The latest mortgage rates, and how home buyers can save money. Getty Images Mortgage rates continue their upward march, with 30-year fixed rate mortgages crossing the 6% mark this week, Bankrate data ...
Tag: Personal finance
SEC issues investor protection rule charges. How to find a good advisor
Finding a broker or financial advisor you can trust may, at times, seem a daunting task. That’s especially true when investors see sensational stories of brokers fleeing the police in an underwa...
Scared to check your 401(k) as Dow tumbles? Here’s when you should look — and when you shouldn’t
To look or not to look. That’s the question when people consider checking the balances in their investment and retirement accounts. Maybe ignorance is bliss amid a volatile stock market’s recent seque...
Retirees Should Gird for a Long Run of High Inflation. Here’s How.
Retirees and seniors who are feeling the pinch of higher prices could be in for a long struggle as inflation shows few signs of peaking. But financial experts say there are some smart strategies that ...
Can you earn 6% on your savings account? Yes — but here’s the catch
Want to earn more on your savings? Here are some things to consider. Getty Images/iStockphoto Interest rates on savings accounts are rising, but they’re still low. Indeed, the national average interes...
Why Are Oil Prices Down and Gas Prices Up?
Gasoline prices continue to set records even as oil prices are beginning to slip back from their recent highs, leaving many drivers frustrated and perplexed. The American Automobile Association report...
What the Fed Rate Hike Means for Your Savings, Credit Cards and Loans
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Here’s what the Fed’s highest rate hike in 28 years means for you
What the federal funds rate means to you The federal funds rate, which is set by the central bank, is the interest rate at which banks borrow and lend to one another overnight. Although that’s n...
How raising rates slows inflation
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting on May 4, 2022 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee | Getty Images The Federal Reserve lo...
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...
Opinion: ‘The stock market is not going to zero’: How this individual investor with 70 years of experience is trading the bear market
Not many investors can claim a lifetime of stock-market success. Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A, -1.94% BRK.B, -1.39% comes to mind, of course, but what about Warren Kaplan? Who? Kaplan is...
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...
IRS boosts mileage rate deductions as gas prices soar to $5 a gallon
Guy Benhamou sends a picture of gas prices to friends while pumping gas at an Exxon Mobil gas station on June 9, 2022 in Houston. Brandon Bell | Getty Images If you’re self-employed or own a sma...
The S&P 500 closed in a ‘bear market’ on Monday. What does that mean?
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 10, 2022 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images There isn’t anything particularly special about the 20% demarcatio...
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 ...
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...
Charles Schwab will pay $187 million to settle SEC robo-advisor claims
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters in Washington on Feb. 23, 2022. Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images Charles Schwab agreed to pay $187 million to settle an SEC investigation in...
‘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...
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...
Four value-stock picks from a fund manager who steers clear of the energy sector
Jensen Investment Management follows a simple rule for initial screenings of stocks: Companies need to have achieved returns on equity (ROE) of at least 15% annually, for at least 10 consecutive years...