Stocks continued to climb the wall of worry last week and shrugged off tariff headlines, inflation volatility, and signs of a slowdown in retail spending.

The Federal Reserve (Fed) cut interest rates last September and, to date, the central bank has lowered rates by 1%. But over the same period, long-term Treasury yields are higher by 1% (per the 10-year Treasury yield).

Expected continued steady economic growth should enable corporate America to grow profits at or near a double digit pace in 2025.

As the new year officially gets underway, there’s the usual sense of renewed optimism and excitement over new opportunities.

With China’s DeepSeek pressuring investors to take a closer look at the current environment of artificial intelligence (AI) development within the U.S., some are taking a moment to question the accuracy of a much larger idea — American Exceptionalism.