TODAY'S IMPORTANT POINTS FROM JANET YELLEN'S SPEECH
Fed Chair Yellen Speech- Key Excerpts
The process of scaling back accommodation has so far proceeded at a slower pace than most FOMC participants anticipated in 2014.
Looking ahead, we continue to expect the evolution of the economy to warrant further gradual increases in the target range for the federal funds rate. However, given how close we are to meeting our statutory goals, and in the absence of new developments that might materially worsen the economic outlook, the process of scaling back accommodation likely will not be as slow as it was in 2015 and 2016.
the current value of the neutral real federal funds rate appears to be even lower than this longer-run value because of several additional headwinds to the U.S. economy in the aftermath of the financial crisis, such as subdued economic growth abroad and perhaps a lingering sense of caution on the part of households and businesses in the wake of the trauma of the Great Recession.
The progress seen during 2014 indicated to the FOMC that it was no longer necessary to provide increasing amounts of support to the U.S. economy by continuing to add to the Federal Reserve's holdings of longer-term securities.
Because my colleagues and I expected that labor market conditions would continue to improve and that inflation would move back to 2 percent over the medium term, we anticipated that the time was approaching when the economy would be strong enough that we should start to scale back our support.
The U.S. economy has exhibited remarkable resilience in the face of adverse shocks in recent years, and economic developments since mid-2016 have reinforced the Committee's confidence that the economy is on track to achieve our statutory goals.
However, partly because my colleagues and I expect the neutral real federal funds rate to rise somewhat over the longer run, we projected additional gradual rate hikes in 2018 and 2019.
Nonetheless, as we have said many times--and as my discussion today demonstrates--monetary policy cannot be and is not on a preset course.
To that end, we realize that waiting too long to scale back some of our support could potentially require us to raise rates rapidly sometime down the road, which in turn could risk disrupting financial markets and pushing the economy into recession. Having said that, I currently see no evidence that the Federal Reserve has fallen behind the curve, and I therefore continue to have confidence in our judgment that a gradual removal of accommodation is likely to be appropriate.
Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.
SPY in downward trend: price may decline as a result of having broken its higher Bollinger Band on August 04, 2026
SPY broke above its upper Bollinger Band on August 04, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options. The A.I.dvisor looked at 40 similar instances where the stock broke above the upper band. In of the 40 cases the stock fell afterwards. This puts the odds of success at .
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bearish Trend Analysis
The 10-day RSI Indicator for SPY moved out of overbought territory on August 14, 2026. This could be a bearish sign for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 46 similar instances where the indicator moved out of overbought territory. In of the 46 cases, the stock moved lower in the following days. This puts the odds of a move lower at .
The Momentum Indicator moved below the 0 level on August 18, 2026. You may want to consider selling the stock, shorting the stock, or exploring put options on SPY as a result. In of 76 cases where the Momentum Indicator fell below 0, the stock fell further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence Histogram (MACD) for SPY turned negative on August 20, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to turn lower in the coming weeks. Traders may want to sell the stock or buy put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 52 similar instances when the indicator turned negative. In of the 52 cases the stock turned lower in the days that followed. This puts the odds of success at .
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where SPY declined for three days, the price rose further in of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .
Bullish Trend Analysis
The Stochastic Oscillator demonstrated that the ticker has stayed in the oversold zone for 2 days, which means it's wise to expect a price bounce in the near future.
SPY moved above its 50-day moving average on July 31, 2026 date and that indicates a change from a downward trend to an upward trend.
The 10-day moving average for SPY crossed bullishly above the 50-day moving average on August 05, 2026. This indicates that the trend has shifted higher and could be considered a buy signal. In of 15 past instances when the 10-day crossed above the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where SPY advanced for three days, in of 362 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .
Notable companies
The most notable companies in this group are NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY).
Industry description
The investment seeks to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500® Index.
The trust seeks to achieve its investment objective by holding a portfolio of the common stocks that are included in the index (the “Portfolio”), with the weight of each stock in the Portfolio substantially corresponding to the weight of such stock in the index.
Market Cap
The average market capitalization across the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF ETF is 160.67B. The market cap for tickers in the group ranges from 5.1B to 5.2T. NVDA holds the highest valuation in this group at 5.2T. The lowest valued company is ENPH at 5.1B.
High and low price notable news
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF ETF was 129%. For the same ETF, the average monthly price growth was 150%, and the average quarterly price growth was 263%. MRNA experienced the highest price growth at 129%, while JBL experienced the biggest fall at -14%.
Volume
The average weekly volume growth across all stocks in the State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF ETF was 22%. For the same stocks of the ETF, the average monthly volume growth was -14% and the average quarterly volume growth was -37%
Fundamental Analysis Ratings
The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows
ERII shares have remained resilient, trading near $15.47 ahead of Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings scheduled for February 25, 2026.
Q3 2025 results exceeded expectations, with revenue of $32 million and EPS of $0.07, despite year-over-year declines tied to project timing.
Liberty Broadband Corporation (LBRDA) has experienced pronounced swings in recent weeks, touching multiyear lows before staging a sharp recovery. The stock continues to trade within a wide 52-week range, closely tied to the value of its Charter Communications stake and investor expectations around the proposed merger.
Arm Holdings (ARM) shares have demonstrated resilience in recent sessions, rebounding after an initial earnings-related pullback and stabilizing near technical support levels. While smartphone-related headwinds tied to memory shortages pressured sentiment, momentum in AI-driven data center royalties helped restore confidence.
Shell plc (SHEL) reported Q4 2025 adjusted earnings of $3.3 billion, below expectations due to weaker oil prices and non-cash tax charges. Full-year adjusted earnings reached $18.5 billion, supported by strong LNG and upstream operations.
A 4% dividend increase to $0.372 per share and a new $3.5 billion buyback program reinforce capital return commitments.
ConocoPhillips (COP) reported Q4 2025 adjusted EPS of $1.02, missing estimates due to weaker oil prices. Full-year adjusted earnings totaled $7.7 billion, with $19.9 billion in operating cash flow.
Shares have gained more than 10% in recent weeks, supported by analyst upgrades and sector momentum.
Verisk Analytics (VRSK) delivered Q4 2025 revenue of $779 million, up 5.9% year over year, with adjusted EPS of $1.82, beating expectations.
Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) reported Q3 FY2026 revenue of $2.62 billion, down 10.2% year over year, but adjusted diluted EPS climbed 14% to $1.77, well above estimates.
(OMC) Omnicom’s fourth-quarter report, released February 18, 2026, marked its first earnings update incorporating results from Interpublic Group (IPG), acquired on November 26, 2025. The combination created the world’s largest marketing services firm by revenue, a significant milestone as the advertising industry consolidates and adapts to digital transformation.
Copart (CPRT) is set to report fiscal Q2 2026 earnings on February 19, 2026, after market close. Consensus calls for EPS of $0.39–$0.40 and revenue of $1.15–$1.18 billion.
Global Payments (GPN) posted Q4 2025 adjusted EPS of $3.18, in line with expectations, and adjusted net revenue of $2.32 billion, up 6% in constant currency (excluding dispositions).
Thomson Reuters (TRI) delivered Q4 2025 adjusted EPS of $1.07 and revenue of $2.01 billion, up 5% year over year, supported by recurring subscription growth.
Unilever PLC (UL) leads year-to-date performance with a 12.61% gain, ahead of Diageo plc (DEO) at 9.90% and Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (KDP) at 4.27%.
DEO offers the highest dividend yield at 4.35%, compared with KDP (3.16%) and UL (2.97%).
All three stocks carry low betas—DEO (0.18), UL (0.24), and KDP (0.35)—highlighting their defensive characteristics.
Q1 Fiscal 2026 Results: Revenue of $333M and adjusted EBITDA of $50M (15% margin), exceeding analyst expectations.
FY2026 Guidance Raised: Adjusted EBITDA now projected at $225M, with revenue reaffirmed near $1.5B.
EV Backlog Growth: 855 electric buses worth $277M, highlighting robust demand supported by EPA clean bus funding.
IBM fell over 10% today mainly because a new AI tool from Anthropic is seen as a direct threat to IBM’s lucrative COBOL modernization and consulting business, triggering worries that key legacy‑modernization revenue will be automated away.
Today’s drop is mainly about competitive positioning and future growth expectations, not an immediate collapse of current Wegovy/Ozempic sales, but it signals that Novo may not have the strongest next‑wave obesity drug versus Eli Lilly, which is why the stock sold off so sharply.
RNG (RingCentral) dropped over 12% today mainly as a sharp pullback after a very steep recent run‑up driven by upbeat Q4 results, guidance, and capital‑return news, with profit‑taking amplified by valuation concerns and a weak broader tech tap
Fundamentally, the latest public guidance is still for rapid growth and profitability, but today’s drop reflects a reset of sentiment and valuation rather than a brand‑new deterioration in those targets.
For investors, the key question is whether the current price appropriately reflects execution risk, competition in diagnostics, and macro volatility after the guidance‑driven rally and subsequent reversal.
TNC (Tennant Company) is down more than 25% today because it reported a very large earnings and revenue miss for Q4 2025, blamed on serious ERP rollout problems and weaker demand, and guided to a slower‑than‑hoped recovery in 2026.
XMTR (Xometry) is down more than 21% today because, despite reporting record growth and an earnings beat, the company announced a CEO transition and investors used the news to take profits after a big prior run‑up, with heavy short interest amplifying the drop.
EDSA (Edesa Biotech) is up more than 21% today largely on speculative trading in a very illiquid penny stock with no clear, company‑specific news catalyst, likely driven by technical factors, retail flows, and short‑term trading rather than fundamentals.
Q4 2025 revenue came in strong at about 214–215 million, up mid‑30s percent year over year and a few percent above estimates, but GAAP EPS was only 0.08 versus expectations around 0.31, a roughly 70–75% miss and down from 0.13 a year earlier.
Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (EL) has rebounded with ~12% YTD gains and 50%+ one-year returns, supported by margin improvements and strong skincare/fragrance demand despite broader prestige beauty challenges.