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Every weekend we publish “The Weekly Wrap-Up” — your ticket to being well informed and staying ahead in the investment game!

This report is designed to help investors of all skill levels break down important stories/topics within the stock market. And best of all, we cut through all of the BS and give you exactly what you need to know in easy to digest, bite sized pieces of content.

Grab your coffee and let’s dive in.

All 3 major indexes finished the week lower, though the fear and greed index rose as breadth improved under the surface.

These are some of the biggest stories from the second half of the week that had an influence on market action.

Trump policy headlines drove another week of whipsaw moves across rates, banks, semis, utilities, and healthcare. A DOJ criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell revived central bank independence risk as Trump floated a sweeping credit card interest cap. The White House also advanced new AI chip tariffs, pushed a PJM reliability auction, and announced a U.S. Taiwan trade deal with tariff levels reduced to 15%.

🔑 Key Points

👀 What You Need to Know

Most of these moves are still more noise than policy, with legal authority, dates, and enforcement mechanics unresolved. The Powell investigation adds tail risk to Fed independence, but it stays a process story until charges or leadership changes. The credit card cap and healthcare framework both run into Congress, and timelines look messy. Tariff actions are most executable near term, so watch exemptions and scope. Expect sharp reversals as details leak and pushback forms.

December inflation prints showed a mixed but still sticky picture, with consumer prices pushed higher by shelter and food while core inflation stayed comparatively moderate. Shutdown-related data distortions continued to muddy recent month-to-month reads, keeping confidence in short-term trends limited. Producer prices added a secondary warning, with year-over-year PPI running above expectations.

🔑 Key Points

👀 What You Need to Know

Inflation is no longer moving clearly lower, which keeps the Fed sidelined. Shelter and food are still doing most of the work in CPI, meaning everyday costs are not easing the way headlines suggest. PPI running hotter year over year increases the risk that price pressure shows up again later in consumer data. For now, this combination supports a cautious Fed and the likelihood that rates remain here for a while.

📚 Edge-ucation: What the Federal Reserve Is and What It Does

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States, responsible for managing monetary policy and maintaining financial stability. Its primary job is to balance inflation and employment while keeping the financial system functioning smoothly. Through interest rate policy and liquidity tools, the Fed influences borrowing costs, credit conditions, and overall economic momentum.

In practice, the Fed shapes the cost of money across the economy, influencing everything from mortgages and credit cards to stock valuations and business investment decisions.

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Several major names reported this week, with results generally better than feared. AI demand drove upside in semis, banks benefited from trading strength and steadier credit trends, and airlines delivered mixed results as pricing held up but guidance stayed cautious.

Taiwan Semiconductor $TSM ( ▲ 0.22% ) delivered a strong earnings beat on AI and advanced node demand.

JPMorgan Chase $JPM ( ▲ 1.04% ) posted solid revenue growth but missed EPS expectations due to charges.

Bank of America $BAC ( ▲ 0.72% ) beat on both earnings and revenue, with interest and trading strength.

Goldman Sachs $GS ( ▼ 1.42% ) beat EPS expectations despite a revenue miss, with trading and investment banking strength offsetting the Apple Card exit impact.

Delta Air Lines $DAL ( ▼ 1.28% ) posted a slight EPS beat but revenue miss and cautious guidance weighed.

In this section, we'll be curating a selection of news headlines we think you'll find interesting. If a topic catches your eye, click the provided links to read more about it.

We continue to push out more and more content every week to give investors that edge. Here are the posts Investor’s Edge+ subscribers received this week.

Mondays are for the investors. Every Monday morning we share exactly what we’re watching in the week ahead, how we’re positioning, and even share a sneak peek into our systems and models. This week we discussed the upcoming inflation reports and the start of earnings season. See the latest full report here:

Every month we share a full access look into our portfolios, including holdings, performance, activity and our watchlists for the upcoming month. You can see both of our portfolios, what moves we made in December, and how we performed in 2025 here:

Earnings season begins while inflation reports will set the tone of the week.

Banks kick off earnings season next week and overall, 6 of the names we cover are set to report. Here is the full calendar of scheduled earnings releases:

Overall, 6 of the names we cover are set to report:

Next week is all about inflation again as we get delayed PCE reports for October and November. We also get GDP data, composite PMI, initial jobless claims, pending home sales, and consumer sentiment.

Here is the full calendar of events we will be watching:

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Thank you for reading this edition of the Weekly Wrap-Up. Have a great weekend!

Until next time investors!

Mark & Chris

The Investor’s Edge

This is not investing advice. It is very important that you do your own research and make investments based on your own personal circumstances, preferences, goals and risk tolerance.