Author: Money Mechanics

In early September, I began hearing from readers all across the country who had the same question: “Should I drop my current policy with Farmers Insurance and go with some other company?”This was the first time in decades that so many people had the same question about one insurance company. The last time was in the early 1990s, in reference to Executive Life Insurance Company in California and New York. They were among the largest failures of life insurance companies in U.S. history.Prior to their crashes, I wrote a column about them, and to anyone who asked, my advice was…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Specialist UK bank Close Brothers has nearly doubled the amount it has set aside to cover payouts from the car finance mis-selling scandal to £300mn, following a ruling from the UK financial regulator.Close Brothers said on Tuesday that it expected to take an additional charge of £135mn, in addition to an initial provision of £165mn.It noted that the final cost could be “materially higher or lower depending on the outcome of the consultation and any further legal, regulatory or industry developments”.The extra…

The market was seen trading marginally lower in the early Tuesday trading session as OPEC expects supply increases to ease deficit projections. Precious metals edged higher yesterday, with reaching yet another record high, driven by US-China trade uncertainty and continued ETF inflows Energy – OPEC Sees Smaller Oil Supply Deficit in 2026 Oil prices are trading almost flat this morning, with the market focused on Friday’s Trump-Putin meeting. OPEC’s expectations of increasing output to ease a supply shortfall next year further weighed on prices. In its monthly oil market report, OPEC left its global oil demand growth forecasts largely unchanged…

The Stargate AI data center under construction in Abilene, Texas, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. Stargate is a collaboration of OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank, with promotional support from President Donald Trump, to build data centers and other infrastructure for artificial intelligence throughout the US. Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesFor decades, global real estate revolved around what could be seen — gleaming office towers, shopping malls, and trophy hotels, but that has increasingly shifted to “invisible” property: cloud and data centers.”The world of real estate is changing from what I’d call the ‘visible’ to the ‘invisible,'” said Kishore…

Goldman Sachs has agreed to acquire Industry Ventures, a 25-year-old, San Francisco-based investment firm with $7 billion in assets under management, CNBC was first to report on Monday. The deal underscores the growing importance of secondary markets and buyouts as traditional venture exits remain sluggish. The investment bank is paying $665 million in cash and equity, with up to $300 million more tied to the firm’s performance through 2030, according to a release from Goldman. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year, and all 45 Industry Ventures employees are expected to join Goldman. We’ve…

(Oil and Gas 360) – Energy Advisors released its 3Q A&D Special Report as a continuation of our thought leadership efforts. According to Brian Lidsky, Director of Energy Advisors, “following a volatile 2Q for oil & gas prices, 3Q stabilized with spot oil up 2% to $65.78 and spot gas dipping 2% to $3.03. P/E selling slowed to just 15% of deal value, down from ~50% in the prior three quarters. Public E&Ps continue consolidating. Natural gas and PDP deals are gaining momentum. In an environment where all things AI are grabbing headlines, we’re seeing increasing participation from a broader buyer profile including…

(Reuters) -Several cargoes of BHP iron ore were put up for sale in China on Thursday and at least one was sold to a local trader, potentially defusing concerns in Australia that Beijing had imposed a ban on iron ore sales from the world’s biggest miner. BHP sold a 170,000-metric-ton cargo to a Chinese trader on Thursday, the first day of trading after China’s week-long national holiday, according to two traders with direct knowledge of the matter. The cargo was paid for in dollars, they said. The same day, the Shanghai branch of China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) – set…

Ledger Investing, the insurance technology (insurtech) and insurance-linked securities (ILS) focused company, has announced the hiring of Ryan Saul as Managing Director, Reinsurance and Capital Markets at Ledger Capital Markets, LLC.Ledger Capital Markets, LLC is the SEC registered broker-dealer unit of the company and also a Member of FINRA and SIPC. Ryan Saul has worked in reinsurance and capital markets, having begun his career as a broker in 2000 and since then worked in both reinsurance broking and insurance investment organisations. Most recently, Saul spent over 4 years working at reinsurance broker BMS Re as a Senior Vice President focused…

The data cited record-high price-to-rent ratios, slowing price growth and affordability concerns. It also noted that while a cooling of home prices is expected, a “precipitous drop anywhere in the near time future” is not projected. Even so, the headline labeling Miami as world’s No. 1 bubble market drew sharp reactions from local industry voices — including Ana Bozovic, founder of Analytics Miami, and Tim Weisheyer, president of Florida Realtors. Each of them told HousingWire that the UBS assessment ignores key realities — from the region’s uniquely high share of all-cash transactions to strong job growth and domestic wealth migration.…

Mandy Xu ▬ October 13, 2025 Link to Report: Macro Volatility DigestWHAT STANDS OUT:US option volumes broke records on Friday after US-China trade tensions re-ignited, with over 108M contracts trading across products. SPX® options also set a new record, with 6.4M contracts trading (exceeding the previous high of 6.0M set on April 4th), with 0DTE options making up 60% share. VIX® options surged as well, with volumes running 3x its 20-day average.Despite the record activity, there was little panic in the market, as seen by VIX index levels that remain fairly pedestrian by historical standards. The increase in implied volatility…