Interest rates are drifting lower, jobs data keeps getting revised, AI stocks are whipping around on every earnings call, and gold is suddenly back at all-time highs. If you've looked at the headlines lately and wondered, “Is the Fed behind the curve? Is AI already a bubble? Should I be buying gold… or is it too late?” — you're not alone. There's a lot of noise right now around the dollar, inflation, and what actually belongs in a long-term portfolio.

In this episode, Hannah Chapman CFP®, APMA®, CRPC® and Brad Haines, CFA, FRM and Chief Investment Officer of Juncture Wealth Strategies unpack:

• The Fed's latest quarter-point rate cut

• Which data points the Fed is watching ahead of their January meeting

• Oracle's massive new AI infrastructure spend and what it tells us about the stage of the AI cycle

• Why investor pushback on capital expenditures may actually be healthy

• Gold and silver: why these metals are hitting new highs

• How global confidence in U.S. institutions and the dollar plays into it

• Will there be a return to the gold standard?

• How to think about owning (or not owning) precious metals without making fear-based, all-or-nothing bet

Connect with Brad here:

Website: https://www.juncturewealth.com

Email: bhaines@juncturewealth.com

Connect with Hannah here:

X² Wealth Planning Website: https://x2wealthplanning.com/

Expansive CEO: https://expansiveceo.com/

Hannah's Website: https://hannahrchapman.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannah.chapman.cfp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannahchapmanfinancialadvisor/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahrchapman/