Dear Reader,
The days after Christmas often bring a familiar cocktail: thinner trading, bigger intraday swings, and louder narratives about what the market “should” do next. This week, stocks lifted and Treasury yields edged down as investors responded to softer inflation signals, a move captured in a late-December global markets wrap by Reuters.
What’s happening is straightforward: year-end price action can be noisy, but the rules for building and protecting wealth don’t change with the calendar.
High-interest credit cards can make it feel like your finances are always slipping away.*
With these cards, you can take control of your spending:
✔️ Unlimited Cash Back
✔️ 0% APR for 15 months—on purchases and balance transfers.
✔️ Up To 5% Cash Back on everyday purchases
✔️ No Annual Fee—maximize your rewards.
Sign up now and start saving on interest while earning more!
Why This Matters
Inflation and interest rates still sit at the center of the investing equation. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported November 2025 CPI results on December 18, and markets reacted quickly—because inflation data shapes expectations for the Federal Reserve and, in turn, stock and bond valuations.
For everyday investors and retirees, this matters because short-term rallies (or pullbacks) can tempt people to abandon a plan at exactly the wrong time. In plain terms: chasing a “year-end run” after prices jump can mean buying high, and panic-selling after a bad week can mean locking in losses.
Discipline is not about ignoring the news. It’s about refusing to let a single week of headlines override a long-term strategy built around diversification, quality, and cash flow.
Where Things Stand
Investors are still debating whether late-December strength becomes a true year-end lift. Reuters noted on December 19 that many market participants are watching for a “Santa rally” to cap a strong year, but the same reporting underscores an important point: hope is not a strategy, and seasonality is not a guarantee.
Meanwhile, yields remain meaningfully higher than the ultra-low-rate era, which changes the math for portfolios. The U.S. Treasury’s Interest Rate Statistics provide the daily rate series investors can use to track that reality in real time. Higher yields can be a tailwind for savers and income investors—but they also raise the bar for stock valuations and leverage-heavy business models.
The Patriot Perspective
Year-end volatility is a test of behavior, not intelligence. The disciplined investor doesn’t trade the calendar—he manages risk, keeps diversification intact, and focuses on businesses and bonds with durable cash flow and conservative balance sheets.
Stay steady,
Kenneth Boyd
Author, Finance Writer, Former Investment Advisor & CPA
*This is an advertisement.
Advertiser Disclosure: At CardCritics™, it is our goal to provide you with information to help you make educated choices about credit cards. We have not reviewed all available products and offers, but are confident that we are providing the information you need to make a sound decision.
The products featured on our site are from our partners which is how we make money. The financial compensation we receive may impact where and how cards appear on our site, but it does not impact our critical analysis. All opinions, analyses, reviews and recommendations expressed on our site are those of the author's alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.
We do our best to keep all of the information on our site accurate and up to date; however, all credit card information is presented without warranty.