The share of S&P 500 members with negative beta to the index just hit a record over a rolling six-month window, meaning more stocks move opposite the benchmark and under-the-surface volatility is higher than the headline index suggests. It is fresh fuel for AI-bear sentiment, even as megacap tech keeps the index near highs.
Nasdaq is extending U.S. equities to 23 hours a day, five days a week, targeting December 6, 2026 pending DTCC, SIP and SEC approval. Ahead of that, it's launching "Plus" versions of Nasdaq Basic, TotalView and Last Sale so firms can integrate and test the upgraded data feeds for the overnight session.
Leopold Aschenbrenner's AI-conviction hedge fund lost over two-thirds of its public equity value in four weeks and was forced to liquidate, with Citadel buying nearly all of it. Damodaran's post-mortem argues the blow-up was collateral damage of conviction without valuation discipline, not a verdict on AI itself.
Defaults at flagship funds from Ares, Blackstone, Blue Owl and Golub hit five-year highs, and Fitch puts the industry default rate at a record 6%. Yet fundraising is still booming, and managers call the strain media panic. The real worry: stress spreading from healthcare into software-heavy loan books.
Net interest on the national debt hit a record 3.2% of GDP this year, beating the 1991 high, with the CBO projecting 4.6% by 2036. At $970 billion in 2025, it's now the third-largest federal spending category, crowding out everything but Social Security and Medicare.
The producer price index was unchanged in July, undershooting the 0.2% consensus and posting a second straight flat month as energy costs slid. With the CPI also tame, traders pushed rate-hike odds out to October or December and futures ticked up, a clear disinflation beat for the Fed.
US workers are losing purchasing power again: real wages fell 0.4% in Q2 2026, the first decline since 2022, as 3.4% July inflation outraced 3.2% pay growth. New University of Chicago research using ADP payroll data shows standardized ~3% annual raises can't keep up when prices spike, repeating the 2021-22 squeeze.
You’re caught up.
That was all 7 stories in the 18 August issue.