Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways Housing costs in 99% of U.S. counties remain above their historical averages, according to a report from real estate data firm ATTOM.San Francisco is a rare exception: Despite a $1.4 million median home price, the city is now more affordable, historically speaking, because local wages have risen faster than housing costs.Nationally, 86% of counties saw affordability improve in the fourth quarter of 2025 over the previous quarter, a sign that the market may be stabilizing. Is the housing market on the verge of a turnaround? Data from one of the country’s most expensive markets suggest the affordability crisis…

Gold (GC=F) futures opened at $4,529.10 per troy ounce on Monday, up 0.6% from Friday’s closing price of $4,500.90. The price of gold rose above $4,600, a record high, after the open. Gold surged to a new high after Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced the Justice Department had subpoenaed the central bank and threatened criminal charges. The move stems from Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on renovations to the Fed’s office building. U.S. President Trump denied involvement in the investigation. Public tensions between Trump and Powell erupted in 2025 as the president openly pressured the Fed chair to…

Silver opens the week with strong momentum, driven by several forces acting at the same time. Safe haven demand is rising amid geopolitical tensions, the macro backdrop is reinforcing expectations of lower US interest rates, and supply remains tight against solid industrial demand. Because silver sits at the intersection of precious and industrial metals, it tends to respond faster than most assets when market risk sentiment shifts.1. Interest Rates, US Dollar, and Risk Perception Are Moving in the Same DirectionLast week’s US December added to signs that the labor market is cooling. Non-agricultural employment rose by just 50,000, while the…

Please enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser or access the information through the links provided below. January 12, 2026 Agencies issue 2025 Shared National Credit Program report Federal Reserve Board Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of the Comptroller of the Currency For release at 3:00 p.m. EST Federal bank regulatory agencies today released the 2025 Shared National Credit (SNC) report that indicates credit risk associated with large, syndicated bank loans remains moderate. Credit risk trends continue to reflect the effects of borrowers’ ability to manage higher interest expenses…

Goldman Sachs sees big opportunities in two real estate stocks that it says will benefit from the booming senior population. On Friday, the firm initiated coverage of Ventas, whose portfolio includes senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities and medical office buildings, with a buy rating and $94 price target. That target implies 25% upside from Thursday’s close. Ventas currently has a 2.56% dividend yield. It also initiated coverage on Omega Healthcare Investors , which focuses largely on skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities, with a buy rating. Its price target of $54 suggests nearly 21% upside ahead. Omega Healthcare…

Key Takeaways Apple plans to use Google’s Gemini to power future Apple Intelligence features, the companies said Monday. The new features are set to include an AI-enhanced Siri due later this year. Could a new deal with Google help Apple sell investors on its AI Vision? The iPhone maker plans to use Google’s Gemini to power future Apple Intelligence features, including an AI-enhanced Siri coming later this year, the companies said Monday, ending months of speculation about a tie-up.  Shares of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) climbed 1% to an all-time high following the news, pushing its end-of-day market capitalization above the…

(World Oil) – President Donald Trump signaled he’s leaning toward excluding ExxonMobil from his push for U.S. oil majors to rebuild Venezuela’s petroleum industry, saying he was displeased with the company’s response to his initiative. “I’d probably be inclined to keep Exxon out,” Trump told reporters late Sunday aboard the presidential plane on the way back to Washington from his Florida estate. “I didn’t like their response. They’re playing too cute.” Trump appeared to be referring to a White House meeting on Friday with almost 20 oil industry executives, where ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods expressed some of the strongest reservations and described…

Key Takeaways President Trump wants to mandate that credit card companies charge a maximum 10% annual percentage rate as of Jan. 20. The average rate Americans pay is 21%.While industry reports suggest many Americans would lose their credit cards under a 10% cap, others argued that these claims are overblown. President Donald Trump’s call to cap credit card interest rates sounds like relief for millions of Americans paying twice that or more. But industry analyses suggest such a policy would mean up to 80% of credit card accounts could disappear altogether, cutting off the borrowers it’s meant to help. Consumer…

Mandy Xu ▬ January 12, 2026 Link to Report: Macro Volatility DigestWHAT STANDS OUT:Implied volatilities were mostly rangebound last week despite rising geopolitical risk. Equity, rates, credit, and FX volatilities all ended the week near 1-year lows. Oil was an exception, with 1M implied vol jumping up over 8 vol pts to 37% (70th percentile high) on the back of bullish call demand. Despite the threat of more supplies coming online from Venezuela, oil traders appear to be more focused on the near-term risks of a potential supply disruption stemming from the Iran unrest.While the VIX® index ended last week…

Key Takeaways If forecasters are correct, consumer prices likely rose 2.7% over the year in December, the same 12-month rate of increase as November.Core inflation, excluding food and gas, is expected to have rebounded to a 2.7% annual rate from 2.6% in November, after distortions from the government shutdown to the November data reversed themselves.Forecasters generally expect inflation to fall over the course of the year, because rent increases have slowed and are outweighing continued upward pressure from tariffs. If your holiday bills were significantly higher than last year, you’re not alone.A report on inflation Tuesday from the Bureau of…