How AI Speculation Is Fueling the Small-Cap Stock Rally

On this week’s episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, host Miriam Gottfried and guest host Aaron Back, editor of WSJ’s Heard on the Street, preview the upcoming employment and inflation releases in advance of the Federal Open Market Committee’s September policy meeting. They analyze why these economic indicators will draw heightened focus under Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh. Then Miriam and Aaron dig into Nvidia’s recent blowout earnings and whether we will see that echo in Broadcom’s earnings this week.  Next, Dan Rasmussen, founder and portfolio manager at Verdad Advisers, offers insight into the past year's small-cap stock surge following an extended period of underperformance relative to mega-caps. Rasmussen explains why private equity firms face a massive exit logjam from acquisitions of small companies due to inflated valuations. Finally, we ask Rasmussen: does value investing still work? This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Telis Demos, writer for WSJ’s Heard on the Street, and Miriam Gottfried, WSJ’s investing and wealth management reporter, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead. Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at [email protected]. To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com Further Reading Inflation Was 3.4% in July, Down Slightly From the Previous Month Fed’s Preferred Inflation Gauge Remains Above Target Range Nvidia Reports Blowout Quarter, Says Demand for AI Chips Is Getting Even Hotter Nvidia’s $279 Billion Supply-Chain Gamble Nvidia Has Become a Banker to the AI Boom, Putting It on Dangerous Ground Private-Equity Firms Are Sitting on a Nine-Year Backlog A Better Mousetrap for Buying Small Stocks Moderna Shares More Than Double on Success of mRNA Cancer Vaccine For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on The Street Column, and WSJ’s Live Markets blog. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.  Follow Miriam Gottfried here and Telis Demos here.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.