As government agencies release new and delayed 2025 data, a holistic economic picture of 2025 is coming into focus, though some Q4 data has yet to be released into the wild.

The following Visual Capitalist infographic shows that of the slate of consumer goods and services, essential services — hospital, medical, and childcare services, along with housing and food — have seen the greatest increase in prices in the 25 and 3/4 years between 2000 and Q3 of 2025:

Current as of September 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics data

Energy Assistance

The Census Bureau has created a survey-supported infographic on American households receiving government assistance with energy bills, rent, or both:

Based on survey data collected in 2024 regarding assistance received in the prior year

Notable statistics from the graphic’s small print:

Note that the ratio of households in the West receiving energy and rental assistance is second lowest and lowest, respectfully, of all regions:

Based on survey data collected in 2024 regarding assistance received in the prior year

Energy Futures

Our perusal of upcoming events led us to note the Burnaby Board of Trade’s 2026 Clean Energy Summit, where topics will include “non-emitting” energy and hydrogen-generated energy startups, along with a discussion of clean energy systems that are operating commercially — with or without government support — and make good economic sense.

Included in a Clean Technica write-up that mentions the summit are a number of interesting energy infrastructure examples and case studies from across the globe, along with the following ChatGPT-generated graphic illustrating the three basic mechanisms through which clean energy technologies are most rapidly spreading:

 Source: Clean Technica

The article, which we highly recommend to those interested in the topic, ends with this forward-looking question-as-capstone:

The future, in this sense, is not missing. It is visible in Pakistan’s rooftops, Norway’s ferries, China’s rivers, the Netherlands’ aquifers, Europe’s grid maps, and Bogotá’s bus depots. The question for places like Metro Vancouver is not whether these futures exist, but which of them will be recognized, copied, and scaled next.

Burrito Boom

Fact Pack readers who travel to Southern California and/or have a favorite Nevada-sourced fast-food burrito may be interested in this surprisingly well-researched article in Axios San Diego centered on rising retail prices for the iconic California Burrito (hallmarked by the inclusion of carne asada, cheese, and seasoned potatoes or French fries).

The gist of the piece: It’s hard for locals and tourists to find one for less than $10, which wasn’t the case a few years ago. Examples of San Diego area price increases:

• Harry’s Taco Club: $9.95 in 2020-21 to $15.99 in 2026

• Rubio’s Coastal Grill: $8.99 in 2019 to $13.99 in 2026

• Roberto’s: $7.80 in 2019 to around $11 in 2023 to $13 in 2026

The easy-to-guess reason: increased ingredient prices.

Rubio’s says it recently added 25 percent more protein (beef, chicken or shrimp) to its burritos. Other makers note that in addition to rising ingredient costs, they are grappling with increased costs for employees, rent, and insurance.

Our curious and enterprising editor (may she never leave us) conducted some research on fast food burrito prices in Nevada. Results:

Las Vegas

• Roberto’s Taco Shop: $12.94 is the standard price at most locations. Some franchise locations price it as low as $10.00 (including Ft. Apache and Charleston).

• Fausto’s Mexican Grill: Pricing varies by location, typically ranging from $9.92 (Silverado Ranch) to $12.42 (Horizon Ridge).

• Don Tortaco Mexican Grill: Prices generally range from $10.36 to $10.67 at most Las Vegas locations.

Reno

• Roberto’s Taco Shop: Consistent with their southern counterparts, Reno locations (such as N. Virginia St) list the California burrito at $12.94.

• Beto’s Mexican Food: A staple in Reno, their California burrito is currently priced at $13.79.

• Rivas Mexican Grill: The price for a standard California burrito at Rivas is $12.50 to $13.50.

• California Burrito (Sparks/Reno): At the restaurant named California Burrito, the signature item is priced higher: $16.77.

Note: Prices are based on current 2026 retail and delivery menu listings. Ordering through third-party delivery apps may show different “app-exclusive” menu pricing when compared to in-store walk-in prices.

To Your Health

Nevada was ranked 42nd among states for overall health (based on 99 weighted metrics):

Source: Visual Capitalist As of 2025

Top 10:

Source: Visual Capitalist As of 2025

More info and methodology here.

Wanna Bet?

The world of prediction markets is getting weirder, offering betting opportunities for everything who will win reality show The Traitors to where Taylor Swift will get married (Rhode Island, if the odds are correct) to who will be nominated for a Golden Globe award —Polymarket’s odds for nominees were shown on screen during this year’s broadcast.

Operating outside of federal and state gaming regulations (more on that in a moment), the number of prediction portals and players is increasing, in part because platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket enable risk-takers to place wagers of less than a dollar and have top-end payouts that run into the millions. Truth Social says it is on the verge of launching a private prediction market, and more players will surely follow — all welcoming users as young as 18 and raking in enormous amounts of money on the losses of mostly male users.

Polymarket Super Bowl graph as of 2:00 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 2

As we noted above, such platforms have so far avoided the federal oversight of traditional gaming endures, thanks to landmark legal victories that mean they are treated as “information markets” and derivative exchanges rather than gambling entities by the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission).

That battle isn’t over, though. States including Nevada, New Jersey, and Maryland are actively litigating, arguing that such betting platforms are unlicensed gambling that bypasses state gaming taxes. For now, investors have responded to the opportunities:

• Monthly stock trading volume for prediction markets grew from less than $100 million in early 2024 to more than $13 billion by late 2025.

• In 2025, Polymarket and Kalshi generated a combined volume of more than $37 billion.

• The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange, recently made a landmark $2 billion investment into Polymarket, signaling confidence in the future of event-based betting and trading.

Media companies including CNN, CNBC, and Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal are getting in on the action by partnering with platforms, and WSJ has been citing real-time prediction market odds alongside traditional polling, which tend to lag headlines.

Notable bets that recently attracted massive volume:

• Potential U.S. strikes on Iran, Greenland-related tariff outcomes, and military actions in Venezuela: a recent wager on the capture of Nicolás Maduro generated more than $10 million in cash.

• Kalshi saw $208 million in March Madness trades in 2025.

• Google’s Year in Search rankings also made the grade for widespread wagering, as did the runtime of a recent White House press conference.

For those thinking the status quo leaves an alarming amount of room for insider trading and corruption, you are not alone: A federal bill was proposed in January to ban federal officials and congressional staff from trading on prediction markets.

Polymarket political graphics, also as of Monday afternoon:

As of 2:05 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 2

To the Moon

Those interested in NASA’s upcoming farthest-ever manned journey — to the far side of the moon — may want to bookmark this National Geographic page featuring a countdown clock to the Feb. 8 launch window, along with a number of interesting articles.

Screen shot from National Geographic As of Monday, Feb. 2 at 2:39 pm

We were drawn to (and recommend for your economic learning pleasure) this write-up on the plan to “turn the moon into a gas station… using lunar ice to make rocket fuel” that will serve as a resource and economic engine for future lunar settlements — and enable moon-based astronauts to gas up and travel to Mars.

Let It Snow

When downhill skier Marco Odermatt flies down the runs at the Winter Olympics this weekend, it will be on a mix of real and artificial snow. In total, the Milan Cortina games will use about 2.4 million cubic meters of man-made show — enough to fill almost 1,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Snowmaking has become part-and-parcel of operations at ski resorts worldwide as periodic warming weather has shortened many winter seasons and made ski conditions increasingly unpredictable. The Alps, for example, have been warming by about 0.5C a decade, cutting snow cover there by an average of 5.6 percent every 10 years since 1971. 

Because the global ski industry is worth hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity, the snowmaking stakes are high. The use of artificial snow, especially in Europe, has increased dramatically.

In the early 1990s, just 1 percent of ski runs in Switzerland were fluffed by snowmaking machines. Now it’s about 54 percent, according to the Swiss ski lifts association. The numbers are even higher in Austria and Italy: 75 percent and 90 percent, respectively — and approximately 200 small, low-altitude Alpine resorts have shut down in the EU in recent years.

(Historical note: Snow guns were first used at the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York.)

For a what’s happening now view, this Rutgers graphic shows global areas with a reduced percentage (gold or red shading) and increased percentage (blue) of snowpack in December 2025 as compared to the mean between 1981-2010:

As of December 2025

Money Supply

U.S. M2 money supply — a broad measure of the total amount of money circulating in the U.S. economy — rose to an all-time high of $22.4 trillion (seasonally adjusted) in December 2025, up 4.6 percent (approximately $1 trillion) year over year, and up 0.4 percent month over month from November.

As of December 2025

Fact Pack co-publisher Mike PeQueen explains why it matters:

M2 circulation serves as a key indicator of economic liquidity and potential inflationary pressure. The recent peak is notable because it marks a major rebound from the 2022–2023 period, which saw the first major contraction in U.S. money supply since the Great Depression, and because the ratio of U.S. stock market capitalization to M2 reached 306 percent — signaling that the stock market is hovering at one of its most expensive levels (relative to available liquidity) in history.

Old Money

The British pound is the currency that has been in circulation the longest (8th century), followed by the Serbian dinar (1214 A.D.) and Russian ruble (13th century):

As of January 2026

On the Horizon

MarketWatch calendar:

Data & Dialogue About the Economy



The Fact Pack is a monthly business e-report co-authored by Mike PeQueen of Hightower Las Vegas and John Restrepo of RCG Economics, which combines important metrics relevant to business decision makers and financial commentary on the current issues facing the economy.

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