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Wall Street’s main indexes kicked off the final week of the year on a softer note on Monday, as heavyweight technology stocks retreated from last week’s gains that had pushed the S&P 500 to record highs. The information technology sector weighed on the S&P 500, as most tech and AI-linked stocks declined, with Nvidia down 1.8%, Broadcom off 1%, and Palantir Technologies shedding 1.4%. “This is (not) the beginning of the end of the tech dominance, it’ll turn out to be a buying opportunity,” said Hank Smith, director and head of investment strategy at Haverford Trust. “A big reason for that is the top tech names, excluding Tesla, do not have challenging valuations given their growth rate, the moat around their business and their financial strength, which is unparalleled.” Tesla also fell 1.8% after hitting a record high last week and weighed on the consumer discretionary sector. Materials slipped 1%, with precious metal miners sliding as silver dropped sharply after topping $80 per ounce for the first time, while gold also fell after back-to-back record highs last week. Conversely, energy stocks gained the most, up 1.2%, tracking a 2% rise in oil prices. At 11:13 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 217.14 points, or 0.45%, to 48,493.83, the S&P 500 lost 28.77 points, or 0.42%, to 6,901.26 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 150.02 points, or 0.63%, to 23,443.07. Stocks pulled back after the S&P 500 was in the 1% range of the 7,000-point mark, and the blue-chip Dow hit a record closing high last week. Some investors were eyeing a “Santa Claus rally”, a seasonal phenomenon where the S&P 500 typically posts gains in the last five trading days of the year and the first two in January, according to Stock Trader’s Almanac. All three indexes are headed for firm monthly gains, with the Dow and S&P 500 on pace for their eighth consecutive month in the green. The bull market, which began in October 2022, stayed intact despite concerns over high valuations of technology companies and market volatility, on the back of continued optimism around AI, interest-rate cuts and a resilient economy. All three main indexes are set for their third consecutive yearly gain. On the macro front, minutes from the Fed’s previous meeting and a weekly reading of jobless claims will be on the radar in an otherwise data-light week. The S&P 500 has added about 17% so far this year, as the frenzy to capitalize on AI helped the U.S. benchmark overtake Europe’s STOXX 600, despite investors diversifying away from U.S. stocks earlier in the year. DigitalBridge gained 9.6%, with Japan’s SoftBank Group set to acquire the digital infrastructure investor in a deal valued at $4 billion. Trading volumes are expected to be light in the holiday-affected week with U.S. markets shut on Thursday for New Year’s Day. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.85-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.56-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 9 new 52-week highs and one new low while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 22 new highs and 177 new lows. Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan, Reuters
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Below, Muriel Wilkins shares five key insights from her new book, Leadership Unblocked: Break Through the Beliefs That Limit Your Potential. Muriel is the founder and CEO of the leadership advisory firm Paravis Partners. She is also an executive coach to high-performing C-suite and senior executives, as well as host of the award-winning podcast Coaching Real Leaders. Whats the big idea? When leaders get stuck, their first instinct is to do more and push harder. But those actions dont create lasting results because theyre focused on what they do and not on what they think. Sustainable leadership growth comes from examining the beliefs that drive our actions. Left unchecked, we risk stunting our leadership potential. Listen to the audio version of this Book Biteread by Muriel herselfbelow, or in the Next Big Idea App. 1. Youre part of the problem. Every leader goes through rough patches. If you havent yet, you will. Ive seen many accomplished leaders, from executives to emerging managers, eventually hit a wall. Theyre chasing results that remain out of reach, struggling to influence, or trying to find their footing in a new role. No matter their title or situation, they share one thing in common: something is standing in the way of their leadership potential. Despite their best efforts, theyre still blocked. Usually, its because theyre focusing on whats happening around them instead of whats happening within them. Many high achievers try to hustle their way through whatever is holding them back. They double down on tactics and skills, thinking that if they just do more, theyll break through. But until you turn inward and uncover whats holding you back, youll keep repeating the same struggle and leadership will feel harder, more draining, and less rewarding than necessary. 2. Old beliefs cant create new results. Weve all been told that if you want to change something, change your actions: work harder, build new habits, learn new skills. But a change in behavior only scratches the surface. Real change happens on the level of your beliefs. Beliefs that helped you succeed at one stage of your career may no longer serve you during the next. The Buddha said, What we think, we become. Modern research backs that up. Scholars of psychology like Alia Crumb, Ellen Langer, and Carol Dweck have shown that what you believe about yourself, your circumstances, and your ability to grow has a measurable impact on outcomes. Beliefs act like the internal code that drives your leadership operating system. Beliefs that helped you succeed at one stage of your career may no longer serve you during the next. If you believe you need to have all the answers, youll struggle to empower others. If you believe your value comes from being in the details, you lose sight of leading through others. If you believe you cant make a mistake, youll avoid risk and stifle innovation. You cant lead at a new level with the same inner operating system. Until you evolve your beliefs, your results will stay the same. 3. Seven common beliefs quietly keep high performers stuck. Most leaders share a common set of beliefs that keep them stuck. I call these hidden blockers because they keep us locked in unproductive patterns, and theyre experts at eluding detection: I need to be involved. I need it done now. I know Im right. I cant make a mistake. If I can do it, so can you. I cant say no. I dont belong here. These self-talk mantras arent character flaws. Theyre old success strategies. When you can identify the belief youre leading from, you regain choice. Awareness is the first step to unblocking. 4. Ease comes when you can uncover, unpack, and unblock. To lead with more ease, the work is to uncover, unpack, and unblock what drives you: Uncover: Bring your belief to awareness. Unpack: Examine where the belief came from and how it shows up. Unblock: Reframe the belief so that it serves how you need to lead. This framework isnt about positive thinking; its about strategic thinking. When you align your beliefs with the present moment, you expand your range and elevate your leadership altitude. 5. Great leaders learn to coach themselves. The ultimate goal is developing the capacity to coach yourself. When you can observe your patterns, question your beliefs, and realign in real time, you no longer need a crisis or coach to spark growth. You become your own coachgrounded, adaptive, and effectivein each moment. As you increase your capacity to coach yourself, you increase your capacity to coach others, which after all is what great leaders do. A leader cannot transform an organization beyond their own capacity to transform themselves. To lead differently, you must think differently. A leader cannot transform an organization beyond their own capacity to transform themselves. It can feel lonely and difficult at the top, but you dont have to suffer through your leadership challenges, nor should others suffer because of how you lead. Becoming free of your hidden blockers unlocks your potential for achieving goals, delivering results, and leading with ease. Enjoy our full library of Book Bitesread by the authors!in the Next Big Idea App. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
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It’s that time December’s waning days, when we prepare to turn the calendar page. Many Americans take stock, review goals accomplished and unmet, ponder hopes and plans. How’s our health? What’s up with our money? What about the country? Will the coming year look like the departing one year, or be something entirely different? Are we ready? It can be an overwhelming period. So The Associated Press reached out to professionals with varying expertises home organization, risk management, personal training, personal finance, and political science to talk about their perspectives on changes and transitions.And for something a little different, we gave each interviewee a chance to ask a question of one of the others.So let’s talk endings and beginnings. The change expert: Milestones stir emotions Transitions are professional organizer Laura Olivares’ working life. As co-founder of Silver Solutions, she works with senior adults and their families to help make sure they’re in safe environments, whether that means decluttering a lifetime of possessions, downsizing to another home, or helping families clear a house after a loved one’s passing.She offers this: Changes, even exciting ones, can unearth sadness or grief over places, things and people left behind. Acknowledging those feelings can help smooth the move from one chapter to another.“When you let go of something that was meaningful to you, it deserves a moment,” she says. “Whatever that moment is, could be a second, could just be an acknowledgement of it. Or maybe you set it on the on the mantle and you think about it for a while and when you’re ready to let it go, you let it go.”NEXT QUESTION: Certified personal trainer Keri Harvey asked: “What small weekly habits can I build that will help me stay organized during the year?” Olivares’ tips: In December, do a brain dump of thoughts, ideas, and goals. Then, before Jan. 1, schedule out tasks that move those priorities forward over the course of 2026. Olivares suggests three tasks on each of three days, so nine tasks per week. The actuary: Planning is important but sometimes fickle Probably no group of people think more about the future than actuaries. Using data, statistics and probabilities, they devise models on how probable it is that certain events happen, and what it could cost to recover from them. Their work is vital to organizations like insurance companies.Listen to R. Dale Hall talk, though, and he sounds almost philosophical. He’s managing director of research at the Society of Actuaries. Asked how the general public could think about a new year, he readily brings up strategies like mapping out risk scenarios and how to respond.There’s a balance to be struck, he says: We can’t control or predict everything and must accept the possibility of something unexpected. And the past isn’t always a perfect guide; just because something happened doesn’t mean it must again.“It’s the nature of taking risk, right? That yeah, there are going to be uncontrollable things,” Hall says. “There are ways to maybe diversify those risks or mitigate those risks, but no one has that perfect crystal ball that’s going to see three, six, nine, 12 months into the future.”NEXT QUESTION: From personal finance educator Dana Miranda: “Thinking about the variables we consider when making decisions or plans, how might the juxtaposition of the holiday season with the new year affect the way people are evaluating their finances and setting goals at the beginning of each year? What do you recommend they do to ensure the holiday experience doesn’t skew financial goal-setting?”Hall’s advice: Keep ’em separate. He recommends people enjoy the holidays and hold off on financial goals until January. The personal finance authority: Be intentional about money In her work as a financial writer and a personal finance educator, Miranda encourages people to make conscious choices around their spending and saving, and understand that there’s no absolute rule.Miranda, author of “You Don’t Need a Budget,” says details are key. What works for one person may not work for another. And it’s something Americans should consider as another year of goals and resolutions approaches. Insisting that the same technique works for everybody can leave people feeling stuck, Miranda says.“We tend to be not good at talking about the nuances and that leaves people with, ‘Here’s the one right rule. It’s not possible for me to achieve that perfection, so I’m just going to feel ashamed of every move that I make that is not moving toward that perfect goal.'”NEXT QUESTION: From Jeanne Theoharis, a political science professor, who asked how Miranda gets people to look beyond the micro and consider the larger system of capitalism. “How does she also get people to think about more collective solutionslike union organizing, pressing City Council or Congress for changes?”Miranda is quick to make it clear she’s not an organizer but says she tries to evoke larger systemic issues when discussing personal finance. “The way that I try to move that needle just a little bit is to always bring in that political aspect to whatever conversation we’re having to make the systemic and the cultural impact visible.” The trainer: Make goals attainable When it comes to changes and new years, one of the most popular areas is fitness, the subject of many a (failed) resolution. Personal trainer Harvey, of Form Fitness Brooklyn, says you can make positive, lasting change in fitness (and generally) with one philosophy: Start small and build.“We want to be mindful of making sure that we’re not asking too much or trying to overcompensate for what we feel like we left behind this past year or what we feel like we left on the table this past year,” she says. “It’s very reasonable to try and have the goal of getting to the gym twice a week, maybe three times a week, and then building from there instead of saying ‘Jan. 1, I’m starting, I’m gonna be at the gym five days a week, two hours a day.’ That’s not realistic and it’s not kind to ourselves.”NEXT QUESTION: From Hall: “What advice do you have for me to transition to an even more robust workout schedule in 2026 without falling into the risk of injuring myself by doing too much too soon?”Harvey emphasized warming up and having a mobility routine, and making the goal attainable by making it fun. “Find things that you actually enjoy doing and try and fit those in as well so that the idea of starting something new or adding to it isn’t one that comes with a negative like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to have to do this,’ where you’re dragging yourself into it.” The historian: Learn from your past It’s not just as individuals that we think about transitions. Nations and cultures have them, too.We can learn from them if we look at our history honestly and not through the guise of trying to hide the ugly parts, says Theoharis, professor of political science and history at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center.She points to the story of Rosa Parks, remembered as the catalyst of the Montgomery bus boycotts 70 years ago. But when Parks chose to resist, she didn’t know what her arrest would mean or what the outcome would be. Theoharis sees a lesson there for people looking to make change in today’s world and even individuals wanting to evolve.“A number of us would be willing to do something brave if we knew that it would work,” Theoharis says. “And we might even be willing to have some consequences. But part of what looking at the actual history of Rosa Parks or the actual history of the Montgomery bus boycott is in fact you have to make these stands with no sense that they will work.”NEXT (AND LAST) QUESTION: From Olivares, who wanted Theoharis’ thoughts on today’s civil rights battles. Theoharis referenced voting rights, which have been eroded in recent years. At the same time, remembrances of the turmoil during the Civil Rights years have become glossed over by a mythology of America overcoming its injustices.There’s a lesson there about what it takes to make real change for individuals, too, Theoharis says: It’s difficult to move forward if you’re not honestly addressing what’s come before. “Part of how we’ve gotten here is by that lack of reckoning with ourselves, lack of reckoning with where we are, lack of reckoning with history.” Deepti Hajela, Associated Press
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