How do higher mortgage rates help shrink inflation? Here’s an explainer.

The Federal Reserve yanked a short-term interest rate higher this week, making it more expensive to borrow money to buy a home or fix it up. The central bank raised the federal funds rate last week by...

After a wild week on Wall Street, stock futures slump Sunday

After a volatile week, Wall Street is bracing for more losses as U.S. stock-index futures fell sharply late Sunday. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -1.08% were last down more than 300 point...

Fed issued biggest rate hike in 22 years. 4 things to do with your money now

Amid rising interest rate, here’s how to handle savings, investments and debt. Getty Images/iStockphoto For the first time in 22 years, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by more than one-quart...

Bitcoin Falls to Half Its Peak as Investors Shun Risk

The cryptocurrency’s market tumble over the weekend echoed the broader stock market’s decline last week as investors moved away from riskier assets. Dreamstime Text size The price of Bitcoin fell 5.3%...

Billionaire George Kaiser’s Bank Drills Deeper Into the Oil Patch

Banks all over the U.S. and around the world have curtailed lending to the U.S. oil-and-gas sector. BOK Financial Corp. BOKF 1.09% has doubled down. The Tulsa, Okla.-based bank holding company for the...

Crypto Prices Slump Over the Weekend

The decline of bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, mirrored the slide of the overall stock market. Photo: Kin Cheung/Associated Press The cryptocurrency market fell over the weekend, mirrorin...

Most Americans were feeling gloomy even before last week’s dramatic dive in stocks — and now they fear a prolonged bear market

In a matter of hours, promising signs of a stock market rally turned into pessimism, even panic. For retail investors trying to get their legs during a volatile moment, Thursday’s deep downward lurch ...

I’m 69 and ‘never got a job that paid well.’ How can I tackle student loan debt?

How to get out of student loan debt Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: I went back to college to get my degree after my children had grown up and my mother passed away. I left my job as a corporate ch...

This Billion-Dollar Crypto Loan Is Easy to Get, but Gone in a Flash

A hacker who robbed the decentralized stablecoin platform Beanstalk in April had a powerful tool: a $1 billion loan taken out with no collateral, no proof of income and no identity verification. The l...

Market’s 2022 Slide Has Already Changed Investor Behavior

The 2022 pullback in U.S. stocks intensified last week, with stocks on Thursday staging their largest single-day decline since the onset of the pandemic. The plunge came just a day after Federal Reser...

Fed hawks say they’re not so behind the curve combatting inflation

In the wake of the Federal Reserve policy meeting this week, stock markets have tumbled, raising howls of criticism that U.S. central bank policy will fail to bring down inflation. Read: ‘Unhinged’ ma...

Bausch + Lomb, Year’s Second-Biggest IPO, Pops in Public Debut

Text size Bausch + Lomb’s IPO is the second-biggest so far this year. Scott Olson/Getty Images Eye-care company Bausch + Lomb and biotech PepGen kicked off their lives as public companies Friday...

What Bitcoin Could Be Worth to Fidelity. You’ll Be Surprised.

Text size Fidelity’s push into Bitcoin is raising controversy but could be lucrative for the company. Dreamstime.com Fidelity Investments shocked the retirement industry last month with a move t...

‘She has no ambition’: I’m 41 and make $100,000. I’m buying a home before getting married. My fiancée earns $50,000 and has $20,000 in student debt. What’s a fair prenup?

I have been in my current relationship for almost three years. I’m a young woman, 41, have a great, stable career and make about $100,000 a year. I am ambitious and my prospects have me increasing my ...

Based on 19 bear markets in the last 140 years, here’s where the current downturn may end, says Bank of America

At nearly the halfway mark in a volatile year of trading, the S&P 500 index is down, but not out to the point of an official bear market yet. According to a widely followed definition, a bear mark...

The Fed raised interest rates – what to do now with your retirement portfolio

Inflation is rising, the stock market is volatile and now the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates – but investors, as always, should steer clear of any major changes, financial advisers said.  T...

‘The pandemic boom in home sales is over’: Mortgage rates soar to highest level since 2009 as the Fed pressures the housing market

Mortgage rates are skyrocketing thanks to the Fed, but buyers who can tough out this difficult, changing market will be rewarded. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.27% for the week ending May...

Gates on Musk’s Tesla: ‘There’s a difference between electric cars being adopted and companies becoming infinitely valuable’

“‘The popularity of electric cars will lead to more competition for selling those cars. So there’s a difference between electric cars being adopted, and companies becoming infinitely valuable.’” That’...

What the Fed’s Interest-Rate Increase Means for Your Mortgage, Loans, Savings

The Federal Reserve raised its short-term benchmark rate by a half-percentage point on Wednesday, the sharpest increase since 2000, to a range between 0.75% and 1%. Though widely expected, the move wi...

‘My aim is to have a net worth of at least $100,000’: I’m 29 and live with my mom in a rented mobile home. I have a $25K emergency fund and $26K in a Roth IRA. What do I save for next?

I am doing OK financially as a single 29-year-old who unfortunately is still roommates with my mom. We split everything down the middle and I mainly stay with her since it is very expensive to live on...

Here’s how China’s tech giants are banking on NFTs frenzy despite crypto ban

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were the subject of a warning from a collection of Chinese industry associations in the middle of April, cautioning of the possible financial hazards associated with them. A...

Powell wants to get rates closer to neutral. But what’s neutral? Think between 5% and 6%, former top Fed staffer says

With U.S. inflation surging higher than anyone expected, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, has laid out a policy path where the Fed is going to move quickly to get its benchmark interest rate up to “to a mo...

‘I can’t afford to pay the loan because I’m on a fixed income.’ I’m a 57-year-old widow with $67K in student loan debt. Can you help me get rid of it?

There are some forgiveness and benefit options, including some specific to military spouses that could provide financial compensation. AP Question: I’m a military wife, and my husband died on active d...

Digital Banking Rebel Pioneers Leveraging Of Crypto For Home Loans

MIAMI BEACH, FL(Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images) Getty Images Mortgage rates in the United States are rising quickly, yet a Miami startup is racing to securitize home loans with cryptocurrency. No...

Home Buyers Are Finding Ways to Take the Sting Out of Rising Mortgage Rates

Mortgage rates are at their highest level in more than a decade. Home buyers are fighting back.  More borrowers are paying fees to cut their interest rates and making higher down payments to lower the...

‘It is costing more to survive now.’ I owe $109K in student loans, and the balance keeps going up as the loan servicer ‘continuously tacks on more money.’ With high inflation, how can I even cope with my student loans now?

Unfortunately, it is possible for a loan balance to increase, even as you are making payments. iStock Question: I have student loans in excess of $109k.  I am on an income-driven plan but my biggest p...

Gas prices are up roughly 40% from just a year ago. So you may want to try this method to get ‘basically free money’ for gas — but there’s a catch

Is a gas credit card right for you? Getty Images Amid high inflation, rising prices of crude oil and the war in Ukraine, gas prices have jumped from an average of about $2.88 per gallon a year ago, to...

Why customer trust is crucial in digital banking and how to make customers trust 

Surprisingly, despite entrusting their life savings to financial institutions, only 43% of customers feel banks care about their long-term financial well-being, according to reports. In today’s increa...

Banking Giant Standard Chartered Sees Ethereum Reaching $35,000

Alex Dovbnya Standard Chartered’s top cryptocurrency analyst still expects Ether to reach $35,000 despite setbacks Geoffrey Kendrick, head of crypto research at British banking giant Standard Ch...

Apple, IBM, and 14 More Companies That Raised Their Stock Dividends

Text size IBM plans to raise its dividend. Migel Medina/AFP via Getty Images Apple, International Business Machines, and Discover Financial Services were among the large U.S. companies that announced ...

GE Stock Is Overpriced, What Ails Teladoc, and More From Analysts

Text size These reports, excerpted and edited by Barron’s, were issued recently by investment and research firms. The reports are a sampling of analysts’ thinking; they should not be considered the vi...

EU traditional banking interest in crypto is going mainstream

Swiss crypto company Taurus is providing infrastructure and custodial services for the French bank Banque Delubac & Cie. The bank has recently been granted the status of Digital Asset Service Prov...