The January Effect is the historical tendency for stock prices, especially small-cap stocks, to rise in the first month of the new year due to depressed prices from heavy selling in the previous month of December.

With 2026 just getting underway there isn't a shortage of forecast letters and commentary on expectations for the coming year.

Shorting out-of-the-money OXY puts over the next month provides almost a 1.5% yield.

​​​​​​​The U.S. markets are closed today, but gold and silver clearly didn’t get the memo. 

Bitcoin may be experiencing a short-term profit-taking pressure after its recent rally to new multi-week highs, but the rally looks set to continue, driven by U.S. macro conditions.

Favorable quarterly results from the big U.S. banks sparked the Q4 earnings season off to a good start this week, and were complemented by very strong reports from the top investment management firms.

While the mean forecast is for around 2.2% growth in 2026, the trimmed 20% band suggests some downside risks.

For investors, Caterpillar shares’ exposure to AI-driven energy demand adds a “fresh” layer to its traditional construction and mining narrative.

Over extended market cycles, Israel’s mid-cap equities have often delivered strong growth, driven by their greater sensitivity to domestic economic trends.