Your 5 weekly reads:

  1. Google to invest up to $40B in Anthropic

  2. Tax refunds vs. gas prices: The great consumer tug-of-war

  3. Who received tax refunds, and who didn’t

  4. Navigating market volatility with Range

  5. Ask Rai: Will the OBBBA impact your 2026 finances?

1. MARKET ROUNDUP
Google and Anthropic Strike a Deal

  • Google is committing $10B to Anthropic, with up to $30B more depending on performance, valuing the company at $350B.

  • DOJ dropped its criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, clearing the way for Trump's pick Kevin Warsh to take over the Fed, pending a Senate floor vote.

  • Intel surged over 20% on Friday (its largest-ever single-day jump) after blowout Q1 earnings, beating estimates by $1.2B.

  • SpaceX struck a $60B deal for the option to acquire Cursor later this year after Microsoft reportedly passed on the AI coding agent. 

Range Takeaway: Google secured a sweetheart deal with its $40 billion investment in Anthropic, locking in a $350 billion valuation — a massive discount compared to the $1 trillion prices seen in recent secondary markets. But rather than a one-sided steal, it's a mutually beneficial trade-off. The AI race has become an infrastructure race, and Anthropic's computing demands are skyrocketing. From Google, they get capital and 5 GW of computing capacity to scale training and deployment. Google, in turn, gets more than a discounted stake — they lock in a critical infrastructure partnership, ensuring their TPUs are powering one of the world's most capable models.

2. THE BIG TAKE
The Great Consumer Tug of War

The April 15th deadline has come and gone, and an economic tug-of-war is officially underway: record tax refunds versus $4 gas.

Thanks to last year’s OBBBA legislation, refunds are injecting a massive tailwind into the economy. The IRS has already pumped out an extra $43 billion compared to this time last year—a 17% jump. A higher percentage of Americans are receiving refunds this year, and the average refund has increased 11% to $3,275.

But this windfall isn't distributed evenly. Geography and income heavily dictate the odds of getting a payout. Lower-income households and residents in zero-income-tax states like Florida and Texas are more likely to get refunds, while higher earners in high-tax states are still getting squeezed by the SALT cap, often owing lump sums instead.

Simultaneously, the Iran conflict has pushed gas prices to $4 a gallon, creating a highly visible headwind threatening to siphon that extra cash straight into the pump.

Which economic force is winning the tug-of-war? The $43 billion injected by extra refunds is currently outrunning a $14 billion gasoline drag by a 3-to-1 margin, leaving a net gain of nearly $30 billion in consumers' pockets. Of course, the final tally will depend on how long gas prices stay elevated; but for now, the sheer size of the tax injection is giving the consumer some serious breathing room.

Read CIO Taresh Batra’s full take here

3. BY THE NUMBERS
The Refund Windfall Isn’t Evenly Distributed

  • $43B: Increase in tax refunds issued YTD through April 17 vs. the same week in 2025, a +17% jump directly attributable to the OBBBA.

  • $30,000: Average refund for filers earning $500K-$1M, versus $8,829 for the $200K–$500K bracket.

  • 23%: Share of $500K-$1M filers who receive a refund.

4. FROM THE RANGE TEAM
Navigating Volatility: Why Smart Investors Stay the Course

Markets have given investors plenty to digest these past few weeks. The S&P 500 wiped out 10% in a single month but closed at a new all-time high weeks later. When stocks were sliding, the temptation to play defense was strong, but those who moved to the sidelines would have missed a 12.8% rebound that followed. 

Get this – if you missed just the 10 best market days over the past 20 years, your returns would’ve been cut in half. And those best days almost always follow the worst. 

Here's how Range builds members' investing strategies so they can stay invested through volatility and take part when markets rally:

  1. A portfolio built with your household’s complete context. Most investors manage their wealth in pieces, one person at a time. Range sees the big picture across you and your partner — so every investment account, retirement plan, equity comp grant, and real estate holding is working toward the goals you share.

  2. An asset allocation designed to keep you invested. A properly constructed portfolio means you’re never in a position where market volatility forces your hand. Investors who get hurt the most in downturns don't always have the wrong stocks - they sell at the wrong time.

  3. Automated tax-loss harvesting. Market pullbacks feel like setbacks, but they’re also opportunities. When prices drop, we might harvest losses in your taxable accounts that can be used to offset gains and reduce your tax bill, without changing your long-term positioning.

5. RAI PROMPT OF THE WEEK
Will 2026 Tax Law Changes Impact Your Finances?

As tax season comes to a close, Rai can help prepare for 2026 by determining how new tax laws could impact you. Range Tax Planner Skylar Frager asked: "Will the OBBBA tax law affect my finances for 2026?"

By analyzing your unique financial profile — looking at everything from your eligible tax credits to contribution limits — Rai can pinpoint the 2026 tax changes that matter for your financial picture and turn them into a concrete action plan.*

Before we go…

*Please see Range Advisory’s ADV Part 2A for important risk disclosures and risks related to the use of AI. Recommendations depend on the accuracy and completeness of the information you provide to us. Recommendations based on incorrect or incomplete data may not be accurate.

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