Markets
Anatomy of a bid-ask spread: where the pennies go
A spread decomposes into processing cost, inventory risk and adverse selection — and each component behaves differently when markets speed up.
Author
Naomi Bergman
Naomi Bergman covers the systems that move money, and the small design decisions inside them that quietly decide who gets served. She explains payment rails and credit scoring, covers federal rulemaking and the national record, and reads markets from release to close.
Articles by Naomi Bergman
Finance News
CPI cools to 3.5 percent in June, from 4.2 in May
The 12-month rate fell sharply on a 0.1 percent monthly print — energy mechanics and base effects deserve the credit before narratives do.
Markets
What does trading volume measure, and what doesn't it tell you?
Volume counts transactions, not conviction — and the modern tape's count includes flows that carry no opinion at all.
Finance News
Stress test 2026: 32 banks absorb $708 billion in projected losses
The Fed's June 24 results show a 1.6-point CET1 drawdown under the severely adverse scenario — the first cycle read under the new averaging framework.
Markets
What does after-hours trading actually cost?
Extended sessions run on thinner books, and the measurable cost shows up in spreads, depth and fill quality — not in headline prices.