As many of my regular readers know, I like to pick my own stocks rather than invest in broadly diversified ETFs and CEFs like the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) or the Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund (RQI). While funds certainly come with pros like providing instant…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Robert Holzmann, Austria’s central bank governor and a European Central Bank hawk, has said he thinks rate setters will need to lower borrowing costs again before the end of the year.Holzmann, who…

During much of the 1980s, Justice Sandra O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, cast a consistent vote against abortion rights. But in 1989, things changed. A new conservative majority was in place and appeared to have the votes to eviscerate Roe v. Wade, for the first time since the 1973 landmark made…

It’s that time of year when many of those who have Part D prescription drug coverage experience sticker shock. Here is a sample of what’s happening with my clients. Can this be right? The $141 copay for my expensive eye drops just shot up to $520 and the costs for…

Mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest levels in over a year and a half, but elevated rates and high home prices are still keeping would-be buyers and sellers out of the housing market. Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed that the average rate on…

College graduates on average earn more than those without a four-year degree — but where you go to school may influence your earning potential.Young men (ages 25 to 34) earned a median annual income of $77,000 in 2023, compared with $45,000 for those in the same age group who only…

Owning a home makes some people feel more confident about their prospects for retirement — but that may be misguided, some experts say.About 37% of polled workers — including those with part- or full-time jobs, or who are self-employed or business owners — say they are “ahead of schedule” (7%)…

Emily Wiprud, the first officer piloting Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on January 5, says she initially thought people had been killed when the plane’s door plug blew off shortly after takeoff, according to an interview with CBS News Wednesday. “I opened the flight deck door. And I saw quiet. Hundreds…

This is a trader’s market. I don’t mean that everyone should be a trader. I mean that investors expecting something different than what we’ve had for the “average stock” should prepare for the possibility that the headwinds will be strong, for a while. When I used to play golf (poorly),…

UniCredit’s announcement on Wednesday morning that it had built a 9 per cent stake in rival Commerzbank caught the German establishment by surprise. But the move was at least seven years in the making.Shares in Commerzbank jumped 17 per cent as investors bet that the purchase would lead to a…