Dow futures climb nearly 400 points, with Fed interest-rate hike in the spotlight

U.S. stock futures on Wednesday pointed to an extension of the previous session’s rally, as traders wait for the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision and react to China’s statement of support fo...

Stock Market Today: Dow Rises, Fed Decision Ahead, Alibaba and JD.com Soar

Text size Fed Chair Jerome Powell will host a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. Graeme Jennings / POOL/AFP via Getty Images Stocks were moving higher Wednesday as markets readied for a long-await...

Opinion: Top investors dump stocks — why that might mean you should buy

Well, here’s some cheerful news for all of us with a retirement portfolio: The geniuses running the world’s biggest investment funds have panicked and have bailed out of the market. If that’s not a go...

Inflation Is a Problem. Today’s PPI Just Confirms It.

Text size Costs for the companies that produce goods have gone up, too. STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images February’s producer-price index is out, but we didn’t need to wait for it to know that the...

What a Russia debt default would mean for financial markets as Ukraine invasion continues

The threat of a Russian default on sovereign debt is seen near, but investors so far aren’t panicking over any potential hit to global financial markets. “While a default would be symbolic, it seems u...

Opinion: Ukraine War Likely Has Triggered Lasting Bear Market

If historical precedent offers any guidance, the currently high valuations of the S&P 500, which remain elevated even after recent declines, mean that a prolonged bear market is likely in the near...

Fed to hike interest rates Wednesday, undeterred by lack of visibility on Russia-Ukraine war’s impact

On Saturday, a strong late winter storm caused havoc on the East Coast, particularly in Pennsylvania, with drivers experiencing severely reduced visibility as winds blew snow across the roads. Speed l...

Hey, Gig Worker! Prepare for a Lot More Work When You File Your Taxes.

Self-employed workers who quit salaried jobs last year in the “Great Resignation”—the biggest corporate exodus on record—may find themselves reminiscing about the good old days on a payroll as they pr...

Dow books fifth straight week of losses as Biden says allies trying to avoid World War III

U.S. stocks closed lower Friday, with all three major benchmarks booking another week of losses, after President Joe Biden called for a suspension of normal trade relations with Russia as part of sanc...

Is the Dollar in Danger?

The U.S. is sitting on top of a horizontal empire, capitalism’s self-organizing, incentive-based structure with its layers of value. It’s not the Marxist mush of “to each according to his needs.” You ...

Stagflation Is Worrying Forecasters. What Investors Should Do.

Text size Trucks carry potassium chloride at an Albemarle lithium mine in Chile. Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg Get ready for stagflation light. Headlines about stagflation are everywhere, and the “flat...

Gold back above $2,000 on Russia-Ukraine war, as annual U.S. inflation rate climbs to a 40-year high

Gold futures climbed back above the key $2,000 mark on Thursday as Russia ramped up its attack on Ukraine and a reading on the annual U.S. inflation rate climbed to a 40-year high. Strength in prices ...

Mortgage rates rise as Russia’s war in Ukraine stokes volatility. Experts say the short-term uncertainty over rates could continue

After two consecutive weeks of declines, mortgage rates have moved higher once again. Where they will go in the short term, though, largely depends on what happens overseas. Mortgage rates could fall ...

Elon Musk Has Sold Seven Homes for Nearly $130 Million After Vowing to ‘Own No House’ 

It’s been almost two years since Elon Musk announced a plan to sell nearly all of his physical possessions, including his real estate, by tweeting “Will own no house” on May 1, 2020. The billionaire T...

Opinion: The Fed needs to target a floor for the 10-year Treasury, in addition to radically raising the fed funds rate

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell faces the toughest task since Chairman Paul Volcker tamed the Great Inflation of the 1970s and early 1980s. And a lot of the pressures driving the most virulent ...

Estate and Gift Taxes 2021-2022: What’s New This Year and What You Need to Know

The federal estate- and gift-tax exemption applies to the total of an individual’s taxable gifts made during life and assets left at death. Above the exemption, the top rate on such transfers is 40%. ...

Standard Deduction 2021-2022: How Much Is It?

The standard deduction is the amount taxpayers can subtract from income if they don’t break out deductions for mortgage interest, charitable contributions, state and local taxes and other items separa...

6 financial advisers on how they’re handling their investments amid inflation

Amid high inflation, here’s what financial planners are personally doing with their money. Getty Images/iStockphoto The rate of U.S. inflation hit 7.9% in February, according to government data releas...

12 dividend stocks paying at least 3.5% that are well-suited for high inflation

Investors may have turned for a moment from Russia’s aggression in Ukraine to energy and supply shortages in the U.S. that are producing high inflation. With purchasing power crumbling, patient invest...

2021-2022 Federal Income Tax Brackets and Rates

The top tax rate is 37%. For 2026, the top rate is set to return to 39.6%. Photo: Illustration: Tammy Lian The tax code currently has seven income-tax brackets for individuals that range from 10% to 3...

How the Federal Reserve could cut its near $9 trillion balance sheet as it fights inflation

Slimming down might be the trickiest part after two years of the pandemic. As the Federal Reserve looks to shrink its near $9 trillion balance sheet to help cool U.S. inflation pegged at a 40-year hig...

Russia Set to Ban Commodity Exports Following Western Sanctions

President Vladimir Putin, pictured Tuesday, gave his cabinet two days to create a list of commodities and of countries subject to a new export ban. Photo: handout/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Rus...

A death cross for the S&P 500 is nearing as inflation fears, Russia’s Ukraine offensive rattles stock-market investors

The S&P 500 index is closing in on a death cross, an ominous chart pattern that underscores the downtrend suffered in an asset. A death cross appears when the 50-day moving average crosses below t...

The U.S. Will Ban Imports of Russian Oil. What Exactly Does That Mean?

Oil prices spiked to their highest levels since 2008 on Tuesday after the U.S. announced it would ban imports of Russian oil. “Today I’m announcing the United States is targeting the main artery of Ru...

Opinion: I’m raising cash and getting defensive as the stock market works through its excesses

This war is shameful and crazy. All wars are. And there’s no telling what President Putin is going to do next. What I do know is that the globalized world economy is not going back to what it was. The...

U.S. oil prices soar Sunday, briefly punching above $130 as talk of Russia oil embargo heats up

Values for U.S. oil soared Sunday evening, driving prices above $125 a barrel in electronic trade as discussions about a ban on Russian oil heated up. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday the...

Mortgage Interest Deduction: How It Works in 2022

The number of taxpayers claiming mortgage interest deductions on Schedule A has dropped sharply since the 2017 tax overhaul enacted both direct and indirect curbs on them. For 2019, about 13 million f...

Oil Prices Are Soaring. It’s Time to Hedge or Sell.

At the top of Americans’ concerns is rising inflation, especially soaring prices for energy, filling their gasoline tanks, or paying their monthly utility bills. And investors and traders have ridden ...

Mortgage rates drop amid increased market uncertainty as Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine escalates

Home buyers will have the chance to lock in low interest rates just ahead of the most popular season to purchase a house. The average rate for the 30-year fixed-rate was 3.76%, down 13 basis points fr...

Stock Market: The Worst Is Yet to Come. So Is a Swift Snapback.

Text size Traders at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, Feb. 28. Michael Nagle/Bloomberg It’s the end of the world as we know it. The stock market, however, isn’t going anywhere. The last full tra...

The Worst Is Yet to Come for Russia’s Economy. 50-50 Odds on a Russian Bond Default.

The Kasimovskoye underground gas storage facility, operated by Gazprom, in Kasimov, Russia. Russia is under unprecedented sanctions from much of the global economy. Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg Text size ...

Why Did Mortgage Rates Fall Again? How Ukraine and Russia Affect Housing.

Text size The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 3.76% this week. Dreamstime.com Mortgage rates fell for a second consecutive week after Russia’s invasions of Ukraine triggered a fl...