The AI investment story is maturing, with major tech firms raising a record $108 billion in debt in 2025 to finance infrastructure, a sharp departure from previous cash-funded growth. This increased use of leverage and riskier financing mechanisms is generating concern among stock traders and contributing to rising market volatility.
Sun Life Financial Inc.’s newly unified asset-management division plans to hire about 20 senior executives as it looks to turn a collection of investment managers into a more coordinated global powerhouse.
The S&P 500 Index edged higher to start Friday, recovering some of the losses caused by recent concerns over stretched valuations and a potential AI bubble. The recovery was supported by remarks from Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams, who suggested there is room to lower interest rates soon. These comments immediately boosted market expectations for a December rate cut.
The article examines the high valuations of AI-focused tech giants like Alphabet and Nvidia, contrasting the risk of an "AI bubble" with their powerful profitability. While Berkshire Hathaway's new stake in Alphabet signals confidence, both companies require substantial future growth to justify their current multiples.
The article examines how tech giants like Meta are using massive, off-balance-sheet special-purpose vehicles to finance multi-billion dollar data centers. Despite these complex structures, large investors are treating the debt as a direct obligation of the tech company, leading to a subsequent sell-off of Meta’s publicly traded corporate bonds.
The end of the government shutdown left the SEC with an avalanche of paperwork, forcing staff to prioritize new company registration statements critical for initial public offerings (IPOs). More than a dozen companies had to revise their IPO timelines due to the delays, creating market uncertainty.
European stocks fell, tracking their deepest weekly decline since August, as a risk-off mood hit some of this year’s top-performing technology shares. The decline was driven by investor concerns over lofty tech valuations and uncertainty regarding the US Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates. The market slightly recovered after a Fed official hinted there was room for rate cuts in the near term.
The continued slump in the housing market is now being compounded by a weakening U.S. labor market and a surge in mass layoffs. This labor uncertainty is making potential buyers reluctant to commit to purchases, even as affordability improves and mortgage rates stabilize. This dynamic is leading homebuilders to reduce construction and staffing, further worsening the job market.
Be wary of claims that indexing and passive investing have huge hidden costs. In my view, passive investing involves owning, as close as is economically feasible, every stock weighted to market capitalization. So this means total stock index funds.
BlackRock Inc.’s Tony DeSpirito, global chief investment officer of fundamental equities, is leaving the firm along with three other employees in that group as the asset manager shakes up its actively managed stock funds.
After peaking at just over $126,000 in early October, Bitcoin has dropped 30% — breaking through key thresholds, spooking ETF investors, and rattling holders big and small. One group in particular remains exposed: traders who bet on a rebound — and now find themselves underwater while paying for it.
The growing clout of private companies like OpenAI is causing Wall Street to redraw the boundaries of its equity research business.
Nvidia Corp. delivered a surprisingly strong revenue forecast and pushed back on the idea that the AI industry is in a bubble, easing concerns that had spread across the tech sector.
keep hearing some version of this argument: Yes, we’re in an AI bubble. But even in the dot-com crash, the best companies survived and made people rich. Just look at Amazon.com Inc.
Just six months ago, Alphabet Inc. investors feared the company could be a casualty of the artificial intelligence revolution. But after a trillion-dollar rally those concerns have flipped, and now the biggest worry is if the stock is getting too expensive for its own good.
While firms delay updating mobile communications compliance, the waiting incurs a substantial and measurable cost, averaging $232,457 annually in wasted analyst time on false positives. This inefficiency forces compliance teams to spend over 300 hours yearly on manual surveillance, diverting focus from strategic risk management. Ignoring this problem also dramatically increases regulatory exposure, given recent multi-billion dollar fines for off-channel communication violations.
This paper highlights and provides examples of how investment managers can reclaim and shape their own narrative by leveraging data science and alternative data sources, demonstrating the power in presenting information in new ways.
This reflective column explores five key life lessons learned over my last year, emphasizing the importance of health, strong family relationships, and giving back to the community. These insights are used to offer financial advisors specific ways to engage clients beyond just investments, by focusing on passions, supporting family goals, and preparing for life's unexpected crises.
The result is the first sustained selloff for the group since April, with the Nasdaq 100 leading the broader market lower as investors ditch tech winners in favor of more defensive stocks. One of the beneficiaries: companies with juicy dividend payments.
The growing list of US credit busts, from subprime auto lender Tricolor Holdings to Broadband Telecom Inc., raises a troubling question: If such “cockroaches” proliferate — if many more enterprises collapse under the weight of excessive debt — who will ultimately bear the losses?
Thirty-three nations, including new signatories Senegal and Rwanda, have now committed to a global pledge to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050. The World Nuclear Association suggests this ambitious target of installing about 1,200 gigawatts is achievable if governments fully implement their promises. However, other forecasts indicate meeting this goal will be challenging given current capacity projections.
Famed investor Michael Burry, popularized by The Big Short, is sparking new conversations after his firm decided to return outside capital. Recently bearish on the AI investment boom, Burry's Scion Asset Management purchased put options against major AI players like Nvidia and Palantir in the third quarter.
Wall Street will get a sense of where the billions of dollars being spent on artificial intelligence are going when Nvidia Corp. reports its earnings after the bell on Wednesday. How the sinking stock market will react is another question.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google plans to invest $40 billion in three new Texas data centers, part of an effort to add artificial intelligence computing power in a state that’s also drawn multibillion investments from competitors such as OpenAI and Anthropic PBC.
The SEC has granted Dimensional Fund Advisors approval to adopt the dual share class fund structure, previously used exclusively by Vanguard to save investors billions in taxes. This decision, following the expiration of Vanguard's patent, marks a watershed moment for the $13 trillion US ETF industry and sets the stage for a wave of similar approvals for dozens of other money managers.
US stocks sank, putting the S&P 500 Index on track for its longest slide since August, as a six-month rally shows signs of cracking following a $1.2 trillion selloff in cryptocurrencies and amid fears around stretched artificial-intelligence valuations.
Health savings accounts (HSAs) are increasingly being considered by individuals looking to offset healthcare costs, which are set to rise significantly in 2026. But some HSAs also offer investment options that can simultaneously help savers grow their retirement income, financial experts share.
Fed policy — not free markets — now plays a crucial role in forecasting how today’s speculative excesses might return to their normal levels. Will it be a pop, a slow leak, or will the Fed keep bubbles afloat at any cost?
Most of us think of paying for something as a simple transaction. You hand over the money, take the receipt, and move on. But what if the act of paying itself — how, when, and even whether we pay — carries hidden meaning about our relationships with money and the people we pay?
The boom in artificial-intelligence investment is undoubtedly boosting both the US stock market and the broader economy right now. But what about the longer term? Will AI be a big net positive, delivering prosperity and solving the nation’s fiscal problems?
There is a frenetic, sweaty-palm feel to the US economy lately. Markets are looking frothy and consumers are anxious, and meanwhile the gambling and stock markets are converging as people bet on all sorts of strange assets and events.
To invest or not to invest in alternatives; that is the question for anyone involved in the business of retirement planning. FAs can help clients navigate the brave new world of customized alternatives, but this is easier said than done.
The best advisors play a critical role in educating and advising investors at the beginning of the relationship, staying connected as markets change, and coaching when emotions can lead to rash decision-making.
The “EM-ification” of developed markets has rewritten the investment playbook. Emerging markets are not the weak link in global equities — they may in fact be the stronger foundation. For long-term investors, it is time to reassess.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s decision to let managers use artificial intelligence to help write performance reviews stands to bring relief to one of bosses’ most dreaded annual tasks. It also raises questions as to whether bot-written reviews will make the process better or worse, especially for employees seeking meaningful feedback.
A small circle of investment consultants played a central role in the multi-trillion-dollar push into private markets, steering US pension funds toward private equity, real estate and hedge funds, according to a new study.
The artificial-intelligence boom is raging, fueled by a mad dash to add computing capacity. Tech giants are funneling billions of dollars to construction companies and industrial suppliers of equipment and power to build the vast data centers that the technology requires.
In markets awash in “garbage lending” and unhealthy valuations, Jeffrey Gundlach is keeping his strategy simple: load up on cash and stay away from private credit.
Bankruptcies are a routine event for companies relying on large amounts of high-yield debt for their capital. Investors reserve much of the high income they receive in good times for the inevitable losses in bad times.
Bitcoin fell below $95,000 for the first time in about six months as a bout of risk aversion sweeping across markets saw investors pull nearly $900 million from funds investing in the token.
Mike Wilson was uneasy, just as he likes it. It was April, and President Donald Trump’s trade war had roiled financial markets, making Morgan Stanley’s chief US equity strategist a sought-after TV guest.
Blackstone Inc. has appointed former Morgan Stanley rainmaker Franck Petitgas to a top role in Europe as it prepares to invest $500 billion there over the next 10 years.
Imagine I get extremely rich like Michael Burry on a contrarian short position. I’d immediately cash in my chips (but I wouldn’t tell anyone I was “semi-retiring” from the game).
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. sold ¥210.1 billion ($1.4 billion) of yen-denominated bonds on Friday at a spread which was lower compared with its previous deal as global investors flock to Japan.
China’s collapsing investment is as unprecedented as it is hard to explain. A plunge estimated at more than 11% in October from a year earlier was the worst single-month performance since the initial Covid lockdowns at the start of 2020, official data showed on Friday.
There’s one thing Warren Buffett seems to credit for his success more than anything else: luck. He’s says he’s lucky to have spent most of his life in Omaha, raising a family and building a business smack in the middle of the country.
Investors are pouring money into active ETFs, but a closer look reveals a migration of assets into the wrapper instead of a resurgence in alpha-chasing bets.
US equities dropped at the open, poised to snap a four-session winning streak, as investors continue to grapple with a lack of US economic data despite the end of the government shutdown.
Despite these successes, many finance executives struggle to quantify the actual return on AI, as the required spending on development, data clean-up, and rigorous testing is immense and mostly paid upfront.
