Author: Money Mechanics

Longtime shareholders in Micron Technology (MU) used to be longtime sufferers. Not anymore.The company for decades plodded along in the volatile, low-margin business of making computer memory chips. That’s a tough racket. Chips are a commodity. They’re cyclical. Meanwhile, chipmakers have to constantly plow cash into research and development — to say nothing of capital expenditures — just to keep pace with peers.Micron escaped its formerly poky past thanks to the era of artificial intelligence (AI). The ongoing build-out of AI infrastructure isn’t just creating massive demand for specialized chips from the likes of Nvidia (NVDA); it’s also fueling a…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Many Gen Xers feel financially behind and are rethinking their retirement plans. The generation entered the workforce during a major shift from traditional pensions to self-funded retirement accounts, placing more responsibility for retirement savings on workers.They also faced a series of economic setbacks at key points in their lives, including the dot-com crash early in their careers and the housing market collapse during their prime homebuying years.Today, many Gen Xers are balancing the rising cost of living, retirement savings concerns and the financial demands of supporting both children and aging parents. As a result, a growing number…

By the time May ends, many parents feel completely drained. Between school concerts, field trips, sports banquets, graduation celebrations, spirit weeks and summer planning, late spring can feel just as hectic and expensive as the holiday season.That’s why the term Maycember has struck a chord with so many parents online. Much like December, May often brings a nonstop stream of obligations, emotional labor and unexpected expenses that leave families exhausted before summer even begins.After months of managing schedules, coordinating activities and taking care of everyone else, many parents enter summer running on empty. But the season can also offer an…

(Image credit: Getty Images)If you filed your taxes last month, you know the pain of capital gains is real and often a surprise come April.I recently wrote two surprisingly long and complicated columns on strategies to minimize the tax hit that comes when you press the “sell” button on an appreciated stock.In one of those columns, I talked about the “gift up” strategy, which is incredibly effective if executed properly. Short version: You give assets, typically to your parents, and when they pass, they (as long as all goes according to plan and you follow the rules) pass them back…

The debate about what AI is doing to white-collar work has been loud, contentious, and — if you talk to Nela Richardson — almost entirely about the wrong thing. Richardson is ADP’s chief economist, which means she sits atop one of the most complete real-time pictures of American work that exists — payroll data, job postings, and wage records, covering roughly one in six U.S. workers. She is also running what she calls “the great job unbundling,” a project launched this past January at Davos in partnership with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and its resident AI thought leader, Erik…

Palomar Insurance Holdings, the speciality US insurer that offers largely catastrophe exposed property products, has lifted the top of its reinsurance tower to provide as much as $3.92 billion of earthquake reinsurance protection at the renewals, with multi-year catastrophe bonds set to provide $1.28 billion of coverage for 2026.Much like in previous years, protecting against major earthquake events in its home state of California, as well as other quake-exposed regions of the US, remains a core focus of Palomar’s reinsurance program. For its reinsurance renewal for the 2026-2027 year, Palomar has added $421 million in incremental limit, to lift its…

(By Oil & Gas 360) – What began as wartime disruption has evolved into something far more strategic, Iran is increasingly turning access through Hormuz into geopolitical and economic leverage. The shift is becoming more visible by the week as Tehran expands operational control, imposes new transit procedures, and reshapes how commercial shipping moves through one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints. Recent reports indicate Iran has established a multi-layered transit system involving vessel clearances, inspections, military checkpoints, and route approvals for ships moving through the Strait. Shipping companies are increasingly required to coordinate transit with Iranian authorities, while vessels…

Good afternoon. I would like to thank Governor Jónsson for the invitation to take part in the Central Bank of Iceland’s Reykjavík Economic Conference. It is a pleasure to be here in Reykjavík with you and to share my thoughts on formulating a practical approach to monetary policy decision making.1 As you know, the Federal Reserve conducts monetary policy to support a strong and stable economy. In doing so, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) pursues the congressionally mandated goals of maximum employment and price stability. The Fed uses a variety of tools to carry out its monetary policy strategy…

’s reactions to material US-Iran war news in recent months have been backwards. Contrary to logic and precedent, gold has plunged when the war intensified and rallied when it cooled. Several potential explanations for this odd technical behavior suggest it will prove a short-lived anomaly. The longer Iran can keep the globally-critical Strait of Hormuz closed, the more bullish gold’s short-term outlook becomes. Since Trump went to war with Iran at the end of February, most of gold’s biggest daily moves have been spawned by war news. For example, on March 18th gold plunged 3.6% after Israeli airstrikes hit Iran’s…

Bond vigilantes are a popular topic in financial media. Part of this is that most people find government bonds boring, and they would rather read about equities, which can have more exciting returns as well as more interesting company and sector specific stories. Bond market vigilantes who are about to discipline naughty governments creates a fun narrative hook to a market that is otherwise characterised by daily price changes of around 20 basis points.However, if you are actually paid to invest in bonds, the “bond vigilante” narrative is a trap. Government bond markets are boring, technical markets, and you do…