Stock Index Futures Explained: Fair Value, Basis, and Pricing
Learn how stock index futures work, how fair value and basis are calculated using the cost-of-carry model, and how premarket trading forecasts market opens.
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.
Securities Lending Explained: How Share Loans & Rebates Work
Understand how securities lending works, how cash collateral is reinvested, how rebate rates are calculated, and what hard-to-borrow specials cost borrowers.
The Prime Rate Explained: How It Is Set and What It Moves
Learn what the prime rate is, how banks set it 300 basis points above the Fed funds rate, and how it directly affects credit cards, HELOCs, and loans.
J.B. Hunt Plunges 13%: $35M Cost Shock Triggers Q3 Profit Warning
J.B. Hunt shares sank 13.3% on Sept 16, 2026 after management warned Q3 profit will drop 5% to 10% sequentially due to diesel costs and driver onboarding.
Fed Floor System: How IORB and ON RRP Set Interest Rates
Discover how the Federal Reserve’s floor system controls interest rates using administered rates like IORB, the ON RRP facility, and the discount window.
Price-Weighted vs. Market-Cap-Weighted: How Stock Indices Work
Learn how price-weighted and market-cap-weighted indices work, how the Dow Divisor functions, worked math examples, and the key distortions of each method.
Fed Funds vs. 10-Year Treasury: Why Long-Term Rates Diverge
Why do 10-year Treasury yields move opposite to Fed rate cuts? Learn how the Fed sets overnight rates while markets price inflation, growth, and term premium.
Commercial Paper Explained: How Companies Issue Short-Term Debt
Learn how the $1.4 trillion commercial paper market works: Section 3(a)(3) rules, Tier 1 vs Tier 2 ratings, discount yield formulas, and rollover risks.
The 4 Yield Curve Shifts: Bull vs. Bear Steepeners & Flatteners
Understand the four yield curve regimes: bull steepener, bear steepener, bull flattener, and bear flattener, what drives them, and how they impact markets.
Debt Covenants Explained: Affirmative, Negative, and Cov-Lite
Understand debt covenants: affirmative vs negative rules, financial maintenance tests, debt-to-EBITDA math, and why covenant-lite loans dominate modern credit.