On The Markets

SpaceX debuted at $150, surged to $232 in four days on a wave of AI excitement, then lost 34% of its value in a single week. It was the most hyped, most AI-adjacent IPO of 2026 — and when it turned, the Nasdaq, the chip stocks, and the rest of the tech trade turned with it. So is this just a speed bump, or is AI finally falling back to earth?    This week Sonoma Wealth Managing Principal Chris Sip...

The Federal Reserve just held interest rates steady — but for the first time in years, the bigger story isn't the number, it's the man behind the decision. Kevin Warsh walked into his first FOMC meeting, cut the Fed's statement by more than half, skipped his own dot plot, and left Wall Street with more questions than answers. What a quieter Fed means for your money and your portfolio — let's find...

This week oil prices whipsawed on Iran headlines while a hot inflation print kept the Fed boxed in, and together they drove the narrative in the market. Is the war actually over...again?  How would oil stability affect your portfolio?  How did SpaceX actually perform? Let's find out, On The Markets.    This week Sonoma Wealth Managing Principal Chris Sipes CFP® and Marketing Director Dano Weir exa...

The Fed may soon scrap a tool called the dot plot...and most people have never even heard of it. But it has quietly shaped every mortgage rate, bond yield, and retirement projection in the last 14 years. Rumors indicate the new Fed Chair wants it gone by the June Fed meeting, and if it disappears, the financial roadmap Wall Street has relied on for over a decade goes with it. Let's find out how th...

In the month of May 2026, The Dow hit a record high on the exact same day consumer sentiment hit an all-time low — and that disconnect is telling us something important. Wall Street is celebrating eight straight winning weeks while everyday Americans post their third straight monthly decline in confidence, creating the widest gap between markets and reality we've seen in years. Does sentiment fina...

SpaceX just filed the largest IPO in history with a $1.7 trillion price tag, but the S-1 reveals a much murkier story. Starlink is the only division turning a profit — the rocket business loses money, the AI business loses even more, and Elon Musk controls 85% of the voting power. Is this a high water mark for the fundamentals-less Mag 7 era? Or the bellweather for a new world with no math?  It’s...

CPI inflation hit 3.8%, the highest since 2023. New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh was installed to deliver a fed rate cut in 2026, but the numbers say he can't. While the S&P 500 hits record highs on surging AI stocks, the rest of the market is lagging and the fed rate decision has become a central bank finger trap. Can Warsh pull free?  Or is stagflation the new reality? Let's find out On The Markets...

We're just over a year past the proclamation that tariffs would fix all of America’s economic woes.  Did it really work?  Did the market care one way or the other?  Let’s find out  On The Marke t.    This week Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Chris Sipes CFP®, Daren Blonski CFP® and Marketing Director Dano Weir examine:  • A year of US trade deficit data.  Did tariffs really work?  • What have a...

Changing of the guard is officially underway at the Fed, although Jerome Powell’s not going far.  How might new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh approach interest rates?  Will you finally be able to refinance?  And how did the market react to this news?  Let’s find out On The Market.    This week Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Chris Sipes CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing Director Dano Weir examine:  • US...

Search analytics platforms are seeing a bump this week in the term “stagflation”, a stagnant economy that is also experiencing inflation.  Does the narrative hold true in the numbers?  Or is it just another storyline blowing in the wind?  Let’s find out On The Markets.    This week Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Chris Sipes CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing Director Dano Weir examine:  • The Str...

The S&P pushed to new highs this week — was it a foundational move or a headline-driven band-aid? This week on On The Markets, Daren breaks down whether this rally is the real deal or just another trap waiting to spring. Let’s find out how,  On The Market .    This week Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Chris Sipes CFP® and Daren Blonski CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing Director Dano Weir exam...

While market movements can often be “priced in” weeks or months in advance, this week’s news cycle clearly had impacts on asset performance.  With so many reasons for a downturn, the market still found it’s footing.  Let’s find out how,  On The Marke t.    This week Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Chris Sipes CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing Director Dano Weir examine:  • Daren explains why the...

The Great American Pastime...the market (ha!).  Oil, inflation and a tech selloff might be three pitches the market just can’t shake off.  What adjustments might be made with mid-term elections on deck?  Let’s find out,  On The Markets .    This week Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Chris Sipes CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing Director Dano Weir examine:  • A look at S&P patterns in the last...

There’s this feeling that this has happened before.  There’s this feeling that this has happened before.  As we approach a year since April 2025’s “Libertation Day” Tariff event, the market is feeling eerily similar, albeit under different circumstances.  We examine the factors and possibilities this week, On The Markets.    This week Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Chris Sipes CFP® and Sonoma W...

There’s a growing trend and interest among young people in nostalgia from the 1990’s.  Physical compact disc (CD) sales have actually grown in recent years, Barnes and Noble are actually adding physical stores this year, and what’s at the heart of a new Middle East conflict?  Oil.  Let’s see how continued volatility in the oil market played out this week, On The Markets.    This week Sonoma Wealth...

The main story in the market this week is the main story in the world- military activity in the Middle East.  What impact did it have on portfolios?  How did different asset classes react?  Time to find out, On The Markets.    This week Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Daren Blonski CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing Director Dano Weir examine:  • Why the oil markets last week may have been prescie...

So much for the “New Year, New Bulls” mentality.  NVidia beats earnings and the price gets whacked? Consumer staples having a moment?  Crypto looking like 2024? For why?  Let’s find out, On The Markets.    This week Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Daren Blonski CFP®, Chris Sipes CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing Director Dano Weir examine:  • Inflation numbers continuing to heat up.  What could t...

Welp, so much for the ‘tariff tantrum’.  The US Supreme Court shot down the President’s emergency use of tariffs today.  How did the market react?  Does the US have to refund everything it took in?  Let’s take a look On The Markets...     This week Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Daren Blonski CFP®, Chris Sipes CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing Director Dano Weir examine:  • The market’s immediat...

On Valentine’s Eve, we ask the question-  how do the market really “feel” about AI?  We’re seeing signs in both columns.    This week on our latest episode of On The Markets. with Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Daren Blonski CFP®, Chris Sipes CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing Director Dano Weir. They look at:  • A look at indicators the market has not yet priced in the impact AI is going to have...

If you’ve got a Crypto maximalist in your family, make sure to check on them 🤣.    This week on our latest episode of On The Markets. with Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Daren Blonski CFP®, Chris Sipes CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing Director Dano Weir. They look at:  • A look at Bitcoin’s all time drawdowns after a rough week for Crypto.  • Google’s looking at record spending this year.  • G...

Is the glitter off gold?  Is the secret out on crypto?  If those two assets slid, then where did it all go?  Time to go On The Markets.    This week on our latest episode of On The Markets. with Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Daren Blonski CFP®, Chris Sipes CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing Director Dano Weir. They look at:  • Gold taking a significant tumble this week, despite a series of chart...

Global economic conference this week, so your newsfeed was *hot* with sound bytes from big names.  The common theme we’re seeing?  Change.    This week on our latest episode of On The Markets. with Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Daren Blonski CFP®, Chris Sipes CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing Director Dano Weir. They look at:  • Thoughts on the economic impacts of ‘purchasing’ or territories in...

Inflation is hotter than expected, gold and silver keep running, and global tensions seem to be warming up as well.  Let's dive in...    This week on our latest episode of On The Markets. with Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Daren Blonski CFP®, Chris Sipes CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing Director Dano Weir. They look at:  • Inflation hotter than expected, and gold and silver just don’t seem to...

Will 2026 mark a turning point in the housing market?  Would you be shocked to find out:   1. _____________  2. Administration is putting $200b into the mortgage market directly  3.____________ can’t invest in houses soon    Fill in the blanks this week on our latest episode of On The Markets. with Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Daren Blonski CFP®, Chris Sipes CFP® and Sonoma Wealth Marketing D...

We survived the robot-pocalypse of 2025...might still be coming in 2026 and beyond or...are we about to throw it back, way back, to the GOLD standard?  Why AI over-hype in 2025 might have led to a knee-jerk reversion to precious metals in 2026, on our first episode of the year On The Markets!    Kicking off the new year right with Sonoma Wealth Managing Principals Daren Blonski CFP®, Chris Sipes C...