Happy Friday, MarketWatchers! Here are the top personal finance stories of the day.
Personal Finance
Where to buy your toys now that Toys ‘R’ Us is gone
You may not expect to find toys at some of these places.
As jobs growth continues, these cities have added the most jobs
A boom in certain industries means that some parts of the country are seeing remarkable job growth.
7 ways to keep your smart home from being hacked
How to protect your connected TV, refrigerator, baby monitor and light bulbs.
The unexpected link between social status and generosity
‘Higher status’ people are even less likely to give money when it was earned.
Harvard University is fighting to keep its secretive admissions process under wraps
The school says releasing the information could put it at a competitive disadvantage.
My husband cashed out his retirement and, after 36 years, filed for divorce
This soon-to-be divorced couple also has $30,000 in credit-card debt and no 401(k).
How I got my landlord to lower my rent—and save me $2,400 over the next year
A confluence of issues led this writer to successfully ask for a rent decrease.
New research claims coffee isn’t bad for you, but should you drink 8 cups a day?
You may be able to drink multiple cups of coffee a day without serious health risks.
This 29-year-old couple lives, works and travels in a van, and they love it
They talk about the highs, lows and financial realities of #vanlife.
What testosterone does to men’s preferences for luxury brands
Men chose between Calvin Klein and Levi’s in one part of a study on the male hormone.
Elsewhere on MarketWatch
Congress headed toward approving adding strength to block foreign investments in U.S.
A bill awaiting final congressional approval would beef up a Treasury program’s ability to review foreign investments for national security threats, especially related to intellectual property — a measure that experts say is largely aimed at China
Jobs report is ‘perfect’ for the Fed’s interest-rate plans
The June jobs report will allow the Federal Reserve to continue on course for a gradual pace of rate hikes, analysts said.
Workers still not earning big pay raises despite 4% unemployment. Here’s why.
The wait for American workers to finally see big increases in their pay goes on. There’s jobs aplenty, but paychecks aren’t much bigger.
Trump Scoreboard still showing better numbers on jobs than wages as total hiring tops 3 million for the presidency
The latest update to the Trump Scoreboard continues to shows more progress on adding new jobs than boosting wages of the already employed.
The unemployment rate rose for a good reason — 601,000 workers searching for jobs
Here’s how economists and other analysts reacted to the June jobs report released Friday morning.
America should respond to China with a ‘second Sputnik moment’
“Made in China 2025” should be another “Sputnik moment” for America.
Trade-war tracker: Here are the new levies, imposed and threatened
As rhetoric on global trade ratchets higher, here’s a look at what new tariffs have been imposed and what has been threatened.
Trump says he would subject Elizabeth Warren to ancestry test if they ever debated
President Donald Trump said Thursday if he were ever to debate Sen. Elizabeth Warren he would subject her to ancestry test.
Has Big Tech gotten too big for our own good?
The prosperity of the U.S. has always depended on its ability to harness economic growth to technology-driven innovation. But right now Big Tech is as much a part of the problem as it is a part of the solution.
U.S. adds 213,000 jobs in June, but wage gains soft and unemployment rises to 4%
The U.S. created 213,000 new jobs in June, another hearty gain that shows companies are finding ways to fill open jobs despite a dwindling pool of skilled workers. In a surprise, though, the unemployment rate rose to 4% from 3.8%.