Investments
Charts of the Week: April 20-24
Thanks for reading this week’s Charts of the Week This week’s charts focus on why stocks are at all-time highs, profit margins/earnings, the AI buildout, and why the Strait is still not really open despite headlines. We’ll keep publishing Charts of the Week every Monday. To view this week’s Charts of the Week, click here: Charts …
Carson Research
April 27, 2026
Tech Priors Confirmed
Tech investors last week digested earnings reports that largely confirmed prior beliefs: semiconductors remain vibrant, while software remains challenged. Intel’s report highlighted the fundamental strength investors expected as AI agents grow. In contrast, ServiceNow’s report failed to meet expectations despite some optimistic commentary. Intel’s Agentic Outlook Shares of Intel traded to a new all-time high …
Blake Anderson
April 27, 2026
The Growing Exposure to Concentration Risk
What may seem like a singular holding in your portfolio may be held twice, three times, or more unintentionally. In portfolio construction today, allocations are becoming more prevalent to feature ETFs, rather than simply relying on single stock choices. Not only is the usage of ETFs growing, but they are constantly being created by asset …
Joel Riha-Aldrich
April 24, 2026
Kevin Warsh as the Next Fed Chair
Kevin Warsh sat before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday for the start of his confirmation hearings as the next Chair of the Federal Reserve. He sidestepped most of the political gotchas, reiterated his commitment to Fed independence, and outlined what amounts to a reform agenda: replacing the Fed’s inflation models, shrinking the balance sheet, …
Sonu Varghese
April 23, 2026
There’s No Puzzle as to Why Stocks Are at All-Time Highs
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new all-time highs last week, and as our friend Sam Ro wrote on his substack (T’ker), this isn’t sitting well with many people. There’s also a steady stream of commentary along the lines of “this doesn’t make sense” and “risk assets are detached from reality.” Or that markets are …
Sonu Varghese
April 22, 2026
The Bull is Back (FvF Ep. 184)
In Episode 184 of Facts vs Feelings, Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist at Carson Group, and Sonu Varghese, Chief Macro Strategist at Carson Group, dig into one of the most historic 13-day market rallies ever recorded and ask the question most investors are afraid to answer: Are the lows for 2026 already in? Ryan and …
Ryan Detrick
April 22, 2026
Welcome Back to the Bull Market
“Do something you love and you’ve never worked a day in your life.” Tony Bennett The bull market is back, with stocks back at new highs amid one of the strongest short-term rallies in history. Although many lost faith in the bull market back in March, we’d argue the bull never left. Remember, volatility is the …
Ryan Detrick
April 21, 2026
Charts of the Week: April 13-17
Thanks for reading this week’s Charts of the Week This week’s charts focus on key inflation metrics, sentiment, and how equities have started to look past the current crisis. We’ll keep publishing Charts of the Week every Monday. To view this week’s Charts of the Week, click here: Charts of the Week: Apr. 13-17
Carson Research
April 20, 2026
Strong Consumer Drives Bank Earnings
Bank earnings this week offered a timely reminder that the U.S. consumer remains a far more durable force than many narratives suggest. The data produced by the largest financial institutions paints a picture of accelerating growth and improving credit quality, a combination not often seen. Banks are also finding themselves increasingly tied to the AI …
Blake Anderson
April 20, 2026
Consumer Sentiment Sinks as Inflation Outruns Wages
Consumer sentiment has collapsed irrespective of which metric you look at. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index just crashed to the lowest level in the survey’s history – even below what we saw during the depths of the Great Financial Crisis in 2008-2009, Covid in April-May 2020, and even the stagflationary 1970s. Surely things …
Sonu Varghese
April 17, 2026
Why Investing in Long Maturity Municipal Bonds May Be Attractive and How To Handle the Risk That It Creates
Today, we tackle a topic that we don’t write about a lot relative to its importance—municipal bonds. Why are munis important? A basic principle of investing (and one of the most ignored), Investment outcomes potentially should not be evaluated on returns but on the returns that you keep—returns after taxes. This is where municipal bonds …
Barry Gilbert
April 16, 2026
ETF Update: Privates, Share Class, and Notes!
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continue to gather significant assets, generally at the expense of traditional open-end mutual funds (albeit not completely). In the first quarter alone, ETFs have taken in some $425 billion in net flows, while traditional open-end mutual funds have seen $92 billion in investors assets leave, according to Morningstar. Beneath the surface of …
Grant Engelbart
April 15, 2026