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
The Dow set a record Wednesday morning, then shed 507 points after the Fed’s hawkish turn
Investors holding retirement accounts and stock portfolios watched the Dow Jones Industrial Average swing from a fresh all-time high to a 507.12-point loss in a...
4.30% CDs are slipping toward 4% — lock one in before the best yields fade
Savers hunting for the best certificate of deposit rates face a narrowing window. The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate steady at 3.50% to 3.75%...
Nearly every 401(k) got a lift Monday as stocks jumped on the Iran deal, pushing the Dow to a record 51,671
Millions of Americans with retirement savings tied to broad stock indexes saw their account balances climb on Monday, June 15, 2026, after Wall Street rallied...
The U.S. and Iran will sign a war-ending deal in Switzerland Friday — the reason oil, gas, and mortgage rates are all sliding
American drivers, homeowners, and energy traders are all watching the same calendar date: Friday, June 19, 2026, when U.S. and Iranian officials are expected to...
Oil has dropped about 20% from its 2026 peak since the U.S.-Iran deal, easing the pressure that pushed gas to $4.55 in May
American drivers who watched gasoline prices climb to roughly $4.55 a gallon in May are now seeing the first signs of relief. Oil prices have...
Reinvesting dividends automatically buys more shares and compounds your returns over time
Investors who elect to reinvest their dividends through a formal plan end up owning more shares after every payout, and those additional shares generate their...
Money you’ll need within five years generally has no business in the stock market
Households saving for a home down payment, a tuition bill, or any other expense due before 2031 face a simple but high-stakes question: should that...
Dollar-cost averaging — investing a set amount on a schedule — smooths out the market’s swings
Investors watching their portfolios swing through volatile stretches face a simple but high-stakes question: keep buying or stop? Dollar-cost averaging, the practice of investing a...
4.30% CD rates are already slipping, and locking one in freezes the yield for years
Savers who locked in multi-year certificates of deposit near the top of the recent rate cycle are watching that window narrow. The FDIC’s national rate...
A coming change to S&P 500 rules could push large money-losing companies into the index funds inside millions of 401(k)s
Millions of Americans with retirement savings tied to S&P 500 index funds faced the prospect of their money flowing automatically into large, money-losing companies after...
A low-cost index fund tracking the whole market has historically returned about 10% a year and beats most active managers
Millions of American investors pay fund managers to pick stocks, hoping to beat the market. The exposed math tells a different story. A broad-market index...
Money at a brokerage isn’t FDIC-insured, but SIPC covers up to $500,000 if the firm fails
Investors holding stocks, bonds, or mutual funds at a brokerage have no Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation safety net if the firm collapses. The Securities Investor...
A fund charging 1% a year instead of 0.05% can quietly cost a saver six figures over a career
A worker who saves steadily for 30 or 40 years can lose more than $100,000 in retirement wealth to a single line item most people...
Consumer confidence rebounded in June from a record low but remains 19% below a year ago, with households still expecting 4.6% inflation
American households pulled back from the deepest pessimism on record in June 2026, but the recovery barely dented a year-long slide in economic confidence. The...
The Mega Millions jackpot has rolled to $413 million for Friday night’s drawing, with a $182.6 million cash option
No one matched all six numbers in Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing, pushing the jackpot to an estimated $413 million for Friday night’s game. The cash...
Core inflation held at a milder 2.9% in May, even as the overall rate hit a three-year high
American households paid 4.2 percent more for everyday goods and services in May 2026 than they did a year earlier, the steepest annual increase in...
Inflation climbed to 4.2% in May, its fastest pace in three years, with energy alone driving more than half of the monthly increase
American households already stretched by grocery and housing costs absorbed another blow when consumer prices jumped 0.5 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis,...
AI was the top reason for American layoffs for the third straight month — 38,579 of May’s 97,006 announced job cuts
Nearly 40,000 American workers learned in May that artificial intelligence was the stated reason their jobs were being eliminated, extending a streak that has now...
Bitcoin’s slide below $64,000 erased $1.1 billion in leveraged bets in one day
Traders holding high-leverage crypto positions lost more than a billion dollars in forced liquidations after Bitcoin dropped below $64,000 in a single session. The selloff...
The Mega Millions jackpot has climbed to $392 million for Tuesday night’s drawing
Lottery players across 45 states face a single question ahead of Tuesday night: whether the Mega Millions jackpot, now estimated at $392 million with a...