Author: Money Mechanics

How the BLS Builds the CPI The CPI is not a rough estimate but a carefully built, survey-driven system refined over more than a century. To construct it, the BLS gathers price data on hundreds of everyday goods and services, known as the “market basket.” This effort spans roughly 8,000 housing units and 23,000 retailers, service providers, and online outlets across 75 urban areas nationwide, creating a detailed snapshot of how prices move in the real world. Approximately two-thirds of that price collection is done by personal visits from CPI data collectors to brick-and-mortar stores. The remaining data are collected…

If you spot a Lucid Gravity SUV blinged out with sensors — and a self-driving system developed by Nuro — driving around San Francisco, chances are that’s an Uber employee taking a ride. Select Uber employees can now request a ride in a Lucid robotaxi through the Uber app, the latest phase of testing ahead of a planned public launch later this year. Nuro, which provided the update in a blog posted Monday, told TechCrunch the vehicles are operating in autonomous mode and have a human safety operator behind the wheel as backup. While this is far from a public…

(By Oil & Gas 360) – The Strait of Hormuz has always mattered. What’s changed is that the world is being reminded, again, and in real time, just how much.   In today’s market, it’s no longer just a strategic passage. It’s the single most important pressure point in the global energy system, and increasingly, a test of whether global energy security can rely on a single, vulnerable corridor. Roughly 20–21 million barrels per day move through the Strait, the world’s most critical energy artery, about one-fifth of global oil consumption. LNG flows are just as critical, with nearly 20% of global…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK financial regulation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The Bank of England has given itself more options for dealing with a failing bank after US regulators agreed to a new mechanism that would give shareholders and creditors a more restricted interest in the rescued lender.The move is a response by the BoE to the lessons it drew from the collapse of Credit Suisse in 2023, when legal concerns about whether US-issued securities could be swapped for shares in the bank were seen as restricting the capabilities of Swiss authorities.The…

In-brief analysis April 13, 2026 During 2025, the U.S. electric power sector retired 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired generating capacity at four power plants, the least since 2010. At the beginning of 2025, coal plant operators had planned to retire 8.5 GW of capacity; however, 4.8 GW of planned retirements were delayed to a future year, and the operators of two coal plants (1.1 GW) cancelled plans to retire. In addition, the operators of 1.2 GW of capacity planned for retirement in 2027 cancelled their closure plans, and a facility slated to retire in 2026…

Failed talks lift [[0|oil}}, weigh on risk assets, and add pressure on gold. Rising yields and stagflation fears create fresh headwinds for gold prices. Gold remains rangebound as volatility rises and direction stays uncertain. With a fair amount of optimism already priced in, markets reacted to the weekend news of a no-deal pretty much as expected—opening the week on the back foot, while jumped higher straight out of the gate on Monday. did manage to recover from its overnight lows and trimmed some losses during the European morning session. Still, the broader tone may have tilted slightly more bearish for…

When readers ask me, “Does bankruptcy clear tax debt?”, my honest answer is: sometimes, yes, but only in specific situations. I’ve been writing about debt relief, tax debt, settlement, consolidation, and bankruptcy-related topics for a long time, and one mistake I see over and over is people assuming all IRS debt gets wiped out the same way credit card debt might. It’s not always the case. Tax debt follows its own rules, and the timing matters a lot. Not sure whether bankruptcy is the best path for your tax debt? Take our quick debt quiz first. It’s one of the…

The official close is undeniably the most important trade of the day.It determines stock and index returns. It is used for futures and options settlements, mutual fund cashflows and exchange-traded funds (ETF) creations and redemptions. It is also used to determine the volatility of stocks, the tracking error of index funds and the outperformance (or alpha) of portfolio managers.In short – it is important.Close is the largest trade every day Because the close price is critically important to so many traders, the close is also usually the largest single trade of the day. As the data below shows, the close usually accounts for more than 10% of the whole day’s trading. In some countries, like Japan and developed countries in Europe, it is much more.Chart 1: The official close is the largest trade of the day   Because of that, investors and issuers care…

A Contract for Differences (CFD) allows traders to profit from price movements without owning the underlying asset. In a CFD, the investor and broker exchange the difference in asset value from opening to closing of the trade. CFDs offer capital efficiency, available widely on OTC exchanges outside the U.S., where retail trading is banned. Key Takeaways A contract for differences (CFD) is a financial agreement where investors exchange the difference in values of an asset between when the contract opens and closes.CFD investors speculate on price movements without owning the underlying asset, allowing for potential profits from both rising and…

Key Takeaways Six Sigma certification verifies expertise in a well-regarded quality management method for improving business processes.Six Sigma uses statistical techniques to minimize defects, aiming for error-free delivery 99.99966% of the time.Certifications are structured in belt levels from White to Master Black Belt, each demanding increasingly rigorous exams and practical experience.Companies and individuals can benefit from Six Sigma through reduced waste, increased efficiency, and higher customer satisfaction.Lean Six Sigma combines Lean and Six Sigma to eliminate waste while striving for minimal defects in product outputs. Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. What Is Six Sigma…