a now-deleted message on the social media service X, Loeb quote-tweeted a New York Times opinion piece arguing Bidenomics is...
DWAC lists concerns about Trump in SEC filing about Trump Media purchase
Digital World Acquisition Corp. said Friday it has updated its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding its planned merger with Trump Media and Technology Group, former President Donald Trumpâs social-media company, to reflect new risk factors....
Blockâs stock heads for best day in 15 months as itâs now appealing in a new way
Judging by the sharp rally in Block Inc. shares, you could say it was a blockbuster quarter for the Square and Cash App parent company. Blockâs stock SQ, +5.41% was ahead 17% in premarket trading Friday and would log its best day in over 15 months â since it rose...
History shows Nvidiaâs blistering post-earnings rally wonât fade, says Citi.
Investors have been watching the meteoric rise of Nvidia Corp. with amazement, though some with trepidation over concerns the AI darling could give back some of that meteoric rise after blowout earnings reported earlier this week. But a new study from Citigroup finds...
Markets underpricing risk of populist politics in U.S. and abroad, Summers says
Former U.S. treasury secretary Larry Summers has said markets may be underestimating the risks posed by an upsurge in political turmoil that threatens to undermine the basic order and stability that has underpinned America’s economic growth in recent decades. The...
My $550K home has a 2.5% mortgage rate, but I donât like the area. Do I sell?
Dear Big Move, My husband and I canât decide between selling our house or renting it out. We live in Northern California in an area that we donât like. The house is cute, we have a 2.5% interest rate and $262,000 left on our mortgage. The Redfin estimate for our...
Companies have invested billions in DEI. Why isnât it helping Black workers?
The Value Gap is a MarketWatch interview series about confronting inequality that features business leaders, academics, policy makers and activists.Over the last several years, a lot of American companies started talking about race. Hundred of brands posted about...
S&P 500 futures ease from Nvidia-inspired record high
U.S. stock-index futures took a step back on Friday, easing after a powerful rally sparked by results from chipmaker Nvidia that stoked enthusiasm about a possible artificial-intelligence revolution.What’s happening Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, +0.03%...
Jensen Huang sees wealth increase by $9.6 billion on Nvidiaâs share price surge
Jensen Huang saw his net wealth increase by $9.6 billion on Thursday following a major surge in Nvidiaâs share price that has lifted the wealth of the worldâs richest billionaires, according to Bloombergâs Billionaire Index.  The Nvidia CEO saw his overall...
It turns out, the better way to play Nvidiaâs success was FTX
As great as Nvidiaâs stock has done, there was a better way to trade its success in powering artificial intelligence applications: buying claims on the bankrupt FTX. Claims on the bankrupt crypto exchange previously run by Sam Bankman-Fried now have a bid-ask...
Reddit publicly files IPO papers, detailing plans to license data, sell more ads
Social-media platform Reddit â the home of AMAs, Wall Street Bets and thousands of other online communities â publicly filed its registration statement for an IPO on Thursday, detailing plans to push further into advertising, data sales and analytics, and what it...
Odysseus lander reaches moon, rockets Intuitive Machinesâ stock up 37%
Intuitive Machines Inc. made history Thursday when the Houston-based space-exploration companyâs Odysseus spacecraft became the first commercial lander to successfully reach the moon. The uncrewed Odysseus lander is also the first American spacecraft to reach the...
Why a drop in oil 10 years ago suggests the U.S. stock market is headed for a decline
U.S. stocks and oil can sometimes move together, but a period of decline for oil ten years ago indicates potential for a steep stock market decline that may begin this summer, according to Tom McClellan, editor of The McClellan Market Report. In what he referred to as...
Nvidiaâs stock price isnât the only thing that sets it apart from the rest of the Magnificent Seven
Nvidiaâs spectacular growth is hard to quantify sometimes. But this chart, from Sonu Varghese, global macro strategist at the Carson Group, helps put things in perspective. Itâs shows how Nvidiaâs NVDA, +16.40% earnings â or, to be more precise, analyst...
How Jacques Torres nails it as a chef, dad and retirement saver at 65
Sitting in the office of his Brooklyn chocolate factory, Jacques Torres is describing what is probably not a typical weekend for a fellow member of the cohort of baby boomers turning 65 this year. No thoughts of retirement or golf. No studying how to apply for...
Wall Street braces for more strong U.S. economic and inflation data next week
Another round of robust U.S. data is set to arrive next week, raising questions in the financial market about whether the economy can continue to avoid buckling under the weight of the highest interest rates in over two decades.The first revision to fourth-quarter...
Opinion: Forget the billions. How much will climate change really cost your family?Â
“As extreme weather disrupts supply chains, the cost of food is particularly susceptible to climate-related shocks.” The price we pay for climate change isnât cheap. The U.S. now experiences a billion-dollar extreme-weather event every three weeks, with climate...
This fintech startup is targeting a gap in lending as banks tighten credit
With banks facing higher interest-rates that bite into economic activity, not to mention the need to stockpile money for bad debts or unpaid credit-card bills, it has been harder to get a loan in the past year or so.At least one startup sees an opportunity. The...
Newmontâs stock falls as mining company plans dividend cuts, asset sales
Newmont Corp.âs stock fell 6% Thursday to put it on track for a nearly five-year low, after the gold miner said itâs planning to sell assets and reduce its dividend as it refocuses its portfolio. The stock NEM, -7.66% was trading around $31 putting it in sight of...
To save Social Security, they may come for your 401(k)Â
It looks like we had better ramp up our 401(k) and IRA contributions to the absolute max while we still can, folks. That means a full $30,000 this year, and more if youâre 50 or older:Â The 401(k) maximum for 2024 is $23,000 and the IRA maximum is $7,000, and savers...
Synopsysâs stock is another chip and AI play thatâs soaring after earnings report
Shares of Synopsys Inc. rocketed into record territory as the semiconductor-design-software company beat quarterly profit expectations and raised its full-year outlook, while touting its âturbochargedâ artificial-intelligence platform, Synopsys.ai. âThe first...
Nvidia-fueled tech rally puts Nasdaq Composite record in sight
An Nvidia-led rally is helping to push the Nasdaq Composite toward record territory, with the tech-heavy index near its first record close in 27 months. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, comprised of most of the stocks that trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange and one of the...
Royal Caribbean is tapping the high-yield bond market for first time this year
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. launched a private offering of $1.0 billion of senior-secured eight-year bonds on Thursday, tapping the high-yield bond market for the first time in 2024. Proceeds of the deal will be used along with cash on hand and/or borrowings under...
Opinion: Removing 401(k) and IRA tax incentives would not save Social Security
Policy experts with the Center for Retirement Research and the American Enterprise Institute published new research offering a solution to the gloomy outlook for Social Security. The authors suggest that eliminating the tax incentives that come with a traditional IRA...
Capital OneâDiscover dealâs fate could depend on 2024 presidential election
Capital One Financial Corp. is aiming to become the largest credit-card issuer in the U.S. through a takeover of Discover Financial Services, in a combination that would test the Biden administrationâs commitment to reining in the excesses of the financial-services...
Fedâs Jefferson says he expects rate cuts âlater this yearâ
The No. 2 official at the Federal Reserve said Thursday that he thinks the central bank can begin to cut interest rates in 2024. âIf the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back our policy restraint later this year,â...
Stocks can get more expensive, says strategist. Donât get in front of FOMO for now.
The bulls are back in town â or maybe they never left. After blowing past forecasts, Nvidia is not only soaring, but mass enthusiasm is sparking stock records from Tokyo to Paris, and the S&P 500 doesnât look ready to be left out on Thursday. Down the road,...
S&P 500 in line for record as Nvidia results push Nasdaq futures up 350 points
U.S. stock-index futures surged on Thursday with the Dow and S&P 500 eyeing fresh records after Nvidia Corp.’s blowout earnings unleashed a wave of optimism that drove global markets higher. How ae stock-index futures trading S&P 500 futures ES00, +1.36% rose...
Wayfairâs stock leaps as job cuts allows for more work to get done, and faster
Shares of Wayfair Inc. soared Thursday, after the online home-furnishings retailer reported a narrower-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and said it returned to positive active customer growth after two years of declines. The quarterly results come about a month after...
These mutual fund and ETF investing tips can get you in step with the market
Don’t miss these top mutual fund and ETF investing features: Sign up here to get MarketWatch’s highlights of the most timely ETF news emailed to you weekly!INVESTING NEWS & TRENDSHas it become easier to beat index funds? The growth of indexing may lead to some...
Southwest reaches tentative contract with 18,000 transport workers after they rejected an earlier proposal
Southwest Airlines Co.’s stock rose Thursday after it said it reached a tentative agreement with the union that represents 18,000 of its staff that handle baggage, provisions and cargo for the carrier. Southwest shares LUV, +2.01% were up 0.7% in premarket trading as...
Opinion: Nvidiaâs growth and Intelâs chip-making plans depend on AI fulfilling its promise
“AI demand isnât slowing; it isnât stopping, and those who claim this is a phase or a hiccup in the market are clearly missing the significance.” This has been a big week for investors banking on the inevitable growth of artificial intelligence. After the U.S....
11 common financial mistakes â and how to avoid them
Apple Computer founded on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Whatâs less well known is that originally there was a third co-founder, an engineer named Ronald Wayne. Wayneâs tenure at the company was short, though. Concerned by the riskâand by...
Google to halt Gemini tool from generating images of people after criticism
Google says it won’t let its artificial-intelligence image generation tool generate pictures of people after users complained it was showing racial minorities in historically inaccurate ways. The Gemini tool was lampooned Wednesday after users showed it generated...
Nestle’s sales fall as customers balk at higher prices
Nestle shares fell on Thursday after the worldâs largest food seller reported a sharper-than-expected drop in its full-year sales, caused by cost conscious customers balking at higher prices.  The Swiss company reported a 0.3% drop in its closely-watched real...
Tesla and Mercedes-Benz earn roughly the same. Tesla’s worth 8 times more.
The numbers are in, and the earnings last year from Tesla and Mercedes-Benz are almost identical. The German automaker said it earned €14.26 billion ($15.47 billion) in 2023, a decline of 1.7% from last year. Tesla, meanwhile, earned $15 billion, a 19% improvement....
European stocks hit new record for first time in two years
European stocks were on course for a new record high for the first time in more than two years as the semiconductor sector got a fresh leg up from Nvidia’s sparkling results. The STOXX Europe 600 index XX:SXXP, which represents a continent-wide list of the bigger...
Etsyâs stock is dropping on earnings miss, slow start to fiscal year
Etsy Inc.âs stock fell 8% in extended trading Wednesday after the company posted a quarterly earnings miss and warned of a soft beginning to its fiscal year. The online marketplace ETSY, +1.66% reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $83.3 million, or 62 cents...
Opinion: Nvidiaâs sheer dominance can be summed up by this one underrated number
Following a quarter when Nvidia Corp. grew data-center revenue and earnings each by more than 400%, another number illustrates the companyâs dominance even more. Among the record-setting elements of Nvidiaâs NVDA, -2.85% stunning fiscal fourth quarter was its...
Japanâs Nikkei stock index briefly tops record high
Japanâs benchmark index continues to scale new peaks, rising briefly above the record closing high level reached at the height of the Japanese asset bubble in 1989. The Nikkei Stock Average JP:NIK was 1.7% higher at 38,924.88 for a brief moment on Thursday morning,...
Whatâs behind the 34-year roundtrip for the Nikkei 225
The Nikkei 225 â an oddly constructed index covering the top 225 Japanese companies â is back at levels not reached since 1989. The Nikkei 225 JP:NIK rallied 2.2% Thursday to finish at 39,098.68, taking out the Dec. 1989 peak of 38,916 in the process. âAlthough...
For many, credit-card debt tops savings. Hereâs how to build an emergency fund.
Tim Whistlerâs credit-card debt gradually grew to about $8,000. The cost of everyday products rose, his monthly rent jumped from $1,000 to $1,400 over four years, and then last year, his son was born, adding entirely new categories of expenses. Like a growing number...
You can save $1,650 in the next decade by making this change to your coffee order
For years, coffee drinkers have been warned that a daily latte could wreak havoc on their long-term finances — the so-called “latte factor.”But maybe they should really be worried about that morning mocha instead. A mocha drink — that sweet sip that features espresso...
Fed officials more worried about cutting rates too fast than moving too slow, minutes show
More Federal Reserve officials are concerned about cutting interest rates too quickly than are worried about going too slowly, according to minutes of the Fed’s late January policy meeting, released Wednesday. “Most” officials noted the risks of moving too quickly to...
Opinion: OpenAIâs Sam Altman has plans for AI that could mean big money for Intel
“Many companies, including giants Nvidia and Qualcomm, will likely partner with Intel for packaging and/or wafer capacity, and this seems to be going somewhat unnoticed.” Iâm bullish on Intel for three main reasons: the leadership of Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger,...
Icahn Enterprises CEO to become head of Pep Boys
Icahn Enterprises L.P. said Wednesday that its current chief executive, David Willetts, will become CEO of Pep Boys, the automotive aftermarket service chain that it acquired in 2016. Willetts will be replaced at billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn’s investment...
I sold my house and invested in IRA CDs. They mature next month. How will I be taxed?
I’m 70 years old and I sold my house in August 2022 for $250,000. I invested the proceeds — after paying off the mortgage balance, car, etc. — in IRA CDs.If I cash out one of those IRA CDs for $11,000 plus interest after it matures in March, do I have to pay taxes on...
Bank of America CEO flags tug-of-war between inflation and higher wages but says consumers are still spending
“‘Yes, prices are up, but wages are up, unemployment is down, people are earning money. And so that’s the tug-of-war that’s going on. And they’ve moved the consumer to a different level of spending and capabilities. Will that hold is going to be an interesting...
Higher APRs? More rewards? How the Capital One-Discover deal impacts card users
Capital One Financial Corp.’s possible purchase of Discover Financial Services could prove a costly shake-up for credit-card users, according to consumer advocates and payments experts. The potential $35 billion merger has prompted concern from consumer groups, who...
Student-loan forgiveness: Do you qualify for this wave? How to check and apply.
The Biden administration announced it’s canceling $1.2 billion in student debt for 153,000 borrowers. So how do you know if you’re eligible for this latest round of relief? And if you’re not, how do you get on a pathway towards forgiveness? We answer some of these...
Intuitive Machinesâ stock takes a dive the day before planned moon landing
Shares of Intuitive Machines Inc. reversed course to trade lower in very active trading Wednesday, a day before the much-anticipated moon landing of the space-exploration companyâs commercial probe. In the latest update on the mission, the company said Thursday that...
My sister is a hoarder and delaying probate of our parentsâ estate. What now?
I am in my early 50s, divorced and working full time, and have been raising my only child, a teenage daughter, alone for the past 12 years. My daughter is estranged from her father, who pays child support. We live in Connecticut. My parents are both deceased as of...
Treasury yields hold steady ahead of Fedâs January minutes
Treasury yields were little changed Wednesday morning as traders waited for the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserveâs January meeting.Whatâs happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y dipped less than 1 basis point to 4.602% from 4.610%...
U.K. sanctions six Russians from ‘Polar Wolf’ prison camp where Navalny died
The U.K. government has sanctioned six Russian officials involved in running the âPolar Wolfâ Arctic penal colony in response to the death of Putin opponent Alexei Navalny inside the prison camp on Friday last week. The British response will see the head of the...
Wendyâs stock falls again as longtime bull turns tail amid price-cut concerns
Shares of Wendyâs Co. continued their post-earnings selloff on Wednesday, after a long-time bullish analyst recommended investors stop buying, citing concerns that price competition will grow more intense. The fast-food chainâs stock WEN, -2.50% fell 1.2% toward a...
Palo Alto Networksâ stock sinks toward worst day on record upon âabrupt pivotâ
Palo Alto Networks Inc. shares could be headed for their worst day on record as Wall Street frets about a strategic pivot thatâs expected to hit results in the near term. The stock was off 24.7% in premarket trading Wednesday after the company missed expectations...
Bausch & Lombâs stock soars 11% after earnings beat
Bausch + Lomb Corp.âs stock soared 10% early Wednesday, after the vision-care companyâs adjusted fourth-quarter profit topped estimates and it offered upbeat revenue guidance for 2024. The Vaughan, Ontario-based company BLCO, +1.96% had a net loss of $54 million,...
Glencore cuts dividend as earnings fall 50% on collapse in global coal prices
Glencore on Wednesday said its adjusted earnings had halved over 2023, following a sharp slump in global coal prices and it outlined plans to cut its dividend in order to pay down debts accrued from its $9 billion takeover of Teck Resources steelmaking coal assets in...
HSBC shares dive after $3 billion writedown of China bank stake
HSBC led the London market lower on Wednesday after a $3 billion hit to its operations in China saw the banking giant’s quarterly profits dive 80%. Shares in the U.K.-based lender HSBA, -7.60% HSBC, +1.31%, which makes most of its earnings in Asia, fell 7% after...
Natural-gas prices bounce 8% as Chesapeake plans production cuts
Natural-gas futures jumped sharply Wednesday morning, bouncing after ending the previous session at the lowest in more than 3 1/2 years after Chesapeake Energy, a major shale producer, cut its production outlook. Meanwhile, oil futures lost ground, on track for...
7% mortgage rates make a comeback, stifling home-buying demand
The numbers: U.S. mortgage applications plunged in the latest week as mortgage rates rose over 7% as hopes fade for a near term interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. With consumer prices rising faster than expected, the market pushed back expectations on when the...
A majority of people would buy if mortgage rates fall to this level, survey shows
A majority of people still believe in the American dream of owning a home, a new survey shows, as long as mortgage rates fall enough to make the math work. With mortgage rates back over 7%, home-buying demand fell in the latest week, as buyers found it increasingly...
Amazon to join Dow Jones Industrial Average next week
Amazon.com Inc. is set to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average in a week, a move meant to reflect âthe evolving nature of the American economy,â S&P Dow Jones Indices said late Tuesday. Amazon AMZN, -1.43% replaces Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. WBA, +1.50% in...
Hedge funds have started selling stakes in the Magnificent Seven, despite the bumper returns
Top hedge funds have started cutting their exposure to the Magnificent Seven tech giants, despite having generated gains due to the bumper returns provided by the popular mega-cap tech companies in 2024 so far, new analysis from Goldman Sachs shows. Hedge funds...
I was skeptical, then I started reaping the benefits of virtual reality workouts
Apart from watching instructional YouTube videos, playing New York Times word games on our phones and streaming a show over spotty Wi-Fi in the evening, my wife and I are not big techies. That’s why I was surprised when she hinted that she’d like a virtual reality...
Currency with King Charles III to enter into circulation in June
The first currency with a portrait of King Charles III will enter circulation in June, the Bank of England said Wednesday. The notes with Charles’s portrait will appear on the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes. Notes with Queen Elizabeth II on them will still remain in...
BT to sell the BT Tower, which will become a hotel
London’s iconic BT Tower is being sold and will be converted into a hotel. BT BT.A, -0.05% said it’s selling the BT Tower to MCR Hotels for £275 million ($347 million). BT said network operations that were provided from the tower are now being provided elsewhere. For...
British nuclear sub missile launch fails during test for second time in a row, report says
A missile test-fired from a British nuclear submarine failed to launch, the second failed test in a row, The Sun newspaper reported, ahead of a Commons briefing to lawmakers on the topic. The first-stage booster didn’t ignite, so the missile with dummy warheads that...
Bed Bath & Beyond parent âdissatisfiedâ with Q4 results, reassessing its portfolio
Beyond BYON, +4.98%, the owner of Bed Bath & Beyond and Overstock, said revenue fell in the latest quarter and that it is reviewing its portfolio to meet its full-year financial goals. The location-based online retailer posted fourth-quarter loss of $161 million,...
Nvidiaâs stock heads for worst day since 2022, biggest market-cap loss ever
Nvidia Corp. is about to report another set of blowout results Wednesday, but Wall Street has come to expect that more and more from the chip giant. Perhaps thatâs why Nvidiaâs stock NVDA, -4.89% was sliding toward its worst day in over a year heading into the...
I asked my broker to convert my bonds to cash. He didnât. Can I sue?
I have a $1.5 million account with one of the major investment managers in the United States. In the fall of 2021, the stock market was weakening and the Federal Reserve was projecting that its benchmark rate would increase significantly from zero in the following...
AI stocks in S&P 500 are outperforming in 2024, and not just âMagnificent Sevenâ
Itâs not just the top seven companies in the S&P 500 that are benefiting from the stock-market craze around artificial intelligence, according to Bespoke Investment Group. Sixty-seven stocks in the S&P 500 that are related to AI have surged by an average...
3 ways a âMagnificent Sevenâ stock-market bubble could burst
Megacap technology shares remain in the driverâs seat as the stock market extends a narrowly led bull run into 2024, leading to an intensifying debate over whether the rally carries echoes of the 1990s tech bubble. âThe âMagnificent Sevenâ continue to drive...
Do you think youâre ready to retire? What you donât know should worry you.
Do you think you have plenty of money in savings and investments? Are you confident youâve got a handle on crucial aspects of retirement such as Social Security and Medicare? You might need to think again. While more than two-thirds of retirees and near-retirees see...
Opinion: Hereâs what people about to retire really need their 401(k) plan to provide
“Any financial professional or organization that gives rollover-related advice would have to adhere to the fiduciary standard.” Baby boomers and Gen Xers will leave the workforce by the millions over the coming decade. Yet many have no idea whether the money theyâve...
Has it become easier to beat index funds?
No, the stock market hasn’t become easier to beat. That’s important to keep in mind as a counter to the argument that, because index funds have “officially won” the battle to manage more money than actively managed funds, the stock market has become less efficient and...
Home Depotâs stock falls after U.S. sales disappoint, amid âbig-ticketâ weakness
Shares of Home Depot Inc. were knocked lower Tuesday, after the home improvement retail giant topped fiscal fourth-quarter net sales expectations but missed on U.S. same-store sales and provided a downbeat full-year outlook. âAfter three years of exceptional growth...
AbbVie taps new CEO as it faces fresh competition for blockbuster drug Humira
AbbVie Inc.’s founding CEO Richard Gonzalez will step down July 1, the drugmaker said Tuesday, and will be replaced by the company’s current president and chief operating officer, Robert Michael. Gonzalez, who has been AbbVie’s chief executive since the company’s...
Can I leave my $210K home to my daughter without triggering capital-gains tax?
Dear Tax Guy, I am a 42-year-old father of a son and daughter. I have a paid-off investment property in Oklahoma that was my first home and where I raised my daughter. I bought the property for $120,000 and it is currently valued at $210,000 and my daughter says that...
Three stocks of AI âenablersâ to consider as Nvidia sets up another surprise
All eyes are on Nvidia Corp. this week â the company will announce its latest quarterly results after the close on Wednesday. It has been dominating the market for graphics processing units (GPUs) being deployed by datacenters for the rollout of artificial...
Temenos shares fall further as Swiss firm vows to review short-seller’s claims
Temenos shares fell further on Tuesday as the Swiss company continued to suffer from allegations raised against it by short-seller Hindenburg Research, despite vowing to launch an independent review of the claims which have caused its stock price to crash. Â The...
People of color have made big homeownership gains â especially this group
People of color made significant gains in homeownership over the last several years, with the Hispanic homeownership rate hitting an all-time high, according to a new report by the National Association of Realtors.The NAR on Tuesday released its annual Snapshot of...
RAPT Therapeutics stock plunges as FDA halts two clinical trials
RAPT Therapeutics Inc. shares RAPT, +1.68% dropped more than 60% premarket on Tuesday after the company said regulators have hit pause on two clinical trials of its experimental inflammation treatment due to liver failure in a trial participant. The U.S. Food and Drug...
Intelâs stock rises as a big week for its manufacturing business kicks off
The Commerce Department continues to dole out money as part of the Chips Act, and Intel Corp. shares are rising premarket Tuesday as some investors appear hopeful the company will soon rake in serious funds. Intel INTC, -1.23% could receive upwards of $10 billion in...
Walmartâs stock heads for a record after earnings beat, Vizio buyout deal
Shares of Walmart Inc. jumped further into record territory Tuesday amid a busy day for the discount retail giant, which reported an earnings beat, confirmed a $2.3 billion deal to buy smart-TV maker Vizio Holding Corp. VZIO, +0.21% and raised its dividend by 9%....
Truist selling insurance-brokerage unit at a $15.5B valuation to private-equity firms
Truist Financial Corp. said Tuesday it agreed to sell its remaining stake in Truist Insurance Holdings to an investor group led by Stone Point Capital and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in a deal that values the insurance-brokerage business at $15.5 billion. The deal...
Opinion: Americans deserve a better economy than what Biden or Trump can give them
U.S. President Joe Biden’s economic program is problematic, and former President Donald Trump does not offer much better. Both wrongly dismiss the old Washington Consensus that prosperity is best served by fiscal prudence, monetary discipline and free trade....
Oil prices edge lower as traders monitor Middle East tensions
Oil futures moved lower early Tuesday as U.S. traders prepared to return from the Presidents Day holiday weekend, while downside was seen limited by continued worries over the Middle East as Iran-backed Houthi rebels continued to attack cargo ships.Price moves West...
Treasury yields ease off amid China growth concerns, looming Fed minutes
Bond yields fell on Tuesday as a mild risk-off tone enveloped markets after U.S. investors returned from a long weekend.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y fell 1.7 basis points to 4.623%. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices....
âAutomakers are sweetening dealsâ: Average new car price is down, inventory up
The average new car sold for $47,401 in January â a 2.6% drop from December. Prices are down a remarkable 3.5% since last January. âIt is common to see lower transaction prices and sales in January, as December typically is a hot month for luxury vehicle sales,â...
Barclays vows to cut costs by £2 billion and return £10 billion to shareholders
Barclays on Tuesday outlined plans to restructure its business with a view to cutting its costs by £2 billion over the next two years and boosting its returns to shareholders, with a view to paying out £10 billion in share buybacks and dividends between now and...
S&P 500 futures lower as Nvidia dips ahead of earnings midweek
U.S. stock-index futures moved lower as investors returned from the holiday weekend in cautious mood ahead of earnings reports that will shed light on the health of the consumer and crucial results from AI-darling Nvidia.How are stock-index futures trading S&P 500...
Trumpâs sneakers are already going for up to $45,000. Can they hold their value?
Former president and 2024 Republican contender Donald Trump may potentially be in the hole for $355 million after losing his latest court case. But his newly announced line of Trump-branded sneakers is proving to be a financial hit, at least in the short term.Now, the...
Why Capital One plans to buy Discover in a megamerger of credit giants
Capital One Financial Corp. intends to purchase Discover Financial Services in an all-stock deal that one analyst notes would “effectively create the largest card issuer in the U.S.” Capital One COF, +0.64% announced the deal late Monday after various outlets reported...
China cuts mortgage rates by record amount to help struggling property sector
China made its biggest ever cut to mortgage rates on Tuesday, as the authorities try to support the struggling property sector, though the response from stock markets was muted. The People’s Bank of China said that the country’s lenders would reduce their five-year...
Trump ties Alexei Navalny death to âradical leftâ but does not mention Putin
“The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country. It is a slow, steady progression, with CROOKED, Radical Left Politicians, Prosecutors, and Judges leading us down a path to destruction. Open Borders, Rigged...
As Nvidia prepares to post results, these three Europe chip names are tipped for gains, JPMorgan says
As Nvidia prepares to publish its much-anticipated full-year results this Wednesday, analysts at JPMorgan say VAT Group, ASML Holding, and ASM International all offer the strongest prospects for investors seeking to cash in on an upturn in the market for microchips. ...
Elliott and JD.com consider battle over U.K retailer
The latest showdown between the U.S. and China may take place on the British high street. Shares in London-listed Currys CURY, +37.43% surged 37% on Monday after Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com said it was considering an offer for the struggling U.K. electrical goods...
How to make sure you pay a fair price for the financial advice you need.
When shopping for a financial planner, it’s natural to ask, “How much do you charge?” If you expect a simple, one-sentence answer, think again. There are many ways that advisers get paid and it can get complicated. Their fee structure reflects the type of practice...
If retirement is all about money, you might not be ready to stop working
Not only is retirement readiness different for each individual, not many of us are even able to describe what that actually looks like. Successful retirement planning requires a multi-layered exploration of our wants, needs, financial anxieties and risk tolerance,...
Chinaâs stock market plays catch-up after data shows biggest travel surge since COVID
Chinaâs stock market returned from the week-long Lunar New Year break in chipper mood, playing catch-up with a rally in Hong Kong, and with sentiment boosted by some better economic news. The Shanghai Composite index CN:SHCOMP jumped 1.6% on Monday after data showed...
Gold miner Polymetal looks to sell Russian operations for $3.69 billion amid nationalization fears
Gold miner Polymetal International on Monday said it had struck a deal to sell the entirety of its Russian mining business for $3.69 billion, with a view to fully exiting the Russian Federation due to the combined threats of Western sanctions and nationalization by...
Goldman Sachs lifts S&P 500 target to 5,200, with Big Tech doing heavy lifting
Just days ahead of potentially pivotal results from Nvidia Corp., Goldman Sachs has lifted its year-end S&P 500 target to 5,200, but with much of that hinging on Big Tech’s ability to keep delivering strong profits. “Our upgraded 2024 EPS forecast of $241 (8%...
EU regulators reportedly will fine Apple more than $500 million in antitrust probe
European regulators are reportedly set to slap Apple Inc. with a fine of more than $500 million, saying the tech giant unfairly hindered its music-streaming rivals. The Financial Times and Bloomberg News reported Sunday that European Commission antitrust regulators...
Nintendo shares slide on report that Switch successor will be delayed until 2025
Shares of Nintendo Co. slumped in Tokyo trading Monday after Bloomberg News reported the company will delay its next-generation videogame console until 2025. Bloomberg reported that Nintendo 7974, -5.84% told some of its game-publishing partners that the successor to...
Nvidiaâs earnings report could kill the momentum driving U.S. stocks higher
Wall Street is growing increasingly uneasy about an options-driven momentum trade that has helped push the S&P 500 index into record territory. As demand for bullish call options surges to its highest level in years, some analysts have set their sights squarely on...
Opinion: The stock related to Donald Trumpâs âTruth Socialâ is soaring, but read this.
Donald J. Trump has a long record of business failures and bankruptcies. But after getting kicked off Twitter in 2021 he launched Truth Social, a social media site. Truth Social, his would-be Twitter rival, is a high-risk, speculative operation with few hard numbers...
Smart tax tips for freelancers, small businesses and gig workers
Tax season has rolled around again, adding to the work and worry loads of America’s small-business owners, more than half of whom are aged 50 or above, according to data from the U.S. Census and Guidant Financial surveys. For small-business owners—and freelance...
My father accidentally set up a revocable trust leaving everything to my stepmom
My late father was under the impression that he and my stepmother had an irrevocable trust set up. He was wrong. He passed away in September and now we have learned it is actually a revocable trust. It was a mistake. My stepmom is letting her son handle things for...
7% mortgage rates are back. But fear not, rates will fall in 2024, economists say.
Haunted by high prices and low inventory, the U.S. housing market can sometimes feel like a horror movie to prospective home buyers. Now there are fears that one villain is back from the dead: the 7% mortgage rate.After mortgage rates surged in March 2022, when the...
This AI startup is backed by Jensen Huang, Joe Montana and Jefferey Katzenberg
The unlikely trio of Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Jensen Huang, Super Bowl legend Joe Montana and former Walt Disney Co. Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg do have something in common. They’re all backing enterprise AI startup Alembic, fresh off $14 million in series A...
Opinion: Cha-Ching! Trump makes $4 billion from his re-election campaign
A very liberal friend messaged me on Friday. She’d just heard the news about the $364 million civil fraud judgment. against Donald TrumpThat’s on top of the $83 million he has to pay E. Jean Carroll. See: Jury says Donald Trump must pay an additional $83.3 million to...
Exercise is the best medicine: 5 tips from an expert on treating chronic pain
Is pain a natural part of aging? Perhaps because some studies show that up to 85% of adults over 60 experience regular pain that disrupts their daily lives, you might think so. However, you may be shocked to learn that there is no inevitable physiological process that...
Norwegian Cruise customer says she was âscammed.â What to do if a ship reroutes.
Thatâs the question at the heart of a viral video in which a passenger aboard a Norwegian Cruise Line NCLH, -1.51% ship sailing to Antarctica recently expressed her frustration. At issue: NCL had changed the itinerary and the trip would no longer include a key stop...
Opinion: The AI machines are not coming for your job
Change is difficult. We live in an age that is changing faster than ever before, and the release of ChatGPT shows that we haven’t seen anything yet. We’d best buckle up.When I talk to business leaders, they see generative AI as presenting a fundamental opportunity for...
Why cassette tapes are making a comeback â and itâs not just a fad
Revivals of interest in vinyl records have become a fixture of popular culture over the past four decades. It could easily be argued that 33â -rpm record revivalism has now lasted significantly longer than the vinyl albumâs actual reign as the most popular medium...
âI felt humiliatedâ: Is it emasculating for a woman to pick up the dinner check?
Iâm a 35-year-old who works in IT and gets paid a healthy six-figure salary ($140,000 a year). I live in Chicago and date a lot. Over the years, Iâve been on Tinder, Match, OKCupid and Bumble, and when I tell you Iâve had a lot of dates, Iâve had a lot â...
Grandmas are the chefs at this New York restaurant
Jody Scaravella started his Staten Island restaurant, Enoteca Maria, as more of a passion project for himself than a restaurant. âBack in the beginning, it was a way for me to heal. I lost my grandparents and parents and other family and I was trying to find a way...
Opinion: Hey, Donald Trump, whereâs your plan to save Social Security?
If the polls and the gamblers and the bookmakers are right, Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee for president. And if the polls and gamblers and the bookmakers are right, he is also now the favorite to become the next president.Since whoever is sworn...
Opinion: How spending less time on the job can make you a better worker
“If all you have is your job or career, you better knock it out of the park because you have nothing else going on. ” Picture a beach house perched on a dune overlooking the surf. The house is built on stilts. Now, start taking away the stilts one by one. With the...
Bullish bets on Nvidia, Magnificent Seven near most crowded levels of past year
Bets on risky bullish options tied to members of the “Magnificent Seven” and other market-leading technology stocks are nearing their most crowded levels in the past year, according to data from market-data firm Spotgamma. This is prompting some derivatives-market...
Why these four âMagnificent Sevenâ stocks are earnings-season winners
If you see a headline that a company beat analystsâ expectations when reporting its quarterly results, it may not mean very much. The analysts may have set the bar too low, based in part on the companyâs own projections â all part of the routine that can set up...
Opinion: S&P 500 chart is still bullish even as stronger headwinds hit the market
The U.S. stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, ran into trouble earlier this week as it reacted negatively to the U.S. consumer-price index report. But prices bounced back the next day, and at this point it seems similar to the sharp one-day correction...
This former organized-crime prosecutor is now overseeing the Trump Organization
For the first time in the history of the Trump Organization, many of the key financial decisions will not be made by a Trump. Following a ruling by a New York state judge Friday barring Donald Trump and his two eldest sons from having any role in running the...
Small credit card issuers charge lower interest rates. But is it right for you?
Using a credit card issued by a small bank or credit union could cost you $400 to $500 less each year than a card from a big national bank. That’s a finding from a new survey by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Credit cards issued by small institutions such...
Nvidia is expected to be the best performer in the S&P 500 through 2025, by this measure
Investors have gotten used to incredible year-over-year comparisons during the past several quarters for Nvidia Corp., which continues to lead the market for graphics-processing units being deployed by data centers to support their corporate clients’ build-out of...
Stock market rebounds from inflation-inspired dive â sending a message
For at least the third time since late December, the stock market suffered a steep one-day fall only to quickly claim back lost ground, leaving investors to divine whatâs really driving a bull market thatâs powered the S&P 500 and Dow industrials to multiple...
How not to get scammed like the writer who lost $50,000 to fraudsters
A personal-finance writer is drawing intense criticism and sympathy after revealing that she was scammed into putting $50,000 in cash in a shoebox and giving it to a stranger. But her story is far from unusual, and falling for such scams is increasingly common. ...
Small-cap stocks are on a volatile streak. Should investors bet on a turnaround?
U.S. small-cap stocks looked ready to take off this year after a mostly lackluster 2023 â but volatility greeted investors over the past week, as uncertainty on when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates crept back on Wall Street after a mixed batch of January...
We make $300,000. We want to buy a house for our daughter. What could go wrong?
âThe Big Moveâ is a MarketWatch column looking at the ins and outs of real estate, from navigating the search for a new home to applying for a mortgage.My 30-year-old daughter and her partner live in a very high-cost housing market. They are getting married soon,...
As U.S. lander heads to moon, Apollo 17 astronaut eyes future space exploration
Intuitive Machines Inc.’s historic attempt to place the first U.S. commercial lander on the lunar surface marks an important step for U.S. space exploration, according to Harrison Schmitt, the most recent living person to walk on the moon. “The more information we can...
Carl Icahn lands two JetBlue board seats days after disclosing stake in airline
Just four days after Carl Icahn disclosed a 9.9% stake in JetBlue Airways Corp. and signaled his intention to have a say in the company’s future, the activist investor has landed two board seats at the low-cost airline. JetBlue JBLU, -2.79% said late Friday that two...
Should I ârip off the bandageâ and pay the tax now on my $1 million nest egg?
Got a question about investing, how it fits into your overall financial plan and what strategies can help you make the most out of your money? You can write to me at beth.pinsker@marketwatch.com. Please put Fix My Portfolio in the subject line. I am a 74-year-old...
Trump backed further into a financial corner after losing control of his company
With Donald Trump’s legal liabilities growing and a presidential campaign to run, losing control of his company couldn’t have come at a worse time.After a New York judge ordered the Trump Organization to pay $364 million in penalties and barred the former president...
Are Cheerios and Quaker Oats safe? Experts weigh in on new pesticide concerns.Â
Should you pass on that morning bowl of cereal or oatmeal? Thatâs what some people may be asking in light of a study released this week by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focused on agricultural and chemical-safety laws in the...
No quick end to Trumpâs real-estate business after New York fraud case ruling
A Manhattan judge dealt Donald Trump a powerful blow on Friday, delivering a civil penalty totaling more than $450 million and giving him a three-year ban from the notoriously bare-knuckle world of New York real estate.Trump and his Trump Organization are also barred...
Brian Wilsonâs family files for conservatorship after dementia diagnosis
Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson may soon be under a conservatorship following the diagnosis of a âmajor neurocognitive disorder,â such as dementia, not even a month after his wife died. The family filed for a conservatorship with the Superior Court of...
When is bitcoin halving? What history says about how it may impact BTCâs price.
Investors are closely watching bitcoinâs upcoming halving, which is expected to happen in April, as history has shown the cryptocurrency usually sees significant price appreciation in the wake of halvings. The largest crypto BTCUSD, +1.07% has gained more than 20%...
Guess makes first acquisition in its history with deal to acquire Rag & Bone
Guess Inc.’s stock rose 3% on Friday after the clothing, footwear and accessories maker said it has agreed to acquire trendy New York-based fashion brand Rag & Bone, which had 2023 revenue of about $250 million. It’s the first acquisition made by Guess GES, +3.41%...
Biden says U.S. âlooking at a whole number of optionsâ after Russian opposition leader Navalnyâs death
President Joe Biden on Friday said he was âboth not surprised and outragedâ by the reported death of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, as he joined with other Western officials in blaming it on Russian President Vladimir Putin. âMake no...
My cousin, 98, was targeted by grifters. They stole $800,000. What can I do?
My cousin âAnnâ was 98 years old when she died in New York in April 2020. She did not have children and she was very special to me. I would visit her periodically and spoke to her most days. She had me named as executor of her will. I was to inherit her estate. ...
Why Super Microâs stock is tanking â and about to snap a nine-day win streak
Super Micro Computer Inc.âs monster run was stalling Friday, as its stock looked to snap its longest winning streak in over seven years. Shares of the server maker had run up nearly 200% in a month, through Thursdayâs close, and had catapulted some 900% on a...
How Japan, China helped drive Treasury yields lower in December
The top three foreign holders of U.S. government debt —Japan, China and the U.K.— boosted their holdings in the final month of 2023, and were among the buyers that helped drive Treasury yields lower at the end of the fourth quarter.Japan boosted its holdings to $1.138...
Nvidia may shine again when it reports on Wednesday
Nvidia NVDA, +1.52% will announce quarterly results next week, and once again the year-over-year comparisons will be astounding because the company continues to dominate the market for graphics processing units (GPU). This was pretty much a new market last year as...
Iâm 60 and want to withdraw $250,000 from my 401(k). Is that smart?
Dear MarketWatch, I am 60 years old, and I would like to pay off my home loan, open up an IRA and pay off some bills. I would also like to withdraw $250,000 from my 401(k) to do this. Is this a smart thing to do? Related: âThis high mortgage rate is killing me,â...
Hereâs why Coinbaseâs soaring stock remains so polarizing
Coinbase Global Inc.âs stock is a somewhat divisive name on Wall Street, with ratings split roughly evenly between the buys, holds, and sells. But one analyst put the cryptocurrency exchangeâs story succinctly in the wake of Coinbaseâs COIN, +9.41% latest...
Consumer sentiment rises to 31-month high on slowing inflation and strong jobs market
Story developing. Stay tuned for updates here. The numbers: Consumer sentiment crept up in early February to a 31-month high on newfound optimism on the economy. The first of two reading this month of the sentiment survey rose to 79.6 from 79.0 in January the...
The lawyer who beat Trump twice stands to make a fortune for doing so
Roberta Kaplan left a career at the pinnacle of corporate law to pursue cases she deemed to have social importance
Wholesale prices posts biggest increase in five months, PPI shows. Inflation fight not over.
Story developing. Stay tuned for updates here. The numbers: Wholesale costs rose in January at the fastest pace in five months, possibly another sign inflation won’t slow toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target as fast as hoped. The 0.3% increase in the producer price...
Housing starts fall sharply in January
The numbers: Construction of new U.S. homes fell 14.8% in January, as home builders scaled back new projects. Housing starts fell to a 1.33 million annual pace from 1.56 million in December, the government said Friday. That’s how many houses would be built over an...
Cinemarkâs stock rises 3% as revenue beat offsets wider-than-expected loss
Cinemark Holdings Inc.âs stock rose 3% early Friday, after the cinema operatorâs better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue overshadowed a wider-than-expected loss. Plano, Texas-based Cinemark CNK, +4.88% had a net loss of $18 million, or 15 cents a share, for...
AMCâs stock has tumbled. CEO Aron will âhave much to sayâ on Q4 earnings call
Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. have hit a series of record lows recently. AMC CEO Adam Aron says that he will âhave much to sayâ about âwhat is going onâ when the company reports its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 28. âAMC will announce q4 and...
Is the stock market open on Presidents Day? Will the post office deliver mail?
It’s time to say hail to the chief. Presidents Day honors those who have held the office of U.S. president, although it originally marked the birthday of our first president, George Washington (and is still designated as Washington’s Birthday on the federal calendar)....
We rent our $750,000 home with a 2.5% interest rate for $4,000. Should we sell?
Dear Big Move, My wife and I moved out of our former primary residence a year ago, and we have been renting it out for $4,000 a month. Our current tenant is moving out next month and we will need to find a new one.  The house is probably worth about $750,000 and we...
Treasury yields nudge higher with fresh batch of U.S. economic data ahead
U.S. government bonds pressed pause on Friday after a two-day rally, as investors geared up for a fresh batch of data including producer prices and a gauge of consumer sentiment.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury note BX:TMUBMUSD02Y rose 2 basis points...
Doubt over child tax credit is causing people to delay filing. Should you?
It hasn’t worked out that way, putting Leanna Jones in a bind. The Hunterdon County, N.J., mother of two has lots of reasons to file her taxes quickly. Jones, 40, is working two part-time jobs after a layoff, and her anticipated tax refund would help with necessities,...
S&P 500 seen grinding to new high with producer prices, sentiment data ahead
U.S. equity index futures indicated the S&P 500 could grind to another record high on Friday, with the technology sector likely to see a third-straight winning session, as a fresh batch of economic data loomed.How stock-index futures are trading S&P 500...
Apple set to launch AI tool to help developers automate coding work â report
Apple is reportedly preparing to launch a new software development tool that will use generative artificial intelligence to help automate coding work. The new AI powered software tool is set to help simplify the coding process by auto-generating blocks of code in a...
Applied Materialsâ stock climbs as company logs earnings beat, sees AI momentum
Applied Materials Inc. delivered upbeat results and guidance Thursday afternoon, and its stock surged in the extended session. The chip-equipment company logged fiscal-first quarter net income of $2.02 billion, or $2.41 a share, compared with $1.72 billion, or $2.02 a...
Trade Deskâs stock roars as earnings forecast crushes expectations
Trade Desk Inc. shares were soaring in Thursdayâs extended session as the advertising-technology company easily cleared the bar with its forecast for the current quarter. The company models at least $478 million in revenue for the first quarter, along with about...
DoorDashâs stock drops despite reporting increase in revenue, orders
DoorDash Inc.âs stock slid about 7% in after-hours trading Thursday after the food-delivery company delivered quarterly results. DoorDash DASH, +5.22% reported a fiscal fourth-quarter net loss of $154 million, or 39 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $640...
Oatlyâs stock slides 10% after loss more than doubles and it warns of a bad 2024
Oatly Inc.âs stock fell 10% Thursday to hover close to its all-time low, after the oat-milk makerâs fourth-quarter loss more than doubled from a year prior and its revenue fell far short of analyst estimates. The Sweden-based company OTLY, -10.37% posted a net...
Investors will have to wait awhile for interest-rate cuts, Fedâs Bostic says
Investors will have to wait until at least July for those widely expected interest-rate cuts, according to one Federal Reserve presidentâs outlook. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said rate cuts probably wouldnât be suitable until the third quarter given the...
Coca-Cola raises dividend, to boost yield to about 3.3%
Shares of Coca-Cola Co. gained Thursday, after the beverage giant raised its dividend, effectively increasing its yield advantage over rival PepsiCo Inc. Coca-Cola said it is raising its quarterly dividend by 5.4%, to 48.5 cents a share, from 46 cents a share....
Wells Fargo stock rises as Feds lift consent order for its fake-account scandal
Wells Fargo & Co.’s stock rose Thursday after the bank confirmed it satisfied requirements by federal regulators to overhaul aspects of its operations related to the fake bank accounts scandal, but the company still faces other pending actions. Wells Fargo WFC,...
Moon launch sends Intuitive Machines shares skyrocketing
Shares of space-exploration company Intuitive Machines Inc. rose 35.5% after the successful launch of its Nova-C lunar lander atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early Thursday. The stock is set to snap a two-day losing streak as Intuitive Machines’ LUNR, +35.34% IM-1...
Hereâs how much menopause is being ignored â and why it shouldnât be
Even though women represent half the population, the natural transition of menopause has been a taboo subject for generations. In the past, scurvy, epilepsy, schizophrenia, madness, hysteria were all blamed on menopause. As recently as the 1960s, menopausal women were...
Borrowers facing hardship could get student-debt relief under new Biden plan
Borrowers facing significant challenges repaying their student loans, including also having high medical, caretaking or other essential bills, could be eligible for cancellation of their student loans under the Biden administration’s new debt-relief plan. The...
Expressâs stock jumps despite bankruptcy concerns
Express Inc.âs stock was up 29% on Thursday, but was still down 38% on the week, amid concerns that the troubled clothing retailer may be close to filing for bankruptcy. Express has hired M3 and law firm Kirkland & Ellis to advise it on the restructuring of...
Mortgage rates rise to highest level in two months and may stay higher for longer, Freddie Mac says
Mortgage rates are inching up after reports of hotter-than-expected inflation data showed continued strength in the U.S. economy. With inflation still over its 2% target alongside a robust job market, the market is anxious about when the Fed will start cutting its...
People think buy-now-pay-later is helping improve their credit. They’re wrong.
Consumers are making one crucial miscalculation when they use buy-now-pay-later services: They believe it will help them build their credit, but in fact it wonât, according to a New York Federal Reserve analysis of the reasons shoppers turn to such payment options....
Soros ups stake in NY Community Bancorp as stock claws back from 27-year lows
New York Community Bancorp’s stock rose, outpacing gains in other financial stocks, on Thursday after Soros Fund Management disclosed an increased stake in the hard-hit regional bank. Soros Fund Management acquired 1,036,180 shares of New York Community Bancorp to...
Super Microâs stock has surged 900% in a year. Why BofA is making a âbuyâ call.
Is it too late to buy shares of Super Micro Computer Inc., which have surged about 180% over the past month and rocketed some 900% over the past 12 months? Not according to BofA Securities analyst Ruplu Bhattacharya, who initiated coverage of the server makerâs...
DWAC poised to buy Trump Media & Technology Group. Stock rallies as it clears regulatory hurdle, but it also discloses potential snag.
Digital World Acquisition Corp.âs stock rallied 24% on Thursday after the special purpose acquisition company said it cleared a regulatory hurdle to take the parent of Donald Trumpâs Truth Social public, while disclosing a new potential snag with the deal. Digital...
My husband and I divorced and remarried. Weâre planning to commingle our assets.
My husband and I remarried after five years of being divorced. In October 2019, during the time we were divorced, I purchased a home in Louisiana. In March 2020, my ex-husband had a home custom built in Georgia for $445,000; itâs now worth $700,000. In December...
Jobless claims fall to one-month low of 212,000. Layoffs still small.
The numbers: The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in early February fell to a one-month low of 212,000, indicating layoffs remain low nationwide despite big job cuts at some large businesses such as UPS. Initial jobless claims slid by 8,000...
Coinbaseâs stock gains as JPMorgan abandons bearish call less than a month in
That was fast. Less than a month after downgrading Coinbase Global Inc. shares COIN, +14.24% to underweight, JPMorgan analyst Kenneth Worthington is moving back to a neutral stance. While he previously expressed concern that the recent launch of spot bitcoin...
New York Fedâs Empire State factory gauge rebounds in February, but stays just below breakeven
Story developing. Stay tuned for updates here. The numbers: The New York Fedâs Empire State business conditions index, a gauge of manufacturing activity in the state, rebounded 41 points in February, but stayed below the breakeven rate at negative 2.4, the regional...
Nvidia discloses positions in SoundHound AI, Arm â and these other stocks
Investors were getting a peek Wednesday at where fund managers have made their bets, as those managers released the required quarterly reports on their holdings. But Wednesday also brought a look at investments made by some public companies, including chip powerhouse...
IPO freeze gives way to cautious optimism as dealmakers see signs of a thaw
Private-equity and venture-capital firms flourished during the low-interest rate period that followed the 2008 financial crisis with a brisk pace of mergers and acquisitions, as well as a healthy pipeline of initial public offerings.That trend began to taper in 2022...
Will changes to Multiple Employer Plans put a dent in the coverage gap?
We just released a report that explores the possibilities and limitations of Multiple Employer Plans (MEPs) to improve coverage in employer-sponsored retirement plans. The lack of consistent coverage — a pressing concern for the nation’s retirement income security —...
Stocks ‘overbought, not broken,’ says this trader who has nailed some big calls.
With hot inflation now in the rearview mirror, investors will turn their attention to Thursday’s session. Whatever may come, markets have been showing they can dust off from economic scares as of late. The Nasdaq Composite COMP in particular is flexing its Teflon...
Shares of automakers jump on buyback and dividend boost
Shares of automakers led European stocks higher Thursday, after Renault sharply raised its dividend following a boost to sales and Stellantis proposed a €3 billion share buyback. Paris-listed Renault RNO, +6.26% said late Wednesday that it made a net profit in 2023 of...
Tiger Global slashes stakes in Magnificent Seven while piling into semiconductor makers
Tiger Global has slashed its positions in four of the five Magnificent Seven tech stocks that account for almost half of its portfolio, while upping its stake in Amazon.com and piling into semiconductor companies, regulatory filings for the final three months of 2023...
Is the U.K. really in recession? Using U.S. concepts, itâd be a tough call.
The U.K. has just experienced two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, which meets whatâs commonly called the technical definition of recession. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, U.K. gross domestic product fell by 0.3% in the fourth quarter and fell...
Treasury yields dip ahead of big data dump that includes January retail sales, jobless claims
Bond yields fell on Thursday as traders prepared for a big batch of U.S. economic data.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y dipped 2.1 basis points to 4.566%. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices. The yield on the 10-year...
Elon Muskâs SpaceX files to move incorporation from Delaware to Texas
Elon Muskâs SpaceX has filed to change the location of its business incorporation from Delaware to Texas. In a filing Wednesday, the Texas secretary of stateâs office certified SpaceXâs application for conversion. SpaceX has extensive operations in Texas,...
Berkshire Hathaway trims Apple and HP, loads up on Sirius XM and Chevron
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway trimmed its holdings of Apple in the fourth quarter, while also selling out of a previous stake in home builder D.R. Horton, according to regulatory filings. There’s also at least one mystery investment that the company received...
Rakuten shares gain in Tokyo after strong outlook
Shares of Rakuten Group 4755, +15.82% rose sharply after its results showed a markedly better financial performance, and painted a promising outlook for the year ahead. The stock rose to an eight-month high on Thursday, gaining nearly 16% to reach 731.30 yen...
Harvard remains the nationâs richest school as college endowments keep growing
Harvard Universityâs endowment grew to more than $49.5 billion last year, making it once again the nationâs wealthiest college. The University of Texas System wasnât far behind with an endowment value of nearly $45 billion, while Yale University remained the...
How to turn your hobby or passion into a money-maker
Courtney Burton has spent most of her career in the retail industry. She was a merchant for several major companies, including Target TGT, -0.20%, CVS CVS, -0.32%, Albertson’s and Lane Bryant. For the last 11 years of her retail career, she represented small companies...
I have multiple IRAs and a 401(k): How do I avoid RMD headaches next year?
Got a question about investing, how it fits into your overall financial plan and what strategies can help you make the most out of your money? You can write to me at beth.pinsker@marketwatch.com. Please put Fix My Portfolio in the subject line.Dear Fix My Portfolio, ...
The end of the free trial? Why a once-popular tactic is now rarely offered.Â
Enter your payment information and enjoy a free week or month of a streaming service. For a long time, that was a marketing technique new streaming services employed to get customers to try their product. The only risk for consumers was if they didnât like the...
One not-so-friendly secret to happiness: making more money than your peers
Maybe money does buy happiness, after all — but only if you can afford more of it than your pals. That’s according to the findings of a recent working paper distributed by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The paper, titled “Keeping up with the Jansens:...
Want to chase the stock-market rally? Read this first.
It’s been looking a lot like a bull market.
Activist investor Trian assails Disney moves as âspaghetti-against-the-wall planâ
Nelson Peltzâs Trian Fund Management, which is headed for a showdown with Walt Disney Co. at the companyâs annual shareholders meeting on April 3, upped the ante on Wednesday in a stinging letter that dismissed Disneyâs latest moves as a...
Fedâs Goolsbee says some high inflation readings wonât knock his confidence
Inflation has been so well behaved that some high readings for a few months wonât change the picture, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said Wednesday. Because inflation fell so far so fast last year, âeven if inflation comes in a bit higher for a few months,...
Johnson still opposes Ukraine bill, but House expected to give OK eventually
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday continued to criticize an aid package for Ukraine and other countries, even as analysts expect that a divided Washington eventually will deliver on the matter. âWe are not going to be forced into action by the Senate, who in...
Global LNG consumption to increase by 50%, Shell forecasts
Global demand for liquefied natural gas is on course to increase by more than 50% by 2040 as China and other Asian economies switch from more heavily polluting coal, according to a new report from Shell. In Shell’s LNG Outlook 2024, the Anglo-Dutch oil major said...
Uber unveils its first-ever share-buyback program for up to $7 billion
Uber Technologies Inc.’s stock 12% Wednesday, after the ride-sharing company announced its first-ever share-buyback program with its board authorizing the repurchase of up to $7 billion worth of stock. The stock was on track for a fresh record close, according to Dow...
Earlyworksâ stock soars fivefold on massive volume as execs disclose ownership
Shares of Earlyworks Co. Ltd. skyrocketed in very active trading Wednesday, after the blockchain-technology companyâs co-founders disclosed increased ownership stakes. The Tokyo-based companyâs stock ELWS, +332.97% blasted 416.5% higher toward a seven-month high...
The stock market peak is not in yet, says one of Wall Streetâs biggest bulls.
The Valentineâs Day massacre came a day early â was it a big overreaction? Early stock action shows bargain hunters are on the prowl this morning.âWhat weâve seen is a market caught offside with limited hedges in place and a max long position in risk,â...
Blink Chargingâs stock surges after revenue outlook was well above forecasts
Shares of Blink Charging Co. BLNK, -8.53% got a big boost Wednesday, after the electric-vehicle-charging equipment maker provided an upbeat sales outlook and affirmed its target for reaching adjusted profitability. The company BLNK, -8.53% said it expects...
Zuckerberg gave the Apple Vision Pro a test and says Meta Quest 3 is better
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is taking aim at another Magnificent Seven company — though this time, it’s in the consumer-products arena rather than an actual cage fight. In an Instagram post, he said Meta’s Quest 3 is not just better value but a better product...
Pound and U.K. bond yields fall as traders boost Bank of England rate-cut bets
The British pound and government bond yields fell, while stocks rose, after a report showing steady U.K. inflation raised hopes the Bank of England can soon consider trimming interest rates. The Office for National Statistics on Wednesday said the headline consumer...
Why Peak 65 is such a big deal for older workers and retirement.
For years, weâve been hearing that 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day. But that, my friends, is history.Weâre now living in âPeak 65,â with record numbers hitting age 65 in 2024, 2025 and 2026 â 11,200 a day to be exact, or 4.1 million in total, according to...
Intuitive Machinesâ shares fall as historic moon mission delayed
Space-exploration company Intuitive Machines Inc.âs historic moon mission has been delayed for 24 hours after SpaceX reported a technical issue prior to launch, which was scheduled for early Wednesday. Intuitive Machines LUNR, -2.83% shares, which are up three of...
Generacâs stock drops as residential-generator sales miss, outlook disappoints
Shares of Generac Holdings Inc. took a hit Wednesday, after the home-generator maker reported fourth-quarter results that came up short of expectations and provided a downbeat outlook, citing weakness in its industrial and commercial business. The stock GNRC, -5.12%...
Hertz’s stock headed for fresh closing low after car-rental rival Avis shares drop
Hertz Global Holdings Inc.âs stock ended at a record low Tuesday, off nearly 13% and pulled down by bad news from the rental-car companyâs smaller rival, Avis Budget Group Inc. Hertzâs stock HTZ, -12.67% closed at $7.58, down 12.7% and at its lowest level since...
Do you need to know your partner’s salary? Three money questions to ask.
When is the best time in a relationship’s life cycle to start talking about money? Maybe when you move in together? While you’re booking a romantic week-long getaway? The first time you file a joint tax return? Dating and relationship coach Damona Hoffman says you...
Amazon, British American Tobacco fined in Italy over smoking-device ads
Italy’s competition watchdog fined Amazon.com AMZN, -2.15% and British American Tobacco BATS, , saying the companies had misled consumers when advertising heated-tobacco devices without stressing potential health risks. The Italian Competition Authority, or AGCM, said...
Interest rates have bottomed due to surging government spending, Gundlach says
“We have a problem with the amount of money we need to borrow and that will cause a strange movement.” That’s Jeffrey Gundlach, the DoubleLine CEO speaking to CNBC, on how the next cutting cycle from the Fed may lead to a different experience for the broader economy....
Bitcoin ETF activity has been âadditiveâ to crypto demand, says Robinhood CFO
One of the big concerns for investors in Coinbase Global is that, despite the company having a role in many of the spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds that were launched, the new way of acquiring cryptocurrencies would hurt its main crypto brokerage. At one competitor,...
Upstartâs stock slides as earnings outlook suggests longer road to recovery
Upstart Holdings Inc. whiffed with its outlook for the current quarter, sending shares of the lending company down 18% in Tuesdayâs after-hours action. Looking at the first quarter, Upstart UPST, -7.19% is modeling about $125 million in revenue. Analysts had been...
Instacart announces layoffs and executive departures, but outlook tops estimates
Maplebear Inc. — the company better known as the grocery-delivery platform Instacart — said Tuesday that it was laying off around 250 people, or around 7% of its staff, as it tries to streamline its ranks and turn toward bigger, tech-driven ambitions. Along with the...
Opinion: Lyftâs gargantuan earnings error proves Wall Street should cut the jargon
Lyftâs record fourth quarter and rosy outlook Tuesday were marred by what turned out to be a gargantuan error in the companyâs press release â one that likely could have been avoided if the company had avoided dreaded Wall Street jargon. Initially, Lyft LYFT,...
Was Lyft stock’s bonkers after-hours rally due to mistake in earnings release?
When Lyft Inc. put out its earnings release Tuesday afternoon, the ride-hailing platform forecast a gain this year in an adjusted profit metric. But during the companyâs earnings call later in the day, management issued a correction, saying that increase was, in...
5 reasons not to go out to dinner on Valentine’s Day
Ah, Valentine’s Day. That day when we celebrate with our beloved, perhaps over dinner at a fancy restaurant where the Champagne never stops flowing and the steaks are cooked to perfection. At least that’s the expectation. Too bad the reality rarely measures up. Ask...
Moving to New York City? You’ll need more than $10K up front to rent an apartment.
New York City has long been a tough town for renters, but the city just hit two milestones that show just how difficult it is to find and pay for an apartment these days.The cost of renting in New York has hit a new high, just as the number of available rental units...
Hasbro’s stock drops after another profit miss, downbeat sales outlook
Shares of Hasbro Inc. took a dive Tuesday, after the toy maker reported fourth-quarter results that fell well short of expectations, amid sharp drops in consumer and entertainment sales and as inventory was halved. The company expects declines in 2024 revenue for both...
Expanding the child tax credit could come from axing this fraud ‘magnet’
Congress is considering a new bipartisan tax package that would expand the child tax credit and restore several business tax breaks, and the plan is to end a controversial COVID-era relief scheme to pay for it. Here’s what you need to know about the employee retention...
Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean finds a buyer for his $3.5m SoCal home
Pop singer AJ McLean is letting go of the Westlake Village, Calif., home he’s owned since 2015. The 5,330-square-foot Mediterranean mansion listed in January for $3.5 million is pending sale, according to Realtor.com. News of the home sale comes on the heels of the...
Icahn’s investment in JetBlue may last longer than expected, this analyst says
JetBlue Airways Corp.’s stock was the rare spot of green on stock screens Tuesday, getting a boost from a fresh investment by billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn. JetBlue JBLU, +15.07% shares were on track for their highest close since Aug. 2, when they closed at...
Manchester United shares climb as Premier League approves Ratcliffe deal
Manchester United’s stock climbed Tuesday as the Premier League approved British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of a 25% minority stake in the iconic English club. Shares of operator Manchester United Ltd. MANU, +7.70% rose 7.5%, while the S&P 500 index...
Coca-Cola’s stock gains after sales top forecasts, as prices and volume rose
Shares of Coca-Cola Co. turned lower Tuesday, but outperformed the selloff in the broader stock market, after the beverage giant reported fourth-quarter revenue that rose above Wall Street forecasts, fueled by increases in both price and volume. Case volume saw the...
Marriott’s stock drops as fourth-quarter revenue falls short
Marriott International Inc.’s stock fell by 4.9% on Tuesday after the hotel operator’s fourth-quarter revenue fell short of analysts’ estimates, although its profit in the latest quarter rose. The stock drop ranks as the largest percentage decrease for Marriott since...
Opinion: Do Trump’s NATO comments pose a risk for international stocks — and your 401(k)?
Whether you know it or not, if you have a 401(k) or other retirement account there’s a good chance a chunk of your savings is tied up in Europe. That’s because European stock markets, from Portugal to Poland, make up about two-thirds of the main international stock...
MarketWise to cut 104 jobs as ‘misconduct’ prompts wind down of Legacy Research
Shares of MarketWise Inc. were set for a selloff Tuesday, after the financial-research and analytics company said it decided to wind down its Legacy Research business after misconduct by certain managers was discovered. The wind down will affect 104 jobs, or about 18%...
Bank of America offers financial-wellness perks to commercial-client employees
Banks looking to attract new customers have traditionally offered things like toasters or free checks. Now Bank of America Corp. is reporting traction with its offer to waive the $20,000 minimum-balance requirement for access to its Preferred Rewards Gold Tier for...
Former hedge-fund star says this is what will trigger the next bear market.
Tuesday’s CPI data appears to have overshot some expectations on Wall Street and stock futures are selling off. The upshot: an overshoot could dash hopes of a May rate cut and curtail the S&P 500’s SPX waltz with 5,000. The day is young. Read: Arm’s frenzied stock...
Kroger pledges to lower prices for consumers when its planned merger with Albertsons closes
Kroger Inc., facing regulatory pushback over its plan to merge with rival grocery chain Albertsons Cos. Inc. in a roughly $25 billion deal, said Tuesday it typically lowers prices for consumers after consummating a deal. “We believe the way to be America’s best grocer...
Undocumented immigrants may explain a jobs-data gap of 1.8 million
A recent Congressional Budget Office report that estimates higher population growth than the Census Bureau is getting economists to revisit the issue of how immigration, both legal and illegal, is impacting the economy. Related: Immigration may answer two big...
Molson Coors’ stock rises nearly 3% after company swings back to a quarterly profit
Molson Coors Beverage Co.’s stock jumped 2.9% premarket Tuesday, after the company swung back to a profit in the fourth quarter from a loss a year ago, topping consensus estimates. The company TAP, +3.12% had net income of $103.3 million, or 48 cents a share, for the...
Shopify logs earnings beat, but its stock retreats
Shopify Inc. beat profit expectations for the latest quarter and projected margin improvement for the current one, but its shares were pulling back in Tuesday’s premarket action. The company, which enables businesses to run online shops, posted fourth-quarter net...
Why chocolate lovers will pay more this Valentine’s Day than they have in years
Cocoa prices have reached their highest levels on record, just in time for one of the biggest chocolate-buying holidays of the year: Valentine’s Day. “It’s all on the supply side,” said John Caruso, senior market strategist at RJO Futures, with cocoa up more than...
Fund managers no longer expect a recession, survey finds
Fund managers are no longer forecasting a U.S. recession for the first time in a year and half, according to a closely followed survey. Bank of America’s monthly global fund manager survey finds the percentage expecting a global recession in the next 12 months has...
How real-estate agents, developers laid the groundwork for redlining: historian
The Value Gap is a MarketWatch interview series about confronting inequality that features business leaders, academics, policy makers and activists.For much of the 20th century, people of color in the U.S. — particularly Black Americans — were limited in how they...
Hedge fund snaps up stake in Love Island maker ITV
A hedge fund has bought a 5% stake in the U.K.’s largest commercial television broadcaster ITV, as the broadcaster struggles against a slump in the advertising market that has pummeled its share price in recent years. Silchester International Investors LLP, whose...
Survey: Most Americans mistrust self-driving technology, but some see potential
Americans have some concerns about self-driving car technology — 93% of them do — according to a new survey. The idea of the self-driving car took a particularly severe hit when Tesla TSLA, -2.81% was forced into a pair of high-profile recalls of the systems it calls...
Treasury yields steady ahead of report expected to show lowest CPI inflation in nearly two years
Bond yields were little changed early Tuesday as traders kept their powder dry ahead of a crucial U.S. consumer price inflation report.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y slipped 2.1 basis points to 4.472%. Yields move in the opposite...
Super Bowl player vs. Wall Street employee — who gets a bigger bonus?
The San Francisco 49ers’ Super Bowl dreams evaporated in an overtime heartbreaker against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, but there’s some cold comfort in the postseason bonus money coming their way.Each 49ers player is poised to receive a cumulative $263,000...
Arm’s frenzied stock rally continues as AI chase trumps valuation
Shares of Nvidia Corp. NVDA, +0.16% are up 240% over the past year and shares of Super Micro Computer Inc. SMCI, +4.42% are ahead 760%. With moves like that, investors seem eager to get in on whatever could be the next blowout play on the artificial-intelligence...
JetBlue stock rallies after Carl Icahn takes nearly 10% stake in airline
Shares of JetBlue Airways Corp. rose sharply after hours on Monday after billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn reported a 9.91% stake in the air carrier and said his investment firm would continue discussing potential board representation. That disclosure was made...
Arista’s stock falls as investors don’t get the ‘near perfect’ earnings desired
Arista Networks Inc. perhaps needed a “near perfect” earnings report to meet Wall Street’s standards given its “near peak valuation,” according to a Piper Sandler analyst. Yet Arista shares ANET, -0.56% pulled back about 7% in Thursday’s extended session as the...
Markets count on consumer-price index to fall below 3% for first time since 2021
Tuesday has the potential to bring investors something they haven’t seen in almost three years: A U.S. inflation rate based on the consumer-price index that looks more like 2%. In the run-up to January’s CPI data, stocks continued to hover near records as of Monday...
U.S. budget deficit narrowed to $22 billion in January
The numbers: The U.S. federal budget deficit narrowed to $22 billion in January, down from $39 billion in the same month last year, the Treasury Department said Monday. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a $21 billion deficit. For the first...
I don’t want my daughters’ husbands to get their hands on my $2 million
Dear Moneyist, My wife and I live in California, as do three of our four grown daughters. We are revisiting our family trust for the first time in many years, as we’re getting older and have gradually built an estate worth a couple of million dollars. We want to make...
5 ways to reduce financial friction with your spouse and disagree better
We’ve all been there. Your partner wants to prioritize a new roof for the house, but you feel strongly that accelerating the mortgage payments is more important, and neither of you feel comfortable spending on both.Most people think of relationship conflict as being...
Stocks have been moving more than usual after earnings. Here’s what it could mean.
If it seems to you that there have been some overly volatile stock moves after earnings reports, the data shows that you are absolutely correct. The question is, why now and what does it mean? On Friday, the S&P 500 index SPX recorded its first-ever close above...
Think the S&P 500 is top-heavy? Five stocks command 60% of this market.
The New Zealand stock market has something to teach U.S. investors about the risks and rewards of a top-heavy market. That’s because New Zealand’s market is dominated by just a handful of big companies. In fact, it’s one of the most top-heavy stock markets in the...
The industry most favored by these stock-market experts might surprise you
I bet you can’t guess which industry is currently most favored by investment newsletters. I’ll give you a clue: It’s not technology, which by far is the best-performing S&P 500 SPX industry for year-to-date performance. The S&P 500 Semiconductors &...
Traders are already bracing for the U.S. presidential election to roil the stock market
Although it is still roughly nine months away, investors are already paying up to protect their portfolios from any market-rattling fallout from the November U.S. presidential election, options-market strategists said. October futures tied to the Cboe Volatility Index...
Intuitive Machines’ stock skyrockets ahead of historic moon mission
Shares of Intuitive Machines are up 23.9% on Monday, continuing their recent surge, as the space-exploration company aims to make history with the launch of its Nova-C commercial lunar lander. With launch partner SpaceX, Intuitive Machines LUNR, +23.95% is aiming for...
Recession in 2024? A quarter of economists think it will happen.
The U.S. economy grew strongly in the second half of 2023 and doesn’t seem to have slowed down much. Yet a quarter of the nation’s business economists still think a recession is likely this year. Some 24% of the respondents in a survey by the National Association of...
Rivian’s stock downgraded as Barclays warns of ‘EV winter’
Rivian Automotive Inc. has “leading technology,” according to Barclays analyst Dan Levy — but that may not be enough to help it withstand a challenging market. Levy previously thought Rivian’s RIVN, -2.55% standout product and technology meant the company had “three...
Alphabet, Amazon likely to follow Meta by introducing dividends in 2024
There is good news for income-oriented investors — or anybody who owns any of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks that have powered much of the S&P 500’s gains over the past year. Meta Platforms Inc. META, +1.00% likely won’t be the only megacap company to...
Opinion: Are we teaching our children to be beggars — or entrepreneurs?
Remember Alyssa Milano? The actress of “Who’s the Boss?” and “Charmed” fame was recently in the news after she started a fundraising campaign for her son’s baseball team so they could travel to Cooperstown, N.Y. Critics were quick to respond that a Hollywood star like...
It’s hedge fund ‘nirvana’ as heavily shorted stocks slump, says UBS
Hedge funds with long/short strategies have benefited in 2024 from a macroeconomic environment that has hit the most heavily shorted stocks particularly hard compared to their less shorted rivals, a new UBS report says. Previously, in the final two months of 2023,...
AbbVie lowers first-quarter guidance after closing acquisition ImmunoGen
AbbVie Inc.’s stock fell 0.5% early Monday, after the biotech lowered its first-quarter guidance to reflect the dilutive impact of its closure of the acquisition of ImmunoGen. AbbVie ABBV, -0.41% said it now expects first-quarter per-share earnings to range from $2.26...
Oil prices pull back after surging 6% last week
Oil futures fell Monday, pulling back after a surge that saw both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude end last week at their highs for February as Middle East tensions rose.Price moves West Texas Intermediate crude CL00, -1.08% for March delivery CL.1, -1.08%...
Shares of Italian shoemaker Tod’s soar on private-equity bid
Shares of Tod’s SpA surged on Monday after a delisting plan was announced for the Italian luxury goods maker best known for its pebble-soled driving shoes. Tod’s TOD, +17.99% stock jumped 17% in Milan following a takeover bid announced Sunday by U.S.-based private...
Bond yields pause as Bank of America says range may be shifting due to economic reports
Bond yields paused Monday after the benchmark 10-year backed up last week.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y was 4.47%, down 1.7 basis points. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices. The yield on the 10-year Treasury...
An inflection point for the winning momentum trade is near, says top technical analyst
Futures indicate the S&P 500 will hold its record level at Monday’s opening bell on Wall Street, having risen 14 weeks out of the last 15 for a gain over that period of 22.1%. Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at BTIG, notes that momentum has been the...
Higher inflation, much weaker growth: Brexit has hit the U.K. economy hard, says Goldman Sachs.
The U.K. economy is now 5% worse off than it would have been had it never left the European Union due to a slump in trade and investment since the Brexit referendum in June 2016, according to a new study by Goldman Sachs. This slowdown has seen the U.K.’s GDP per...
2024 is looking to be a more stable year for car shoppers, experts say
The wholesale prices car dealers pay for the used cars they later sell stayed essentially flat in January compared to December. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index tracks the prices dealers pay because trends in wholesale pricing tend to become trends in retail...
S&P 500 futures steady after index scales 5,000 for the first time
U.S. stock futures on Monday held their ground after the S&P 500 finally closed above the 5,000 mark in the 10th record finish for 2024.What’s happening Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -0.07% fell 45 points, or 0.1%, to 38703. S&P 500 futures ES00,...
Diamondback in talks to buy shale rival Endeavor for around $25 billion: report
Diamondback Energy Inc. and Endeavor Energy Resources are reportedly in the late stages of deal talks that would see the shale rivals form a massive company. A deal between the two oil giants could come as soon as Monday, according to a report in The Wall Street...
This grouping of stocks has actually kept up with the Magnificent Seven
For all the attention paid to the highflying tech giants dubbed the Magnificent Seven, there’s another grouping that has kept right up with them, and with a lot lower risk. It’s called GRANOLAS, a term coined by Goldman Sachs during 2020 to refer to the largest...
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin taken back to hospital over bladder issue
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin — who was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 22, 2023, and released Jan. 9, 2024 — was taken back to the same hospital on Sunday, the Pentagon said. In a statement, the Pentagon...
Super Bowl LVIII: Taylor Swift watches Kansas City beat San Francisco
Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are back-to-back Super Bowl champions. Mahomes threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman with 3 seconds left in overtime, and the Chiefs rallied to beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 on Sunday in the...
Trump says he’s the reason Taylor Swift made so much money
““I signed and was responsible for the Music Modernization Act for Taylor Swift and all other musical artists. Joe Biden didn’t do anything for Taylor, and never will. There’s no way she could endorse crooked Joe Biden, the worst and most corrupt president in the...
What investors with $6.5 trln in cash should do while waiting for Fed rate cuts
The Federal Reserve’s pushback on expectations for interest-rate cuts over the past two weeks has investors closing watching inflation data and piling more cash into money-market funds.Investors stashed a record $6.48 trillion away in U.S. money-market funds through...
Uber ‘just started to flex its platform muscle’: Can other gig-economy players?
They cheered the company’s more consistent profitability and the prospect of an investor-payout plan, growth in ride demand and gains in the segment that allows other businesses to advertise in the app. And they cited its potential to become a bigger part of local...
These 4 things are keeping you from ‘rightsizing’ your life
Big life changes often go hand in hand with cleaning out a home — but it doesn’t mean it’s the same every time. Downsizing a home for retirement is a different process than decluttering after someone dies. How a person cleans space for the next chapter should be known...
At 52, planning my death helped me learn how to live
At the end of every year in the past, I anxiously waited to crack open my new daily planner for the coming new year so I could jot down resolutions. I like a clean slate. Every year those resolutions tumbled to the bottom of my to-list before I’d finished humming...
Opinion: AI can help save us and the planet if we’re smart enough to use it, Roubini says
Since returning from this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, I have been asked repeatedly for my biggest takeaways. Among the most widely discussed issues this year was artificial intelligence — especially generative AI (“GenAI”). With the recent...
The IRS lost our $4,300 refund that was to be issued in I-bonds. What do we do?
Got a question about taxes or investing? You can write to me at beth.pinsker@marketwatch.com. Dear Marketwatch, Who do I contact to find our 2022 tax refund that we directed to go into an I-bond on our tax return? Because amounts under $50 are not accepted in...
I’m 52. Should I invest in a Roth IRA or index funds like the Dow and Nasdaq?
Dear MarketWatch, I spent five years as a teacher in Missouri, which made me eligible for a tiny pension (under $400 per month). Teaching didn’t work out for me, and since I will never be able to return to the profession and increase my pension, I decided to cash in...
How Nerds candy became cool again — and found its way to the Super Bowl
If you’re a child of the ’80s, you likely remember Nerds, the pebble-shaped novelty candy that came colorfully packaged with two separate flavors per box. This was far from your typical sweet: It wasn’t chocolatey, nor was it quite like other oddball creations of the...
Who is your emergency contact? Older adults aging alone must be more prepared.
If you live alone and have no nearby next of kin, who do you call if there’s an emergency?Sure, there may be friends or neighbors you could lean on for simple tasks, but older people may not have someone they trust who is willing to take on the responsibility of being...
This bond-market reality could crush investors’ hopes for a soft landing
The “junk spread” is abnormally low right now, and that elevates the risk of an imminent recession. The junk spread is the difference between the yield on corporate high-yield bonds and U.S. Treasurys of comparable maturities. This spread represents the extra yield...
The playbook for making money in commercial real estate as Fed delays rate cuts
What was novel four decades ago suddenly looks relevant again for the reeling U.S. commercial-real-estate industry.Regional banks and their exposure to commercial real estate were thrust back into the spotlight in February after New York Community Bancorp Inc. NYCB,...
What is Medicare Advantage and what does it cover?
The annual open enrollment period for traditional Medicare may have ended, but there is another open enrollment window for those who are currently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan. The Medicare Advantage open enrollment period runs from Jan. 1 to March 31 each...
Opinion: Intel stock is not valued even close to its competition
A wave of strong earnings from big tech players proves once again beating the quarter is only as good as your guidance — or lack of it.Intel INTC, +1.91% beat expectations in its most recent earnings report, but provided guidance that was well-short of expectations....
Does Viagra really help prevent Alzheimer’s? Not so fast.
If you only read the headlines this week, you might think that taking Viagra could keep the spark alive in your brain, as well as in other parts of your anatomy. It’s being reported that Viagra — along with similar drugs, such as Cialis — may lower the risk of...
As tech layoffs mount, support groups on LinkedIn are helping workers find jobs
The tech layoffs that hit the sector in 2023 have continued into 2024, with a host of companies ranging from Big Tech to smaller firms making cuts. Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +2.71% recently announced that it is cutting “several hundred” roles across its Prime Video and...
Super Bowl ad a reset for Budweiser after Bud Light controversy, says expert
Budweiser has brought back its iconic Clydesdale horses in the company’s Super Bowl ad, as Anheuser-Busch touts a more traditional branding message after last year’s Bud Light controversy. The ad, entitled “Old-School Delivery,” marks the Clydesdale’s 46th Super Bowl...
White Americans are benefiting most from stock-market boom. Here’s who isn’t.
The quickest way to gain wealth over the past few years was by investing in the stock market, which rose faster than housing and other assets — but that wealth hasn’t been distributed evenly among Americans. Inequality by race and age in the U.S. persists in part...
Yes, that Big Mac meal may cost $18 — but there’s one good reason for it
If you’re hoping to gauge Americans’ lingering discontent with postpandemic price increases, look no further than the McDonald’s menu. You can find gripes on social media about a $5 chicken sandwich, $3 hashbrowns or a $5.50 Egg McMuffin, all of which some customers...
People in danger of homelessness will get help paying rent under Biden plan
Low-income people who need help paying rent or securing temporary housing will get additional government aid under a new initiative to tackle the country’s record homelessness, the Biden administration said Friday. The initiative seeks to address homelessness by...
I’m 73, retired and take my RMDs. But what happens if I miss them for 5 years?
Dear MarketWatch, What happens if a taxable traditional IRA doesn’t have the required minimum distribution taken for three, four or more years? The 50% penalty has been reduced to 25%, possibly to 10% if corrected in a “timely manner.” I’m 73 and retired in 2006....
My mother, 87, has a $425K mortgage. How can I settle her debts when she passes?
My mother, 87, has minimal savings, and has $425,000 left on her mortgage.Her monthly payment is $3,300 and the home is valued between $800,000 and $1.1 million. But her Social Security payment is only $3,000 a month. I am supporting her right now. I have five...
Why income hunters should go for dividend compounders over high yielding stocks
An investor who needs income right now has an advantage — short-term interest rates remain high and you can easily get a yield of 5% with no risk with a bank CD (if you are below deposit insurance limits). It is even common to earn more than 4% in a savings account,...
S&P 500 reaches 5,000 for first time. Here’s what it means for the market.
For those obsessed with big, round numbers, the stock market has delivered another thrill: the S&P 500 index was on pace to close above 5,000 on Friday for the first time ever. Should the session’s gains hold, it would be its first close above the elusive...
Opinion: How AI will change the ways financial advisers manage your money
Innovation in financial advice is sometimes met with this feeling of existential anxiety from financial advisers who worry that new technology will negatively affect their jobs — or at the very least, reduce their value. We’ve experienced this hype cycle repeatedly in...
U.S. stocks have just accomplished something that hasn’t happened since 1972
U.S. stocks have just accomplished something that hasn’t been done since President Richard Nixon was still occupying the White House. The S&P 500 SPX has risen for the 14th week out of 15 on Friday. According to Dow Jones Market Data, the last time the large-cap...
The average tax refund is almost 29% lower this year, early IRS statistics show
The IRS is writing smaller refund checks, on average, at the start of this year’s income-tax-filing season, according to new numbers from the tax agency. Federal income-tax refunds are averaging $1,395 so far, according to Internal Revenue Service numbers released...
Amazon’s stock just racked up its highest close in more than two years
Amazon.com Inc. shares continued their charge higher Friday, securing their highest close in more than two years. The e-commerce giant’s stock advanced 2.7% in Friday’s session to finish the day at $174.45. That was the best ending level since Dec. 9, 2021, when...
Opinion: Etsy drifts further away from its roots with first Super Bowl ad
Etsy Inc., once known as a quirky marketplace for handmade, artisanal and vintage items, seems to be moving further away from its origins amid a much tougher e-commerce landscape and the impact of AI.Etsy ETSY, +4.83% will be marketing to a whole new audience on...
New York Community Bancorp’s stock rises as insiders buy shares at 1997 prices
New York Community Bancorp. was up 15% Friday as insiders at the company bought stock after a brutal couple of weeks for the bank. With no major credit ratings actions or further updates from the company, New York Community Bancorp’s stock rose 63 cents to $4.83 a...
What to think about ‘Peak 65’
A record number of people in the U.S. will turn 65 this year. Here’s how the phenomenon known as Peak 65 can affect you, even if you are not close to that age. Beth Pinsker interviews a woman who will turn 65 in June but began worrying about retirement finances back...
Working from home could turn you into a ‘loser,’ Minneapolis mayor jokes
“‘When people who have the ability to come downtown to an office don’t, when they stay home, sitting on their couch, with their nasty cat blanket, diddling on their laptop, if they do that for a few months, you become a loser.’” — Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey That’s...
Expedia’s stock punished as analysts warn of ‘more uncertainty’
Expedia Group Inc.’s stock on Friday headed for its lowest in nearly three months after Wall Street cast doubt on the online travel company’s immediate future amid a surprise CEO change. Expedia EXPE, -18.64% late Thursday reported a quarterly beat, but spooked...
Opinion: These stocks are poised to lead tech beyond the ‘Magnificent Seven’
Many stock investors feared last year that companies with a disruptive impact on technology would continue to underperform, due to higher interest rates and a weaker macroeconomic backdrop. This uncertainty created a unique entry point for investors into some of the...
Affirm’s stock is sinking. Here’s why debating its valuation may be ‘fruitless.’
Affirm Holdings Inc.’s stock had run up about 125% in the three months before its latest earnings report. That sort of rally helped set the bar “too high,” according to an analyst. Thus, while Affirm AFRM, -13.22% beat expectations with its fiscal second-quarter...
Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth seeks shareholder approval to speed up entry into U.S. market
Canopy Growth Corp. said Friday it’s moving forward with a plan to speed its entry into the U.S. market by asking shareholders to adopt a new structure that would allow it to complete its acquisitions of three American cannabis companies. Canopy Growth CGC, -3.41%...
Cloudflare earnings send stock toward best day in 14 months. Here’s the caveat.
Cloudflare Inc. won big praise on Wall Street for its latest earnings, but the majority of analysts still decline to recommend its stock, largely due to concerns about the valuation. The company “is executing well while simultaneously benefiting from strong secular...
China’s consumers are buying more luxury clothes even as the economy struggles
China’s broader economy may be struggling, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping consumers there from splurging on more luxury clothes. Inflation data out of China on Thursday showed that prices in January dropped a “concerningly low” 0.8% from a year ago, the biggest...
PepsiCo reports a very rare revenue miss, but profit beat and dividend lifted
Shares of PepsiCo Inc. slumped premarket Friday, after the beverage and snack giant reported a surprise decline in revenue, marking the first miss of expectations in at least five years amid weakness in the North America businesses. The company also reported a...
My in-laws gave us $300K and are on the deed to our home. Now they want $125K.
My in-laws helped my wife and me purchase a home that we all live in, including my teenager. They provided $300,000, and we bought the home for just over $500,000. All four of us — my wife and I and my in-laws — are on the deed and the loan. I am currently paying the...
10-year yield steady at just above 4.1% after CPI revisions
Treasury yields were little changed to slightly higher Friday morning, after a brief rally in government debt faded following minor revisions to U.S. inflation data.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y was 4.484%, up 3 basis points from...
Here are the consequences of listening to Armageddon-type stock market comments
Michael Cembalest, chair of market and investment strategy at JPMorgan Asset Management, likes to periodically take aim at gloomy investment predictions, and to be fair the media outlets like this one which publicize them. He’s at it again, with an update to a chart...
Ubisoft shares surge 19% as Assassin’s Creed maker heads to record sales
Ubisoft Entertainment shares surged on Friday after the Assassin’s Creed maker said it is on track to achieve record sales for the financial year ending in March, in an announcement that assuaged investors’ fears that it would cut its guidance for the full-year 2024....
Opinion: Can Arm’s earnings ever justify its huge stock price surge?
“Arm is getting the credit it deserves for the current, and future, state of the computing market.” In one of the biggest stories in tech this week, Arm Holdings ARM, +47.89%, a company that only recently returned to being a public company last September, saw a huge...
Masonite’s stock rockets as Owens Corning’s buyout bid tops record close
Shares of Masonite International Corp. rocketed toward their best day in 15 years Friday, after the doors maker agreed to be acquired by construction-materials company Owens Corning in a cash deal valued at $3.9 billion. Under the terms of the deal, Owens Corning OC,...
Big isn’t ‘beautiful’ in stocks despite Magnificent 7’s outperformance, says GMO
The S&P 500’s largest companies have seen “unrelenting” outperformance over the past decade, but history shows the biggest stocks typically fail to keep up their market-beating run, according to the asset allocation team at Jeremy Grantham’s GMO. By some measures,...
Opinion: Citi missed executive’s elder fraud for 9 years. What else could we be missing?
You may think that if your mom’s money is being handled by a financial advisor at a world-famous, blue-chip bank, she would at least be safe from outright fraud, right? Think again. The most astonishing thing about the case of former Citibank C, -0.46% vice president...
The stock market right now resembles the Y2K surge — and that didn’t end well
Early Friday stock-index futures trading indicate the S&P 500 will start the session several points above the 5,000 mark.Breaching — and closing above — big round numbers in equity indices inevitably encourages optimists to hope that what was considered resistance...
Markets are ‘fundamentally broken’ due to passive investing, says David Einhorn
“‘I view the markets as fundamentally broken…Passive investors have no opinion about value. They’re going to assume everybody else has done the work.’” — David Einhorn, president, Greenlight Capital That’s hedge-fund titan David Einhorn arguing it’s tough out there...
Opinion: The bulls are fighting off challengers for control of the stock market
The U.S. stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 index SPX, continues in its blissfully strong bullish trend. Once again, the S&P 500, the NASDAQ-100 Index QQQ and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA are all hitting record highs, though many stocks are...
Hermes posts record sales as it successfully navigates worldwide luxury slump
Hermes on Friday beat analysts’ expectations in posting record sales for the full-year 2023, as the French firm successfully weathered the slump in the luxury goods market that has pummeled the world’s top fashion houses in recent months. The Parisian company saw its...
Bill Holdings’ stock seesaws after hours, despite strong quarterly results
Shares of Bill Holdings Inc. seesawed in after-hours trade on Thursday, as strong quarterly results ran up against questions about the business-assistance software platform’s more upbeat profit outlook following steep cuts two months ago, amid continued caution on...
Getaround will lay off 30% of its workforce to further reduce costs
Car-sharing company Getaround Inc. will lay off roughly one-third of its workforce in an effort to further reduce costs. In a blog post Wednesday, the San Francisco-based company said it needs to focus on profitability, and “keeping the long-term success of the...
Expedia spooks investors with CEO change
Expedia Group Inc. shares fell 13% in the extended session Thursday, as investors appeared nervous by a CEO change and looked past a quarterly beat for the online travel company. Expedia EXPE, +3.30% earned $132 million, or 92 cents a share, in the fourth quarter,...
Cloudflare’s stock catapults 24% higher as earnings bring ‘a lot to like’
Cloudflare Inc. shares surged 8% in Thursday’s regular session and were poised to tack on substantial further gains after the company topped expectations with its latest financial results. The stock jumped 24% in Thursday’s extended session on what Cloudflare NET,...
Barclays to buy retail banking arm of supermarket chain Tesco for £600 million
Tesco on Friday said it was selling the retailing banking business of Tesco Bank to Barclays for £600 million initially, and then another £100 million after the settlement of certain regulatory capital amounts and after transaction costs. The U.K. supermarket chain...
Is an inflation shock coming? Wall Street is on guard.
Just a year ago, inflation seemed to be slowing quickly and hopes grew that the Federal Reserve could soon throttle back its interest-rate hikes. Then the Fed — and Wall Street — got punched in the face. The punch came from an unlikely source: the annual update by...
Viking Therapeutics may offer investors a cheap entry to the weight-loss drug craze
Viking Therapeutics Inc.’s stock soared 17% to a record high on Thursday, after the company said it expects data from early and mid-stage trials of its weight-loss drug as soon as the first quarter, moving the timeline up from the first half. The news was welcomed by...
The great chicken-wings debate: Are they an appetizer or an entree?
The ever-popular chicken wing — also America’s go-to dish on Super Bowl Sunday — is apparently having an identity crisis.The classic finger food has long been a restaurant staple, often featured on the appetizer side of menus. But over the years, it has increasingly...
Regional-bank bondholders seem unworried by New York Community Bank’s problems
While regional-bank stocks continue to be dragged down by the troubles assailing New York Community Bank, their bonds are holding up — suggesting bondholders view NYCB’s issues as isolated. NYCB’s NYCB, -4.58% sole traded bond tumbled last week as its stock shed more...
Your Super Bowl nachos will cost more this year. Blame pricier chips and queso.
Feeding guests at your Super Bowl party will be more expensive this year — but the price increases on game-day snacks aren’t as steep as they were when inflation was hot. Food costs are now rising at a slower rate.The bad news for party hosts: The price of tortilla...
Supreme Court sounds skeptical of efforts to kick Trump off the ballot
U.S. voters could soon know whether former President Donald Trump can be kept off the ballot in this year’s presidential election. How soon? As soon as today, according to an election-law expert contacted by MarketWatch, as the Supreme Court was preparing to hear...
Mortgage rates barely budge amid uncertainty over Fed rate cuts
Mortgage rates stayed the course in the most recent week, despite the U.S. Federal Reserve leaving interest rates unchanged with the possibility of cutting later in the year. Though the market is hopeful for an interest rate cut in May based on the CME’s FedWatch...
PayPal’s stock slides as company hits reset but ‘existential question’ lingers
PayPal Holdings Inc. hit the reset button once again, and its shares were tumbling in Thursday morning trading as some on Wall Street continued to express skepticism about the ease of the company’s turnaround. Shares of PayPal PYPL, -11.34% were off about 11% and on...
My sister can’t afford to buy me out of our mother’s $450K home. What do I do?
My father passed away several years ago. My parent’s home has long been paid for and my mother probably has roughly $120,000 in liquid assets (bank accounts, CDs and a retirement account). My sister and I are the only children, and our names are on the deed as second...
Philip Morris says its heated-tobacco devices are now selling more than Marlboro products
This story has been updated to reflect the difference between e-cigarettes, which heat up a liquid containing nicotine into a vapor, and heated tobacco products, which heat up tobacco. Philip Morris International Inc.’s stock was down 1.7% on Thursday after the...
Wholesale inventories in U.S. rise 0.4% in December
Wholesale inventories in the U.S. rose 0.4% in December, the government reported Thursday. and added to strong gross domestic product in the fourth quarter. Inventories are goods produced for sale that have not been sold yet. Businesses tend to increase inventories...
New York Community Bancorp’s stock ‘untethered from fundamentals’: analyst
New York Community Bancorp was downgraded to neutral from buy at D.A. Davidson partly because its stock is “trading untethered from fundamentals,” according to the firm’s analyst. D.A. Davison’s Peter Winter cut his price target for New York Community Bancorp NYCB,...
Hershey reports Q4 earnings beat, but shares fall on weak outlook
Hershey Co. reported a fourth-quarter earnings beat before market open Thursday, although shares fell 2.5% in premarket trades, weighed down by weaker-than-expected sales and guidance. The chocolate and salty snacks company reported net income of $349 million, or...
Jobless claims fall to 218,000 and show layoffs still very low
Story developing. Stay tuned for updates here. The numbers: The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in the first week of February fell by 9,000 to 218,000 and indicated that layoffs remain extremely low. Initial jobless claims declined from a...
Kenvue’s stock slides 2.6% as J & J spinoff’s revenue and guidance fall short of expectations
Kenvue Inc.’s stock KVUE, -0.39% fell by 3.2% in premarket trading on Thursday after the household products spin-off of Johnson & Johnson JNJ, -0.05% reported lower fourth-quarter profit and said its 2024 earnings would fall short of the FactSet consensus...
Tapestry’s stock jumps as strong Coach sales fuel profit beat, raised outlook
Shares of Tapestry Inc. surged toward a six-month high in premarket trading Thursday after a profit beat and raised outlook, as strength in the fashion company’s Coach brand offset weakness at Kate Spade. Net income for the quarter ending Dec. 30 was $322.3 million,...
Luxury skiwear company Perfect Moment’s IPO prices at low end of range
Luxury ski- and outerwear company Perfect Moment Ltd. said Wednesday its initial public offering was priced at $6 a share, the low end of its range. The company sold 1.33 million shares, up from an earlier plan to offer 1.23 million, to raise about $8 million in...
This boomer has worried about retirement since 1981. Here’s what she’s learned.
Mary Brancaccio started worrying about retirement in 1981. She was graduating from the University of Virginia, and George H.W. Bush, who was U.S. vice president at the time, gave the commencement address. “He spoke a lot about Social Security and I remember thinking,...
Brent crude tiptoes toward $80 a barrel as Middle East worries lift oil prices
Oil futures rose early Thursday, with Brent crude edging back up toward the $80-a-barrel threshold after Israel rejected a Hamas offer for a cease-fire and return of hostages held in the Gaza Strip.Price moves West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery CL00,...
This fund manager stopped worrying about economics. He’s outperforming the market.
A change in strategy has helped transform the GoodHaven Fund from a long-term underperformer into an outperformer since the end of 2019. The fund follows a concentrated-value approach and now has a four-star rating (out of five) in Morningstar’s Large Blend fund...
Billionaire Bill Ackman to launch fund open to regular investors in U.S.
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, one of the world’s most well-known hedge-fund managers, plans to open an investment fund targeting individual U.S. investors. In a Wednesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ackman’s firm, Pershing Square Capital...
10 of the cheapest new hybrids of 2024
Electric cars are the hot new thing, and internal combustion-engined, or ICE, cars are the dependable, familiar thing, but hybrids offer a taste of both worlds. Partially electrified drivetrains might not be as flashy as battery-powered EVs, but hybrids benefit from...
S&P 500 to open within a whisker of 5,000 as Arm results boost AI optimism
U.S. stock futures were little changed early Thursday, pointing to the S&P 500 opening only several points shy of the 5,000 mark.How are stock-index futures trading S&P 500 futures ES00, -0.04% dipped 3 points, or 0.1% to 5012 Dow Jones Industrial Average...
Disney leans into ‘Moana,’ Taylor Swift and ‘Fortnite’ for future growth
The Walt Disney Co. is banking on a trio of pop-culture juggernauts to help juice its bottom line in the near future. Disney DIS, -0.15% revealed a slew of coming attractions in its earnings report Wednesday afternoon, including the streaming premiere of Taylor...
Camel, Newport among brands seeing write-down of $34 billion
British American Tobacco on Thursday said it was taking a £27.3 billion ($34.5 billion) writedown on the value of its U.S. cigarette brands. The cigarette maker had previously said it was going to take a big write-down, which it estimated in December would be around...
SoftBank shares jump after Arm’s stock surges on better guidance
SoftBank Group shares rose sharply after U.S.-listed shares of chip-designer unit Arm Holdings surged overnight following a better-than anticipated outlook. Shares of SoftBank Group 9984, +11.06% were recently 8.3% higher at 7,168 yen after rising as much as 9.6%...
Authorities reportedly probing crash between Waymo driverless car and bicyclist
California regulators are reportedly looking into a crash in San Francisco between a Waymo self-driving car and a bicyclist. The driverless taxi struck the cyclist in an intersection in San Francisco’s Mission District on Tuesday afternoon. The cyclist was lightly...
Taco Bell and KFC parent Yum Brands takes sales hit from war in the Middle East
Yum Brands Inc.’s fourth-quarter results were impacted by war in the Middle East region, which weighed on the company’s revenue. Revenue rose 1% to $2.04 billion from $2.02 billion in the same period last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were looking for sales of...
Merck, J&J and Bristol Myers CEOs face drug-pricing grilling on Capitol Hill
Lawmakers seeking to hold drugmakers accountable for high prescription-drug costs are focusing on some prices that shed little light on the problem, drug-pricing experts say. The CEOs of Merck & Co. Inc. MRK, +0.60%, Johnson & Johnson JNJ, -0.08% and Bristol...
FuboTV’s stock plunges in wake of sports-streaming venture from ESPN, Fox, WBD
FuboTV Inc.’s stock was tanking for a second straight day — down 24% in early-afternoon trading Wednesday — after Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. announced a sports-streaming joint venture late Tuesday. Shares of the leading...
Treasury yields hold steady as 10-year auction looms
Yields on U.S. government debt were little changed on Wednesday ahead of a $42 billion afternoon auction of 10-year notes and appearances by more Federal Reserve officials.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y advanced 1 basis point to...
Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios cuts price on his Malibu mansion to $67.5m
NHL legend Chris Chelios has lopped a chunk of money from his California home’s list price, dropping the ask from $75 million to a still-staggering $67.5 million. Chelios, who hoisted up the Stanley Cup three times in his career, is hoping to shed his Malibu property...
Ford earnings spurs buying of bonds as spreads over U.S. Treasurys tighten
Ford Motor Co.’s stock rose 3% Wednesday after an upbeat earnings report that also spurred buying of its outstanding bonds and helped spreads tighten over U.S. Treasurys. The car company’s F, +4.01% fourth-quarter revenue topped consensus estimates, it announced a...
Ford has a ‘Ferrari’? An unsung part of the business gets its due
Ford Motor Co.’s stock shot higher Wednesday after a quarterly earnings beat, with analysts focusing on an unsung side of the business and an above-expectations 2024 guidance, but remaining cautiously optimistic about the carmaker. Ford Pro, Ford’s F, +4.02% unit...
Adam Neumann turns to Dan Loeb to win back WeWork, but don’t get carried away
Daniel Loeb is playing down his role and that of his hedge fund in helping Adam Neumann buy back WeWork just over four years after his ouster from the now-bankrupt office sharing company. The latest twist in the WeWork WEWKQ, -60.00% saga emerged Tuesday, with reports...
Kugler wants to see further slowdown in inflation before Fed cuts interest rates
Federal Reserve Gov. Adriana Kugler said it would be “appropriate” to lower U.S. interest rates if inflation continues to slow, but she stressed “it is critical” that inflation returns to the central bank’s target of 2%. In her first speech as a senior Fed official,...
Snap’s stock implosion after big rally may capture ‘the definition of insanity’
MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson didn’t mince words in recapping Snap Inc.’s disappointing earnings report and subsequent Wednesday stock plunge. “Covering Snap might be one of the least enjoyable experiences inour careers as analysts,” he wrote. “Right up...
Housing sentiment jumps to highest level since March 2022
Consumer sentiment in housing rose in January to the highest level in nearly two years, as people felt more confident about their jobs and expected mortgage rates to fall. The sentiment was measured by a monthly survey by Fannie Mae FNMA, -3.23%. The monthly Home...
U.S. trade deficit fell in 2023 to the lowest level in 3 years and boosted GDP
The numbers: The U.S. trade deficit rose slightly in December, but the annual gap still fell to the lowest level in three years and added to economy’s strong performance in 2023. Record deficits in 2021 and 2022, by contrast, acted as a big drag on gross domestic...
I used to earn $10K a month, but I’m now unemployed. Should I sell my house?
I’ve come to the point where I’m dipping into my Roth IRA to pay for my bills and my mortgage, but that’s running out. And unemployment is not paying enough: Every week I get $295, where I was earning $10,000 per month at my job. I want to sell my house. Is that a...
Swiss inflation peaked at just 3.3% as prices surged around world. Here’s why.
A massive energy shock following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 added to inflation pressures that ravaged eurozone economies following the onset of the COVID pandemic. Switzerland, meanwhile, stood apart. Eurozone inflation peaked at 10.6% in October 2022. Swiss...
Uber earnings clear Wall Street’s bar, but stock cools after big rally
Uber Technologies Inc. faced a case of high expectations heading into Wednesday’s earnings report, and its stock was headed lower premarket even as the ride-hailing giant cleared Wall Street’s bar. Uber’s UBER, +2.15% fourth-quarter revenue rose to $9.9 billion from...
Alibaba’s stock falls after earnings miss, but company plans large buyback boost
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is pouring billions of dollars more into its stock-buyback program, which management says indicates confidence in the business. The Chinese-commerce giant announced Wednesday that it was boosting its buyback program by $25 billion such that...
Opinion: Don’t count on a soft landing for the U.S. — or the global economy
Several weeks into 2024, the consensus forecast for the global economy remains cautiously optimistic, with most central banks and analysts projecting either a soft landing or potentially no landing at all. Even my colleague Nouriel Roubini, famous for his bearish...
Mortgage demand inches up, despite 30-year mortgage rate reaching towards 7%
The numbers: U.S. mortgage applications inched up despite rates reaching towards 7%. Mortgage rates rose on the back of the Federal Reserve throwing cold water on market expectations that it would cut its benchmark interest rate starting in March. Yet mortgage demand...
Anheuser-Busch InBev stock rises as Trump company should get second chance
Anheuser-Busch InBev shares saw their best one-day rise in three months on Wednesday after getting an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who said people should give the brewer a second chance. In Brussels trade, the stock ABI, +3.99% BUD, +2.94% rose 4%,...
S&P 500 futures hold the line ahead of another batch of earnings and Fedspeak
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a mixed start just shy of record highs on Wednesday as bond markets were calmer and investors eyed more corporate earnings reports.How are stock-index futures trading S&P 500 futures ES00, -0.07% rose 1 point, or 0% to 4976 Dow...
Central bankers should learn lessons from history, ECB’s Isabel Schnabel says
Economists should start taking a longer term view of history in coming to terms with the fact that the world of tomorrow will not necessarily be the same as the world of today, European Central Bank (ECB) executive board member Isabel Schnabel has said in an interview...
‘I grew up pretty poor’: I’m getting an annual bonus. After I pay off my credit cards, I’ll have $10,000. What should I do with it?
I will be receiving my annual bonus, and I’m not sure about the best use for it. After I pay off my small credit-card balances, I will have roughly $10,000 left. Here’s a rundown of my finances:I grew up pretty poor, so I’m not used to getting large amounts of money...
Enphase’s ‘good enough’ quarter pushes stock 12% higher
Enphase Energy Inc. shares jumped more than 12% in the extended session Tuesday after the alternative-energy company presented investors with a mixed quarter, but one that soothed more immediate concerns about the ailing sector. Enphase ENPH, +2.77% earned $21...
Opinion: Snap’s excuses don’t add up as Meta and Google continue to thrive
Snap Inc.’s disappointing quarterly results and forecast, combined with one repeated excuse, don’t add up when compared to stronger results from other companies also reliant on internet ads, like Meta Platforms and Alphabet. On Tuesday, Snap SNAP, +4.18% reported a...
Toyota shares hit record high in Japan after company raises earnings forecast
Toyota Motor’s shares 7203, +3.99% rose sharply to a record high, extending the previous day’s gains after the automaker raised its fiscal-year earnings forecast. Shares were recently 4.9% higher at 3,289 yen after rising as much as 7.3% to a record intraday high of...
Moody’s cuts New York Community Bancorp’s credit rating to junk
Moody’s Investors Services downgraded New York Community Bancorp’s credit rating by two grades, to “junk,” late Tuesday. NYCB is facing “financial, risk-management and governance challenges,” Moody’s said, adding that it could downgrade the company’s rating even...
U.K. housebuilder Barratt Developments agrees to buy peer Redrow for $3.2 billion.
Barratt Developments BDEV, +1.77% has agreed to buy smaller housebuilder Redrow RDW, +1.35% for 2.52 billion pounds ($3.17 billion) in an all-share deal. Under the agreement accepting shareholders of FTSE 250 listed Redrow will get 1.44 new Barratt shares for each...
Inflation isn’t ‘all the way there’ to the Fed’s 2% goal, Kashkari says. Rate cuts can wait.
The rate of U.S. inflation is getting close pre-pandemic levels, but “we are not quite there yet,” the chief of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve said Tuesday. Neel Kashkari echoed a slew of other senior Fed officials in saying the central bank wants more assurance...
‘I received an insurance claim’: Why does it take 5 days for my check to clear?
Dear Quentin, I have a banking question for which I would like to get further clarification. I received an insurance-claim check for $22,000, written against a Bank of America account. On Tuesday morning, I deposited the check into my bank account. But none of the...
A record $23.1 billion is projected to be bet on this year’s Super Bowl, and the NFL doesn’t want its players betting a penny of that
For decades, the NFL was hesitant to be involved with the gambling industry. But in recent years it has agreed to partnerships with FanDuel FLUT, -0.76%, DraftKings DKNG, -0.33% and Caesars CZR, +2.60% as more states legalized sports betting. And this season, for the...
New York Community Bancorp slides further as Fed Chief eyes ‘challenged’ areas
New York Community Bancorp.’ s stock resumed its slide on Tuesday after a report that its chief risk officer has departed the company and comments from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen about the challenges posed by regional banks. The stock NYCB, -17.22% dropped 14% to...
Recent IPO Amer Sports taps high-yield bond market with $600 million deal
Amer Sports Inc., the Finnish sportswear company that went public last week, on Tuesday launched an offering of $600 million worth of seven-year high-yield bonds. The Helsinki-based company AS, +5.17% and some of its units have also entered a new credit agreement,...
Hertz’s stock jumps 8% as execs talk about a return to profitability
Hertz Global Holdings Inc.’s stock tumbled 7% early Tuesday to put it on track for its lowest close since emerging from bankruptcy in July of 2021, after the car rental company posted a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss. As expected, Estero, Fla.-based Hertz...
Fed’s Mester warns against cutting rates too soon and too quickly
Cutting interest rates too soon would risk some of the progress seen on reducing inflation and might cause interest-rate policy to reverse course, Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester said Tuesday. “It would be a mistake to move rates down too soon or...
JPMorgan Chase to add 500 branches and 3,500 workers
JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Tuesday it will add 500 branches and 3,500 employees by 2027, as the largest bank in the United States bucks the trend of layoffs and bank closures. All told, Chase JPM, +0.27% said it will renovate 1,700 locations and add 500 more...
My father, 49, is marrying his third wife. How do I talk about my inheritance?
My dad recently told me he wants to marry his girlfriend soon and I am concerned he is rushing his estate planning, particularly as it relates to his children’s inheritance. My dad is 48 years old, and his wife from his second marriage passed away from cancer three...
Adam Neumann is trying to bid for WeWork, reports say
Adam Neumann is trying to buy back the company he co-founded and loaded with debt. According to a letter obtained by Bloomberg News and the New York Times, Neumann is trying to buy WeWork out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with an assist from Dan Loeb’s Third Point. WeWork...
I’m doing my taxes for a CD maturing in 2024. Why don’t I have the paperwork?
I have an 11-month term CD that started mid-year. When logging into my CD account there’s no 1099 available for last year. Should I pay taxes for two years?The representative at the bank claims that since my interest is paid at maturity, all tax income is due at that...
DocuSign plans to cut 6% of its work force
DocuSign Inc. said Tuesday it will take up to $32 million in charges against its earnings as part of a cost-cutting move to reduce its work force by 6%, as job reductions continue in the technology sector. DocuSign’s stock DOCU, -5.40% fell by 6.2% in premarket...
Tech stocks vulnerable to sharp selloff with positioning stretched, Citi warns
U.S. investors are so bullish on technology stocks that even a slight hiccup could send the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 careening lower, according to a team of Citigroup equity strategists. Positioning in Nasdaq-100 futures has become dangerously stretched to the upside,...
Spirit AeroSystems reports a surprise profit but won’t provide guidance
Shares of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. gained ground Tuesday, after the aircraft-components maker reported a surprise fourth-quarter profit, but said it would not provide financial guidance until the timing of Boeing 737 Max production rate increases becomes...
Eli Lilly’s stock leaps toward a record as a 16% jump in prices boosted profit
Shares of Eli Lilly and Co. rallied toward yet another record close on Tuesday, after the drug maker’s fourth-quarter profit beat expectations, helped by a 16% jump in overall prices, including a 27% increase in the U.S. The company said the rise in U.S. realized...
Why small-business loans are a win-win for women-run startups and smaller banks
Kari Mathes has always been an avid bowler, and her hometown of Pittsfield, Mass., boasted a number of bowling alleys, including one with 50 lanes of traditional ten-pin bowling that ran games 24 hours a day. But after the General Electric GE, +0.86% plastics plant in...
Spotify’s stock rallies after earnings as user growth brings a positive surprise
Spotify Technology SA edged past Wall Street estimates Tuesday with its user growth for the latest quarter, helping to send its stock higher in premarket action. The music-streaming company had 602 million monthly active users in the fourth quarter, up 5% on a...
GE Healthcare beats fourth-quarter earnings estimates to offset profit guidance
GE HealthCare Technologies Inc.’s stock rose 1.9% early Tuesday, after the company posted better-than-expected profit and revenue for the fourth quarter, offsetting soft profit guidance for 2024. GE HealthCare GEHC, -0.68%, which was spun out of General Electric Co....
Oil prices edge higher as traders warn Middle East conflict could stoke volatility
Oil futures ticked higher in early trade Tuesday, remaining in consolidation mode after a rout the previous week that sent crude to three-week lows. Traders continue to assess the potential threat to supplies from conflict in the Middle East after a series of weekend...
Age is real, but not everything: Is the presidential race encouraging ageism?
Much of the attention paid to President Biden’s age, 81, is negative — a topic of endless punditry, commentary, polling questions and ageist comedy bits. Saturday Night Live, for example, portrayed the president as a doddering fool with no short-term memory and a fear...
The new Porsche Macan EV: Here’s how fast it can go, and more
The 911 may be Porsche’s icon, but the Macan is arguably Porsche’s most important vehicle. The compact SUV is the brand’s best-selling and least expensive model — the doorway to the storied brand. Porsche POAHY, -2.19% is now taking the Macan electric. The 911? Never,...
FMC stock skids on weak outlook as sales miss estimates
FMC Corp. shares slumped in premarket trade on Tuesday as the Philadelphia fertilizer company issued a weak outlook after missing fourth-quarter sales estimates. FMC stock FMC, -1.64% skidded 16% as the company posted adjusted earnings of $1.07 a share, a drop of 55%,...
5 things to love about the new Mazda CX-70
If you haven’t been paying attention, Mazda MZDAY, +2.16% is developing quite a reputation for building luxury and near-luxury vehicles at less-than-luxury prices. Think of it this way: You want an Audi but prefer to pay a Volkswagen price. Cars like the Mazda...
Treasury yields dip after surge higher following strong data and hawkish Fedspeak
Bond yields dipped slightly early Tuesday having risen sharply in recent sessions as rate-cut expectations were pared.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y dipped by 2.9 basis points to 4.445%. Yields move in the opposite direction to...
Super Micro board member buys over $1 million in stock after 600% yearly surge
Super Micro Computer Inc. shares have surged more than 600% over the past year, but one board member just sent a signal of confidence by buying up stock. Fred Chan, who’s spent just over three years on the storage and server company’s board, scooped up 2,000 Super...
L’Occitane shares rise on report of potential Blackstone offer
L’Occitane International’s shares rose sharply after a report that Blackstone is considering a bid for the skincare company. L’Occitane’s shares 973, +6.92% gained 9.4% to 28.45 Hong Kong dollars in early Asian trade Tuesday, on track for its largest daily percentage...
Novartis to bolster its oncology portfolio with acquisition of MorphoSys
Novartis AG on Monday announced it has agreed to buy German biopharmaceutical company MorphoSys AG for 2.7 billion euros ($2.9 billion). Under the deal, Switzerland-based Novartis would acquire pelabresib, a potential treatment for myelofibrosis, and the anti-tumor...
King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis is also a common concern for older adults
Buckingham Palace’s announcement about King Charles’s cancer diagnosis may not be all that unfamiliar for older adults, who are more likely to develop the illness later in life. Royal officials said the king, 75, had begun treatment after “a separate issue of concern”...
Alcoa’s stock rocked after Trump’s threat of high tariffs on Chinese imports
Shares of Alcoa Corp. were suffering their worst day in 10 months amid growing concerns about Donald Trump’s plans to start a trade war with China if he is elected president in November. The aluminum producer’s stock AA, -8.77% sank 8.7% in afternoon trading to lead a...
Stocks ‘finally’ outpace cash-like T-bills in Fed rate cycle as Big Tech jumps
U.S. stock gains measured by the S&P 500 index have pulled ahead of cash-like government bonds on a total return basis since the end of 2021, after a jump in so-called Big Tech equities known as the “Magnificent Seven,” according to research from Deutsche Bank....
Opinion: Do what this deal-making CEO does and find ‘AI proof’ industries for your money
“Despite AI’s rapid advances, computers haven’t caught up to us — for now. ” Over the past 44 years, I’ve started seven companies from scratch, each becoming a billion- or multibillion-dollar enterprise. As I searched for my next venture over the past year, there was...
The stock market’s ‘bad breadth’ is making even stalwart bulls nervous
The U.S. stock market’s case of “bad breadth” is only getting worse as U.S. stocks climb further into record territory — a trend that is making even some stalwart market bulls skeptical. “The current divergence is enough to warrant caution as a few indices race into...
Why you should ask for a ‘stay interview’ if you plan to keep your job.
A lot of companies put their emphasis on performance reviews and exit interviews. Performance reviews, while often a necessary part of promotions, raises and retention, are transactional. You are told what you need to do to do a better job, and then, here’s what the...
AMC’s stock slides again as original meme stock hits another all-time low
Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. hit another intraday low Monday and are on pace to register another all-time closing low. The stock, which is down 7.8%, traded as low as $3.69, a new all-time intraday low, according to Dow Jones Market Data, based on...
Fed’s Goolsbee: Nothing needs to change in the data to justify rate cuts
The economic data doesn’t have to change in order to justify interest rate cuts, there just has to be more of it, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said on Monday. “If we just keep getting more data like we’ve gotten … we should be well on the path to...
Is Meta now a value stock?
Shares of Meta Platforms Inc. soared on Friday as the company reported a blowout fourth quarter and introduced a dividend. That raised the question of whether or not Meta can be called a value stock.Investors typically consider value stocks to be those of mature...
AI-deepfaked meeting tricks Hong Kong employee into handing over $25 million
““This time, in a multi-person video conference, it turns out that everyone you see is fake.”” — Hong Kong policy senior superintendent Baron Chan Shun-ching/South China Post A Hong Kong multinational company has learned firsthand how artificial intelligence can be...
U.S. economy perks up early in the new year, ISM finds
Story developing. Stay tuned for updates here. The numbers: A barometer of business conditions at service-oriented companies rose in January to a four-month high in a burst of fresh optimism about the U.S. economy. The Institute for Supply Management’s survey climbed...
Bowlero to initiate a dividend, with a yield well above the S&P 500
Shares of Bowlero Corp. were on a roll Monday after the bowling-center operator and owner of the Professional Bowlers Association said it would start paying a dividend to shareholders and reported fiscal second-quarter revenue that rose above expectations. The company...
Charter gets another downgrade with weak numbers that are ‘difficult to explain’
Another analyst is cutting the cord on Charter Communications Inc. shares in light of pressures in the company’s broadband business. Charter CHTR, -16.51% surprised Wall Street with the magnitude of fourth-quarter broadband subscriber declines Friday, a dynamic that...
Estée Lauder stock soars toward best day in 13 years after earnings, job cuts
Shares of Estée Lauder Companies soared Monday, after the beauty-products company reported fiscal second-quarter profit that beat expectations by a wide margin, despite continued challenges in the Asia market. The company EL, -0.43% also announced an expansion of its...
Tyson Foods’ stock soars 5% after profit beat offsets fifth straight sales miss
Tyson Foods Inc.’s stock rose 5% early Monday, after the parent of food brands Tyson, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean and Ball Park beat profit estimates for its fiscal first quarter, overshadowing a fifth straight sales miss. The Springdale, Ark.-based company TSN, -0.48%...
Caterpillar’s stock surges toward a record after another big profit beat
Shares of Caterpillar Inc. CAT, +2.41% shot up further into record territory Monday, after the maker of construction and mining equipment reported fourth-quarter profit that rose well above forecasts, with particular strength in its energy and transportation business....
Elanco’s stock heads for 18-month high as company sells aqua business to Merck for $1.3 billion in cash
Elanco Animal Health Inc.’s stock was headed for an 18-month high early Monday, after the company said it has agreed to sell its aqua business to Merck Animal Health for $1.3 billion in cash in a move aimed at helping it focus on promising pipeline products....
Oil prices slide as traders brush off U.S. airstrikes
Oil futures fell early Monday, extending the previous week’s steep decline, as traders looked past a series of retaliatory strikes on Iran-backed militants by a U.S.-led coalition over the weekend. Analysts said markets remain unconvinced conflict in the Middle East...
Novo Nordisk’s controlling shareholder to buy Catalent for $16.5 billion
The controlling shareholder of weight-loss drug maker Novo Nordisk on Monday said it’s buying a provider of drug manufacturing for $16.5 billion. Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk NVO, -1.80%, said it’s buying Catalent CTLT, +2.67% for $16.5...
Bond yields continue to back up after hot jobs data
Bond yields continue to rise on Monday, as investors react to news the U.S. economy continues to add jobs at a brisk pace.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y was 4.44%, up 7.5 basis points. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices....
Boeing says newly flagged issues with 737 fuselages could lead to further delivery delays
Boeing said it plans to spend several days fixing mis-drilled holes on 50 undelivered 737 planes, in work that’s expected to cause further delays for the troubled aerospace firm. In a memo sent out to employees on Sunday, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal...
S&P 500 futures slip after index reached seventh record close of the year
U.S. stock futures slipped Monday, edging backwards after megacap corporate earnings led to a fresh record high.What’s happening Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -0.27% fell 124 points, or 0.3%, to 38641. S&P 500 futures ES00, -0.27% dropped 13 points,...
Santander, Lloyds shares fall on report Iran used banks to evade sanctions
Shares of Banco Santander and Lloyds Banking Group dropped after a report that Iran used the two banks to evade sanctions. Santander shares SAN, -6.12% SAN, +2.96% skidded 5%, and was the worst performing Stoxx 600 stock in early trade. Lloyds LLOY, -2.16% LYG, -1.86%...
Powell says economy’s strength allows Fed to be careful about rate cuts
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Sunday said that the strength of the economy allows the Fed to be “careful” in deciding when to cut interest rates. “With the economy strong…we feel like we can approach the question of when to begin to reduce interest rates...
It’s shaping up to be a great quarter for Europe’s biggest companies — no thanks to Europe.
Fourth-quarter earnings season in Europe is still in its early days, but the largest companies on the Continent are mostly hitting their stride. Novo Nordisk NVO, -1.80%, the maker of wildly popular weight-loss drugs, on Wednesday beat estimates and gave an outlook...
Some board members felt pressured to take drugs with Elon Musk, WSJ reports
Some Tesla Inc. board members felt pressured to take drugs with Chief Executive Elon Musk for risk of upsetting him if they did not partake, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. In a report following up on a January article that detailed Musk’s alleged use of...
Car insurance is up 43% since 2022. Here’s how to lower your premiums.
Anyone already feeling burned by sharp increases in their auto insurance rates over the last year should buckle up — it’s only getting more expensive.Car insurance premiums in the U.S. will continue to climb this year after rising more than 43% since January 2022, new...
Stock investors fear ‘no-landing’ economy could spell trouble. What’s next?.
While the U.S. stock market has been pricing in a “soft-landing” scenario for the economy, a blowout January jobs report, relatively strong corporate earnings, and Federal Reserve Jerome Powell’s comments during the past week could point to the possibility of “no...
Fourth-quarter earnings are near halfway done. Results have gotten better.
With the U.S. fourth-quarter earnings reporting season almost halfway through, the financial industry is fretting over souring consumer credit. Companies that make shoes and clothes said retailers, still contending with shoppers banged up from inflation, were...
Just in time for the Grammys, here’s a whiskey from country star Chris Stapleton
The bottle Traveller Whiskey, $39.99The back story It’s the big Grammy Awards weekend. So here at Weekend Sip, that naturally has us thinking about the many artists and groups, from Jennifer Lopez to Lynyrd Skynyrd, with their own brand of booze. Now, you can add...
‘It actually happened to me’: Medical debt cancellation is real
When Amber Clapsaddle found out that she would have about $1,500 in medical debt canceled, she cried, posted a picture of the letter with the news on Facebook and called her husband. Clapsaddle, 44, had heard several months before about efforts in Toledo, Ohio, where...
How to use TIPS to provide an inflation-adjusted income stream in retirement
Inflation is slowing down, hopefully for good. But real interest rates — what you can earn from investing in safe government bonds over and above inflation remain high. Since 2022 real yields on Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS), also known as...
Opinion: Max is back on top: Here’s what’s worth streaming in February 2024
It’s become tiresome to hear ever-more-common complaints that between price hikes, consolidation and fewer shows, streaming has basically become cable.It has not. It’s not going to. For consumers, streaming is still cheaper than cable and offers wildly more choices....
Quit your New Year’s resolution. Science and social media say you’re right.
You come back from a holiday spent stuffing yourself with cookies and wondering what day of the month it is, toasting to the new year with big plans: In 2024, you’ll start working out. You’ll attempt a social life. Never again will you eat so many rich foods or wear...
‘Deep state’ thwarted first-term Trump agenda. There’s a scheme to avoid repeat.
Donald Trump’s major policy initiatives during his term as president were a massive tax cut and a governmentwide effort to cut regulations that he argued cost the U.S. economy trillions of dollars and “devastated entire industries.” Lax oversight of environmental,...
Medicare drug-price negotiations are on: Let the haggling begin
When it comes to paying for their medical prescriptions, Americans have been taking it on the chin for years. We pay nearly three times as much per capita as citizens of other developed countries, for example, and since older Americans tend to need more medications...
One year after East Palestine train derailment, rail safety still in spotlight
On Feb. 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern Corp. train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, thrusting the issue of rail safety into the national spotlight.No one was killed or injured in the derailment, but the incident was described as a “PR nightmare” for Norfolk Southern...
Opinion: A $6 surcharge for bread? Why restaurant-week promotions may be a bad deal.
When it comes to dining out, I love a good deal as much as anyone else. Which means I’ve always anticipated Restaurant Week, that promotion in my hometown of New York City where hundreds of establishments offer multi-course meals at a discount.But in recent years,...
Opinion: Tesla investors should think twice about Musk’s plan to reincorporate in Texas
Tesla Inc. investors need to carefully consider Elon Musk’s possible forthcoming proposal to reincorporate the electric-vehicle maker in Texas, a business-friendly state that may not be as focused on the rights of shareholders as Delaware. The Tesla TSLA, -0.50% chief...
My employer hires exclusively white managers and promotes people of ‘questionable expertise.’ Is this a good or bad time to jump ship?
I work for a very large tech company. I have a Ph.D. in biochemistry. I joined this company because they were supposedly starting a new initiative in biology. At the time of hiring, it was not disclosed to me what I would be working on. However, when I arrived at the...
These mutual-fund and ETF investing tips can keep your portfolio out of a deep freeze
Don’t miss these top money and investing features: Sign up here to get MarketWatch’s highlights of the most timely ETF news emailed to you weekly!Investing news and trendsTesla’s stock had its worst month in a year, but Cathie Wood’s ETFs kept buying The ARK...
I’m 47, left my job, and want to convert my $130K IRA to a Roth. Should I do it?
Dear MarketWatch, I’m 47, and my traditional IRA is worth roughly $130,000. About $100,000 of that IRA is after-tax contributions and filed and recorded on that basis on the 8606 tax form each year. If I convert that account to my Roth IRA, do I only pay tax on the...
Opinion: Salesforce, AMD, other non-Nvidia Big Tech stocks to watch as AI goes mainstream
In 2023, the AI winners and losers were largely defined by how they found ways to make money from the technology. Nvidia NVDA, +4.97% emerged as the clear leader, its products powering the growth of large language models. Other winners included Microsoft MSFT, +1.84%,...
Here’s what to expect from stocks in February after January’s big rally
“The Dow’s average February return after rising in January is just 0.16%.” Wall Street’s excitement over the bullish posture of the January Indicator tells us more about their exuberance than how the U.S. stock market will actually perform this year. There’s a belief...
Should I cash my $230,000 nest egg — and wait for the market to crash?
Got a question about investing, how it fits into your overall financial plan and what strategies can help you make the most out of your money? You can write to me at beth.pinsker@marketwatch.com. Please put Fix My Portfolio in the subject line. Dear Fix My Portfolio,...
After the Fed’s comments, grab these CD rates while you still can
Higher interest rates have made borrowers scream for the past three years, but they’ve been pretty good for savers. Retirees, and others who need income from their investments with little or no risk, have suddenly been getting interest on their deposits again. Bonds —...
Frosty bilateral relations chilling mood of U.S. business leaders in China
U.S. companies in China remain uncertain of their prospects in the country, due largely to tensions between Washington and Beijing and concerns over erratic Chinese policies.That is according to the American Chamber of Commerce in China, which surveyed hundreds of...
Opinion: Bundle up: February often puts investors on ice as stocks go cold
The U.S. stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index SPX, stumbled into the end of January. On the positive side, since January registered a gain, that is a longer-term positive under the “January Barometer” philosophy (as goes January, so goes the year). On...
I inherited $246K from my late mother and used $142K to pay off our mortgage. If we divorce, can I get it back?
Four years ago, I inherited $246,000 from my mother’s estate. I had always promised her that I would pay off my mortgage when she passed. My husband and I jointly own our home and have both equally contributed to the mortgage and household bills for the past 23...
Does New York Community Bancorp have another surprise in store for investors?
New York Community Bancorp surprised investors with what could be called a reset on Wednesday. The bank cut its quarterly dividend to 5 cents a share from 17 cents, set aside much more money to cover loan losses than usual and said it was working to raise its capital...
Banks’ office-loan exposure remains a ‘mixed bag’ as lenders manage through downturn
Banks continue to navigate a bumpy landscape in loans tied to a drop in office-space value and rent prices in many markets as workers stay at home.In one high-profile example on Tuesday, New York Community Bancorp NYCB, +5.04% cited a need to increase its allowance...
How those strong jobs figures could weaken Biden’s re-election prospects
President Joe Biden issued a statement Friday celebrating the latest blowout jobs report. They showed “another month of strong wage gains and employment gains of over 350,000 in January, continuing the strong growth from last year,” it read. But below the surface...
AI hype around ‘Magnificent 7’ stocks is latest example of ‘big market delusion’
It’s time for tech earnings — and that means a lot of talk about the future of artificial intelligence and all the money it will make companies and their investors in the years and decades to come. It’s the sort of thing that leads to nicknames like the “Magnificent...
What Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson has got right and wrong about the stock market
One of Wall Street’s biggest bears will be giving up some of his duties, stirring memories for some investors and market mavens of a previous shakeup that proved ill-timed for the market. Mike Wilson will leave his post as chair of Morgan Stanley’s Global Investment...
Meta’s killer stock rally adds $200 billion in market cap — a historic haul
Meta Platforms Inc. shares exploded 20% higher in Friday’s trading — an eye-popping surge for a company of its size, and one that established numerous milestones in the process. To start, Meta shares META, +20.32% easily set a new record. The stock ended the session...
Mark Zuckerberg could pay millions in taxes to the IRS on Meta dividends
Mark Zuckerberg delighted Meta shareholders and Wall Street this week with news of the social media giant’s first-ever dividend. The IRS may also be happy, now that it’s staring at millions in taxes on the Meta stock dividends bound for Zuckerberg’s portfolio....
Why Spectrum parent Charter’s stock just had the worst day in its history
Charter Communications Inc. shares suffered their worst one-day drop on record Friday as the company’s latest earnings illustrated continued pressures in the cable industry. The company reported a net loss of 61,000 broadband subscribers, whereas analysts were...
Paytm troubles send One 97’s stock plunging, prompting analyst’s ‘sell’ call
Shares of One 97 Communications Ltd. continued to plunge after a bank used by the company’s popular Paytm mobile payments service was effectively shutdown by bank regulators, which prompted J.P. Morgan to recommend investors sell. The Reserve Bank of India’s actions...
Amazon on track to be worth more than Alphabet for the first time in 16 months
Earnings season is set to cause a reshuffling among the ranks of the largest U.S. companies. Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +7.72% is poised to overtake Alphabet Inc. GOOG, +0.46% GOOGL, +0.52% and become the third-largest U.S. public company upon Friday’s close, after its...
U.S. auto sales softened in January
U.S. new vehicles sales softened in January, the Commerce Department said Friday. January sales of lightweight trucks and autos fell 6.8% to 15.0 million annual rate. That followed a revised 6.8% gain to a 16.1 million unit rate in December. The drop was larger than...
Magnificent Seven bond spreads widened this week in a sign of fatigue
As the stocks of several of the so-called Magnificent Seven group of big tech companies set records, their bonds have had a less stellar week with net selling and spreads over U.S. Treasurys widening. Meta Platforms Inc. META, +21.18% is on track to close at a record...
Gasoline prices are rising, but a bigger uptrend is set for later this month
Gasoline at the pump costs more than it did a month ago, but U.S. drivers are likely to face even bigger gains by late February as refinery-maintenance season kicks in. The average U.S. retail price of regular unleaded stood at $3.132 a gallon early Friday afternoon,...
Layoff fears are gripping U.S. workers. Is their anxiety warranted?
Layoff fears are taking hold of workers across America, with many worried about whether they’re next. One expert says layoffs may be less widespread than they appear to be, but workers are still grappling with uncertainty. Employee confidence has taken a nosedive. The...
Trump says Powell is being ‘political’ with interest rates
Former President Donald Trump on Friday criticized Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and said he’s playing politics with interest-rate policy. “It looks to me like he’s trying to lower interest rates for the sake of maybe getting people elected,” Trump said, in an...
What’s behind Cathie Wood’s ARK estimate for bitcoin to surge to $2.3 million
Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management estimates bitcoin prices could skyrocket to $2.3 million on the back of an “optimal allocation” to the crypto currency from a massive global investable asset base. ARK made that estimate in its latest annual research report on...
New York Community Bancorp’s sole traded bond fell off a cliff this week
The 44% decline in the stock of New York Community Bancorp Inc. this week dragged shares of other small banks lower with it and also had a chilling effect on their bonds. New York Community Bancorp Inc.’s stock NYCB, +7.25% on Thursday triggered the steepest drop in...
Cocoa trades at its highest price since 1977
Cocoa futures headed higher for a sixth straight session on Friday, with prices poised to mark another settlement at their highest in more than 46 years. “The availability of cocoa from West Africa remains restricted and projections for another production deficit...
Amazon says the ‘magic words.’ They could spur a $100 billion market-cap boost.
Three months back, Amazon.com Inc. executives sent investors scrambling for their dictionaries as they called out “attenuating” — or lessening —pressures on the AWS cloud-computing business. See also: Amazon just taught Wall Street a new word — and it’s a good one for...
U.S. factory orders up 0.2% in December, in line with consensus
Orders for manufactured goods rose 0.2% in December, the Commerce Department said Friday. The gain was in line with the consensus of economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal. Durable-goods orders were flat in December, unrevised from the initial estimate. That...
Job-hunting over 50: 500 applications, dozens of interviews and zero offers
Chris Autry built, opened and ran corporate call centers for about 30 years. His longest stretch of unemployment was for six months in 1989. Until recently, that is.Autry, 64, lost his job last year in a corporate downsizing and hasn’t been able to find another one in...
IPO hopeful Shein facing dozens of lawsuits: report
A China-founded fast fashion retailer that has taken global e-commerce by storm is reportedly facing dozens of lawsuits accusing it of copyright infringement. Shein, which apparently has aspirations to list shares on Wall Street, has had nearly 100 copyright cases...
Apple just did something unusual. Can it help the stock amid growth woes?
Apple Inc. executives have long maintained that the don’t talk about forthcoming offerings before they’re ready, and they mentioned that view again Thursday afternoon. “Our M.O., if you will, has always been to do work and then talk about work and not to get out in...
Push for AI sovereignty will see tech sectors grow worldwide, Nvidia CEO says
“For the very first time there’s a whole new computer market that is going to be in every single country” — Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang This is what Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said about the way the race for technological sovereignty is set to boost Nvidia by driving the...
Zuckerberg made more money this year than anyone else after surge in Meta stock
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now the fifth richest person in the world following a surge in Meta’s share price that has seen his net worth increase more than any other individual this year. In 2024 so far, Zuckerberg has already seen his net worth increase by...
Is it a bubble? Magnificent 7 market cap equals the GDP of 11 major cities
So, just how big are the Magnificent Seven tech companies? At $12.5 trillion — and likely a whole lot more after Friday — the combined market cap of Microsoft MSFT, +1.56%, Apple AAPL, +1.33%, Alphabet GOOGL, +0.76%, Amazon.com AMZN, +2.63%, Nvidia NVDA, +2.44% and...
Chevron returns record sum to shareholders, offsetting a big revenue miss
Chevron Corp.’s stock rose 1.5% early Friday after the oil giant said it returned a record sum to shareholders in 2023, offsetting a decline in profit for the fourth quarter and a revenue shortfall of about $3.7 billion. The San Ramon, Calif.-based company CVX, +0.31%...
The best trades of the last 50 years show what investors should do now
Early Friday futures trading shows stock indices on the front foot. Whether they hold that optimism into Wall Street’s opening bell may depend on labor market data.A U.S. nonfarm payrolls report that shows steady jobs growth and tepid wage inflation will be the...
How radical downsizing can create an affordable retirement and peace of mind
Denise Shirey is pleased with the fact that next year she will be 65 and will easily be able to live only on her Social Security benefit. She also has no plans to leave her job and enjoys working remotely from her small home office. The reason Denise is sanguine about...
A getaway to Santa Fe: where to eat, stay and play
From its Pueblo Revival-style architecture to the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and its surroundings are brimming with history and spectacle. In some ways, Santa Fe still feels as remote as it did when it was established 400 years ago....
Amazon’s big earnings beat and upbeat cloud talk send its stock soaring
Amazon.com Inc. closed out last year with a big quarter of profit growth — and it signaled that a recent acceleration in its all-important cloud-computing business was expected to continue into 2024. The company on Thursday reported $13.2 billion in operating income...
Here’s how deep the apartment building loan losses could run
Friday marks Groundhog Day, and market observers can be forgiven if the worries over office buildings brings a sense of deja vu. “Last March, as the U.S. banking crisis unfolded, investors quickly turned their attention to the next shoe to drop for the sector. And...
Bond yields steady before payrolls after week of big price gains
Bond yields were steady Friday ahead of the release of the crucial jobs report, which could bring a March rate cut back into the picture depending on whether it’s weak or not.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y was 4.24%, up 2.5 basis...
Mattel shares rise 4% after WSJ reports activist interest
Shares of Mattel MAT, +2.12% traded higher late on Thursday after The Wall Street Journal reported activist investor Barington Capital had built an undisclosed stake in the company. The stock rose 4.3% to $19.05 in after-hours trading. Shares are down 14% in the last...
Tesla settles California hazardous-waste lawsuit for $1.5 million
Tesla Inc. will pay $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed earlier this week by 25 California counties accusing the electric-vehicle maker of mishandling hazardous waste. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced the settlement late Thursday. “While...
Shares of China’s Landsea Green rise on plan to buy Texas homebuilder for $185 million
Shares of Chinese developer Landsea Green Management 106, +44.07% rose after the company said its Nasdaq-listed unit will buy a Texas homebuilder for $185 million. Shares were up 19% in early Hong Kong trading Friday, lifting the stock into the green for the year....
Etsy’s stock having its best day in 7 months after Elliott takes ‘sizable’ stake
Investors bought up shares of Etsy Inc. on Thursday after the online crafts marketplace added to its board of directors a partner of hedge fund Elliott Investment Management L.P., which recently acquired a “sizable” stake in the company. Etsy ETSY, +7.89% said Marc...
Democrats and Republicans agree: Raising kids is more expensive these days
Though they might have differing views on the economy, Republicans and Democrats have found one thing they can agree on: how difficult it is to cover the costs of raising kids. Eighty-four percent of respondents agreed that “being a parent today is financially harder...
Larry David says he was an ‘idiot’ for starring in an FTX crypto ad in 2022
“‘Like an idiot, I did it.”” — Larry David Larry David addressed his 2022 commercial for the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX in which he touted how he is “never wrong” about a series of iconic inventions throughout history. During a red carpet event this week for the...
Why you can count on the Dow making changes in February
Investors can count on the Dow Jones Industrial Average changing its members in the coming weeks, for the first time in nearly four years, for several reasons. The question is, who’s out and who’s in?How and when the keepers of the Dow DJIA choose the stocks they add...
Apple earnings: Don’t focus on iPhone sales. Instead watch this metric.
For all the attention on Apple Inc.’s iPhone sales, a less glamorous item could be the big driver of the stock after earnings. JPMorgan’s Samik Chatterjee wrote that Apple’s AAPL, +0.67% margins could be the big swing factor for Apple’s stock in the wake of its...
NY Community Bancorp triggers worst bank stock drop since Silicon Valley Bank
New York Community Bancorp Inc.’s continued its freefall Thursday as it triggered the steepest drop in regional-bank stocks since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.New York Community Bancorp’s NYCB, -4.79% stock sank 12% in morning trading Thursday, putting it on...
Mortgage rates dip after Fed meeting. Freddie Mac expects rates to decline more.
Mortgage rates dipped, even though the U.S. Federal Reserve ruled out easing monetary policy in March as the economy remains strong and inflation slows. Even though the Fed threw cold water on expectations that the central bank will begin to cut interest rates in...
Jobs report forecast to show 185,000 workers hired. But beware the January effect.
A steadily growing U.S. economy likely generated close to 200,000 new jobs in the first month of the new year, Wall Street pros say, but the labor market has cooled off a bit since last year. Here’s what to watch in the January employment report due Friday morning....
ISM factory index improves but stays in contractionary territory for 15th straight month
The numbers: A closely watched index that measures U.S. manufacturing activity rose to 49.1% in January from 47.1% in the prior month, according to the Institute for Supply Management on Thursday. That is the highest level since October. Economists surveyed by the...
We have $8.5M in property and investments. Do we buy long-term-care insurance?
I am a 62-year-old man married to my 60-year-old spouse. We have two children, 25 and 23 years old. We own four houses — two in California and two in Virginia — worth about $6 million but owe only $500,000 total in mortgages. Three houses are rented out while we live...
Construction spending ticks up for 12th month in a row in December
Construction spending rose in December, as companies and the government continued to ramp up projects across the U.S. Spending on construction projects rose 0.9% in December to $2.1 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Spending on construction has...
Markets anticipate threat of Fed ‘policy mistake’ after Powell pushes back on March rate cut
Something unusual happened in financial markets Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back on a March interest-rate cut: Investors appear to be bracing for a “policy mistake” by the central bank. U.S. stocks sold off on Wednesday, with equity...
Real-estate industry unfairly ‘vilified,’ over broker commissions, NAR says
The CEO of the country’s most powerful real-estate association says the group is being unfairly attacked, and is pushing back against claims that it controls the fees that home buyers and sellers pay when a house changes hands. The interim chief executive of the...
As banks retreat, one debt fund eyes $2B in commercial real-estate loans in 2024
Ran Eliasaf’s Northwind Group sees big lending opportunities this year in commercial buildings that need a short-term lifeline. The Manhattan-based, real-estate private-equity firm and debt-fund manager has already originated about $300 million in commercial-property...
Plug Power’s stock heads for three-month high as business hits a milestone
Plug Power Inc. shares looked poised to continue their charge higher Thursday after the company said it reached a milestone at its recently opened plant. The alternative energy company, which provides hydrogen fuel-cell technology, has completed its first fill of a...
Meta earnings: What to expect today from the Facebook parent company
Meta Platforms Inc.’s surging stock is expected to advance even further Thursday when the social-media company is expected to announce a bump in advertising revenue in its fourth-quarter results. Here’s what analysts are looking for ahead of Meta’s META, -2.48%...
My brothers are co-owners on $1.9 million of our mom’s accounts. What can I do?
I have three adult siblings living in different states, and we are disputing the circumstances surrounding the joint accounts shared with our 85-year old mother who has early-stage Alzheimer’s. Our mom has a net worth around $2 million spread across several different...
Royal Caribbean stock rallies after quarterly profit and the outlook topped forecast, amid record bookings in both rate and volume
Shares of Royal Caribbean Group RCL, +0.90% cruised 0.8% higher n premarket trading Thursday after the cruise operator reported fourth-quarter profit that beat expectations but revenue that came up a bit light, while providing an upbeat outlook for 2024 amid record...
This fund is shorting Apple — and just bet against another popular AI stock
It’s looking like an upbeat start to fearful February as investors look past a hawkish Fed and put their faith in the last of Big Tech results coming after the close.“An immaculate landing is fully priced in, and only downside risks remain,” warns our call of the day...
Treasury yields inch higher after Powell’s rate-cut pushback as jobs data looms
U.S. bond yields rose on Thursday as investors continued to digest comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and looked ahead to January jobs data in the coming days.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y climbed by 4.1 basis points...
The truth about TurboTax’s ‘free’ offer — and 4 other ways to do taxes for free
When major tax-preparation brands TurboTax, made by Intuit, and H&R Block say they’ll do income tax returns at no cost, that only applies to certain people. Live a straightforward financial life with few complications or income sources? The two major players in...
Not just NYCB: Japanese bank issues warning on value of U.S. office loans
On the heels of a profit warning from New York Community Bancorp that was at least partly due to the deteriorating office loan market, a Japanese bank cut the value of some of its own U.S. office loans by more than 50%. Aozora Bank shares 8304, -21.49% slumped 21%, as...
S&P 500 futures bounce after two-day sell-off as Apple, Amazon earnings loom
U.S. stock futures rose early Thursday ahead of earnings from three of the Magnificent 7: Apple, Amazon.com and Meta Platforms.How are stock-index futures trading S&P 500 futures ES00, +0.32% rose 14 points, or 0.3%, to 4884 Dow Jones Industrial Average futures...
Hulu starts cracking down on password sharing
Bad news if you’re still mooching Hulu from your parents, or maybe your friend, or even an ex — you’re soon going to have to pay up. Hulu is cracking down on password sharing, following similar moves by Disney+ and Netflix. “We’re adding limitations on sharing your...
Volvo Car shares surge as it’ll stop funding Polestar in deal with parent Geely
Volvo Cars shares surged 23% as the Swedish automaker said it will stop providing funding to EV startup Polestar as it ramps up its own investment. Volvo Cars said it’s “evaluating a potential adjustment to Volvo Cars’ shareholding in Polestar, including a...
Flextirement: Can it help prevent brain drain as boomers and Gen X-ers retire?
I spoke to some experts on the topic: Neil Costa, the writer of the Fast Company article and the one who coined the term flextirement; Cheryl Evans, director of the Milken Institute and co-author of a paper titled “Shifting the Retirement Paradigm”; and Jack...
Big Tech faces another day of reckoning on Capitol Hill over kids’ online safety
Big Tech was in the crosshairs yet again Wednesday as a handful of executives fielded blistering questions in a Senate hearing about the impact of their products on children. Facing the Senate Judiciary Committee, the chief executives of Meta Platforms Inc. META,...
California counties sue Tesla for allegedly mishandling hazardous waste
A new lawsuit accuses Tesla Inc. of repeatedly mishandling hazardous waste at its facilities in California. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in San Joaquin County (Calif.) Superior Court, the district attorneys of 25 California counties — including Los Angeles, San...
Manhattan Associates’ stock heads toward record close as analysts say it could triple revenue over time
The stock of supply-chain software provider Manhattan Associates Inc. was up 8% Wednesday to put it on track for a record close, as analysts weighing in on its fourth-quarter earnings said it could triple revenue over time. The company MANH, +7.55% is still in the...
Starbucks says impacts of boycotts and China are ‘transitory.’
During Starbucks Corp.’s earnings call on Tuesday, executives said that the impact from a more cautious consumer in China, the deepening conflict in the Middle East and related consumer boycotts would be fleeting. Afterward, Wall Street was trying to figure out...
We sold our home to my wife’s son. He’s now selling at a $250K profit. What now?
My wife and I married later in life, at 48. It was the second marriage for both of us. We are both successful and doing well financially. Our combined net worth is about $3 million. When we got together, I sold my house and we refinanced her home, with me buying half...
Plug Power wins over a skeptic as stock looks to cap off a wild month
Plug Power Inc. shares were getting a big jolt Wednesday after an analyst turned bullish on the name in wake of a recent visit to the company’s new plant. That trip to Plug Power’s PLUG, +25.60% just-opened Georgia facility “gives us confidence the facility is ramping...
Medical device makers’ stocks jump as procedures keep going strong
Shares of Stryker Corp. SYK, +7.73%, Boston Scientific Corp. BSX, +3.52% and other medical-technology companies jumped Wednesday as sustained demand for medical procedures brightened investors’ outlook on the device makers. Stryker shares gained more than 7% Wednesday...
Cigna to sell Medicare Advantage business to Health Care Service for $3.7 bln
Cigna Group said Wednesday it has agreed to sell its Medicare Advantage business to Health Care Service Corp. for about $3.7 billion in cash, confirming a Wall Street Journal report. Under the terms of the deal, HCSC, a nonprofit insurer, will acquire Cigna’s Medicare...
Trump leads Biden in 7 swing states and is favored on handling the economy: poll
Former President Donald Trump continues to have an advantage over President Joe Biden in the U.S. states that are likely to decide the 2024 White House race, according to a poll released Wednesday. Trump gets 48% support on average among swing-state voters, compared...
Meta Platforms is primed for a big quarter with ads, AI push
A rebound in advertising, the threat of regulation and the specter of AI are the overriding narrative themes when Meta Platforms Inc. reports its fourth-quarter results on Thursday. Analysts are okay with that. “Firing on All Cylinders,” Jefferies analyst Brent Thill...
Oil prices fall, but stay on track for first monthly gain since September
Oil futures declined Wednesday, pressured in part by official data showing weekly gains in U.S. crude and gasoline supplies. Traders also weighed concerns over the global demand outlook against the threat of an escalation of Middle East tensions.Price moves West Texas...
Employee costs in the U.S. rise at slowest pace in 2 1/2 years. More ammo for Fed rate cut?
The numbers: The cost companies pay to employ workers rose 0.9% in the fourth quarter to mark the smallest increase in two and a half years, another sign that rapid wage growth after the pandemic is waning. The rise in the employment cost index was the smallest since...
‘If I say the sky is blue, she’ll tell me it’s green’: My daughter, 19, will inherit $800,000. How can she invest in her future?
I have a 19-year-old college-sophomore daughter who is coming into a large sum of money — around $800,000. What is the best way for her to invest and set herself up for the future? Considering her age, I would love for some of that money to be inaccessible. If I say...
Boeing results beat on everything, but keeps investors guessing on the outlook
Boeing Co. assuaged investors’ fears for the moment on Wednesday, as the aerospace and defense giant’s fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations in all of the key metrics, amid strength in the closely watched commercial-airplanes business. But a sense of...
House to vote today on bill aimed at child tax credit, business breaks
The Republican-run U.S. House of Representatives is slated to vote Wednesday on a bipartisan tax bill that includes an expansion of the child tax credit along with business breaks, including for research and development. A handful of House Republicans demanding...
New York Community Bancorp stock slides as it cuts dividend, posts surprise loss
New York Community Bancorp Inc.’s stock fell sharply on heavy volume in premarket trading on Wednesday after it said it would cut its dividend by more than two-thirds as it builds up capital to meet regulatory requirements as a larger bank. The bank also reported a...
Mastercard scores a profit beat but its stock falls as spending growth slows
Mastercard reported fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday morning. The company posted fourth-quarter net income of $2.8 billion, or $2.97 a share, compared with $2.5 billion, or $2.62 a share, in the year-earlier period. On an adjusted basis, Mastercard MA, +1.05% earned...
AMD earnings could make its pricey stock even more expensive, this analyst says
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s earnings could make “an expensive stock even more so,” in the view of Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon. While the chip company boosted its annual revenue expectation for its MI300X data-center graphics processing units that enable...
Opinion: Elon Musk has turned X (Twitter) into a free-for-all — and here’s the proof
Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, the Tesla TSLA, +0.35% CEO’s most visible changes to the social network have been small and cosmetic: changing the logo, changing the name, squeezing revenue out of the familiar blue checkmarks. That’s largely because it’s hard to...
Money manager who nailed two big market rebounds, says bet on these stocks next.
Investors look set to close out January with profit taking on Big Tech after Microsoft, Google and AMD didn’t quite bedazzle, as a Fed decision awaits.Where tech is concerned it’s been a matter of timing for the past couple of years. Our call of the day comes from...
Microsoft earnings beat easily. Here’s why that may be met with a shrug.
Microsoft Corp. posted beats across the board with its latest results Tuesday afternoon, calling out momentum in the cloud and traction with artificial intelligence. Microsoft’s MSFT, -0.28% Azure and other cloud-services businesses posted revenue growth of 28% on a...
Better-looking parents have higher-earning children, new study shows
Turns out “generational wealth” might refer to more than just your parents’ money. The children of conventionally attractive parents have higher earnings than those from more average-looking families, according to a new working paper distributed by the National Bureau...
Elon Musk’s $56 billion Tesla pay package in limbo after court voids it
A Delaware judge late Tuesday voided Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk’s $56 billion compensation package, siding with the shareholder plaintiff and calling the process to arrive at that eye-watering number “deeply flawed.” “Musk had extensive ties with the persons...
Paramount Global stock soars on report of Byron Allen bid
Paramount Global shares rocketed Wednesday after a report that Byron Allen’s media group is offering to buy the company. Citing a statement, Bloomberg News reported that Allen Media Group, as well as unnamed partners, are making a bid valued at $14 billion, or $30...
H&M shares slide as CEO exits, profit lags estimates
H&M Hennes & Mauritz stock fell as much as 10% on Wednesday after the Swedish retailer’s CEO stepped down following worse-than-forecast results. H&M HM.B, -8.83% announced that Helena Helmersson is leaving after four years as CEO, to be replaced by Daniel...
Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk reports 62% surge in profit
Novo Nordisk on Wednesday said its fourth-quarter profit surged by nearly two-thirds, driven by the popularity of its weight-loss drugs that have made it Europe’s largest company. Novo Nordisk NVO, said its profit rose 62% to 21.96 billion kroner ($3.19 billion), as...
Universal Music warns it’ll pull songs off TikTok after licensing deal expires
Universal Music Group, which represents megastars such as Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Drake, is warning it will pull its songs from TikTok after failing to agree to new licensing terms. In a brief statement late Tuesday, UMG UMG, -1.84% said it “will cease licensing...
L’Occitane shares rise on strong nine-month sales
L’Occitane’s shares 973, +7.79% rose sharply after the company reported strong sales in the nine months ended December, with analysts saying business is already normalizing post-pandemic. Shares of the European beauty products retailer advanced 6.7% to 24.65 Hong Kong...
Bank of England to keep rates near 16-year high, but traders bet cuts are coming
The Bank of England on Thursday is expected to follow the European Central Bank last week and the Federal Reserve on Wednesday in leaving interest rates unchanged. The Bank Rate will remain at 5.25%, the highest since March 2008, for the fourth meeting in a row,...
Buy everything? Algorithms likely to buy stocks, bonds and gold into February
Traders are about to encounter a batch of top-tier events this week: a Federal Reserve policy decision and details of Treasury’s coming auction sizes, both on Wednesday, as well as Friday’s official jobs report for January.No matter the outcome of any of those events,...
UPS says it ‘won back’ most of the business it lost to during labor talks
“‘By the end of December, we had won back and pulled through nearly 60% of the volume diverted during our labor negotiation.’” — UPS Chief Executive Carol Tomé That, from a FactSet transcript of United Parcel Service Inc.’s fourth-quarter earnings call Tuesday,...
Retirees wish they had followed these money rules when they were younger
If retirees had a do-over, they would have made different financial decisions – including starting saving earlier, maxing out retirement accounts and living below their means. A survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers aged 60 to 65 by Nationwide Financial found a range of...
AMD earnings are coming. Can they help justify the stock’s huge increase?
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. shares have rocketed roughly 80% since the company last posted earnings. That means the pressure is on heading into Tuesday afternoon’s report. Despite the stock’s big rally, AMD’s AMD, -3.21% story at the moment is mixed, as the...
Carnival reports record bookings for first half of 2024, stock rises
Carnival Corp. said Tuesday it’s almost sold out for the first half of 2024 after its booking volumes since November hit an all-time high, but its stock dropped slightly as the cruise-line operator disclosed a profit hit from re-routing vessels to avoid attacks in the...
Opinion: Is Nvidia today’s Cisco? Here’s what Ed Yardeni thinks.
“Is Nvidia today’s Cisco? It’s possible. If so, then it has a lot more upside before it crashes — if it crashes.” Is it possible that the meltup phase of the bull market (which started on Oct. 12, 2022) has begun already — having started following the correction low...
New York AG sues Citi for allegedly failing to protect customers from scammers
New York Attorney General Leticia James on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit against Citigroup Inc. that alleges the bank did not protect and failed to reimburse victims of fraud. The bank did not respond to fraud appropriately and quickly, and its actions have cost New...
Alphabet earnings: What to expect from the Google parent company
When Google parent Alphabet Inc. reports its fourth-quarter results Tuesday, analysts and investors expect a bountiful haul in advertising revenue. Here what analysts are looking for ahead of Alphabet’s GOOG, -0.67% GOOGL, -0.71% report, which is due out after the...
Trump takes credit for stocks’ jump yet his Fed may be not only dovish but weird
“‘THIS IS THE TRUMP STOCK MARKET BECAUSE MY POLLS AGAINST BIDEN ARE SO GOOD THAT INVESTORS ARE PROJECTING THAT I WILL WIN, AND THAT WILL DRIVE THE MARKET UP.’” — Donald Trump, the former U.S. presudent That line above came in a social-media post Monday from Donald...
Why the bacon boom will never end: Americans spend almost $6 billion on it a year
Remember the bacon boom from years ago, when the porky favorite started finding its way into everything from burgers to ice cream? It turns out the boom has never gone bust. Consider how fast-food chains continue to roll out one menu item after another that...
IMF boosts global economic growth outlook, sees inflation retreating
The global economy is showing surprising strength in the face of political crises, the International Monetary Fund said, in a new update to its World Economic Outlook released Tuesday. With inflation coming down and growth steady, “the likelihood of a hard landing has...
Avon slammed over Russia links. ‘Beauty and the Beast’ says Moral Rating Agency
Beauty giant Avon Products Inc. is in the spotlight after a BBC report said that the company has maintained links with Russia after the Ukraine invasion. A slew of major Western corporations such as U.S. giants Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.33%, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, -0.25%...
Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Citi get upgrades from Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy Graseck on Tuesday upgraded Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. on optimism around pared-back capital requirements now under study by the the U.S. Federal Reserve. Morgan...
Pulte Homes sees ‘significant increase’ in buyer activity at end of 2023
PulteGroup Inc. said Tuesday it saw a surge in home buying activity around the end of 2023 and projected a bumper 2024, but the home builder’s stock took a hit as fourth-quarter revenue dropped below forecasts amid falling home closings and prices. The company also...
SeaWorld to change its corporate name to United Parks & Resorts
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. said Tuesday it’s planning to change its name to United Parks & Resorts Inc. effective Feb. 12, and will change its stock ticker to ‘PRKS’ from ‘SEAS’ starting Feb. 13. The theme park operator SEAS, -2.06% has been mired in controversy...
Malibu Boats’ stock takes on water as luxury yacht sales flounder
Malibu Boats Inc.’s stock fell in pre-market trading after the yacht maker reported a 72% drop in its second-quarter profit as high interest rates bit into its business. While the Loudon, Tenn.-based company remains optimistic that conditions will improve, it still...
Pfizer’s stock rises as earnings beat expectations
Shares of Pfizer Inc. PFE, +0.04% gained 0.7% early Tuesday after the company beat analysts’ earnings expectations and reaffirmed its full-year 2024 guidance issued in December. The drugmaker reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $3.37 billion, or 60 cents a share,...
General Motors’ stock soars after earnings crush estimates
General Motors Co.’s stock jumped 7.7% early Tuesday, after the auto giant blew past estimates for the fourth quarter and offered upbeat guidance. “Consensus is growing that the U.S. economy, the job market and auto sales will continue to be resilient, and at GM, we...
Five-star fund manager bets on cheap AI, beer and China plays
We’ve got big tech earnings on the way from Microsoft and Alphabet, as a Fed meeting looms. What are big money managers worried about? “The problem is we’re priced for a soft landing. But there’s been no landing,” Matthew McLennan, co-head of the global value team at...
The 2024 Lexus RX review: Luxury SUV with a serene ride and great resale value
The stylish Lexus RX is one of America’s best-selling luxury vehicles because of its premium interior, comfortable ride, and reasonable ownership costs. Pricing starts at $48,600.It’s easy to see why everyone loves the Lexus RX. It’s among the best-selling luxury...
Treasury yields dip as Fed prepares to start two-day policy meeting
U.S. bond yields fell early Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve starting its two-day policy meeting.What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y eased 2.1 basis points to 4.308%. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices. The yield on the...
Latin America and Caribbean slowdown sees Diageo’s spirits sales slump
Shares in Diageo dropped on Tuesday after the Guinness seller said a slump in sales of expensive spirits in its Latin America and Caribbean segment offset a surge in sales of beer in Europe and Africa driven by soaring demand for Guiness. The London headquartered...
How savvy snowbirds can find quality healthcare in the South
Not only had I lived my entire life in Minnesota, but I had also worked my 25-year healthcare career there. As a patient, I always trusted I was safe. As a nurse, the weight on my shoulders to be fully competent in all areas and get everything done was always heavy. I...
Elon Musk says Neuralink has implanted brain chip into a human for first time
Elon Musk said Monday that his company Neuralink has conducted its first brain implant in a human patient. “The first human received an implant from @Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well,” Musk said in a post on X, his social network. “Initial results show...
Opinion: Supermicro heading toward an Nvidia-like second half — but is it sustainable?
Super Micro Computer Inc., riding high on its ability to sell servers loaded with many of Nvidia’s chips, is now seeing growth rates similar to the chip giant, prompting investors to question how long this AI boom can last. The question is even more applicable to...
Explaining that viral price-to-innovation clip and what it really means.
There was a clip from a CNBC interview that went viral, in what was seen as Wall Street making up new numbers to justify stocks at record highs. In it, Sherry Paul, managing director for Morgan Stanley Private Wealth, tells a bemused Carl Quintanilla of CNBC about...
Can UPS snap its streaks of revenue misses and post-earnings stock selloffs?
Shares of United Parcel Service Inc. slumped Monday as investors prepared for the package-delivery giant’s quarterly results, which have not been so kind to investors in the recent past. The company is slated to reveal its fourth-quarter earnings report on Tuesday at...
WBD could be leaving billions of dollars on the table, analyst says in downgrade
Legacy media companies must navigate a tricky road in the streaming era, and a Wells Fargo analyst thinks Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. might be leaving billions of dollars in revenue on the table by not making one strategic move. Companies that have their own media...
I have $2.3 million. My girlfriend wants to marry. How do I protect myself?
My question pertains to getting married and to how best to protect my assets and Social Security benefits in case of another divorce. I am 54 years old. I have two older teenage boys, and I have been divorced twice previously. I own five properties in Washington...
Oil prices fall despite ‘grave escalation’ of Middle East crisis. Here’s why.
A drone strike Sunday killed three U.S. troops in Jordan over the weekend, raising the potential for further violence in the oil-rich Middle East, but the news failed to spark a lasting rise for crude prices on Monday. The deaths of three Americans represents a “grave...
GM dealers are pleading for more hybrid car models amid EV slowdown: report
An influential set of General Motors Co. dealership owners have been asking the automaker for more hybrid vehicles, out of concern that they are missing out customers who aren’t ready for electric vehicles yet, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. GM GM, +0.36%,...
Working longer isn’t the answer — seniors need a ‘Gray New Deal,’ economist says
The Value Gap is a MarketWatch interview series with business leaders, academics, policymakers and activists on reducing racial and social inequalities.Teresa Ghilarducci thinks older adults shouldn’t have to work in retirement. She wants people to stop feeling shame...
In a ‘grabby market,’ start looking at cash and gold, says DoubleLine’s Gundlach
““I think [investors] are grabbing at assets on a limited basis.”” — Jeffrey Gundlach, DoubleLine Capital founder Billionaire hedge-fund manager Jeffrey Gundlach said he’d consider cash and gold as financial markets display increasingly “grabby” behavior by investors....
Evergrande ordered to liquidate: What it means for China’s troubled economy
The long, strange saga of Evergrande Group appeared to enter its final chapter Monday, with a Hong Kong court ordering China’s troubled property-development giant to liquidate after failing to reach a restructuring deal with creditors. A key question for investors...
Bloom Energy’s stock wilts after BofA’s ‘sell’ call
Shares of Bloom Energy Corp. sagged Monday toward their worst monthly performance in nearly two years after BofA Securities turned bearish on the hydrogen manufacturer, citing concerns that revenue growth won’t ramp up as much as was expected. Analyst Julien...
AMD earnings are around the corner: This number could be the ‘swing factor’
Nvidia Corp. dominates the market for chips used to power the artificial-intelligence frenzy, but Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is jockeying for a bigger piece of that pie. The company got an endorsement of sorts late Friday from a high-profile figure, as Tesla Inc....
FanDuel’s parent company Flutter starts NYSE trading
Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of FanDuel, started trading on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time Monday, as the company tries to narrow the valuation gap between it and rivals including DraftKings. Flutter said Monday it’s planning to make the...
AMC CEO says Hollywood strikes have ‘ruined’ early 2024 box office
The recent decline in AMC’s share price is “so frustrating,” according to the movie-theater chain’s CEO, Adam Aron. “Media scoffed at my Embiid tweet, but it’s all true,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, late Sunday. “AMC’s share price is so frustrating. The 2023...
Taylor Swift is worth $331 million, and counting, to NFL and the Chiefs
The love story between NFL player Travis Kelce and superstar Taylor Swift is apparently worth $331.5 million thus far to his Super Bowl-bound Kansas City Chiefs. That’s according to Apex Marketing Group, which recently estimated the equivalent brand value of the...
Amazon and iRobot scrap their acquisition plan, see no path to approval in EU
Amazon.com Inc. and Roomba parent iRobot Corp. said Monday they are terminating their planned acquisition agreement because they believe there’s no path to regulatory approval in the European Union, sending iRobot’s stock sharply lower. “We’re disappointed that...
Red Sea attacks add ‘element of uncertainty’ for food retailers, says BMO
The disruption caused by the Houthi attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea could result in incremental costs for food retailers, according to BMO Capital Markets. “This adds an element of uncertainty for retailers (DLTR, TGT, WMT, COST, DG) as it relates to...
Microsoft earnings are on deck, and the whole software sector is riding on them
It’s almost time for investors to find out more about the next leg of Microsoft Corp.’s artificial-intelligence growth. The technology giant became a poster child for AI last year thanks to its investment in OpenAI, the creator of the popular ChatGPT chatbot. And the...
REV to wind down transit-bus manufacturer ENC
Shares of REV Group Inc. rallied Monday, after the maker of electric- and hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles said it will pay out a special dividend with the cash generated by strategic actions, including winding down its ElDorado National-California (ENB) transit...
Treasury yields move lower as traders await crucial week of data, Fed decision
Treasury yields declined early Monday in rangebound trade, as investors awaited a crucial week that includes a Federal Reserve policy decision, details on the U.S. government’s first-quarter borrowing needs and a December jobs report. Investors are also keeping a...
Oil futures flat as traders monitor rising Middle East tensions
Oil futures were little changed early Monday after erasing a pop to the upside in Asian trading hours after a drone attack killed three U.S. troops in Jordan, which sparked fears of a wider Middle East conflict that could threaten crude supplies.Price moves West Texas...
This market is a ‘bear trap’ so here’s what to buy, strategist says
Futures early Monday point to stocks opening fairly flat to start the week. . And what a week! There will also be the matter of a Federal Reserve policy decision on Wednesday. No change in rates is expected, but traders will be highly sensitive to guidance on the...
The 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E: Well-rounded EV has good range, a touch of legend
The 2024 Ford F, +0.44% Mustang Mach-E combines impressive range and tech with a sprinkling of legend in one of our highest-rated electric SUVs. We expect pricing to start at around $43,500.The Mustang Mach-E is a well-rounded electric vehicle with impressive range...
S&P 500 futures hover near record ahead of pivotal week of tech earnings
U.S. stock futures on Monday pointed to a cautious start, as investors awaited a barrage of earnings and pivotal economic news with major indexes at or near record levels.What’s happening Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -0.08% fell 69 points, or 0.2%, to...
How I’m learning to treat myself and resist my father’s lessons in frugality
If there is one conversation that encapsulates who my father was, it’s him explaining to me why it would be fiscally irresponsible to give me a dollar so I could get in line at the ice cream man’s truck on a summer day in New Orleans. “But ‘Turah . . . that don’t make...
Philips to halt CPAP sales in the U.S. as it takes $393 million provision
Philips on Monday said it will halt the sales of new sleep-therapy devices in the U.S., as part of a broader settlement that led the company to take a €363 million ($393 million) provision. Philips said it will not sell any new Continuous Positive Airway Pressure or...
Chinese developer Evergrande to be liquidated after debt talks fail: reports
Troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande faces liquidation after failing to reach a restructuring deal with its creditors, according to multiple reports Sunday night. The Wall Street Journal reported that talks between Evergrande 3333, -20.87% and its creditors...
Oil prices rise after drone attack kills U.S. troops, escalating Mideast crisis
Oil futures popped higher Sunday evening, after a drone attack that killed three U.S. service members in northern Jordan, blamed by the White House on Iran-backed militants, marked a major escalation of tensions in the Middle East. As of midnight Eastern, West Texas...
Stock-market rally faces Fed, tech earnings and jobs data in make-or-break week
Stock-market investors may take their cues from a series of important events in the week ahead, including the Federal Reserve’s monetary-policy meeting, a closely-watched December employment report and an onslaught of earnings from megacap technology names, which all...
The busiest and most crucial week for fourth-quarter earnings is here.
The heaviest stretch of the fourth-quarter earnings storm hits this week, with 106 companies set to report results. But results from only five — all part of the gang of tech behemoths known as the Magnificent Seven — will play an oversized role in steering collective...
As goes January, so goes the year? History shows U.S. stocks are set to continue climbing in 2024 after strong start.
If the past is any guide, the S&P 500 index could continue to power higher in 2024 after posting strong returns in January, according to an analysis from Bespoke Investment Group. A team of stock-market analysts at Bespoke found that typically when the S&P 500...
Nick Dunlap turns pro: Golfer who lost out on $1.5M won’t be able to recoup money
Nick Dunlap, the amateur golfer who won a $1.5 million prize from the American Express tournament last weekend but couldn’t collect it because he was still a college athlete, has decided to turn professional. The announcement comes after days of speculation that...
We’ve $1.3 million in IRAs and $1.15 million in cash. What should we do with it?
Dear MarketWatch, I’m 72 and married to my spouse, 71. We have one son, 45, who lives in California. We give him and his family $20,000 a year. Between us, with pension income and Social Security, we’re now receiving a little over $100,000 a year (gross) living in...
Here’s how much funeral costs have risen
Dying is expensive.Whether you opt for a formal burial or direct cremation, there are unavoidable costs involved in dying.The median cost of a burial in 2023 was $9,995 — a 6.1% increase since 2021, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. That figure...
We have $300K on our mortgage. Should we use the money in our CDs to pay it off?
Dear Big Move, My husband is 66 and I am 61, and we have a 30-year mortgage at 4.99% with a current balance of $306,000. We have several Certificate of Deposits totaling $90,000, and savings of $100,000. Our only debt is the mortgage; we own our cars and pay our only...
Opinion: Fixing Social Security: Let’s use subsidies for retirement plans
Andrew Biggs, a conservative economist with the American Enterprise Institute, and I are usually opponents. Our disagreements go back decades: including privatizing Social Security, adequacy of retirement income, and compensation of state and local government...
This $200 bourbon is crafted to pair with a good cigar
The bottle Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend Bourbon, $199.99The back story Americans continue to love their bourbon and other domestic-made whiskeys. Sales have soared for the category in recent years, with the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States reporting that...
More than half of Americans say buying a home is no longer a marker of success
The question of whether to buy a house or continue to rent is one that Cicely Jones had heard so many times that she ended up devoting an entire chapter to why it’s OK to rent forever in her book on financial planning for young couples. “So many people experience so...
How jet-setting tutor made retirement ‘more fulfilling’ than her 35-year career
Tatiana Carvajal, who turns 65 in September, has found her most fulfilling work in her retirement years. After decades of working in the telecommunications industry, Carvajal now works two days a week as a Title 1 tutor, teaching math and using her native Spanish...
‘Loud budgeting’ is in on TikTok. How the Gen Z money trend could help you.
Go ahead and send that Venmo request. Skip the drinks and just do dinner. Have the courage to raise your hand in the group chat and say “Actually, no, I CAN’T afford another nightclub with a $40 cover — perhaps a cozy night in instead?”Welcome to the wonderful world...
Plan to retire? 20% of young Americans say they don’t think they can.
Not everyone believes they will retire one day: 15% of Americans overall said they don’t plan to retire at all, and younger people as a group were less confident than their fellow workers, a new study found. More than one in five younger Americans have no plans to...
Economists expected a recession, but got strong growth. Here’s what they missed.
In 2022, Michael Walden guessed there was about a two-in-three chance that the U.S. economy would slip into a recession in the next year or so. Now, the Raleigh, N.C.-based economist, like many others, is having to admit he was wrong. “Clearly, that didn’t happen,”...
Capital-gains taxes: What to know when you sell your home or other asset
Capital-gains taxes occur when you sell an asset, like your home or a stock. They are paid to both the state and federal government. The government collects a percentage tax on the gain or profit of the asset while in your possession. As you think ahead to tax season,...
This ‘poor little rich boy’ is becoming a sensation among comic-book collectors
Collectors of comic books have long obsessed about Superman, Spider-Man and the broader array of superheroes. And that has led to surging prices for some titles, including sales that have topped $3 million for the rarest ones. But now some collectors are turning...
Meet the leftovers of the Fed pivot party
Riskier companies with some $500 billion of debt are being left out of the Fed pivot party, according to BofA Global. Getty Images U.S. companies have enjoyed a record borrowing blitz in January as financial markets rally in anticipation of a Federal Reserve pivot to...
My wife and I plan to retire at different times. How do we find our ‘magic’ retirement number?
Dear MarketWatch, How much do I need in retirement? Free online programs only show what one individual will need at “X” age. How do I find out how much my wife and I need in retirement combined if we retire at different ages within a few years of one another? See:...
Opinion: The Fed should resist the temptation to lower interest rates too soon
The U.S. inflation news has been better lately, but the Federal Reserve should resist the temptation to lower interest rates too soon. The economy has recovered well from COVID — GDP has returned to about where economists expected it to be in early 2020 had the...
The long-awaited IPO ‘revival’ really depends on the bull market’s survival
Wall Street’s excitement over a possible rebound in the IPO market tells us more about analysts’ exuberance than what’s actually happening. That’s because activity in the IPO market so far this year is indistinguishable from the comparable period of early 2022 and...
Fed interest-rate decision and January jobs report takes center stage this week
Inflation is slowing toward pre-pandemic levels and the U.S. economy is still surprisingly strong. The stage is also set for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later in the year. Don’t be surprised, then, by another stronger-than-expected employment report for...
These mutual fund and ETF investing tips give you a strong handle on your money
Don’t miss these top money and investing features: Sign up here to get MarketWatch’s best mutual funds and ETF stories emailed to you weekly!INVESTING NEWS & TRENDSIt’s a ‘stockpicker’s paradise.’ These 3 funds could be winners. The current market environment...
The No. 1 reasons investors fail in the long run
As I’m writing this, the U.S. stock market seems to be setting new highs daily. Investors are happy, and for many people the future seems bright.I would like to hope they are right, and there’s nothing but financial sunshine ahead. But I know better, and you should...
This is why I’m not paying my student loans
A huge chunk of student-loan borrowers simply aren’t paying. The pandemic pause on payments may have ended in October, but roughly 40% of borrowers who had bills due that month sat on their wallets and didn’t send a dime to the government. Some experts estimate that...
Bitcoin ETFs fueled hopes for other crypto ETFs — but don’t get too excited
Welcome back to Distributed Ledger. This is Frances Yue, crypto and markets reporter at MarketWatch. The first approved bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.42% ETFs have now been trading for two weeks, with BlackRock and Fidelity leading the race after the U.S. Securities and Exchange...
‘We’re already in a trade war’: Trump adviser says new tariffs are fair play
Donald Trump’s love for tariffs has only grown in the years he’s been out of office. The former president appears to be well on his way to securing the Republican nomination for president for a third time, and a central policy pitch of his campaign is to institute an...
I’m 72, have $3 million in savings, and want to live with my son when he’s married with children. Can I afford two apartments?
I am 72 with total assets of $3 million. I was a single mother, and my son is now 26, works for the government and has a serious girlfriend. I stay with my son when I visit him, although I hate D.C., and I miss him when I am in my apartment in Southern California too...
Dozens of funeral homes fail to properly disclose prices: undercover phone probe
The Federal Trade Commission sent warning letters to 39 funeral homes after an undercover phone investigation found the funeral homes failed to provide accurate pricing information or give out pricing information at all, the agency announced Thursday. Violations of...
AMC shares hit another record-low close, extending losing streak to five days
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. shares ended Friday’s session down 0.3% at a record-low close of $4.07. Shares of the movie-theater chain and original meme-stock darling have hit a series of record lows recently, having ended Thursday’s session at what was then an...
Microsoft Teams suffers outage affecting thousands, sparking user frustration
Microsoft Corp.’s Teams suffered an outage Friday, prompting users to voice their frustration on social media with the workplace-communications platform. “User reports indicate problems at Microsoft Teams,” the Down Detector website, which monitors online outages,...
Levi’s is moving into ‘tech pants’ and other new offerings this year
With a rough 2023 in the rearview mirror, Levi Strauss & Co. this year is trying to tackle its problems with new pants. That includes jeans with lighter-weight denim; pants for women that can be worn as high-rise or low-rise; and even non-denim pants that...
The U.S. dollar had a strong start to 2024. Here’s why it’s unlikely to last.
The U.S. dollar has had a relatively strong start to 2024 — but some analysts believe the greenback is still more likely than not to depreciate over the course of this year. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, which tracks the currency against a basket of six major...
Why this man had to sign a waiver before eating a medium-cooked burger.
That’s the thought some might be having in light of the news a Toronto hotel asked a customer who ordered a burger cooked medium to sign a waiver relieving the establishment of any liability claims related to food-borne illnesses. The customer recently shared the...
Movies that portray older people realistically are rare. Here are a few that rise above ageism and stereotypes.
In recent years, filmmakers are increasingly intent on portraying diverse characters with dignity and respect. The goal is showing people as they really are, free from stereotypes. Yet older people in movies sometimes seem frozen in time as doddering comic foils,...
This tax trick got a techie quietly working in porn charged with fraud
On the surface, David Erickson appeared to be an average tech entrepreneur who had long worked in developing and operating online-payment-processing businesses. But federal prosecutors say the Erickson, a certified public accountant by training, had quietly amassed a...
How SAP, Intel and Cisco are helping the NFL’s 49ers improve the fan experience
Kickoff is four days away, and Costa Kladianos is preparing as if he were San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy getting ready to face the Detroit Lions in Sunday’s NFC Championship game. Before nearly 72,000 fans stream into Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif....
Stock investors pile into China equity funds in ‘most enticing contrarian’ trade
Investors have piled into equity funds focused on China after the country signaled economic stimulus measures in the wake of its property sector woes and beaten-down stock market, according to BofA Global Research. China is “the world’s most enticing contrarian long...
Tesla has ‘massively disappointed’ Wall Street. Here’s how it can get back on track.
A known Tesla Inc. bull has a recipe for the electric-vehicle maker’s rebound. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called for a $10 billion buyback and an end to price cuts, among other ideas, as a way to boost Tesla’s battered shares and restore some confidence on Wall Street...
Detroit and its NFL team long struggled. Can the city roar again like the Lions?
Detroit native Renise Taylor has been looking to buy a bigger house, having outgrown her current home and neighborhood in the city.But Taylor, who works in the finance industry, is facing a tough and increasingly expensive market, especially in the neighborhoods she...
Amex’s stock soars toward record as affluent spenders drive growth
American Express Co. saw net write-offs increase slightly in the latest quarter relative to a year before, but the company on Friday still came in ahead of Wall Street expectations with its financial forecasts for 2024. Shares were rocketing 8.7% in morning trading...
Elon Musk has egg on his face
Shares of Tesla Inc. were down 26.5% for 2024 through Thursday. It is one thing for investors to be disappointed at the electric vehicle maker’s continuing series of price cuts and increasing competition from others such as Nio Inc. NIO, +1.47%. But even Wedbush...
Coinbase’s stock is controversial, but this new bull sees a 30% gain in store
Coinbase Global Inc. remains a polarizing name on Wall Street. Days after a JPMorgan analyst turned bearish on Coinbase’s stock COIN, +1.67%, warning that enthusiasm about new bitcoin ETFs could prove a “mirage,” an Oppenheimer analyst has moved to a bullish stance....
Free IRS online tax prep is coming. Here’s what it can — and can’t — do for you.
The new no-frills, no-cost tax-filing platform that lets people file their taxes directly with the Internal Revenue Service gets straight to the point.Need to file taxes on W-2 job wages while claiming some common tax credits and breaks? You can do it with Direct...
Spirit Airlines’ stock tumbles after JetBlue warns merger may be terminated
Shares of Spirit Airlines Inc. tumbled Friday after JetBlue Airways Corp. warned that the air carriers’ merger may need to be terminated. JetBlue JBLU, +1.71% disclosed in an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had informed Spirit SAVE,...
I’m 73 and starting RMDs with a $53,000 withdrawal. When will I have to pay income tax on this?
Dear Fix My Portfolio, I will be turning 73 this year and will have to take out around $53,000 from my retirement accounts for an RMD. This will add about $5,000 to my tax bill for 2024. If I take the full $53,000 out today, will I have to pay the Internal Revenue...
Tesla’s stock hasn’t fallen enough – this analyst sees another 30% downside
Although Tesla Inc.’s stock already took a sound beating after yet another disappointing earnings report this week, one analyst believes it wasn’t punished nearly enough. The EV giant’s stock TSLA, -12.13% had tumbled 12.1% on Thursday, after the company reported a...
BrightSpring’s IPO prices below range to raise $693 million
BrightSpring Health Services Inc. said late Thursday that its initial public offering priced at $13 a share, below its proposed range of $15 to $18. The Louisville, Ky.-based company, which offers home- and community-based services, sold 53.3 million shares to raise...
Colgate-Palmolive’s earnings buoyed by higher prices
Colgate Palmolive Co.’s stock was flat early Friday, even after the maker of dental, personal care and pet food products posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and offered guidance that met consensus estimates. The New York-based company posted net income...
Opinion: 5 real risks that could crush stocks in 2024 — and why they won’t
As U.S. stocks flirt with new highs and recession seems less and less likely, the hard-core stock-market bears continue to predict an array of market-tanking disasters just around the corner. I expect the U.S. market to finish the year up 5%-10%, for three main...
‘They’ve no running water’: Our neighbors ask for money. How can I stop this?
This man and his wife have fallen on hard times, but in reality they have been in this predicament for decades. He hasn’t had a job for many years, because he says that his wages will be garnished so it isn’t worth working. They owe a lot in property taxes. So he does...
Rupture in correlation between bonds and stocks not a problem, says analyst
Early Friday skirmishing in the stock index futures market suggests the S&P 500 will struggle to reach a sixth successive record high. Technology stocks are on course to lead the retreat, as a 10% plunge in Intel stock INTC, +0.94%, after the chipmaker delivered...
Mortgage rates will fall below 6% and the U.S. will avoid recession: Fannie Mae
There’s good news for aspiring homeowners — the 30-year mortgage rate is expected to fall below 6% by the end of 2024, and the U.S. economy will escape a recession, according to a new forecast by Fannie Mae. In its January forecast, the housing-finance giant laid out...
Wall Street has been befuddled by the U.S. economy. Here’s how bad it’s been.
No one said it would be easy to forecast an economy, coming out of a pandemic, after unprecedented fiscal stimulus and then a steep interest-rate-hike campaign. But, wow, Wall Street just has had it wrong on the U.S. economy in 2023 from the beginning to the end, and...
How to finance a car when you have bad credit
Quick facts about bad-credit car financing: Even borrowers with numbers in the lowest credit score categories may find auto loan financing. You should dispute errors on your credit report when you find inaccurate information that lowers your credit score. Increasing...
U.K. consumers feeling brighter as year starts, with inflation trending down
U.K. consumers continue to feel cheerier as 2024 starts, according to a survey released Friday. Research group GfK’s Consumer Confidence Barometer rose three points to minus-19, its highest level in two years. The reading was a little better than the minus-20 expected...
Opinion: Intel is struggling to gain traction in AI chips while Nvidia and AMD roar ahead
It’s a tale of two worlds for Intel INTC, +0.94% these days. At a turbulent time for the silicon industry, the computer-chip giant late Thursday reported that fourth-quarter 2023 revenue rose 10% year over year, with a gross margin increase of 6.5 points. For the 2023...
Levi Strauss to lay off up to 15% of corporate workforce, stock slides as profit forecast disappoints
With new leadership coming in after difficult 2023, Levi Strauss & Co. on Thursday announced plans to lay off staff and cut costs over the next few years — part of a multi-year “global productivity initiative” that didn’t do much for the iconic jeans-maker’s share...
Visa posts earnings beat, but here’s why Wall Street says the stock is falling
Visa Inc. called out resilient spending as it logged an earnings beat for the latest quarter, but its shares were still coming under pressure in Thursday’s after-market action. The culprit? A slowdown in U.S. volumes into January, according to analysts. Mizuho analyst...
Utz voluntarily recalls 88 cases of milk-contaminated potato chips
Utz Brands’ UTZ, +3.15% subsidiary issued a voluntary recall of 88 cases of potato chips on Thursday due to an undeclared milk contamination. Utz Quality Foods, based in Hanover, Pa., said it learned that about 1,200 single-serve bags with Utz Wavy Original Potato...
Microsoft cuts 1,900 jobs as videogame layoffs hit Activision Blizzard and Xbox
Microsoft Corp. is cutting 1,900 workers in its gaming business, according to a report, making it the latest tech company to conduct videogame-related layoffs. Microsoft MSFT, +0.19% gaming CEO Phil Spencer told employees that the cuts aim to reduce “areas of overlap”...
The no-recession economy might not slow down at all
First came widespread predictions of a recession. Then a wave of forecasts called for a big slowdown in the economy. Now the question is, should we expect the economy to slow at all in 2024? There’s good reason not to, some economists say. Start with the labor market:...
Expect more deals in the food sector as companies grapple with low-volume world
Investors can expect to see more deal activity in the U.S. food sector in 2024, as companies are still seeking to improve the growth profile of their portfolios in a low-volume environment. That’s the view of Stifel analysts in a note published Thursday, in which they...
Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft face FTC probe into AI ‘investments and partnerships’
The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday it will look closely at the generative-artificial-intelligence investments and partnerships of Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, +1.90% GOOG, +1.97%, Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, +0.38%, Anthropic PBC, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, +0.67% and OpenAI...
PayPal CEO sees ‘huge monetization opportunity’ after revamp, but stock drops
PayPal Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Alex Chriss says the problems with checkout that the online-payments pioneer set to solve years ago have “really been solved” now. It’s easy to pay with a credit card on the web, and the company faces plenty of competition in the...
Intel earnings: What to expect on PC, data-center, and AI trends
Intel Corp.’s upcoming earnings report is expected to be a busy one as the chip maker discusses trends in the personal-computing and data-center markets, as well as the budding opportunity in artificial intelligence. The results, due out Thursday after the closing...
Mortgage rates inch up to highest level in six weeks
U.S. mortgage rates rose to the highest level in six weeks, but have stayed well below 7%, offering some stability to home buyers. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose and averaged 6.69% as of January 25, according to data released by Freddie Mac FMCC, -1.27% on...
Lumen’s new debt-restructuring deal helps send besieged stock soaring
Lumen Technologies Inc.’s stock price has eroded in recent years as the telecommunications company has faced deep challenges in its legacy businesses and issues with cash flow. But shares were getting a nice lift Thursday after the company announced that it reached a...
American Airlines stock soars as focus on flight reliability fuels big profit beat
Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. took flight Thursday after the air carrier beat fourth-quarter profit expectations by a wide margin and provided an upbeat 2024 outlook, while recording best-ever flight-reliability measures over the busy holiday travel period....
U.K. to start work on ‘Britcoin’ to prepare for cryptocurrency dominated world
The U.K. is set to start work on plans to create a digital version of Britain’s pound to ensure the country holds onto its “monetary sovereignty” in a world increasingly dominated by cryptocurrencies, the country’s treasury and central bank have said. In a...
Sales of new homes surge 8% in December
Story developing. Stay tuned for updates. The numbers: Sales of newly built homes in the U.S. jumped in December as falling mortgage rates sparked home-buying interest. The numbers: U.S. new-home sales rose 8% to an annual rate of 664,000 in December from a revised...
Treasury yields slip despite unexpectedly strong fourth-quarter GDP report
Treasury yields fell further Thursday morning after an unexpectedly strong reading of fourth-quarter U.S. economic growth gave support to the view that a recession can be avoided as inflation eases. What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y fell...
Retirees own more of the U.S. stock market than ever
One of the biggest threats looming over the U.S. stock market might be your grandma. As the S&P 500 index powered to a fourth straight record close on Wednesday, one longtime market economist has highlighted what he described as a “a sinister downside risk…lurking...
Tesla’s ‘train-wreck’ earnings call has even the bulls begging execs to grow up
As Tesla Inc. cuts prices and scales back its delivery goals, even one prominent bull is feeling spooked about the electric-vehicle company’s lack of clarity on the road ahead. Wedbush’s Daniel Ives, often effusively enthusiastic about the stock, didn’t mince words...
My partner and I are not married, but he set up a revocable trust. Is that wise?
Dear Quentin, I have been in a committed, long-term relationship for 14-plus years. My partner does not want to marry and believes he is taking care of me legally and financially should he precede me in death. He is a loving and generous partner and I do trust him,...
Oil prices extend rise after drop in U.S. crude inventories
Oil futures rose Thursday, building on gains scored the previous session after government data showed a much larger-than-expected drops in U.S. crude inventories and production.Price moves West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery CL00, +0.85% CL.1, +0.85%...
Humana’s stock tanks as it cuts 2024 guidance amid soaring medical costs
Humana Inc.’s stock fell 17% early Thursday, after the managed care company’s quarterly loss widened amid soaring medical costs and it cut its 2024 profit guidance to almost half what analysts were forecasting. Louisville, Ky.-based Humana HUM, -1.26% said it now...
Dow swings to net loss as sales fall at all of its operating businesses
Chemicals company Dow Inc. said Thursday it swung to a net loss of $105 million, or 15 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, after posting income of $613 million, or 85 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 43 cents, ahead of...
My in-laws asked me to relinquish any claim to $100,000 they gave us as a downpayment for our house — on the day we closed. Is that legal?
Dear Quentin, My husband and I purchased a house together in New York about a year ago. We’ve been married 14 years. His parents gave us $100,000 toward the house, which was deposited in a joint bank account, one that I don’t have access to. About a week later, my...
Stocks versus bonds is a no-brainer for the next decade, says the Fed model
The S&P 500’s record run may have a hit a bump in the road, thanks to some disappointment from Tesla, with those shares careening lower in premarket. Still, some may be wondering if U.S. stocks are just a bit too expensive right now when investors can get a...
STMicroelectronics reports dip in sales on global manufacturing slump
Microchip manufacturer STMicroelectronics on Thursday said its revenues started to dip in the final three months of 2023 as it warned of a further slowdown in sales over the first quarter of 2024 caused by the slump in the global manufacturing sector. The Swiss...
Fed shutting funding program ends an increasingly popular arbitrage for banks
The end of an emergency Federal Reserve funding program has eliminated what had been increasingly profitable arbitrage that banks were exploiting. The Fed late on Wednesday announced that the Bank Term Funding Program, set up during last spring’s regional banking...
6 things I learned from my mother’s death that can save your heirs a lot of pain
My heart was shattered last year when I lost my mother.Luckily, she did an exceptional job overall making my inheritance process as easy as possible, but there were some ways that the experience could have been less stressful. In another article on this subject, I...
Tesla warns Wall Street it may grow slower this year
Tesla Inc. entered its earnings day under a cloud, and some of what investors had feared played out on Wednesday as the EV maker warned it may grow slower this year to focus on its next-generation vehicle. Its 2024 vehicle volume-growth rate “may be notably lower than...
Nokia stock climbs as cost cuts limit damage from 23% drop in sales
Nokia shares rallied on Thursday as the telecom equipment maker reported better-than-expected margins despite sales missing estimates. Nokia stock NOKIA, +7.86% NOK, +1.49% in Helsinki jumped 7% as the company reported a loss of €33 million on a 23% decline in revenue...
Record share of renters now spend too much of their income on housing, study finds
A sharp rise in rents over the past few years has left millions of tenants spending too much of their incomes on housing costs, pushing the share of so-called rent-burdened households to an all-time high, according to a new report. In an annual report by the Joint...
ECB seen holding rates at record highs this week, but policy pivots are coming
Markets have spent recent months girding for a monetary policy pivot to lower interest rates by central banks representing roughly a third of the global economy.However, despite inflation in the U.S., eurozone and the U.K. starting the year well down from cycle highs...
Bank of America ‘letter of education’ puts teeth into return-to-office mandate
Bank of America Corp. has issued “letter of education” messages that threaten disciplinary action against employees who choose to work from home, as the megabank puts some teeth into its return-to-office mandates. Bank of America and other big banks have not updated...
I asked my father to quitclaim his home so I can refinance. Is that wise?
I am a 56-year-old man living in my family home with my father, 93, who has Type 2 diabetes and a pacemaker and is legally blind. My mom passed away five years ago. He is in good health otherwise, and well taken care of. Because of his blindness, he needs...
How Joe Lewis went from being one of Britain’s wealthiest men to a convicted felon
Joe Lewis has long been one of the richest people in the United Kingdom, but on Wednesday he admitted he was also a cheapskate. In pleading guilty to felony insider trading charges in federal court in Manhattan, Lewis admitted he had handed secret stock tips to his...
Boeing’s bond spreads reflect ongoing worries about 737 Max safety issues
Boeing’s stock was up Wednesday, but its bonds have not recovered from a wobble seen in early January after a panel tore off a 737 Max 9 jet flown by Alaska Airlines during a flight. AFP/Getty Images Boeing Co.’s shares moved higher Wednesday as its chief executive...
‘PTSD is a huge issue’: Navy veteran is helping thousands of service members
When some people reach a certain age, they take their foot off the gas, lean back and begin enjoying the fruits of their lifelong labor. Certainly they’re entitled to do so. But for others, taking it easy is the last thing they want to do. For them, the latter...
Hedge-fund star Greg Lippmann readies bet on shunned commercial property debt
Greg Lippmann, a central figure in “The Big Short,” Michael Lewis’s book about Wall Street’s role in the subprime-mortgage crisis, is readying his next big trade, this time on beaten-up commercial mortgage bonds.“People think it’s going to be bad,” Lippmann said of...
Uber downgraded, days after a ‘bearish engulfing’ chart pattern appeared
Shares of Uber Technologies Inc. extended their pullback Wednesday, after they were downgraded just days after the appearance of an ominous “bearish engulfing” chart pattern. Analyst Robert Mollins cut his rating on the stock to a rare hold, after being at buy for at...
Opinion: ‘Too-big-to-fail’ bank boss Gorman paid $66,000 a day for 14 years
Some people say Uncle Sam isn’t doing enough to solve America’s looming retirement crisis. Just tell that to James Gorman. The Morgan Stanley chief executive has just retired, at age 65, after racking up a staggering $338 million in pay and bonuses during 14 years at...
These seven tanker stocks set for upside amid Red Sea disruption, says Evercore
A number of tanker stocks are well positioned to benefit from the fallout from the disruption to Red Sea shipping caused by the Houthi attacks on cargo ships, according to Evercore ISI. “It appears only a black swan event could overwhelm what is an incrementally...
