Author: Money Mechanics

If you’re like many people, your phone is nearly glued to your hand. You use it all day to check emails, shop, browse the internet and maybe even make a call.But have you ever thought that your device could be used to store and share your identification card or driver’s license? Depending on where you live, you may be able to link your ID to your Google Wallet.We’ll share how and where this technology works. Then, you can decide if you want to go digital or keep it old school and continue using your physical ID. From just $107.88 $24.99…

Key Takeaways The U.S. government shutdown entered its 20th day Monday, lengthening an ever-growing list of skipped economic reports.Investors are increasingly in the dark about everything from job creation to grain exports as statistical agencies stay shuttered.Economists see a growing risk that important economic data for October will never be produced. As the government shutdown drags on, the list of skipped economic reports grows longer by the day, leaving the public and policymakers in a data fog.The government shut down Oct. 1 after Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill couldn’t come to a funding agreement. The shutdown closed much…

Key Takeaways A debt-swap deal left Beyond Meat’s stock for dead—before the meme-stock crowd moved in.The shares jumped Monday, the latest indication of some traders’ penchant for risk even as other pockets of Wall Street are growing more cautious. Whatever the investor appetite for meat alternatives is, plenty have a hankering for risk. Shares of Beyond Meat (BYND) show it. Retail investors are crowding into the name, bidding to revive the plant-based burger and sausage maker’s beaten-down stock as a meme. Trading volumes in its shares and options started to surge last week, and are now at multiples of their…

Key Takeaways Analysts at Oppenheimer updated their targets on shares of Alphabet and Meta this weekend, saying they prefer the former to the latter.They cited what they saw as a friendlier valuation on Alphabet’s shares, as well as more conservative Street estimates. You don’t necessarily have to choose between the stocks of two Big Tech giants—but if you must, Oppenheimer has a pick for you. Shares of both Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (META), owner of Facebook and Instagram, have been strong performers this year, outpacing the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS) and the S&P 500. Still,…

Key Takeaways Cleveland-Cliffs shares rocketed higher Monday afternoon after the steelmaker showed interested in mining rare earths, saying that two of its sites show promise.The steelmaker also reported a narrower-than-anticipated quarterly loss. Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) popped 20% Monday afternoon after it shared some news along with its third-quarter earnings: The steelmaker said it wants to get into the rare earths mining business. CEO Lourenco Goncalves said “the renewed importance of rare earths has driven us to re-focus on this potential opportunity at our upstream mining assets.” He added that after looking at its mines, the company believes sites in…

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose more than 2% on Monday to retake the $110,000 level, giving crypto stocks a boost and lifting hopes that this month’s jolt in markets was a speed bump rather than signaling a broader turn in the cycle. “Bitcoin is currently in a re-accumulation phase following its short-term correction, with market sentiment stabilizing and institutional demand remaining resilient,” Linh Tran, market analyst at online broker XS.com, wrote on Monday. Along with bitcoin’s rise, Strategy (MSTR) stock gained more than 4% after the company disclosed it bought 168 bitcoins at an average price of $112,051 between Oct. 13 and…

In-brief analysis October 20, 2025 U.S. natural gas pipeline exports to Mexico averaged 7.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in May 2025, the most of any month on record as Mexico’s demand for natural gas, particularly in the electric power sector, increases. On an annual basis, U.S. natural gas pipeline exports to Mexico averaged 6.4 Bcf/d in 2024, a 25% increase compared with 2019 and the highest on record in data going back as early as 1975. Total consumption of natural gas in Mexico increased from 7.7 Bcf/d to 8.6 Bcf/d during the same…

With rates too high to make buying a home palatable, or even possible, we have a housing market that has been variously described as frozen or sick. What is certain is that many people are depressed about missing out on the interest rates that existed in 2021, and they fear that rates will never get that low again. In the movie “The Firm,” Tom Cruise’s character, Mitch McDeere, is in a Grisham-esque world of hurt, threatened by both the mob and the FBI. He comes up with a plan and tells his wife, Abby, that he doesn’t have a way…

San Francisco is getting a symbolic jolt very soon as newly elected Mayor Daniel Lurie steps onto the Disrupt stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, October 27-29 at Moscone West, in a homecoming of sorts for both tech and the city that helped define it. Disrupt has long been a launchpad for founders and investors chasing the next wave. Lurie’s visit signals a renewed effort to weave innovation back into San Francisco’s future. Register now to save up to $444 on your pass, and get 60% off a +1 ticket. Lurie, who campaigned on revitalizing the city’s economy and restoring its…

(Oil Price)- The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States increased by a large 7.36 million barrels in the week ending October 10. Analysts had forecast a much smaller 120,000-barrel build for the week. Today’s build comes after the IEA predicted a smaller global oil demand growth estimate for this year, along with a higher supply growth, which would, according to the agency, result in a rather large supply overhang globally. But crude oil inventories in the United States are not showing signs of an inventory overhang, with net crude oil inventories just 7.9 million…