Author: Money Mechanics

(Oil & Gas 360) By Greg Barnett, MBA – Devon Energy’s merger with Coterra Energy may represent the company’s most consequential strategic shift in more than a decade, but reinvention is hardly new for Devon.   Over the past thirty years, the company has repeatedly reshaped itself alongside changing commodity cycles, basin economics, and investor preferences. The newly combined Devon now appears positioned for another transition — this time toward a more concentrated, oil-weighted Delaware Basin model focused on free cash flow generation, portfolio rationalization, and shareholder returns. That evolution has been long and at times dramatic. Devon was once…

Article published at 9:35 a.m. CTJJ Kinahan is Senior Vice President, Head of Retail Expansion and Alternative Investment Products at Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe).Key Takeaways:Investors await progress reports on U.S./Iran negotiationsPCE data on Thursday to offer insight on inflation directionAlan Greenspan, long-respected Fed chair, diesInvestors appear to be hanging on the sidelines in the early going Monday as they await news of the progress of negotiations in the Middle East, which were paused over the weekend amid reports of escalating tensions and sharp rhetoric between the U.S. and Iran.By morning, however, Iran said all-night talks were promising toward reaching…

Adventure across Portugal.gettyNot everyone who retires overseas spends years searching for the perfect destination. Sometimes, a place simply feels right.That was the case for British journalist Stephen Powell. What began as time spent in Portugal eventually turned into something more permanent. Today, he lives near Tavira in the Algarve, where he has purchased a home, become part of the local community, and embraced a lifestyle that convinced him to stay for good.The Start Of A JourneyIn the early 90s, Stephen got the opportunity to go to Portugal to be a correspondent in Lisbon. “At this point, I had been away…

Disappointed with the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, I decided in 2023 to reinvent the index to reflect the changing nature of the U.S. economy. I kept 11 of the Dow’s 30 components and added some choices from among personal favorites, old 10 Best lists and the Wired Index, concocted by the tech magazine in 1998.Top 30 is beating expectations. Over the past 12 months, it returned 27%, compared with 24% for the Dow itself. Total cumulative return for three years: 69% for Top 30, 54% for the Dow.Investing lessons from the Top 30Performance, however, isn’t the only…

As the nation braces for a sweltering summer in 2026, homeowners and residential builders are already facing a critical shortage of skilled labor.But now, AI data centers are seemingly acting as a vacuum, sucking up licensed electricians and HVAC technicians away from the residential sector, which could prove detrimental to homeowners and homebuilders.Another issue is that the influx of temporary workers has strained the housing supply, causing rents and home prices to skyrocket.Abilene, TX, illustrates this upcoming challenge. Stargate, the new 4 million-square-foot AI data center, backed by OpenAi and Oracle, sits on the outskirts of the small West-Central Texas…

Oil prices remain under pressure as Middle East tensions ease and supply concerns fade. Strategic reserve replenishment and seasonal demand could help establish a floor for crude. WTI faces key support near $75, while $79 remains an important resistance zone. Though prices initially gapped higher on the back of weekend news that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed again by Iran, they have since been falling to return to Friday’s levels. This is because the strait hadn’t been fully closed, although ship tracking data pointed to a sharp fall in transits. More to the point, the first round of…

Please enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser or access the information through the links provided below. June 22, 2026 Federal Reserve notes with deep sadness the passing of Alan Greenspan For release at 8:45 a.m. EDT The Federal Reserve notes with deep sadness the passing of Alan Greenspan. Chairman Greenspan served as the 13th Chairman of the Board of Governors from 1987 to 2006, and his contributions to monetary policy and economic thought left a lasting mark on this institution, on the broader field of economics, and on the…

Taylor Swift held a lavish, celebrity-filled bachelorette bash at her iconic Rhode Island mansion—just weeks before she and Travis Kelce are set to exchange vows. The countdown to Swift and Kelce’s wedding is officially on, and this weekend, the “Lover” hitmaker, 36, reportedly welcomed her closest friends to her Rhode Island estate, which is famously nicknamed Holiday House, for a lavish bachelorette celebration, according to TMZ.The outlet reported that several of Swift’s longtime friends arrived at the waterfront property, with fireworks later lighting up the sky above the home as the festivities got underway.Details surrounding Swift and Kelce’s big day…

The largest IPO in history just happened, and it’s barely a week old. Space X (NASDAQ: SPCX), priced at $135, surged past $200 in its first days of trading and is still moving. But according to Luke Lango of InvestorPlace, the more important question isn’t what just happened with SpaceX. It’s what comes next—because two more historic IPOs are on the way before year’s end, and the template for how to play them is already written. Why SpaceX Ran—And What It Signals The explosive opening wasn’t purely conviction. It was mechanics. Only about 5% of the float was tradable at…

Required minimum distributions from traditional IRAs and other qualified retirement accounts do not have to be taken in cash.Annual RMDs must be taken from most qualified retirement accounts beginning when the account holder reaches age 73. Beneficiaries who inherit IRAs and other retirement accounts also might be required to take RMDs. Many people are surprised to learn that RMDs do not haeve to be made in cash. An RMD (or any distribution) can be taken in cash or property. A distribution of property is known as an in-kind distribution. IRA contributions (other than rollover contributions) must be made in cash.…