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 new Labor Department rule would open 401(k) plans to Bitcoin and other alternative investments
The U.S. Department of Labor proposed a rule on March 30, 2026, that would give 401(k) plan fiduciaries explicit authority to offer Bitcoin and other...
Regulators have classified Bitcoin and 15 other crypto assets as commodities
Crypto exchanges, asset managers, and individual traders now operate under a clearer federal framework after the SEC and CFTC jointly declared in March 2026 that...
Nissan issued a July recall on the Sentra over a defect serious enough that owners should not wait
Nissan’s July recall of the Sentra is serious enough that some owners are being told not to wait at all before checking whether their car...
Georgia’s new law adds safeguards at crypto kiosks, a favorite tool of elder scammers, on July 1
Older adults who fall for phone scams and are told to deposit cash into a cryptocurrency kiosk will soon encounter new barriers in Georgia. Starting...
A transfer-on-death beneficiary on your brokerage account passes those investments to heirs without probate
Investors who hold stocks, bonds, or mutual funds in a taxable brokerage account can bypass the probate process entirely by naming a transfer-on-death beneficiary, a...
Low-cost index funds let small investors match the market for tiny fees
Every dollar a small investor pays in fund fees is a dollar that never compounds. That simple arithmetic has driven a measurable shift in how...
Treasury inflation-protected securities raise their principal as prices climb, so the payout keeps pace
Investors holding Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities receive interest payments that rise and fall with consumer prices, but the inflation data driving those adjustments arrives on a...
The Fed left interest rates at 3.5% to 3.75%, and 9 of its 17 officials now expect a hike this year rather than a cut
Nine of the Federal Reserve’s 17 officials now project at least one interest rate increase before the end of 2026, a sharp turn from earlier...
Brokerage cash isn’t FDIC-insured; SIPC protects it up to $500,000 instead
Investors holding cash in a brokerage account face a protection gap that most never examine until a firm fails. Federal law caps the Securities Investor...
$7 trillion sits in money-market funds earning 4% while bank savings pay near zero
Savers keeping cash in traditional bank accounts are losing ground to a simple alternative that pays several percentage points more in annual interest. More than...
Most Federal Reserve officials now expect a rate hike later this year, keeping mortgage and card rates high
Borrowers carrying credit-card balances and adjustable-rate mortgages face another stretch of elevated costs after the Federal Reserve signaled that its next move on interest rates...
The 30-year mortgage sits near 6.5%, and the Fed now hints its next move could be a hike, not a cut
Home buyers shopping for a mortgage this week face a 6.47 percent average rate on a 30-year fixed loan, and the Federal Reserve just signaled...
Holding both stocks and bonds cushions a portfolio when one market drops
Investors holding a traditional mix of stocks and bonds got a fresh warning this week: the cushion that fixed income provides during equity selloffs is...
Oil has dropped toward $90 on the Iran deal, but gas could take months to fully follow
American drivers watching crude oil prices slide toward $90 a barrel after reports of progress on an Iran nuclear deal face an uncomfortable reality: the...
Stocks bounced back the day after the Fed selloff, recovering part of the hit to 401(k)s
Millions of Americans with retirement savings tied to broad stock indexes saw part of their losses reverse on June 13, 2024, one day after the...
The Iran ceasefire is holding under a 60-day deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
Commercial vessels are moving through the Strait of Hormuz again after the United States and Iran signed a 60-day ceasefire that terminated military operations and...
Treasury yields surged after the Fed hinted at a hike, lifting borrowing costs again
Homeowners weighing whether to refinance and prospective buyers shopping for mortgages face a sharper cost squeeze after Federal Reserve officials signaled they remain open to...
Savers are the rare winners from the Fed’s hold, with top yields still above 4%
Savers holding cash in high-yield deposit accounts woke up on June 17, 2026, to a familiar but favorable reality: the Federal Reserve held rates steady...
Forget a summer rate cut: some Fed officials now want a hike before year’s end
Several Federal Reserve officials now project at least one interest-rate increase before the end of 2026, a sharp reversal from the summer rate cut that...
The S&P 500 fell more than 1% as the Fed dashed hopes for lower rates
Investors holding U.S. equities lost ground on June 17, 2026, after the Federal Reserve signaled it is in no rush to cut interest rates. The...