Geopolitics

Updating The Worry List

Aug 10, 2026 5 min read

The S&P 500 hit yet another record high yesterday, led by fabulous earnings momentum (FEMO). That puts the index closer to our year-end target of 8,250 and 10,000 by the end of the decade. The economy has been growing without a recession since the Great Financial Crisis, except for the two-month lockdown recession in 2020. Our Roaring 2020s scenario is in its seventh year.

Ed Yardeni

Apocalypse Now! Or, TACO Now?

Jul 23, 2026 5 min read paid

(1) Geopolitics. President Donald Trump said he is weighing a “massive attack” on Iran. The Pentagon is flooding the Middle East with elite troops, fighter jets, and combat medics. “I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than anything we have ever had before. I am close to making a decision. We are fully prepared for it,” the president told Israel’s Channel 12 on Thursday. The US military on Tuesday

Ed Yardeni
Elias Griepentrog

GLOBAL MARKET CALL: War & Peace & War

Jul 12, 2026 4 min read paid

In our March 4, 2026 QuickTakes, we wrote that the war between the US and Iran might last longer than widely expected. We suggested that any peace deal with Iran's government would effectively be vetoed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps simply by their threatening to attack ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. "These terrorists are likely to be hard to eradicate with just air power,

Ed Yardeni
Toby Hearst

War! What Is It Good For?

Jul 8, 2026 3 min read

The 1970 song "War! What Is It Good For?" was performed by the Temptations on an album and by Edwin Starr as a single. The song's answer to the question is "Absolutely nothing!" The powerful lyrics include: "It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker / Friend only to the undertaker, woo!" Financial market history shows that geopolitical crises, including wars, often have

Ed Yardeni
Elias Griepentrog

GLOBAL MARKET CALL: Peace Dividend Should Revive 'Go Global'

Jun 14, 2026 4 min read

The past week was a win for our "Go Global" pivot at the end of last year, as foreign equity markets mostly outperformed the "Stay Home" alternative, i.e., the US stock market. Most of the move came in anticipation of lower oil prices on a possible deal between the US and Iran to end their war. This evening, both sides confirmed that a memorandum of

Ed Yardeni
Toby Hearst

No More Mr. Nice Guy

Apr 29, 2026 4 min read paid

We will miss Jerome Powell's chairmanship of the Fed. He is a nice guy. He did the best that he could as Fed chair from February 5, 2018, through May 15, 2026, when his term as chair expires. Nevertheless, he said he intends to remain a Fed governor for now. He can do so until his term on the Board of Governors expires on January 31, 2028. President

Ed Yardeni
Elias Griepentrog

MARKET CALL: Devil-May-Care

Apr 26, 2026 4 min read paid

In the autumn of 1956, Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal. Britain, France, and Israel invaded. The canal closed for five months. Two-thirds of Western Europe's oil moved through it, and the price of crude doubled in dollar terms before the year was out. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 10% from its July high to its October low. Tankers were forced

Ed Yardeni
Toby Hearst

Stock Market Rally Isn't Running Out of Fuel. US Economy Still Acing Stress Tests.

Apr 23, 2026 4 min read paid

President Donald Trump may have to write a sequel to his 1987 book, "Trump: The Art of the Deal." It's hard to make a deal if you kill your opponent. He said that about Iran today again: "They’re all messed up. They have no idea who their leader is... We took out, really, three levels of leaders... So they have a hard time figuring

Ed Yardeni
Elias Griepentrog

ENERGY: A Buying Opportunity

Apr 20, 2026 4 min read paid

We gave up on the S&P 500 Energy sector a couple of years ago. It has been underperforming the S&P 500 since late 2022 (chart). As a result of the latest war in the Middle East, it has been an outperformer since the beginning of this year through Friday, March 27. The sector has been underperforming again since then, when President Donald Trump suggested that the

Ed Yardeni
Elias Griepentrog

The Champagne Glass Is More Than Half Full

Apr 15, 2026 5 min read paid

Happy days are here again! The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose to record highs today, which just happens to be tax day. What's all the excitement about? The AI bubble hasn't burst, so far. Instead, hyperscaler stocks are leading the charge since the stock market bottomed on March 30 (chart). The private credit bubble may be losing some air, but it isn't

Ed Yardeni
Elias Griepentrog

Mr. Market Says The War Is Over

Apr 14, 2026 3 min read paid

The S&P 500 is now up 1.3% since Friday, February 27, the day before Gulf War III started (chart). So as far as the stock market is concerned, the war is over until further notice. The index will be at a new record high tomorrow if it increases by more than 11.22 points! It has been yet another V-shaped buy-the-dip recovery in the

Ed Yardeni
Elias Griepentrog

How Transitory Is The Inflation Problem Ahead?

Apr 9, 2026 4 min read paid

This evening, Reuters reports that ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was well below 10% of normal volumes on Thursday, despite the US-Iran ceasefire. Tehran asserted its control by warning ships to remain within its territorial waters as they passed through the Strait to avoid mines. As we've noted previously, geopolitical crises tend to provide buying opportunities in the stock market. Sure enough: Following a 9.

Ed Yardeni
Elias Griepentrog

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