Wall Street

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? The bad guys are winning. Despite a dire first quarter on Wall Street, the worst guys you know are doing just fine. That includes defense technology company Palantir (founded by Trump megadonor Peter Thiel and leading the charge on AI warfare), infamous tobacco firm Philip Morris (which has long lobbied to keep Americans addicted to cigarettes), and the ubiquitous discount chain store Dollar General (under fire for labor violations and anticompetitive behavior).

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Wall Street To Insurers: Keep Denying Care

A health care industry giant’s Wall Street overlords just admitted that the company’s sky-high health insurance coverage denial rates reaped them enormous profits — and to keep the money flowing, they’re suing to stop the insurer from approving more patient care.

https://www.levernews.com/wall-street-to-insurers-keep-denying-care/?

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?️ Wall Street's consumer problem

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Investors may soon be faced with a slowdown in consumer demand that could hurt corporate earnings, Axios Markets author Madison Mills writes. The labor market is quickly unraveling: Just 22,000 jobs were added in August. Payroll growth is slowing. Inflation is firming. Savings are thinning out.

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? Wall Street's all-in bet on AI

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

AI's backers are touting lofty visions for how the technology can improve our lives — claiming it'll cure cancer, solve climate change and make us all rich, Axios' Madison Mills and Erica Pandey write. Why it matters: If AI falls well short of its promise, a crash could ripple across global financial markets, governments and society. You can see the hype in investments, infrastructure and market moves: Tech giants are offering 9-figure pay packages to elite AI researchers. The technology is guzzling energy. AI alone could soon consume as much electricity as 22% of all U.S. households, MIT Technology Review reports. The bull market in stocks is highly reliant on the AI narrative. ? Reality check: While companies and investors are buzzing over AI, real-world use is emerging slowly, The Atlantic's Rogé Karma notes. Some companies that cut staff, assuming AI could fill the gap, are now rehiring, says Andrea Derler, economist and head of research at Visier, a data analytics platform for businesses. Get Axios Markets. ⚡ Breaking: China's antitrust regulator said today that a preliminary investigation found Nvidia violated the country's anticompetition law, The Wall Street Journal reports (gift link).

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Wall Street coasts toward another record-setting week

Wall Street is coasting toward the finish of its latest record-setting week on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and was on track to close out its sixth winning week in the last seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 129 points, or 0.3%, as of 1:01 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher. All three hit all-time highs the day before, as did the small stocks in the Russell 2000 index, which finally surpassed its prior record set in 2021. Read more.   ps:As the rich get richer and the poor get poorer!!!!!

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☀️ Wall Street sees sunny '26

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

After a year of mixed economic signals and policy uncertainty, Wall Street strategists are growing more optimistic that the economy will rev up again in 2026, Axios' Madison Mills reports. Easier credit and less policy uncertainty will create favorable conditions for the economy next year, strategists and analysts say. Tariff uncertainty has fallen sharply since the spring, priming companies to take advantage of easier financing and invest in people and operations. ? As interest rates come down, regional banks are more willing to lend, giving small businesses — which employ the lion's share of U.S. workers — better access to credit. Even a modest pickup in small-business activity can ripple through the labor market, supporting both employment and consumer demand.

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?Wall Street bonuses keep getting bigger

Data: Johnson Associates; Table: Axios Visuals Wall Street bonuses are expected to grow for the second consecutive year, Axios' Madison Mills writes from new estimates by Johnson Associates, a consulting firm. Record trading revenue from most of the major banks + the continued bull market + interest rate cuts that could spur more dealmaking = higher year-end bonuses across the financial services industry. ? Yes, but: Despite the pay increases, hiring is "generally muted across industry," according to the report. AI and other technology-led reductions could shrink employment in the industry by 10%–20% in the next three to five years.

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? Wall Street walks away

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chart: Axios Visuals New York City — the financial capital of the world — is no longer the city with the highest job growth for financial services, Axios Markets author Madison Mills writes. Why it matters: The election of Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, shows how much New York's identity has changed. Just over a decade ago, the mayor was a billionaire who made his fortune supplying Wall Street with ultra-specialized software. The big picture: Wall Street can be more of a vibe than a place these days. Wall Street South in Florida and Y'all Street in Texas have both gained in popularity. ? By the numbers: From 2020 to 2023, more than 150 financial firms managing nearly $1 trillion moved their headquarters out of New York, according to Bloomberg. Keep reading.

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? Wall Street's 2026 winners

Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

Wall Street thinks 2026 winners will be repeats of this year: gold and Big Tech, Axios Markets author Madison Mills writes from a Goldman Sachs survey of 900+ clients. Gold has surged to record highs this year. Nearly 70% of Goldman's investors expect prices to rise more by the end of 2026. 44% say they expect tech, media, and telecom stocks to outperform in 2026 — the highest of any sector. Keep reading.

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Wall Street job purge

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The six biggest U.S. banks — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — ended 2025 with a combined 1.09 million employees, down about 10,600 year over year, Bloomberg reports (gift link). ? That's the group's lowest headcount since 2021 and the largest annual reduction since 2016, when staffing fell by roughly 22,000. After hiring aggressively during the pandemic, banks have shiftedto efficiency mode. CEOs are tightening spending and asking how AI might replace humans. ? The big picture: "U.S. banking giants boosted their profits in the fourth quarter, buoyed by increasing demand from borrowers that signals the economy is holding up, boding well for lenders' future earnings," Reuters reports. Go deeper ... Lead story of today's Wall Street Journal, "Wall Street Powers Nation's Biggest Banks to Record Year" (gift link)

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? Wall Street's Trump whiplash

Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios

Trump-driven political shocks are rippling through Wall Street, unsettling investors and companies with abrupt policy swings that disrupt global trade and corporate decision-making, Axios Markets author Madison Mills writes. Why it matters: The market is on shaky ground without the strong performance of tech stocks to carry it through more bouts of volatility. The Magnificent 7 tech stocks are down 0.4% year to date as investors are getting more skeptical about the AI trade. The S&P 500 is up just 1% so far this year. Zoom in: Since the beginning of the year, investors have been met with: ?? Venezuela: The capture of Nicolás Maduro spiked volatility and dropped energy prices. ?? Greenland: President Trump threatened to take Greenland and proposed tariffs on European nations that didn't support the effort, which helped trigger the broadest U.S. asset selloff since 2020. He later walked back the threats. ?️ Trump vs. Powell: The Justice Department launched an investigation into Fed chair Jay Powell, sparking concerns about Fed independence. Markets, meanwhile, are still waiting to hear who the next Fed chair might be. ?? Canada vs. the U.S.: Prime Minister Mark Carney dropped tariffs on Chinese EVs and said in a viral Davos speech that "not every partner will share all our values" — an acknowledgment that China may not be the country Canada needs to worry most about.

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• 💰 Wall Street banks boosted banker and trader bonuses by at least 10%, after a banner year in trading and dealmaking — though the biggest rewards are going to top "rainmakers," Bloomberg reports (gift link).

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🤑 Wall Street rescues Mamdani

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a committed socialist, is giving abundant thanks for Wall Street's success these days, Bloomberg reports.

• Banks' bonus season will help reduce the city's two-year budget deficit by about $5 billion, Mamdani told lawmakers.
• The hole is now $7 billion, not the $12 billion that the mayor called a "crisis" last month.

Reality check: Mamdani is pushing New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) for a 2-point tax increase on the highest earners.

• Keep reading (gift link).

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💼 Wall Street lingo: The Trump put

Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios

It's now a familiar Wall Street two-step: Stocks stumble in the morning, then mostly recover by the end of the day after President Trump says something that's viewed as reassuring about the war, Axios' Emily Peck reports. Why it matters: Investors are clinging to the Trump put — the idea that the president will reverse himself if the markets react badly to White House policy. But even if Trump wants this to end, Iran has to stand down, too. "Any little positive thing can really generate a big move in the market," says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers. 💼 Case in point: Oil prices retreated from their highs yesterday, and stocks pared their losses after Trump said that he wasn't planning on sending ground troops into the Middle East. Investors were also apparently mollified by comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that Iran no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles. 🎢 The big picture: While investors may be hopeful, it has still been a rough year so far. The S&P 500 is more than 5% off its all-time high. The price of Brent crude oil is up almost 50% since the war started. 🤞 Here's another Wall Street term — hopium.

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💰 Wall Street's bonus bonanza

Data: New York State Comptroller. (Excludes stock options and other deferred compensation.) Chart: Axios Visuals The average annual bonus on Wall Street last year was $246,900, up 6% from 2024, Axios' Emily Peck writes from data released this morning by New York State. Why it matters: Higher bonuses are a sign that finance had a good year — the market turmoil and uncertainty caused by the Trump administration's tariffs only helped boost business across Wall Street trading desks. Keep reading ... > Wall Street posts record $49.2B in total bonuses, nearing $250K per person, on average; figure is key source of New York City tax revenue (More) ps:Isn't that something! While there are people starving!!

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Wall Street, global markets surge after US-Iran ceasefire sends oil prices below $100 a barrel

Major U.S. stock indexes rose around 3% in early trading, following even bigger gains in European and Asian markets. However, stock prices are still below where they were before the war, and oil prices remain higher because of the threat that the war could continue. Read more.

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Live updates: US, Israel and Iran agree to a tentative ceasefire, even as the terms remain unclear Trump is expected to meet NATO leader Rutte as he muses about pulling out of the military alliance Israel strikes central Beirut without warning after saying Iran ceasefire doesn’t apply there

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Sinking AI stocks and rising oil prices weigh on Wall Street

NEW YORK (AP) — Sinking AI stocks and another climb in oil prices because of the Iran war helped pull Wall Street off its record heights on Tuesday.

https://apnews.com/article/stock-markets-trump-oil-iran-war-1901470c64a6055c80656fad64f863e5?

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😰 AI backlash weighs on Wall Street

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios The growing AI backlash could slow adoption of the technology, posing an underappreciated risk for investors buying into the current frenzy, Axios' Emily Peck writes. Even SpaceX's IPO prospectus — which is threaded with AI hype — warns that the backlash is a real threat to the business. ⚠️ Community outcry against AI was a key topic in recent meetings Morgan Stanley strategists held with investors in the U.S., they wrote in a note this week. The two important areas of concern: job loss and electric bills. "These issues may increasingly become a part of the political landscape and could result in greater pushback to data center growth," the note says. And the growing opposition to data centers, along with some projects getting canceled, is "sapping confidence" among investors, according to a note investment bank Jefferies sent to clients, Axios' Madison Mills reported.