Investing

Tuition-free college isn’t quite the holy grail of zero-cost higher education, but it’s pretty close. In all, about 20 states offer students access to tuition-free college, according to the Campaign for Free College Tuition. Of these, 11 offer what’s known as a promise program, typically funding two years of education at participating community college. They

The stock market is being flooded with new initial public offerings and many of the best performers in the 2019 class aren’t worth chasing at current levels, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Thursday. “Given the big jumps in stocks like Zoom and Pinterest, and those weak numbers and forecast from Intel tonight, I’m starting to worry

Vanguard Group, the globe’s second-largest asset manager, announced Thursday plans to allocate a fraction of its vast voting powers on corporate boards to outside fund supervisors that control more than $470 billion of its holdings. Firms that manage Vanguard’s active equity funds will soon receive approval to vote on some of the important decisions in

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday said too many Wall Street watchers assumed that businesses’ first quarter earnings results would be horrid and now the stock market is rallying on companies besting expectations. Analysts based their 2019 predictions on the Federal Reserve-induced fourth-quarter sell-off and prolonged U.S.-China trade war, but never revised their outlooks as the

If you thought the Bank of Mom and Dad closed its doors after the kids have grown up, think again. The average cost of raising a child to age 18 is estimated to be $233,610, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The expenses continue long after your child has entered adulthood. Half of parents

CarGurus Inc.: “Well, I gotta tell you my viewers, including you Scott, are smarter than I am. I like Carmax, but we are going to do a deep dive on Cargurus because of exactly what you just told us. Because you teach us.” Iamgold Corp.: “Well, you know what, I am not gold. I am

Nobel laureate Richard Thaler has put forward a new idea to allow individuals to use their 401(k) savings to increase their Social Security benefits. Thaler, a behavioral economist and professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, discussed the idea at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution, a non-profit public policy organization,

Things are heating up in the energy market. The Trump administration announced Monday that it would end exemptions to its sanctions on Iran, a move meant to significantly curb Iran’s oil output. Crude prices surged after the announcement, with the U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate crude, gaining nearly 3 percent. Here’s what experts say higher

Half of the FANG trade goes under the microscope this week. Facebook and Amazon, worth $1.4 trillion combined, will report on earnings on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The options market is not pricing in how volatile trading could get in the wake of those releases, according to Stephen Mathai-Davis of research site Quantamize. He’s positioning

Exchange-traded funds are getting a revamp at Goldman Sachs. The big bank has doubled down on a concept called smart beta, which blends passive and active investing strategies to build portfolios based on non-traditional metrics. At Goldman, the strategy is branded as ActiveBeta and revolves around four factors: value, quality, momentum and low volatility. “We

As the Massachusetts gaming commission began hearings last week to decide if the Wynn Co will retain its license to operate the first major urban casino on the East Coast, I thought back to my original introduction to the casino industry in 1983. I considered much that industry has changed, but also how each sector

Health care suffered a health scare this week. The XLV health care sector ETF tumbled more than 4% since Monday, its worst week of the year and sending the group negative for 2019. Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Jaffray, says the prognosis does not look good. “No question that the health care sector

The chief operating officer and general counsel of MedMen Enterprises have both resigned amid a broader employee shakeup at the American marijuana retailer. Chief Operating Officer Ben Cook and General Counsel Lisa Sergi Trager — who also served on the company’s board — have quit, a source familiar with the matter tells CNBC. Senior Vice

It’s a good time to be a graduate. Those armed with a newly minted diploma will enter a job market with unemployment near the lowest level in 50 years and job prospects up significantly from just last year. Employers plan to hire nearly 11% more graduates from the class of 2019 than they did from

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said the banking sector reported positive earnings results over the past week and that the stocks remarkably were able to rally on the news. “The big takeaway from the major banks is that the group is doing better than we thought and even after this latest leg higher, many of

The Republicans may have some good news heading into the 2020 presidential election season, noted market strategist Jim Paulsen told CNBC on Thursday. That’s because he sees the timing of economic growth and the character of the economy as the most important issues for the election. “In some sense, we may look back on this

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday said that business in the construction industry seems to be picking up and it could make an interesting play for Waste Management. “Jim Fish, CEO of Waste Management who comes on all the time on the show, often commented that his best source of revenue is construction,” the “Mad Money”

President Donald Trump has called for a sweeping look at regulation of the energy industry — and that includes investments in retirement plans. In an executive order issued last week, Trump called for the Department of Labor to complete a review of energy investment trends and the fiduciary responsibilities tied to proxy voting to determine

J.B. Hunt Transport Services‘ downbeat earnings call on Monday should put to rest any ideas that the economy is too strong and that the Federal Reserve should tighten interest rates again, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday. The trucking and transportation company’s stock sank nearly 5% after missing Wall Street’s expectations and blaming low volume on

Activist investor Praesidium Investment Management said Tuesday that it’s taken a new stake in cloud-based education software company Instructure. Praesidium manager Kevin Oram, who filed a 13D with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, said that despite big investments in new business, the company’s stock looks cheap. Oram detailed the investment from 13D Monitor’s

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday suggested that President Donald Trump stop targeting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and let the chief carry out his current monetary policy plan. In a tweet on Sunday, Trump doubled down, again, on his criticism of Powell in the wake of the Federal Open Market Committee’s move to raise the

It probably comes as no surprise that your parents helped shape your financial habits. And a new survey from TD Ameritrade shows that the way your parents handled money is likely the biggest influence on how you manage your own finances now. That tops other events from your early years, including your household’s financial situation,

One big bank is not like the other. Financial giants J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo kicked off earnings season on Friday, both issuing better-than-expected results. But while J.P. Morgan’s stock soared nearly 5%, Wells Fargo’s stock slid, ending the day almost 3% lower. Wells Fargo’s weakness came largely from softer profit guidance from CFO John

If you’re waiting until the absolute last moment to file your taxes, you’re not alone. In fact, 20% to 25% of Americans wait until the last 14 days before the deadline to prepare their returns. But procrastinating is more troublesome this year because it’s the first time taxpayers are filing under the Tax Cuts and

Crude can’t crank higher unless it stays above the key $60 level, says expert technician Louise Yamada. Tightening global supplies have proved bullish for the commodity this year, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude prices currently hovering near five-month highs. But the upward action has also been quite volatile, as economic and geopolitical factors have

Square Inc.: “I like it. It’s fintech. I do like PayPal a little more, but PayPal is going so far so fast, and this one’s been stuck ever since the fabulous [former CFO] Sarah Friar left. Square is O.K.” Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.: “High-quality company … I think it is a good one.” Philip

The magic of Disney might be back. Shares of the entertainment giant surged to a record high on Friday after Disney revealed details tied to its highly anticipated streaming service, Disney+, at an investor conference Thursday night. The service, which will be available starting in mid-November at $6.99 a month or $69 a year, pits

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday said it’s time for “wholesale change” in Bed Bath & Beyond‘s management. “The company still has a good balance sheet, $1 billion in cash, so I think it can be saved,” the “Mad Money” host said. “But I gotta tell you something: not with this management team.” The home goods

Big banks are leading the way into earnings season, and Wall Street is on close watch. Last quarter was softer than expected for most of the country’s largest financial companies, which were still feeling the pain from the stock market’s late-2018 sell-off. But this time, experts are cautiously optimistic on what the next quarter will

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday took a deeper look at Dirty Lemon, the health-conscious drink owned by Iris Nova, to understand how its business model could help keep down inflation: embrace the honor system. “If this method catches on, it’s easy to see how our economy can keep growing with hardly any meaningful wage inflation,”