Bill Gates slams cryptos, NFTs as ‘100% based on greater fool theory’

“You have an asset class that’s 100% based on some sort of greater fool theory that somebody’s going to pay more for it than I do…” That was Microsoft MSFT, +1.40% co-founder Bill Gates delivering his...

Warren Buffett gives away $4 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock as bidding for his last ever luncheon hits $3 million

As bidding for the last-ever chance to lunch with Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman and CEO Warren Buffett reached the $3 million mark, the investing legend himself announced a $4 billion giveaway in stoc...

Italian bond yields dive and euro climbs as ECB announces emergency meeting on market conditions

European bond yields fell and the region’s single currency climbed on Wednesday as the European Central Bank announced it would hold an emergency meeting to “discuss current market conditions.” The Go...

Harvard expert warns of potential ‘harm’ to index investing, as Republican bill takes on ‘woke fund managers’

Senators and legal experts tussled Tuesday over the merits of a Republican bill that aims to reduce the voting power of the three index-investing giants — BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street. Republi...

Oil prices settle lower; natural-gas futures drop more than 16%

Oil futures gave up early gains to finish with a loss on Tuesday, pressured after Bloomberg reported that a U.S. senator may propose a plan to impose a federal surtax on certain oil companies in a mov...

A 75-basis point Fed move is not a slam dunk, former staffer says

In the last 24 hours, investor expectations for the Federal Reserve have coalesced around a 75 basis point hike, nudged in that direction by a Wall Street Journal article. Fed-funds futures markets no...

3 moves retirement savers can make now to profit from the stock market turmoil

Every crisis is an opportunity. The massive turmoil on financial markets so far this year is no exception. Here are three things that every middle-class American can do with their 401(k), IRA or other...

Caterpillar to move headquarters to Texas from Illinois in fresh blow to the Chicago area

Caterpillar Inc. said Tuesday it will move its global headquarters from Illinois to an existing divisional office in Irving, Texas, in the Dallas–Forth Worth area, in another blow to metropolitan Chic...

Bitcoin down 70% from all-time high. Why is crypto market crashing?

Cryptocurrencies have been crashing. Bitcoin BTCUSD, -3.21% plunged to as low as $20,834 late Monday, the lowest level since December 2020 and down about 70% from its all-time high in November. The No...

Strategist who nailed the recent S&P 500 top says three things are needed for a market bottom

Wariness is in order after the S&P 500’s bear-market finish and a potential 75 basis-point Fed hike just one day away. Gains for stock futures and a potential bounce are fading fast. Morgan Stanle...

A 75-basis-point hike? Here are 3 ways the Fed can sound more hawkish this week

The Federal Reserve’s plan to raise its benchmark rate to a neutral level, around 2.5%, by the end of the year is under pressure after a surprisingly strong May consumer-inflation data. “The May CPI w...

The investor who spotted Madoff’s fraud early has a whole new worry

Edward Thorp is an investing and mathematical legend — from spotting Bernie Madoff’s fraud as well as identifying Warren Buffett’s investing acumen early, to coming up with blackjack game theory. Of a...

Why IBM is one of few tech giants that are actually gaining through the selloff

International Business Machines Corp., unlike many other tech giants, has been able to buck the sector’s selloff in recent months. Shares of IBM IBM, -0.79% are up 1.60% year-to-date, compared to 12.5...

With the S&P 500 now in a bear market, despair and capitulation are the next stages of investors’ grief

The S&P 500 SPX, -3.88% officially entered a bear market on June 13, down more than 20% from its January 2022 high. While there’s no way of knowing how much further stocks will fall until their fi...

Binance resumes bitcoin withdrawals as crypto prices crater

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, resumed withdrawals of bitcoin after it instituted a “temporary pause” Monday morning that latest several hours, the company said. Binance founder...

Crypto crash FOMO? ‘I missed the bus on Bitcoin, but now feel like my time has come. Is it time to go big or go home? I have another 25 years of a boring 9-to-5 job, and I just want out.’

I read a letter from a reader last year who was suffering from crypto FOMO, and I have been following the crypto markets ever since. I felt like I missed the bus on Bitcoin, but now feel like my time ...

BlackRock isn’t buying the dip as volatility climbs in sinking stock market

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, isn’t wading into the sinking stock market to buy the dip, as the S&P 500 trades in bear-market territory Monday and concerns over surging inflation a...

Is now a good time to do a Roth IRA conversion?

Hello and welcome to Financial Face-off, a MarketWatch column where we help you weigh financial decisions. Our columnist will give her verdict. Tell us whether you think she’s right in the comments. A...

Bitcoin tumbles through $24,000 in crypto crash. This chart shows how much worse a selloff could get.

Cryptocurrencies kicked off a new week with deep losses, extending weekend selling following surprisingly high U.S. inflation data and troubles for a major cryptocurrency exchange. Bitcoin  BTCUSD, -1...

Digital World stock tumbles after SPAC buying Trump Media discloses another SEC subpoena

Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp. DWAC, -12.80% tumbled 8.2% in premarket trading Monday, after the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that is buying the company behind Donald Trump...

The S&P 500 is clinging to a key support level after Friday’s meltdown, here’s what happens if that fails

Last week’s shock U.S. inflation number continues to tear through markets, with dip buyers seemingly in hiding. The Nasdaq is in the lead with a 3% drop as trading gets underway. Investors are now foc...

‘Every month I express my concerns to my adviser, but he says not to worry.’ My 401(k) has lost over 20% and I can’t afford to lose that kind of money. Is it time to find a new adviser?

Every month I express my concerns to my adviser, but he says not to worry and that it will bounce back. Getty Images Question: My 401(k) was doing ok for a while, but since January of this year it has...

I’m the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. Here are 6 things to know about the housing market now

In this series, we ask a variety of real estate economists what they think buyers and sellers should know about the housing market now. National Association of Realtors As mortgage rates inch upwards ...

Dow futures slump nearly 600 points as second day of selling in store after inflation shock

U.S. stock futures looked set to break below the lows of May, as financial markets continue to reel from a surprise acceleration in inflation just days ahead of a Federal Reserve interest-rate decisio...

New car prices rose again, everyone’s paying over sticker; when will the squeeze start to ease?

The average new car sold for $47,148 in May. That’s not quite the record high prices hit last December. But it’s close — May saw the second-highest prices on record. The average sale price increased b...

MicroStrategy shares slump as bitcoin margin call looms

MicroStrategy has vowed never to sell any of the approximately 130,000 bitcoin it has in its possession. The question after the weekend’s slide in cryptocurrency is whether a margin call will force th...

U.S. stock futures sink Sunday after Wall Street’s worst week since January

U.S. stock-index futures sank Sunday after Wall Street’s worst week since January. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -0.54% fell more than 170 points, or 0.5%, late Sunday, while S&P 500 ...

These money and investing tips can be your cure for the stock market’s summertime blues

Don’t miss these top money and investing features: Sign up here to get MarketWatch’s best mutual funds and ETF stories emailed to you weekly! INVESTING NEWS & TRENDS How bear markets trick gullibl...

‘The goal is never to seek the top’: The wild, hair-raising ride of a 30-something investor who battled against NFT hackers and dodged the crypto crash

Vinny Zane has a taste for life — and an appetite for risk. The 38-year-old teacher and father of a 2-year-old son on Brooklyn’s Coney Island got into crypto in 2017 with $4,000 worth of Bitcoin, and ...

‘I respect every profession equally, but I feel like so many people look down on me for being a waitress’: Americans are tipping less. Should we step up to the plate?

I read your article about tipping. I’ve been serving and bartending for almost 16 years now, since I was 18. Waiting tables is so hard on your body, and a lot of people don’t appreciate all of the wor...

Cryptocurrency selloff extends through the weekend after Friday’s hot inflation reading

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies tumbled on Sunday as losses for the asset class built over the weekend following U.S. data that showed persistent inflation pressures. Bitcoin BTCUSD, -1.93% dropped...