#2013-2014-comparison

#2013-2014-comparison

Moody's Ratings has slashed India's economic growth projections for the current fiscal to 6%, from 6.8% earlier. The credit ratings agency said the US-Israeli war against Iran and its impact on the global energy market will weigh on India's growth momentum and heighten inflation risks.

The S&P 500 closed up approximately 2.4% near 6,496, while the Nasdaq Composite gained roughly 3.3% to around 21,475, indicating a strong market response to geopolitical news.

'Walmart Worries' just keep multiplying. It's currently close to the highest level ever recorded which was during the Great Financial Crisis of 2008-09.

Escalating geopolitical risk continued to dominate global markets' concerns, with safe-haven demand keeping the dollar index anchored near a multi-week high.

"Oil prices are higher again this morning, but Treasury yields are lower as the risks to economic growth begin to take precedence over the risks to inflation," Oxford Economics said in a note on Monday.

U.S. economic growth cooled significantly in the fourth quarter of 2025, which the Trump administration attributed to last fall's record-long federal government shutdown and softer consumer spending. Gross domestic product rose at a 1.4 percent seasonally adjusted, inflation-adjusted annual rate in the final three months of last year, the Commerce Department said Friday, well below the 2.5 percent pace expected by economists.

U.S. financial markets began the year on a positive note, with major stock indexes reaching new highs despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and emerging signs of economic cooling. Investors showed renewed confidence, particularly in smaller and value-oriented companies, which outperformed the large technology-driven stocks that dominated returns in recent years. This shift suggests broader participation in the market rally and growing optimism beyond a narrow group of companies.

The prosperity of this top cohort is not driven by wage growth. While their wages have risen, they have stagnated relative to the explosive returns on capital. Instead, their consumption is driven by the "Wealth Effect." New analysis shows that 70% of recent economic growth is now driven by just 20% of earners. These consumers aren't spending wages; they are spending paper gains tethered to a market bubble.