Author: Money Mechanics

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks onstage during The New York Times DealBook Summit 2025 at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 03, 2025 in New York City. David Dee Delgado | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty ImagesMore CNBC coverage on U.S. economyThe latest report on inflation, delayed by the government shutdown, showed consumer prices rising 3% year-over-year in September, including a 3.1% uptick in cost for food at home. As rising prices continue to affect consumers, President Donald Trump has pushed back on the idea that Americans are struggling financially. “The word ‘affordability’ is a con job by the…

(BOE Report) – CALGARY – A Canadian pipeline boss led a new report advising the Trump administration on how to more quickly build new oil and gas infrastructure in the United States amid a push north of the border to do the same. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright requested the study on permitting from the National Petroleum Council, which includes 200 members he appointed from both inside and outside the oil and gas industry. The body was formed just after the Second World War. TC Energy Corp. president and CEO FranÇois Poirier chairs the council’s committee on oil and natural gas permitting,…

Ever looked at the variance futures price on your screen and wondered what it really means?Natalie Reed, Senior Director, Head of Derivatives Sales, explains everything you need to know about variance.What’s Behind That Quote Variance Futures Price?The quoted price is a blended volatility strike squared. For example, if you have a 20 realized vol and a 20 implied vol, you’ll see a variance price of about $400.As the contract matures, it accumulates more realized volatility with each observation date. This means the realized vol squared component becomes a bigger part of the price over time. But don’t forget — there’s…

Fed rate cut, FOMC dot-plot, Powell news conference, and labor market data will be in focus this week. Broadcom is well-positioned to deliver earnings results that significantly exceed consensus estimates while providing optimistic guidance. Lululemon is expected to deliver mixed-to-weak results, reflecting slowing U.S. demand and macroeconomic pressures. Looking for more actionable trade ideas? Subscribe now to unlock access to InvestingPro’s AI-selected stock winners and save 55%! Wall Street’s main indexes ended mostly higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 securing its fourth straight winning day as traders digested inflation data that could provide further incentive for the Federal Reserve…

Even though mortgage rates have come down from their peak, housing costs are still too high for many would-be buyers.  Housing inventory is losing momentum, with growth in total supply slowing down, new listings stalling, and delistings becoming more common.  The supply of U.S. homes for sale rose 5.1% year over year during the four weeks ending November 30, the smallest increase in nearly two years.  New listings rose just 0.9%, the smallest uptick in two months, with many homeowners opting to stay put rather than put their home on the market when demand is slow.  Some of the homes…

ZDNET’s key takeaways The latest Android flagship starts at $899 for the 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage variant. It’s highlighted by a 7,300mAh battery, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and 80W wired charging. The camera system is inferior to last year’s model, and you can’t actually buy the phone yet. nov / 2025Update (12/5/2025): The OnePlus 15 has been approved by the FCC for sale in the US and is now available for preorder, with OnePlus offering free accessories with the purchase.When I first learned about the OnePlus 15, I wondered if the quest to make the best…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldThere’s a large body of empirical evidence to show that countries with high levels of corruption also have weaker growth and share price returns, as well as higher levels of economic and market volatility. So, what to make of the fact that crony capitalism is now becoming a feature of the US market?From targeted regulatory enforcement to tariff carve-outs, contracts awarded to friends and family, and other forms of horse-trading going on between the Trump administration and countries and companies…

New York City-based Engine Capital Management initiated a stake in Acadia Healthcare during the third quarter, acquiring nearly 2.6 million shares worth $64 million. The change represents 7.6% of reportable U.S. equity assets under management. Acadia Healthcare is now the fund’s fourth-largest holding out of 27 reported positions. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › On November 14, New York City-based Engine Capital Management disclosed a new position in Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC), acquiring 2.6 million shares valued at $64 million. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated November 14, Engine Capital Management initiated…

Gold just experienced a stunning plot twist really shifting its outlook. A couple months ago, gold soared into crazy-overbought extremes. That sharp rally sure looked gold-futures-driven, but the government shutdown forced crucial futures-positioning data to go dark for seven weeks. Now being released on a catch-up schedule, it reveals far-different-than-assumed gold-futures trading proving much more bullish for gold. Gold blasted 27.2% higher in just over seven weeks into mid-October, achieving 24 new all-time-record closes in that short span! That capped a far-larger monster 139.1% cyclical bull born in early October 2023. Gold soared so far so fast that it stretched…

By David Enna, Tipswatch.com Morningstar.com published an article last week singling out three of its favorite ETFs as having “a lousy 2025.” I was surprised to see Vanguard’s Short-term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF (VTIP) listed as one of the three. The three ETFs were: iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) Avantis US Small Cap Value ETF (AVUV) Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF (VTIP) I don’t know anything about the first two ETFs, except that they make bets in the equities market. QUAL (expense ratio of 0.15%) aims for large-cap winners, with top three holdings of Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia. AVUV…