My son failed out of school and has $126K in student loan debt. What can we do?

How to get out of student loan debt Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: My son was studying in a pharmacy program and at the end of the last semester, the college kicked him out due to his non-performa...

Is it OK to use the lowest-grade gas? Here’s a guide to the different types of fuel.

Selecting a grade of gasoline simply because it has a higher octane rating might not be the best choice for your car or your budget. While some vehicles can benefit from premium gas, most drivers can ...

Do I need to file a tax return if most of my income is Social Security?

Recently we received the following email from a reader: I would like to know if I live off my Social Security check and have no other income must I file a federal tax return? I have a yearly income of...

Opinion: Ukraine war is a wake-up call to ditch oil and gas forever

That invasion, and the subsequent U.S. ban on oil imports from Russia, are partly responsible, but they aren’t the only reason. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the impact of t...

Stock market investors are in the danger zone. This all-weather investing strategy offers protection

We’re in a period of high inflation, with a war disrupting energy markets and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. The murky outlook calls for a multiyear cycle of central-bank policy moves tha...

Opinion: This stock market rally has more upside, but expect any relief to be brief

The U.S. stock market’s impressive rally last week is more likely a reflex bounce than the beginning of a new leg of the bull market. I say that not because the rally ran out of steam on Monday, with ...

I now owe 3x what I originally borrowed in student loans. What can I do?

Borrowers with less-than-perfect credit records face challenges while climbing out of debt, and they can get steeper when you’re older because income tends to plateau. Getty Images/iStockphoto Questio...

Many companies are enriching their retirement benefits

Workers may be in for a treat – some companies plan to boost their retirement benefits in the next few years, as they look to hire and retain talent, according to a new survey.  U.S. employers are imp...

Boeing Stock: What Wall Street Is Saying After the China Plane Crash

Text size The Boeing logo Scott Olson/Getty Images A China Eastern Airlines 737-800 tragically crashed Monday, sending shares of Boeing lower. Wall Street is hopeful that Monday’s crash wasn’t a MAX-l...

FAA Official Testifies Former Boeing Pilot Lied About 737 MAX

FORT WORTH, Texas—A Federal Aviation Administration training specialist said a former Boeing Co. BA -3.59% pilot lied to her about how a 737 MAX flight-control system worked before two of the jets cra...

Dow ends 200 points lower after Fed’s Powell leaves door open to larger rate hikes

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell Samuel Corum/Getty Images Stocks fell Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell left the door open to the prospect of bigger rate hikes to bring down i...

‘Reduced competition.’ 5 predictions for the housing market in 2022, from economists and real estate pros

We’ve already seen rates rise in the early months of 2022, and some pros say that will continue. Getty Images Aspiring home buyers may have watched as mortgage rates in recent months rose (though to b...

Warren Buffett Puts Some of His $144 Billion to Work With Alleghany Deal

Warren Buffett Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Fortune/Time Inc Text size It was only three weeks ago that Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett wrote of the unpleasantness associated with h...

Here’s what it will take to make stocks a ‘great’ buying opportunity, says this strategist

It was an interesting time for the best weekly gain for Wall Street since late 2020 as the devastating war in Ukraine grinds toward the one-month mark. “Stabilizing stock markets point to less cautiou...

Cattle Ranchers Take Aim at Meatpackers’ Dominance

For years, many ranchers have blamed meatpacking giants for low cattle prices. Now, some cattlemen say they have a solution: Process the beef themselves. On 80 acres in western Nebraska, a group of ca...

The Boeing 737 Crash Isn’t Worrying the Market. How We Know.

Text size A China Eastern Airlines Corp. passenger aircraft at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. Qilai Shen/Bloomberg A plane crash in China has clearly shaken investor confidence in Boeing . S...

Equifax, TransUnion and Experian will soon stop counting medical debt in credit reports — now, for the bad news

The nation’s three major credit bureaus say they are overhauling how they include medical debt in a consumer’s credit history. The agencies said the removal will result in nearly 70% of the medical de...

Mainland China Reports First Coronavirus Deaths in More Than a Year as Omicron Spreads

HONG KONG—China reported its first deaths from Covid-19 in the mainland in more than a year as the country battles a surge of Omicron infections across the country. Two patients died of Covid-19 in th...

Carson Block’s Latest Short Target Is a Columbia Law Professor

A federal criminal investigation into short sellers has spawned a behind-the-scenes feud between a law professor whose research is helping to guide prosecutors and one of the most prominent investors ...

Older Americans, Flush With Housing and Stock Portfolio Wealth, Poised to Revive Spending This Year

Covid-19 kept many older Americans on the sidelines of the recovery in consumer spending as they held back from in-person services like dining and travel. But their spending is picking up as the Omicr...

‘Motherhood Penalty’ Ranges as High as $600,000. Here Are Some Tips to Catch Up.

When the pandemic hit in 2020 and shut down schools, Samantha Goodman decided there was no way to work and care for her son, now 6. So for two years she gave up on having a job or saving for retiremen...

These money and investing tips can help you build a proactive ‘all-weather’ portfolio

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 Stock trading during ‘March Ma...

Yes, Roths Are Tax-Free Retirement Accounts. But TFRAs Refer to Something Else.

Dreamstime.com Text size Have a question about saving for retirement or your personal financial situation? Whatever the question, Barron’s Retirement can try to help. Email [email protected], and...

Will the Fed rate increase mean higher interest on your savings and not using your travel card rewards may not be such a bad thing

Hi, MarketWatchers. Don’t miss these top stories. Weekend reads: There’s a recession warning as the Federal Reserve fights inflation Also, value stocks, the wild market for crude oil and a U.S. compan...

Deere, Hershey and More Stocks to Buy to Combat Food Inflation

The highest inflation in decades is hitting consumers and rippling through the food industry, from farm equipment to packaged food, grocers, and restaurants. At-home food costs climbed 8.6% and out-of...

China Made Pro-Market Promises. Here’s What Analysts Are Saying.

Text size Workers at a construction site in Hong Kong on March 18, 2022. Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images Headwinds had battered Chinese markets for months—Covid-19 outbreaks, U.S. delisting concer...

Former Apple employee charged with defrauding $10 million

A former Apple employee has been charged with defrauding the tech giant out of more than $10 million by taking kickbacks, stealing equipment and laundering money, federal prosecutors said. Dhirendra P...

Foreclosures have jumped 70%. Here’s what that says about the housing market

The foreclosure uptick indicates that the economic — and especially employment recovery — is not complete, an expert says. Getty Images Foreclosures are up, and that’s something potential homebuyers a...

Food Costs Are Rising. Here Are the Stocks to Buy.

The highest inflation in decades is hitting consumers and rippling through the food industry, from farm equipment to packaged food, grocers, and restaurants. At-home food costs climbed 8.6% and out-of...

The S&P Experienced a Death Cross. Here’s the Bright Side.

Illustration by Elias Stein Text size The S&P 500 has performed poorly this year, down about 6.4%. This past Monday, it got scary in a Harry Potter sort of way: The benchmark experienced a death c...

Weekend reads: There’s a recession warning as the Federal Reserve fights inflation

The Federal Reserve this week increased the federal funds rate for the first time since 2018. Long-term market interest rates had risen significantly as investors anticipated that the central bank wou...

‘Not the Best Look From Vanguard’: Community Conversations

Readers can’t get enough of a story about a lawsuit filed against the indexing giant. In fact, the story generated record traffic for Barron’s Advisor (in less than 48 hours). Other stories that are s...