Finance & Investing: markets, crypto, real estate & retirement

Investment angle (updated Aug 17, 2026): The S&P 500 has blown past every projection made at the start of the year — trading at 7,771 points as of mid-August, up 3.12% in August alone, adding roughly $2.1 trillion in market cap and pushing total index value to a record $70.5 trillion. That's dramatically above the "consensus 6,500 by year-end" target banks were circulating back in January. The rally is heavily concentrated: it's an AI- and mega-cap-driven move, with the Nasdaq and Dow both buoyant alongside it — Wall Street is genuinely in risk-on mode. The June CPI reading rose 3.5% year-over-year, a deceleration from prior months, giving the Fed more room to justify continued rate-friendly conditions without immediate inflation alarm.