Top News Today: Stocks Gain as Nvidia Buoys AI Bets; Oil, Treasury Yields Rise -2-

O'Rourke, now chief market strategist at JonesTrading, an institutional brokerage and investment banking firm, sees eerie parallels between the dot-com era and today's artificial-intelligence, or AI boom, as he has repeatedly warned in The Closing Print, his daily newsletter. Simply put, he believes too many investors are chasing the same tech stocks and paying too much for them, and that the AI "bubble" will burst, much as the internet frenzy did.

"I was trained to have independent views and like to think they are honest, concise, and upfront," says O'Rourke, who joined Jones in 2013 after stints at BTIG and the hedge fund Marshall Wace. "I'm going to share my thoughts, whether they're popular or not."

O'Rourke shared his thoughts about the stock market and the economy with Barron's in mid-August, and he has a point: They may not be popular with stock speculators, and even some investors bidding shares of companies with uncertain prospects to new highs. But judge for yourself: An edited version of the conversation follows.

Barron's: You have warned that the artificial-intelligence trade is a bubble resembling the late-1990s dot-com era, which ended with a crash. Why do you draw that comparison?

Mike O'Rourke: I feel like I'm reliving history. I believe in AI. It is incredible and life changing. Yet, I frequently reference a Warren Buffett piece in Fortune from 1999. Buffett talked about how technologies can change society and make people's lives better, but that doesn't mean they will work out well for investors.

Any asset bubble is founded in something we all believe in. But when everyone is in agreement about the outlook, investors tend to be willing to overpay for assets, as they are doing with many AI-related stocks.

--Paul R. La Monica, Barron's

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06:45/FRA: Jul Housing starts

06:45/FRA: Jul Household consumption expenditure in manufactured goods

06:45/FRA: 2Q GDP - detailed figures

06:45/FRA: Aug Provisional CPI

07:55/GER: Aug Labour market statistics (incl unemployment)

08:00/ITA: Jun Industrial turnover

09:00/ITA: Aug Consumer Confidence Survey

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10:00/FRA: 2Q OECD trade statistics release

12:30/CAN: Jun GDP

12:30/CAN: 2Q Quarterly GDP

13:45/US: Aug Chicago Business Barometer - ISM-Chicago Business Survey Chicago PMI

14:00/US: Aug University of Michigan Survey of Consumers - final

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Expected Earnings for Friday Bloomia Holdings Inc (TULP) is expected to report for 4Q.

Cambium Networks Corp (CMBMF) is expected to report for 2Q.

Laurentian Bank of Canada (LB.T,LRCDF) is expected to report $-0.13 for 3Q.

Southern Banc Co Inc (SRNN) is expected to report for 4Q.

TPI Composites Inc (TPICQ.XX) is expected to report $-1.52 for 2Q.

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

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August 27, 2026 16:36 ET (20:36 GMT)