Are U.S. consumers getting a much needed break from high prices? Most people would look at their grocery and electric bills and say no, it’s just as bad as ever. As usual, however, the government paints a different picture with bright and sunny inflation numbers.

This Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will announce a possible resumption of interest-rate raises after last month’s pause. Then, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference, hopefully signaling the future path of monetary policy. It could be the most important financial-market event of 2023.

When you’re in a bubble, you can’t see the bubble. Hence, it’s hard to know if technology stocks are actually in a bubble in 2023. However, if valuation means anything anymore, we can at least call it an “imbalance” if we’re reluctant to apply the “b”-word.

What’s the true price of getting costs down? It’s a question that should be top-of-mind in the equities market, but the bears and short-sellers have been frustrated month after month as short-term investors continue to climb the wall of worry.

Earlier this year, fears of bank runs and financial sector collapse spread through the media. Big banks absorbed regional banks, and for a while it felt as if consumers were in safe hands. There’s a fresh reminded, however, that safety is never assured in America’s traditional financial institutions.

Amid AI hype and metaverse mania, where can true contrarians and value investors park their capital with confidence? For one Wall Street expert at least, the proverbial needle in the market’s haystack is hidden in plain sight, in an asset class that never really goes out of style.

The dollar’s on the ropes, but the perma-bulls will always hope and cope. Nothing in the data – which is provided by the same government that promulgates print-and-spend policy – is positive for the U.S. dollar. Yet, the spin doctors are relentless even if their arguments have more holes than Swiss cheese.

Sometimes, stock traders catch a rocket ship and ride into outer space. They trumpet these success stories on social media, making it seem like they’re just hitting one home run after another. Of course, they’re omitting the failures that wiped out their trading accounts.

In 2022, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell assured us that inflation was “transitory.” Then, he turned tail and decided it wasn’t actually transitory. Now, Powell wants us to believe that the Fed can thread the proverbial needle by getting inflation down without a large increase in unemployment.

History shows that no currency is meant to dominate forever. The almighty U.S. dollar is no exception, and recent signs point to a movement – not only in China but from multiple world powers – to dethrone the dollar as the reserve currency of the world.