1. Are AI Giants on the Brink? Social Media Panic Meets Market Reality

Fear is being spread on social media that some AI players are nearing default. The evidence, some say, lies in the Bloomberg graphs below showing the widening CDS spreads of Oracle and CoreWeave. Before getting into some details about what the CDS markets may be warning about Oracle and CoreWeave, let’s explain what CDS is. — Lance Roberts

2. Prediction Markets Signal Uncertainty on Trump’s Tariffs and Government Reopening

This week’s Supreme Court hearing featured several conservative judges debating President Trump’s authority to implement broad tariffs. Immediately, prediction market participants realized that the White House may not receive the five votes required to maintain its global trade policy despite a GOP appointed majority of 6-3 in the court’s composition. The forecast contract question asking if the Supreme Court would uphold Trump’s tariffs by July 31, 2026, was priced with a probability as high as 46% yesterday, before falling to a low of 21% and then rebounding to its current 28% level. — Steve Sosnick

3. The Race to Live Longer: Are We Near Escape Velocity?

My oldest client, Eileen, is a 102-year-old who hired me when she lost her husband at age 77. Both of us have been baffled that we’ve worked together so long, a working relationship powered by her persistent resistance to death. She told me once that I was supposed to be a “short-term advisor” for her before she died. The actual phrase she used to refer to her deceased state was “cool-to-room temperature,” which always got a laugh out of me. Eileen was a career infectious disease specialist and always had colorful euphemisms for diseases and death. — Tom West

4. The AI Buildout Enters a New Phase: Who Will Capture the Software Value Boom?

The early innings of the AI buildout have been defined by building AI compute and capacity, where hardware (i.e. chip) companies have been clear winners. Moving forward, the AI wave will increasingly depend on utilization--how effectively companies convert AI investments into productivity and profit. That transition places software at the center, a sector whose performance has lagged hardware and where AI monetization remains diffuse. Whether the next leg of opportunity comes from software, and what companies within software, will depend on two key frictions: integrating AI into enterprise workflows and finding sustainable ways to charge for it once it's there. — Stephanie Aliaga and Rod Cuestas

5. Can AI Save America’s $1.3 Trillion Problem?

America’s healthcare system is a masterpiece of inefficiency that costs taxpayers a whopping $5 trillion a year. And yet, for all that money, the system feels like it’s stuck in 1998. Most hospitals can’t even share medical records. The billing system is so confusing, even insurers can’t explain it. And endless paperwork is driving doctors to burnout. Everywhere you look, the system bleeds time, money, and data. It’s a perfect setup for disruption. — Stephen McBride

6. AI Owns Information Now—Here’s How Advisors Stay the Only Answer That Matters

The shift has already happened. Buyers are moving from search behavior to answer behavior. This shift will keep accelerating as AI becomes the primary way people look for information and make decisions. Here is the simple truth. AI changes everything about referrals, and AI changes nothing about referrals. — Mike Garrison

7. Why Crypto Voters Could Swing 2026 and 2028 — And It’s Not About Party Politics

As the recent government shutdown – the longest on record – confirms, the U.S. remains a deeply divided country politically speaking and that situation is unlikely to change over the near-term. In some cases, those divisions play out in the world of investing where some studies suggest Democrats are more likely to invest in certain sectors while Republicans are more likely to embrace others. Want to know what’s not subject to the intersection of investing and partisanship? Try bitcoin. — Todd Shriber

8. Inside Calamos’ Award-Winning Autocallable ETF Strategy with Matt Kaufman

Matt Kaufman, Global Head of ETFs at Calamos, returns with big news: CAIE has earned two major industry honors—the SRP Americas Most Innovative Product Award and Structured Product Intelligence’s Deal of the Year—rare recognition for an ETF in a category traditionally dominated by structured notes. Kaufman says the awards validate the core idea behind CAIE: bringing a complex autocallable note strategy into a simple, transparent, liquid ETF format that advisors already trust. — Calamos

9. Positioning Portfolios for the Rise of Defense ETFs

Advisors today are navigating portfolios in an environment shaped by rising geopolitical tensions and shifting government priorities. As of the end of August, Industrials sector ETFs have drawn more than $5.5 billion in estimated net inflows year-to-date—and remarkably, 88% of those flows have gone into ETFs with "defense" in their name. For many investors, defense exposure is no longer a niche theme but an increasingly core component of equity allocation. — Lauren Pfendt

10. Rethinking Diversification: Why the Next Evolution is Macro-Aware

Diversification. It’s been getting a bad rap lately. After the cross-asset volatility of 2022, many investors began questioning whether the “free lunch” still exists. The industry’s response came quickly in the form of new toppings. Buffered ETFs, “democratized” private strategies, and alternative hedges – all marketed as ways to make diversification more palatable. — Alan Thomson

11. What Happens When a Referral Googles You?

Referrals are gold for financial advisors, no matter how much you might enjoy the challenge of prospecting. But in today’s digital-first world, referrals alone aren’t enough – they’re only as good as your online presence. Think about it: the first thing a referred prospect does after hearing your name is type it into Google. Before they ever schedule a meeting, they’re already forming opinions based on what they find. Your online reputation has become your first impression – and it can make or break your chances of turning a warm referral into a paying client. — Maribeth Kuzmeski