The Stock Market & The Economy Are Diverging

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, retirement plan services to anything we found interesting.  Enjoy this week’s curated list for your weekend reading!

ECONOMY NEWS

AI Will Change Jobs Before the Data Shows It

• Paul Podolsky: Right now efforts by academic economists, central banks and brokers to measure how much AI is shifting demand for labor show a modest impact. I am skeptical for three reasons—capex spend, my own behavior and precedent.

17 Charts to Consider as Stocks Rally and the Economy Cools

• Sam Ro on why the stock market and the economy are diverging

What’s the Real Reason Behind a Softening Job Market?

• Torsten Sløk has 10 charts on daily and weekly data for the US economy to get to the bottom of the labor market woes.

Related:

• • • Investing in the Future With Demographic Change
    • AI’s Job Effect, US Oil, & Dividend Growth Stocks
    • Jobs, Tariffs, & IPOs
    • Trade Deals, Tariffs, & Housing

MARKETS NEWS

How Old Is This Bull Market? Younger Than You Think

• Ryan Detrick: The bull market is on track to turn three in a month, and it’s no secret we’ve been in the bullish camp for many years now. But what about looking forward? I’ll look at some of the clues that I believe strongly suggest that the bull market may have plenty of time left.

Worth Its Weight? Assessing Gold’s Portfolio Utility

• Investors have paid increased attention to non-productive stores of value (NPSOVs), especially gold, in an environment characterized by inflation uncertainty, changing monetary and regulatory policy, questions about the U.S. dollar’s primary reserve status, and the prospect of the globalized economy splitting into competing trade blocs.

The 60/40 Portfolio: A 150-Year Markets Stress Test

• Emilia Fredlick: It took the worst bond market in history to make investing in a 60/40 more painful during a market crash than holding all equities.

Related:

• Stokes Family Office Ranked Top RIA Firm by Financial Advisor Magazine For Third Consecutive Year
• SFO Quarterly Review: Q2 2025

CHART OF THE WEEK

Brent Sullivan of Tax Alpha Insider has a produce analogy about holding a single stock too long as he dives into the underperformance of concentrated stock positions. See more.

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.