Author: Money Mechanics

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…

Key Takeaways Experts warn that AI tools can sound convincing but often rely on outdated info and lack personal context.Specialized platforms like Quest IndexGPT and AIEQ ETF offer institutional, data-driven alternatives to all-purpose generative AI.Experts recommend using AI for education and exploration, but not decision-making; human financial advisors remain essential for reliable planning and investing. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude are household names now, but not just because they write emails and perform in-depth web searches. More and more commonly, artificial intelligence is being used to offer financial advice.  According to Experian, about half of Americans say they’ve…

Children’s savings programs like Trump accounts highlight the debate over baby bonds, wealth gaps and tax policy in America.Getty ImagesMichael and Susan Dell have pledged $6.25 billion to expand Trump’s child wealth accounts, but design flaws mean the biggest benefits will still go to higher-income families, not those who need them most. Their money will add $250 to the new federal “Trump accounts” for 25 million children younger than 10, supplementing the government’s $1,000 deposit for every baby born from 2025 through 2028.The Dells deserve praise. They chose children, insisted on universal eligibility within an age group and framed their…

Key Takeaways American Eagle Outfitters shares popped Wednesday after the retailer posted better-than-expected earnings and boosted its outlook.The retailer said it benefited from the success of ad campaigns with actress Sydney Sweeney and NFL star Travis Kelce. American Eagle Outfitters stock is getting a big lift from celebrity buzz. Shares of the clothing retailer were up about 15% in recent trading, after the company posted stronger-than-expected earnings, with a bit of help from ads featuring actress Sydney Sweeney and NFL star and Taylor Swift fiance Travis Kelce. American Eagle (AEO) posted earnings per share of $0.53 on revenue that jumped…

KEY TAKEAWAYS Gas prices have remained relatively low and stable throughout the year, with the average gas price at the beginning of December reaching the lowest level seen since 2021.While consumers have been stressed about the U.S. economy and inflation, prices at the gas pump have remained a source of stability, and could even slow price increases at the grocery store. Although grocery bills and holiday shopping this year are more expensive, gas prices have remained low, a trend that may impact general prices in a positive way. The national average price of gasoline was $2.95 per gallon as of…

Key Takeaways CME Group’s derivatives markets went dark last Friday after a vital data center run by a third party overheated.The technical glitch showed how much global financial markets depend on a few key institutions. The potential for a hugely damaging disruption in financial markets was averted thanks to a holiday. CME Group (CME), one of the largest derivatives exchanges in the world, halted futures and options trading across major asset classes for 10-plus hours, ending early last Friday, due to an overheated data center. The outage occurred when trading volumes were lower than average due to Thanksgiving, which may…

Key Takeaways The federal government shutdown froze economic data releases, and agencies are still working to catch up. While a handful of reports have been rescheduled, some have also been consolidated or canceled. Other new release dates are still expected for several key reports for September, October and November. The government shutdown ended three weeks ago and statistical agencies are working to catch up on economic releases they missed. After being closed for 43 days, the federal bureaus that track inflation, employment, and economic growth are behind schedule on several reports, but they are beginning to catch up. This week, we’ll…