Quick takeaways Hiring improved, but the labor market isn’t “hot.”  January payrolls rose +130,000  and unemployment edged down to 4.3% —a small improvement that still looks like a slow-growth  job market. [1] The big story is the revision:  2025 job gains were revised sharply lower , with total nonfarm employment change revised from +584,000 to +181,000 . That reframes the “trend” behind the headlines. [1] Wage growth remains steady:  average hourly earnings rose 0.4% month-

Volatility returned in a very modern way this week: markets weren’t just reacting to rates or inflation. They were repricing two big AI-related questions at the same time: How expensive will the AI buildout get? Who gets disrupted by AI—especially inside software and data services? The result was a sharp shakeout in parts of technology (especially software), while other areas of the market quietly held up better—classic “rotation” behavior under the surface. The week in one m

The biggest story in tech-and-space this week isn’t a new rocket launch or a new AI model—it’s the decision by Elon Musk to bring two of his most consequential private ventures under one roof. Public reporting indicates SpaceX has acquired xAI in a transaction that values SpaceX at roughly $1 trillion and xAI at roughly $250 billion—an eye-popping combined $1.25 trillion. ( Reuters ) This combination is being framed as a bet that the next wave of AI advantage won’t come only

On Monday, January 26, 2026 , spot gold broke above $5,000 per troy ounce for the first time  and briefly traded around $5,110–$5,115 , depending on venue and timestamp. (Balaraman, Anil, and Verma 2026; Kim and Marino-Nachison 2026). The move is not a one-day anomaly—it follows a historically powerful run in 2025 and a continuation of that momentum into early 2026. Reuters reported gold rose 64% in 2025 , its biggest annual gain since 1979, and then added double-digit gains

How to Think About Concentration Risk Without Panicking It happens more often than people think: one investment grows so large that it becomes a meaningful share of your net worth . That could be a single stock, a concentrated sector, employer equity, or a position you’ve held for years that simply outpaced everything else. This isn’t automatically a “problem.” But it is  a moment worth paying attention to—because once one holding becomes a big driver of outcomes, your portfo

If you’ve noticed more headlines swirling around Jerome Powell  lately, you’re not alone. The Wall Street Journal and other major outlets have been covering a mix of political pressure, controversy over the Federal Reserve’s headquarters renovation, and broader questions about Fed independence . It’s the kind of news cycle that can feel unsettling—especially when markets are already sensitive to interest rates, inflation, and economic growth. So let’s slow this down and separ