S&P 500 — Tracks the S&P 500 via SPY ETF — 500 largest U.S. companies by market cap. The primary benchmark for broad U.S. equity market performance and global investor risk appetite. | Nasdaq — Tracks the Nasdaq-100 via QQQ ETF — the 100 largest non-financial companies on Nasdaq. The leading proxy for technology sector sentiment and growth stock valuations. | Gold — Tracks gold bullion via GLD ETF. A classic safe-haven asset — tends to rise during geopolitical uncertainty, inflation fears, or broad U.S. dollar weakness. | WTI Oil — Tracks West Texas Intermediate crude oil via USO ETF. A global barometer for economic growth expectations, energy supply shocks, and geopolitical risk — particularly in oil-producing regions. | VIX — VIX proxy via VIXY ETF, which tracks short-term VIX futures. The CBOE Volatility Index measures the implied volatility priced into S&P 500 options — essentially how much fear or uncertainty the market expects over the next 30 days. Often called Wall Street's "fear gauge." | 10Y UST — 10-Year U.S. Treasury bond proxy via IEF ETF (7–10 year maturities). Price moves inversely to the 10Y yield — the world's most important interest rate benchmark, which anchors mortgage rates, corporate borrowing costs, and equity valuations globally. When IEF falls, yields are rising. | —
NAV News  ·  Editorial Team

Authors' Corner

The perspectives behind NAV News. Our writers connect the threads between global events, monetary policy, and capital markets — because context is the analysis.

Editorial Leadership
Nathan Scott Gardner
Nathan Scott Gardner
Chief Editing Officer
Founder, NAV News
Education & Credentials
B.S. Business Administration Minor in Economics
California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo  ·  Class of 2024
Orfalea College of Business Cal Poly SLO
Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Connecting Markets to the Events That Shape Them

Nathan Scott Gardner is the founder and Chief Editing Officer of NAV News, where he sets editorial direction and leads the synthesis of global events into actionable market perspective. His conviction — that financial markets and world events can never be fully understood in isolation — is the thesis on which NAV News was built.

A 2024 graduate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Nathan earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Minor in Economics from the Orfalea College of Business. His academic training sharpened his ability to analyze business structures, macroeconomic dynamics, and the forces that move capital — a foundation that directly informs the analytical rigor behind NAV's editorial work.

"The market always prices in what it thinks it knows. The edge is understanding what it doesn't."

At NAV News, Nathan's editorial focus centers on the intersection of geopolitics, central bank policy, and equity and currency markets — synthesizing complex developments into clear, credible narratives for finance-literate readers. He writes not to recap headlines, but to answer the harder question: what does this mean for how markets price risk?

His approach to analysis draws on a deep belief that macro context — from sovereign debt dynamics to geopolitical realignments — shapes market behavior in ways that single-asset coverage consistently misses. NAV News exists to fill that gap.

Areas of Coverage
Global Macro Monetary Policy Geopolitics & Markets Equity Markets Fixed Income FX & Commodities Central Banks Emerging Markets
Articles by Nathan Scott Gardner
Analysis  ·  Credit Markets
Walking Into the Bubble: Private Credit, the Ghost of 1929, and the Price Nobody Can Name
March 22, 2026  ·  8 min read
Analysis  ·  Hedge Funds
Two Edges of the Same Blade: Hedge Funds, Unchecked Power, and the Markets That Need Them
March 25, 2026  ·  10 min read
Geopolitics  ·  Space
Is This the Second Move? Artemis II, the Space Chess Question, and a Mustang Among the Stars
April 1, 2026  ·  12 min read

More perspectives
from Nathan, in queue.