TOPIC COLLECTION
Reference & timing: read the limits of data
Exchange rates, fuel prices and timestamps: understand what a reference series describes—and what it does not.
The ECB rate is a reference, not your exchange quote.
Read direction, date and fees before deciding that a bank or currency converter is “wrong”.
Crude is down. Why isn’t gasoline down by the same amount?
A U.S.-focused explanation of components, timing and the limits of a one-line oil-to-pump comparison.
“Updated just now” does not mean the price is new.
A field guide to observation time, publication time and retrieval time—and why a stale-looking number may still be the latest release.