Congress, Funding Deadlines, and Shutdown Odds

RenMac kicks off 2026 with a wide-ranging discussion on the political reality around affordability and inflation, asset allocation myths, and what to watch as ISM and employment data kick off the year. Dutta argues inflation pressures are easing faster than expected across housing, labor, and energy. deGraaf highlights emerging cyclicality beneath soft year-end trading, cautioning that extended moves in commodities and precious metals are entering bubble territory. And Pavlick outlines why tariff relief is increasingly consumer-focused, how Taiwan and China remain a central geopolitical risk, and why midterm dynamics will shape policy more than campaign rhetoric.