
For the spectrum of asset classes that I track, equities remain in the middle with modest 52-week Sharpe Ratios, while gold remains on top and Bitcoin at the bottom. Gold continues to exhibit very resilient behavior, recovering quickly from corrections. This is what super-bull markets are made of. Bitcoin has been more challenged as we all know, but I think it’s constructive that it made a higher low on Friday while the more speculative equities made lower lows. That’s a hopeful sign, especially after reaching the $65k support zone.

Last week’s CPI report came in soft at 2.4%, which was understandably well received by the bond market. The Truflation index, which has plummeted to a 0.7% year-over-year rate of change, hinted at a softer turn for the CPI. https://t.co/ZsIPypfaNW

The combination of decent economic data (see last week’s employment data) and the softer inflation report might be anecdotal evidence that the promise of an AI-driven productivity boom (which would lift the economy’s non-inflationary speed limit) is becoming a reality....

One positive aspect of the evolution of this market cycle has been how the market has become less reliant on multiple expansion. Earnings and dividends now comprise almost half of the cumulative gains since October 2022, with the P/E expansion...

With credit spreads low and profit margins seemingly on the rise, valuations seem OK at current levels. These two variables are important drivers for the equity risk premium, which is currently at 4.0% according to my version of the DCF...

The reason this is important (even though it’s only a few stocks) is that the Mag 7 is so big that if they should fall they could well take the S&P 500 (cap-weighted) index with it. History shows (below) that...

The market has been broadening out nicely as of late, and since the April 2025 Tariff tantrum low, the equal-weighted S&P 500 index has almost caught up to the cap-weighted index (34% vs 38%). It has been good to see....

As for the markets, last week the Dow briefly reached the 50k milestone while the S&P 500 continued to hang out just below 7,000. The 10-year yield has been flirting with 4% again and the terminal rate for the Fed’s...

However, as the AI narrative continues to unfold, from euphoria a few months ago to handwringing now (over the commodification of the SaaS stocks and the unknown ROI of hyperscaler capex), the Might Mag 7 is showing some strains. The...