ESCANABA — Readers of the Daily Press business page, which runs weekly on Saturdays, will notice something a bit different today. The Daily Press has launched a new week-in-review stock package.

The old stock package — a feature of the business page for more than a decade — was produced by the Associated Press. Late last year it was announced the AP would be discontinuing the service, prompting the Daily Press to develop a replacement of its own.

The new package takes a hyper-local approach to stock selection, featuring only publicly-traded companies listed on American exchanges that have a strong presence in the Upper Peninsula. Some of the companies listed are household names, while others are the parent companies of U.P. businesses and industry.

Like the former stock package, the new “This week in the market…” package features a selection of indexes. The number of indexes has been pared down to only major indexes, but each index listed is now accompanied by micro-charts showing the trajectory of the index’s seven-day and 52-week performance.

In addition to a slate of mutual funds, the new stock package has expanded to include a selection of exchange traded funds, commonly known as ETFs. Both mutual funds and ETFs were selected for inclusion either because they have broad appeal in their category or because the fund has a local focus.

New to the business page is the package’s inclusion of commodities. The prices for all commodities listed on the page are based on continuous contract futures as of the close of markets Thursday. If the markets are closed Thursday for a holiday, such as Thanksgiving, the prices shown will be from Wednesday, giving a consistent, mid-week view of commodities prices.

The commodities listed on the page include gold, silver, platinum, palladium, steel, aluminum, copper, crude oil, natural gas, gasoline, lumber, soybeans, wheat and live cattle. Beyond futures traders, these prices may be of interest to consumers trying to better understand the prices of items they buy or to precious metal stackers, who keep physical metals as an investment.

Also new to the business page is a point-in-time price for Bitcoin and Etherium, the two largest cryptocurrencies commonly used today. Because cryptocurrency markets never close, there is no “closing price” for these assets. Rather, the price will reflect a point in time following the close of trading for the week.

For some, the inclusion of cryptocurrencies may seem like an odd choice. Many investors shy away from crypto due to cryptocurrencies being highly volatile and subject to significantly less regulation than other types of assets. However, changes to U.S Securities and Exchange Commission rules earlier this year now allow crypto-focused ETFs to be traded and multiple businesses listed on traditional exchanges are either crypto-focused or keep large quantities of cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets. Many investors may have exposure to cryptocurrencies — especially Bitcoin and Etherium — without even knowing it.

Another new feature of the package is the inclusion in the CBOE Volatility Index, commonly known as the “VIX” or “The Fear Index.” The VIX is not a traditional investment product, but is a metric that investors sometimes use to better understand market conditions.

The information in the stock package on the business page is not investment advice. Although the Daily Press does its best to ensure accurate information and to source data from reputable sources, errors may occur. Investors should use their own due diligence when making investment decisions, which may include the use of an investment professional.