This week, the four major indexes look to finish in the green and at new all-time highs. In other positive news, the price of Brent crude has dropped to roughly $87 per barrel, which is down almost 24% from its 2026 high. Of other economic importance this week was the PCE inflation figures that came in on Thursday. Although the figures were in line with estimates, it marked a three-year high, further lowering the hopes for any short-term rate cuts.
In corporate news, AI company Anthropic made headlines this week by becoming the most valuable AI startup, valued at $1 trillion. While Anthropic is much less popular than OpenAI amongst everyday consumers, businesses are increasingly turning to Anthropic’s Claude model for AI tools. Anthropic’s annualized revenue is more than 50% that of OpenAI’s revenue, and roughly 80% comes from major firms. The recent rise in its valuation can be attributed to the fine-tuning of its Claude Code programming and its Mythos model. This past week was also a watershed moment in the AI space, as Anthropic displaced OpenAI in terms of the share of U.S. companies with paid subscriptions. However, the AI space changes quickly, and companies face continual pressure to innovate to maintain their comparative advantage.
In other corporate news, smart ring company Oura announced the launch of its smallest ring yet. The new Oura Ring 5 is said to be 40% smaller than previous generations, and due to this impactful upgrade, the CEO is proclaiming this model as a technological miracle. The functions of an Oura ring are similar to those of a smart watch and include tracking over 50 health and wellness metrics. These range from tracking your sleep stages, daytime heart rate, body temperature, daily calories, and stress. With six durable finishes available starting at $399, the Oura 5 will feature upgrades such as more accurate sensors, new proactive health-scanning, and 6-9 days of battery life per charge.
On Tuesday, the consumer confidence index dipped 0.7 points to 93.1, above forecasts of 92. The survey, which ran from May 1-19, showed a monthly decrease in consumer outlook on labor market conditions but an increase in expectations for future conditions. Q1 Real GDP was revised on Thursday from 2.0% to 1.6%. The Commerce Department announced on Thursday the PCE index for April at 3.8%. This is up from 3.5% in March and 2.8% in February. This marks the highest level in almost three years. Core PCE (excluding energy and food prices) was reported at 3.3% for April, matching forecasts. New home sales numbers came in at 622,000, below estimates of 663,000. This marks the lowest level in four years. The consensus amongst analysts is that this is due to affordability challenges and economic uncertainty associated with the Iran war.
In closing, I turn to Cape Canaveral, Florida, where the 322-foot-tall New Glenn rocket exploded during a launchpad test. This rocket belongs to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space company, founded in 2000. Thankfully, no personnel were harmed in the incident, and the explosion posed no harm to the public. Although Blue Origin receives far less publicity and is less successful than Elon Musk’s SpaceX, it has achieved similar feats. Its greatest achievement so far is the suborbital New Shepard rocket. This was the first reusable rocket to cross the Karman line, return to Earth, and execute a powered vertical landing. Blue Origin, unlike SpaceX, is more focused on space tourism and has an ambitious vision of a future in which many people can live and work in space.
Ryan Motsinger
