Author: Money Mechanics

Please enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser or access the information through the links provided below. December 11, 2025 Federal Reserve Board announces approval of application by The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. For release at 5:00 p.m. EST The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday announced its approval of the application by The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to acquire FirstBank Holding Company, and thereby indirectly acquire FirstBank, both of Lakewood, Colorado. For media inquiries, please email [email protected] or call 202-452-2955. Last Update: December 11, 2025 …

Commemorative quarter depicting a pilgrim.Source: U.S. MintThe U.S. Mint on Wednesday revealed special quarter-dollar coin designs for the 250th birthday of the U.S. featuring pilgrims and former presidents rather than previously floated civil rights themes.Designs considered ahead of next year’s anniversary included those focused on abolitionist Frederick Douglass and images depicting suffragettes with “votes for women” banners. Also in the running were several showcasing Ruby Bridges, the first Black student to integrate her school.Instead, the Mint’s five finalized designs for the 25-cent coin spotlight:Pilgrims and the MayflowerGeorge Washington and the Revolutionary WarThomas Jefferson and the Liberty BellJames Madison and Independence…

Theo Baker is truly an outlier. While journalism as a major has seen shrinking enrollment for years and is even being dropped by some schools entirely, Baker, a senior at Stanford University, has doubled down on old-school investigative reporting, and it is paying off spectacularly. Baker first made headlines as a college freshman when his reporting for The Stanford Daily led to the resignation of Stanford president Marc Tessier-Lavigne. After uncovering allegations of research misconduct spanning two decades, Baker — just one month into college — found himself “receiving anonymous letters, conducting stakeouts, and tracking down confidential sources,” according to…

Key Takeaways Fed officials remain sharply divided on the outlook for 2026, with forecasts ranging from no rate cuts to several, highlighting growing policy uncertainty as new economic data arrives.The next Fed chair will inherit a committee with a strong hawkish bloc, even as officials project steady growth, easing inflation, and a slower pace of rate cuts after 2025. The big divisions at the Federal Reserve show no signs of stopping next year, if officials’ brand-new quarterly projections are any guide. While the Fed is penciling in one cut in 2026, that masks a vast dispersion in the individual forecasts…

Key Takeaways The share of college graduates earning two majors has doubled in the past decade as students seek an edge in an unpredictable job market. Double majors face significantly less earnings risk than single majors, especially when the fields are unrelated, a 2024 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found. Double majors have surged 100% in the past 10 years, with about 12% of 2023-2024 graduates earning such credentials compared with 6% a decade earlier, according to an analysis from the The Hechinger Report. Meanwhile, the number of students graduating with two majors at schools like…

Key Takeaways Mortgage rates showed only a muted reaction after the Fed’s latest rate cut, holding near their lowest levels in more than a year. Mortgage rates depend on factors far beyond the Fed, which is why they can rise, fall, or barely shift after the central bank makes a move. The most reliable strategy is to move forward when your finances and the right house line up, since future rate moves are unpredictable. You can always refinance later. Mortgage Rates’ Day-1 Move After the Fed’s Cut With the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates on Wednesday, many homebuyers and homeowners…

Metrics That Matter: Canadian Cash Equities Cboe Japan Corporate Webpage to be permanently terminated effected from November 2025 November HighlightsCanadian equities volumes remained strong at 1.42 billion Average Daily Volume (ADV), up 27% year-over-yearCboe Canada’s four trading books captured 13.0% market share in November, up 50 basis points month-over-monthNEO-N has shown consistent growth since August and recorded its best month of 2025 in November, reaching 2.4% of overall market share and 3.4% of sub-dollar market shareTwo Cboe Canada listed companies, Abaxx Technologies (ABXX) and BTQ Technologies (BTQ), were added to the MSCI Canada Small Cap Index during the November 24,…

Key Takeaways Foreclosure activity in November was 21% higher than the same period last year, continuing a trend this year of rising levels of defaults, auctions and bank repossessions.Data firm ATTOM reported that foreclosure activity was highest in Delaware, South Carolina, Nevada, New Jersey and Florida.Whether the jump in foreclosures will bring more housing supply to market depends on local laws and market trends, said ATTOM CEO Rob Barber. For years, prospective home buyers have been faced with high prices and very little inventory for sale. However, a recent surge in foreclosures could alter that dynamic. Real estate data firm…

Key Takeaways Broadcom posted better-than-expected earnings on AI demand, and said it sees that momentum continuing in the current quarter. The results didn’t immediately revive confidence in the AI trade after Thursday’s sell-off in the wake of Oracle’s earnings. The AI trade has sputtered lately. Investors looking for Broadcom’s latest quarterly results to get it running again have been disappointed so far. Shares of chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO) first jumped in extended trading Thursday, rising after it posted results that topped analysts’ estimates on growing AI demand. That was welcome for bullish investors who saw the Nasdaq and many of the Dow’s…

Key Takeaways Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell only has three policy meetings left before his term ends in May.Powell’s impending replacement makes it more challenging to predict future interest rates, as new leadership may alter the Fed’s strategy.Financial markets are pricing in lower future interest rates than Fed officials have forecast, likely because President Donald Trump’s nominee would push for lower rates. Everything the Federal Open Market Committee said and did at its meeting Wednesday came with a huge asterisk: New leadership could push the central bank to move its key interest rate in a different direction in a few…