Author: Money Mechanics

Sometimes the best offense is a good defense. That’s what investors seem to be feeling. Technology stocks continue to be under pressure, and that money is flowing into traditionally defensive assets like gold, but there’s increased evidence that this rotation is expanding to include many blue-chip stocks. For example, The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) stock is up more than 10% in February. Does this mean the tech trade is dead? Not likely, innovation may take a breather, but it doesn’t stop. However, much like the dot-com era, investors are wrestling with two competing themes. On one hand, there’s concern over…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the US equities myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Carson Block, one of the world’s best-known short sellers, has said that AI could trigger a stock market upheaval on a scale bigger than the 2008-09 global financial crisis, reopening opportunities for investors who bet against US stocks after years of slim pickings.The founder of investment firm Muddy Waters told the FT that the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence would cause far-reaching economic and market disruption over the next few years, as job market dislocation feeds through to government finances and financial…

In-brief analysis March 23, 2026 Although homes can have a mix of bulbs for indoor lighting, 90% of U.S. households reported using light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, according to the most recent results of the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). Over one-third of households (37%) used LED bulbs for all indoor lighting. In contrast, 5% of households reported using incandescent or halogen bulbs and 2% used compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs for all indoor lighting. With the emergence of more energy-efficient lighting options, indoor lighting trends have changed over time. In 2015, the share of households using…

Iran war developments, PPI data, start of Q1 earnings season will be in focus during the week ahead. Netflix is gearing up for a potential breakout as its Q1 earnings loom. Johnson & Johnson faces a likely stumble with a projected earnings dip in the spotlight. U.S. stocks closed mostly lower on Friday, but the S&P 500 still managed to score its best week since November as traders kept an eye on the fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Source: Investing.com For the week, the benchmark S&P 500 jumped 3.6%, the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3%,…

Catastrophe risk software provider KatRisk has acquired RED, a specialist provider of catastrophe models, including earthquake, flood, landslide, and wind risk models.According to KatRisk, the acquisition of RED accelerates the development of a high-fidelity U.S. earthquake model and strengthens multi-peril catastrophe modeling portfolio for insurers, reinsurers, and financial institutions. The company also revealed that RED’s European earthquake model will be integrated into SpatialKat, allowing clients to seamlessly gain access to earthquake risk data alongside KatRisk’s other perils in the near term. In addition, KatRisk’s existing strengths within flood, tropical cyclone wind, severe convective storm (SCS), and in the near future…

The March 2026 Consumer Price Index of All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) report indicates that inflation increased by 0.9% this month, well above the 0.3% from February. These data were released at 8:30 am EST on April 10, 2026, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Before seasonal adjustment, the year-over-year (Y-o-Y) inflation rate in the all-items index grew by 3.3%, as higher oil prices had a noticeable impact. Despite that, this month’s results missed economists’ consensus estimates. The table below is courtesy of Investing.com. The left column represents March’s figures, while the right column represents forecasters’ expectations. As you can see,…

Easter weekend also sidelined many would-be buyers. The Iran war ceasefire announced Tuesday could ease mortgage rates. U.S. pending home sales fell 2.4% year over year during the four weeks ending April 5, the biggest decline in three months. Sales fell most in Providence, RI (-15.5%), Houston (-15.4%) and New York (-15.3%). They increased most in West Palm Beach, FL (20.9%), San Francisco (16.7%) and San Jose, CA (11.4%). Homes are selling slowly, too: The typical home that went under contract did so in 51 days nationwide, the longest span for this time of year since 2019.  Homebuyers are backing…

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell summoned bank executives for a meeting this week where they encouraged the executives to use Anthropic’s new Mythos model to detect vulnerabilities, according to Bloomberg.  Indeed, while JPMorgan Chase was the only bank listed as one of the initial partner organizations with access to the model, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley are reportedly testing Mythos as well. Anthropic announced the model this week but said it would be limiting access for now, in part because Mythos — despite not being trained specifically for cybersecurity — is…

This WeekOnce again, developments in the Iran conflict drove markets, and economic data started to capture the impact of the conflict.In positive news, this week saw negotiations for a ceasefire begin:Monday: President Trump posted that the U.S. and Iran “”have had… very good and productive conversations regarding a… resolution of hostilities,” which Iran later denied.Tuesday: The U.S. sent a 15-point plan to Iran for a ceasefire, which Iran rejected.Wednesday: Iran counters with a five-point plan for a ceasefire, including reparations and Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz.Thursday: President Trump posts that he’s pausing attacks on Iranian power plants for…

US stock futures slid sharply Sunday evening after President Donald Trump said the US would move to block all maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, following the collapse of weekend negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) fell about 1.2%, pointing to a drop of more than 580 points at the open. Contracts on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) also declined 1.3% and 1.4% respectively. Last week, optimism around a temporary ceasefire had driven a strong rally. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) posted a gain of about 3.6%, while the…