Author: News Room

We are buying 25 shares of Palo Alto Networks at roughly $266.16. Following the trade, Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust will own 300 shares of PANW, increasing its weighting to 2.5% from 2.28%. The stock of this cybersecurity leader is down about 10% from our last buy in February, and we view this as a solid next level to buy more. It’s a good example of how to buy using wide scales when a stock’s momentum is going the other way. Palo Alto flipped from one of the best gainers in the S & P 500 in 2024, after rallying 87%…

Interest payments for U.S. consumers are through the roof. Last quarter, consumers spent a record-high $1.1 trillion on interest payments alone, reported Quartz, using data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).  Over half of those interest payments were not related to mortgage debt. Mortgages often have some of the highest interest over the life of the loans. The “personal interest payments” line of BEA’s report shows that $563.2 billion of the $1.1 trillion was non-mortgage related interest. “The dominance of the 15-30-year fixed-rate mortgage has played a significant role in blunting the impact of higher rates on aggregate household…

Cardholders of American Express and Delta’s six co-branded credit cards will receive new benefits and increased annual fees in changes the companies revealed Thursday. Delta SkyMiles American Express credit cardholders can already make use of the new benefits, the companies said. Under the updates, people who use their co-branded cards for some Resy restaurants, certain rideshares and prepaid Delta Stays accommodations can earn annual statement credits of varying amounts depending on their card type, according to American Express. The total value of the credits range from up to $300 for Gold to $610 for Reserve Business. Platinum, Platinum Business, Reserve and…

The new year brings some major moves in the student loan industry. From a new round of forgiveness to more transparency around financial aid, students are getting help from universities and the government alike. For students who took out $12,000 or less in loans, the Biden-Harris Administration plans to forgive those amounts next month, according to a Department of Education press release. Borrowers must have made payments for the last 10 years and enroll in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan to qualify for forgiveness.Once enrolled in the SAVE program, borrowers will have their loans automatically forgiven starting…

Voters are focused on the housing affordability crisis as the contentious 2024 presidential election heats up.  More than half of homeowners and renters, 53.2%, admitted that housing affordability will impact who they vote for in November, according to a recent survey from Redfin. To gather data, the survey, which was conducted by Qualtrics, was fielded on roughly 3,000 U.S. homeowners and renters in February.  MORTGAGE CALCULATOR: SEE HOW MUCH HIGHER RATES COULD COST YOU “Housing affordability is top of mind for voters because elevated mortgage rates and home prices, along with an acute housing shortage, have pushed the dream of homeownership…

Analysts at Macquarie provided their insight into the AI software and hardware markets in a note this week. They highlighted the rapidly expanding AI landscape and noted a potentially significant total addressable market. Macquarie said that despite the slight decline in many AI stock names on Monday, the sector continues to drive market multiple expansion and the fundamental performance that has yet to find a ceiling. “This pull-forward of expected future value is predicated on expectations of tangible use-cases that may transform businesses, technologies, and sector,” they explained. As a result of the surging demand for AI, Macquarie believes Generative…

For the past four years, I’ve sent out a free, comprehensive retirement newsletter every Sunday. This labor of love includes three handpicked articles on retirement planning, along with general interest pieces on finance, health, and media. I also share links to valuable research tools and model portfolios from the week. You can check out the latest newsletter and sign up for it here. Today, I wanted to share some of the highlights of the past week regarding retirement. 1. Not Everyone Can Delay Taking Social Security For many, delaying Social Security until age 70 is the optimal claiming strategy. It…

By William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) – The Bank of England will probably keep investors guessing next week about when it is likely to start cutting interest rates as it waits for clearer signs that inflation pressures still in the economy really are being quashed. With other central banks moving towards cutting borrowing costs for the first time since the COVID pandemic, and inflation set to fall to its 2% target soon, the BoE has put its high rates “under review”. Governor Andrew Bailey maintained the tentatively optimistic tone this week when he said inflation expectations seemed to be under control…

By Leika Kihara SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Japan stands ready to take appropriate action against excessive exchange-rate moves, its top currency diplomat said following yen declines to levels seen by traders as heightening the chance of currency intervention. The warning by Masato Kanda, Japan’s vice finance minister for international affairs, likely reflects Tokyo’s desire to prevent further falls in the yen that would hurt households and retailers by boosting the cost of importing raw materials. “I won’t comment on recent currency moves. But it’s desirable for exchange rates to move stably reflecting fundamentals,” Kanda told reporters on Wednesday on the sidelines…

By Maha El Dahan and Alex Lawler DUBAI (Reuters) -OPEC+ members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Sunday to extend voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day into the second quarter, giving extra support to the market amid concerns over global growth and rising output outside the group. Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said it would extend its voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) through the end of June, leaving its output at around 9 million bpd. Russia, which leads OPEC allies…