Small-cap stocks tend to outperform their larger brethren over time. After several years of underperformance, it looked like the little guys were going to start winning again. Inflation was moderating and the Federal Reserve was hinting it would cut interest rates at least three times this year. Beginning last October, the performance of the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks started pulling away from that of the S&P 500. But it wouldn’t last. Runaway government spending drove inflation higher and Fed c ...