A bull market is a sustained rise; a bear market is a fall of 20 percent or more from a recent high. Here is what defines each, what drives them, and why the labels are confirmed only in hindsight.
The monthly US jobs report shows how many people are being hired and how many are out of work. Here is what nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate mean, why they come from two surveys, and why they move markets so much.
GDP is the total value of everything an economy produces in a period, the broadest gauge of its size and growth. Here is how it is measured, the difference between real and nominal, and the important things it leaves out.
Buy Now, Pay Later splits a purchase into installments, most often four interest-free payments over six weeks. Here is how it works, how the providers really earn, and the catches that turn a handy tool into debt with a friendly name.
A stablecoin is a crypto token designed to hold a steady value, almost always one US dollar, by backing it with reserves. Here is how the peg is meant to hold, what stablecoins are used for, and why stable is a goal, not a guarantee.
Fintech is technology that delivers financial services, from payment apps to robo-advisers and digital banks. Here is what it covers, why it grew so fast, and the one question to ask before trusting any finance app with your money.
FDIC insurance protects up to 250,000 dollars per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category, if a bank fails. Here is what is covered, what is not, and how to keep large balances fully protected.
A bank makes most of its money by lending out the deposits you give it, charging borrowers more than it pays you. Here is how that spread, plus fees, really works, and why it means shopping for a better savings rate is worth it.
A stock market index turns a whole slice of the market into a single number you can follow. Here is what the S&P 500, the Dow and the Nasdaq actually track, why their weighting differs, and why indexes shape your money even if you never trade.
A bond yield is the return a bond pays at its current price, and it moves opposite to that price. Here is how the seesaw works, and why the 10-year US Treasury yield, not the Fed, sets your mortgage rate.
Inflation is a sustained rise in prices that quietly shrinks what your money can buy. Here is how it is measured, how it eats into savings, who gains and who loses, and the one number that matters most.
The Federal Reserve is the US central bank. Here is what it does, how the FOMC sets the federal funds rate, and how that single rate reaches your mortgage, your savings and the markets.