How bad could it get for your 401(k)?

Probably the best argument for investing some more of our 401(k)s in the stock market right now is all the people telling us not to. As a general rule, it’s been a good time to be bullish when so many...

Chinese Stocks Are a Screaming Bargain. Don’t Buy Them.

Another brutal selloff for China’s tech champions presents U.S. investors with a dangerous bargain. Shares like Alibaba are deeply discounted compared with their U.S. counterparts. But “shares” might ...

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to use alternative credit scores: What it means for homebuyers

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The federal government is expanding how it collects credit scores, which may allow more Americans to potentially buy homes. The Federal Housing Finance Agency on Monday announced at...

What to do with your cash if you’re retired or retiring soon

The saying goes, “cash is king,” but having a plan for how to make the most of it during a high-inflation environment is still the best strategy – especially for retirees and near-retirees.  Read: Inf...

‘My girlfriend owes $200,000 in medical and credit-card debt’: She wants me to settle it — by paying a portion of the outstanding amount

Dear Quentin, My girlfriend owes over $200,000 in medical and credit-card debt, but she believes it can be settled for 5% of the total amount if someone else will pay that. She reasons that her credit...

Why investors are fleeing Chinese assets as Xi tightens grip on power

China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, secured a groundbreaking third leadership term on Sunday and introduced a new Politburo Standing Committee stacked with loyalists in a clean sweep not seen since the er...

Chinese Political Makeup Stirs Massive Slump in Chinese Tech Stocks

While the stocks have a bearish sentiment at this time, the projection for the future has been keeping many investors optimistic about the Chinese markets. The current Chinese political makeup has sti...

Opinion: Stock market bulls have a new story to sell you. Don’t believe them — they’re just in the ‘bargaining’ stage of grief

Might the bear market’s losses at its recent low have gotten so bad that it was actually good news? Some eager stock bulls I monitor are advancing this convoluted rationale. The outline of their argum...

Intel earnings: Layoffs and margin pressure could overshadow Mobileye IPO

Intel Corp. must contend this week with an earnings report that notably lacked a formal pre-announcement, a bleaker-than-expected PC market and rumored layoffs, which will likely overshadow the initia...

Opinion: The limit for 401(k) contributions will jump nearly 10% in 2023, but it’s not always a good idea to max out retirement investing

The federal government will allow you to save nearly 10% more for retirement in 2023. But it’s not likely that many will take advantage of the tax break. The simple reason: Most people don’t make enou...

Yellen warns of ‘dangerous and volatile environment’ as she pledges to bolster Treasury market

““We’ve experienced energy shocks, food shocks, supply shocks, persistent inflation in many countries around the world, rising interests rates in many parts of the world and we have seen some financia...

Pro-Crypto Political Action Committees Gearing Up To Launch Ad Campaigns for Upcoming Elections: Report

Two political action committees (PACs) funded by leaders in the crypto industry are reportedly planning to spend at least six figures on ad campaigns for the midterm elections.  Citing an unnamed stra...

‘From Bambi to Godzilla.’ Strategist David Rosenberg skewers the Federal Reserve as he sees a 30% hit to home prices and the S&P 500 returning to an early 2020 low

The last time David Rosenberg shared his outlook for the U.S. stock market and the economy with MarketWatch, in late May, it was depressing enough. Rosenberg is the widely followed president and chief...

Musk and Twitter Near a Deadline for Deal. What to Watch

Elon Musk has until Friday evening to close his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter or face an uphill legal battle in Delaware Chancery Court next month. Wall Street likely won’t be comfortable until c...

This hedge fund manager who made winning bets in 2020, says investors should brace for a decades-long bear market

On the heels of last week’s bullish turn for stocks, the setup is looking slightly less positive for Monday. Hong Kong stocks may be affecting the mood with a giant slump after China’s leader cemented...

Nio stock dives below $10, Alibaba hits 6 1/2-year low as Xi’s power move fuels fears

The U.S.-listed shares of China-based companies were rocked Monday, as China President Xi Jinping’s moves to consolidate power fueled fears that current policies that have led to a slowing economy wil...

Billionaire Investor Frank Giustra Issues Bitcoin Warning, Says Political Establishment Wants To Take Out BTC

Mining magnate Frank Giustra is issuing a warning to Bitcoin holders, saying that the global political establishment may attempt to make a move to destroy BTC. In a new interview with Daniela Cambone ...

EV sales are getting hotter, these are the cars catching up to Tesla

Americans bought more than 200,000 electric cars in the third quarter — a first. Electric car sales grew faster than any other segment of the auto industry. Americans bought 67% more electric cars in ...

Opinion: 10 powerful (and legal) investing lessons you can learn from the most ruthless Gilded Age robber baron

About the only thing people remember about Jay Gould, the biggest robber of the Robber Barons, is Black Friday, the day in September 1869 when he blew up the stock market – and just about every other ...

Mortgage rates surge to a 20-year high, leading to steep decline in home sales

The numbers: Mortgage rates have risen to the highest level in 20 years. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.94% as of October 20, according to data released by Freddie Mac on Thursday.  That’s...

These money and investing tips can steady your portfolio in this shaky market

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 ‘They can actually derisk thei...

Financial Advisor Pleads Guilty to Fraud After Airport Arrest

A Massachusetts investment advisor has pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud and other charges after a failed attempt to flee the country while he was awaiting trial. Steven Xigoros, of Lowell, M...

IRS releases new federal tax brackets and standard deductions. Here’s how they affect your family’s tax bill.

America’s high inflation rate will produce a 7% increase in the size of the standard deduction when workers file their taxes on their 2023 income, according to new inflation adjustments from the Inter...

Opinion: Liz Truss is out — why that might be good for your 401(k)

The British pound rose on the news that Liz Truss was standing down. (It’s now the best performing currency of the last month, if you can believe). The interest rate on British government bonds fell. ...

Southern California’s Notorious Container Ship Backup Ends

The backup of container ships off Southern California’s coast that was at the heart of U.S. supply chain congestion during the Covid-19 pandemic has effectively disappeared. The queue of ships waiting...

RMDs Will Be a Heavy Lift for Those Who Delayed Them

Retirees who have postponed taking this year’s required minimumdistributions (RMDs) from their 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts face a bitter task before year-end: withdrawing assets when po...

Do you have problems with the IRS — or does the IRS have a problem with you? Read this before you act.

How do you deal with a problem like the Internal Revenue Service? And how do you deal with your own tax problems as they pertain to the IRS? To be clear, I’m not talking about major problems like righ...

IRS sets new 401(k) limits — investors can save a lot more money in 2023

People can contribute up to $22,500 in 401(k) accounts and $6,500 in IRAs in 2023, the IRS said Friday. For 401(k)s, that’s an almost 10% increase from 2022’s contribution limit of $20,500. For IRAs, ...

These 27 stocks can give you a more diversified portfolio than the S&P 500 — and that’s a key advantage right now

You probably already know that because of market-capitalization weighting, a broad index such as the S&P 500 SPX, -0.80% can be concentrated in a handful of stocks. Index funds are popular for goo...

New IRS tax brackets and standard deduction could save families hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Now, for the bad news.

In a time of rising costs, the Internal Revenue Service just raised income-tax brackets through new inflation adjustments for next year. It might feel tough sometimes to link the IRS with the concept ...

Why the housing market should brace for double-digit mortgage rates in 2023

Even if Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and his cohorts stopped hiking policy rates soon, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate still would climb to 10%, according to Christopher Whalen, chairman of ...

‘Mass layoffs’ of Meta bus drivers lead to pleas for Facebook to bring workers back to the office

Protesters on Thursday urged Meta Platforms Inc. to call its Silicon Valley-based engineers and other employees back to the office, after Facebook’s parent company continued to dismiss service workers...