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By early August 2026, the headlines told a simple story: markets are near all-time highs. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have both set fresh records in recent weeks, powered in large part by strong corporate earnings and continued enthusiasm around artificial intelligence infrastructure. But a closer look at how the market got …
Private market strategies are entering ordinary brokerage and retirement conversations through interval funds, business development companies, and a new generation of alternative exchange traded funds. Access is improving, but access alone does not make an investment suitable. In today’s market, investors can earn meaningful yields from liquid bonds and cash equivalents, so an alternative allocation …
The unsettling story of 2026 is easy to tell: artificial intelligence has arrived, companies are becoming more efficient, and white-collar jobs are disappearing. There is truth in that story. There is also a great deal it leaves out. According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, employers cited AI in 112,713 announced job cuts through July, representing …
The Number That Broke the Odometer On August 19, 2026, the U.S. Treasury confirmed what market watchers had been counting down for weeks: the federal government’s gross national debt crossed $40 trillion for the first time in history, landing at $40.047 trillion. To put the pace in perspective: it took the United States 192 years …
The Headline, Decoded At its July 29 meeting, the Federal Reserve held the federal funds target range at 3.5% to 3.75% for a fifth consecutive meeting. The decision itself was widely expected. The more consequential issue for markets was the limited guidance Chair Kevin Warsh offered about how the central bank might respond to renewed …
On the surface, the American consumer appears resilient. On August 4, 2026, the S&P 500 closed at 7,736.52, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 54,085.88; the May 2026 unemployment rate was 4.3%, and first-quarter 2026 corporate profits remained elevated. Household sentiment told a different story. The University of Michigan’s preliminary May 2026 Index …