A game of whack-a-mole
The Sandbox Daily (7.17.2025)
Welcome, Sandbox friends.
No daily note tomorrow – I’m taking the day off. I’ll be going live tomorrow morning (11am hour) on Schwab Network TV, then off to Zac Bryan at MetLife Stadium. See you Monday!
Today’s Daily discusses:
are stocks expensive?
Let’s dig in.
Blake
Markets in review
EQUITIES: Russell 2000 +1.20% | Nasdaq 100 +0.76% | S&P 500 +0.54% | Dow +0.52%
FIXED INCOME: Barclays Agg Bond +0.04% | High Yield +0.10% | 2yr UST 3.907% | 10yr UST 4.553%
COMMODITIES: Brent Crude +1.65% to $69.65/barrel. Gold +0.02% to $3,346.1/oz.
BITCOIN: +1.46% to $120,242
US DOLLAR INDEX: +0.23% to 98.616
CBOE TOTAL PUT/CALL RATIO: 0.86
VIX: -3.73% to 16.52
Quote of the day
“A mountain is moved one stone at a time – start small, keep going.”
- Confucius
Are stocks expensive?
Today I had the great privilege of joining the man of the people, Mr. Charles Payne, on Fox Business for Making Money.
Friends at home in Annapolis, MD often ask me what it’s like doing a TV hit.
I’ve previously shared how I prepare for these spots – taking many helpful cues from friend Ryan Detrick.
But, in terms of content preparation, it’s a balancing act of what’s timely, how is the information helpful for the viewers at home, and in what way can I share a unique perspective.
Today, Charles and I discussed:
how American companies and investors are battle-hardened
why investors shouldn’t take the S&P 500’s higher valuation at face value
human psychology when investing at all-time highs
Below are some of my prep notes for today’s hit. Enjoy!
That’s all for today.
Blake
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Welcome to The Sandbox Daily, a daily curation of relevant research at the intersection of markets, economics, and lifestyle. We are committed to delivering high-quality and timely content to help investors make sense of capital markets.
Blake Millard is the Director of Investments at Sandbox Financial Partners, a Registered Investment Advisor. All opinions expressed here are solely his opinion and do not express or reflect the opinion of Sandbox Financial Partners. This Substack channel is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. The information and opinions provided within should not be taken as specific advice on the merits of any investment decision by the reader. Investors should conduct their own due diligence regarding the prospects of any security discussed herein based on such investors’ own review of publicly available information. Clients of Sandbox Financial Partners may maintain positions in the markets, indexes, corporations, and/or securities discussed within The Sandbox Daily. Any projections, market outlooks, or estimates stated here are forward looking statements and are inherently unreliable; they are based upon certain assumptions and should not be construed to be indicative of the actual events that will occur.
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