Dark Pools Explained: How Off-Exchange Trading Works
Dark pools now match nearly half of U.S. stock trades — and most retail orders never touch a lit exchange. Here is how they actually work.
Market Education
Learn how stocks, bonds and capital markets work. Explore plain-English explanations, worked examples and charts, then follow related coverage to connect market concepts with current events. Find your way around ECMSource.
Yield Curve Explained: What Inversion Really Means
What the yield curve is, why inversion has preceded every US recession since 1970, and how to read the current US Treasury curve as of June 1, 2026.
Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) Explained
ROIC measures profit per dollar of capital invested. When ROIC beats WACC, the firm creates value. Here is the formula, math, and where it misleads.
Contango Explained: Why Commodity ETFs Lose to Spot Prices
Contango is the upward-sloping futures curve that quietly drains commodity ETF returns. Here is the math, the cause, and how to spot it.
WACC Explained: How Companies Calculate Their Cost of Capital
WACC blends the cost of equity and after-tax cost of debt into one discount rate. Here is the formula, a worked Apple example, and the pitfalls to avoid.
The Repo Market Explained: $12.6 Trillion of Plumbing
How the repo market works: $12.6T daily, SOFR, tri-party clearing, the Fed’s Standing Repo Facility, and the 2019 spike that changed everything.
Black-Scholes Explained: How Options Are Priced
The Black-Scholes options pricing model, in plain English: the formula, the five inputs, a worked example with verified numbers, and where it breaks.
Relative Strength vs RSI: What’s the Difference?
Relative Strength (RS) and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) sound alike but measure totally different things. Here’s the clean distinction.
CPI vs PCE: Why the Fed Targets PCE Inflation
CPI vs PCE explained: how the two US inflation gauges differ in scope, weights, and formula, and why the Fed’s 2% target rides on core PCE.
Credit Default Swaps Explained: How Bond Insurance Works
What is a credit default swap? How CDS premiums, credit events, and the ISDA auction work, with worked numbers and verified market data.