Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has been clear that U.S. stocks are no longer cheap, and that was before the latest tariff salvos raised the stakes for corporate profits and consumer demand. When monetary policy is already tight and trade policy is turning more restrictive, rich equity valuations start to look less like a sign…
For the first time in living memory, a classic market yardstick has flipped: one ounce of silver now buys more than a full barrel of crude oil. The move caps a year in which silver has surged while benchmark oil contracts have slipped back, reshaping how traders, portfolio managers, and even ordinary savers think about…
The phrase “jobless boom” has moved from obscure economist jargon to a central worry for workers trying to plan their lives for 2026. The US economy is projected to keep expanding, yet a growing body of forecasts warns that hiring could stall even as profits, productivity and stock prices climb. I want to unpack what…
Gold’s late-year surge above $4,500 an ounce and silver’s spike past $75 have turned a long-running bull market into a full-blown mania, reshaping how investors think about safety, inflation, and risk. The move caps a record-setting stretch for precious metals, with gold repeatedly punching out new highs and silver suddenly behaving more like a high‑beta…
The Treasury Department is betting that a single, sweeping merger between community finance and capital markets can shift the trajectory of the United States economy. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has framed the initiative as a structural reset that could turn 2026 into a breakout year for growth, credit access, and household balance sheets. I see…
Ken Griffin has quietly reshuffled one of Wall Street’s most closely watched portfolios, trimming his exposure to Amazon and redirecting fresh capital into an artificial intelligence name that has already surged 1,030% since 2024. The move signals that even after a historic run in big tech, he still sees asymmetric upside in select AI platforms…
The global billionaire class has never been larger or richer, with the number of individuals in this club climbing to a record level and their fortunes expanding far faster than the wider economy. The headline figure of 2,900 people holding an estimated $15.8 trillion in assets is an aggregate derived from multiple datasets and is…
Americans keep telling pollsters the economy is lousy, yet airport terminals, concert venues, and shopping apps suggest something very different. Household pessimism is running hot at the same time that spending, while cooling from its post‑pandemic surge, is still powering growth. I want to unpack why people say the economy stinks even as their credit…
China’s silver market has lurched from niche trade to national talking point after the country’s only pure silver fund abruptly shut its doors to new money. The move capped a feverish rally in which retail investors chased record prices, regulators scrambled to contain risk, and global bullion markets took notice of a sudden, China-centric squeeze…
The global economy is swimming in wealth on paper, yet daily life feels precarious for most households. Asset values have surged far faster than wages or productivity, quietly inflating a bubble that lifts the rich to new highs while leaving everyone else to navigate rising costs and fragile job security. I see a system where…