Author: Money Mechanics

Here we are again, on the monthly CPI roller-coaster. Consensus coming into the day was +0.60% m/m headline, +0.33% core, pushing the y/y numbers to 3.7% and 2.7% respectively. The headline print will obviously be flattered by energy prices again, but the core number may seem surprising since we have been running between 0.196% (last month) and 0.313% (last July) for the last year. Why so high? To be honest, the core forecast seems lowish to me: this is the month where the shelter rebound is to take place. As a reminder, the BLS methods from the missed month of…

Takeaway: A slightly hotter than expected CPI report will keep the Fed on hold and may push officials slightly closer to considering hikes. Mortgage rates will continue to be driven mostly by oil prices and developments in Middle East peace talks in the near term. Headline inflation remained elevated in April because of the continued spike in energy prices from the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Core inflation was a bit hotter than expected, but the details are not quite as bad as the headline core number suggests. Headline CPI increased 0.6% month-over-month and 3.8% year-over-year, largely as…

Neil Batlivala has spent seven years building a healthcare company that most of the tech industry has never heard of and that serves a patient population most of Silicon Valley ignores. But last month, that work put him at the center of something much bigger. His company, Pair Team, announced on April 30 it had been accepted into ACCESS, a Medicare program — as one of 150 participants chosen by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to test what AI-driven medical care could look like at federal scale. The program goes live July 5. “The government is creating swim…

(By Oil & Gas 360) – Coal has been written off many times before. Each time, it stayed. Today, the conversation is returning with more urgency. Climate targets, investor pressure, and policy commitments continue pushing toward a future with less coal. But the real question is no longer whether coal use should decline. The question is whether the world is actually prepared for it to disappear, particularly amid rising geopolitical instability and growing electricity demand. Recent developments suggest the answer remains uncertain. As the Middle East energy crisis deepens and disruptions tied to the Iran conflict continue tightening global oil and…

We’ve built a business that runs solely on supportgettyMost people spend decades planning for the financial risks of retirement. Almost no one plans for the social ones. Yet the risk that derails the final chapter of life is rarely running out of money. It is running out of people.Huguette Clark checked into a New York hospital in March 1991 to have a few skin cancer lesions removed from her face. She was 84, the daughter of a copper baron and U.S. senator once said to rival John D. Rockefeller in wealth. Her father’s Fifth Avenue mansion, where she grew up,…

Nasdaq hits record high as AI spending and strong tech earnings fuel rally. Analysts see further upside in certain companies despite growing investor caution. These companies stand out with strong growth, AI exposure, and upside potential. The closed at 26,274.13 points on Monday, May 11, reaching a new record high. The index has gained around 15% this month, making it its strongest monthly performance since April 2020 after a strong tech earnings season. According to analysts at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, the tech sector reported earnings growth of 46.3% last quarter. Among major companies, Alphabet jumped nearly 34%…

The April 2026 Consumer Price Index of All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) report indicates that inflation increased by 0.6% this month, down from 0.9% in March. These data were released at 8:30 am EST on May 12, 2026, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Before seasonal adjustment, the year-over-year (Y-o-Y) inflation rate in the all-items index grew by 3.8%, as higher energy prices accounted for over 40% of the monthly increase. This month’s results also exceeded economists’ consensus estimates. The table below is courtesy of Investing.com. The left column represents April’s figures, while the right column represents forecasters’ expectations. As you…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks about the fiscal year 2027 budget in New York City on May 12, 2026. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images)Timothy A. Clary | Afp | Getty ImagesFrom New York to Vancouver to London, a once-niche policy idea is moving into the mainstream of urban finance: taxing pied-à-terre properties, second homes, vacation apartments, and luxury units that sit partially or entirely unused.New York City is just the latest example, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York State Governor Kathy Hochul supporting the tax as part of a state and city…

Miami International (NYSE:MIAX) reported record first-quarter 2026 revenue as higher options trading volumes, market volatility and expanding contributions from other business lines lifted results, executives said on the company’searnings call Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas P. Gallagher said the quarter was shaped by “elevated volatility across asset classes,” driven by geopolitical tensions, trade policy uncertainty and shifting expectations around interest rates and growth. He said that volatility supported demand for risk management tools, including options. “While most businesses are volatility adverse, for MIAX, elevated volatility is good for our business,” Gallagher said. Total net revenue rose 40% year over…

A Social Security Administration (SSA) office in Washington, DC, March 26, 2025. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is reportedly aiming to reform and downsize the SSA with office closures, cutbacks on phone services and new rules requiring in-person visits for some prospective beneficiaries to register. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty ImagesAccording to the Social Security Administration, about 75 million Americans are receiving a Social Security benefit. That’s more than 20% of the population or nearly nine out of ten people age 65 and older. This makes Social Security one…