Research & Notes
The InvestLab Blog
Research, strategy deep dives and market notes — written by the person who runs the strategies, with the live numbers embedded.
The weekly read — Week of Sep 25 – Oct 02, 2026
The year's story remains the commodity rally—DBC is up 45.5% YTD and commodities added 60 bps to Balanced. The four-week window reversed: gold slid 6.5%, long Treasuries fell 5.4%, and the Fed's first hike since 2023 sent the 10-year yield to 5.25%. Tech surged late-month—QQQ…
The weekly read — Week of Sep 18 – Sep 25, 2026
Commodities powered the year's gains; the four-week window told a different story. This week broad indices gave up ground as long-dated Treasuries sold off and tech names rallied sharply while oil paused its climb. Dual-momentum strategies stayed up by rotating into emerging…
The weekly read — Week of Sep 11 – Sep 18, 2026
Commodities saved the year-to-date story: DBC returned 47% in 2026, lifting every strategy that held it. This week oil pulled back and gold fell 5%, while tech rallied—QQQ up 0.92%. Over the past four weeks oil surged above $100 on Middle East supply fears before easing. The…
The weekly read — Week of Sep 04 – Sep 11, 2026
Oil's surge past $100 on Middle East supply risk carried commodities to a 48% gain this year, helping diversified strategies outpace global equities despite bond headwinds. Over the past four weeks, DBC jumped 10.5% while emerging markets added 1.8%. Year-to-date…
The weekly read — Week of Aug 28 – Sep 04, 2026
The year remains a commodity story: broad baskets are up 43% through early September, led by oil's 8% surge this week on US-Iran hostilities. The past four weeks saw emerging markets—lifted by 3.4% gains in August on tech and AI earnings—add another 4.7% while US tech gave back…
The weekly read — Week of Aug 21 – Aug 28, 2026
Gold added 10% in August—its strongest month since January—after soft U.S. inflation data flipped September Fed expectations and central banks bought a record 289 tonnes in Q2. Emerging markets rode an AI-fueled semiconductor rally to their best four-week gain since June, up…
The weekly read — Week of Aug 14 – Aug 21, 2026
The year belongs to commodities and emerging markets. Gold rallied 5.4% this week and 13.8% over the past four weeks as Treasury bond-buyback programs and cooling inflation flipped rate-hike odds. Emerging-market equities added 6.0% over four weeks, outpacing the S&P 500's 3.6%…
The weekly read — Week of Aug 08 – Aug 14, 2026
Commodities and emerging markets delivered the year's story in a week that saw gold up 9% and oil jump 4%. Over four weeks gold rallied nearly 9%, while developed ex-US and emerging equity added 5%+; the S&P 500 rose 4.4% and tech pushed 8%. Year to date, commodities remain the…
The weekly read — Week of Aug 01 – Aug 07, 2026
2026 remains a commodity and EM year. This week brought a sharp tech rally—the Nasdaq jumped 5.09%—driven by solid earnings and US-Iran peace optimism. Gold rose 7.25% on the week, its best showing since June, as Hormuz reopening hopes eased inflation concerns and reduced Fed…
The weekly read — Week of Jul 24 – Jul 31, 2026
Commodities surged 10.8% over the month on a fragile US-Iran MOU, while a late-month tech selloff wiped 6.6% off Nasdaq. The S&P 500 finished July nearly flat at +0.03%, masking sector rotation beneath. Emerging-market equity rallied 17.8% year-to-date, then gave back ground as…
The weekly read — Week of Jul 20 – Jul 27, 2026
Commodities drove the year through July on Middle East supply tensions, but a fragile US-Iran ceasefire unwound oil's rally late in the month while Asian chip stocks cracked under AI-spending skepticism. DBC rallied 9.2% over four weeks, lifting commodity-tilted portfolios, but…
The weekly read — Week of Jul 10 – Jul 17, 2026
Commodities rallied 5.7% in the month while emerging equities dropped 11.1%. The year is still shaped by the commodity surge—DBC is up 29.4%—even as fresh Middle East tensions drove the divergence this week. Gold fell 4.2% in the window, down 7.5% year-to-date, as higher rates…
The weekly read — Week of Jul 07 – Jul 14, 2026
Commodities surged on renewed Strait of Hormuz tensions this week, while emerging markets stumbled on a four-week view as China underperformed. Gold's 6.4% drop over the past month captures a broader repricing: central banks bought aggressively into weakness—China added 15…