Define “Wall Street” (and “Main Street”)

I found this editorial from the Wall Street Journal if not a concurrence with my recent post at least highly complementary with it:

Financial industry news site Investment Executive reported this week that the largest U.S. investment banks recorded a 17% aggregate increase in trading revenues in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley reported more than a 20% increase in equities trading revenue. Talk about springtime for bankers.

Mr. Trump’s semi-tariff reprieve with Japan seems to have prompted investors to double down on the TACO trade—Trump Always Chickens Out—and sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new highs. The price-earnings ratio for the S&P 500 is close to record levels, which suggests that valuations may be stretched.

Look no further than so-called meme stocks, which are experiencing a mania a la early 2021. As then, retail traders are making leveraged bets on stocks that have large short-interest plays such as Kohl’s, GoPro, Opendoor and Krispy Kreme. Hedge funds are riding the stock-market roller coaster to riches, and day traders want in on the fun.

but

None of this signals that there’s a shortage of liquidity, or that current interest rates are restricting credit conditions. Yet back on Main Street, businesses are struggling to borrow. Bank construction loans and housing starts have declined. Job growth has stalled in recent months in most industries outside of healthcare and government.

In other words the Magnificent Seven stocks are doing just fine even as they engage in mass layoffs and big investment banks are prospering but small companies and workers not so much.