Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways An economic cycle includes expansion, peak, contraction, and trough stages.The average U.S. economic cycle lasts about five and a half years.Key factors include GDP, consumer spending, interest rates, and inflation.The NBER determines the length of economic cycles.Causes of economic cycles are debated among economic schools of thought. What Is the Economic Cycle? The economic cycle is the fluctuation of economic activity between periods of expansion and contraction. The stages of the cycle are predictable, but their timing is not. Factors such as gross domestic product (GDP), interest rates, total employment, and consumer spending are analyzed to help determine what stage…

Key Takeaways Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are state-owned investment vehicles with diverse sources and uses.The Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. is the largest state-owned investment fund in the U.S.Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global is the largest sovereign wealth fund worldwide, with over $2.1 trillion in assets.SWFs invest in various assets, including equities, debt, and real estate.These funds can aim to boost the host country’s economy through strategic investments. Sovereign wealth funds can be derived from a variety of sources and used for a variety of purposes. Julie Bang / Investopedia What Is a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF)? A sovereign wealth fund…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldUS crude exports are projected to hit a record high in April as Asian customers hunt for supplies to replace Middle Eastern oil lost because of the Iran war.Oil research group Kpler estimates exports will jump by almost a third to 5.2mn barrels per day this month, up from 3.9mn b/d in March. Demand from Asian customers will rise by 82 per cent to 2.5mn b/d.There are currently 68 empty tankers on their way to the US, according to Kpler,…

European benchmark prices tumbled 20% at opening in Amsterdam on Wednesday after the U.S. and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire that could lead to reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The front-month contract of the Dutch TTF Natural Gas Futures, the European benchmark for gas trading, opened 20% lower on Wednesday and traded 16% lower in the late morning in Europe. The May 2026 contract slumped to $51.45 (44 euros) per megawatt-hour (MWh), down from $62 (53 euros) per MWh on Tuesday. Europe’s gas prices jumped by about 60% between February 28, the day on which the U.S. and Israel…

Parametrix is delighted to see expanded support from investors across the market to cover the tail risk of cloud outage events through Hannover Re’s successful renewal of its landmark parametric catastrophe bond, Cumulus Re (Series 2026-1), Sharon Haran, Managing Director of Parametrix Analytics, has said.As Artemis reported on March 9th, Hannover Re sponsored a second successful renewal of its landmark parametric cloud outage catastrophe bond, this time securing $35 million in retrocessional cyber reinsurance protection covering cloud outage events through the Cumulus Re (Series 2026-1) issuance. As we said at the time, this is the reinsurer’s largest yet as Hannover Re…

(By Oil & Gas 360) – A fragile pause in Middle East hostilities is offering global energy markets a moment to breathe, even as underlying risks remain firmly in place. Recent diplomatic movement, reportedly supported by Washington and quietly reinforced by regional actors, has created a short window for de-escalation between Iran and its adversaries. Israel has signaled alignment with a temporary pause in strikes tied to Iran, while maintaining operational flexibility elsewhere in the region. Notably, tensions involving Lebanon and Hezbollah continue to sit outside the scope of any emerging framework, underscoring how localized conflicts could still spill over. At…

Key Takeaways The PMI is based on a monthly survey of supply chain managers. The PMI ranges from 0 to 100; above 50 signals expansion. The ISM publishes a Hospital PMI surveying inventory and healthcare traffic. Global PMI represents 90% of global GDP through surveys from 28,000+ companies. High PMI readings indicate economic growth; below 50 indicates contraction. The PMI is based on monthly surveys that gather data from purchasing managers across various sectors. Zoe Hansen / Investopedia Exploring the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) A monthly Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector is developed by the Institute for…

Key Takeaways The MRS measures the trade-off between two goods while keeping utility constant.It plays a key role in understanding consumer behavior in economics.A higher MRS indicates a greater willingness to substitute one good for another.The MRS is expressed as a ratio showing how much of one good is exchanged for another. Understanding the Marginal Rate of Substitution (MRS) The marginal rate of substitution (MRS) is the amount of one good that a consumer is willing to give up in exchange for a new good while maintaining the same level of utility. The MRS is used in indifference theory to analyze consumer behavior.…

(Image credit: Getty Images)A relief rally took hold of Wall Street on Wednesday as market participants cheered President Donald Trump’s announcement of a temporary ceasefire with Iran. Oil prices, meanwhile, plunged on the news, with crude futures suffering their biggest one-day decline since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.Ahead of Tuesday’s 8 pm Eastern Standard Time deadline, at which President Trump promised to end Iranian “civilization,” he announced a two-week ceasefire for the U.S. and Iran to finalize a peace agreement.”The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very…

Please enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser or access the information through the links provided below. April 08, 2026 Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, March 17–18, 2026 For release at 2:00 p.m. EDT The Federal Reserve on Wednesday released the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting that was held on March 17–18, 2026. The minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee are generally published three weeks after the day of the policy decision. The descriptions of economic and financial conditions contained in these…