Baird's Pierson on bond market '26: Good value without too much risk

Warren Pierson, co-chief investment officer at Baird Funds, says that investors should be concerned with factors like rate cuts, the independence of the Federal Reserve, sticky inflation and more, but in spite of all of those factors, "We still see good value in the bond market ... and investors don't have to take a lot of risk to get that value." He discusses how to unlock that value and much more in the Big Interview.

On the stock market front, Lawrence McMillan, president of McMillan Analysis and editor of the MarketWatch Options Trader, says he is bullish about stocks right now, with most technical indicators pointing upward. McMillan does expect the market to broaden out and says volatility may increase but so long as the VIX volatility index doesn't show too much stress, he thinks the rally can continue.

The Book Interview today makes a rare foray into fiction, as author Frank Hamlin discusses his novel, "Skinny Dipping at Low Tide: A Saga of Squeezed Shorts, Shattered Dreams, and Embarrassing Riches" The book, released today, is fashioned loosely on GameStop and other meme stock situations — Hamlin was working at GameStop when it became a popular meme stock — and delves into what happens on the inside of a company when its stock goes viral and the fortunes of investors seem disconnected from business operations and tied entirely to sentiment.