The U.S. Federal Reserve has become increasingly difficult for Wall Street to forecast, with sharply divergent views emerging over where monetary policy is headed. Traders in rate futures are pricing in at least one Fed hike by early autumn and another next year, a notably aggressive outlook by recent standards. Some asset managers, however, expect…

Comcast (CMCSA) announced Monday it plans to split into two publicly traded companies by spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky after 15 years of joint ownership. The move will separate Comcast’s media and entertainment assets from its broadband and wireless business, marking one of the biggest corporate restructurings in recent media history. Comcast’s stock surged more…

Beijing escalated its months-long pressure campaign against Tokyo on Monday, blacklisting four Japanese government defense research institutes and tightening export controls on dozens of additional entities. China’s Ministry of Commerce added 20 entities to its export control list, including the National Institute for Defense Studies and research centers covering ground, naval, and air systems. Several…

Micron Technology (MU) has transformed from a money-losing chipmaker three years ago into one of the most profitable companies in the United States. The Boise, Idaho-based memory chip maker posted $41.46 billion in revenue, crushing Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $35.84 billion by a substantial margin. Micron also recorded $28.24 billion in net income, a…

Western Asset Management Co. finds itself at the center of renewed investor interest, despite a damaging fraud settlement that reshaped one of America’s most prominent fixed-income franchises. Closed-end bond funds managed by Western Asset Management, commonly known as Wamco, are trading at notable discounts, drawing attention from opportunistic fixed-income investors looking for value in troubled…

Financial advisors who work with high-net-worth clients consistently point to one habit that separates disciplined wealth builders from everyone else: the midyear check-in. As the calendar crosses the halfway point, it is a natural moment to assess whether your financial plan is still aligned with your goals and current circumstances. The wealthy rarely leave their…

Medicare is opening access to popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs for millions of older Americans starting July 1, 2026, marking a significant shift in federal health coverage. The initiative, announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is a short-term pilot program known as the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge, running through December 31, 2027. Current federal…

Millions of Americans are choosing to work during retirement, driven by longer lifespans, vanishing pensions, and shrinking savings accounts. Social Security’s retirement trust fund is now expected to become insolvent in 2032, one year sooner than program trustees forecast in 2025, adding urgency to retirement planning decisions. A rule called the Retirement Earnings Test, or…

Last year, a reader wrote in responding to a prior column about whether Americans should claim Social Security early, citing widespread concerns about the program’s long-term solvency. The reader referenced multiple reports suggesting Social Security could run out of money by 2032, a timeline that has prompted many Americans to consider claiming benefits as soon…

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh is sending a clear message to financial markets: the fight against inflation is not over, and rate cuts are not coming soon. Warsh’s hawkish tone reverberated across trading floors, with bond investors rapidly repricing expectations for central bank policy in the months ahead. A widely held narrative that Warsh was…