Risk sentiment: small caps, Bitcoin, and gold

RenMac recaps key takeaways from the firm’s 2026 Investor Forum, where stronger near-term data clashes with persistent weakness in housing and labor. Dutta argues inflation pressures continue to ease and deGraaf explains why that cooling inflation, improving breadth, and early strength in consumer discretionary point to a more constructive equity backdrop. Pavlick outlines why affordability is shaping energy, housing, and trade policy in a midterm year, while geopolitical tensions around China, Taiwan, and Venezuela remain underpriced. And the team dives into the Fed chair sweepstakes, debating Powell’s staying power, the risks of politicized dissents, and what true Fed independence means for markets in 2026.