Author: Money Mechanics

isn’t trading like a commodity anymore. It’s trading like a confession — the closest thing markets have to a whispered admission that the old reserve architecture is buckling under the weight of a new geopolitical cycle. And the FT just confirmed the part everyone suspected but couldn’t publicly say: China isn’t buying a little more gold than it reports — it’s buying ten times more. Enough to move the global price structure, enough to distort every short-term signal, and enough to tell you that Beijing’s true hedge isn’t rhetoric, it’s tonnage. This isn’t a tailwind for gold. It’s a structural…

American Family Mutual Insurance Company (AmFam) is back in the catastrophe bond market looking to secure $150 million or more in multi-peril US catastrophe reinsurance protection from this Four Lakes Re Ltd. (Series 2025-1)  cat bond issuance, its sixth cat bond sponsorship in as many years, Artemis understands from sources.This latest deal will become the eighth catastrophe bond that American Family has sponsored that we have listed in our Artemis Deal Directory and the sixth in the Four Lakes Re series from the company, having sponsored an issuance under that name every year since 2020. American Family Insurance is once…

We invest a lot of our hard-earned dollars in the best smartphones, drones, and action cameras that we can afford, but when it comes to the storage cards these devices rely on, many of us settle for a low-cost option from a no-name brand.I hate being the bearer of bad news, but the microSD card you choose for your device can make or break your experience. That’s why I’ve spent countless hours sifting through a myriad of products to identify the best cards on the market. I personally use these storage cards in all my devices, and they’ve never let…

Key Takeaways Jeffrey Gundlach, a bond market veteran, predicted private credit would be the cause of the next financial crisis during a recent podcast appearance.Private credit markets have ballooned since banks tightened lending standards in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis. A credit market veteran known as the “Bond King” has a warning for Wall Street. “The next big crisis in the financial markets is going to be private credit,” said Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital, on an episode of Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast released Monday. “It has the same trappings as subprime mortgage repackaging had back in…

Key Takeaways Morgan Stanley downgraded computer hardware makers because of the impact of soaring memory chip prices.The analysts said there’s a “supercycle” of prices for NAND and DRAM semiconductors, putting a drag on hardware maker earnings.Dell shares were the biggest decliner in the S&P 500 in afternoon trading Monday. The artificial intelligence boom that’s sent memory chip prices soaring is hurting computer hardware makers, according to a report from Morgan Stanley, which downgraded some of the biggest names in the sector. Shares of Dell Technologies (DELL) were down nearly 10% in afternoon trading Monday, leading decliners in the S&P 500.…

Key Takeaways Consider taking your 2025 RMD soon if you’ll just stash the funds, since moving them now lets you lock in today’s high yields while they last. Saving your RMD money in one of today’s top CDs can guarantee a safe and predictable return for months or years down the road. With a Fed rate cut possible in December or January, CD yields could start slipping soon—making now a good time to lock in. You Have Until Dec. 31 To Take Your 2025 RMD—But Waiting Could Cost You If you’re subject to a required minimum distribution (RMD) this year,…

Key Takeaways Concerns about memory chip prices weighed on a PC maker on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, while a tech giant got a boost after a high-profile investor revealed a new stake.Shares of Dell dropped after Morgan Stanley suggested that surging prices for memory components could pressure the hardware maker’s margins.Alphabet shares gained ground after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a new position in the Google parent. A PC manufacturer came under pressure Monday after an analyst warned of margin headwinds from rising memory chip prices. Meanwhile, shares of a large tech firm advanced after a high-profile investor disclosed a stake. Major…

Concerned for your aged 80+ aging parent, you call regularly. Mom sounds good on the phone and offers no complaints. You plan to see her over the holidays in person, for the first time in a few months. You expect things to be pretty much as they have been. Until you see her in person, that is. She’s always been a fastidious housekeeper but things look untidy and cluttered. And there are stacks of unopened mail on the coffee table. “That’s odd”, you think. Hmm. Does that mean anything? Changes with aging parents are inevitable. A few elders in our…

Key Takeaways Veteran bond investor Jeff Gundlach today listed a range of ways today’s markets break with convention, saying investors should have a maximum of 40% of their portfolios in stocks.But not everyone’s bearish today. The “potency of the AI narrative” is making this market look like the dotcom boom, according to BCA Research’s Doug Peta. Many investors have taken a glass-half-full view of markets lately. But others see the glass as cracked. On Monday, as stocks dropped to start a busy week, it seemed the latter group had a firmer hold on the microphone. The VIX, Wall Street’s so-called…

Key Takeaways The price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency recently traded below $92,000 for the first time in months. At least one backer is still buying in: Strategy said it bought an additional 8,178 bitcoin at an average purchase price of around $102,000. Bitcoin has gone to the bears. At least one bull is hanging on. The world’s best-known and most-valuable cryptocurrency recently changed hands below $92,000 apiece, with recent prices representing a more-than-25% retreat from the record highs of over $126,000 seen last month. That has the coin in what’s sometimes called a bear market, or a drop of…