Author: News Room

Mortgage rates increased this week again, marking the second week in a row rates were above 7%. The average 30-year mortgage rate was 7.17%, up from last week when the average was 7.1%, Freddie Mac reported. Last year at this time, 30-year mortgages were slightly better off, but not by much. The average rate was 6.43%.”Mortgage rates continued rising this week,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said in a press release. “Despite rates increasing more than half a percent since the first week of the year, purchase demand remains steady,” Khater said. “With rates staying higher for longer, many…

In the landscape of wealth management, some elements are, for lack of a better term, sexier than others. Both financial planners and their clients are often drawn to more complex topics, especially those that seemingly pledge to make or save a lot of money. And while those strategies are valid, if not vital, for exploration, others have been relegated to commodity status and are given very little attention—like property and casualty insurance, better known as home, auto, and liability insurance. As for why these foundational risk management tools are often ignored, I’d posit that we are required to have these…

Less than 24 hours after Arizona’s near-total abortion ban was repealed, Kari Lake challenged Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, her likely opponent for the state’s US Senate seat, to a debate on the issue – ideally over Mother’s Day weekend. “We owe it to the people of this state not just to state our policies, but to defend our policies,” the GOP candidate said to reporters gathered outsider her campaign office. “And I’m willing to do that.” Within minutes of Lake’s invite, Gallego’s campaign declined. “There’s nothing to debate. Kari Lake’s record is clear,” spokesperson Hannah Goss said in a statement.…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Russian politics myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Vladimir Putin has replaced two of his longest-serving security officials in a surprise reshuffle, suggesting the Russian president is dissatisfied with the handling of his two-year invasion of Ukraine.Putin, who was sworn in for a fifth term in office earlier this week that extends his quarter-century rule until at least 2030, appointed Sergei Shoigu, the defence minister, to be head of Russia’s security council on Sunday, according to the upper house of parliament. Andrei Belousov, a deputy prime minister and longtime economic…

Warner Brothers Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) released first quarter earnings last week. The media giant has been scrutinized for earnings performance and high leverage since its merger. Back in February, I took a bullish stand on Warner Brothers Discovery through the sale of cash secured puts. While the first quarter earnings report disappointed by missing both revenue and earnings estimates, I believe there are current and upcoming catalysts to stay bullish on WBD stock. Warner Brothers Discovery Earnings Results Warner Brothers Discovery saw a broad decline in revenue across all segments of its business in the first quarter. Fortunately, the $700 million…

Last updated: May 12, 2024 12:00 EDT | 2 min read Leading financial institutions on Wall Street are shifting their focus towards industrializing proofs-of-concept (PoCs) developed within the blockchain experiment known as Project Guardian.JPMorgan’s blockchain platform, Onyx, is particularly keen on converting the insights gained from its pilot program with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) into tangible products.During the TokenizeThis event held in Miami on May 10, Stephanie Lok, product manager of JPMorgan’s Onyx, said the company is focused on investment fund tokenization as a key area of focus.“That’s a very big focus area: how can we kind of…

Apple Store workers in Towson, Maryland, the first of the tech giant’s retail employees to unionize, made history again by voting late Saturday in favor of authorizing a strike. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM CORE), the union representing the workers, said in a news release the vote “underscores the frustrations among workers regarding unresolved workplace issues.” Employees at the store in Towson, a suburb of Baltimore, have been in contract negotiations with Apple management since last year over a number of issues, including the store’s “unpredictable” scheduling practices and wages that don’t…

Here’s our Club Mailbag email [email protected] — so you send your questions directly to Jim Cramer and his team of analysts. We can’t offer personal investing advice. We will only consider more general questions about the investment process or stocks in the portfolio or related industries. This week’s question: You advise not to buy stocks that have a PEG of over 2, but it seems many of the stocks recommended on the show have a PEG of well over 2, such as Abbott Labs and Eaton. Is this because there are more important considerations than PEG? — Marcia from Washington…

Tesla shares are still vulnerable to a big decline ahead, according to investor Danny Moses of “The Big Short” fame . Even with the electric-vehicle maker’s stock down 32% so far this year, Moses is sticking with his Tesla short. “Everything is kind of falling apart in their core business,” the Moses Ventures founder told CNBC’s ” Fast Money ” on Thursday. “He’s pointing everybody to robotaxis and AI and autonomy,” he added, referring to CEO Elon Musk. Moses lists Musk’s decision to cut more than 10% of the company’s global workforce, a recent Reuters report about a Tesla securities and…

Saving money all starts with a tangible goal. So, let’s start with $10,000 in one year.  Saving money is challenging, with pressures to buy, buy, buy all around us, bills to pay and debts to eliminate. If you want to save $10,000 in a single year, it is going to require financial discipline, budgeting and taking advantage of high-yield savings accounts to do it.  CHOOSE THE BEST SAVINGS ACCOUNT FOR YOU: 7 THINGS TO CONSIDER Below is a step-by-step guide on how you can have $10,000 in your bank account in 365 days. Think of a goal to represent the dollar amountUpdate…