AI Spending Up, Unemployment Down

Each week, the Stokes Family Office staff puts together a list of our favorite news and updates on all things wealth management. From financial planning, portfolio construction, tax and estate planning, and retirement plan services to anything we found interesting. Enjoy this week’s curated list for your weekend reading as we focus on data centers and unemployment.

MARKETS NEWS

This is Why Everyone’s Nervous About Data Centers

Sonu Varghese – Carson Group Chief Market Strategist

The 2026 midterm elections delivered an unexpectedly large Democratic victory, and while markets initially responded positively, investors are increasingly focused on the AI infrastructure buildout, where political resistance to new data centers and rising costs could become a meaningful headwind to future growth. Despite growing opposition, hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Oracle, and now SpaceX continue to dramatically increase AI-related spending, with projected capex exceeding $1.4 trillion by 2027 and supported by more than $4 trillion of debt, lease obligations, purchase commitments, guarantees, and other off-balance-sheet financing arrangements that have made the sector more leveraged and interconnected.

Related:

• • Stock Market Myths & Investment Patience
  • The Index & Inflation
  • Debt, Stocks, & the Economy
  • 2026 Stokes Family Office Quarter 3 Review
  • Bond Traders & The Bear Case

ECONOMY NEWS

The Low Unemployment Streak Nears a Record

Torsten Slok – Apollo Chief Economist

Through September 2026, the US labor market had kept unemployment below 5% for 61 straight months (since September 2021), putting it just three months shy of the record 64-month stretch set from 1965 to 1970, see chart below. The bottom line is that the current expansion is on the verge of becoming the longest period of sustained labor market strength in modern US history, outlasting the late-1990s boom and every other run on record except one.

CHART OF THE WEEK

AI has become a dominant force behind both U.S. stock market performance and broader economic growth, with trillions of dollars in market gains, corporate investment, and pension assets increasingly tied to a small group of AI-driven technology companies. As a result, any slowdown in AI infrastructure spending, data center expansion, or AI-related stock valuations could have far-reaching consequences not just for tech firms, but for investors, pensions, credit markets, and the overall economy. (Via Bloomberg)

Stokes Family Office is 100% Family Owned, and has been continually operating in the New Orleans Area for over 35 years.  As a family office, we are focused on family wealth, financial planning, and tax planning. We are your local experts for Gulf South wealth management.