Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images News One wouldn't know it from how markets reacted Friday, but after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Trump's use of the IEEPA to levy global reciprocal tariffs, he made two announcements. The first was that the global 10% floor for all nations was still in effect, but it would be done by other laws and not the IEEPA, and the second was that he would be rai...
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images News One wouldn't know it from how markets reacted Friday, but after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Trump's use of the IEEPA to levy global reciprocal tariffs, he made two announcements. The first was that the global 10% floor for all nations was still in effect, but it would be done by other laws and not the IEEPA, and the second was that he would be raising it to 15% . This was a major shift in U.S. trade policy, one that has become renowned for its swiftness and chaotic nature. While many investors may have seen the ruling and assumed the saga would be over, President Trump came back with fury the same day and is now changing up the global trade order once again. The market was mostly unchanged about the whole ordeal. I assume that the results were mostly priced in—that being, we still have tariffs. So not too much has really changed, even if these new ones are based on different laws. It always seemed unlikely to me that the Trump administration would just give up on a Supreme Court loss. Now we know that's not enough for them to relent on the tariff issue. Tariff Rates Change Across the Globe The change dramatically altered the rates for countries across the world. Canada, Mexico, China, India, and Vietnam—all major exporters to the U.S.—saw their overall rates lower. Meanwhile, the U.K., Singapore, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and others saw their rates jump. The biggest winner seems to be Brazil, which got its tariff rate dropped from 50% to 15%, and China, from 20% to 15%, which is magnified by the sheer volume of trade between us. NYT Canada and Mexico both saw significant drops in their rates, although much of their trade was already covered by the USMCA (although that is also under question now), so the high 30% tariff rates did not apply to ~90% of goods . One of the issues that the Trump administration will need to tackle in the coming weeks is what will come of the trade deals that negotiated rates based on the ol...
Earlier in February 2026, Alphabet completed several British pound–denominated fixed‑rate senior unsecured Eurobond issues across maturities from 2026 to 2126, raising roughly £5.23 billion at coupons between 4.125% and 6.125% to support its expanding AI and data‑center infrastructure. This rare 100‑year bond, together with sizable shorter‑dated tranches and a large global underwriting syndicate, ...
Earlier in February 2026, Alphabet completed several British pound–denominated fixed‑rate senior unsecured Eurobond issues across maturities from 2026 to 2126, raising roughly £5.23 billion at coupons between 4.125% and 6.125% to support its expanding AI and data‑center infrastructure. This rare 100‑year bond, together with sizable shorter‑dated tranches and a large global underwriting syndicate, underlines how Alphabet is leaning on long‑term debt markets to finance its AI build‑out while...
Donny DBM/iStock via Getty Images Performance Discussion Our portfolio modestly underperformed the S&P UBS Leveraged Loan Index during the quarter. Across asset types, the primary contributor was security selection in bank loans, consistent with our philosophy and approach. By rating, the most notable contributor was positive selection effects in CCC-rated debt. From a sector perspective, the port...
Donny DBM/iStock via Getty Images Performance Discussion Our portfolio modestly underperformed the S&P UBS Leveraged Loan Index during the quarter. Across asset types, the primary contributor was security selection in bank loans, consistent with our philosophy and approach. By rating, the most notable contributor was positive selection effects in CCC-rated debt. From a sector perspective, the portfolio benefited from security selection in basic industry and media, while selection within automotive was the most notable detractor. Investing Environment Market participants digested a flood of headlines during the quarter, ranging from the US government shutdown, macroeconomic data releases, Federal Reserve commentary and renewed discussion of an “artificial intelligence ('AI') bubble”—culminating in volatile equity markets. The S&P 500® Index gained 2.7% during the quarter, with the bulk of those gains occurring in the last two weeks of the year. On November 20, the CBOE VIX Index, sometimes referred to as the market’s “fear gauge,” reached its highest reading at market close since April’s tariff-driven selloff. Volatility was most evident in stocks closely tied to AI and technology, where the overall technology sector of the S&P 500® Index experienced a peak-to-trough decline of roughly 10% from October 29 through November 20 before rallying modestly to end the year still below its peak. Against this backdrop, credit markets posted positive gains for the quarter, resulting in another year of attractive total returns for the asset class while providing critical downside protection and diversification benefits to portfolios. The bank loan market (as measured by the S&P UBS Leveraged Loan Index) gained 1.2% for the quarter and 5.9% for the year, with performance driven by coupon income. The average price of the index ended the quarter at 95.9, with an average discount margin of 455bps at the index level. Investors in the loan market continue to benefit from a compelling ...
"Bloomberg: The Asia Trade" brings you everything you need to know to get ahead as the trading day begins in Asia. Bloomberg TV is live from Tokyo and Singapore with Shery Ahn and Avril Hong, getting insight and analysis from newsmakers and industry leaders on the biggest stories shaping global markets. (Source: Bloomberg)
"Bloomberg: The Asia Trade" brings you everything you need to know to get ahead as the trading day begins in Asia. Bloomberg TV is live from Tokyo and Singapore with Shery Ahn and Avril Hong, getting insight and analysis from newsmakers and industry leaders on the biggest stories shaping global markets. (Source: Bloomberg)
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images 2026 has been a surprisingly volatile year for high-flying growth stocks, with investors now treating AI as a net risk rather than a tailwind. The S&P 500 has managed to cling close to all-time highs, but that has been buoyed by traditional companies in the energy and materials sectors. Many software and internet companies, meanwhile, are in deep bear mar...
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images 2026 has been a surprisingly volatile year for high-flying growth stocks, with investors now treating AI as a net risk rather than a tailwind. The S&P 500 has managed to cling close to all-time highs, but that has been buoyed by traditional companies in the energy and materials sectors. Many software and internet companies, meanwhile, are in deep bear market territory. While I certainly agree that Reddit ( RDDT ) had some valuation premium that it needed to burn, we have to ask ourselves now: with Reddit down nearly 40% since the start of January alone, at what point can we declare that the stock is oversold? The company also just released incredibly strong Q4 results that featured not only acceleration in revenue but also a continued pickup in U.S. users; nevertheless, shares remain stubbornly in correction territory. Data by YCharts I last wrote a buy rating on Reddit in November , when the stock was trading just under $210 per share. Reddit's fall to the $150s doesn't faze me; in fact, it's a fantastic opportunity for me to add to my position and dollar-cost average my cost basis downward. The company has continued to make terrific product improvements that are clearly having an impact on not only user acquisition but also boosted engagement as well. I'm reiterating my buy rating here and encouraging investors to add on this dip. The first catalyst that investors should be aware of is the fact that Reddit is making consistent product improvements that are yielding strong results. In the fourth quarter, Reddit revamped its platform to make it more search-forward. In the age of AI chatbots, users are now becoming used to beginning all of their web experiences with a search query. A platform's ability to serve the user with relevant content is the prime test of whether that user will be retained. Reddit product updates (Reddit Q4 shareholder letter) Other updates are aimed at improving the Reddit experience. The company is ...
Lucid (NASDAQ: LCID) stock is down 90% over the past three years, as the electric vehicle market has come under immense pressure from slowing sales and the company's own financial hurdles. As of this writing, its shares are trading for just under $10. If you're hoping to scoop up Lucid stock in the hopes that it'll rebound, I understand the temptation. But it's probably not a good idea. Image sour...
Lucid (NASDAQ: LCID) stock is down 90% over the past three years, as the electric vehicle market has come under immense pressure from slowing sales and the company's own financial hurdles. As of this writing, its shares are trading for just under $10. If you're hoping to scoop up Lucid stock in the hopes that it'll rebound, I understand the temptation. But it's probably not a good idea. Image source: Lucid. Continue reading