Author: Money Mechanics

There are a lot of big changes that might shape how stocks trade in the future — from 24-hour trading to AI and tokenization. Over the past year, major exchanges, including Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange, Cboe (in the U.S.) and the London Stock Exchange have all announced plans to extend the equity trading hours toward 24 hours a day. Clearing and settlement (DTCC) and the Consolidated Tape (SIP) will also need to be upgraded.Today we’re going to look at what research says about how overnight trading works now. The data points might help us work out how 24-hour trading…

Subscribe Now: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / PlayerFM  More individual investors are feeling optimistic right now than they’ve felt all year, according to our recent investor sentiment survey. And with stocks dancing around record highs, strong corporate earnings, and less bite than bark from tariffs, everyday investors are leaning into their favorite stocks and ETFs. Kevin Gordon of Charles Schwab joins us for a vibe check and sets the scene for the rest of the year. Plus, IPOs are popping like it’s 1995 all over again and the gains are sticking—at least for now. What’s different and the same about this bull market compared to…

According to a recent report from Fitch Ratings, partnerships between North American insurers and alternative investment managers are expected to continue to keep growing over the near term, particularly through sidecars and offshore reinsurance platforms.As per Fitch, offshore reinsurance has increased significantly within the North American life insurance sector, notably driven by more economic and less capital-intensive regulatory regimes. Analysts noted that most reserves are ceded to Bermuda, which implemented various enhancements to its regime in 2024, which ultimately increased the capital, oversight and granularity required to operate on the island. “Life insurers are increasingly structuring sidecars and creating offshore…

It is rare, in the investment world, for an investment to honestly and fully disclaim its basic nature in a way that finishes the story and requires no further analysis from us before making an investment decision. I have found such an investment. It is a cryptocurrency/meme coin called, appropriately, USELESS. If you were to buy all of the USELESS in existence, it would cost you (as of this writing) about $272 million dollars. This seems to me to be a lot of money to pay for something useless, but what do I know? Now, it should be noted that…

Key Takeaways Some economists and policy experts are concerned about Social Security’s ability to keep paying millions of Americans the benefits they’ve earned.Experts said the program should raise the earning cap, increase payroll taxes, and implement an automatic rebalancing system to remain sustainable and avoid cutting benefits.If these things are done, experts said the program might be able to survive for another 90 years. Social Security might want to ask for a major overhaul for its 90th birthday. Some economists and policy experts are concerned about the program’s ability to continue doing what it has for nine decades: pay millions…

In-brief analysis July 31, 2025 In our most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast nationwide U.S. retail electricity sales to ultimate customers will grow at an annual rate of 2.2% in both 2025 and 2026, compared with average growth of 0.8% between 2020 and 2024. The forecast reflects rapid electricity demand growth in Texas and several mid-Atlantic states, where the grid is managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the PJM Interconnection, respectively. We expect electricity demand in ERCOT to grow at an average rate of 11% in 2025 and 2026…

HCA Healthcare HCA has outperformed the market over the past 10 years by 3.69% on an annualized basis producing an average annual return of 16.83%. Currently, HCA Healthcare has a market capitalization of $92.10 billion. Buying $1000 In HCA: If an investor had bought $1000 of HCA stock 10 years ago, it would be worth $4,668.72 today based on a price of $393.62 for HCA at the time of writing.HCA Healthcare’s Performance Over Last 10 YearsFinally — what’s the point of all this? The key insight to take from this article is to note how much of a difference compounded…

Key Takeaways If flexibility matters for your goals and timeline, today’s best high-yield savings accounts are a strong choice—offering up to 5.00% APY. But these elevated returns aren’t expected to last, with Fed rate cuts forecasted this year and next that will push savings yields lower. The best nationwide CDs, however, let you lock in a mid-4% rate for months or years, protecting your returns while other rates drop. For many savers, the smartest move is a two-bucket strategy: keeping some cash in savings for easy access and putting longer-term funds in a CD to prolong your elevated return. The…

Key Takeaways More Americans are choosing to stay put in their current jobs amid concerns about the state of the labor market.Consultants from Korn Ferry last week called the trend “job hugging,” as opposed to the historic rates of “job hopping” that was seen coming out of the pandemic.The rate of workers leaving their jobs voluntarily and the rate of workers being hired at new ones have declined in recent months. Another new term has entered the labor market lexicon, to go along with “quiet quitting” and many others, and you might be doing it without even realizing it: job…

The probability of a rate cut in September remains above 90%, but it did recede after the federal government said July wholesale prices rose faster than Wall Street expected. Weekly jobless claims data suggest the labor market remains stable. And earnings continue to generally support the long-term trend despite seasonal headwinds.In between Tuesday’s cool Consumer Price Index (CPI) print and Thursday’s warm Producer Price Index (PPI) reading was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who on Wednesday called for a 50 basis point cut (0.50%) at the next Fed meeting.Federal funds rate futures pricing now reflects a 0.0% probability that Jerome Powell…