A Shift in Direction
Last week gave investors a lot to digest—a mix of economic news, geopolitical drama, and policy headlines that kept markets on their toes. We saw everything from surprising statements about U.S. involvement in Venezuela, to soft jobs data, to signs that consumers are feeling a bit better about the economy. Add in a burst of new policy proposals, and it’s no wonder investors spent the week recalibrating. In the end, stocks moved higher as markets tried to make sense of it all.
Here’s the quick rundown:
Geopolitical tensions rose.
News that former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was arrested and indicted sent ripples through energy markets. As Martin Baccardax ofBarron’snoted, it also raised concerns about possible military actions elsewhere—including places like Greenland, which is controlled by NATO ally Denmark.
Job growth remained weak.
Finding work in 2025 hasn’t been easy. In December, the U.S. added about 50,000 jobs—roughly in line with the year’s monthly average. For the full year, only about 584,000 jobs were created, making 2025 “the worst year for hiring since 2020,” according to Megan Leonhardt ofBarron’s.
Consumer sentiment improved—slightly.
The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index ticked higher. Interestingly, the gains came from lower-income households, while higher-income consumers felt less optimistic. Even with the improvement, sentiment remains nearly 25% below where it was this time last year, wrote Joanne Hsu, Director of the Surveys of Consumers.
The President floated new policy ideas.
On social media, President Trump proposed several initiatives:
Limit institutional buyers of single-family homes.Private equity and investment groups have been major players in housing, helping push prices higher. After the post, homebuilder stocks fell to their lowest level in three years, reported John Authers of Bloomberg.
Have the government buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds.The goal is to make housing more affordable by having Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac step in. Analysts were split on whether this would actually lower mortgage rates, according to Bloomberg. Mortgage bonds and lender stocks rallied.
Push defense companies to reinvest.The proposal called for ending buybacks, pausing dividends, and capping executive pay until more money is spent on factories and research. Defense stocks dropped after the post, reported Phil Serafino of Bloomberg.
Increase defense spending from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion by 2027.While the government is the biggest customer of defense firms, it doesn’t directly control them. The order references the Defense Production Act, which allows the government to prioritize its needs in emergencies. Defense stocks later recovered some ground, according to the Associated Press.
By week’s end, it looked like market leadership was shifting. Investors began favoring smaller companies and value stocks over big tech. As Avi Salzman ofBarron’sput it, “Materials and industrials are far outpacing tech names. And small-caps are doing the best of all.”
Major U.S. stock indexes finished the week higher, while the yield on the 10-year Treasury ended close to where it began.
| Data as of 1/9/26 | 1-Week | Y-T-D | 1-Year | 3-Year | 5-Year | 10-Year |
| Standard & Poor’s 500 Index | 1.6% | 1.8% | 19.6% | 21.4% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| Dow Jones Global ex-U.S. Index | 1.4 | 2.3 | 31.3 | 13.4 | 5.0 | 6.8 |
| 10-year Treasury Note (yield only) | 4.2 | N/A | 4.8 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 2.2 |
| Gold (per ounce) | 4.3 | 4.0 | 65.3 | 33.9 | 19.5 | 15.2 |
| Bloomberg Commodity Index | 2.4 | 2.2 | 9.4 | 0.9 | 7.1 | 4.1 |
S&P 500, Dow Jones Global ex-US, Gold, and Bloomberg Commodity Index returns exclude reinvested dividends (gold does not pay a dividend) and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; and the 10-year Treasury Note is simply the yield at the close of the day on each of the historical time periods. Sources: Yahoo! Finance; MarketWatch; djindexes.com; U.S. Treasury; London Bullion Market Association. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly. N/A means not applicable.
Retirement: Are You Winning the Inflation Battle?
We’ve all heard the stories about how little our parents or grandparents paid for their first car or home. In the 1960s, a brand-new Oldsmobile cost under $3,000, and the average U.S. home price was just $17,800.
That steady rise in prices—what we call inflation—is one of the biggest threats to a comfortable retirement. Over time, inflation erodes purchasing power. That’s why saving consistently and investing wisely are so important. Your money needs the chance to grow fast enough to keep up with, or ideally outpace, rising costs.
Recent legislation has made it easier for workers to save more in tax-advantaged retirement plans, including:
401(k) plansfor private-sector workers
403(b) plansfor public-sector and nonprofit employees
457(b) plansfor government workers
In 2026, the standard contribution limit is $24,500. Catch-up contributions allow eligible savers to put away even more. There are four types:
Age 50 catch-up:If you’ll be 50 or older by year-end, you can contribute an extra $8,000.
Age 60–63 catch-up:If you’ll be between 60 and 63 by the end of 2026, you can add up to $11,250 more.
15-year catch-up (403(b) only):Long-tenured employees may contribute more each year, up to a lifetime total of $15,000.
Three-year catch-up (457(b) only):In the three years before your plan’s defined retirement age, you may defer up to twice the annual limit, based on what you’ve previously saved.
In most cases, you can’t stack these—you’ll need to choose the one that applies.
If you have questions about your workplace plan, or if you don’t have one and want to start saving for retirement, please reach out. There are other tax-advantaged ways to build toward retirement, and we’re happy to help you explore them.
Weekly Focus – Think About It
“Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.”
— Warren Buffett