Activate wait and see mode – Despite a flurry of headlines and shifting policies that should, in theory, rattle markets, the CBOE VIX, aka the fear index for stocks, hovered around 15 last week (its long-term average is 19.5). Likewise, the Merrill Lynch Option Volatility Estimate Index, or MOVE Index, the fear index for bonds, has been closing at three-year lows. (Source: Cboe and Google Finance) 

I’m a glass half empty kinda gal, myself – Bearishness among individual investors—measured by the percentage who expect stock prices to fall over the next six months—has reached its highest level since November 2023. The optimism that marked much of the past two years has been muddied by policy changes, a potential trade war, and sky-high stock prices. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Well, bully for bullion – Gold prices hit another record high last week following President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats—it’s ninth peak so far this year. Gold futures in New York have risen 11% this year—substantially more expensive than its trading counterpart in London where the precious metal has been sitting about $20 lower since early December. (Source: Yahoo Finance and The Wall Street Journal)

When thrifting ain’t thrifty – Since 2020, new-car prices have risen 20%, while the average price of a three-year-old used car has surged 45%. Three years ago, carmakers reduced car leases in favor of more-profitable outright purchases, leading to fewer leased cars on used-car lots. This year, the number of vehicles returning from expiring three-year leases will drop 23%, a decade low, with no rebound expected until 2027. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Maybe they’ll throw in a pizza party, too – China’s financial regulators unveiled a slew of new measures recently, urging large state-owned mutual funds and insurers to invest in more domestic stocks to boost morale and emulate the "animal spirits" of capitalism. Deepening deflation, a slump in property values, government debt problems, and a fresh US trade war have continued to sap sentiment in the world’s second-largest economy. (Source: Reuters)

One big hibernation – Nearly 73,000 US homes were pulled from sale after they failed to find a buyer in December 2024. While delistings tend to spike in the winter when fewer people are actively looking for a home, December’s trend was unusually strong, representing almost one in 10 properties on the market, and a 64% increase from the same month of 2023. (Source: The New York Times)

Achoo, achoo, to you, and you, and you – CDC data shows that this is the worst flu season in the US in more than a decade. Infections have reached the highest level since the winter of 2010 and 2011 when the swine flu swept across the US. For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began five years ago, this winter’s flu-related deaths have topped COVID-19-related ones. (Source: USA Today)

Who needs Hollywood? – “Ne Zha 2,” an animated epic fantasy out of China, has officially dethroned “Inside Out 2” as the highest-grossing animated film of all time. The film grossed a total box office of nearly $1.7 billion so far, making it the eighth highest-grossing film of all time as well as China’s highest-grossing movie. (Source: Screen Rant)

Houston, we might have a problem? – A recently discovered asteroid has become the riskiest asteroid ever detected. Though just days after NASA increased the space rock’s impact risk to 3.1% in 2032, the number has now fallen to 1.5%. Scientists expect this number to drop even more before the asteroid disappears from earth’s view in April for the next four years. (Source: CBS News)

About time, Jonah was really hogging the market on this story – A Venezuelan kayaker got unintentionally up close and personal with a humpback whale when he was briefly swallowed by the giant marine mammal. The incident, caught on camera by his father, shows the kayaker being scooped up by the whale before being quickly spat out, unharmed. (Source: The New York Times)