Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Focus on Income First
EVERY reader knows I am unfazed at the sacrifice of a percentage point or two of share price or net asset value to secure a higher yield or cash distribution. That underscores my reverence for short-term high-yield bonds, packaged car leases and credit card bills, floating-rate corporate bank loans, and the many multisector and flexible exchange-traded and closed-end funds that own these assets or some of each. These investments reliably distribute upward of 5% and sometimes 7%. Add funds or ETFs that write options on stocks or stock indexes to pay out 8% or more, and you might easily overlook how the Federal Reserve has slashed the interest rate it controls to 3.5%—the low since September 2022—with further cuts to follow this year.
2 min |
March 2026
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
EASING THE SQUEEZE ON AFFORDABILITY
A 50-year mortgage probably isn't the answer, but there are other ways to alleviate the continuing sting of high prices.
3 min |
March 2026
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Health Care Stocks: Bet on a Recovery
The flagging sector has perked up a bit lately.
7 min |
March 2026
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
The Merger Market Heats Up
Investing in takeover deals can be a low-volatility way to diversify your portfolio.
2 min |
March 2026
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
2026 MUTUAL FUND GUIDE
A banner year for stocks created winners the world over, in companies of all sizes. The top funds in 11 categories crushed the averages.
9 min |
March 2026
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
In Search of Almost-Safe Stocks
IS there really such a thing as a safe stock? When you buy a share, you own a tiny piece of a business, and any business can develop problems no one suspects. Consider Enron, a consistent moneymaker in energy trading, which went from $90 a share to 26 cents in a little over a year. Or Sears, once a solid retail giant and now reduced to just a handful of stores. Eastman Kodak, Polaroid and Blockbuster were all solid citizens that went bankrupt.
4 min |
March 2026
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
RESOLVE CONFLICTS WITH YOUR ADVISER
Knowing how to deal with a disagreement can improve both your finances and your relationship with your planner.
3 min |
March 2026
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
NEW WAYS TO KEEP ONLINE ACCOUNTS SAFE
As cybercrime evolves, the strategies you use to protect yourself need to evolve, too.
4 min |
March 2026
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
WHY FIDO SHOULD BE IN YOUR ESTATE PLAN
Including your wishes in your will or in a pet trust can ensure proper care when you can't provide it.
2 min |
March 2026
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
A FORECAST FOR THE MONTHS AHEAD
The experts at The Kiplinger Letter, which publishes weekly business and economic forecasts, recently shared their predictions for the economy, politics, new technologies and more throughout 2026. Here are some of their expectations.
2 min |
March 2026
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Longevity Advice for Women
IN recent columns, I have written about longevity literacy and the need for long-term-care planning (see “Living in Retirement,” Dec. 2025 and Feb. 2026). To see how women fit into this picture, I interviewed Maddy Dychtwald, cofounder of AgeWave, a research and consulting firm focused on aging, and author of Ageless Aging: A Woman’s Guide to Increasing Healthspan, Brainspan and Lifespan. Dychtwald interviewed dozens of researchers, scientists and physicians for her book, and these are some of her key takeaways.
2 min |
March 2026
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
THE LIFE CYCLE OF A BOND
Your bond portfolio's return depends on everything from interest rate swings to defaults. Here's what to watch for.
5 min |
March 2026
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Trim Your Child-Care Costs
Working parents can take advantage of tax breaks and local assistance programs.
5 min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Muse Records via Time Traveler Recordings
As the jazz buyer for Tower Records's Lincoln Center (66th St.) location in the early 1990s, I held a unique vantage point on New York City, its music and culture. My position guaranteed daily encounters with an eclectic variety of unforgettable characters. Between regular visits by the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (grouchy), Kathleen Turner (pushy), and Michael J. Fox (perpetually running from the store's female staff), I saw a lot. I also learned a lot about jazz records: from John Newcott of PolyGram/Universal; from A&R executive and Grammy-winning producer Brian Michel Bacchus; from fellow Tower employee Kevin Elliot—and from Joe Fields, the founder of Muse Records, and his son Barney. Joe had worked with Bob Weinstock of Prestige Records before he founded his own crucial imprint. Joe and Barney would go on to found HighNote records and its sublabel Savant; today Barney runs the two labels, which are still issuing jazz.
3 min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Steve played it
Legendary Stax guitarist/producer Steve Cropper hated when deejays talked over song intros. He decided to do something about it for the countless hit singles cut at the label's Memphis studio in the 1960s. As a result of his efforts, Cropper—who passed away on December 3, 2025, at age 84—became known as “The Intro Guy,” a sobriquet he was proud to honor.
3 min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Burmester 232
My first response, upon being offered for review the new Burmester 232 Classic Line modular class-AB dual mono integrated amplifier ($25,000), was apprehension—but not because of the product itself, and certainly not because of the Burmester brand. My first response, upon being offered for review the new Burmester 232 Classic Line modular class-AB dual mono integrated amplifier ($25,000), was apprehension—but not because of the product itself, and certainly not because of the Burmester brand.
10+ min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Collecting used records. And cleaning them
I own a lot of records. Way too many if we're being honest. It's hard for me to come up with an accurate count, and I'm not even remotely organized enough to have a formal inventory, but if I had to make a guesstimate based on linear feet I figure I must have around 10,000. About 10 years ago, I started to recognize that I owned far more records than I could ever hope to listen to, even once, in my remaining time on the planet, and since that realization my record purchasing rate has slowed to a trickle. These days, my worst weakness kicks in when I'm visiting my friend of over 45 years, Alan B out in L.A. Our idea of great social interaction is to head out and visit some of the record stores near his home in Pasadena, such as Amoeba and Freakbeat Records. Ten years ago on these trips, I would pick up enough records over a weekend to fill three big boxes that I would then ship back home to New York, using the US Postal Service's bargain Media Mail service. Times have changed, and on my most recent visit I came home with just a dozen or so new acquisitions, few enough to easily slip into my suitcase.
10+ min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Dynaudio Confidence 20A
There's something inherently suspicious about most all-in-one solutions.
10+ min |
March 2026
Stereophile
In search of lost sound
On the front page of its owner's manual, Greek amplifier manufacturer Lab12 describes the Melto2 ($4995) as a “Remote Controlled, Fully Adjustable Phono Preamplifier.” I'd describe it as a clear-speaking, fun-to-use, cartridge- and record-collector's dream. Plus: It's got tubes.
10+ min |
March 2026
Stereophile
Eversolo Play CD Edition phono stage
The inexpensive but versatile Eversolo Play CD Edition integrated amplifier that Rogier van Bakel reviewed in the January 2026 issue has optical and coaxial digital inputs, line and phono analog inputs, can play CDs, and can stream audio over its network connection, all for just $799! Although RvB doesn't have an LP player and was therefore unable to audition the Play's phono stage, I performed a complete set of measurements on the phono input with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. As usual when I am measuring a phono stage, I connected the ground terminal on the amplifier's rear panel to the analyzer's ground to minimize noise. As the Play uses a class-D output stage that emits relatively high levels of ultrasonic noise that would drive my analyzer's input into slew-rate limiting, I inserted an Audio Precision AUX-0025 passive low-pass filter between the test load and the analyzer. This filter mitigates noise above 80kHz and eliminates noise above 200kHz.
2 min |
March 2026
Los Angeles Times
Deer eradication planned to restore ecosystem
[Catalina, from B1]the deer with rifles.
2 min |
February 09, 2026
Los Angeles Times
Demand for citizenship proof alarms state employees
Mandate is tied to federal funding, health department says, and affects 4,000 workers.
5 min |
February 09, 2026
Los Angeles Times
It's bow tie time for coach Morris
He adds the signature wardrobe item for the playoffs, and Redondo Union looks good too.
2 min |
February 09, 2026
Los Angeles Times
Musk's 'Vegas Loop' tunnel system faces fresh scrutiny
Elon Musk’s “Vegas Loop,” a network of underground tunnels to ferry passengers in Teslas, was under fresh scrutiny last week from Nevada lawmakers who raised concern about alleged workplace safety and environmental violations.
3 min |
February 09, 2026
Los Angeles Times
Venezuela frees a key ally of Nobel laureate from prison
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa, one of the closest allies of Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, was released Sunday after more than eight months in prison on what are widely considered to be politically motivated accusations.
1 min |
February 09, 2026
Los Angeles Times
Policy of jailing immigrants without bond affirmed
President Trump's administration can continue to detain immigrants without bond, marking a major legal victory for the federal immigration agenda and countering a slew of recent lower court decisions across the country that argued the practice is illegal.
2 min |
February 09, 2026
Los Angeles Times
Party of Japan's new leader wins election in landslide
The governing party of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a sweeping majority in a key parliamentary election Sunday, Japanese media reported, citing preliminary results.
3 min |
February 09, 2026
Los Angeles Times
U.K. leader’s top aide quits amid Epstein fallout
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff resigned Sunday over the furor surrounding the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the U.K. ambassador to the U.S. despite his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
2 min |
February 09, 2026
Los Angeles Times
Federal agents reportedly impersonate workers
ICE officers are said to be wearing hard hats and even using bogus license plates.
4 min |
February 09, 2026
Los Angeles Times
Gaza’s Rafah crossing reopens, again
The border point with Egypt was closed for 2 days. Palestinians report mistreatment.
3 min |