A New Fed Chair, Manufacturing, & Diversification

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!

ECONOMY NEWS

AI Is Transforming the Economy—Not Destroying It

• Kevin Frazier: The greatest economic policy is often the one that gets out of the way—not of technology, but of the people who know best what to do with it. When it comes to AI and the workforce, we should ask a simple question: are we making it easier or harder for someone to start tomorrow what doesn’t exist today?

President Trump Names Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh As His Pick to Lead the Federal Reserve

• Luke Kawa: Treasury yields and the US dollar rose following reports that Warsh would be named to succeed Jerome Powell.

The Indicators That’ll Really Signal a Manufacturing Renaissance

• Kenan Fikri: Slower burn indicators will be the ones to truly signal if and when a manufacturing renaissance takes hold — or if the sector fails to take off. Which indicators? Those of economic dynamism: measures of the health, vitality, and innovative intensity of manufacturing (or any other sector). These indicators probe well under the surface of the net changes that grab the headlines.

Related:

• • • Greenland, Oil, & The Middle Class
    • Consumer Confidence & Market Myths
    • What’s On Tap for 2026?
    • 4th Quarter 2025 Update
    • Newsweek Names Stokes Family Office One of America’s Top Financial Advisory Firms 2026

MARKETS NEWS

Why There Is a Lot Less Junk In the High-Yield Bond Market

• Tom Lauricella: Much of the riskiest debt is now found in the leveraged loan or private credit market, not high yield.

Is Diversification Finally Working Again?

• Ben Carlson: It’s easy to know what outperformed in the past, but nearly impossible to predict what will outperform in the future. That’s why you diversify. You give up on home runs to avoid striking out.

If You Hate Inflation, Then You’ll Love Stocks

• Publicly traded companies are not charities. Their approach to pricing — whether it’s lowering them or raising them — is about maximizing earnings. Sometimes that means raising prices on the goods and services they sell to you. And you don’t have to like it. But if you are invested in the stock market, you have exposure to the side that’s raising those prices.

Related:

• • Market Timing & The Fed’s AI Challenge
  • Stokes Family Office Ranked Top RIA Firm by Financial Advisor Magazine For 3rd Consecutive Year
  • Stokes Family Office Welcomes Daniel Becker as Managing Director

CHART(S) OF THE WEEK

Via Joe Weisenthal, gold has now outperformed Bitcoin on a 5-year basis.

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. Want to hear more from our team? Check out the Lagniappe Podcast.