Markets in a Minute

After finishing strong in 2025, the broad U.S. equities market got off to a rocky start this year. Stocks initially traded higher during the first quarter, but the onset of the Iran conflict in late February and resulting global spike in oil prices clouded the economic picture and triggered a broad selloff. When the dust settled, the S&P 500 posted its first quarterly loss in a year (-4.3%). Does a difficult first quarter portend a down year? Not necessarily.

In this week’s Markets in a Minute, we take a look at the challenge of lowering federal spending