Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways Consumer prices rose 2.7% over the year in August as measured by PCE inflation, up from 2.6% in July, while “core” prices excluding food and energy rose 2.9%, the same as in July.Prices are increasing faster than the Federal Reserve’s goal of a 2% annual rate.The uptick was not surprisingly high, so the Fed likely remains on track to continue cutting its key interest rate despite inflation concerns. There’s still no sign that inflation is headed down towards the Federal Reserve’s goal of a 2% annual rate.Consumer prices as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, rose…

Each week, in our Ask the Editor series, Joy Taylor, The Kiplinger Tax Letter Editor, answers questions on topics submitted by readers. This week, she’s looking at questions on the new tax deduction for tipped income. (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Tax Letter or subscribe.)1. What is the tips deduction?Question: I work as a hairdresser. I heard that my tips will now be tax-free. Can you explain how this works?Joy Taylor: The “One Big Beautiful Bill” enacted lots of tax breaks, with some important ones beginning this year. One of these is the deduction for up to $25,000…

By Chibuike Oguh NEW YORK (Reuters) -The dollar strengthened against major peers including the euro and yen on Thursday following U.S. economic data, which would likely restrain the future interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic product rose by an upwardly revised rate of 3.8% from April through June, higher than 3.3% initially reported. Economists polled by Reuters did not expect the rate to be revised. The dollar strengthened 0.58% to 149.77 against the Japanese yen, rising to its highest level since August 1. The euro hit a more than two-week low…

U.S. stock futures are up on Friday, following a decline on Thursday, with no sign of any significant momentum to set the tone for the day.The markets remain fairly calm ahead of several major economic data points set to be released on Friday, including the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, a key figure that influences the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions.See Also: The Fed Is Caught In A Tug-Of-War—And Powell Just Admitted ItMeanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.183% and the two-year bond was at 3.659%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 87.8% likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting…

U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON DC 20585 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 24, 2025 The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) publishes monthly data on operating, planned, and retired electricity generating capacity in the United States. All EIA resources that discuss electricity capacity rely on data that power plant builders and operators report to EIA on the Form EIA-860 (annual) and Form EIA-860M (monthly) surveys. These data can answer important questions often asked of EIA, including: How much natural gas capacity is currently operating in the United States? How many solar projects are planned to come online this year? How…

After reviewing the movements of gold futures in different time charts, amid shifting policies of global central banks, the news flow from various parts of the world this week is likely to confirm this policy shift.As I explained in my last analysis the reasons behind the advent of a selling spree in gold are due to shifting global central banks being more focused on rising inflation and weakening currencies.Now, the kept the short-term rate at 0.5% but signaled it would scale back purchases of exchange-traded funds and real estate investment trusts while two members of the board dissented, calling for…

Toby Nangle recently wrote “How to (more) properly compare bond yields across markets” (non-gift link). The story behind the article is straightforward: commentators are going back to their old habit of comparing the raw yields on 10-year bonds and making assertions about what this means about implied credit quality. As Nangle’s article notes, this is not a good idea, since bond yields embed rate expectations.Since I do not have the derivatives data to dig into current pricing, I will just offer some basic principles. When Raw Yields MatterIf you want to speculate on currency movements over long horizons, you can…

Key Takeaways The number of millionaire renter households grew significantly from 4,500 in 2019 to 13,700 in 2023.For many wealthy households, renting is less about cost and more about flexibility, lifestyle, and keeping money stashed in other investments.Renting luxury properties lets millionaires avoid ownership burdens like maintenance, high transaction costs, and market timing risks. While millionaires can afford to buy homes, many are choosing to rent instead, potentially reflecting a desire to have more flexibility. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of households with renters who had incomes of $1 million or more increased from 4,500 to 13,700, a more…

(World Oil) –  bp Plc said that oil demand is going to keep growing for the rest of this decade, rowing back on its prior projection that the high point could come as soon as this year. Rising consumption in emerging markets, sluggish energy efficiency gains, geopolitical tensions and the persisting use of petrochemicals all point to peak demand in 2030 at the earliest, the oil giant said in its once-a-year Energy Outlook. Consumption is now projected to reach 103.4 million bpd in five years, up from 102.2 million this year. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has…

Key Takeaways In a wide-ranging pair of interviews, Martin Hoffmann, CEO of Swiss sneaker brand On Holding, discussed his company’s brand positioning, the tariff landscape, and the importance of the U.S. market, among other topics.”There are a lot of brands in our space and you want to differentiate yourself,” Hoffmann told us. “It’s very important to, rather, go into a different direction than everyone else.” For decades, popular sneakers carried instantly identifiable brand markers–like a swoosh, or three parallel diagonal stripes. Other labels have joined the party. One example: the head-and-shoulders-like logo and honeycomb-evoking soles on shoes from Swiss brand On…