Wage Growth vs. Fed Funds Rate When wage growth lags behind the fed funds rate, it is interpreted as a sign that monetary policy is restrictive, as borrowing costs exceed the pace of income growth,…

Buyback Announcements In 2025, U.S. companies are announcing record levels of share buybacks, aiming to return cash to shareholders, stabilize stock prices, and enhance EPS as they navigate economic and policy uncertainty. Image: Bloomberg

Profit Margins within S&P 500 Names Profit margins in the S&P 500 are elevated. As AI adoption accelerates, it is likely to have a transformative impact on profit margins across industries, with the tech sector…

U.S. Core PCE Inflation Forecasts Goldman Sachs forecasts that U.S. core PCE inflation will reach 3.8% by December 2025. Although inflation is projected to stay above the Fed’s 2% target, wage pressures are cooling and…

S&P 500 Equity Risk Premium With the U.S. equity risk premium at low levels, investors face a difficult landscape in which the risks of equity investments may not be sufficiently rewarded. Image: BCA Research

U.S. CEO Confidence Index The sharp decline in U.S. CEO optimism in 2025 is largely attributed to new tariffs, trade policy uncertainty, inflation, and unpredictable government actions, reversing the post-election optimism. Image: J.P. Morgan

Bullish Percent Index vs. S&P 500 Index The S&P 500’s rally has reversed extreme bearish sentiment, pushing the number of stocks on bullish buy signals toward 70% and confirming a significant, broad-based improvement in market…

Average S&P 500 Performance During Corrections In bear markets, sharp rallies are common but rarely signal a true bottom, as the primary downtrend tends to reassert itself afterward. Many investors believe the direction of U.S.…

Median Non-Farm Payrolls in the 12 Months Before and After the Start of a U.S. Recession Consistently adding more than 100,000 payroll jobs each month is considered a vital cushion against recession worries. Continued growth…

Bear Market Rallies Since 1980, global bear market rallies have averaged 44 days with 14% gains. Prices have already rebounded 18% from the April 7 low. For a sustained recovery, a stronger economic outlook and…

Proportion of S&P 500 Firms Mentioning Recession during Quarterly Earnings Calls The proportion of S&P 500 firms mentioning “recession” in their earnings calls has risen sharply to 24%, signaling growing worries about an economic slowdown…