Author: News Room

Watch out for interest rates.Not the short-term rates controlled by the Federal Reserve. Barring an unforeseen financial crisis, they’re not going anywhere, especially not after the jump in inflation reported by the government on Wednesday.Instead, pay attention to the 10-year Treasury yield, which has been bouncing around since the election from about 4.8 to 4.2 percent. That’s not an unreasonable level over the last century or so.But it’s much higher than the 2.9 percent average of the last 20 years, according to FactSet data. At its upper range, that 10-year yield may be high enough to dampen the enthusiasm of…

It’s possible to amass $1 million in special health savings accounts to use in retirement, a new analysis finds, with several big caveats.You have to start young, contribute the maximum each year and leave the money untouched for decades instead of spending it on medical needs.Health savings accounts, known as H.S.A.s, let people set aside pretax money for health and medical care.To open an H.S.A., you must have a specific type of health plan with a high deductible — an amount you must cover out of pocket before insurance pays. The money can be saved or invested to grow tax-free,…

Elon Musk’s growing power in government appears to be making some of his businesses more of a magnet for investors. Case in point: Banks have managed to sell off most of the $12.5 billion worth of debt owed by X, his social network, to eager buyers. Investors are essentially betting that the company’s future is brighter because of his role at the heart of government.It’s a different situation from what worries many Musk skeptics — that he will use his vast influence to directly benefit companies like SpaceX. It’s also worth flagging that the scrutiny on Musk may have ended…

In recent weeks, Elon Musk and his aides have gained access to many federal agencies’ systems and unknown amounts of data. Many readers have written in to share their fears that the agencies — and the personal data they possess on hundreds of millions of taxpayers — are now vulnerable.When people tinker with vital systems, things can go wrong. New vulnerabilities can emerge that thieves could exploit, or existing tax or loan payments could disappear. And one wrong move can bring a whole website down for days or longer.The level of risk isn’t clear, and in uncertain situations, it’s tempting…

President Trump is pursuing a far more aggressive trade policy than he embraced in his first term, allowing his unfettered instincts about how to put America at the forefront to guide him with little pretense of investigations or extended deliberations.Since taking office, Mr. Trump has threatened punishing tariffs on goods from every global trading partner. That includes proposals to tax more than $1.3 trillion of imports from Canada, Mexico and China — many times the volume of trade his tariffs affected in his entire first term.On Thursday, Mr. Trump proposed his most aggressive and consequential measure to date with a…

When President Trump announced he would impose new tariffs on imports from countries around the world, he launched a frontal attack on the global free trade system created in the aftermath of World War II.Mr. Trump’s move, announced Thursday and set to begin as soon as April, represents a bet that the United States will gain leverage by replacing global tariffs with its own tariffs, which are taxes on imports.The United States, the world’s largest importer, has for decades bought far more from the rest of the world than it sells. Mr. Trump wants to change that and is calculating…

For the past five years, Molly Culver, owner of Molly Oliver Flowers in Brooklyn, has mounted a quiet battle against the goliath of Valentine’s Day flowers: the rose. Classically red, multilayered, prickly and velvety, millions of roses, most imported from overseas, will be sold for the annual day of love. But Ms. Culver is among the growing number of florists and flower enthusiasts who want to know: Would you consider tulips instead?Consumers in the United States are expected to spend nearly $3 billion on flowers for the holiday this year, according to the National Retail Federation. Most of that will…

Rows of white concrete buildings near the Pearl River in southern China house one of the world’s fastest-growing industries: Gritty workshops are churning out inexpensive clothing that is exported straight to homes and small businesses around the world. No tariffs are paid, and no customs inspections are conducted.The laborers who make these goods earn as little as $5 an hour, including overtime, for workdays that can last 10 hours or more. They pay $130 a month to sleep on bunk beds in tiny rooms above factories packed with sewing machines and mounds of cloth.“It’s hard work,” said Wu Hua, who…

This orange chicken has not been waiting for you on the steam table. It has not been bouncing and sweating in the darkness of a clamshell container while you wheel your luggage to the gate.At Panda Inn, the Pasadena restaurant that started Panda Express, the orange chicken is made to order, strewed with whole dried chiles, scallions and a few threads of orange zest. It arrives craggy and glistening on a blue stoneware plate.Is it good? Trick question! It is sticky, and it is familiar. It is relentlessly crunchy, with a flatly precise and habit-forming ratio of sweetness to acidity…

A 90-quart model of Igloo coolers has been recalled in North America after the handles of the product caused serious injuries to customers’ fingers, including amputation, government agencies in the United States and Canada said.The recall of the Igloo 90-Quart Flip & Tow Rolling Coolers was issued on Thursday after Igloo received 12 reports of fingertip injuries, including fingertip amputations, bone fractures and lacerations, from consumers in the United States, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.“The tow handle can pinch consumers’ fingertips against the cooler, posing fingertip amputation and crushing hazards,” the company said.The recall applies to about 1.06 million…