What we’re reading (1/4)
“Wall Street Expects The Market To Keep Rallying In 2026 Despite Lofty Valuations” (Wall Street Journal). “Wall Street is betting that falling interest rates and strong corporate earnings will be enough to eke out yet one more year of stock-market gains. It’s going to be close. After posting double-digit percentage increases for three straight years, from 2023 through 2025, the S&P 500 and other major U.S. indexes enter year four of their rally with stretched valuations on many big stocks and a cloudier economic picture. There are enough positives to give investors and analysts hope, but some worry there isn’t enough to keep up the pace of 2025.”
“December Jobs Numbers Get Data Back On Track During First Full Week Of Trading In 2026: What To Watch” (Yahoo! Finance). “Stocks finished trading on Friday — the second-to-last session of the ‘Santa Claus rally’ period — with the Dow Jones Industrial Average leading the major indexes higher to open the new year as investors began to evaluate the 2026 landscape.”
“Asian Markets Rise, Defense Stocks Lead After U.S. Captures Venezuela’s Maduro” (CNBC). “Asia-Pacific markets began the first full trading week of 2026 on a stronger note after the U.S. said it had attacked Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend. Oil prices edged lower as markets weighed the potential impact of geopolitical tensions.”
“U.S. Interventions In The New World, With Leader Removal” (Marginal Revolution). “I wish to focus on cases where the key leaders actually were removed. After all, we know that is the case in Venezuela today. Maybe these efforts were rights violations, or unconstitutional, and yes that matters. But how did they fare in utilitarian terms? […] the utilitarian in you, at least, should be happy about Venezuela, whether or not you should be happy on net. You should note two things. First, the Latin interventions on the whole have gone much better than the Middle East interventions. Perhaps that is because the region has stronger ties to democracy, and also is closer to the United States, both geographically and culturally. Second, looking only at the successes, often they took a long time and/or were not exactly the exact kinds of successes the intervenors may have sought.”
“Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Steady After US Intervention In Venezuela, Arrest Of Maduro” (Yahoo! Finance). “US stock futures were little changed Sunday night as investors assessed geopolitical developments following a US military operation in Venezuela that led to the removal and arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.”
