1. Small Cap Underperformed Large Cap 4 Years in a Row Prior to 2026
The Irrelevant Investor
2. SPCX Unlock-Barrons
Barron’s
3. Leverage ETFs -Understand What You are Buying
Advisor Perspectives
4. Softbank Gives Up Half Its 2026 Gains
Bloomberg-In June, SoftBank briefly became the most valuable company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, buoyed by enthusiasm around Arm, OpenAI and AI infrastructure investment plans. It’s since given up more than half of its gains this year.
Bloomberg
5. Five Year Inflation Swaps Not Predicting Inflation
Perplexity
6. The U.S. Added $450Billion to National Debt Since July 1
7. ”AI is Going to Cause Mass Unemployment”??? Jobless Claims Lowest Since 1969
Layoffs fall to the lowest level since the U.S. put men on the moon. Here’s what that says about the economy.
Rising sales and a labor shortage are deterring job cuts. Jobless claims haven’t been this low since 1969. Marketwatch By Jeffry Bartash
Businesses aren’t hiring lots of people, but they are extremely reluctant to shrink their workforces with sales rising and the economy still expanding.
The last time layoffs in the U.S. were as low as they are now, NASA was landing astronauts on the moon, young Americans were rocking out at Woodstock and President Richard Nixon was moving into the White House.
So-called initial jobless claims, filed by people who lose jobs, totaled less than 200,000 for the third week in a row — a feat last accomplished in 1969.
“Layoffs remain historically low and have, if anything, declined further this year,” said chief U.S. economist Stephen Stanley of Santander Capital Markets.
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The ultralow level of jobless claims is another sign of a gradually strengthening labor market and possibly even a growing shortage of labor.
Businesses aren’t hiring lots of people, but they are extremely reluctant to shrink their workforces with sales rising and the economy still expanding.
New jobless claims in the last three weeks totaled 199,000, 198,000 and 189,000 after adjusting for seasonal swings in employment. By contrast, new claims averaged 223,000 in the same three-week period a year earlier.
“These are levels indicative of a sturdy labor market,” economists Robert Kavcic and Shelly Kaushik of BMO Capital Markets wrote.
Nela Richardson, chief economist at the large payroll processor ADP, said people who switch jobs have seen a notable bump-up in salaries. That’s a sign businesses are willing to poach employees from other companies to fill key roles.
8. 34% of American Homes are Affordable for Typical Household
Home affordability. “Americans need to earn $109,796 to afford the typical U.S. home for sale, down 0.5% from an all-time high of $110,382 a year ago … Just over one-third (34.2%) of U.S. home listings were affordable to someone earning the median income in June, up from 30.5% a year earlier.”
9. Illicit Drug Usage
Semafor
10. Top 20 Most Valuable College Football Programs
Svea Sturm