Premium"Winter Is Coming": Morgan Stanley Sums Up An "Extraordinary" Quarter In 10 Amazing Stats
Morgan Stanley's Nick Savone sends a weekly "Global Reflections" (available to pro subs) email every weekend, and this week's ran to 41 pages: one of his longest ones yet. Take out the Yankees sweeping the Red Sox (18–2 over two games, for those keeping score), the Cowboys' 34–31 heartbreak against the Ravens, Italy's 1–1 draw with France, a Georgetown homecoming plug and the Savone family movie of the week (The Sandlot, a fine choice), and you're left with one of the better summaries of 3Q26 we've read. The quarter's numbers are strange enough that they barely need commentary.
Savone's own seasonal framing is that markets had a "phenomenal" first nine months, but a "risk malaise" has crept in as rates, oil and credit nerves leave stocks "sitting on something of a razor's edge" while everyone waits for earnings. Or, in his words: "winter is coming." Below are the highlights.