$IBM(IBM.US) $Paypal(PYPL.US) $HSBC(HSBC.US) $JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF(JEPQ.US) $iShares Russell 2000(IWM.US)

After cross-validation, the soft landing narrative is currently barely holding, but cracks are widening:

High copper prices, credit spreads not expanding, and relatively stable corporate profits—these are all evidence that a soft landing is "still there." However, renewed oil price strength combined with tariff pressures is shaking the logic that "inflation is dead"; VIX for March exceeded 21, and the Consumer Confidence Index fell to 56.4, indicating a shift towards pessimism in sentiment.

This set of assets is logically a beneficiary of a soft landing: IBM's enterprise AI deployment is stable, PayPal's transaction volume has good resilience, HSBC is a barometer for global macro, JEPQ uses option income to smooth volatility, and IWM bets on small-cap stocks catching up under expectations of monetary easing.

The biggest risk is IWM—it's most sensitive to interest rate cut expectations, but the Fed's current rate cut timeline has been repeatedly delayed, with the probability of a cut at the April FOMC meeting close to 0%. A flat yield curve means long-term rates can't come down, so IWM's catch-up logic will be continuously delayed. If you want to hold this set, JEPQ's monthly dividend (just paid $0.559 in April) is a good tool for averaging down holding costs 🎯