This Weekly Financial Markets Update reviews the top market headlines: Strong Job Growth to Start the Year, Inflation Rates Slow in January, Surge in Bond Sales to Fund AI Buildout
  • The U.S. economy adds 130,000 jobs in January
  • Core CPI rose 2.5% in January on a year-over-year basis
  • U.S. corporate bond issuance is projected to rise nearly 12% in 2026

Top Three Market Headlines

Strong Job Growth to Start the Year: The U.S. Labor Department reported last Wednesday that U.S. employers added 130,000 jobs in January, measurably higher than the estimation of economists who projected 70,000 job adds. This promising start to the year more than doubled the number of new jobs in December and surpassed the 2025 monthly average of 15,000 additions. The healthcare and social assistance sectors dominated growth in January, contributing 82,000 and 42,000 jobs, respectively. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked downward to 4.3% from 4.4% in the prior month while average hourly earnings rose 0.4%.

Inflation Rates Slow in January: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week that the all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2% in January from the prior month, the slowest monthly pace since last July. On an annual basis, prices rose 2.4%, down from the 2.7% rate reported in December. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.3% on the month and 2.5% year-over-year; while the former was up from a 0.2% pace in December, the latter was the lowest rate of increase since March of 2021. Over the 12 months ending January, the energy index decreased 0.1% while the food index rose 2.9%.

Surge in Bond Sales to Fund AI Buildout: Alphabet Inc. (Google's parent company) raised nearly $32 billion in public debt sales last week, including a rare 100-year bond offering, to fund large scale AI infrastructure capital expenditures. Following Oracle's $25 billion bond sale in early February, the five fastest-scaling AI infrastructure firms (Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle) have issued $121 billion in corporate bonds in 2025, with their total spending projected to exceed $500 billion by the end of 2026. This surge in AI‑driven borrowing has lifted projections for total U.S. corporate bond issuance to $2.5 trillion in 2026, representing an 11.8% rise from the previous year.

As of February 13, 2025 Week Quarter-To-Date Year-To-Date One-Year
MSCI All Country World 0.02% 2.85% 2.85% 19.87%
S&P 500 -1.35% 0.00% 0.00% 13.24%
Russell 2000 -0.85% 6.73% 6.73% 17.57%
MSCI EAFE 1.94% 7.81% 7.81% 31.32%
MSCI Emerging Markets 3.25% 10.81% 10.81% 42.75%
FTSE NAREIT Equity 3.24% 9.74% 9.74% 9.57%
Bloomberg Commodity -0.45% 7.45% 7.45% 15.42%
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate 0.89% 1.28% 1.28% 7.81%

Reuters 02/09/2026, U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics 2/11/2026 & 2/13/2026, Bloomberg 2/10/2026. Data from Morningstar Direct and FactSet. Returns for periods greater than one year are annualized. Investment advisory services are offered by Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC ("GFA"), an SEC registered investment advisor that provides retirement, investment advisory, discretionary and independent fiduciary services. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply any specific level of skill or training and does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC. GFA is a limited liability company with Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc. as its single member. GFA may pay referral fees or other remuneration to employees of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. or its affiliates or to independent contractors; such payments do not change our fee. Neither Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., GFA, their affiliates nor representatives provide accounting, legal or tax advice. GFA does not express an investment opinion regarding any specific commodity, sector or individual security. Unless otherwise expressly noted, the contents of this communication do not constitute securities or investment advice, nor should this communication be construed as an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment. The information provided cannot take into account all the various factors that may affect your particular situation, therefore you should consult your GFA consultant before acting upon any information or recommendation contained herein to discuss the suitability of the information/recommendation for your specific situation.