Wealth Management News & Insights
Google Leans Hard Into Its AI-Winner Status, It’s Time to File Your 2025 Tax Return – Here’s What To Know, San Francisco Is On The Upswing
Primary Sources
- Implementation Note Issued January 28, 2026: The Federal Reserve has made the following decisions to implement the monetary policy stance announced by the Federal Open Market Committee in its statement on January 28, 2026. [FRB]
- Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy: The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is firmly committed to fulfilling its statutory mandate from Congress of promoting maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. [FRB]
The chart above depicts Visa U.S. payments volume growth (y/y) for October through January 21st, 2026. Spending has been consistent MSD/HSD.
The chart above provides a Mastercard business update. Mastercard volume from 3Q’25 through January 21st, 2026 has consistently increased 9% y/y.
Financial Markets
- Private Markets’ AI Panic – When ‘Recurring Revenue’ Isn’t: Investors are turning skeptical of private equity and loans premised on supposedly predictable results. [WSJ]
- Peloton Shares Plunge 26% On Weak Holiday Quarter, Sluggish Demand For Splashy New Products: Peloton posted a worse-than-expected holiday quarter on Thursday after shoppers failed to shell out for its new AI-driven product line and turned away from higher subscription prices, sending shares down 26%. [CNBC]
- Google Leans Hard Into Its AI-Winner Status: Ad and cloud growth acceleration justify the recent surge in Alphabet’s stock, but the blowout capex forecast still takes one’s breath away. [WSJ]
The chart above shows Morgan Stanley estimates of future cap-ex expectations for the largest U.S. Hyperscalers.
Financial Planning
- It’s Time to File Your 2025 Tax Return – Here’s What to Know: Many Americans will see bigger refunds and new deductions, while others may be revisiting the dreaded alternative minimum tax. Don’t panic just yet. [NYT]
- How to Practice the Lost Art of Negotiating the Price of a Car: The process can be uncomfortable and interminable—but also lucrative. [WSJ]
Business Strategy
- The Robot Revolution Is Real. Tesla, Hyundai, and More Stocks to Play It: Once the purview of science fiction, automatons are getting closer to reality. [Barron’s]
- Amazon’s $200 Billion Spending Plan Raises Stakes in A.I. Race: The company reported a strong holiday quarter on Thursday. But its spending, like that at other big technology companies, is starting to make investors nervous. [NYT]
- Stellantis’s Shift Away From Electric Cars Will Cost It $26 Billion: The company, which owns Chrysler, Fiat, Jeep and Peugeot, is changing its strategy to gasoline and hybrid vehicles in an effort to revive weak sales. [NYT]
- Disney Names Parks Boss Josh D’Amaro As Its Next CEO To Succeed Bob Iger, Effective March 18: Disney made the long-awaited announcement of its successor to CEO Bob Iger. This marks the second time Disney selected a replacement for Iger in six years. [CNBC]
- Walmart Joins Tech Giants With $1 Trillion Market Valuation: The company’s rapid e-commerce growth and push into automation and artificial intelligence propelled its stock into the trillion-dollar club. [NYT]
There have been 27 new concert tours announced in January 2026 vs. 7 new concert tours announced in January 2025.
Life & Work
- The ‘Ribbon of Death’ Is the Most Petrifying Ski Course in Olympic History: The Stelvio ski slope is where the world’s best men’s downhill skiers will vie for gold. They’ll also be trying just to make it off the mountain in one piece. [WSJ]
- Revisiting a Changed Maui, Nearly 3 Years After a Firestorm: As the town of Lahaina continues to rebuild, residents, local officials and even visitors are envisioning how tourism and community life can coexist in a new, more sustainable way. [NYT]
- After The Fall – San Francisco Is On The Upswing: After a pandemic-era slump, AI-linked wealth is fueling a surge in property values. But can new housing and zoning reforms steady the boom and bust cycle? [FT]
- Cash Bonus or More Vacation Time: Which Do You Choose—and Why?: New research suggests that bonuses make employees feel more like a mere cog in a wheel. [WSJ]
The chart above highlights attendance at North American NFL stadiums. NFL attendance is up 6% y/y in January 2026.
The GLP-1 obesity market continues to grow at a rapid pace, with Lily’s Mounjaro accelerating share gains from competitors to make up 45-50% of total U.S. prescription volume.