Although Friday marked an improvement in US stocks, volatility increased further last week as the ROI on A.I. spend came back into investor's focus. Rotation from tech to value has been the theme so far of 2026. Meanwhile, European and Japanese stocks again outperformed US stocks. Gold rediscovered its mojo even as Bitcoin continues to plummet. Yields were slightly improved across the UST curve, high yield spreads widened, and the greenback was better bid.

The FOMC fell in line and served up an expected "hawkish rate cut". However, both Oracle and Broadcom – key players in the A.I. boom – saw their shares sink for different reasons, with the common denominator being A.I. valuation concerns. Yields were higher and gold rallied.

The Fed finally cuts the Fed Funds rate and moves to an easing path which shockingly (sarcasm), gave equity investors another reason to send stocks higher. Treasuries though said "meh", and yields even rose at the long end of the curve.

U.S. stocks hit record highs mid-week for two days running, but softened after worst-than-expected PPI data and eroding consumer confidence, released Thursday and Friday, put a dent in the animal spirits driving risk assets higher. UST yields rose, remaining stubbornly high and not very connected to what the FOMC might or might not do at the next FOMC meeting.

U.S. stocks fell last week and the Dollar rose, with daily chat from the Trump Administration regarding tariffs. However, investors largely said "meh" as the Trump playbook is now heavily discounted by investors.

The 1Q2025 is in the bag, not an easy quarter. US stocks performed poorly, but gold and European stocks did well. Treasuries also did ok.

It was a relatively quiet week with holidays right in the middle of the week for many countries. Equities were better, yields were higher.

Confident that another stellar year for U.S. stocks was coming to a close, investors were jolted from their complacency when the Federal...

Risk remains asymmetrical to the downside, but a robust US jobs report cheered risk investors on Friday and sent UST yields sharply higher.