It’s day 203 of the Iran war. And, at least five countries are rationing fuel or reporting empty pumps as of September 19. Brent crude traded at nearly $110 this month, its strongest level since spring.

The Strait of Hormuz has been largely shut since Iran retaliated for US and Israeli strikes on February 28. Houthi advances at the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint this month have now squeezed the main bypass route as well.

The crisis is now also a refined-product problem, not just a crude problem. Vitol CEO Russell Hardy said at the Asia-Pacific Petroleum Conference that the market is missing about 2 million barrels a day of products from Russia and almost 2 million more from the Middle East.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says refined shipments leaving the Gulf still run below half their February pace. Russian diesel exports have roughly halved since June, per the IRU.

The 5 Countries Rationing Fuel or Reporting Stockouts

1. France

Between 10% and 12% of French stations were out of at least one fuel from September 13 to 15, according to government prix-carburant data cited by Connexion. Grand Est reached 14%.

SP95-E5 petrol hit an all-time record of €2.17 a litre after six straight weekly rises. Diesel is within 1% of the record set in April.

President Emmanuel Macron said on September 18 that France may release strategic reserves and wants a G7 meeting on coordinated action. 

“In the coming weeks, we ​will hold a G7 meeting dedicated ​to these energy issues, both to strengthen cooperation and avoid unnecessary tensions among G7 countries ​and our key partners, and ​to consider options for potential releases from strategic ‌reserves ⁠or the lifting of restrictions, as we did a few months ago,” Macron said.

France holds roughly 118 days of net import cover in strategic oil reserves, yet its pumps are still running dry, which shows the bottleneck is refined product logistics rather than crude.

That distribution gap is now spilling into the streets. For instance, on September 15, Fishermen blockaded the Fos-sur-Mer depot and clashed with police. 

2. Pakistan

Pakistan lifted its emergency fuel curbs on June 20. Eighty-nine days later, it brought them all back.

From September 17, shops and malls across Pakistan must close by 09:00 PM, wedding halls by 10:00 PM, and restaurants by 11:00 PM. This Cabinet Division order runs for the next three months.

Moreover, government vehicles lose 50% of their fuel allocation, with security fleets exempt.

The government banned new vehicle purchases and official foreign travel, and ordered a 5% cut to non-employee spending for fiscal 2026-27.

The bigger risk is winter. Pakistan must lock in oil and gas cargoes before November, when global demand rises, and Red Sea detours add about 10 days to each voyage.

3. Bangladesh

Bangladesh imports more than 90% of its petroleum, and Dhaka, a city of almost 40 million, now runs on a timetable set by gas pressure. Residents plan their days around when the stove will light, how long a fan can run, and how far the petrol queue stretches.

For many households, cooking has shifted to 01:00 AM, the only hour when piped gas is strong enough to use, The Guardian reported. One bank employee told the paper she sleeps three hours a night before a full day at the office.

“I don’t want anything extraordinary from the government; I want to turn on the stove and find gas, I want to switch on the light and find electricity, I want clean water from the tap. These are not luxuries.” the bank employee told The Guardian.

The government has answered with energy rationing. Shops, markets, and shopping centres must shut by 8 PM, an hour earlier than before, and lit billboards go dark from 7 PM. Only hospitals, pharmacies, food shops, and emergency services are exempt.

Industry is taking the same hit. Garment factories, the country’s main source of foreign currency, face rationing and temporary closures, and one Gazipur plant reported four or five power cuts a day. 

4. Indonesia

Protesters stormed the Pertamina Patra Niaga office in Makassar on September 14 and traded punches with security guards. Hundreds were still outside by nightfall, Kompas reported.

Queues at Makassar pumps ran as long as one kilometer. Ride-hailing drivers described three-hour waits and called it the worst shortage they had ever seen.

South Sulawesi’s answer was rationing by decree on September 12. Cars can only refuel on days matching their plate number, private vehicles must show a fuel gauge below one bar, and trucks and buses may fill up only between 6 p.m. and 4 a.m.

However, on September 17, Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia told reporters at the Presidential Palace that the Makassar shortage was resolved and national stocks cover 18 to 20 days.

He blamed drivers switching from full-price fuel to subsidised Pertalite as crude topped $100, per Tempo. His ministry is now drafting rules to bar wealthier households from subsidised pumps.

Indonesia imports about 60% of its fuel, and the rupiah had already lost 11% against the dollar by June. Therefore, each barrel costs more in local terms before Brent moves at all.

5. Nepal

Nepal’s supplies minister resigned on September 10 amidst the cooking gas supply crisis. The same day, students in Kathmandu cooked rice over firewood outside their campus gate in protest, according to ANI.

Along with the US-Iran conflict, the crisis deepened due to a landslide that shut the Prithvi Highway, the main supply road into Kathmandu.

Bottling plants in the Kathmandu Valley were delivering just 5% of the 35,000 to 40,000 cylinders the capital needs each day, the Federation of Nepal Gas Distributors told the Kathmandu Post. Some households have gone a month without a refill.

Restaurants say they are close to shutting down, and the Kathmandu Post now describes residents cutting back on food. Nepal imports every litre of fuel through India, so it sits at the end of a supply chain that is itself under strain.

What the Next 90 Days Decide

The Northern Hemisphere heating season starts in weeks. Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia will be bidding for the same winter cargoes as Europe.

Macron wants a G7 reserve release before the cold sets in. Nobody has said whether the other six will agree.

Five countries made this list today. Will more join them? Keep checking BeInCrypto for the running count.

The post Fuel Shortages Hit 5 Countries on Day 203 of the Iran War: Full List appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Quick Read

• Federal law lets the at-home spouse request a fair hearing to push protected savings above the $162,660 CSRA cap when income falls short of $2,705 monthly.

• The income-first rule blocks most couples: the institutionalized spouse’s pension and Social Security must close the gap before any extra assets are protected.

• Winners typically have a low-income at-home spouse, a modest institutionalized spouse income, and high housing costs that push the protected ceiling above the standard cap.

• Two retirees, same $1 million, same 4% rule, buy one finished with $1.4 million, the other hit $0 in 12 years. Our free reader guide explains the flaw that separated them, and the income-first method built to avoid it.

If your spouse is entering a nursing home and you are the one staying home, Medicaid quietly hands you a lever most families never pull. Federal law lets you ask an administrative judge to raise your protected savings above your state’s standard when the income those savings generate isn’t enough to live on.

That is the buried mechanic behind the Community Spouse Resource Allowance fair hearing, and in a narrow set of cases it moves the ceiling well past the widely quoted 2026 cap, according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Start with the baseline figures set by federal regulators. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the 2026 federal maximum CSRA is $162,660, with a floor of $32,532. States pick a standard inside that band, and the count is a snapshot taken when the ill spouse enters institutional care. Those figures come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services Informational Bulletin issued April 27, 2026.

The 4% Rule is Broken, Built On A World That No Longer Exists

Every retiree knows about the 4% rule, but it frames retirement as a slow liquidation and still causes retirees with seven-figure accounts to agonize over a dinner out.

There’s a different way to run the math that makes more sense today. Build an income floor — dividends, interest, and Social Security that cover your essential bills every month — and you never have to sell shares into a down market just to pay them.

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Our free reader guide, The 4% Rule Is Broken, walks through it in about 15 minutes. Access the report here.

What a Fair Hearing Actually Buys You

The spousal impoverishment statute at 42 U.S.C. §1396r-5 provides that if the community spouse’s monthly income falls below the Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance, and the income thrown off by the assets they are already allowed to keep does not close the gap, a hearing officer may raise the resource allowance to an amount that will generate that income. Per the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the MMMNA is $2,705, effective July 1, 2026, with higher figures in Alaska and Hawaii. The allowance operates as a floor that can expand when the household arithmetic demands it.

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Federal Rule That Shrinks the Opening for Most Couples

The income-first rule kills the strategy for most households. Under the income-first rule added by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, states that apply it must first divert the institutionalized spouse’s income to the at-home spouse. Only if that diversion still leaves the community spouse short of the MMMNA can resources be expanded.

If your husband or wife has a pension plus Social Security, that transfer usually closes the gap on its own. The resource allowance never grows. A minority of states historically used a resources-first approach, which produced larger CSRAs on the same facts, but federal law has pushed states toward an income-first approach. Ask your state agency which rule it applies before you plan around this provision.

Profile of a Household That Wins

The couples who move the needle look specific. The at-home spouse has little or no income. The institutionalized spouse’s income is modest. Housing costs are high enough that the excess shelter allowance, which layers rent or mortgage, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and a standard utility figure above a set threshold, pushes the MMMNA above the baseline. And the state either applies resources-first, or the income-first math still leaves a shortfall. Under those facts, a hearing can approve a CSRA sized to generate the missing income, sometimes materially above $162,660, according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

How to Request the Hearing Without Wasting Your Shot

Request the fair hearing through your state Medicaid agency, usually within 90 days of the eligibility notice, though deadlines vary by state. Bring documented income for both spouses, current interest and dividend statements, a full shelter cost worksheet, and a projected income calculation showing what additional assets you would need to reach the MMMNA. The burden of proof sits on you. Expect the state to counter that a Medicaid-compliant annuity should generate the missing income instead of an enlarged resource pool, and be ready to argue why an annuity does or does not fit your facts.

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What a Win Does Not Fix

A favorable ruling adjusts resources only, but it does nothing about estate recovery after the institutionalized spouse dies, and the house and the expanded assets remain exposed. The specific question to bring to your state agency is whether it applies income-first or resources-first, and what excess shelter allowance it will accept. Then hire an elder law attorney licensed in your state. This provision rewards documentation, and the paperwork is not something to freelance.

Before Your Next Withdrawal, Run One Number ( It’s Not The 4% Rule Everyone Knows)

Take your essential monthly expenses and subtract your guaranteed income — Social Security, plus any pension. What’s left is your income gap, and how you close it determines whether retirement runs on share sales or on a paycheck your portfolio writes you every month. Our free reader guide, The 4% Rule Is Broken, shows exactly how to close that gap with portfolio income: a worked example (one retiree needed about $480,000 in income-producing assets to cover his essentials for good), an eight-point conversion checklist, and the 20-year numbers comparing dividends to withdrawals. It’s free and takes about 15 minutes to read. Get the guide here before you take your next withdrawal.

Contact editorial@247wallst.com for any questions or corrections.

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Most investors think of the Nasdaq-100 index as a tech index. That’s not unreasonable, given that 66% of the index is, indeed, in the technology sector. However, if you are looking for a high-yield stock, tech usually isn’t the place to look. Which is why my pick in September is from the just over 2% weighting in consumer staples companies.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP) has a yield of roughly 4.3%. For reference, the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) yields only about 1%, while the average consumer staples stock yields roughly 2.1%. So that yield is attractive on both an absolute and a relative basis. Here’s a quick rundown on why PepsiCo’s yield is so high and why I bought it anyway.

Missed AI’s “Act 1”? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn’t buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of “Act 1″—the R&D phase. “Act 2” is the global rollout. Continue »

PepsiCo isn’t hitting on all cylinders

In the second quarter of 2026, PepsiCo’s organic sales rose 2.4%. That’s actually not a terrible number for a consumer staples company, but it is less than half the 6% that Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) achieved. Given that these two companies are key competitors in the beverage space, you can see why Wall Street isn’t happy with PepsiCo’s business results.

To be fair to PepsiCo, its business spans beverages, snacks, and packaged food products. So it is far more diversified than Coca-Cola. Right now, that’s a headwind, but I actually see the added diversification as a net positive. I believe it gives PepsiCo more levers for long-term growth.

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But right now, consumer tastes are shifting. Some of that is related to a general increase in health consciousness. And some is tied to the development of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, which are changing the way people eat. The why here is less important than the fact that there is a change. PepsiCo is aware of it and is working to update its brand portfolio. That takes time, and Wall Street is famously impatient, so the stock price has fallen. I think that’s an opportunity for long-term investors like me.

PepsiCo has dealt with change before

What’s important to remember right now is that consumer buying habits shift constantly. While the current change may feel dramatic, at least partly due to the impact of GLP-1 drugs, PepsiCo has adjusted its business many times over the past 54 years. Fifty-four may seem like an oddly specific number, but it really isn’t. It is the number of years that PepsiCo has increased its dividend.

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Citing data from Santiment, popular analyst Ali Martinez noted on Saturday that Ripple whales have gone on a spectacular accumulation spree in the past four days, acquiring over 1.5 billion tokens.

At the same time, other on-chain and technical signals suggest that the recent selling pressure might be easing and the underlying asset could be preparing for another leg up.

Ripple Whales Go Big

These key market participants, whose actions are typically mimicked by retail investors, have accumulated approximately 1.54 billion XRP in about 96 hours. At current prices, this stash is worth around $2 billion. The timing of the buying spree was quite intriguing, as it began with the CLARITY Act setback in the US Senate, which pushed the token’s price down sharply.

However, accumulating over 1.5 billion tokens in such a short time has helped the asset recover, which is among the reasons XRP surged to over $1.45 on Friday and Saturday after it had bottomed at $1.27 on Tuesday following the Senate vote.

$2 BILLION IN XRP BOUGHT BY WHALES

Whale activity on the XRP network has surged over the past 96 hours.

Large holders appear to have accumulated roughly 1.54 billion $XRP, worth around $2.2 billion.

That’s a significant accumulation spike that could soon translate into price… https://t.co/cBssFmv3wQ pic.twitter.com/Ty3ukakDvi

— Ali Charts (@alicharts) September 19, 2026

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Martinez also believes that this spectacular accumulation spree can soon “translate into price action, leading to a bullish breakout.” He has previously predicted that XRP is primed to challenge the key psychological level at $2.00.

Next Targets

Crypto Patel also noted that XRP is sitting above a “major long-term accumulation zone” on the 2-week chart, and it has reclaimed its long-term structure. As such, the analyst outlined some major targets that begin with the potential run toward the first crucial resistance at $1.70. If that one falls, the asset could head toward $3.00, and Patel’s long-term target remains at a whopping $10 or even beyond.

Meanwhile, Dark Defender said XRP’s 5-wave structure is “rock solid,” after the asset “said bye-bye” to a key resistance capping its breakout attempts. The analyst was slightly more modest in their predictions, indicating that the next targets for XRP are $1.70 and $1.88. Recall that XRP’s run in mid-August was halted at the former, after it skyrocketed by 70% in less than 72 hours.

The post Ripple Whales Go on Massive Accumulation Spree: Bigger XRP Price Move Coming? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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Charles Hoskinson believes artificial intelligence (AI) is about to repeat a pattern he witnessed firsthand decades ago.

The Cardano founder argues that blockchain technology will eventually absorb AI, much like cryptocurrency once absorbed cryptography as a discipline.

Why Hoskinson Sees a Coming AI Reckoning

Speaking on the Deeptech Insights podcast this week, Hoskinson pointed to a math problem he considers unsustainable: data center spending keeps growing tenfold year after year, yet the electricity grid simply cannot scale at that pace.

Labs like OpenAI and Anthropic still need to turn a profit eventually, he noted, and the enormous cost of pretraining new models keeps narrowing the path to profitability.

Hoskinson drew a direct parallel to his own career. Cryptographers once resisted any association with cryptocurrency, he recalled, until crypto’s money became powerful enough to hire away the field’s best talent. He expects AI to follow a similar arc within five to ten years.

“Cryptocurrencies are going to eat AI because we solve all the hard problems that AI can’t solve,” Hoskinson said, naming payments, alignment, and data provenance as the specific gaps blockchains could fill.

Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens.

His alignment argument centers on governance. Individual AI companies currently set their own rules on acceptable behavior and free speech, he argued, whereas a blockchain-based system could instead establish shared standards among participants.

The same infrastructure, he added, could also track content origin and automate royalty payments whenever AI systems draw on someone else’s work.

Hoskinson floated an alternative to building more data centers: pooling everyday phones and GPUs into a distributed training network. He compared today’s AI buildout to the late-1990s fiber optic boom, when roughly 90% of newly laid cable sat idle for nearly a decade.

A similar pattern could follow with data centers, he argued, shifting toward smaller models running locally on devices like Apple’s M5 Mac Studio, with cryptocurrency as the coordination layer.

His Timeline for U.S. Crypto Regulation Looks Grim

Hoskinson also predicted the CLARITY Act won’t clear Congress until 2029, blaming three specific missteps by the Trump administration, including tying crypto’s public image too closely to Trump-branded tokens.

“…There’s no pressure, political pressure to pass this type of thing. they’ll just wait until the next session and force uh a heavily unfavorable bill including ethics provisions to Trump uh on them if they want clarity. Of course, Trump won’t make those concessions. So, actually, we’ll have to wait till 2029 to get a new Clarity Act passed because of the ineptitude of uh of what the White House did. And I was very public about this…,” Hoskinson noted.

That prediction landed just a day after the Senate actually failed to advance the CLARITY Act on September 15, falling short of the 60 votes required.

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The post Charles Hoskinson Predicts Crypto Will Eat AI: What's His Reasoning? appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Bitcoin has recovered sharply from the latest pullback and is once again pressing against the upper boundary of its consolidation. With BTC trading around $81.5K, the market is approaching a decisive area where a confirmed bullish breakout could trigger another expansion higher.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: The Daily Chart

The daily chart continues to show Bitcoin consolidating after its powerful August breakout. The latest recovery from the $75K area has been particularly strong, with buyers quickly pushing the price back toward the major $80.5K-$82.5K resistance zone.

This region has repeatedly capped upside attempts and remains the main obstacle preventing another bullish leg. BTC is now testing it once again around $81.5K, while the broader structure remains constructive as long as the $72.5K-$75K support zone is preserved.

Momentum has also improved. The daily RSI has rebounded back above the neutral 50 area and is approaching the mid-60s, reflecting renewed buying momentum without yet reaching overbought territory.

A sustained daily breakout above the $82.5K resistance area would represent an important structural development and could pave the way toward the next major supply zone around $86K-$90K. Conversely, another rejection could keep Bitcoin range-bound, with $75K and the broader $72.5K-$75K region remaining the primary support area.

BTC/USDT 4-Hour Chart

The 4-hour timeframe highlights the range-bound structure more clearly. Bitcoin recently rebounded aggressively from the lower boundary near $74.5K-$75K and has now returned directly to the $81K-$82K resistance region.

The recovery has been impulsive, particularly during the latest move from around $76K toward $81K. However, price has not yet produced a convincing breakout from the upper boundary. Therefore, the market remains inside the broader range despite the increasingly bullish short-term momentum.

A clean break and sustained hold above the $81K-$82K zone would likely shift the structure decisively in favor of buyers. Such a move could trigger another price spike, initially toward the rising upper trendline around $84K-$85K.

Until that happens, rejection remains a relevant alternative. Failure to clear $82K could send BTC back toward the middle of the range, while the $72.5K-$75K zone remains the critical support and broader invalidation area for the current bullish setup.

Sentiment Analysis

The two-week Binance BTC/USDT liquidation heatmap adds further context to the latest rally. Liquidation heatmaps highlight areas where leveraged positions are concentrated, with brighter regions representing larger potential liquidation clusters.

Bitcoin’s surge above $80K has pushed price into a significant concentration of liquidity around the $80K-$82K region. This aligns closely with the technical resistance visible on both price charts, making the current area particularly important.

Some liquidity remains immediately above the market, suggesting that a decisive breakout could force additional short liquidations and potentially accelerate the move. This supports the possibility of another sharp spike if BTC successfully clears the $81K-$82K resistance zone.

At the same time, a liquidity concentration remains below price around $74K-$75K. Therefore, as long as Bitcoin remains trapped below resistance, volatility in either direction cannot be ruled out. For now, the combination of improving momentum and price pressing against the range high puts the focus firmly on whether buyers can convert the current test into a confirmed breakout.

The post Bitcoin Price Analysis: Explosive BTC Rally Faces One Major Obstacle appeared first on CryptoPotato.

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Dear Quentin,

My husband, 59, and I, 55, are planning to retire over the next few years, and this is one of the biggest unknowns I’m struggling with. My mom had Alzheimer’s disease and spent seven years in a really nice memory-care facility in a smaller town. It cost about $7,000 a month. Thankfully, my parents had purchased long-term-care insurance and had paid premiums for about 12 years. 

My dad died shortly after being diagnosed with cancer, so his policy was never used. But my mom’s policy ended up being worth its weight in gold. It essentially covered all of her care. By the time my mother died, the insurance company had paid out almost $600,000. We only paid about $100 a month for some extras. Needless to say, that experience has made me think.

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I’ve looked into long-term-care insurance, but the premiums are so incredibly expensive, and I worry about what they’ll cost by the time it makes sense for me to seriously consider a policy. We’re fortunate financially. After 35 years in the corporate grind, we’ll have substantial retirement savings; we’ve always saved carefully; and we have no debt or mortgage. 

I also genuinely love my job, so I’m perfectly happy to work longer if that makes sense. What I really don’t want is to leave our two kids with a huge financial burden someday if one or both of us need years of expensive care. Do I self-insure? Buy long-term-care insurance? Use some combination of investments and insurance? Are there good retirement-planning tools?

I know Medicare is part of the equation, but I’d like more control over our options than simply hoping it will be enough. I’m doing everything I can on the preventative-care and healthy-lifestyle front, but unfortunately there are no guarantees. Right now, my strategy is to save as much as humanly possible and hope for the best.

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If you have a crystal ball that will tell me I will need memory care in old age, please share.

In My Fifties

Don’t miss: ‘We fear financial exploitation’: Who will manage our finances if my wife and I become incapacitated?

Dear Fifties,

Your 50s are actually not a bad time to take out long-term care insurance.

Financially speaking, given your age, you’re not too young and you’re not too old. Yes, you probably would have spent less on monthly premiums had you taken out this insurance policy in your 40s, but you would also have been paying it for a decade. It’s hard to predict the future and get that perfect balance. If your mother had Alzheimer’s, your own risk is higher than average from a statistical point of view, although that does not mean that you will develop the disease.

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Story Continues

In fact, AARP suggests that the optimal age to buy a long-term-care policy is between 60 and 65. “This Goldilocks age range is not too young and not too old,” it says. “A still-affordable monthly premium coupled with a total savings is a winning combination.” However, waiting until age 65 is a gamble. Anyone could be rejected because health or medical-test results indicate a high probability of problems that might lead to a need for long-term care.

So if you’re in your 50s, you have time. Insurance companies will ask about family history, including whether relatives have suffered from dementia, and at what age; ditto for heart disease, among other age-related diseases. Premiums vary depending on your age, health, benefit amount, inflation protection and other features. Always ask how future premium increases are handled: traditional long-term-care premiums are not necessarily guaranteed to remain static.

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As you point out, long-term care can be expensive, especially if you’re in care for many years like your mother. A nursing-home room could cost $100,000 a year or more than $60,000 for assisted living. Medicare does not typically cover ongoing long-term care. Medicaid can help cover nursing-home care for people who meet its financial and medical requirements, but those rules vary by state. From what you say, you’re a long way from needing Medicaid.

Taking out long-term care insurance buys you peace of mind in addition to future-proofing your medical care. It also takes your retirement needs into account. With the help of a certified financial planner who specializes in this area, you could stress test your retirement with a variety of options. You can either self-insure and set aside enough money for a prolonged period of care, buy traditional long-term-care insurance, or decide upon some kind of combination. 

Don’t miss: I’m a single 58-year-old veteran in California with $1.5 million and a VA pension. Can I retire?

Hybrid vs. traditional insurance

Hybrid long-term-care insurance can be pricier than a traditional policy. Hybrid policies combine life insurance with a long-term-care rider or use an annuity structure. If you don’t use the rider, the remaining value goes to your estate, so the money is not lost as it would be with traditional “use it or lose it.” You should also take into account the benefit period, inflation protection and premium-rate increases, and, as obvious as it sounds, what the policy actually covers.

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Traditional LTC insurance is sometimes seen as less attractive because of the risk that you pay into the policy and either let it lapse when premiums become too expensive, or you don’t end up needing it. Insurance professionals call this the “zero return” structure, which is why hybrid policies can seem more attractive. You are buying peace of mind and financial support if you become infirm. But as you point out, all policies have risks.

As for the surprises, nasty or otherwise, hire an independent specialist or fee-only financial planner to review any policy and compare it with self-insurance. Make sure there’s an inflation rider — inflation over 30 years could erode the value of your policy if you don’t have one in place — and that the policy covers dementia. And, yes, check the waiting period (30, 60, 90 or 100 days) during which you pay for care out of pocket before your insurance kicks in.

There is a genetic test for Alzheimer’s risk that evaluates the apolipoprotein E or APOE gene, widely regarded in the medical community as the strongest and most common genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. It provides context, but does not predict whether or not you will develop dementia. You can read more about genetic testing and other risk factors via this explanation on the APOE gene from the Mayo Clinic. 

Your mother’s experience has understandably rattled you. Seven years at $7,000 a month is roughly $588,000 before accounting for increases in the cost of care. Her insurance ultimately paid almost $600,000. The risk of developing Alzheimer’s exists, but you need to balance that risk with the price for your peace of mind and the price you would pay in retirement by taking out long-term care insurance today.

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You don’t need a crystal ball. You just need old-fashioned planning.

Don’t miss: ‘The estrangement isn’t about politics’: My daughter hasn’t spoken to me for 4 years. Do I leave her a monthly annuity?

More columns from Quentin Fottrell:

‘I feel shoehorned’: My father funded my $800,000 Roth IRA. Does that give him the right to say how I invest it?

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‘My main goal is to help people’: I’m single, 74, with $10 million burning a hole in my pocket. What should I do?

‘Poverty doesn’t have to be my reality’: I thought I’d have to rely on Social Security. Then I taught myself how to invest.

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Zcash (ZEC) has climbed 177.8% in a month, and the traders betting against it are paying for that move.

One short was closed at a $10.68 million loss this week, and the largest position still open sits $33.87 million underwater on Hyperliquid.

Zcash Shorts Collapse as the Token Jumps 177% in a Month

Lookonchain flagged the closed trade before the exit, citing 26 consecutive wins and an 89% rate across 47 trades. That record had produced more than $9 million in profit.

The short covered 12,285 ZEC and was worth $18.31 million earlier, with liquidation set at $1,550.66. Hyperliquid data shows the account now holds no positions at all.

Garrett Jin holds the largest short still open, covering 37,999 ZEC worth $59.37 million. He built the position at an average price of $671.05, so it now shows an unrealized loss of $33.87 million.

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His 1,333 BTC long is up $4.41 million, which cushions part of the damage. Jin still has room, because his liquidation price of $4,789.42 sits above the 2016 record of $3,191.93.

Other addresses are also seeing sharp losses. One account (0xdd53…2b13) is down $12.53 million on a 13,487 ZEC short opened at $644.39. Another (0xad59…ba81) shorted 8,425 ZEC at $330.91 with 10 times leverage and now sits $10.47 million underwater.

Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens

Spot Buyers, ETF Flows and One Very Loud Timeline

The rally that caused the damage has made ZEC the strongest performer among the 10 largest cryptocurrencies. The token trades near $1,563 and ranks ninth by market value at $26.47 billion.

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The move has real buying behind it from both retail whales and institutions. Lookonchain reported that one address withdrew 15,860 ZEC worth $22.69 million from Binance in a day. Another moved 7,081 ZEC over two days.

Institutional buying has moved in the same direction Zcash ETFs took in $98.2 million in the week ending September 18, the largest inflow among 14 products. Assets rose 40.5% to $914.5 million.

Attention has followed the price. Santiment recorded Zcash social volume at a one-month high on September 17. Mentions on X ran 6.8 times their 29-day baseline, against 1.7 times elsewhere.

“The price found buyers. The attention found one timeline,” the post read.

Traders now watch whether spot demand holds. Open interest in ZEC perpetuals on Hyperliquid stands at 574,045 ZEC, worth roughly $885 million, so leveraged positions remain large on both sides.

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Anthropic’s initial public offering (IPO), expected no earlier than mid-October, will be a test of just how hungry the financial markets still are for exposure to artificial intelligence (AI). The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is going to react depending on how that test goes. Its backers want a valuation of $2 trillion or more, which would top Space Exploration Technologies as the biggest IPO ever if it happens.

Don’t expect S&P 500 funds to buy it immediately, though. The road for Anthropic entering the S&P 500 is going to be slow, and it could test some nerves along the way.

Missed AI’s “Act 1”? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn’t buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of “Act 1″—the R&D phase. “Act 2” is the global rollout. Continue »

Anthropic can’t join the S&P 500 for at least 12 months

By definition, index funds tracking the S&P 500 must buy whatever the S&P 500 adds to its list of stocks.

Anthropic probably won’t get special treatment, given that on June 4, S&P Dow Jones Indices declined to loosen its rules for mega-cap listings. Those rules still require 12 months as a public company, at least 10% of shares being publicly held, and reported positive earnings under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

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While SpaceX joined the Nasdaq-100 list of stocks within weeks of its June 2026 IPO, it still needs to wait outside the S&P 500. If Anthropic has its offering in late 2026 as planned, its earliest shot at inclusion in the S&P 500 will occur in late 2027.

Nonetheless, two of the index’s largest companies already own Anthropic, which means that holders of the index funds have some exposure already as well. For instance, Amazon reported $16.8 billion of pretax gains on its Anthropic position in the first quarter of 2026. Alphabet also has a stake in Anthropic, so a strong debut could boost it and Amazon.

Should you expect a slump after the Anthropic IPO?

Per finance professor Jay Ritter at the University of Florida, across 9,343 U.S. IPOs from 1980 to 2025, the average first-day gain was 19%. The pain came later. Measured from their first close, IPOs from 2012 to 2024 underperformed the market by 25.5% over three years, on average.

SpaceX shows how bumpy the ride can get. It priced its June 2026 IPO at $135. It then jumped to $225.64 before falling to $104.83, and was $151.10 on Sept. 16. That peak-to-trough plunge was probably quite frustrating for its shareholders.

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