Also in Weekend Reads: A positive case for the bond market, how prediction markets can pull you in, and a warning to those who benefit from GLP-1s

The S&P 500 keeps setting record highs, even as a high percentage of its component stocks trade far below their 52-week highs.

The S&P 500 has gained 13.9% this year and hit a record high this past week - but 41% of its component stocks are down at least 20% from their 52-week highs, according to data provided by FactSet.

MarketWatch's Joseph Adinolfi looked deeper into the S&P 500 SPX to explain how the index has become disconnected from what is actually happening in the stock market.

More coverage of the stock market:

-- This rare stock-market divide means an elevated chance of a big surge - or a deep plunge

-- Stocks are increasingly their own best hedge. This chart shows why.

-- Rising yields are quietly crashing the stock market's earlier winners of 2026

-- The 'Magnificent Seven' are now big enough to move the economy. Why that could be a problem.

A sign of strength for the bond market

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note BX:TMUBMUSD10Y is the benchmark for long-term interest rates, but Joy Wiltermuth and Tomi Kilgore reported on how this week's auction of 30-year Treasury bonds BX:TMUBMUSD30Y underscored stronger demand for U.S. debt than may have been expected after the recent selloff.

More bond-market coverage:

-- Options traders are betting on a dramatic drop in interest rates

-- Fed's minutes show no appetite for a series of interest-rate hikes

-- This part of the bond market offers compelling yields with minimal risk

-- How to provide guaranteed retirement income while paying no commissions

GLP-1s can help with your back and your knees - but you may need to tweak your diet

Losing weight can reduce back and knee pain that people experience as they get older. But even if you are being helped tremendously by weight-loss medication, you need to look further into your nutritional health to prevent other problems, as Jaimy Lee explained.

Related: Taking Ozempic and worried about vision loss? This test can help you understand your risk.

How prediction markets target you - and how to cut your risk if you participate

Don't Short Yourself is a MarketWatch's new weekly newsletter that offers smart tips to help you earn and grow your money.

This week in the Don't Short Yourself newsletter, Genna Contino described Kalshi's attempt to drum up interest in betting on who will win "Dancing with the Stars." She explained in detail how prediction-market bets work, and provided tips on how to participate without losing your shirt.

How to protect aging parents from fraud

If you are worried about an aging parent's safety, you might easily explain to them that it is time to stop driving. But taking away the car keys might be easier than taking measures to prevent the elderly from falling victim to fraud. A person suffering the onset of cognitive decline might easily fall prey to fraud attempts that target them through their smartphones. Beth Pinsker wrote about various approaches to limiting or monitoring phone access to protect your parents.

Taking from and giving to your AI agent

Grok is an agentic AI app developed by SpaceXAI.

Christine Ji and Hannah Pedone explained how people are making use of new AI agents to analyze their spending, lower their costs and make other moves to improve their financial health. In return, the companies developing the technology - such as Meta Platforms (META), OpenAI and SpaceX (SPCX) - collect a lot of data. Who is the bigger winner from this arrangement?

More tech coverage:

-- As AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile shares fall, Wall Street assesses the growing SpaceX threat

-- AI chip stocks wobble even as investors get clarity on a key OpenAI issue

-- The next big AI battle is all about cuteness

-- These 5 chip stocks are cheaper than the S&P 500 - and offer faster growth

Could Florida set a trend for lower property taxes?

On Election Day, Florida's ballot Amendment 3, if passed with 60% of the vote, will raise the state's homestead exemption dramatically over the next two years. A typical homeowner will save thousands of dollars a year on property taxes under the plan. Aarthi Swaminathan and Andrew Keshner broke down the biggest winners and losers if the amendment passes.

Real-estate coverage: This city saw 1 in 3 home sellers slash their asking price in September to attract reluctant buyers.

A stagnant - and dangerous - job market

Jeffrey Bartash dug into the latest unemployment figures to describe a "low-hire, low-fire" job market.

But you had better be able to adapt in a shifting employment landscape, one in which corporate executives might be under more pressure than ever to deliver. On Thursday, PepsiCo (PEP) CEO Ramon Laguarta said his management team was taking an "aggressive" approach to expenses and that "everything that is not related to growth will not be part of the company."

Advice from the Moneyist

Quentin Fottrell is The Moneyist.

This week, Quentin Fottrell - The Moneyist - helped a woman who has no children and is being pressured to change her will to leave money to her aunt's children. The aunt has been good to the woman, so the situation isn't simple.

More from The Moneyist:

-- How people with high incomes have their mortgage loan applications denied

-- 'I feel like a loser': I check my ETFs every day. They're up one minute, down the next. Should I be worried?

-- I'm a 68-year-old widow and give money to my two adult children. Am I putting my retirement at risk?

Want more from MarketWatch? Sign up for this and other newsletters to get the latest news plus advice on personal finance.

-Philip van Doorn