Equity Risk Premium In the U.S., the equity risk premium has shrunk to the point where stocks barely compensate investors for taking risk over bonds. That weakens the bull case for equities and sets the…

Change in Consensus 2026 S&P 500 EPS S&P 500 EPS forecasts for 2026 surged, with upward revisions accelerating after the U.S.–Iran conflict erupted, even as geopolitical and macro risks climbed. Image: Goldman Sachs FICC &…

$100,000 over 30 Years: The Fund vs. The Average Investor U.S. funds returned an annualized 8.2%, but the average investor earned only about 7.0%. Much of the gap came from poor timing: buying after prices…

S&P 500 Sectors Announced Buybacks (Last 3 Months) Over the past three months, buyback announcements have been led by Financials, Tech and Industrials, which together make up most of the repurchase activity in U.S. equities.…

Commodities (Oil, Gold, Copper) – Commodity Net Long Positioning Momentum in gold and copper is firmly with the bulls as net-long positions build. The trend still has legs, but this isn’t an early-cycle trade anymore.…

S&P 500 3-Month Option-Implied Volatility Single-stock volatility in the S&P 500 has eased from July’s extremes but remains above its long-term average, while index volatility is still relatively calm. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research

S&P 500 Weekly Announced Buybacks While the pace of new S&P 500 buyback announcements has cooled in the past few weeks, overall buyback activity in corporate America remains firm, providing steady support for stocks. Image:…

Cross Asset Flows as a % of Assets Government bonds continue to draw strong investor demand, offering relatively attractive yields while interest rates stay high. Image: Deutsche Bank Asset Allocation

Equity Net Long Positioning – Asset Managers Net Future Positions Asset managers are piling into S&P 500 futures longs, pushing net exposure to elevated levels. The bet is straightforward: more upside. The risk? Any reversal…

S&P 500 Seasonal Composite Midterm Election Year The S&P 500 Seasonal Composite still points to more upside for 2026, but the path could get choppy. U.S. stocks are entering their weakest seasonal stretch, which typically…

Hyperscaler Capex Estimates by Year Wall Street keeps underestimating the scale of hyperscalers’ AI spending. What looked like a temporary surge is turning into a multiyear race for data centers, chips, networking capacity and power.…