Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to deliver a speech laying out whether the central bank is ready to cut interest rates.Fed-watchers may feel a sense of déjà vu since this is similar to last year’s Jackson Hole event, when investors watched the annual speech for clues about possible rate cuts in September.This time, the economic conditions are different, and rate cuts are considered likely but not guaranteed. As was the case last year, Wall Street will keenly watch Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole economic conference, looking for signs that the central…

Key Takeaways The S&P 500 slid 0.4% on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, as investors looked ahead to key remarks from the Federal Reserve chair Friday. Shares of First Solar and other solar companies fell after President Trump said the U.S. wouldn’t approve new solar or wind projects.Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares climbed after Morgan Stanley analysts upgraded the stock on optimism about AI demand. Major U.S. equities indexes lost ground Thursday amid uncertainty ahead of Friday’s highly anticipated remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.  The S&P 500 lost 0.4%, in the fifth straight losing session for the benchmark index. The Dow…

Key Takeaways A successful home renovation project means spending a little to gain a lot.Renovations that can increase value range from interior painting to energy-efficient improvements.You might recover more than 100% of your investment in a new front door.The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has found that Energy Star windows and appliances are at the top of buyers’ wish lists.Some improvements might reduce what prospective homebuyers are willing to pay. Maybe you want the luxury of a swimming pool in your backyard, but you’re not thinking about selling your home just yet. Or maybe you want to make improvements…

 While trade talks have dominated the narrative this year, the Federal Reserve has remained focused on reaching its 2% inflation target. In your opinion, what will the Fed need to see in the data to justify cutting interest rates?When it comes to inflation and tariffs, the Federal Reserve’s big concern is building confidence that tariff-related inflation is transitory – meaning that tariffs boost inflation over the next year or so, but not indefinitely. In fact, in his latest press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed will make sure that tariff inflation is transitory.One way tariffs could have a…

Key Takeaways Coty reported an unexpected quarterly loss, which it blamed on retailers being “cautious.”Like-for-like sales dropped 9% year-over-year.Coty said it expects like-for-like sales to fall in both the current and following quarter before returning to positive territory in the second half of the fiscal year. Shares of Coty (COTY) plunged nearly 22% Thursday, a day after the cosmetics maker posted a surprise loss and gave weak guidance as retailers pulled back on orders. The company behind its namesake brand, CoverGirl, Max Factor, and many others reported a fiscal fourth-quarter net loss attributable to shareholders of $72.1 million and an…

KEY TAKEAWAYS More than 4 million federal student loan borrowers were on the verge of defaulting during the last quarter.The number of borrowers who are delinquent and in default is higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.Many borrowers have had trouble resuming payments after the pandemic payment pause ended. Student loan debt is becoming delinquent faster than any other debt type. Millions of federal student loan borrowers are having difficulty keeping up with payments and heading towards default at record numbers. Last quarter, about 4.12 million student loan borrowers were 181 to 270 days delinquent, according to the most recent data…

By David Enna, Tipswatch.com Investors were ready and willing to jump aboard today’s auction of a reopened 30-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Security, CUSIP 912810UH9. And why not? The resulting real yield to maturity of 2.650% was the highest for this term at auction since October 2001. This TIPS will mature February 15, 2055. It has a coupon rate of 2.375%, which was set by the originating auction on February 20, 2025. Demand at this auction looked strong. The “when-issued” yield prediction was 2.673%, but bidders brought that down to 2.650%. The bid-to-cover ratio was 2.78, much higher than recent auctions of…

Key Takeaways Bitcoin traders were selling ahead of Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated speech Friday morning at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, preparing for the possibility that the Fed chair fails to signal that an interest rate cut is likely in September. Bitcoin options pricing indicated bearishness across time horizons.The “secular bull” for bitcoin may not be over yet, analysts say. Bitcoin traders have been in profit-taking mode ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated speech on Friday, betting on an upset. That’s evident in the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency, which has fallen about 10% from…

In early February Openai, the world’s most famous artificial-intelligence firm, released Deep Research, which is “designed to perform in-depth, multi-step research”. With a few strokes of a keyboard, the tool can produce a paper on any topic in minutes. Many academics love it. “Asking OpenAI’s Deep Research about topics I am writing papers on has been incredibly fruitful,” said Ethan Mollick of the University of Pennsylvania. Some economists go further. “I am *sure* for B-level journals, you can publish papers you ‘wrote’ in a day”, said Kevin Bryan of the University of Toronto. “I think of the quality as comparable…

Shares of Tharimmune Inc THAR are surging Thursday afternoon after the company on Wednesday announced positive results from a simulation analysis of its lead clinical asset, TH104. What To Know: The drug is a novel, buccal film formulation of nalmefene designed to counteract the respiratory-depressing effects of powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl.The company highlighted the potential of TH104 as a prophylactic, or preventative, treatment for military personnel and first responders who may be exposed to weaponized fentanyl. The simulation data showed that TH104 could be administered pre-emptively, offering protection for up to 24 hours. Tharimmune says this is a significant…