Brad Smith

Brad Smith · Host In This Article As the California wildfires continue to blaze on — projected to cause $150 billion in

Brad Smith · Host In This Article Brad Smith analyzes the top calls of the day, focusing on Wayfair ( W ), D-Wave ( QBTS ), and Constellation Brands.

TikTok argues its case against a nationwide ban in front of the US Supreme Court, saying a ban threatens the First Amendment. The social media platform pleads its case before the January 19 deadline for the divest-or-ban to take effect. CNET technology reporter Abrar Al-Heeti joins Brad Smith on Wealth to discuss what users should expect as a TikTok ban looms. "Come January 19th, if TikTok gets banned, it's not going to magically disappear from your device," Al-Heeti explains. "Instead, you won't be getting updates, which means that over time, it becomes more laggy and then eventually unusable." She notes that Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google will be fined if TikTok and updates are available on their app stores. Al-Heeti suggests saving videos on your that you want to keep, whether you posted them or another user, from the platform. She adds that Meta's (META) Instagram Reels have been a "strong TikTok competitor" and could be an alternate platform for users to shift to, while Snapchat (SNAP) could be another option. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

Wall Street is abuzz Friday morning as experts listen closely for the latest jobs report: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported an addition

Brad Smith · Host On today's installment of Wealth, Brad Smith covers a variety of market stories and speaks to professionals about the biggest things affecting your personal finances.

The final jobs report of 2024 showed the US economy added more jobs than expected and the rate of unemployment declined. LinkedIn career expert Andrew McCaskill joins Wealth Host Brad Smith to talk about current job market dynamics. McCaskill says people applying to jobs are facing a "competitive" market, but "The good news is that there's a lot of opportunity for to have new experiences, travel, and lived experiences have made a triumphant return" as the artificial intelligence (AI) related job market has rapidly expanded. "There's opportunities for folks with degrees because people are prioritizing skills over degrees right now. There are opportunities for people without those college degrees ... There's really a balance between tech innovation and human connection. And that's what makes this job market so dynamic." Watch the video above to learn about how AI has changed the job market, what skills employers are looking to hire, and more. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

Over a quarter of Americans (27%) are reported to not have an emergency fund, according to a Bankrate survey from last May. It's never too late to begin financial planning for emergencies, but what are some easy strategies to help get started? Mitlin Financial founder Lawrence Sprung sits down in-studio with Brad Smith to outline his guide for establishing and building an emergency fund, starting with accounting for what one's month-by-month needs are. "Create a budget that includes a monthly amount that's going to go towards that emergency fund until you've built that up," the Financial Planning Made Personal: Learn How to Create Joy and the Mindset of Success author says. Finding what that number is highly "[dependent on] your life facts and circumstances," with some people feeling the need to plan for 3 to 6 months and even up to 12 to 18 months for others. Watch the video above to hear the rest of Lawrence Sprung's steps in building up an emergency fund account. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

Budgeting remains a top priority for Americans in 2025, with 42% focusing on debt reduction, 21% saving for major purchases, and 14% planning for retirement, according to a report from the Certified Financial Planner Board (CFP). To discuss the best budgeting strategies for 2025, Break Your Budget founder Michela Allocca joins Wealth. Allocca emphasizes that the foundation of effective budgeting begins with "taking a financial snapshot." She advises individuals to "audit" their financial accounts and "understand your paycheck deductions and cash flow" while carefully evaluating monthly spending patterns. For budget structuring, she advocates for a "zero-based, three-bucket" approach that "allocates every dollar of income" across three categories: essentials, non-essentials, and financial goal expenses. To maintain budget adherence, Allocca recommends establishing "a weekly money date." This involves dedicating 10 minutes each week to updating expenses, tracking numbers, reviewing spending patterns, comparing actual spending against the original budget, and making adjustments as needed. "It's super, super normal for your budget to change, for your priorities to change, for things to come up. And I think what a lot of people struggle with is, once one small thing goes awry, they completely throw their budget to the wind, and they say, 'I'll do it again next month.' But ... you should just make some small adjustments; you can make some tweaks and realign your spending, realign your budget, and that will really help with actually sticking to the original plan," she tells Yahoo Finance. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. This post was written by Angel Smith

The gig economy and the emergence of part-time jobs will continue to grow and shape the future of work in 2025. These "side hustles" offer opportunities to adapt to high living costs or supplement retirement income through platforms like TaskRabbit. TaskRabbit CEO Ania Smith joins the conversation on Wealth and highlights some of the emerging gig economy trends shaping the future. Smith says that, on average, the earning potential for TaskRabbit gig workers (called Taskers) is around $48 per hour. "About a third of our Taskers are working on the platform full time, but many people come in and do it full time for the summer maybe, or do it full time for a couple of months when they're in between other opportunities," Smith explains. Smith sees several new developments emerging for the gig economy in the future. In particular, she says, "I think the next trend is really the expansion of the gig economy in terms of the types of jobs, so more creativity and more different types of jobs." To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. This post was written by Josh Lynch

LinkedIn career expert Andrew McCaskill joins Brad Smith on Wealth to share his top tips for job seekers. "You are not going to get a job in this economy through osmosis. So you've got to have a game plan," McCaskill tells Yahoo Finance. "Number one, identify your transferable skills. Switching industries is not starting over. Keep in mind you can use things like LinkedIn Learning tools and courses to help you develop those skills that you have, talk about your current skills differently, and really jump into the game," which "signals to [hiring managers] that you really are thinking about these roles," he outlines. Secondly, McCaskill says "Increase your visibility" by making sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date to reach out to your network and join some career and industry groups to gain some new connections: "Highlight your skills, get on the platform and start to interact, interact and engage. Talk to your network about the fact that you're in the market, and make sure that they know what to say about you to potential hires and that they're making connections for you." "Finally, you got to speak the language of the industry that you're trying to be, that you're trying to break into," he says. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.