What's Next For Markets

Inflation may be cooling faster than markets expect and the implications are big. This week, we sit down with Jake Oubina to break down why commodity shocks are fading, why core inflation is set to grind lower, and why the Fed may be done hiking for this cycle. We connect the dots from falling gas prices to improving consumer confidence, stronger job growth, and a potential tailwind for housing and rate-sensitive sectors. If this disinflation trend holds, it could mark a shift back toward a G...

In this episode, we discuss how the recent spike in crude has created a “one-variable market,” where leadership becomes highly binary. Despite the headlines, the broader market hasn’t fallen as much as many expected. Michael explains why investors are focusing less on the current price of oil and more on how long higher prices might last, with the oil futures curve still suggesting the spike could be temporary. Michael walks through a framework investors can use in markets like this: when a s...

In this episode, Michael and Stephen break down one of the most confusing market environments in years. While volatility in mega-cap software and AI names has grabbed headlines, the broader market is quietly telling a very different story. With the “Mag Seven” representing over a third of the S&P 500 at the start of the year, weakness in just a handful of stocks has masked what may be one of the strongest breadth environments in decades. Michael explains why this environment looks like a ...

In this Super Bowl Sunday episode, Michael and Stephen break down a volatile week in the markets that felt far worse than the major indices suggested. While mega-cap tech, software, and crypto saw sharp swings, the broader market quietly showed signs of strength, with value stocks and equal-weight indices hitting new highs. Michael shares insights from a week of client meetings on the road and explains why the recent turbulence looks more like a healthy rotation than the start of a broader do...

In this episode we talk with Jan Stuart, Global Energy Economist at Piper Sandler. We discuss the current state of the oil market, the potential tailwinds from economic growth, and how a shift in demand could impact the energy space by 2026. Jan highlights the importance of oil for the economy, predicting that demand won't decline significantly until the next decade. The episode delves into the geopolitical risks that could impact oil supply, including situations in Venezuela, Russia, and Ira...

This week, we’re doing something a little different. Instead of a traditional guest conversation, we fed our full 2025 Year-End Market Review into Google’s NotebookLM and asked it to generate a five-minute discussion summarizing the year in markets. The result is an AI-generated conversation that distills a year’s worth of research, charts, and frameworks into a concise narrative — highlighting what actually drove markets in 2025, where consensus got it right, where it didn’t, and what themes...

In this episode, Emily Needell sits down with Amy McAneny, partner and private equity tax leader at PWC, to discuss the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) and its implications for individual and institutional investors. Amy explains critical changes such as the permanent 37% top individual tax rate, increased standard deductions, and enhanced depreciation deductions for US-based companies. The episode also explores how these tax updates impact U.S. businesses, potential benefits for retail investo...

In this episode, we discuss the market outlook and the economic cycle through Michael’s HOPE framework. We outline the four pillars—Housing, Orders, Profits, and Employment—and examine current themes, including an “E-shaped” economy. The conversation explores leading indicators that may signal improvement in 2026, trends in the housing market, and the broader impact of employment dynamics on growth. Michael remains optimistic about a gradual economic recovery and a steady improvement across k...