Blog

Normally this space would be reserved for the October 2025 Industrial Production release from the Federal Reserve.  Alas, it was not published due to challenges caused by the government shutdown.  Instead, we’ll take quick look at one of the components of our nation’s industrial output: utilities.  More specifically, we’ll explore how all the computing power nee

Markets like stability whether its economic, geopolitical or otherwise.  Stability helps buyers and sellers agree on the current and potential future values of a variety of financial and real estate assets, thus driving their prices.  As stability wanes, the spectrum of expected outcomes stretches, inviting a broader range of opinions about potential future values.

Pennies have officially been discontinued in the United States, ending more than 230 years of production. The final batch was minted in mid-2025, and no new one-cent coins are planned for circulation. This decision follows years of debate over the rising cost of minting pennies, which now costs about four cents per coin.

Having not seen it elsewhere, Atlas may have coined an acronym: NAIIMBY (No Artificial Intelligence In My Backyard).  A movement against AI data centers in American neighborhoods is intensifying.  Residents across the country are growing concerned about these massive facilities, which are often sited near homes, schools, and farms.  In places like Virginia, Indiana, and Michigan,

This year, Halloween spending is set to break records, casting a festive but even slightly spooky shadow over consumer wallets.  According to the National Retail Federation's annual survey, Americans are projected to shell out a chilling $13.1 billion, a climb from last year's $11.6 billion and surpassing 2023's previous high.  Despite concerns about higher prices, especia

“Because that’s where the money is” is an apocryphal quote attributed to Willie Sutton after he was allegedly asked why he robs banks.  He went on to deny saying it but also believes that would have been his answer had the question actually been posed.  Since his time as a bank robber, banking has changed a lot.  Just recently I discovered that the branch I open

In the 1992 movie Wayne’s World, there’s that classic street hockey moment where Wayne and Garth yell “Game off!” every time a car comes down the street, everyone moves aside, the game stops and then “Game on!” as soon as the street clears.  It’s funny in a movie, but when tariffs in an economy are suddenly switched “on” and th

Stablecoins have been making a lot of headlines lately.  Atlas has been fielding calls about them and has a relatively naïve understanding of the new technology.

Political turbulence has become the new normal, yet economic markets are learning to live with the chaos.

Welcome to Friday, jobs day.  Your federal government may be shut down, but Atlas is not.  A quick glance at the economic calendar will show you that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is supposed to release the September 2025 labor report later this morning.  This would in turn cause Atlas to send you a note about the release’s details.  That initial condition was not met