Author: Errica Jensen

The riders are not the first thing that people notice about Strade Bianche. It’s the dust. Like smoke from an old battlefield, pale clouds drifted behind the peloton, rising from the winding roads of Tuscany. It appears almost cinematic on television, but there’s a different vibe—something untamed and a little chaotic—when you stand next to the course and watch cyclists tear across the gravel. The Strade Bianche race is surprisingly young. When compared to cycling events that have been around for a century, such as Paris-Roubaix or Milan-San Remo, its debut in 2007 makes it practically a baby. However, there’s…

Around the world, the oil market starts to move in the early morning hours before most people have finished their first cup of coffee in quiet home offices and trading floors. Charts of crude futures contracts that are rapidly rising and falling illuminate screens. At first glance, the numbers appear abstract. However, from Texas to the Persian Gulf, a network of refineries, pipelines, tankers, and geopolitical tensions underlie every price shift. Promises about tomorrow’s barrels are what oil futures are essentially. Today, a buyer and seller decide on an oil price that will be exchanged months later. That explanation makes…

The cold isn’t the first thing tourists notice when they visit the Arctic. It’s the silence. The tracks of animals moving silently through a landscape that has shaped their instincts for thousands of years are the only sound to break the blank page of snow that covers the tundra. However, the landscape has been changing more quickly lately than the creatures that inhabit it might like. Wildlife throughout the far north is adapting to a world that no longer acts in the same manner. In areas where sea ice was once thought to be permanent, it sometimes fails to return…

The Charles River flows silently past the MIT campus on a chilly winter’s morning in Cambridge, the water beneath the bridges slow and dark. The temperature of the oceans thousands of miles away from Massachusetts is being studied by scientists seated in front of glowing monitors inside the glassy research buildings in the area. The data coming in from drifting ocean sensors and satellites tells an oddly unsettling tale. Recent studies have shown that the world’s oceans are hotter now than they have ever been. The rise is substantial. The oceans took in about 23 zettajoules more heat between 2024…

Crypto traders are still up late in many cities, including Singapore, Dubai, and New York. Dark apartments have glowing screens. Coffee cups are stacked next to keyboards. The same chart, BTC/USD, is displayed on the majority of those screens. Recently, the price of Bitcoin has been fluctuating between $67,000 and $69,000, which feels oddly calm for an asset known for its violent swings. However, beneath that calm exterior, tension is rising. Traders are aware of it. The market might just be taking a deep breath. Bitcoin has been battling a small range between about $60,000 and $74,000 for months. Every…

The glass towers surrounding Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan frequently have an odd, peaceful glow in the late afternoon. Coffee cups pile up, analysts gaze at spreadsheets, and discussions veer between doubt and optimism. The HPS Corporate Lending Fund has been a recurring topic in those discussions in recent days. Despite the fund’s size (roughly $26 billion), its prominence cannot be explained by its size alone. What appears to be going on around it is more like a tiny glimpse into a larger financial narrative. The HPS Corporate Lending Fund is a private credit company that is commonly referred to…

The trading desks at BlackRock’s Park Avenue offices were quieter than normal on a recent afternoon in Manhattan. Of course, screens continued to glow with numbers and charts. However, the tone seemed a little different—wary, perhaps even a little uneasy. It didn’t take long to figure out why. The biggest asset manager in the world, BlackRock, recently told investors that there would be a cap on withdrawals from one of its flagship private credit funds. The move adhered to the fund’s standard structure in theory. Nevertheless, Wall Street took notice because the requests had unexpectedly increased in size beyond what…

The streets of Westerville, Ohio, seem serene on a normal morning in a way that would probably surprise most tech investors. Quiet parking lots, modest office buildings, and the odd delivery truck backing into a loading dock. The scene doesn’t resemble the epicenter of a stock market phenomenon. However, Vertiv, the company behind VRT stock, is housed inside one of those buildings, and the market has recently been observing it with a sort of fascinated curiosity. A portion of the attention can be explained by the numbers alone. Over the past year, Vertiv’s stock has increased significantly, sometimes by almost…

Early in the morning, the New York Stock Exchange can have a strangely dramatic feel. glowing screens. As the opening bell draws near, traders are looking at the headlines. Additionally, there are days when one ticker unexpectedly draws attention for unclear reasons. That ticker was HIMS most recently. The stock of Hims & Hers Health, a telehealth business that established its reputation by offering private online prescriptions for skin care, erectile dysfunction, and hair loss, started to move sharply once more. Months had passed since the stock dropped sharply below its previous highs. Then all of a sudden, fresh news…

The BlackRock headquarters on Park Avenue appears almost unassuming from the outside. Large financial institutions are known for their quiet efficiency, glass walls, and constant staff turnover. However, something extraordinary is housed within that building: the ability to influence trillions of dollars that are traded daily on international markets. BlackRock stock, which is traded under the symbol BLK, is an odd kind of barometer just based on that scale. Investors often believe that something more profound is going on beneath the surface when it moves quickly. Everyone was recently reminded of that fact by the stock. Following the company’s decision…