Last week, America enjoyed its largest monthly decline in inflation since April 2020. That lasted roughly three days, until renewed fighting around the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil back above $80. Bagged lettuce gets a better run than that. Oh, wait…
Last week, markets divided between mega caps, AI-linked tech, and energy driving the winning side, while small and mid caps sank lower. All eyes are now on housing, inflation, and retail sales data due out this week, along with Fed Chair Warsh’s congressional testimony.
Jim Lydotes flips the timer on a retail energy deal, thinner consumer cushions, and how index rebalancing shows why investors should look beneath the market surface.
The back half of 2026 may hinge on six themes: AI spending, uneven growth, labor supply, sticky inflation, uneasy central banks, and volatile bond markets.