Archives May 2025

Trump suggests lower tariffs on China … more AI-based layoffs … labor force pain “gradually then suddenly” … Eric Fry is eyeing nuclear power … cute tiger cubs

Let’s begin with the latest trade war chatter.

This morning, President Trump floated the idea of dropping the 145% tariff on China to 80%, while also hinting at additional deals on the way.

From Trump on Truth Social:

80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B.

Many Trade Deals in the hopper, all good (GREAT!) ones!

While lower, an 80% tariff would still largely be prohibitive to trade.

On that note, today, the first cargo ships carrying Chinese products hit with the 145% tariff arrived at Los Angeles ports. According to the port’s executive director, Gene Seroka, the volume of cargo on these ships has fallen by more than 50%.

Here’s Marine Insight:

Initially, 80 ships were scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles during May, but about 20% of those have already been cancelled.

Another 13 sailings for June have also been scrapped, a clear sign of businesses pulling back from sourcing goods from China due to cost concerns.

Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen explained that some retailers are opting to store goods in Chinese warehouses instead of bringing them to the US, as the storage costs are now lower than the import taxes.

Petersen estimated that if this continues, there could be a 60% drop in deliveries.

If/when too many deliveries disappear and the current inventory glut in U.S. warehouses dries up, that’s when we’ll face higher prices.

All eyes are on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his negotiations with Chinese officials taking place in Switzerland this weekend.

We’ll report back on Monday.

On Wednesday, Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike announced it is cutting 500 jobs – roughly 5% of its workforce

Here’s MarketWatch with the explanation:

[Behind the layoffs is] both the security threat posed by artificial intelligence and the growing use of AI to move faster and operate more efficiently.

On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported a similar story from tech blue blood IBM:

International Business Machines Chief Executive Arvind Krishna said the tech giant has used artificial intelligence, and specifically AI agents, to replace the work of a couple hundred human resources workers. 

And just a few days ago, language-learning app Duolingo unapologetically cannonballed into AI. From TechCrunch:

Duolingo announced plans this week to replace contractors with AI and become an “AI-first” company — a move that journalist Brian Merchant pointed to as a sign that the AI jobs crisis “is here, now.”

Meanwhile, in January, a World Economic Forum (WEF) survey found that 41% of employers plan on downsizing their workforce over the next five years as AI automates certain tasks.

And here’s more color from the International Monetary Fund:

In advanced economies, about 60 percent of jobs may be impacted by AI.

Roughly half the exposed jobs may benefit from AI integration, enhancing productivity. For the other half, AI applications may execute key tasks currently performed by humans, which could lower labor demand, leading to lower wages and reduced hiring.

 In the most extreme cases, some of these jobs may disappear.

What are we to make of all this?

Well, we’re not yet at the tipping point of AI’s economic creative destruction, but it’s coming.

“Jeff, stop right there. No fearmongering. If AI is such a job threat, explain why our unemployment rate remains at just 4.2%”

Well, first, while high-profile companies like IBM and CrowdStrike are making AI-related cuts, they represent a small slice of the overall labor market. Most AI-related layoffs so far have hit white-collar or tech jobs that are only a portion of the broader workforce.

Plus, job losses are being offset by new jobs in areas like healthcare, construction, hospitality, and transportation, which aren’t as vulnerable to AI… yet. For example, so far in 2025, service sector job growth has remained solid.

Next, many laid-off workers are finding new roles, often in companies adopting AI but needing people to manage, prompt, or train the systems. In other words, for the time being, AI is being used to augment rather than replace workers. So, many companies are restructuring workflows rather than eliminating full positions.

But let’s be clear…

This is a phase. It’s a temporary evolution point – not an end point.

An analogy comes from Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises.” When asked how he went bankrupt, a character replies, “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”

The problem with “Jeff, stop fearmongering” is that is focuses on the “gradually” that’s here today, rather than the “suddenly” that’s coming tomorrow.

Legendary investor Louis Navellier has been researching this transition from a cultural, economic, and investment perspective

It was through Louis and his team that I was introduced to the term “double exponential.”

Originally used (in the context of technology) by futurist Ray Kurzweil, author of “The Singularity is Near,” the term describes the idea that technological progress doesn’t just follow a single exponential trend but often accelerates at an even faster rate.

“Double exponential” growth means that not only is the growth rate increasing, but the rate at which it increases is also accelerating.

Here’s Louis tying this idea to our economy and labor market:

Today, we find ourselves at a moment I call the “Economic Singularity.”

This is the moment when AI crosses a threshold and makes most human labor economically irrelevant.

We’re past the point of no return. AI is improving itself now. It’s creating its own agents. And writing its own code.

What comes next?

In short, the biggest transformation of wealth and labor in human history…

Folks, I know this sounds dramatic, but I’m telling you straight.

It’s the way innovation works. It happens slowly at first… and then, all of a sudden, everything is different.

To Louis’ point about human-labor irrelevancy, let’s check in on a key economic “canary in the coal” mine: software developers.

For years, these tech hires commanded fantastic salaries as they wrote the code that powered our cutting-edge software products. This was a next-gen, in-demand career.

With this context, let’s jump to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei from March:

If I look at coding, programming, which is one area where AI is making the most progress – what we are finding is that we’re 3 to 6 months from a world where AI is writing 90% of the code.

And then in 12 months, we may be in a world where AI is writing essentially all of the code.

Louis makes an important point: You don’t have to like this change – but you must choose how you’ll respond to it.

To help investors safely cross this AI Rubicon, Louis just released a new batch of research.

As part of it, there are four special reports covering )1 the top stocks for this age of the Singularity, 2) which physical AI (think “humanoids/robots”) to buy today, 3) a “Complete Portfolio Protection” Plan, and 4) how to find pre-IPO, potential Unicorn AI investments before they’ve gone public.

You can learn more about accessing all this by clicking here.

By the way – be sure to catch tomorrow’s Digest by our Editor-in-Chief and co-Digest writer Luis Hernandez. He names one of Louis’ recent AI picks.

Here’s another idea for AI preparation, courtesy of our macro expert Eric Fry

As we’ve been hammering home in the Digest for months, AI consumes enormous volumes of energy. This demand will only increase as AI continues to integrate seamlessly with our day-to-day lives. We’ve urged investors to get exposure to the broad AI datacenter ecosystem that powers this demand.

Eric has been positioning his readers for this for many months in his flagship newsletter Fry’s Investment Report.

Let’s jump to his update from Wednesday:

Artificial intelligence relies on data centers to handle its computational needs. AI requires immense amounts of processing power for training and running large language models (LLMs), and data centers provide this power.

But there’s a problem: As we get further and further down the Road to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), the technology demands such spectacular volumes of electric power that existing sources are not able to provide enough.

During the last three years alone, the combined electricity consumption of data center giants like Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Meta Platforms Inc. (META), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) soared more than 80%.

That explosive growth is certain to continue.

This shortfall is an opportunity for investors who know where to look. So, where’s Eric looking?

Nuclear energy.

On Wednesday, nuclear developer Elementl Power reported that it signed an agreement with Google to develop three sites for advanced reactors.

This comes on the heels of Google’s deal announced in October with Kairos Power, a developer of “small modular reactors” (SMRs).

Plus, Eric notes that around the same time that Google inked its deal with Kairos, Amazon announced that Amazon Web Services (AWS) is set to invest more than $500 million in nuclear power.

And in September, Microsoft made a deal with Constellation Energy Corp. (CEG) to restart a reactor at the infamous Three Mile Island nuclear facility.

With this background, here’s Eric:

This new high-profile demand for nuclear power from Big Tech and, sooner than we think, AGI could accelerate growth and profitability in the uranium industry.

To capitalize on that potential, I recommend investing in what’s turning into one of the “soundest” plays in the stock market: the uranium sector.

One name for your research that Eric mentions is Cameco Corp. (CCJ), one of the world’s largest uranium producers.

It has high-grade assets such as the McArthur River and Cigar Lake mines that offer significant cost advantages over competitors. Plus, it has a 49% stake in Westinghouse Electric, giving it exposure to the growing demand for SMRs, which Eric highlighted a moment ago.

I’ll also note that CCJ is in the middle of a blistering rally. Since April 9, it’s exploded 36%.

Other ideas for your research include Uranium Energy (UEC), Energy Fuels (UUUU), and Centrus Energy Corp (LEU).

For more on the specific way Eric is investing in Investment Report, click here to learn more about join him. He recently recommended a unique energy play that should be a direct beneficiary of snowballing AI adoption.

Wrapping up, if you remain skeptical about the significance of AI and the need for preparation…

Then I’d point to comments from the “Godfather of AI,” Geoffrey Hinton, made less than two weeks ago.

If you’re less familiar with Hinton, he earned his nickname due to his groundbreaking work in artificial neural networks, particularly his contributions to the development of deep learning.

From Hinton in his recent CBS interview:

People haven’t got it yet. People haven’t understood what’s coming…

The best way to understand it emotionally is we are like somebody who has this really cute tiger cub.

Unless you can be very sure that it’s not gonna want to kill you when it’s grown up, you should worry.

A tweak on Hinton’s comments…

Let’s not worry – that’s pointless and accomplishes nothing. Instead, let’s be deliberate about preparation.

On a general basis, there’s a limit to what that means. But from an investment perspective, there are plenty of moves we can make today to shore up our economic vulnerability.

If you haven’t done so yet, carve out some time to dig into how you’re preparing for AI today.

Have a good evening,

Jeff Remsburg

Below you’ll find featured rates available from our partners, followed by details from our ranking of the best CDs available nationwide.

A 4.50% Rate You Can Enjoy Until Late 2026

Today’s highest CD rate in the country is 4.50%—and you have plenty of ways to lock that in. The shortest option with that return is a 3-month certificate available from PonceBankDirect. Then, eight institutions offer a 4.50% rate for terms of 6 to 13 months, including a 9-month certificate from OMB that debuted in our rankings yesterday and a 12-month option from Greenwood Credit Union that was unveiled Monday.

At the longest end, XCEL Federal Credit Union will guarantee its 4.50% APY for 18 months, which would secure your return until November 2026.

All Federally Insured Institutions Are Equally Protected

Your deposits at any FDIC bank or NCUA credit union are federally insured, meaning you’re protected by the U.S. government in the unlikely case that the institution fails. Not only that, but the coverage is identical—deposits are insured up to $250,000 per person and per institution—no matter the size of the bank or credit union.

Consider Multiyear CDs to Guarantee Your Rate Further Down the Road

For a rate lock you can enjoy for almost two years, PenAir Credit Union is paying 4.40% APY for 21 months, promising its rate until February 2027. Or, stretch your guarantee further by taking a slightly lower APY of 4.32%, available for 30 months from Genisys Credit Union.

Savers who want to stash their money away for even longer might like the leading 4-year or 5-year certificates. You can lock in a 4.28% rate for 4 years from Lafayette Federal Credit Union. In fact, Lafayette promises the same 4.28% APY on all its certificates from 7 months through 5 years, letting you secure that rate as far as 2030.

Multiyear CDs are likely smart right now, given the possibility of Fed rate cuts in 2025 and perhaps 2026. The central bank lowered the federal funds rate by a full percentage point in late 2024 and could resume rate cuts later this year. While any interest-rate reductions from the Fed will push bank APYs lower, a CD rate you secure now will be yours to enjoy until it matures.

Today’s Best CDs Still Pay Historically High Returns

It’s true that CD rates are no longer at their peak. But despite the pullback, the best CDs still offer a stellar return. October 2023 saw the highest CD rates push briefly to 6%, while today’s leading rate is down to 4.50%. But compare that to early 2022, before the Federal Reserve embarked on its fast-and-furious rate-hike campaign. The most you could earn from the very best CDs in the country ranged from just 0.50% to 1.70% APY, depending on the term.

Jumbo CDs Beat Regular CDs in 4 Terms

Jumbo CDs require much larger deposits and sometimes pay premium rates—but not always. In fact, the best jumbo CD rates right now are the same or lower than the top standard rates in four of the eight CD terms we track.

Among 1-year and 18-month CDs, the top standard and top jumbo CDs pay the same rate of 4.50% APY. Meanwhile, institutions are offering higher jumbo rates in the following terms:

• 6 months: Credit One Bank offers 4.55% for a 6–7 month jumbo CD vs. 4.50% for the highest standard rate.
• 3 years: Hughes Federal Credit Union offers 4.34% for a 3-year jumbo CD vs. 4.32% for the highest standard rate.
• 4 years: Lafayette Federal Credit Union offers 4.33% for a 4-year jumbo CD vs. 4.28% for the highest standard rate.
• 5 years: Both GTE Financial and Lafayette Federal Credit Union offer 4.33% for jumbo 5-year CDs vs. 4.28% for the highest standard rate.

That makes it smart to always check both types of offerings when CD shopping. If your best rate option is a standard CD, simply open it with a jumbo-sized deposit.

Where Are CD Rates Headed in 2025?

In December, the Federal Reserve announced a third rate cut to the federal funds rate in as many meetings, reducing it a full percentage point since September. But with its announcement this week, the central bank has opted to hold rates steady at all three of its 2025 meetings to date.

The Fed’s three rate cuts last year represented a pivot from the central bank’s historic 2022–2023 rate-hike campaign, in which the committee aggressively raised interest rates to combat decades-high inflation. At its 2023 peak, the federal funds rate climbed to its highest level since 2001—and remained there for nearly 14 months.

Fed rate moves are significant to savers, as reductions to the fed funds rate push down the rates banks and credit unions are willing to pay consumers for their deposits. Both CD rates and savings account rates reflect changes to the fed funds rate.

Time will tell what exactly will happen to the federal funds rate in 2025 and 2026—as tariff activity from the Trump administration has paused the Fed’s course as policymakers await clear data. But with more Fed rate cuts possibly arriving this year, today’s CD rates could be the best you’ll see in a while—making now a smart time to lock in the best rate that suits your personal timeline.

Daily Rankings of the Best CDs and Savings Accounts

We update these rankings every business day to give you the best deposit rates available:

Important

Note that the “top rates” quoted here are the highest nationally available rates Investopedia has identified in its daily rate research on hundreds of banks and credit unions. This is much different than the national average, which includes all banks offering a CD with that term, including many large banks that pay a pittance in interest. Thus, the national averages are always quite low, while the top rates you can unearth by shopping around are often 5, 10, or even 15 times higher.

How We Find the Best CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying certificates in every major term. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), the CD’s minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000, and any specified maximum deposit cannot be under $5,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don’t meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don’t live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.

The full article continues below these offers from our partners.

A New Kind of Tax-Free Savings Account

On May 1, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) introduced companion bills for a Universal Savings Account (USA) Act. The legislation proposes creating a new type of tax-advantaged account that would allow all Americans to put money in savings that can earn interest that isn’t taxed.

If that kind of tax benefit sounds familiar, you may be thinking of a Roth IRA, which is a retirement account that lets you contribute a certain amount each year into a retirement fund where money grows tax-free. But unlike a Roth, which requires you to wait until age 59-1/2 to withdraw your funds without penalty, a USA would allow withdrawals at any time, no matter your age.

The money you could put in a USA would be post-tax dollars, just like the money you put into a Roth IRA. That means you can’t claim a tax deduction for your contribution. Instead, the tax break comes from not having the earnings taxed.

As currently proposed, the contribution limit for a USA is larger than for a Roth. The USA Act indicates a maximum contribution in Year 1 of $10,000, to be increased $500 each year until reaching a maximum annual limit of $25,000. By contrast, the most you can put into a Roth IRA in 2025 is $7,000 (or $8,000 for those age 50 and older).

In addition, the USA Act does not indicate that eligibility to make contributions is tied to any income limits. That differs from Roth IRA rules, which begin phasing out eligibility once a single tax filer reaches a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of $150,000, or a married couple filing jointly has a MAGI of $236,000.

Universal Savings Account (USA) vs. High-Yield Savings Account

So, how would a possible Universal Savings Account stack up against one of today’s best high-yield savings accounts? As with many questions, the answer is that it depends. First, it depends on what you can earn with a USA. And second, your tax bracket matters.

Let’s say you can earn 4% with a standard high-yield savings account. The interest you earn from the bank or credit union would be taxed as regular income, meaning you’ll get to keep something less than 4%. How much less is a factor of your tax bracket, which you can look up using the table below based on your taxable income.

2025 Income Tax Brackets
Tax Rate	Single Filers	Married Filing Jointly	Heads of Households
10%	$0 to $11,925	$0 to $23,850	$0 to $17,000
12%	$11,925 to $48,475	$23,850 to $96,950	$17,000 to $64,850
22%	$48,475 to $103,350	$96,950 to $206,700	$64,850 to $103,350
24%	$103,350 to $197,300	$206,700 to $394,600	$103,350 to $197,300
32%	$197,300 to $250,525	$394,600 to $501,050	$197,300 to $250,500
35%	$250,525 to $626,350	$501,050 to $751,600	$250,500 to $626,350
37%	$626,350 or more	$751,600 or more	$626,350 or more

If you’re in, say, the 22% tax bracket, you’ll keep 78% of your interest earnings (100% minus your 22% tax rate). Multiplying 0.78 by 4% leaves you with a net interest rate of 3.12%. You can see all our calculations below for a starting taxable interest rate of 3% or 4%.

Your tax bracket	3.00% taxable interest	4.00% taxable interest
10%	2.70% after-tax	3.60% after-tax
12%	2.64% after-tax	3.52% after-tax
22%	2.34% after-tax	3.12% after-tax
24%	2.28% after-tax	3.04% after-tax
32%	2.04% after-tax	2.72% after-tax
35%	1.95% after-tax	2.60% after-tax
37%	1.89% after-tax	2.52% after-tax

Knowing these numbers allows you to see how much you’d have to earn in your USA in order to out-do a taxable high-yield savings account. If, for instance, you can only earn 2.00% in a USA, you’d be better off with a 3% taxable savings account that nets over 2%, unless you’re in the 35% or 37% tax bracket.

But if instead you can get close to the same rate with a USA as with a top high-yield savings account, or you are in a very high tax bracket, then a USA’s tax savings will pay off. It comes down to doing the math on what your after-tax interest rate will be for a standard account vs. your tax-free rate from a USA.

One Way a USA Could Be Huge Winner

You can likely benefit the most from a USA if you’re able to sock away money each year and not touch it for a while, allowing you to invest your money for bigger gains. Like Roth IRAs, USAs would allow the purchase of stocks, bonds, ETFs, etc., allowing much larger gains over time. However, this type of investment is not recommended for funds you may want to access in the short term.

For Now, Here’s Where You Can Earn the Most on Your Cash

Time will tell whether this proposed legislation passes, and whether Universal Savings Accounts will enter the marketplace and the tax code. In the meantime, it’s always smart to make sure you’re earning a competitive return on your money in the bank. We make that homework easy by publishing our national rankings of the highest bank deposit rates every business day.

Right now, our daily ranking of the best high-yield savings accounts includes 15 accounts that pay between 4.35% and 5.00% APY, all with the flexibility to withdraw your funds whenever you want.

In addition, you could commit a portion of your savings to a certificate of deposit (CD). The advantage of a CD is that your return is locked in for the duration of the CD, while savings account rates can drop at any time.

Say you open a 1-year CD today that earns 4.50%, which is the top rate in our ranking of the best nationwide CDs. That means that, no matter what happens to broader U.S. interest rates over the next year, your return of 4.50% will be guaranteed until next May.

Where Interest Rates Are Headed

The Federal Reserve opted this week to hold its benchmark interest rate steady, its third rate pause this year. But financial markets have priced in majority odds of three Fed rate cuts by year’s end, which would push savings and CD rates lower.

Daily Rankings of the Best CDs and Savings Accounts

We update these rankings every business day to give you the best deposit rates available:

Important

Note that the “top rates” quoted here are the highest nationally available rates Investopedia has identified in its daily rate research on hundreds of banks and credit unions. This is much different than the national average, which includes all banks offering a CD with that term, including many large banks that pay a pittance in interest. Thus, the national averages are always quite low, while the top rates you can unearth by shopping around are often 5, 10, or even 15 times higher.

How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account’s minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000. It also cannot specify a maximum deposit amount that’s below $5,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states to qualify as nationally available. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don’t meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don’t live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.

For the ultra-wealthy, municipal bonds aren’t just about earning interest. They’re a way to lock in tax-free income, cover essential expenses, and free up the rest of their portfolio for higher-growth investments.

But even though muni bonds may offer stable income, they aren’t a perfect fit for every retiree, and they come with risks that are easy to overlook.

Why the Wealthy Turn to Municipal Bonds

One major reason municipal bonds are popular with wealthy retirees? Taxes. “Municipal bonds can provide stable, high-quality, tax-free income,” says Noah Damsky, founder of California-based Marina Wealth Advisors, noting that they’re federally tax-free, but only occasionally state tax-free.

For example, munis may be exempt from state and local taxes if you live in the state where the bond is issued.

Reducing taxable income can make a huge difference for those in higher brackets, making munis a smart way to protect wealth without giving more away to taxes.

Plus, the relatively stable nature of many muni bonds—especially general obligation bonds backed by a government taxing authority (instead of revenue from a given project)—makes them an attractive way to fund day-to-day living expenses in retirement.

Risks and Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Despite their reputation for safety, municipal bonds aren’t foolproof. “While they’re often high quality, they’re not without risk,” Damsky cautions. “They can carry a substantial amount of interest rate risk and some credit risk.”

Liquidity is another concern many investors miss. “They can be hard to sell at a good price in big blocks, especially if the market is stressed,” Damsky says.

What’s more, buying the wrong type of muni can even trigger an unexpected tax bill—a surprise many retirees aren’t prepared for.

For example, if you buy a private activity bond, and your income is high enough, the interest might be subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT).

If you’re looking for additional safe options for cash management, you also might want to explore high-yield savings accounts for flexible, FDIC-insured savings.

Why Home-State Bonds Aren’t Always Best

Many high-net-worth investors buy municipal bonds issued only in their home state to avoid paying state income taxes on interest earned, noted Damsky.

But concentrating too heavily can backfire. “While these bonds can be high quality, concentration in one particular state is not optimal,” he said.

Economic or political problems in one state could hit your portfolio harder than you expect. Diversification still matters—even for bonds that seem safe.

How the Ultra-Wealthy Structure Their Portfolios

For the ultra-rich, muni bonds aren’t the whole game plan. They’re often part of a bigger strategy to create a growth and income portfolio that relies on assets like alternatives too.

“I find that the ultra-wealthy like to barbell their portfolios,” Damsky explains. “They want to have their safe money in high-quality fixed income, and have their assets beyond living expenses in high-growth investments such as private equity, private infrastructure, and venture capital.”

Once they feel confident that they have secured their lifestyle with conservative investments, they turn to high-growth investments to continue to build generational wealth, he adds.

This approach effectively gives them a stable income while they pursue long-term growth.

When Munis Might Not Make Sense

If you’re trying to build wealth aggressively in retirement—not just to preserve it—relying heavily on munis might not be the best move.

“Municipal bonds can be great for sustaining existing wealth, but they are unlikely to compound wealth over the long term,” Damsky says.

That’s because, as fixed-income securities, they offer income, not capital appreciation.

Munis can be a powerful investment tool—but like any tool, they’re only right when they fit the job you’re trying to accomplish.

The Bottom Line

The ultra-wealthy use municipal bonds to create a reliable foundation of generally tax-free income, covering their essential needs while investing boldly elsewhere.

But muni bonds aren’t risk-free, and they’re not a one-size-fits-all investing solution. Understanding how they work and when they don’t can help you build a retirement plan that fits your goals.

Editor’s Note: On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) chose to keep interest rates steady. I’m personally perplexed by this, since the latest inflation data shows it’s cooling down.

But my colleague, Luke Lango, sees a summer rally approaching – and he’s built an easy-to-use quant tool that you can use to profit. Every month, he’ll tell you what stocks to buy and sell based on a number of factors, including growing revenue, trending upward and gaining analysts’ attention. As a numbers guy, this is something I can get behind.

The tool is called Auspex, and you can learn more about it by clicking here.

Now, I’ll let Luke explain more about the summer rally that is fast approaching…

********************

Everyone was expecting fireworks on Wednesday afternoon…

Here’s what I said on Wednesday, before the FOMC rate decision announcement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference, in the Daily Notes I send my paid-up members …

Powell’s press conference will provide some much-needed clarity as to what the Fed will do in June. He will either sound dovish and open the door for a rate cut – which will send stocks soaring higher. Or he will sound hawkish and sound hesitant on cutting rates – which will send stocks plunging lower.

But instead, Powell and the FOMC were… nothing but damp sparklers.

They kept their benchmark rate unchanged, at a target of 4.25% to 4.5%. That was as expected. The fireworks were supposed to come from the Fed’s statement and Powell’s press conference.

However, Powell said the same thing he’s been saying for months.

“We don’t think we need to be in a hurry,” he said with regard to the potential for cutting rates. He said that there are cases where it would be appropriate to cut… or to stand pat.

The stock market’s response was damp as well. All three major indices ended the day less than a percentage point up from where they started.

No “soaring” or “plunging.”

And while that may be ho-hum news for set-it-and-forget-it index investors, it’s great news for self-directed investors.

So, let’s do a few things today…

Let’s review how we got here… and why I think we’re headed into a summer rally.

Plus, I’ll tell you why this will remain a stock picker’s market despite that rally.

Also, let’s take a peek at the quant tool my team and I built to help us find the best stocks in the market. It works in volatile times like these… and it will work even better once we get past them.

Plus, I’ll reveal one stock my tool and I picked that was a winner for us last month… and that we picked again this month.

This underappreciated “space economy” play is already blasting off and outperforming the market this month as well…

The Building Summer Rally

Stocks just endured one of the fastest and most violent crashes in modern history.

In early April, stocks plummeted 10% in just two days.

As a matter of fact, until last week, stocks were tracking for their third-worst year on record after dropping more than 12% in the first 74 trading days…

But then came the biggest comeback rally in the past 100 years.

Signs that the global trade war is rapidly deescalating blew strong winds into Wall Street’s sails – sparking a historic rally. And, just as fast as they crashed, stocks staged an epic rebound.

And, I believe, momentum is building.

Let’s start with May, when we expect the “trade dam” to break.

The pressure that’s been building since “Liberation Day” is finally forcing a breakthrough on the trade front. 

Over the past week, multiple White House officials have suggested that several trade deals are nearly complete – especially with key allies. We just heard about one with the United Kingdom Thursday morning, in fact (that lit off some fireworks).

We expect more of those deals to be announced in May.

They’ll do more than just ease tariffs. They’ll slam the brakes on inflation fears, cool the geopolitical heat, and give the Fed the economic clarity it’s been waiting for.

Then we’ll move into June, where two catalysts will converge – and ignite a major market rally.

First, we expect a terrible May jobs report. That’s good news. 

Weak jobs data will show the true employment cost of the “Liberation Day” tariff blitz, which began just after the last payrolls survey.

This will give the Fed every reason it needs to pull the trigger on its first rate cut of 2025 at the June FOMC meeting… or at least provide the sort of post-meeting fireworks we were looking for on Wednesday.

But that’s not all.

As trade deals are signed, pressure will mount on the U.S. and China to come to terms. We believe the nations will announce a framework deal, which would serve as the clearest sign yet that the trade war is winding down.

Then in July, we will get the final piece of the puzzle: tax cuts. 

We expect Congress to finalize a massive tax reform bill extending – and potentially expanding –the 2017 tax cuts. By then, lawmakers will have the cover to push this bill through.

These positive catalysts will lead us into the 2Q earnings season, which kicks off in mid-July. Those reports should reflect easing cost pressures, improved demand visibility, and a surge in forward confidence. As such, we expect strong earnings, better guidance, and reaccelerating growth.

But make no mistake…

The Stock Picker’s Top May Pick

This isn’t a “buy everything and hope for the best” market.

Volatility is the new norm. We’re living in the Age of Chaos

Traditional buy-and-hold strategies don’t work like they used to.

And so, my team and I have developed what we believe is the ultimate stock-picking engine — a quantitative, machine-driven screener that helps you get in, get out, and get paid month after month in this Age of Chaos.

It scans the market for the rarest type of opportunity – stocks that are simultaneously:

• Growing earnings, revenues, and margins.
• Trending up across short- and long-term technicals.
• Getting attention from both analysts and traders.

These are the strongest stocks in the entire market at any given moment.

Then my team and I make the final call on which of those stocks we recommend to our subscribers.

And we’ve stress-tested it.

Over the past five years, it could have returned 1,054% — outpacing the S&P 500 by more than 10X. Even in rough stretches, it’s been able to sidestep crashes and capitalize on rebounds. In 2024, from July through December, while the S&P barely moved, it could have delivered a 24.3% return.

This model doesn’t require you to perform hours of research or constant monitoring. Just 30 minutes a month is enough to follow its signals.

In April, one of the most volatile months in stock market history, the S&P 500 dipped into bear market territory and then clawed its way back out to a just under 1% loss.

At the same time, one of this tool’s picks was Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM). In April, it took off for a 13.4% gain.

Our proprietary stock screener picked this aerospace and defense component specialist again earlier this month… and we agreed. So far in May, HWM shares are up 6.2% (and the top performer in our portfolio). Meanwhile, the S&P is up less than 2%.

We took this tool out of the “lab” and started using it live in June 2024. Since then, we’ve put it to the test in 10 monthly portfolios.

And with results like I just showed you with Howmet, it’s no surprise that this quant screener has, in six of those months, handily beat the market… and tied it once.

To show you what else this tool can do, I’ve participated in an event where I show you a lot more about how this tool works. It’s free to viewers.

Go here to watch it now.

Sincerely, 

Luke Lango

Senior Analyst, InvestorPlace

Bill Gates, worth over $100 billion, plans to leave his three children less than 1% of his vast fortune. While that still amounts to millions per child, it’s a surprisingly small fraction of what the Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) cofounder could give.

Gates’ explanation is straightforward: “It wouldn’t be a favor to them.” Instead of creating a “dynasty,” Gates says he wants the younger Gates—Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe—to forge their own paths. We’ll get into his reasoning, along with where the rest of his wealth will go, below.

How Much Is Bill Gates Worth?

Gates amassed his fortune primarily through Microsoft, the software company he co-founded with Paul Allen in 1975. Microsoft rapidly became the world’s largest software maker, helping to launch the personal computing industry. Gates became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire at age 32 in 1987, following Microsoft’s initial public offering and the explosive growth of its Windows operating system. Gates hasn’t been at Microsoft since 2000, when he stepped down from its board.

As of April 2025, Gates’ net worth is estimated to be $107.7 billion, making him the 13th richest person in the world. Gates has diversified his portfolio through Cascade Investment, his private holding company. Cascade manages stakes in dozens of public and private companies, including Canadian National Railway, Deere & Co., Ecolab, and real estate and energy assets.

The Philosophy Behind Limited Inheritance

In a 2025 interview on the “Figuring Out” podcast with Raj Shamani, Gates made his reasoning for leaving choice of how much to leave his children clear: “My kids got a great upbringing, education, but less than 1% of the total wealth because I decided it wouldn’t be a favor to them. It’s not a dynasty. I’m not asking them to run Microsoft.”

Gates said he’d like to leave them the freedom to forge their own paths. “I want to give them a chance to have their own earnings and success, be significant and not overshadowed by the incredible luck and good fortune I had,” he said.

Where the Rest Will Go: The Gates Foundation

The vast majority of Gates’ wealth is directed toward the Gates Foundation (formerly the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). The foundation held $75.2 billion in its endowment as of December 2023 (the most recent public figures).

Established in 2000, the foundation focuses primarily on global health, education, and poverty reduction initiatives. The foundation has donated billions to combat diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS, and polio.

Bottom Line

Bill Gates says he’s leaving less than 1% of his fortune to his children because it would do them more harm than good. But he also says he wants to prioritize the global impact his money can have for the causes that are his foundation’s focus. “The highest calling for these resources is to go back to the neediest through the foundation,” he said.

A wedding is meant to be a special, joyous occasion. However, the financial planning required for such a momentous day can feel a little less magical. According to a wedding study by The Knot, the national average cost of a wedding in 2025 is $33,000.

Daunting as it may seem, thoughtful budgeting and planning can ease the financial stress of wedding planning.

It’s common knowledge that weddings have become expensive galas. The fact that the average age of first marriages continues to climb might have something to do with that financial investment. While the expectation of a lavish event is hard to escape, there are still ways to host a successful wedding without breaking the bank.

What I’m Telling My Clients

Just like with buying a house, a savings plan should be in place before anyone starts planning a wedding. Even with cutting corners and reducing costs, spending upwards of $10,000 is not hard.

In most cases, it’s good to begin with a total budget and work backward. For those who work with a wedding planner, presenting a spending cap will give that person a blueprint for piecing together your ceremony or reception. If the total is $20,000 and the dream venue costs $15,000, you know that everything else needs to be found via bargain shopping or the venue has to be reconsidered.

Finding ways to save is often the secret to a successful wedding. I encourage my clients to consider the following:

• Search for an affordable venue owned by a family or a friend.
• Set aside extra money for the most important things to you, such as catering, wedding attire, or photography.
• Check venue prices during the off-season and try to negotiate the cost if you’re looking at a date that’s atypical for weddings. Cheaper months tend to be December and January.

The Bottom Line

If you want a semi-traditional wedding, you have to plan on spending a little money. As long as you save and track down every available bargain, you can set a sensible budget and stick to it. The average cost of a wedding might be high, but you can find ways to manage it financially and still have the day you always dreamed of.

Editor’s note: “How to Build Wealth in a Volatile Stock Market” was previously published in March 2025 with the title, “Beyond the Ups and Downs: Building Wealth in a Volatile Stock Market.” It has since been updated to include the most relevant information available.

The stock market has been on quite the roller coaster ride since Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47^th President of the United States.

For about a month, stocks were flat. But it turns out that that was the calm before the storm.

With the threat of hefty tariffs looming large, investors feared that President Trump would ignite a global trade war and began selling stocks in droves. From mid-February to mid-March, the S&P 500 dropped 10% in 20 days. 

And, of course, upon the rollout of his “Liberation Day” tariffs, Trump did indeed start a global trade war on April 2. This sparked a 10% market crash in just two days – its fifth-worst two-day crash ever.

But just as fast as stocks crashed, they recovered.

When Trump issued a 90-day pause on tariffs just one week after they were announced, the S&P rallied 9.5% in a single day. Then, stocks rallied 13% in 17 days – including the market’s best nine-day win streak in 100 years – as Trump issued exemption after exemption on various tariffs. 

This has been arguably the most volatile and violent stock market ever. And given that Trump has been the trigger – and that he will be in the White House for the next four years – investors are naturally asking themselves:

Is this intense volatility Wall Street’s ‘new normal’?

It may be… 

A Bumpy Ride Higher: Why We Expect Stock Market Uncertainty to Continue

Don’t get me wrong. I think stocks are going higher over the next few years. 

We’re somewhere in the middle of the AI Boom. Tech booms like these tend to last five to six years or longer. Just look at the Dot Com Boom, which started in 1995 and lasted through 1999 – five years of strong gains. The Nasdaq Composite rose about 582% during that time, while the S&P nearly tripled. 

This AI Boom started in 2023. I think we have another two to three years of exceptional growth left in AI stocks. And that growth should drive the whole market higher.

However… I don’t think it’ll be a smooth ride higher…  

Largely because of U.S. President Donald Trump, who promises to change a lot of things. 

He wants to renegotiate trade deals and restructure global trade, rethink America’s global military presence, and cut federal spending. He wants to reduce taxes, expand America’s borders, and reshore manufacturing activity, among other things. 

Clearly, he aims to change a lot. 

Now, I won’t offer an argument as to whether these proposed changes are good, bad, or neutral. 

But I will state the obvious: It’s a lot of change. And change is uncomfortable – especially for investors… 

Because change equals uncertainty. That doesn’t mean this policy shakeup won’t push stocks higher in the long term. It may. 

It simply means that, along the way, stocks will continue to be volatile – just like they’ve been over the past few months.

Chairman and CEO Randall Atkins sits down with Global Finance to discuss the company’s entry into the sector.

When Nasdaq-listed, Kentucky-headquartered metallurgical coal developer Ramaco Resources announced in 2023 that it discovered rare earth elements in its Wyoming coal mine—where they weren’t expected—the developer became the latest participant in the estimated $7.2 billion rare earths market. The company, which posted $11.2 million in net profit on $666.3 million in revenue in 2024, plans to begin pilot production and processing of rare earth metals later this year.

Global Finance: It sounds like Ramaco Resources had a happy accident discovering rare earth elements in its Brook Mine project in Wyoming.

Randall Atkins: It was certainly a surprise. The way that the discovery evolved is that we were doing various research with the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) on carbon products that could be made from the carbon within coal.

And part of NETL’s directive, I guess it goes back to about 2017 or 2018, was that the [US] Department of Defense had tasked them to discover where rare earth and critical minerals might be able to be found in the continental US because the Defense Department is concerned about supply lines of rare earths based on China’s dominance in the space.

They had asked us for coal core samples from our mine in Wyoming and, of course, from mines in West Virginia and Virginia. They did the same for several other mining groups, certainly not us specifically.

About a year later, they came back saying, “We’ve analyzed these [samples] pretty thoroughly, and we think we have discovered that you, in your deposit in Wyoming, may have some of the highest concentrations of medium and heavy rare earths that we’ve seen anywhere outside of Western China.”

GF: Has the latest round of tariffs changed the economics of developing this site?

Atkins: Well, it certainly has in the short term and likely will in the longer term. So, since the tariffs were announced, China has imposed an embargo on selling all rare earth elements that might have potential dual civilian and military use to the US.

We have about seven rare earth elements and critical minerals at the top of our list, and five of those seven have now been banned from export by China. As part of that ban, their prices have increased because people can’t get their hands on them.

GF: Ramaco is focusing on the heavier metals that China no longer exports to the US?

Atkins: We’re focusing on the medium and heavy rare earths. I mean, I’ll give you some names: neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium. Those are the four primary rare earths; the primary critical minerals are gallium, germanium and scandium. Those are the seven that we have and that we’re focused on. However, we have about 11 additional rare earths. Things like cerium, gadolinium, yttrium, et cetera, that are not as valuable as the seven that I first named.

GF: Can private industry develop the necessary infrastructure to process these ores independently, or is a public-private partnership needed?

Atkins: We were involved with NETL in discovering this. We have had conversations with the [US] government about other ways that they might get involved as we go further up the development chain, either from partnering with us in some fashion financially as we develop the processing or getting involved somehow in the procurement through the Defense Department, which is trying to establish new supply lines.

GF: Does this give you pause to see if you have thrown away rare earths from other mines?

Atkins: Yeah, great point. And indeed, NETL and others have looked at various coal seams across the country, and there has been discussion about finding rare earths in coal ash from power plants or acid mine drainage, without the need to extract new coal. Of course, the short answer to your question is no, we did not find rare earth in our other deposits back in the East … nor has anybody else, in sufficient concentration in those coal seams to make it economic.

GF: Where does Ramaco fit in the mine-to-magnet supply chain?

Atkins: Think of the supply chain as a food chain: once the ore is extracted from the ground in its raw form, it’s then beneficiated and processed into a concentrate. The concentrate then has all the elements mixed together. The next step is to separate the rare earth from the concentrate to make oxides, which are used to make metals.

The long answer is “Yes.” We will look at the possibility of taking this from mine to magnets because of the size of the overall deposit. We could also potentially go from mine to semiconductors because we could make semiconductor wafers. In addition to the rare earths, we have three critical minerals, which are now banned from exporting by China, gallium, germanium, and scandium, that can be used in the semiconductor process. So, given the size of what we’ve got over some time, certainly not on day one, we will try to take it as far up the value chain as we can.

GF: How long will it take to develop the necessary processing capabilities?

Atkins: We have been working on this with the Fluor Corporation for about a year and a half to identify the appropriate flow sheet and the refining models that would be used. And indeed, they’re in the process of designing the pilot plant.

So, what we will do from a development standpoint is we’ll start large-scale mining in June, and the larger material will then be used in a pilot plant, which we will start in August or September. Hopefully, we’ll have the pilot facility start the initial processing by the end of the year. That will run for a better part of a year. We plan to transition from the pilot to a full-scale commercial facility by the end of 2026. That would probably take about a year and a half to construct. So, we’re looking at probably the second half of 2028 before we would be in commercial production. Still, given the magnitude of what we would be building, that’s a reasonably quick timeframe.

The states with the highest 30-year new purchase mortgage rates Thursday were Alaska, West Virginia, Maryland, South Dakota, Maine, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Wyoming. The range of rate averages for these eight priciest states was 7.00% to 7.08%.

Every other state, plus Washington, D.C., had a Thursday 30-year rate average below 7%. The cheapest of these were New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Oregon. The eight lowest-rate states registered averages between 6.73% and 6.92%.

Mortgage rates vary by the state where they originate. Different lenders operate in different regions, and rates can be influenced by state-level variations in credit score, average loan size, and regulations. Lenders also have varying risk management strategies that influence the rates they offer.

Since rates vary widely across lenders, it’s always smart to shop around for your best mortgage option and compare rates regularly, no matter the type of home loan you seek.

National Mortgage Rate Averages

Following a two-day drop, 30-year new purchase mortgages inched up a minor 4 basis points Thursday, to a national average of 6.95%. That’s still better than mid-April, when rates surged 44 basis points in a week to average 7.14%—the most expensive level since May 2024.

In March, however, 30-year rates sank to 6.50%, their cheapest average of 2025. And in September, 30-year rates plunged to a two-year low of 5.89%.

National Averages of Lenders’ Best Mortgage Rates
Loan Type	New Purchase
30-Year Fixed	6.95%
FHA 30-Year Fixed	7.37%
15-Year Fixed	6.01%
Jumbo 30-Year Fixed	6.92%
5/6 ARM	7.27%
Provided via the Zillow Mortgage API

Calculate monthly payments for different loan scenarios with our Mortgage Calculator.

What Causes Mortgage Rates to Rise or Fall?

Mortgage rates are determined by a complex interaction of macroeconomic and industry factors, such as:

• The level and direction of the bond market, especially 10-year Treasury yields
• The Federal Reserve’s current monetary policy, especially as it relates to bond buying and funding government-backed mortgages
• Competition between mortgage lenders and across loan types

Because any number of these can cause fluctuations simultaneously, it’s generally difficult to attribute any change to any one factor.

Macroeconomic factors kept the mortgage market relatively low for much of 2021. In particular, the Federal Reserve had been buying billions of dollars of bonds in response to the pandemic’s economic pressures. This bond-buying policy is a major influencer of mortgage rates.

But starting in November 2021, the Fed began tapering its bond purchases downward, making sizable monthly reductions until reaching net zero in March 2022.

Between that time and July 2023, the Fed aggressively raised the federal funds rate to fight decades-high inflation. While the fed funds rate can influence mortgage rates, it doesn’t directly do so. In fact, the fed funds rate and mortgage rates can move in opposite directions.

But given the historic speed and magnitude of the Fed’s 2022 and 2023 rate increases—raising the benchmark rate 5.25 percentage points over 16 months—even the indirect influence of the fed funds rate has resulted in a dramatic upward impact on mortgage rates over the last two years.

The Fed maintained the federal funds rate at its peak level for almost 14 months, beginning in July 2023. But in September, the central bank announced a first rate cut of 0.50 percentage points, and then followed that with quarter-point reductions in November and December.

For its third meeting of the new year, however, the Fed opted to hold rates steady—and it’s possible the central bank may not make another rate cut for months. With a total of eight rate-setting meetings scheduled per year, that means we could see multiple rate-hold announcements in 2025.

How We Track Mortgage Rates

The national and state averages cited above are provided as is via the Zillow Mortgage API, assuming a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 80% (i.e., a down payment of at least 20%) and an applicant credit score in the 680–739 range. The resulting rates represent what borrowers should expect when receiving quotes from lenders based on their qualifications, which may vary from advertised teaser rates. © Zillow, Inc., 2025. Use is subject to the Zillow Terms of Use.