Author: Money Mechanics

A revival of merger and acquisition activity and initial public offerings (IPOs) was firmly on the pro side of the column when Wall Street debated the merits of a second Trump presidency. The first aspect hasn’t come to pass, as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has retained many of the strict Biden-era M&A rules. However, the 2025 IPO market is starting to heat up, led by artificial intelligence startup CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWV). CRWV shares debuted on March 28 and rose from $40 to $170 in less than three months. Most IPOs won’t achieve this type of parabolic success, but investor…

Real personal consumption expenditures (PCE) by state increased in 48 states and the District of Columbia in 2023, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The percent change in real PCE ranged from 7.3 percent in Maine to –0.6 percent in Alabama (table 1). Real personal income increased in 46 states and the District of Columbia in 2023, with the percent change ranging from 6.0 percent in Vermont to –2.0 percent in Iowa. Regional estimates of real PCE and real personal income are the current-dollar estimates adjusted by the corresponding regional price parity (RPP) and…

After a powerful rally, the stock market is now confronting a wall of worry as uncertainty grows amid Fed policy ambiguity, slowing economic growth, sticky , and the ripple effects of President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade war policies. In this environment, investors are seeking refuge in stocks that offer stability and potential upside. Two such companies are AT&T (NYSE:) and Newmont Goldcorp (NYSE:), which offer compelling attributes to weather the current market headwinds. Here’s why these stocks stand strong and what makes them compelling buys in the present-day landscape.1. AT&T: The Reliable Dividend FortressYear-To-Date Performance: +29.3% Market Cap: $210.6 Billion…

I am catching up after my vacation, and have been somewhat struggling to find timely topics to discuss. One of the problems of the Trump administration for me is that the focus of discussion are on political economy topics — and the administration’s actions do not have a whole lot of serious support.Trump gave in to his love of posting tariff rates on social media, and just unloaded another broadside on unfortunate (mainly non-OECD) countries. It remains to be seen how sustainable this round of tariffs will be, but it seems more likely that he can ignore domestic complaints that…

For thousands of years, gold (and to a lesser extent silver) have been mediums of exchange and methods of preserving wealth over time.Throughout 2024 and 2025, gold prices have been surging, driven by a combination of central bank buying, shifts away from U.S. dollar dominance, and a fear of financial exclusion, i.e., “debanking”.Let’s examine why gold is surging, the evolving narrative surrounding gold, Central Banks, and cryptocurrencies.Record-Breaking Price MomentumAccording to the World Gold Council, during the first quarter of 2025, the London PM price of gold averaged US$ $2,860 per ounce, representing a 38 percent annual increase and setting new…

Ahead of India’s budget on February 1st, Narendra Modi asked Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, to bless the poor and the middle class. The prime minister’s request for divine intervention mingled public spirit with political self-interest: frustration about economic growth and joblessness contributed to Mr Modi’s loss of his outright majority in elections held last year. As it turned out, the middle class, rather than the poor, ended up the real winners of the fiscal statement. Nirmala Sitharaman, Mr Modi’s finance minister, announced tax cuts that were worth around 1trn rupees annually ($12bn, or 0.3% of GDP), which was…

Examples of Wine-Related Assets  Stocks ETFs  Mutual Funds  Constellation Brands (STZ) Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC)  Fidelity Select Consumer Staples Portfolio (FDFAX)  Willamette Valley Vineyards (WVVI)  Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF (FSTA)  Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund Admiral Shares (VCSAX)  Anheuser-Busch (BUD) Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund (VEXAX) LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton AdvisorShares Vice ETF (VICE) Dodge & Cox Global Stock Fund (DODWX) The examples above are for illustrative purposes only and are not recommendations. You can also invest through online platforms like Vint, Cult Wine Investment, and CultX. They work like online brokerages:…

On Thursday, ModivCare Inc. MODV jumped 32.14% in after-hours trading to $0.74 per share following the healthcare services company’s announcement of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing paired with a $100 million investment commitment from secured lenders.Check out the current price of MODV stock here. Comprehensive Debt Restructuring Secures Future OperationsThe technology-enabled healthcare services provider filed for voluntary Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas as part of a comprehensive restructuring transaction. More than 90% of First Lien Lenders and over 70% of Second Lien Lenders have entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) with…

The Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that arts and cultural economic activity, adjusted for inflation, increased 6.6 percent in 2023 after increasing 3.8 percent in 2022 (chart 1 and table 1). By comparison, the broader economy, as measured by real gross domestic product (GDP), increased 2.9 percent in 2023 after increasing 2.5 percent in 2022 (chart 1). Arts and cultural economic activity accounted for 4.2 percent of GDP, or $1.17 trillion, in 2023 (tables 2 and 3). Real (inflation-adjusted) value added for core arts and cultural production industries, which…

In-brief analysis August 21, 2025 Alaska has the highest per capita energy expenditures of any state at $12,100, according to our recently published State Energy Data System information for 2023. Wyoming and North Dakota spent the next most on energy at $10,100 and $9,300 per capita, respectively. All three states spent twice as much as the national average of $4,700. Florida had the lowest per capita energy expenditures at $3,700, followed by New York and Maryland at $3,800 each. Differences in economy-wide per capita energy expenditures across states are attributable to weather conditions, economic composition,…