Author: Money Mechanics

Keysight Technologies has seen its share price run higher recently, with its last earnings report delivering the stock a big gain. The company is winning business from two of the world’s most important industries: AI and defense. Even with improving fundamentals, the stock’s valuation leaves less room for execution missteps if growth moderates. is a somewhat under-the-radar technology stock benefiting significantly from multiple converging tailwinds. The company is seeing growing demand from both artificial intelligence (AI) and defense markets, two of the world’s hottest industries. Interest from these markets has helped Keysight shares soar more than 80% over the past…

As per a new report from reinsurance broker Gallagher Re, the severe convective storm (SCS) outbreak that swept across the central and eastern United States between March 15 to 16 is expected to generate around $1 billion in industry losses, marking the second billion-dollar plus industry US SCS event to occur within the span of a single week.According to the broker’s report, the latest SCS outbreak was accompanied by historic late-season snowfall across the Northern Plains and Midwest. As highlighted, Gallagher Re expects insured losses from the event to settle at a minimum of around $1 billion, with the potential…

“In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Can you name who popularized that quote?Whether or not you can, you might be feeling deathly sick of taxes.Between navigating the 2025 Trump tax bill provisions and all new state tax changes, the 2026 tax season has proven to be a masterclass in fiscal endurance.Article continues below From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues CLICK FOR FREE ISSUE Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters Profit and prosper…

Oil prices are in the news thanks to the geopolitical conflict unfolding in the Middle East. That’s pushed longer-term trends in the energy sector into the background. But the multi-decade shift from dirtier to cleaner energy sources is still underway. Here are three investments that let you take advantage of that shift in March. TotalEnergies (NYSE: TTE) is an integrated energy giant that will benefit from rising oil and natural gas prices. That’s not very “green,” but the company stands out from its peers in an important way. It is using cash from its carbon fuel operations to build a…

U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON DC 20585 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 10, 2026 U.S. energy market indicators 2025 2026 2027 Brent crude oil spot price (dollars per barrel) $69 $79 $64 Retail gasoline price (dollars per gallon) $3.10 $3.34 $3.18 U.S. crude oil production (million barrels per day) 13.6 13.6 13.8 Natural gas price at Henry Hub (dollars per million British thermal units) $3.53 $3.76 $3.85 U.S. liquefied natural gas gross exports (billion cubic feet per day) …

More downside as interest rates continue to rise. The US 2-Year Treasury is up 9 bps to 3.93%, a level not seen since January ’25. The US 10-Year is also up 9bps to 4.38%, a level we last saw in July ’25. International rates are following, with Canada +9bps, Germany +7bps, the UK +16bps. This appears to be due to inflation fears, as the realization that even if the Iran situation is ended soon, energy markets will likely be in disarray for several months. Higher rates are problematic for the struggling housing market and will add costs to the heavy…

Ekaterina Demidova/Moment via Getty ImagesFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysCompanies are exploring AI agents in multiple ways.Professionals must consider how to exploit these technologies.Measurement, collaboration, and experimentation are key.AI agents will impact every professional role. If your company hasn’t started using agents yet, it will soon, either through off-the-shelf software products or in-house tools that draw on large language models and data sources.Professionals exploring how to use agents in their roles are well-advised to seek best-practice guidance. One such source of information is Joel Hron, CTO at Thomson Reuters Labs, who is helping the information services company…

(World Oil) – Energy and natural resources (ENR) executives remain divided on the pace of the energy transition and the timing of peak oil demand, as policy uncertainty, cost pressures and shifting market dynamics reshape investment strategies, according to Bain & Company’s 2026 industry survey. The survey, which gathered responses from more than 800 executives across oil and gas, utilities, chemicals, mining and agribusiness, highlights a growing divergence in how companies are allocating capital between traditional hydrocarbons and transition-oriented technologies. Despite ongoing decarbonization efforts, most executives still expect global oil demand to rise for at least the next decade. However, views on…

The daily average mortgage rate rose to a six-month high of 6.53% on March 20.  Mortgage rates are jumping because the Iran war is escalating, increasing the likelihood that oil prices will stay higher longer, and because of the Fed’s reaction to it.  News broke on March 20 that the U.S. is sending thousands more troops to the Persian Gulf, pointing to a prolonged conflict and propping up oil prices. A brief spike in oil prices would not affect Fed policy or interest rates significantly; the Fed ignores that kind of inflation because their policy tools don’t impact oil prices.…

Anthropic submitted two sworn declarations to a California federal court late Friday afternoon, pushing back on the Pentagon’s assertion that the AI company poses an “unacceptable risk to national security” and arguing that the government’s case relies on technical misunderstandings and claims that were never actually raised during the months of negotiations that preceded the dispute. The declarations were filed alongside Anthropic’s reply brief in its lawsuit against the Department of Defense and come ahead of a hearing this coming Tuesday, March 24, before Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco. The dispute traces back to late February, when President Trump…