Big tech, not the Federal Reserve, is once again driving the rally across U.S. equities, offering hope to some investors that the stock market could shrug off concerns about the interest-rate outlook to sustain its upward momentum.
A steadily growing economy and low unemployment have helped to ease some of the pain of high inflation, but middle- and low-income Americans say they are feeling more stress.
Companies like Broadcom and Chipotle say lower stock prices are more accessible. But the prevailing mindset has been that a higher price signals companies are “doing something right.”
Stories about the collapse of a longstanding “petrodollar” agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia spread like wildfire on social media. But the agreement never existed.