Author: Money Mechanics

Gold is re-testing its 61.8% Fibonacci retracement once again instead of declining. Is it really bullish, though?The 2012 Bearish Analogy IntensifiesI previously wrote that based on the similarity to how behaved after another key (2011) top, we might be in the stage where it declines in a back-and-forth manner. Precisely, I meant its late-2012 performance. Gold price moved higher instead but did it make the entire analogy useless? No. It simply means that we’re most likely in a different part thereof. After the 2011 top, there were three corrections to the 61.8% retracement. What we now see is the third move…

The Supreme Court during a rain storm in Washington, Feb. 20, 2026.Annabelle Gordon | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe Supreme Court on Friday ruled that President Donald Trump’s country-specific “reciprocal” tariffs are unconstitutional, delivering a win for many consumer companies facing higher import costs.But the ruling doesn’t cover all sectors. The Supreme Court reviewed tariffs enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, or IEEPA, which the Trump administration used to justify the sweeping tariff agenda. The act had never before been used by a president to impose tariffs.In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA “does…

Sarvam, an Indian AI startup focused on building models for local languages and users, on Friday launched its Indus chat app for web and mobile users, entering a fast-growing market dominated by global players including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. The launch comes as India has become a key battleground for generative AI adoption. Recently, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said ChatGPT has more than 100 million weekly active users in India, while Anthropic said India accounts for 5.8% of total Claude usage, second only to the U.S. Indus serves as a chat interface for its newly announced Sarvam 105B model, the…

(Oil Price) – If there was any lingering doubt about what’s keeping Big Oil executives up at night, the fourth-quarter results cleared it up. It’s not slogans. It’s not transition optics. It’s whether they have enough high-quality barrels to avoid production decline in the 2030s. The majors are refocusing hard on upstream portfolio renewal for the next decade, according to WoodMac, who analyzed Q4 data. The near-term commodity backdrop isn’t exactly inspiring, and Brent looks soft. Refining margins are decent, petrochemicals less so. LNG is drifting toward what WoodMac sees as an oversupplied phase. Production growth from TotalEnergies, Equinor, Chevron, and…

This WeekFor a short week, it wasn’t short on news!Today, the Supreme Court ruled against using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to enact tariffs, specifically the “reciprocal” country-specific tariffs and the fentanyl tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada, which raised an estimated $175 billion in revenue (half of all tariff revenue since the start of 2025).Shortly thereafter, President Trump announced a 10% global tariff on top of “our normal tariffs” via Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to enact tariffs to address “large and serious United States balance-of-payment deficits.” They can only be imposed for up to 150 days and cannot exceed…

National average rates for second mortgage home equity loans and lines of credit are nearing 7%, their lowest point since late 2022. Over the years, your home has grown in value. Now you can access that equity at very favorable interest rates. According to real estate analytics firm Curinos, the average HELOC rate is 7.23%. The national average rate on a home equity loan is 7.44%. Rates are based on applicants with a minimum credit score of 780 and a maximum combined loan-to-value ratio (CLTV) of less than 70%. With mortgage rates remaining in the low-6% range, homeowners are unlikely…

The typical home is taking 67 days to go under contract, the longest span in seven years.  U.S pending home sales fell 5.8% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending February 15, the biggest decline in a year. The typical home that does go under contract is taking 67 days to do so–a week longer than last year and the longest span since early 2019.  Would-be buyers are sitting on the sidelines largely because it’s expensive to purchase a home. The median home-sale price rose 1.1% year over year, the biggest uptick in two months, and the weekly…

Key Takeaways The average retired worker received $2,012 in monthly Social Security benefits in 2025.Retirees in Connecticut have the highest monthly Social Security checks, averaging $2,196, while those in Mississippi have the lowest at $1,814. Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. About 75 million Americans collect Social Security, averaging just over $2,000 each in benefits. The bulk of these Americans are retirees. The amount you get is largely based on your work history and age when you first claimed benefits. This year, recipients received a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment, which should bump up these average figures.…

Key Takeaways Many cash options continue to pay competitive yields in the 3%–5% range if you know where to look.Top savings accounts, CDs, brokerage cash accounts, and Treasuries offer solid returns with almost no risk—some with a guaranteed return.Choosing the right home for your cash can meaningfully increase what $10,000—or more—earns over time. See Where Cash Is Paying the Most Right Now—All in One Chart With the Federal Reserve currently in a holding pattern, cash yields are likely to remain fairly steady for the near term. And at current levels, today’s safest places to park money continue to offer attractive returns. Across…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Stocks were volatile on Friday as market participants sifted through an onslaught of headlines – including the Supreme Court’s ruling that most of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies are illegal. The price action stabilized in afternoon trading, though, with the three main indexes finishing the day in positive territory.At the close, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5% at 49,625, the broader S&P 500 was 0.7% higher at 6,909, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.9% to 22,886.Ahead of the Supreme Court’s monumental decision – which was widely expected by many on Wall Street…