Leaders At The Bell with Jim Lebenthal, Partner at Cerity Partners, Oct 07, 2026

In this October 7 interview on Negostors TV, Gene Leventhal from Sanity Partners explains why markets reached all-time highs despite the ten-year treasury climbing to nearly 5.3%. He attributes this to three factors: spectacular earnings growth, a strong US economy growing at 3.7% real GDP according to the Atlanta Fed tracker, and a healthy labor market. The AI infrastructure buildout accounts for approximately 40% of recent GDP growth, with hyperscalers continuing massive data center investments that show no signs of slowing.

Leventhal expresses bullishness on Micron despite its cyclical nature, noting the company has no debt, $45 billion in cash, and plans to buy back 11% of its market cap with free cash flow over the next twelve months. He compares the current semiconductor cycle to the airline industry's multi-year recovery post-pandemic. Regarding potential Fed rate hikes, he believes it's unclear whether a sustained hiking campaign will begin, noting that inflation is measured as a rate of change rather than absolute price levels. Based on historical patterns showing markets up 14-15% heading into Q4 typically continue rallying, Leventhal predicts a Santa Claus rally for year-end 2026, emphasizing this bull market's length and size remain within historical norms.