  the latest cpi figures were released this week with the headline annualized rate falling to 5 its lowest in almost two years   jpmorgan chase wells fargo and citi all released their quarterly earnings and it was hugely positive numbers all across the board   with so much news hitting us every day it can be easy to get tunnel vision but for investors it pays to look beyond the us to maximize opportunities for gains subscribe to the forbes ai newsletter to stay in the loop and get our aibacked investing insights latest news and more delivered directly to your inbox every weekend and download qai today for access to aipowered investment strategies major events that could affect your portfolio there are a number of different measures of inflation but the most widely used in mainstream circles is the consumer price index cpi so while the fed looks at a number of different measures in addition to cpi it’s still one of the most important when it comes to interest rate decisions this week saw the cpi figures for march released and it makes for some interesting reading the headline annualized rate has seen a massive drop from last month falling from 6 down to 5 after a rise in prices of just 01 for the month that brings cpi down to its lowest level in almost two years and shows that the fed aggressive cycle of rate hikes is finally making an impact for investors it’s not necessarily that number that they should be interested in but rather what insights that number provides as to what the fed is going to do about interest rates at the next fomc meeting on may 3rd right now markets appear to be predicting an increase in rates again by 025 but there’s also now a chance that we could see a pause in rate hikes because while inflation data is trending in the right direction so are the recent jobless figures new payrolls and other measures of inflation like personal consumption expenditure pce if the fed does pause rate hikes it could mean a market rally in the short term but it definitely doesn’t signal that it’s time to strap in for an allin bull market with plenty of economic uncertainty continuing to bubble in the background given that march saw multiple banks either collapse or sold off for relative pocket change in the middle of the night it’s not really too shocking to think that bank earnings are going to be watched very closely this quarter after all the issue that effectively started the bank run on silicon valley bank and signature bank is related to the price volatility of long term debt an issue which many banks are facing in one form or another so while the government and the regulators stepped in to provide security there’s no guarantee that we’ve seen the last of these problems even warren buffet went on the record recently to say that “we’re not over bank failures” but made it very clear that depositors don’t need to worry saying that “nobody is going to lose money on a deposit in a us bank it’s not going to happen” so far the earnings results have been very positive three major banks citi jpmorgan chase and wells fargo all announced results today and all three of them have announced big earnings beats citi earnings per share came in at 186 against a 170 expected wells fargo hit 123 against 112 expected and jpmorgan chase was way above the 341 expectation with eps of 410 for the quarter so for the moment it appears that banks at least the majors are on solid footing but investors should continue to watch the financial sector very closely in the coming months with a 247 news cycle and what seems to be constant emergencies and crises it can be easy to become focused only on what’s happening right around us and while the us markets are by far the largest in the world there are a huge range of assets that go beyond our borders overall the us equity markets make up around 58 of global market cap with the us bond markets down at about 42 of global market cap that means around half of the most common financial assets come from other countries by not considering overseas assets investors are leaving serious potential returns on the table spreading your investment funds abroad not only provides additional diversification benefits but also ensures you’re gaining exposure to certain asset classes that aren’t widely represented in the us for example many of the worlds largest mining and resources companies including the biggest  bhp group  worth 155 billion are not listed on us stock exchanges but for investors gaining access to overseas assets isn’t always that straightforward buying assets on foreign exchanges comes with a different set of rules and regulations meaning most investors will need to utilize funds and etfs that often come with hefty fees at qai we’ve created the fee free global trends kit which not only offers exposure to investment assets all across the globe but uses the power of ai to predict their performance each week and rebalance accordingly here are some of the best ideas our ai systems are recommending for the next week and month advantage solutions adv – the sales and marketing company is one of our top buys for next week with an a rating in our growth technicals and quality value factors revenue was up 124 in 2022 light  wonder lnw – the gambling company is our top short for next week with our ai rating them an f in quality value and low momentum volatility earnings per share was 209 in 2022 arhaus arhs – the home furnishings company is our top buy for next month with an a rating in growth revenue was up 542 in 2022 inspire medical systems insp – the sleep apnea treatment company is our top short for next month with our ai rating them an f in quality value earnings per share were 160 in 2022 our ai’s top etf trades for the next month are to invest in the sp 500 as well as the oil and gas industries and to short us microcaps and financials top buys are the spdr sp 500 etf trust the united states natural gas fund and the spdr sp oil  gas exploration  production etf and the top shorts are the vanguard financials etf and the ishares microcap etf want to learn more about investing or sharpen your existing knowledge qai publishes qbits on our learn center where you can define investing terms unpack financial concepts and up your skill level qbits are digestible snackable investing content intended to break down complex concepts in plain english   what is the pending home sales index   what is an artificial intelligence certification   how do the fed decisions affect the markets