Daybreak with Anton

Before the war with Iran, both investors and consumers were already facing significant uncertainty about the outlook for their finances and the broader U.S. economy. Investors were focused on several key issues, including the future path of Federal Reserve interest rates, the appointment of a new Federal Reserve Chair, rising inflation, and the potential effects of tariffs. Consumers, meanwhile, had their own set of concerns. These included persistently high mortgage rates, a sluggish housing market, the rising cost of living, and worries about job security particularly considering increasing AI-related disruption. However, consumers are experiencing a greater level of anxiety than business owners. Listen to this UPdate recent sentiment reports for business owners and consumers and our forecasts for the stock market in 2026.

On June 12–13 of last year, Israel carried out large-scale airstrikes against Iran, targeting nuclear facilities, military bases, and senior commanders and scientists. Dozens of sites were neutralized, and several top Iranian military leaders were killed. Despite the escalation, U.S. institutional investors showed little concern and continued deploying billions into equities, private equity, and venture capital. Markets responded positively, with both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ reaching new all-time highs.

As a lifelong investor and portfolio manager for the past 28 years, I can confidently say the stock market has bipolar disorder. In reality, it is the large cast of participants that include media commentators, analysts, institutional investors, and everyday individuals who drive the market's unpredictable day-to-day movements. Read in this UPdate our analysis of the stock market, the impact of AI, and our views for the balance of this year.

Over the past three days, we've received reports on the state of consumer sentiment and small business confidence. The results show that both groups are slowly becoming more optimistic about the future, though improvement remains modest. Read in this UPdate, our review of several reports concerning consumer and small business sentiment and our views for the stock market.

Several years ago, Simon Maierhofer, editor, and founder of iSpy ETF Newsletter, introduced me to a combination of three barometers that have had interesting results in predicting the future S&P 500 performance of the new year. These three barometers are monitoring the performance of the S&P 500 during specific days of the prior year December Christmas and the new year. These three periods make up what is known as the "Santa Claus Barometer". The specific days for this Santa Claus barometer are: Ø Santa Claus Rally (SCR) – Prior Year December 26 to 31 Ø First Five Days of Current Year January (F5D) Ø Current Year January Barometer (Jan) Listen to this UPdate the final tally of these three periods and what it may predict for 2026. We also review the state of the US stock market and significant volatility that continued in 2026.

Last year, we began adding gold and silver mining companies Up Capital Model portfolios. Let me first give credit to client, Annie Alexander, who first introduced the idea of miner stocks early in 2025 as a developing favorable asset class. We ultimately decided to add gold and silver miners to Up Capital Model portfolios in the second quarter of 2025. Listen to this UPdate our analysis of the precious metals and miners and the potential for continued gains in 2026.

The year has now begun with a jolt of geopolitical disruption from Washington. Over the weekend, following months of negotiations with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, President Trump authorized a dramatic 2:00 a.m. local-time operation by elite U.S. Delta Force units. The mission captured President Maduro and his wife and transported them to the United States, where they now await trial. Read in this UPdate our view of these recent events and the potential impact on the oil industry.

The predictability of investor behavior can feel almost tedious to anyone who closely follows market activity. Major U.S. indices are wrapping up a third consecutive calendar year of double-digit annual gains, with the S&P 500 up 76.52% and the NASDAQ soaring 119.4% since January 1, 2022. Hopefully, relentless negative messaging from the major media outlets did not keep you on the sidelines and prevent you from participating in these solid gains over the past three years. Listen to this UPdate our view of the AI boom, the recent market pause, and investor temperament.

As an investment advisor, I've had the privilege of working with clients across the full wealth spectrum from the ultra-affluent to those of more modest means. After more than 35 years in this profession, one truth has become unmistakably clear: wealth has its limits. In this UPdate, you'll read examples of clients who not only achieved financial success but also made intentional sacrifices to uphold personal standards they refused to compromise.

Last weekend, our friends and clients, Justin and Kelli Blackburn, invited us to attend the formal annual dinner benefiting St Jude Children's Research Hospital. Justin and Kelli are the founders of Trinity Constructors, a leading commercial construction company with offices in Texas, Tennessee, and Colorado. Listen to this UPdate our experience attending this dinner event and the impact this organization has had on Justin and Kelli.

Today marks the release of the 2nd Edition of Physicians' Guide to Wealth on Amazon. And despite its title, this book is not just for doctors. It's for anyone who wants to build wealth, understand financial markets, and achieve financial independence. In this UPdate, we outline key topics in this book that includes an overview of Anton's research on repeating and unbroken economic cycles of growth and contraction.

Engineers have a remarkable talent for inventing solutions to problems most people didn't even know existed. Consider the humble public restroom. For decades, we managed perfectly well with the trusty twisty-knob faucet—left for hot, right for cold. Simple. Functional. Civilized. Now, in this UPdate, we take a look at businesses pouring millions—and in some cases, billions—into AI, often with no clear plan for how that investment will actually deliver returns.

If you missed the market rotation mid last year to gold and precious metal miners, you may be asking if it's too late to jump on? We started adding gold and silver miners in the first quarter of this year. Gold has become another key asset for our portfolios to diversify our very profitable positions in AI and technology. Listen to this UPdate our analysis of the AI boom and the precious metal rally that began in early 2024 with forecasts of how much longer these trends may continue.

Investors are enjoying a robust stock market rally with NASDAQ and possibly the S&P 500 completing three consecutive years of 20%+ annual gains. Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway has amassed a record-breaking cash reserve, reaching an all-time high of $347.7 billion in the first quarter of 2025. This represents more than a threefold increase in just three years, driven largely by aggressive stock sales and what their investment committee led by Warren Buffet perceives as a lack of attractive investment opportunities. Listen to this UPdate our analysis of multiple stock market warnings and our views of the stock for the balance of 2025 and into 2026.

Small business owners have endured a difficult four years. Before the global COVID-19 pandemic, many were benefiting from economic growth between 2017 and 2020. But when the pandemic struck, supply chains became strained and inflationary pressures intensified, even as consumer behavior shifted and work moved largely into people's homes. Consequently, the small business optimism index by the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) plunged in early 2020 to its lowest reading in four decades. In this UPdate, we analyze the latest NFIB optimism figures and explore what they might mean for investing in small- and mid-cap sectors going forward.

My selection of reports to write about is getting narrowed as multiple reporting US Federal agencies have stopped releasing economic data due to the Federal government shutdown. However, just before the government shutdown, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, (FHFA) released their housing price index for July based on home purchases with mortgages financed or bundled by federal housing agencies. Listen to 4this UPdate our analysis of the housing market and potential impact on the stock market.

Last week we reviewed the changes in prices from manufacturers and producers. Based on the reports from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual increase of the Producer Price Index (PPI) declined in August to 2.6% Year over Year (YoY) compared to July's YoY annualized rate of 3.06%. Today, we will look further into the supply chain processes at cost changes of imports to our US producers. We will also look at export costs to our foreign partners as the changes will eventually impact US companies. First, we will look at the import costs that will have a direct impact on the US inflation and consumer price index. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released this morning the US Import Price changes of their index. The index increased 0.3% to 141.4 points in August but the index is down from the start of the year at 141.8.