Market Insights

The start of 2026 has seen a dramatic shift in the geopolitical landscape following the US military intervention in Venezuela. The capture of Nicolás Maduro, who now faces narco-terrorism charges in New York, represents a significant implementation of the Monroe Doctrine, aimed at reasserting US influence in the Western Hemisphere. While these headlines are historic, their immediate impact on global capital markets remains surprisingly contained.

The modern AI economy effectively began in 2022, when researchers learned how to combine large-scale computing with human feedback models. This breakthrough transformed raw language models into useful, interactive systems and unlocked the technologies behind today's AI platforms. It also triggered an unexpected side effect: a nationwide wave of data-center development.

In 1965, Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors on a microchip would double approximately every two years. To date, his prediction has proven reliable, allowing technology firms to innovate in unimaginable ways. Likewise, investing possesses its own doubling rule, called the rule of 72. The rule estimates the number of years it takes for an investment to double by dividing 72 by the investment’s expected return.