Reader's glossary

We mark an article CONFIRMED when its underlying source is an official primary source — an SEC filing (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K), an official statement (FOMC, central-bank press release), an official data release (jobs report, CPI, GDP), a company release (IR press release, earnings call), or our own original research. Once confirmed, the underlying fact is on the public record and can be acted on with appropriate context.

When you see DEVELOPING on an article, the underlying story comes from one news outlet, or hasn't been anchored to an official primary source like a regulator filing or a company press release. Markets sometimes act on developing reports anyway, but you should weigh the source before doing the same.

We render this as one of: "Source: Reuters" (one publisher), "2 sources: Reuters, Bloomberg" (two distinct publishers), "3 sources: Reuters, Bloomberg, FT" (three or four), or "5+ sources reporting" (five or more). Same publisher reporting the same story multiple times still counts as one — only distinct publishers matter. Wire-service syndication (e.g. AP picking up a Reuters story) is detected and collapsed so it does not falsely inflate the count.

When you see this icon next to a publisher name, the outlet is government-owned or government-directed (RT, Xinhua, TASS, PressTV, CGTN, Sputnik, Global Times, China Daily, Anadolu Agency, KCNA). Editorial independence is constrained — a state-affiliated outlet is unlikely to publish coverage that contradicts its government's preferred narrative on domestically sensitive topics. Readers should weigh single-source reports from these outlets against independent corroboration before acting.

Updated articles keep the original URL and original publish date — only the body and the updated_at timestamp change. This means a reader returning to a previously-bookmarked link sees the latest version, not a stale first draft.

Example: the May 2026 FOMC decision is one cluster — first the statement, then the press conference, then the dot-plot reading, then market reaction pieces. Rather than publishing each as a disconnected article, we thread them so the reader sees the running story arc.

Often shown as a line chart of FOMC dot-plot medians or futures-implied probabilities. The rate path moves around almost daily as new data shifts expectations; comparing the current path to the path of a month ago tells you whether market consensus has hawkened or doved.

Each row scores a material on immediate tightness, horizon tightness, policy restrictiveness, substitution risk, and recycling relief. Higher scores mean more constrained supply. Useful for spotting where the next squeeze might originate before it shows up in the price tape.

Famous for unconventional monetary policy: yield curve control, decades of zero or negative rates, and large-scale asset purchases. Even small policy shifts at the BOJ can move global yen carry trades and currency markets disproportionately.

Each dot is one FOMC member's anonymous projection. Released alongside the statement at four of the eight annual meetings. The median dot is the headline number; the spread of the dots tells you how united or divided the committee is.

Largely superseded by 'Magnificent 7', which adds Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla and drops Netflix.

Meets eight times a year. Each meeting produces a statement, an updated 'dot plot' showing where each member expects rates to land in the future, and (at four of the eight) a press conference. Markets watch FOMC outcomes closely because the federal funds rate cascades through every other dollar-denominated rate.

Used to describe central-bank officials and their stated leanings. A 'hawkish FOMC member' is reliably more inclined to raise rates. A 'dovish surprise' is a policy outcome more accommodative than expected.

Coined around 2023. As of 2026 these seven stocks account for roughly 30% of the S&P 500's market capitalization. Index-level moves are often driven by their earnings days more than by the rest of the index combined.

Sets the federal funds rate, supervises the banking system, and operates the U.S. payment infrastructure. The Fed's interest-rate decisions ripple through every dollar-denominated asset, which is why FOMC meetings are the most-watched calendar events globally.

Used because tiny differences matter in fixed-income. Saying 'the 10-year yield rose 0.05%' is ambiguous — could be a relative or absolute change. 'Yields rose 5 bps' is unambiguously +0.05 percentage points.

Companies report both. Non-GAAP figures are management's preferred presentation; GAAP is the regulator-mandated apples-to-apples version. Watch for a wide gap between the two — consistent large adjustments can signal earnings quality issues.

A 'low P/E' isn't automatically good — it can mean the market expects earnings to fall. A 'high P/E' isn't automatically bad — it can mean strong growth ahead. Always compare to the company's history and to peers.

Tickers come in several flavors that mean the same thing. You will see the same security written as 'AAPL' (the bare ticker), 'AAPL.O' (RIC — an industry-standard identifier with an exchange suffix), 'AAPL US Equity' (Bloomberg's form), or 'US0378331005' (ISIN — the global unique identifier). They all refer to the same Apple shares; the format depends on which data provider produced the line.