I’m seeing FUD – Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt – starting to work its way into the headlines again for reasons we’ve talked about many times, including the Fed, Iran, and inflation. Try not to let it bother you. Look for opportunities in sectors like energy, says Keith Fitz-Gerald, editor of 5 With Fitz.
Short term fear always makes long term opportunity cheaper. Start with the inflation print everyone has been dreading. The number itself almost doesn't matter. What matters is whether core starts creeping into the broader basket.
Economists are already warning about second-order effects — transportation costs jump first, then food, then everything else. Like that’s unexpected…not! The real challenge is that the Fed is frozen and Chair Jay Powell is apparently the only one who can’t figure this out. Watch the 10-year yield, not the headlines.
State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE)
Meanwhile, oil is still the story nobody wants to be in. Brent crude hit $114 a barrel earlier this week — its highest closing price of 2026 — before pulling back as ceasefire hopes flickered and Iranian attacks in the Gulf resumed. ING revised its base case to Brent averaging $104 per barrel through Q2, with a slow Strait of Hormuz recovery keeping prices elevated well into Q4.
Every day this drags on, the inflation math gets worse, and the Fed's elbow room shrinks further. Energy names with free cash flow and integrated operations aren't just performing — they're acting as the shock absorbers I've been talking about for months. If you don't have ‘em, you're feeling every dollar of this directly. So, long story short, I hope you do.
