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Congress avoided a partial shutdown of the federal government this week by passing a spending resolution to run through early December. But the deal didn’t address the U.S. debt ceiling, which needs to be raised by Oct. 18 to avoid what Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called a “calamity.”
Yellen was referring to a possible default on debt payments by the U.S. government. Such an unlikely event becomes more of a real possibility when partisans in Congress play games of budget brinksmanship. Andrea Riquier describes the mechanics of a doomsday default scenario.
Rebound for energy stocks isn’t over
FactSet
Rising demand for fuel at a time of production and supply disruptions helped push the price of West Texas intermediate crude oil
CL00,
up 55% during 2021 through Sept. 30, based on forward-month contract prices tracked by FactSet. You can see on the chart above that the S&P 500
SPX,
energy sector has lagged the price of oil this year.
Michael Brush argues that the oil rebound trade is far from over, and names 12 energy stocks that can be good investment plays.
More about energy action: The S&P 500’s energy sector was the only port in a raging September storm for stocks
The newest ideas about money
To kick off the return of MarketWatch’s Best New Ideas In Money series, Emily Bary explains how behavioral biometrics can help companies and consumers prevent e-commerce fraud.
More new ideas:
- Every whale is worth $2 million? Why it’s time to add the value of nature to GDP
- Here’s what would happen if Americans could easily look up everyone’s salary
A different way for companies to go public
Companies that wish to go public have traditionally offered shares through an underwriting process, with an investment bank buying the stock and then selling it to the public after a long, formal filing process. But some companies simply list existing shares on public exchanges where they can be traded. As part of the IPO Report series, Steve Gelsi interviews two executives who worked on Spotify Technology’s
SPOT,
direct listing and believe the streamlined process is better for investors.
More from the IPO Report: Sovos is creating a lineup of small brands designed to take on big food companies
A U.S. couple on how they retired to Panama
Kris Cunningham, left, and her Monkey Nerve bandmates at a gig. (Kris Cunningham)
You have probably heard great things about visiting or moving to Costa Rica, but have you considered Panama? Silvia Ascarelli writes the Where Should I Retire? column. This week she interviews Kris Cunningham, shown playing bass in the photo above, who has made a great success out of her move with her husband to David, Panama.
Brace yourself for an expensive holiday season
Shoppers are likely to pay more this holiday season, according to a forecast by Salesforce.com. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Prices for holiday presents might rise 20% this holiday season because of supply disruptions, Tonya Garcia reports.
The economic case for booster shots
AFP via Getty Images
Jaimy Lee interviews Andy Slavitt, a former White House health-care adviser who argues that COVID-19 booster shots can help the economy, even if the science behind the decision to roll them out is uncertain.
Dismal economics
Economics was famously called “the dismal science” by Thomas Carlyle. Recently we have been faced with dismal economic reports. Mark Hulbert sees signs of a recession ahead, based on consumer confidence data.
More on the economy and how it might affect investors: The biggest risk facing investors this earnings season lurks just beneath the surface
And: U.S. inflation surges again and stays at 30-year high, pointing to prolonged price pressures
Developments in electric-vehicle land
Tesla Inc.
TSLA,
is about to face new competition from a slew of competing auto manufacturers, some of which have the capacity to quickly ramp up production if they manage to give the public something to love. Austin Morris of Kelly Blue Book rounds up the electric models coming from dozens of Tesla competitors.
Other EV-related developments:
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