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Venezuela Leads Energy Stocks Out Of The Gate In 2026
Venezuela holds 20% of the world’s proven oil reserves. Not only are they the largest, but as shown in the Statista graphic below, they hold approximately seven times that of the United States. Despite its large reserves, Venezuela has fallen well short of its ability to supply the world. US sanctions and the significant deterioration […]
Jan 6, 2026
Tesla EV Deliveries Continue to Lag Global Rivals
Tesla EV deliveries totaled 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, leaving the company behind China’s BYD, which delivered more than 2.2 million EVs for the year. The result marks a second consecutive annual decline in Tesla EV deliveries, reinforcing the growing pressure on the company’s core automotive business. Fourth-quarter deliveries fell sharply year over year, underscoring […]
Jan 5, 2026
YTD Returns Highlight a Narrow Market
YTD returns across major U.S. asset classes continue to reflect a highly concentrated market. The Finviz chart below does a nice job illustrating YTD returns across a wide array of futures contracts. Large-caps dominate YTD equity returns, while small- and mid-cap stocks lag amid tighter financial conditions and slower earnings growth. Outside of equities, YTD […]
Dec 31, 2025
Electricity Prices Could Become a Structural Inflation Problem
Most Americans are paying higher electricity prices, and the pressure is unlikely to ease anytime soon. According to the Wall Street Journal, electricity prices have risen meaningfully across much of the country since 2022, and the drivers extend well beyond the frequently cited surge in data-center demand. While electricity prices had historically tracked inflation, that […]
Dec 30, 2025
The Consumption Conundrum
GDP, released on Tuesday, showed that the economy grew by a larger-than-expected 4.3%. Powering the strong economic growth was personal consumption, which rose by 3.5%. Consumers are spending!. What’s unusual about that statement is that consumer sentiment remains historically weak. Typically, there is a strong correlation between personal consumption and consumer sentiment. As we share […]
Dec 29, 2025
Copper Prices Surge To All Time Highs
On Monday night, copper prices, as shown below, reached an all-time high of over $12,000 per metric ton. Copper is often referred to as “Doctor Copper” because it serves as a barometer of global economic activity. However, the current surge in prices is not due to sharply rising demand; tariffs and physical dislocation are heavily […]
Dec 24, 2025
The ECB Changes Tone: Will The Fed Follow?
Inflation in the European Union is nearing 2%, expected to dip below it in 2026 and 2027 and then settle at its 2% target thereafter. The ECB’s President Lagarde and other ECB members have recently stated that they are comfortable with the central bank’s current interest rate level. The markets are taking the ECB’s public […]
Dec 23, 2025
The Seen And The Unseen Of QE-RMP
In 1850, Economist Frederic Bastiat famously wrote an essay entitled “That which is seen, and that which is not seen.” The first chapter, “The Broken Window,” argues that good economics requires considering not just the immediate, visible effects of an action but also the delayed, less obvious (unseen) consequences. Unfortunately, most commentators, when asked about […]
Dec 22, 2025
Blue Owl Roils The AI Narrative
Blue Owl Capital spooked AI investors on Wednesday when the Financial Times reported that the firm, one of Oracle’s larger financing partners for major U.S. data centers, decided not to provide equity backing for a $10 billion data center Oracle is building in Michigan. This planned facility is part of Oracle’s collaboration with OpenAI under […]
Dec 19, 2025
Fannie And Freddie Add Billions To The Bond Market
According to Bloomberg, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been increasing the mortgages and mortgage-backed securities they hold on their own balance sheets. At their peak, before the financial crisis, Fannie and Freddie held a combined total of $1.6 trillion in mortgages. As we share below, courtesy of Bloomberg, their portfolio sizes are well below […]
Dec 18, 2025
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