Fixed-income assets are offering attractive yields again: 10Y Note Yield is currently trading above 5.10%, its highest level since July 2007. At the same time, 30Y Note Yield is up to 5.44%, its highest since June 2007. Investment-grade credit now yields 5.7%, its highest level since April 2024, followed by high-yield credit at 7.5%, its highest since May 2025. Furthermore, private credit offers yields of 8.3% while risk-free money market funds offer 3.6%. This marks a remarkable shift from the previous decade, when near-zero interest rates made it difficult to generate meaningful income from traditional fixed-income assets. Higher for longer is creating meaningful income opportunities.

The average US stock is struggling. The ratio of the equal-weighted S&P 500 to the S&P 500 index is down to 1.11, its 3rd-lowest level since April 2003. This ratio has declined for 5 consecutive weeks by a total of -5.5%. Over this period, the equal-weighted S&P 500 has fallen -4.4% while the S&P 500 has increased by +0.8%. This also puts the ratio on track for its 4th consecutive annual decline, the longest streak since 1999. By comparison, this metric peaked at 1.60 in April 2015. AI is carrying the entire stock market.

Retail investors are trading less. Over the last 20 trading days, retail investors have purchased just +$1 billion of single stocks, near the lowest 20-day total in at least 2 years. In early August, this figure even briefly turned negative for the first time since at least October 2024. By comparison, retail's 20-day purchases stood at +$20 billion in April 2025. Furthermore, total retail equity purchases have declined to +$10 billion over the last 20 trading days, near their lowest reading since at least October 2024. Retail equity purchases are now down -67% from the +$30 billion recorded over the 20-day period in February 2026. Retail investors are becoming more cautious.

BREAKING: 331 S&P 500 companies mentioned AI during their Q2 2026 earnings calls, the 3rd-largest reading on record. This figure has more than quadrupled since Q3 2022. This also marks the 4th consecutive quarter in which more than 300 companies have mentioned AI. Not surprisingly, 97% of Information Technology firms mentioned AI during their Q2 earnings calls. Financials and Communication Services followed, at 91% and 90%, respectively. Only Utilities, Materials, and Consumer Staples had fewer than half of companies mentioning "AI." AI is dominating corporate conversations.

Big tech has never been bigger. The 2 largest S&P 500 companies, Nvidia, $NVDA, and Apple, $AAPL, now account for 15% of the index’s market cap, an all-time high. This comes as $NVDA represents a record 8%, while $AAPL accounts for 7%. By comparison, the combined weight of Exxon Mobil, $XOM, and Apple, $AAPL, peaked at ~8% in 2011. During the 2000 Dot-Com Bubble, Microsoft, $MSFT, and General Electric, $GE, topped at ~9% in 1999. Before 2020, the 2 largest stocks never accounted for more than 10% of the index’s market cap. The US equity market has never been this concentrated.

BREAKING: Global debt jumped by more than +$10 trillion in H1 2026, to a record $365 trillion. Emerging-market debt drove the increase, rising +$6.5 trillion, to a record $110 trillion, with most of the surge coming from governments and non-financial companies. Excluding China, emerging-market and developing-economy debt soared to a record $38 trillion. Global debt now stands at ~310% of global GDP, although the ratio has fallen -25 percentage points from its early-2021 peak, largely because inflation has boosted nominal GDP rather than because of deleveraging. Meanwhile, developed economies paid more than $3.3 trillion in interest on marketable government debt over the last year, exceeding estimated global spending on AI at $2.6 trillion, defense at $3.1 trillion, and clean energy at $2.3 trillion. This comes as annual government interest payments across the G7 alone surged +85% YoY. The global debt crisis is in uncharted territory.

BREAKING: The US and China have reached a trade deal to lower tariffs on $30 billion worth of "non-sensitive goods" after President Trump and President Xi met this week. This deal will likely lower prices on a variety of consumer goods, including small appliances, toys, holiday decorations, and kids' car seats. In return, China will cut tariffs on agricultural goods and seafood, wood products, cosmetics, and medical devices. China has also agreed to import 10 million metric tons of US coal in 2027 and 2028. Rare earths are still being discussed, the White House said.

BREAKING: President Trump officially announces that he has rejected Iran's proposal for a 7-day ceasefire to restart negotiations. This proposal would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz, with both the US and Iran lifting their blockade. "I reject their proposal," Trump said.

Use this prompt and attach your product logo to Opus 5.5 😉 "Create an impressive motion design video of a slow-reveal transition that assembles and eventually reveals the TypingMind logo."