Q3 earnings look like a prelude to a Santa rally, capping off another strong year for stocks. Sticking with a holiday theme, we can give thanks later this month for the outsized contribution of tech stocks to investor returns. But the AI narrative driving stocks in recent years is by now well understood and valuations look stretched. This week, we spend much of our time with Marija Veitmane, Head of Equity Strategy at State Street Markets, on where else to look for growth opportunities in global equity markets.

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A stand-out macro trend of 2025, the weakness of the US dollar remains a focal point for a market that is still heavily short. Is the consensus risk ripe for a surprise or are further headwinds in store for the world's most widely traded currency? And how might macroeconomic developments in Japan, Europe and the UK add to or detract from the appeal for dollars? This week, we discuss these factors and the broader FX landscape for developed markets, with Lee Ferridge, Head of Macro Strategy for the Americas at State Street Markets.

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Investors tend to underestimate the probability of tail risk events and assume market correlations will be stable. These are well-understood yet persistent blind spots that damage long-term portfolio performance. This week, we talk to David Dredge, CIO of Convex Strategies, as he shares his experiences and perspectives on the importance of overcoming these biases and incorporating convexity exposure, towards building greater resilience, maximizing compounding effects in return streams and optimizing for actual, rather than historic, returns.

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Growth stocks are driving returns and economic dynamism, but also sparking discussions of whether we sit in bubble territory. Our guest this week, Matt Smith, portfolio manager at QSM Asset Management, a long/short hedge fund with a value focus, provides a timely reminder of how a consistent, fundamental-oriented approach can still offer compelling risk-adjusted returns. We also walk through current equity markets and how modest pullbacks in the AI trade could pose economic problems.

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A shutdown of the US government raises myriad questions, particularly what economic impacts might be felt in the near-term and the bigger picture puzzle of how to assess the state of the economy when public data from government statistical agencies is delayed or unavailable. This week, we take a deep dive on those questions, with a focus on the September US CPI release as a test case for how to think about and use alternative data sets. We are joined by PriceStats co-founder Alberto Cavallo, global head of macro strategy Michael Metcalfe and senior strategist Noel Dixon for a wide-ranging discussion of the shutdown and how alternative data can complement public data.

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Drawing on decades of experience as a policymaker, investor and trader, Mark Dow joins us this week, as we thread the currents driving the global macroeconomy together into a cohesive whole. From tariffs, inflation, US labor supply issues and Fed independence, to gold, the dollar, debt and deficits, with a side trip to Argentina in between, few stones are left unturned in this macro masterclass.

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Data drives decisions big and small, but a steady and worrying trend of deteriorating quality in public economic data adds an under-appreciated complexity to the choices made by central bankers and finance ministry officials. Simona Mocuta, chief economist at State Street Investment Management, joins us to discuss how and why this problem has become so acute in recent years, how private data sources can both help and hinder policymakers, and what improvements are necessary.

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Our title is the most-often asked question of recent weeks, with equity markets making new all-time highs and inflows continuing, despite an overwhelmingly consensus belief that they are also overvalued. However, this seeming paradox can persist, as Dan Gerard, senior multi-asset strategist for State Street Markets, highlights. We delve into the earnings power of the companies driving equity market returns, whether this will ever be a stockpickers market and what role the Federal Reserve is poised to play in the investing decisions driving headlines as Q3 draws to a close.

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