Author: Money Mechanics

KEY TAKEAWAYS More recent high school graduates are choosing not to attend a four-year college, opting for a trade school or a certificate program instead.There are many job opportunities available to those without a bachelor’s degree, some of which offer salaries well above the median average. For anyone who wants to avoid a four-year college program, there are many job openings that only require a certificate, license, or associate’s degree. Recently, more recent high school graduates are opting out of a traditional four-year college experience, with many citing the high cost as a reason for not completing a bachelor’s degree.…

The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) on Tuesday closed up by +0.25%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI) (DIA) closed up by +0.39%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) closed up by +0.84%.  December E-mini S&P futures (ESZ25) rose +0.21%, and December E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQZ25) rose +0.82%. Stock indexes rallied on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 posting 2.5-week highs.  Strength in chip stocks supported gains in the broader market on Tuesday.  Also, some better-than-expected earnings results boosted technology stocks.  MongoDB surged more than +22% after reporting stronger-than-expected Q3 EPS, and Credo Technology Group Holding rose more than +10% after…

In-brief analysis December 1, 2025 U.S. electricity customers experienced an average of 11 hours of electricity interruptions in 2024, or nearly twice as many as the annual average experienced in the decade before, according to our Electric Power Annual 2024 report. Major events such as Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton accounted for 80% of the hours without electricity in 2024. Utilities categorize interruptions depending on if they are attributed to major events such as hurricanes or other storms, interference from vegetation near power lines, or atypical utility operations. When comparing outages across years, most of…

The fourth quarter of this year has been a tough period for . Since the start of October, the world’s most widely traded digital currency has fallen nearly 25%, touching lows around $80,000 per coin. The downward move has been largely driven by capital outflows, including roughly $400 million exiting the market on Monday alone. The situation worsened after China’s central bank issued a direct warning about illegal activities linked to the digital currency industry and reinforced its stance against unlawful crypto operations. Recent buying momentum, which pushed Bitcoin back above the $90,000 mark and briefly past the $90,000 barrier…

North Carolina combines both low housing costs with an influx of people moving from all areas of the country. While average housing costs, food costs, utility costs, and everyday living expenses are below those of many other states, those moving to large metropolitan areas like Charlotte, Raleigh, and Durham are dealing with high-cost rental markets, increasing housing costs, and an overall increase in living expenditures.  Moreover, many residents are attempting to deal with credit cards, medical bills, or personal loans that are unsecured debt. The difference between their income and the cost of living can cause significant hardship.  Because of…

Homebuyers are getting cold feet due to high housing costs and economic uncertainty. Many are convinced they’ll be able to find a home they like better because there are so many listings on the market. Homebuyers are most likely to walk away in Texas and Florida, and least likely in Nassau County, NY and the Bay Area. Roughly 53,000 U.S. home-purchase agreements were canceled in October, equal to 15.1% of homes that went under contract that month. That’s up from 14.3% a year earlier. This is based on a Redfin analysis of MLS pending-sales data. The data is seasonal, which…

Brevo, a customer relationship management company headquartered in Paris, is now a unicorn — a startup valued at more than $1 billion. The startup raised €500 million in fresh equity funding ($583 million), which will fund its efforts to compete with larger players such as Hubspot and Salesforce not just in Europe, but also on their home turf in the U.S. Formerly known as Sendinblue, Brevo started out in 2012 as an email marketing solution for small businesses. The company expanded into mid-market and repositioned itself with a new name reflecting its broader product scope. That move paid off. Brevo…

(Oil Price) – The world’s biggest private equity groups are investing in infrastructure assets of the national oil companies of the Middle East as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) opened their pipeline networks to foreign capital. Private equity giants are now seeking a slice of the infrastructure assets of the international majors in deals that would give Big Oil funds to reinvest in oil and gas production. These days, amid lower oil prices and continued reluctance of public-market investors despite the dramatic shift in the ESG narrative, private equity money could be an opportunity for the top Western…

Key Takeaways Private employers lost 32,000 jobs in November, the third month of job losses in the last four.Job growth has been eroding for months, with tariffs playing a significant role in the slowdown.Weak job growth could push officials at the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at the Fed’s policy meeting next week. Yet another red flag is waving about the health of the labor market.Private employers shed 32,000 jobs in November, payroll provider ADP said Wednesday. The job losses came as a surprise to forecasters, who had expected a gain of 40,000 jobs according to a survey of…

Key Takeaways Anthropic’s IPO could set the benchmark for other AI companies that follow it.The startup’s public debut would test investor appetite for AI amid concerns about bloated valuations. And its filing would offer a look under the financial hood of a well-known chatbot company. Here come the big AI IPOs. (Maybe.) Anthropic, maker of the Claude chatbot, is preparing for an initial public offering that could come next year, according to the Financial Times. The company is also said to be in talks to raise funding that would push its valuation over $300 billion. The report followed others saying…