Category: United States

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, accelerating the withdrawal of pandemic-era monetary stimulus after inflation surged to a multidecade high. It was the fourth consecutive rate increase from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand after 25-basis-point increments at each of its October, November and […]

Typically, financial advisers seek out the wealthy. But some financial planners welcome younger, less affluent clients in their early 20s or even their late teens. These young go-getters may not bring in millions of dollars in assets to manage, but their desire to build wealth and avoid money mistakes leads them to pay for an […]

Walt Disney Co. DIS, +0.15% heir Charlee Disney publicly came out as transgender in a recent interview, and said they wished they could have done more to advocate against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill. The bill, which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third […]

It’s crunch time — as in, time to finally crunch your numbers if you haven’t yet, because Tax Day is less than a week away. Every tax season has a concluding surge and it looks to be the same ahead of this year’s federal income tax deadline which is Monday, April 18, for most people. […]

Dear Quentin, I am a stay-at-home mom. My husband is a police officer and is mandated to work between 10 and 16 hours a day. Our oldest child is a sophomore in high school. She is a straight-A student with a lot of extracurricular activities. Our son is in elementary school; he struggles with school […]

The numbers: The rate of U.S. inflation topped 8% in March for the first time in four decades and showed little sign of easing up, explaining the new-found urgency at the Federal Reserve to quickly undo its easy-money strategy. The consumer price index jumped 1.2% in the month, driven by the higher cost of gasoline, […]

U.S. stock futures pointed lower Tuesday ahead of the release of key inflation data that could determine whether the backup in bond yields continues. What’s happening Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average YM00, -0.06% fell 145 points, or 0.4% to 34074. Futures on the S&P 500 ES00, -0.01% dropped 18 points, or 0.4%, to […]

Dear Moneyist, I went to brunch last weekend and, when the server handed us the bill, she said a 20% service fee was added to cover her benefits and health insurance, but that it was not a tip.  I am absolutely supportive of paying restaurant and waitstaff a living wage and they deserve to have […]

Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday that it plans to produce 2 million electric vehicles annually by 2030 as part of its bid to cut carbon emissions. The Japanese auto maker said it aims to introduce 30 models globally by 2030. Honda 7267, +0.06% HMC, -0.08% plans to use lithium-ion batteries from General Motors Co. GM, […]

Dear MarketWatch, My husband bought a nightmare flip house, and after legal battles with the contractor, the house is almost complete. However, we are out almost $ 130,000 in expenses related to this home. As we come to the end of this journey, he wants to turn the home into a short-term rental, and I […]

Medical debt can be a serious drag on consumers’ financial health, but the Biden administration hopes it has a dose of strong medicine coming. The administration is asking federal agencies to erase medical debt as an underwriting factor in credit programs for certain consumer and small businesses whenever possible, the White House said Monday. For […]

Shares of Nvidia Corp. shares were slipping Monday after an analyst took a more cautious outlook on the company’s gaming business. Baird’s Tristan Gerra downgraded Nvidia’s stock NVDA, -4.87% to neutral from outperform, writing of his concerns about excess inventory for consumer graphics processing units (GPUs). The shares were off 5.1% in afternoon trading. “We […]

Oil futures headed lower on Monday, with the global benchmark slipping back below the $ 100-a-barrel threshold as China’s COVID-19 lockdowns amplified worries over crude demand. Price action West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery CL.1, -3.72% CLK22, -3.72% was down $ 3.87, or 3.9%, at $ 94.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile […]

If you want to understand the financial decline of Social Security, look no further than the “Social Security Fairness Act of 2021.” This very short proposed legislation, which has around 268 co-sponsors from both parties in the House of Representatives, would actually make Social Security less fair and would jeopardize the retirement security of those […]

President Joe Biden extended the lifeline the federal government has provided to most student-loan borrowers during the pandemic. But that doesn’t mean these borrowers are feeling any more assured of their financial health. The ongoing pause for federal student-loan repayments will now last until Aug. 31, instead of ending on May 1. Biden announced April […]

The face-off If you’re not already a pet owner, headlines about pandemic pets may have you pondering pet parenthood. Some people strongly identify as either a cat or dog person, but others feel more flexible about their animal allegiances. If you’re on the fence about Fluffy vs. Fido, pull up a chair. Why it matters […]

Elon Musk will not be joining Twitter Inc.’s board of directors after all. In a tweet Sunday night, Twitter TWTR, -3.75% Chief Executive Parag Agrawal said Musk “has decided not to join our board.” Musk’s addition to Twitter’s board was announced Tuesday following disclosures that he has become the social-media company’s largest shareholder, with a […]

One of China’s biggest oil companies, CNOOC Ltd. HK:883, plans to raise $ 4.41 billion from a Shanghai listing, after its shares were delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. The state-owned company is selling a total of 2.6 billion shares for 10.80 yuan (US$ 1.70) a share, it said Monday. If the company exercises […]

Elon Musk is trying to shake up Twitter Inc. by using his favorite tool: Twitter. Musk, Twitter’s TWTR, -3.75%  newest board member and largest shareholder, used the social-media platform on Saturday to share his ideas on how it can improve its services, making apparent jokes and taking aim specifically at the company’s Twitter Blue subscription model. In a series […]

Should the federal government start backing mortgages even longer than 30 years? Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank president Patrick Harker thinks it could be a solution to an emerging problem in the housing-finance ecosystem. In a speech where Harker called on the central bank to act more aggressively in fighting inflation, he also focused on developments […]