Charts & Chat - January 11, 2026

This week, CEO Eric Boyce, CFA discusses:

1. no significant predictive investment trends from geopolitical events, especially over the medium to long erm.

2. bank lending recovering, defaults higher but not yet a problem; new business applications on the rise

3. Housing - confidence and affordability still main drivers; average monthly payments and mortgage interest rates remain sticky

4. Job market remains sluggish; job sentiment weak

5. manufacturing remains weak; service economy remains in expansion

6. Big divergence still exists for hard versus soft data; soft data is weak, while much of the observable data is more positive. 

7. Atlanta Fed predicting 5% annualized GDP growth for the 4th quarter of 2025

8. Equity market concentrations and valuation bear watching; fixed income poised for better performance