Every now and then, a week comes along where no single story grabs my interest and demands a deep dive. But that doesn’t mean the world of finance and culture has gone quiet. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The interesting stuff is scattered everywhere, hiding in footnotes, the odd article, and wedged between the lines of government data releases.
So, in the spirit of our occasional tradition, this week’s update is in the fine print. A curated collection of the interesting, surprising, and occasionally jaw-dropping numbers I’ve come across over the past month or so. All of them made me stop and think, and I hope they’ll do the same for you.
The IRS Isn’t Patient. Penalties for tax filers earning between $200K and $500K who failed to make timely estimated tax payments surged to nearly $1.3 billion in 2024, triple the amount from 2021. And the number of affected filers increased by 30% to nearly 3 million. But why? It’s likely due to an increase in gig work and gains on investments, neither of which is subject to automatic withholding. If you’re making money outside a traditional W-2 paycheck, Uncle Sam isn’t going to wait patiently for April. (Source: WSJ)
Optimism at a Record Low. When asked how good their life will be five years from now, just 59% of respondents were optimistic in Gallup’s 2025 annual survey, a record low. Not only that, but it’s down 10 percentage points from the record-high of 69% set in 2015 and 2016. Given the march of technological progress, the longest bull run in a generation, and historically low unemployment, you’d think people would be a little more chipper. Apparently not. (Source: AP)
No Kids = More Cash. From 2018 through 2023, the percentage of U.S. adults under the age of 50 who said they were unlikely to ever have kids increased from 37% to 47%. Childless couples tend to be the most financially well-off, with an average net worth of $1.9 million, which is 61% higher than that of couples with children. As a father of four, I can confirm that kids are, in fact, expensive. Definitely worth it, but expensive. (Source: USA Today)
90 Days Past Due. In Q4 2025, 12.7% of outstanding credit card balances were at least 90 days delinquent, up 67% from the 7.6% trough in Q2 2022. The only period since 2003 when the delinquency rate was higher was from Q1 2010 through Q2 2011, when it peaked at 13.7%. Consumer resilience has been the story of this economy, but cracks are starting to show. (Source: NY Federal Reserve)
How Many Unicorns Are There? The term “unicorn” was coined in 2013 by TechCrunch to describe privately held companies valued at $1 billion or more. Ten years ago, there were 114 U.S. unicorns. By 2025, that number grew to 857, representing annualized growth of 25%. According to Crunchbase, there are now eight unicorns worth $100+ billion. That old saying, “What’s rarer than a unicorn?” may need updating. (Source: Apollo, Crunchbase)
The Great Transfer (Someday). Federal Reserve data show that through Q3 2025, Americans 70 and older held approximately 39% of all household equities and mutual funds, nearly double the 22% share in 2007. Americans 70+ also account for 32% of all household net worth, up from 20% in 2007. The “Great Wealth Transfer” everyone keeps talking about hasn’t happened yet. (Source: Bloomberg)
The Devil Collects. After surging 62% over the first 29 days of 2026, silver prices fell 31.4% on January 30th for the biggest one-day drop in the metal’s history since 1975. In the three months following silver’s 14 prior 10%+ one-day drops, it averaged a 6.4% gain, but gains occurred just half the time. For those who read our piece on “The Devil’s Metal” a few weeks back, the devil made good on its reputation. (Source: Bespoke)
Low Volatility (to Start). Through 2/18, the spread between the S&P 500’s highest and lowest daily closing price so far in 2026 was just 2.67%. That’s the narrowest trading range for the US stock market to start a year in 60 years, dating back to 1966 when the spread was a record low 2.06%. In other words, the market was moving in a historically tight manner, that is, until the war broke out. (Source: Bespoke)
David or Goliath. Retail investor daily trading inflows increased 60% year-over-year in 2025 and were 17% above the prior peak in 2021 during the meme-stock craze. According to a Jefferies analysis, retail investors now account for over 20% of total U.S. trading volume versus less than 15% from long only and hedge funds combined. Has David just outgrown Goliath? (Source: Daily Chartbook)
Equal Opportunity. Through 2/18, 66% of S&P 500 stocks outperformed the index on a year-to-date basis, on pace with 2001 for the highest share in the last 50 years. This comes on the heels of three straight years in which less than a third of the index’s components outperformed it. After years of a market dominated by a handful of mega-cap names, the playing field is finally leveling out. (Source: Ned Davis Research)
Building > Buybacks. In 2025, S&P 500 companies spent 40% of operating cash flows on capex, or nearly twice as much as the 21% they spent on stock buybacks. This is a sharp contrast to 2021, before ChatGPT, when buyback spending was about 40%, or more than twice capex spending. Corporate America is actually building things again, rather than just buying back its own stock. The AI boom is driving real infrastructure investment, and companies are spending. (Source: Nomura)
Toothpaste Over Teslas. In the first 30 trading days of 2026, the S&P 500 Consumer Staples sector (+15.6%) outperformed the Consumer Discretionary sector (-5%) by 20.6 percentage points. Since 1990, there had never been a year in which Staples outperformed Discretionary by 8+ percentage points in the year’s first 30 trading days. When people start favoring toothpaste stocks over luxury goods stocks by that margin, the market is telling you something. (Source: Bloomberg)
The Super Bowl Tax Bill. For winning the Super Bowl, Seahawks QB Sam Darnold and his teammates each received $178K. Because of California’s high state income tax, Darnold will reportedly face a tax bill of $249K for the eight ‘duty days’ he spent in the state leading up to and during the game. That’s right: playing in the Super Bowl cost Sam Darnold money. (Source: Sportico)
Olympic Stones. All 164 of the curling stones used at the 2026 Winter Olympics were sourced from a small uninhabited island named Ailsa Craig off the coast of Scotland. Weighing 44 pounds at a cost of roughly $1,000 each, the “microgranite” stones are perfectly smooth yet extra dense to handle constant high-impact collisions during gameplay. (Source: NY Times)
Golden Sweep. The US men’s and women’s hockey teams both beat Canada by identical scores (2–1) in overtime to win gold at the Winter Olympics. Since women’s hockey was added in 1998, it marks the first-ever Olympic hockey “sweep” for the U.S., but actually the fourth sweep overall. The other three were all from Canada. So after the recent Olympic heartbreak on ice, the 2026 games were as good as it gets. (Source: Wikipedia)
That’s the fine print for this month. None of these stats will make the front page on their own, but together they paint a picture that the big headlines miss. The consumer is still spending, but stretched. The market was calm on the surface but shifting underneath. Corporate America is investing in real things again. And Sam Darnold owes the state of California more than he earned for winning a championship.
Sometimes the best way to understand what’s happening in the world is to stop reading the main story and start reading the footnotes. Enjoy the weekend.
Markets / Economy
- Markets remain volatile, with movements in both directions as concerns over the global oil market continue to wreak havoc. The S&P finished the week down -1.6%, the Nasdaq down -1.3%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 down -1.8%.
- Core CPI rose by 0.2% from the previous month, easing slightly from the prior 0.3% increase to match market expectations.
- Core PCE, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation, rose by 0.4% from the previous month in January, the same pace as the 10-month high from the previous month.
- The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 55.5 in March, down from 56.6 in February but slightly above market expectations of 55, according to preliminary data.
Stocks
- U.S. equities were in negative territory. Financials and Consumer Discretionary led the decline, while Energy and Utilities outperformed. Growth stocks led value stocks, and large caps beat small caps.
- International equities closed lower for the week. Emerging markets fared better than developed markets.
Bonds
- The 10-year Treasury bond yield increased 15 basis points to 4.28% during the week.
- Global bond markets were in negative territory this week.
- High-yield bonds led for the week, followed by government bonds and corporate bonds.
