Welcome to Fight Club – The market cap for Alphabet, Google’s parent company, hit $4 trillion last week, making it the fourth company to cross the $4 trillion mark. Nvidia is the only company to retain the $4 trillion+ valuation, with Apple and Microsoft briefly crossing the threshold but falling below it a few weeks later. Alphabet jumped from $3 trillion to $4 trillion quickly—it only crossed the $3 trillion milestone in mid-September 2025. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Rocky road, and not the tasty kind – Safe-haven assets such as gold and silver hit record highs last week after US prosecutors launched a probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell even as geopolitical uncertainty remained high following the capture of Nicolás Maduro and protests continued in Iran. Gold surpassed $4,600 a troy ounce for the first time on January 12; compare that to January 2025, when prices were around $2,600 an ounce. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

New year, new projects to pay for – In the first full week of January, US companies issued a record $95 billion in investment-grade bonds, marking the busiest week for corporate borrowing since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This surge reflects a rush by firms to secure funding for AI-related spending and financing for a wave of mergers. (Source: Financial Times)

Later is our favorite time to pay – Shoppers spent a record $20 billion using buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services for their 2025 holiday purchases—nearly a 10% jump from 2024's holiday season—even as household debt soared to an unprecedented $18.6 trillion. BNPL accounts, which are often invisible on credit reports, pose a unique debt-spiral risk at a time when borrowing costs remain relatively high. (Source: MarketWatch)

I know you can be overwhelmed and underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed? – In 2025, the average monthly job growth rose at the lowest pace since 2003. Though the overall unemployment rate remains relatively low, underemployment may be the bigger issue: Average weekly hours dropped in December, a possible sign that cost-conscious employers are reducing employees' hours instead of resorting to layoffs. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Stay calm and carry on – After a turbulent economic year in Europe, eurozone retail sales rose more than expected in November and German industry continued to expand, showing evidence of modest progress after central-bank intervention throughout 2025. (Source: Reuters)

Option D, none of the above – Nearly half of Americans now identify as political independents. At 45%, that’s a sharp increase from about one-third two decades ago, driven largely by younger generations—more than half of Gen Z and Millennials reject party affiliation. This trend could make frequent shifts in political power more common in the years ahead. (Sources: AP News and Gallup)

Perfect for cheese lovers who love holding grudges – A new study found that high-fat cheese and cream are associated with a reduced risk for dementia. Despite long-held recommendations to limit consumption of these products due to high saturated fats, there's debate in the scientific community whether other aspects of dairy products can offset the negative impacts of dairy fat. (Source: The New York Times)

Mirror, mirror, on the wall – A digital health-tech company unveiled a "longevity mirror" at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The mirror uses AI to analyze health markers and provide data on long-term wellness in as little as 30 seconds to help consumers build better long-term habits. (Source: CNet)

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride – The Houston Texans, one of the four NFL teams that've never made it to the Super Bowl, soundly defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 on January 12 for their first-ever playoff victory on the road. The team has struggled in postseason play off their home turf, so this milestone gives fans hope there's momentum for this season's playoffs. (Source: ESPN)