WSJ Your Money Briefing

Stock market volatility is way down and corporate profits have been strong. But the Wall Street Journal's Ira Iosebashvili says investors have been increasingly moving to hedge against a big downturn.

The Wall Street Journal's Jason Zweig says the number of publicly-traded companies has shrunk by more than half since 1997. That makes it tougher for stock pickers to pick winners.

Most big banks are less likely to fail stress tests conducted by the Federal Reserve. That's because starting this year, the Fed won't flunk a bank purely for qualitative, or subjective reasons, according to the Wall Street Journal's Ryan Tracy.

Many millennials are frequently visiting coffee shops, restaurants and bars, failing to exercise financial discipline. Sarah Berger from Bankrate.com reveals new findings about millennial spending habits.

The Wall Street Journal's James Mackintosh worries that investors are not showing enough skepticism over Amazon.com's plan to buy Whole Foods. He says investor faith in Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' inventiveness provides the main support for the company's stock.

Is this the calm before the storm for the markets? The Wall Street Journal's Daisy Maxey has talked to some investment strategists who suggest ways for investors to hedge against market volatility.

No one likes racking up big credit card charges on a summer vacation. The Wall Street Journal's Veronica Dagher has tips on keeping your vacation costs in check, including the best day to travel and where the best deals are.

If you speculate in a volatile asset, you could lose a lot of money. The Wall Street Journal's Jason Zweig tells about a money manager who mapped about a strategy for investing his own funds in Ethereum, a volatile cryptocurrency.

The Wall Street Journal's Paul Vigna says there's a fight over how bitcoin should function. One side says the virtual currency should be like a commodity while the other side says bitcoin should function like a currency which can be used to settle transactions.

In a speech to manufacturers Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan expressed confidence that a tax overhaul bill will pass this year. But the Wall Street Journal's Richard Rubin says the bill being touted faces numerous hurdles.

The Wall Street Journal's Chris Dieterich says that high-flying tech stocks are in so many different types of funds that it makes it difficult to diversify a portfolio. That could make even low-volatility funds vulnerable in bouts of selling.

Amazon.com's 13.7 billion dollar purchase of Whole Foods pushes the online retailer much deeper into the grocery business. The Wall Street Journal's Dan Gallagher says it also gets Amazon much closer to customers in terms of delivering its products.

In the last three years, nine states have eliminated or lowered their estate taxes, mostly by raising exemptions. The Wall Street Journal's Laura Saunders says states are cutting these taxes to court affluent and wealthy taxpayers.

Wall Street Journal travel columnist Scott McCartney checks off the carriers offering the best and worst experiences in coach these days.

The Fed hiked interest rates as expected Wednesday, and David Smith of Rockland Trust believes policy makers will move methodically toward a Fed funds rate of 2 percent. That way, the central bank will have a cushion if the economy weakens.