If we said the phrase “after dark,” you’d probably think of late-night bars and risqué shows, but what if we told you there was a new “AfterDark” fund coming that goes risk-on every night and returns to safe havens each morning? Well, it’s true: the Nicholas Bitcoin and Treasuries AfterDark ETF will trade bitcoin and its derivatives from US market close to open, when it will close all its positions and convert them to US Treasurys. It seems silly at first, but it turns out there’s a pretty solid financial thesis for the structure. 

Stocks wavered ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision today. While the market is anticipating a quarter-point rate cut, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s commentary will offer crucial insight into the central bank’s approach to easing in 2026.

Hey Siri: why is Apple’s stock behaving differently from the rest of Big Tech? 

Siri, of course, will have absolutely no clue — because Apple’s AI strategy is borderline nonexistent.

This is a pretty steep drop-off, and it’s been most pronounced in the stocks that are closest to the AI trade (notably Nvidia, Microsoft, and Broadcom). Apple and Microsoft used to trade nearly in tandem, with a correlation coefficient between the two north of 0.8. That has all but collapsed, with the last 90 trading sessions barely showing a positive correlation.

Perhaps what’s most remarkable from mining the correlation stats is that Apple’s average correlation with the rest of its peer group is now the lowest of any BATMMAAN stock. People used to say that Tesla was the odd one out of the Big Tech giants — but the trading data suggests, fairly strongly, it’s Apple right now. 

Last week, Apple retired its AI chief, potentially suggesting a renewed focus on the nascent technology under new leadership.

Accenture rose after the consulting giant announced a multiyear partnership with Anthropic to become “a premier AI partner for coding with Claude Code.” This includes a joint offering for AI-enabled software development with a focus on regulated industries including finance, healthcare, life sciences, and the public sector.

It’s worth considering that consulting is perhaps one of the most interesting niches of the economy when it comes to AI’s impact on jobs. 

Charitably, Accenture’s management is eagerly embracing how the consulting business may be radically altered in a world where corporate AI adoption is ubiquitous, and reacting accordingly. Uncharitably, it’s the best “training your replacements” company out there.

One must consider that the ultimate service provided by a lot of consultants is to affirm, supplement, or execute management decisions made by their clients. This is a necessary service — shareholders enjoy enlisting third parties to affirm the decisions of management — but ultimately we’re confronting the possibility that instead of hiring, say, a kid fresh out of an MBA program to do that, you can probably just use an upgraded Clippy.

Can Accenture make enough deals to stave off this fate? Can LLMs actually supplant consultants? Who wins and who loses is going to be one of the more interesting early answers to the key employment questions of the AI transition.

Recently Sherwood laid out the current autonomous ride-share landscape, which is mostly a battle between Google’s Waymo and Tesla. According to a new report from Morgan Stanley’s research team that looks forward to the next half decade, robotaxis’ future — while expected to grow rapidly — might not be so different.

Nasdaq indexes aren’t just informative. They’re innovative. 

Whatever your strategy, Nasdaq Global Indexes powers access to the world’s most exciting companies, from AI leaders to dividend growers. See how Nasdaq is providing investors with a framework for smarter, future-ready portfolios.

→ Discover more on Sherwood