The VIX, Wall Street’s fear gauge, is hovering near year-to-date lows. The MOVE Index, which tracks expected bond volatility, just touched its quietest level since early 2021. Tail-risk hedges have been unwound. Even Bitcoin, after a 30% slide, has stabilized. The speculative pullback came and went. Skepticism, once loud, is back underground.

The short-term bears and the long-term bulls can both be right.

SA analyst James Foord echoed: “2026 is poised for a rare alignment of policy, liquidity, and sentiment, supporting a bullish outlook for equities and risk assets,” in 2026: A Rare Alignment Of Policy, Liquidity, And AI.

Behind the screens, finance pros sharpen their edge through games and puzzles that test intuition, discipline and strategic thinking.

This under-the-radar income stock has paid a dividend under all but three U.S. presidents, and its 209-year streak of continuous payouts is 60 years longer than the next-closest company.

The U.S. stock market is holding stronger as both bond yields and bitcoin stabilize. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% Tuesday, coming off its first loss in six days.

Stock indexes were muted on Thursday, as talks on rate cuts continued to be in focus ahead of next week's FOMC meeting.

Bill Ackman's dating advice, The White Lotus, and PE guy round out the list of Business Insider's favorite finance memes of 2025.