Markets Happy Hour Podcast - May 22, 2026 - Ships Passing in the Night

in this week's Markets Happy Hour Podcast we do a quick whistlestop tour through the traditional balanced portfolio, since it is the traditional bond and equity allocations that are attracting all of the buzz right now. From bond markets balking at rising fiscal obligations to equity markets drunk on optimism the balanced portfolio is a schizophrenic one. The oil price has been moving in opposite fashion to the newsflow regarding ships and the Strait of Hormuz and given the limited positive newsflow about two China-bound tankers making it through in the past 24 hours, the oil price fallen. Markets have responded positively to indications of a deal in the near future although little concrete has been stated. Equity markets have also been boosted by the US administration's commitment to invest in quantum computing as well as the ongoing outperformance in revenues from companies such as Nvidia. The "sprint" to IPOs by Anthropic, Open AI and SpaceX signify the desire to capture the momentum of today's heady markets. New highs have been reached in markets and investors show no signs of backing down. On the other hand bonds have rarely looked less attractive, and there has been a widespread sell-off and desire to exit duration. These two counterveiling sentiments are in a tense balance as we await further news in geopolitics.