Category: United States

Americans love a good sip. In 2022, consumers spent $ 37.6 billion on spirits alone — and wine and beer sales added considerably more to that total. Naturally, that means consumers also like to gift a good bottle, especially come holiday time. But which bottle makes the best choice? Once again, we’re serving up our […]

This article is reprinted by permission from The Escape Home, a newsletter for second homeowners and those who want to be. Subscribe here. © 2023. All rights reserved.  A friend likes to bet on games and horse races. But he doesn’t like to be called a gambler.   “I’m a risk manager,” he insists.  In truth, […]

Dear Quentin, My aging mother has a significant annual income. I have power of attorney for her, and have been helping to manage her estate for several years. She does not have full cognitive dementia, but she does become easily confused.  As the person with POA, I encouraged her for the past few years to […]

These wines didn’t age well. The alleged mastermind behind a fine-wine investment strategy prosecutors say was actually a $ 100 million Ponzi scheme has been extradited to the United States to face criminal charges. Stephen Burton, 58, of the United Kingdom, was flown to New York from Morocco on Friday to be arraigned on charges […]

Dear Quentin, I am 73 and my husband is 76. We married three years ago, and I moved overseas to be with him. We are in excellent health and, statistically, we have another 10 to 15 years of life ahead of us. I have grown children in their 40s and one grandchild in the U.S. […]

Don’t miss these top mutual fund and ETF investing features: Sign up here to get MarketWatch’s best mutual funds and ETF stories emailed to you weekly! INVESTING NEWS & TRENDS How to make the most of your initial free financial adviser consultation Prioritize your goals and reasons for the visit and don’t expect a deep dive […]

Dear Quentin, I read and hear so much about adult siblings who always got along, but suddenly start fighting among themselves when they are about to inherit their parents’ estate. I didn’t see how this could happen to my family — until now. We’re not at that point, but things are getting tense. I am […]

“A once-in-a-generation baseball player signs a once-in-a-generation subpar contract.” Sports fans were anxiously waiting to hear where Shohei Ohtani, the once-in-a-generation two-way baseball superstar, would sign his next contract, now that he had served his time with the hapless Los Angeles Angels. (During his six years with the Angels, they won 46% of their games […]

Spending, on average, generally decreases in retirement. But that doesn’t mean your spending will decline each year. Rather, spending will likely fluctuate greatly in retirement, according to recent research written by Sudipto Banerjee, a vice president with T. Rowe Price.   In fact, about one in four retirees experienced at least a 17% to 20% increase […]

Artificial intelligence is more likely to save humanity than to destroy it, Jeff Bezos said recently. The billionaire also said he would like to see the human population grow to one trillion, with most people living in huge cylindrical space stations. In an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, the Amazon AMZN, +1.73% founder and former […]

Get these Quaker Oats treats out of your house. So says PepsiCo-owned PEP, -0.74% Quaker Oats Company, which on Friday issued a voluntary recall warning that dozens of its granola bars and granola cereals could be contaminated with salmonella, a bacterial organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children and frail or […]

It may be a couple of years since the meme-stock feeding frenzy hit its heights, but we’re still seeing occasional bursts of meme-like activity in number of stocks. GameStop Corp. GME, -1.03%, for example, saw a meme-like rally ahead of its third-quarter earnings earlier this month, and other companies this year have seen spells of […]

Videogame maker Activision Blizzard has reportedly agreed to pay around $ 50 million to settle a California civil-rights lawsuit over employee complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination and pay disparities that helped trigger the company’s acquisition by Microsoft. The settlement is expected to resolve the lawsuit filed against the “Call of Duty” videogame studio by California’s […]

Nvidia Corp. has catapulted up the list of the most valuable U.S. companies this year, rising eight spots from the end of last year to sit in the fifth position with a market capitalization of $ 1.2 trillion. But other chip companies have seen their positions rise even more. Just look at Broadcom Inc. AVGO, […]

While many may be making a gift list and checking it twice for the holiday season, investors should consider checking off another type of list: a year-end financial planning checklist. The end of the year is a great time to reflect and take a closer look at one’s larger financial picture.  Financial goals are common […]

Positive sentiment around stability in interest rates and workarounds to get buyers and sellers to the finish line may fuel dealmaking in 2024, investment bankers said Thursday. “Clients are more actively calling, and people are picking up pencils on processes that are ready to kick go,” said Michele Cousins, head of leveraged capital markets for […]

European bonds rallied on Friday as weak eurozone purchasing manager data stirred hopes the region’s central bank may be pushed toward interest rate cuts sooner than it wants in 2024. The 10-year German bund yield BX:TMBMKDE-10Y fell 7 basis points to 2.03%, a level not seen since around January, and the yield on the French […]

Treasury yields were mostly steady to lower on Friday, but hovering at summer lows after a surprise shift in the Federal Reserve’s stance at its meeting earlier in the week. What’s happening The yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y fell 1 basis point to 4.38%. On Thursday, the yield fell 8 basis points to 4.397%, […]

China’s economy showed some renewed signs of weaknesses as key gauges for consumption and investment missed expectations, while Beijing continues to grapple with challenges including a drawn-out property market slump and waning business confidence. Retail sales, a key metric for domestic consumption, rose 10.1% from a year earlier in November, topping the 7.6% growth marked […]

General Motors Co. will cut more than 1,300 jobs at two auto plants in Michigan effective Jan. 1. According to filings Thursday with state regulators, the automaker will lay off 945 workers at its Lake Orion, Mich., facility, and 369 at its Lansing Grand River assembly/stamping plant.