MoneyWatch

When it comes to investing, there is no shortage of assets to choose from. For starters, it’s easy to add any number of traditional investment assets to your portfolio — from more volatile assets, like stocks, to less-risky assets, like bonds and interest-bearing accounts, including certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market accounts. And, there are also alternative assets, likeBitcoin, …

The U.S. Department of Labor is alleging a Tennessee firm illegally employed children as young as 13, some of whom were found to be cleaning dangerous equipment like head splitters and jaw pullers in meat processing plants during overnight shifts. The development comes as part of an ongoing probe into whether migrant kids are cleaning U.S. slaughterhouses and less than …

Walmart on Tuesday said it’s buying television manufacturer Vizio for $2.3 billion, an acquisition that could help the retailing giant build its advertising and media business. Vizio may be best known for its TV sets, but it also operates the SmartCast Operating System, which has more than 18 million active accounts. The SmartCast system is included in every Vizio TV …

New York — Capital One Financial said it will buy Discover Financial Services for $35 billion, a deal that would bring together two of the nation’s major credit card companies as well as potentially shake up the payments industry, which is largely dominated by Visa and Mastercard. Under the terms of the all-stock transaction, Discover Financial shareholders will receive Capital …

Americans are increasingly skeptical of the value of a post-secondary education at a time when college attendance costs are soaring. In some cases, those doubts may be justified, according to a new analysis of earnings data from almost 4,000 colleges and other higher education programs. A decade after enrolling, attendees of 1 in 4 higher education programs are earning less …

Thousands of Wyze camera customers recently had images of their homes, and, in some cases video, made visible to strangers, due to “a security event,” involving third-party caching and crossed wires, the company said Tuesday on its user forum. Wyze Labs, maker of smart home cameras, informed customers who experienced a service outage Friday that 13,000 camera users received video …

Near record wind speeds resulted in multiple international flights over the weekend exceeding 800 miles per hour — far faster than the 500 mph to 600 mph speeds at which commercial flights usually travel. Powerful, 265 mile-per-hour winds propelled three planes on international routes, allowing them to reach speeds greater than 800 miles per hour and arrive at their destinations …

Getting into debt is easy and can happen in the blink of an eye. Common reasons for going into debt are paying for an unexpected expense, losing income or making poor spending choices. If you’re carrying more debt than you’re comfortable with, you’re not alone. According to a Northwestern Mutual study, 35% of Americans are either carrying their highest level …

One positive coming from the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate hikes is that most banks also raised the rates that they offer to savers. In particular, certificates of deposit (CDs) have been relatively attractive for many savers over the past couple of years, following a prolonged period of ultra-low interest rates. However, the CD interest rate yield curve has recently …

Are you saving money for a car, a down payment on a house, the vacation of a lifetime or any other large expense? If so, there’s a high probability that you’re facing a challenge. In today’s inflationary environment, the money you save has to earn a meaningful return. After all, if your return rate is any lower than the current …