Author: Money Mechanics

JA Kyosai, the Japanese National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives often better known as Zenkyoren, has established a reinsurance company in Guernsey with a strategic goal to underwrite international risks to diversify its exposure, with investments into catastrophe bonds also in scope for the structure.Zenkyoren Re Ltd. was established in Guernsey at the beginning of this year, has been licensed as a commercial reinsurer to underwrite internationally and commenced its business operations on April 1st, President Yoshihiko Murayama announced today. Zenkyoren Re is 100% owned by JA Kyosai, but its reinsurance operations are being outsourced to Aon Insurance Managers.…

We have CPI coming up in a few days, but M2 came out recently and it is worth commenting about, so let me drop some thoughts about the state of money and velocity right now and the context we are operating in. M2 grew 0.88% in February, causing the y/y change to rise to 4.88% (quarterly, however, it is 6.65% annualized). I saw somebody recently observe that money growth was about 6ish back before COVID, so this level is not very worrisome to that pundit. I think that’s wrong – not that this level is worrisome in the big picture,…

A new venture capital fund with deep ties to OpenAI has made its first close on its $100 million goal, the founders tell TechCrunch. The partners have already written a couple of checks.  The fund is called Zero Shot (a play on the AI training term) and its co-founding team includes several OpenAI OGs who found themselves becoming VCs almost by serendipity.   Three of the founding partners hail from OpenAI. Evan Morikawa, the former head of applied engineering during the launch of DALL·E and ChatGPT through Codex, is now at robotics startup Generalist. Andrew Mayne, OpenAI’s original prompt engineer, is well-known…

(By Oil & Gas 360) – Operation Epic Fury was meant to send a clear signal that the United States will act to protect global energy flows when they are threatened. In the immediate sense, it appears to have worked. The operation demonstrated speed and capability, reassured allies, and reminded markets that the U.S. remains willing to intervene when critical supply routes are at risk. That kind of signal matters. Energy markets respond not just to supply, but to confidence, and Epic Fury restored some of that, at least for now. But the more important question is whether it changed…

(Image credit: Getty Images)In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform over the holiday weekend, President Donald Trump told Iran that it must open the Strait of Hormuz by 8 pm Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday or “all hell will reign down on them.” The main U.S. equity indexes were in the green for most of Monday’s trading session, even as crude oil prices continued to climb.Expanding on his threat in a profanity-laced Sunday morning message, Trump said, “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing…

Key Takeaways A newly launched 5-month CD is offering 5.00% APY, pushing the top nationwide rate up from 4.25%.The CD is available nationwide but capped at $5,000 per person, limiting how much you can deposit.It can be a strong option for smaller deposits or CD laddering, but it is less useful for larger savings. Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. This 5.00% CD Just Reset the Rate Landscape A new 5-month certificate of deposit (CD) paying 5.00% APY was unveiled today, pushing past the 4.25% ceiling that had defined the top nationwide CD rate in…

Link to Report: Macro Volatility DigestWHAT STANDS OUT:Options traders have been using SPX® options to fade big moves in the market – in both directions. Last week we highlighted how investors have been selling out of hedges on pullbacks and switching into upside calls to play for a rebound. On the rally last week, we saw the opposite – demand for hedges picked up while calls were aggressively monetized. The decline in SPX call skew and call convexity (see chart below) contributed over 2 pts to the 7 pt decline in the VIX® Index last week.SPX 1M put skew steepened…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.This article is an on-site version of our Unhedged newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every weekday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newslettersGood morning. President Donald Trump has re-escalated his rhetoric against Iran, threatening to bomb its power plants and bridges if it doesn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and using bad language to do so. As with most of Trump’s threats, it’s hard to say whether he will follow…

As many Americans consider buying a home this spring, they may want to take a closer look at the Cleveland metro area. Not only is it home to one of Redfin’s latest and most unique listings—the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Rocket Arena—it’s also one of the most affordable markets in the country.  The typical Cleveland home sold for $230,000 in February, the latest month for which data is available. Among the 50 most populous U.S. metros, only Detroit had a lower median sale price ($181,250).  Eight other Midwest locales, including fellow Ohio cities Columbus and Cincinnati, also ranked in the bottom 15…

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.I hate the idea of my personal information floating around the internet for anyone to see; the lack of control is unsettling. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been testing a couple of data removal services, starting with DeleteMe and, more recently, PrivacyBee. After spending a lot of time with each, I can confidently say I prefer PrivacyBee.Also: How to delete or hide yourself from the internet – 11 effective ways (and most are free)The service is far more comprehensive, offering a wide range of tools and features that its counterpart can’t…