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...

Opinion: Once richly valued, ‘unicorn’ startups are being gored and investors and funders have stopped believing

When Homer Simpson was asked, “How are we going to get out of this hole?,” he replied, “We’ll dig our way out!” Many people who find themselves in holes they can’t climb out of think that the solution...

6 things to know before you jump into retirement

I’m six months into my retirement from the corporate world. How are things going? Any regrets? Any big surprises? No regrets, for sure. I knew that leaving the workplace at age 61 would be a trade off...

‘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...

‘I think we’re in the final innings.’ Pimco’s Kiesel thinks the housing market has hit its top

Mark Kiesel is thinking of selling his California home and becoming a renter. Families looking to buy a home make want to take heed. Kiesel, who serves as global credit chief investment officer at Pim...

The Cruise Crowd Is Back, Even if Investors Aren’t. Here’s Why It May Be Time to Take a Plunge.

Few sectors absorbed as much pain as the cruise industry during the pandemic, which shut down sailing operations in the U.S. from March 2020 through last June. Shares of the big three cruise operators...

‘Buyers of a median-price home are looking at a monthly mortgage payment that is almost 50% higher than it was a year ago.’ The 30-year mortgage rate dips slightly to 5.1%

The interest rate on the country’s benchmark mortgage product edged downward for the first time since early March, but that doesn’t mean the housing market will see a reprieve. The 30-year fixed-rate ...

‘I’m spending a fortune on home maintenance. I realize my second husband is essentially living in my house for free’: What is a fair way to split costs?

I am a retired 62-year-old woman. I was widowed in 2006 at the age of 46 and raised my two children (now 24 and 27) on my own. I used my husband’s life insurance money (about $500,000) to maintain our...

Facebook Is Broken. Execs Say a Fix Won’t Come Fast.

Meta Platforms, the former Facebook, has come under heavy fire from Congress, regulators, and even its own users, but there has been nothing like the crisis it now faces. Its core business is decelera...

Stocks got clobbered Friday. Here’s why investors should focus on the long game

The stock market ended a volatile week on a gloomy note Friday, with the three major U.S. indexes plunging as investors got tripped up in worries like inflation, the Fed’s fight against it and fears o...

‘I feel deceived’: After 20 years of paying my student loan, I discovered I don’t qualify for forgiveness. My loans total $167,000. What can I do?

I took out loans for professional/graduate school during the years 1993 to 1996. I took out about $54,000 in loans. In 2002, I consolidated all my federal loans. The balance is approximately $167,000....

How to prepare your finances for another recession: ‘We think a hard landing will ultimately be unavoidable’

Two years after the short, sharp pandemic-related recession, Wall Street is once again warning of a new recession on the horizon. That’s not a lot to go on, but financial-planning experts say it ought...

Netflix sheds subscribers and CNN+ will shut down amid competition from Disney, Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime and Apple. Have we finally hit peak streaming?

Media companies keep dueling for more streaming subscriptions, but viewers might be tapping out in the clash for their attention — and their cash. Netflix on Tuesday reported a first-quarter net loss ...

‘Life is measurably better without the burden of this debt’: As Biden reviews student-debt cancellation, young people with debt delay buying a house and even having kids

Young Americans are buckling under the weight of their student debt. A large majority (74%) of Generation Z (ages 18 to 25) and 68% of millennials (ages 26 to 41) who took on student debt delayed a ma...

Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Other Stocks That Can Keep Climbing—Even If the Housing Market Slows

Text size Home improvement retailers like Home Depot will thrive even if the housing market has peaked. Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images Home improvement stores were big beneficiaries of the white-ho...

Opinion: Are you sharing a Netflix password? Not for long …

After an unprecedented downturn in subscriber growth in the first quarter, Netflix executives are eyeing the millions of people using other subscribers’ accounts as a way to reverse the streaming serv...

Opinion: Do poison pills work? A finance expert explains the anti-takeover tool that Twitter hopes will keep Elon Musk at bay

Takeovers are usually friendly affairs. Corporate executives engage in top-secret talks, with one company or group of investors making a bid for another business. After some negotiating, the companies...

I have a government job and a small pension. I’m planning to work a few more years. Should I file for Social Security now or wait?

A recent reader email introduced the very common question: Should I file for Social Security now or wait? Here’s the email: I am turning 66 in June, approaching full retirement. I am a federal employe...

‘The graveyard shift is the most understaffed:’ I work as a waiter on the Las Vegas Strip. We are overworked, underpaid, and our drunk customers often don’t tip

Dear Quentin,  I currently work at a fast-casual restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip. I have worked at the company for three years. I work at the busiest outlet of this restaurant in the world. During t...

Financial Face-Off: Should you use your tax refund to buy I bonds or crypto? One of these options could get a 9.6% return. Let us explain.

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...

The 26-Year-Old Dropout Lapping the Hedge-Fund Field

Eva Shang is doing the hedge-fund thing her way. That means making money but also making time to blog about dreams, her labradoodle and her fear of becoming a Silicon Valley has-been at age 26. Legali...

This is where property taxes increased the most last year — it’s not in California or New York

Today’s home buyers could be in for a shock when the tax man comes calling. In 2021, around $328 billion in property taxes were imposed on single-family homes across the country, according to a new re...

A retired nurse lost $43,000 to bitcoin — watch out for red flags online

A New York retired nurse lost $43,000 of her life savings to bitcoin scammers, after transferring the money to them through a malicious computer pop-up – an unfortunate reminder to be vigilant when it...

‘Please help!’ It seems like I have been paying my child’s student loan forever. How much longer must I pay it off?

Dear Quentin, It seems like I have been paying my Parent PLUS Loan forever. Someone told me that when my husband passed away, even though we were divorced at the time, I wouldn’t have to keep paying t...

Mortgage rates soar to highest level in over a decade — even wealthy home buyers are feeling the pain

Mortgage rates are soaring, and no one is being spared. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5% as of the week ending April 14, representing an increase of 28 basis points from the pr...

‘The weight of this debt is crushing’: I’m 74, and a retired speech-language pathologist with a student-loan debt of $200K. Am I obliged to pay it off?

Dear Quentin, I have not seen anyone address student-loan debt for people over 70 years of age. I am a 74-year-old retired  speech-language pathologist with a student-loan debt of $200,000.  I’m on a ...

Nvidia Stock Is Downgraded. China and Russia Are Headwinds.

Text size Dreamstime Nvidia shares were falling on Monday after the stock was downgraded by a Baird analyst, who cited concerns over slowing consumer demand exacerbated by the Russian embargo. Nvidia ...

‘It put everyone in a weird position’: Our waitress said a 20% service fee was added to cover benefits and health insurance, but that it was not a tip. Is this normal?

I went to brunch last weekend and, when the server handed us the bill, she said a 20% service fee was added to cover her benefits and health insurance, but that it was not a tip.  I am absolutely supp...

‘It seems a bit like Lucy pulling the football away.’ Student loan borrowers got another break on payments — what comes next?

President Joe Biden extended the lifeline the federal government has provided to most student-loan borrowers during the pandemic. But that doesn’t mean these borrowers are feeling any more assured of ...

Conagra says meat snacks and frozen food taking an inflation-related hit from protein and transportation costs

Conagra Brands Inc. says its meat snack and frozen food business is taking a hit from inflation, which is driving up protein, dairy and transportation costs. Conagra’s CAG, +0.20% brand lineup include...

As food prices hit an all-time high, more Americans have abandoned online grocery shopping and returned to supermarket aisles

More Americans are browsing again — in grocery-store aisles rather than online. With U.S. states abandoning mask mandates in public places, and more retailers dropping requirements for masks — and the...