Fred Imbert
Fred Imbert tracks how shifts in interest rates, economic data and Wall Street sentiment move the U.S. stock market, turning fast market swings into clear narratives for CNBC. He covers financial markets with a focus on the major U.S. stock indexes, day-to-day trading action and what professional investors are doing with risk.
U.S. stock indexes and day-to-day market moves
Imbert’s core work follows the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq through the trading day and around major inflection points. His headlines regularly center on whether stocks are rising or falling, what is driving the move and how large the swings are in points and percentage terms. He writes both opening and closing market pieces, tracking how futures set up the session, how sentiment shifts intraday and where the indexes finish. Individual stories often spotlight which sectors lead or lag on a given day, such as technology, financials or energy, and how those sector moves tie back to broader themes like growth expectations or risk aversion. He folds in key levels on major indexes and benchmarks, giving readers simple markers for when a pullback becomes a correction or when a rally reaches a new high.
Interest rates, the Federal Reserve and macro drivers
A defining thread in Imbert’s coverage is the link between interest rates and equity valuations. He regularly reports on moves in Treasury yields, especially the 10-year benchmark, and explains how higher or lower yields feed directly into stock performance. In his piece on one of Wall Street’s most optimistic strategists warning that high rates could trigger a “meaningful correction,” he frames the story around the tension between bullish earnings views and the drag from tighter financial conditions. That structure runs through much of his work: he starts with a clear market move or bold strategist call, then grounds it in rate expectations, Federal Reserve policy signals and inflation or jobs data. His copy distills complex macro forces into a small set of concrete drivers—yields, central bank decisions, and key economic releases—and keeps the focus on what those factors mean for risk assets right now.
Wall Street strategists, outlooks and investor sentiment
Imbert leans heavily on named Wall Street strategists and portfolio managers to explain turning points in markets. Many stories revolve around a prominent bull or bear updating a target for the S&P 500, shifting a stance on equities or warning about a coming correction or rally. He quotes these sources directly and sets their views against what indexes are doing in real time, so the reader sees both the call and the immediate market verdict. Outlook pieces often line up several voices to compare scenarios for the rest of the year, including where major benchmarks could end up and which sectors stand to gain or lose. This focus on strategist calls and positioning gives his coverage a strong sentiment layer, showing not just what markets are doing but how professional investors say they will react.
Corporate earnings, sectors and catalysts
Alongside macro and sentiment, Imbert follows how individual companies and sectors move the broader tape. During earnings seasons he writes on how results from large index components move the Dow or S&P 500, tying beats and misses to broader sector trends. Headlines frequently flag when a single company’s earnings, guidance or news sparks a broader sell-off or rally in its industry group. He highlights catalysts such as regulatory developments, geopolitical tensions or policy headlines that hit specific sectors first and then bleed into the wider market. The emphasis stays on market impact: which names are pulling an index higher or lower and what that implies for investors watching sector rotations.
Format, pace and style
Imbert works in a fast-turn digital format that prioritises timeliness, clarity and numbers. Stories usually open with the clearest metric—how far indexes moved, what Treasury yields did, or the size of a swing in a key stock—before stepping back into explanation. He writes in short, direct sentences, uses limited jargon and explains any technical terms through their effect on markets rather than abstract theory. Data points such as index levels, yield percentages and market breadth statistics sit alongside plain-language descriptions of fear, optimism or uncertainty on trading desks. Across his body of work, he stays close to the live market tape while still connecting each move to larger themes in interest rates, Federal Reserve policy, corporate earnings and investor strategy.
4 more business journalists.
Alex Bronzini-Vender
Alex Bronzini-Vender is a business reporter who focuses on how economic forces and corporate decisions shape specific communities and industries. He covers business for the Washington Monthly, writing reported pieces at the intersection of commerce and public life. His work reflects the magazine’s emphasis on linking markets and money to power, policy, and everyday experience. He treats business not as balance sheets and deals but as choices that affect local realities. In “Fear and Loathing in Palo Alto,” he uses a city tied to the tech sector to examine how a powerful industry influences a community. He grounds his business beat in on-the-ground consequences rather than treating corporate and financial developments in isolation.
Alex Smith
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Alison Durkee
Alison Durkee focuses on how law, regulation and politics create business risks for major companies and industries. She is a reporter at Forbes, where she writes news-driven explainers on complex legal and regulatory developments and their impact on corporate strategy, reputation and markets. Her coverage centers on companies under scrutiny, especially in technology and other high-growth sectors, and tracks trials, investigations and fast-changing policy fights. She breaks down lawsuits, inquiries and regulatory moves into clear parts, grounded in timelines, filings and official actions. She reports on generative artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies as tests of legal frameworks and corporate risk management, explaining how issues like intellectual property, safety compliance, consumer protection and governance can reshape product roadmaps, partnerships and investor expectations.
Alyson Shontell
Alyson Shontell covers business through the lens of leadership, using in-depth conversations with powerful executives and founders to show how their decisions shape companies, markets, and public life. She is editor in chief at Fortune, overseeing coverage across the masthead while continuing to write selected high-impact pieces. Her core work is long, reported interviews and profiles of CEOs of large companies, dominant tech firms, and fast-growing startups. She focuses on how leaders think, manage risk, make unconventional calls, and handle crises, culture, and the future of work. Her subjects include corporate chiefs, startup founders, and political figures treated as executives. She probes operating detail, governance, internal culture, and trade-offs around growth, disruption, and workplace models, using concrete examples and direct, accessible prose that foregrounds the subject’s voice while pressing for specifics.