Bonds, Bubbles, & Beijing
May 22, 2026
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!
What’s Behind the Bond Market Rout?
Sonu Varghese: Looking at the equity market hitting all-time highs, you could be forgiven for thinking all is well. But you don’t have to look too far to see where there’s pain, by way of the bond market. We’ve been talking about an inflationary growth regime since the start of the year, and equities doing well while bonds struggle is par for the course in this environment. Still, it has been a particularly rough stretch for bond investors.
US Needs Another Decade to Fix $1.2 Trillion Rare Earth Crisis
Bloomberg: From White House meetings to boardroom negotiations, US officials and their allies around the world have poured billions of dollars into mining, refining and other industrial facilities. While Beijing’s might was amassed over decades, Trump pledged last November that ending US reliance on rare earths would take just 18 months. Yet the ones that matter most remain out of reach.
Walmart Gives Disappointing Q2 Guidance
J. Edward Moreno: America’s largest retailer and a bellwether for the US consumer, dropped after it reported Q1 earnings results that hit Wall Street estimates but gave lukewarm guidance for the current quarter. The company warned that lower-income shoppers are showing signs of financial stress and that rising fuel costs could pressure prices and margins later this year.
Related:
How to Use Gold in Your Portfolio
Amy C. Arnott: Investing in gold has risks, but it can be a solid diversifier and a refuge in volatile or inflationary times.
Bonds Are Behaving Just Like Bonds
Joe Wiggins: Despite all the noise, bonds are behaving in just the way we should expect them to. It is probably fair to say that in an era of low inflation and falling yields, investors didn’t make their portfolios sufficiently resilient to scenarios where bonds don’t complement equities as effectively. Yet this is the fault of investors, not the bonds. Making some adjustments to portfolios because of this oversight seems prudent, writing off bonds for performing in a perfectly predictable way far less so.
Ben Carlson: There may be pockets of excess and speculation, but today’s market appears more rooted in fundamentals than the broad-based mania that defined the dot-com bubble.
Ben Carlson says, “Valuations are much more reasonable today when you consider the different P/E ratio buckets companies fall into versus the late-1990s.” See more.
Want to hear more from our team? Check out the Lagniappe Podcast.
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.
*Stokes Family Office does not offer legal or tax advice. Please consult the appropriate professional regarding your individual circumstances.
