Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
The ratio of total U.S. stock market value to the country’s gross domestic product, a metric popularized by Warren Buffett himself, has climbed well past the levels that historically preceded major corrections. With corporate equity valuations running far ahead of economic output, investors face a pointed question: does the signal still work, and should they…
Bitcoin is tracking toward its longest streak of monthly declines since the 2018 bear market, a period that wiped out the vast majority of the token’s value and left retail and institutional investors alike nursing deep losses. The slide, which began after a peak in October 2025, has now stretched across consecutive months and is…
Federal transit systems across the United States are receiving more money than ever before, yet many agencies are still carrying fewer riders than before the pandemic even as others recover faster. With formula funding for fiscal year 2025 approaching $20.5 billion and ridership still below historical peaks in many systems, the disconnect between investment and…
California drivers are absorbing a sharp hit at the pump, with statewide average gasoline prices climbing roughly 40 cents in just two weeks. The spike, which began accelerating after a refinery incident at the end of January 2025, has widened the gap between what Californians pay and what the rest of the country spends on…
The United States government now owes roughly $38.5 trillion, a figure that has ballooned by $2.35 trillion in just the past year. At the same time, Elon Musk has been warning that without artificial intelligence acting as an economic accelerant, the country faces a fiscal trajectory he frames in existential terms. The collision of record-breaking…
A $1.5 billion state aid package has become the financial lifeline keeping New York City’s budget from buckling under the weight of a fiscal crisis that, by some estimates, could swell past $13 billion within a few years. Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who took office after the Adams era, has framed the arrangement…
Bloom Energy’s latest quarterly and full-year earnings update prompted some Wall Street analysts to raise their price targets on the stock after the company reported record full-year revenue in its investor materials. The results reinforced the view that Bloom is gaining commercial traction for its solid oxide fuel cell platform. For investors tracking the clean…
A growing number of state governments are attacking energy costs and permitting delays simultaneously, betting that faster approvals and price controls can deliver real relief to households squeezed by rising utility bills. California, New York, and Pennsylvania have each taken distinct but converging approaches, while federal lawmakers push parallel legislation that has drawn both praise…
U.S. natural gas prices have collapsed at a speed rarely seen in modern energy markets, driven by a sharp reversal in weather forecasts that has gutted heating demand across the Lower 48 states. After a brutal January cold snap pushed the Henry Hub spot price to extraordinary highs, a sudden shift toward milder temperatures has…
Five sectors of the U.S. economy are adding jobs at a pace that stands out even against a generally healthy labor market, and several of them trace their momentum to policy priorities that gained force during the Trump administration. The January 2026 employment data confirms that health care, construction, professional services, defense-linked manufacturing, and cybersecurity-adjacent…