Financial insights for the week ending August 28, 2026
For the week ending August 28th, 2026, markets finished mostly higher. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.8%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.5%. The one lagging index, the Russell 2000, dropped 1.5%.
Investors received some much-anticipated market guidance this week. Two in particular caught our eyes. The first was the 2nd quarter earnings call for Nvidia. The chipmaker at the center of the AI boom reported Wednesday evening, beat expectations again. Not only that, it raised its forecast, and by end of day Thursday, the stock had jumped nearly 9%. The rally is the interesting part. Nvidia has beaten expectations every quarter for the past year and the stock fell after each report anyway. “Just good” was never quite good enough for a market worried that AI spending had run ahead of current demand. That same worry drove early summer’s chip selloff, along with the rotation into energy and financials. This report showed that the AI trade for many is still profitable for high-quality companies. While this doesn’t prove outright that the underlying AI boom is ironclad, the Nvidia trade this week, at least temporarily, may have eased the minds of AI skeptics.
The speech came Friday morning at Jackson Hole, where Chair Warsh delivered his first keynote and made the case for three distinct points; Inflation remains his priority over the job market, and while he acknowledged the summer's readings were better than expected, he doesn't believe the underlying trend has truly improved. He went a step further than he has before, suggesting rates may need to move higher in the coming months if progress stalls, language markets read as keeping a hike on the table even as most still expect no change at the September meeting. And he reiterated that this Fed intends to present less forward guidance going forward, so investors should expect a more scrutinized look at data rather than Fed sentiment going forward.
This week's tip goes after one of the least fun bills in the mailbox: car insurance. Sure, we think of inflation hurting our wallets at the grocery store, clothes shopping, or buying that new iPhone, but it also has hit insurers. Premiums have jumped sharply the past few years, and unfortunately, loyalty doesn't earn you a discount. Insurance companies count on these incremental increases and hope you don’t notice (well, we have!). Call their bluff if you’re inclined! Get quotes from two or three other carriers at the same coverage limits and tell them how much you really drive. Most retirees put a fraction of the miles they did while working, and low-mileage discounts are not applied automatically. Ask about bundling with your homeowner’s policy too. Then call your current carrier, tell them the best number you found, and let them respond. Sometimes they match it on the spot, and if they don't, switching is easier than folks think. You won’t have a gap in coverage; the new carrier handles nearly all of it. Either way you'll know you're paying the market rate instead of the loyalty rate, which can run into the hundreds a year!
Enjoy your day! Come back next Saturday for our latest commentary. We are here to answer any of your financial questions.