Adam Taggart is the founder of Thoughtful Money®, where your wealth = our #1 focus. Thoughtful Money was created to educate & empower regular investors just like you build wealth to fund their life goals. We do this by interviewing the top experts in money & the markets to give you actionable advice on how to protect & grow your wealth. Why? Because today’s environment is one of the most challenging ever for “regular” investors: inflation, high interest rates, recession risk, runaway debt & deficits, volatile financial markets, unstable banks & geopolitical threats — just to name a few. How will assets like stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities, gold, Bitcoin insurance policies, estate plans perform in the environment ahead? Are you just trying to figure out how to protect your family’s financial future from these risks — and hopefully grow your wealth, too — without becoming collateral damage to market events? We sure think that should be your focus. It’s certainly ours.
The S&P 500 broke below its 200-day moving average for the first time in 214 days amid geopolitical oil shocks, creating a dangerous divergence as analysts raise earnings estimates while markets price in the risk of prolonged high energy costs crushing consumer spending.
Jonathan Wellum warns that fundamentals point to a likely market retrenchment as rising interest rates, energy-driven inflation, and Middle East geopolitical instability converge to pressure an already indebted global economy, urging investors to maintain strict discipline and long-term focus during increased volatility.
Chris Irons warns that private credit markets are experiencing severe stress with major funds gating redemptions, while broader equity markets remain dangerously overvalued due to quantitative easing distortions that may have permanently reset historical valuation norms higher.
Brent Johnson argues that stablecoins represent the most significant monetary evolution since the end of the gold standard, with the U.S. government now co-opting this private innovation to potentially control a new parallel financial system worth hundreds of trillions, accelerating global dollarization while triggering a high-stakes battle between banks, tech giants, and private issuers for dominance.
Market technicals have reset to neutral levels supporting potential new highs, while the Supreme Court's ruling against IEEPA-based tariffs merely shifts the administration to alternative legal frameworks with Iran tensions now posing the greater volatility risk.
Housing demand has crashed to historic lows with sales down 42% from peak levels, triggering severe price corrections in Sunbelt markets and threatening broader declines as both domestic and international migration slow to multi-decade lows.
Stephanie Pomboy analyzes the contradictory economic signals in early 2025, explaining why a surprisingly strong January jobs report likely reflects seasonal statistical distortions rather than genuine economic acceleration, while underlying weakness appears in accelerating corporate bankruptcies, weak retail sales, and rising consumer credit stress.
Michael Every explains how the collapse of the liberal world order is triggering massive structural changes globally, with Japan's election victory signaling deeper US-Asia integration and the US pursuing a Monroe Doctrine 2.0 strategy rather than retreating to spheres of influence.
Luke Gromen argues that an accelerating global sovereign debt crisis—particularly Japan's approaching debt spiral—is forcing developed nations to sacrifice their currencies to save bond markets, making physical gold the primary beneficiary regardless of whether the ultimate outcome is inflation or deflation.
Tavi Costa argues that despite recent gains, the commodities boom is in its early stages due to a severe supply-demand mismatch in mining, with institutional capital only beginning to rotate into a sector that represents just 1% of global market cap despite rising structural demand from AI, electrification, and onshoring trends.
Lance Roberts argues the recent market volatility stems primarily from margin liquidation cascading through risk assets rather than deteriorating fundamentals, suggesting the selloff in high-quality mega-cap tech may present a buying opportunity despite legitimate concerns about excessive leverage and emerging AI threats to traditional software business models.
Chance Finucane warns that the S&P 500's free cash flow multiple has stretched to nearly 30x (vs. 20x historical average) as big tech spends heavily on AI with uncertain returns, positioning 2026 as a likely year of rotation from overvalued hyperscalers toward commodities and diversified sectors with significant volatility expected.