The Week That Is

Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, says that while there are plenty of headline risks and scary numbers, investors should recognize that there is some opportunity hidden in the frightening talk. As a result, investors who saw Micron Technology's latest quarterly earnings grow year-over-year by 1,000 percent (yes, that's real), but whose skepticism has driven the stock's price/earnings ratio below 15 are missing out on an opportunity that he thinks will last for years. Similarly, on jobs numbers nationally — where the latest employment report was far below expectations — Marolia urges a cautious focus on how the numbers also show the economy is near or at full employment. Plus, Vijay discusses a new SEC proposal that would allow mutual funds to charge performance fees, which would let more hedge funds and private-equity and other asset classes be more readily available to the public, which he says is a positive for giving consumers access to more and better choices, so long as they are careful in the selection process and not paying for additional layers of fees buying funds that invest in other funds.

With the tide of headlines shifting from artificial intelligence solving the world's problems to being a menace that threatens humanity, Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, says the real story is about controlling narratives and development, and that the tide is not shifting to one that will upend the A.I. story. Vijay discusses how some of the industry's powerbrokers are trying to create "regulatory capture," using rules where the real purpose is to protect their current competitive advantages. He says the real risks to the strategy are that it slows development and acceptance of the A.I. buildout.

Marolia also discusses the sudden rise in bond yields, which has sent bond prices falling and which he says has made it that investors should be concerned about using bond funds, noting that they do not protect against capital loss, particularly in rising-rate environments. Instead, Vijay suggests holding bonds directly, planning to capture the return to maturity, and using a laddered approach so that higher-rate paper is routinely being added to the portfolio as rates climb.

Plus, Vijay talks about the rise in 401(k) millionaires, and how it's more a phenomenon of market growth and inflation than a meaningful milestone. He notes that investors today should expect to reach that kind of landmark simply due to the impacts of inflation over time, noting that they overcome that inflation by investing in stocks for the long term and focusing on their savings level and their needs rather than their account balance.

With growing worries about the impacts of artificial intelligence on nearly all aspects of our lives, Vijay Marolia discusses whether the creation of an "A.I. Force" and appointment of an "A.I. czar" could control and improve the development process or slow it down and set it back. Speaking of setbacks, Marolia - chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital - talks about Anthropic's plans for an IPO that could be valued at $2 trillion, and whether the company whose CEO set off a lot of the alarm bells on A.I. should pause its offering until there is more clarity on the future regulation of the industry. Plus, personal finance guru Robert Kiyosaki has $1.2 billion in debt; the amount is crazy, but it's possible the best-selling author behind "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" is crazy like a fox.

When Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei made calls last week to slow the development of artificial intelligence, the market took notice, says Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, but it doesn't look like the warning will amount to much, at least in the short term, as companies continue to push to make major developments in the world-altering technology. Marolia also looks at whether the latest inflation news released last week puts the Federal Reserve in position to hike interest rates this week, and whether an increase will derail the current market rally. Plus, Vijay puts Lululemon Athletica under his five-lens view to discuss whether the company — which has seen its shares lose more than half of their value in 2026 — is a falling knife or a well-timed buy.

The bond market sold off last week, resulting in bond yields rising to levels unseen since 2007, scaring markets and investors at the same time that copper prices have risen to near record levels, raising concerns of how that key metal's availability could curtail development opportunities. Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, says that while the numbers are real, the concerns are temporary and the market is likely to shake it off, meaning there are buying opportunities hidden among the headlines. Vijay also discusses an analysis released last week by the Burning Glass Institute — a labor-market think tank — which found that unemployment among workers ages 22 to 34 without a college degree hasn't been this low very often over the last 20 years, and why he thinks that trend speaks to bigger issues on the value of a college education.

The artificial-intelligence boom is powering the market, but there are concerns about whether the circular nature of the new technology — with one company supplying the next, which supplies the next — building an artificial support network that collapses if any player collapses, but Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, says investors shouldn't believe the hype about just how dangerous the problem could be. Marolia also discusses how Kalshi has partnered with Weather.com to get greater accuracy on climate-based prediction markets, highlighting a need for integrity in the data, and he discusses what he learned about Dolly Parton in the wake of the iconic country star's death, and the lesson he hopes investors and consumers will take away from her life.

Headlines are short-term events and while last week's news that the national debt had $40 trillion while Treasury yields reached levels last seen about 20 years ago, Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, says the impact those events will have on the economy and the market are fleeting, noting that high yields and record national debt have been problems repeatedly in the past, but have never derailed the economic engine that is the United States. Moreover, with Nvidia reporting earnings this coming week, Marolia says there is more proof coming of just how big and powerful leading industries are. Plus, he examines how hedges funds and institutional investors will soon be able to use prediction markets to generate investment returns, and why this is more an evolution of how things are traded than it is some embrace of gambling.

If actions speak louder than words, then the upcoming earnings reports for WalMart and Target will be a better measure of consumer confidence than survey results. Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, says that the results should show that consumers — despite concerns about inflation — have not curtailed spending, and he breaks down the two big retailers to say which one is his favorite. He also discusses Goldman Sachs' big move into the ETF space with its second purchase this year of a firm that specializes in funds using options overlays to reduce risk, and analyzes what Goldman might be planning to do next. Finally, with the national debt for the United States expected to reach the $40 trillion mark by the end of August, Viijay talks about what such a high debt level means and whether it impacts his view on government bonds.

Value stocks have been leading the way as the stock market flirts with record highs, but having value companies far outpace growth companies is normally something that only happens during troubling times. Couple that with a recent rebound in gold prices and it's fair to wonder whether the market might be headed for trouble here. Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, says that value stocks and precious metals can both make investors feel safe, and notes that he expects more than them, but he warns against making a market-timing call and trying to play them for short-term gains rather than using them as part of a broad asset allocation plan. And speaking of allocations, Vijay celebrates Social Security's 91st birthday this week by saying he would recommend that investors who don't need the money to meet their life's cash-flow demands take their benefits as soon as possible, using the money to reinvest in the stock market in a way that further secures their long-term retirement picture.

Last week, a little-known hedge fund called Situational Awareness imploded, and a massive selloff in A.I. stocks was narrowly averted, the kind of event that can bring an entire stock market crashing down. Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, worries that there are other potential market-shockers out there, far more than even savvy investors recognize, and that there may not be any buffers to step in and save the day the next time it happens. He also discusses how earnings expectations have gotten so high that long-term investors need to grit their teeth and ride out the extra volatility that comes from a ho-hum earnings report or even a miss. And speaking of wild expectations, Marolia says that artificial intelligence is teaching investors to want everything now, shortening time horizons, which promotes excessive risk-taking and creates unrealistic ideas of what real investing can deliver.