Markets & Investing
Coverage of financial markets, investment strategies, and the economic forces that move money. Connects macro trends to real decisions for investors and professionals.
Latest in Markets & Investing
A hotter-than-expected August jobs report makes a September Federal Reserve rate cut less likely, keeping the best CDs near 4.6%
The U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in August, blowing past Wall Street’s forecast of about 53,000 and marking the strongest monthly gain since March, the...
SIPC coverage protects a brokerage account up to $500,000 if the firm fails
Five hundred thousand dollars is the number most investors associate with SIPC, but the Securities Investor Protection Corporation’s own guidance narrows that figure considerably: it...
A transfer-on-death registration passes a brokerage account to heirs without probate
A transfer-on-death registration is a one-line addition to a brokerage account that does something a will alone cannot: it moves the stocks, bonds, and funds...
The July jobs report showed the economy shed 23,000 jobs, with prior months revised down 103,000
The U.S. economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, and the government simultaneously erased another 103,000 jobs it had already counted for May and June, the...
The Federal Reserve meets September 15 as forecasters split on holding or hiking, keeping savings and CD rates in flux
The Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting, set for Sept. 15-16, has forecasters split between holding interest rates steady and raising them further — not between...
Federal prosecutors flew a suspect back from Fiji to face charges in a $165 million crypto Ponzi scheme
Federal prosecutors say Edward Zimbardi, the man accused of running a $165 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, was deported from Fiji on Aug. 14 and flown...
A federal revision erased 178,000 jobs, revealing a weaker labor market
The labor market was weaker over the past year than the government’s monthly reports showed, according to a preliminary revision the Bureau of Labor Statistics...
Dividend stocks can supply retirement income, but the payout is never guaranteed
Dividend-paying stocks are a favorite source of retirement income because they can send cash to a shareholder several times a year without requiring the sale...
Wall Street is now leaning toward a Federal Reserve rate hike in September, and top CDs still pay close to 4%
Traders who spent the summer betting the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates have reversed course, and the futures market is now pricing in the...
A short-term Treasury bill can pay a retiree more than a big-bank savings account, with no state tax
The savings account at a large national bank often pays a small fraction of prevailing short-term interest rates, quietly leaving yield on the table month...
Treasury inflation-protected bonds raise their payout as prices climb, guarding a fixed income
Inflation works as a quiet thief against a set retirement income: a monthly budget that stretches far enough today buys less each year as prices...
SIPC coverage protects up to $500,000 if your brokerage firm fails
Bank depositors know their money is insured by the FDIC, but investors are often unsure what stands behind the securities in a brokerage account. The...
The Fed meets in mid-September, and top CDs still pay close to 4%
Savers watching their cash accounts have a date to note: the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting committee meets September 15 and 16, its next scheduled decision on...
Treasury inflation-protected securities raise their value with inflation, guarding a fixed income
Inflation is the quiet threat to anyone living on a fixed income, because a dollar that buys a full grocery cart today may cover only...
Series EE savings bonds are guaranteed by the Treasury to double in value after 20 years
Almost no financial product comes with a written promise from the U.S. government that a dollar invested will become two dollars by a set date....
A CD near 4% locks in a return before the Fed’s expected rate cut
Certificates of deposit at the most competitive banks have recently carried yields near 4%, and that window may be narrowing. The Federal Reserve’s next policy...
Edward Zimbardi was deported from Fiji and charged in a $165 million crypto Ponzi that wiped out investors
A Georgia man accused of orchestrating a $165 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that drew in thousands of investors was deported from Fiji on August 14...
Trump signed an order clearing 401(k) plans to hold private equity and crypto, raising the stakes for savers
A single executive order has redrawn the boundaries of what can sit inside the retirement account most working Americans rely on. In August 2025, President...
With the Fed’s September decision near, locking a CD around 4% now can guard against a cut
Savers who have enjoyed the best deposit yields in years are facing a narrowing window. The Federal Reserve meets again in mid-September, and financial markets...
The Fed’s next move could be a hike, not a cut, so locking a CD near 4% may pay off before September 16
The Federal Reserve has held its benchmark interest rate at a range of 3.50% to 3.75% for all of 2026, and with price pressures still...