March retail sales highlighted the growing disconnect between consumer confidence and consumer behavior. Retail sales surged 1.7% month over month, following a revised 0.7% gain in February, marking the strongest monthly increase in more than three years. But of that 170 basis point jump, roughly 110 of it came from higher energy prices—specifically, gas station sales jumping a whopping 15.5%. So is consumer demand still healthy, or are prices just going up? Let’s look closer.

Markets are being tested on several fronts at once. But the important question is how these shocks travel—through inflation, monetary policy, funding conditions, or issuer fundamentals. That’s where resilience begins to diverge.

​​Recent liquidity events related to portfolio companies in which PIF invests through its private equity holdings​.

People think that persuasion and influence are about changing someone's beliefs, but they're not. They're about understanding their identity, because beliefs can change, identity usually doesn't. 

Highlights from the week of April 10 – April 16, 2026.

Stocks rose as oil prices fell sharply after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz reopened, easing war fears. Inflation stayed high, jobs remained strong, consumers felt squeezed by prices, and housing slowed.

Jim Lydotes covers: 1) how health care is stabilizing, 2) why used cars could be an inflation indicator, and 3) why AI spending could crowd out hiring.

Get the latest insights from our securitized credit desk.

By the end of March, as the S&P 500 flirted with correction territory, markets appeared to carve out a bottom. What followed has been an aggressive V-shaped recovery, with losses fully retraced in just 11 trading days. Since that low, the S&P has rallied roughly 10%, now sitting just below all-time highs and the elusive 7,000 level. Can we maintain this?

For a time, simply being exposed to AI drove returns. That phase is over. AI investment has scaled to a level that is reshaping markets, business models, and outcomes—rewarding selectivity over blanket exposure as companies begin to diverge.