Potential peace in the Middle East, lower oil prices, a rally in stocks, gold, and silver were the main stories this week. Friday’s revelation by the BLS of -23,000 jobs in July ended the week on a mixed note.
Stocks
It was another banner week for stocks as earnings excitement met with potential peace in the Middle East.
Desite not making fresh all-time highs as did the Dow ans S&P, the NASDAQ powered ahead by 1316.77 points (+5.19%) in one of its best weekly pickup of the past two years. Money managers once again saw value in the AI trade, buying up recently beaten-down shares of companies like Meta Platforms (META, +6.36%), Taiwan Semi (TSM, +3.91), Advance Micro (ADM, +1.51%), and old standby, Nvidia (NVDA) which sprang forward 11.56% on the week.
In keeping with recent trends, speculation was rampant with gains in micro-cap and small-cap biotech, tech, and specialty sectors, with some energy and consumer services also in the mix.
Friday's surprise -23,000 jobs in the BLS Non-farm Payroll report shook up the financiers and assorted free money enthusiasts, believing that the Fed would be forced to lower interest rates rather than raise them in the face of dwindling employment opportunities. They may be on to something, though there remains the sticky inflation problem that prompted three of the 12 FOMC board members to vote in favor of a rate hike at the most recent meeting (July 28-29).
Just the thought of a weakening economy was good enough to send the NASDAQ more than one percent higher on Friday while the other indices were less enthusiastic, preferring to take profits or hold positions.
As is their privilege, Berkshire-Hathaway reported on Saturday, showing a 16% rise in earnings from a year ago and also reported that the company had become a net buyer of stocks, ending a period of 14 consecutive quarters as a net seller of equities. The company also began gradually spending the nearly $400 billion cash horde, putting $20 billion to work on stock re-purchases and various equity stakes. The company's top five holdings are American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola and Alphabet.
Earnings season is winding down, but there are still plenty of relevant companies yet to report. Here's a selection for the coming week:
Monday: (before open) Barrick (B), Ceva (CEVA); (after close) hims|hers (HIMS), GoPro (GPRO), Plug Power (PLUG)
Tuesday: (before open) Cardinal Health (CAH), Rackspace (RXT), Tencent Music (TME), Lithium Argentina (LAR); (after close) Supermicro Semi (SMCI), Cava (CAVA), CoreWeave (CRWV)
Wednesday: (before open) Brinker International (EAT), Amcor (AMCR); (after close) Cisco (CSCO), Enovix (ENVX), Cerebras (CBRS), Renovo (RNXT)
Thursday: (before open) JD.com (JD), MedWound (MDWD), Intuitive Machines (LUNR); (after close) Applied Materials (AMAT), PetMeds (PETS)
Friday: (before open) LanzaTech (LNZA), Outlook Therapeutics (OTLK), Suncrete (RMIX)
As congress takes its usual five-week holiday, data releases will be sparse in the week ahead with the CPI and PPI readings for July grabbing the most attention. Tuesday has the NFIB Business Optimism Index, ADP weekly employment change and Existing Home Sales.
Wednesday starts off with the CPI reading, with most of the speculation on the inflation reading to be unchanged or even slightly lower due to gas prices beginning to come down and food prices being steady. July PPI is reported Thursday along with initial and continuing Unemployment Claims, with Friday's reading of July Retail Sales capping off the week.
Relevant data releases can be found at Trading View.
Treasury Yield Curve Rates
| Date | 1 Mo | 1.5 mo | 2 Mo | 3 Mo | 4 Mo | 6 Mo | 1 Yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07/02/2026 | 3.70 | 3.73 | 3.81 | 3.82 | 3.91 | 3.98 | 3.96 |
| 07/10/2026 | 3.71 | 3.74 | 3.81 | 3.85 | 3.94 | 3.99 | 4.06 |
| 07/17/2026 | 3.73 | 3.75 | 3.80 | 3.85 | 3.91 | 3.96 | 4.01 |
| 07/24/2026 | 3.80 | 3.88 | 3.95 | 3.96 | 4.04 | 4.08 | 4.14 |
| 07/31/2026 | 3.78 | 3.80 | 3.85 | 3.83 | 3.92 | 3.98 | 4.08 |
| 08/07/2026 | 3.79 | 3.79 | 3.83 | 3.87 | 3.89 | 3.96 | 4.01 |
| Date | 2 Yr | 3 Yr | 5 Yr | 7 Yr | 10 Yr | 20 Yr | 30 Yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07/02/2026 | 4.14 | 4.16 | 4.23 | 4.35 | 4.49 | 4.99 | 4.98 |
| 07/10/2026 | 4.21 | 4.22 | 4.30 | 4.42 | 4.56 | 5.08 | 5.06 |
| 07/17/2026 | 4.18 | 4.21 | 4.28 | 4.40 | 4.55 | 5.07 | 5.06 |
| 07/24/2026 | 4.33 | 4.36 | 4.43 | 4.55 | 4.69 | 5.18 | 5.16 |
| 07/31/2026 | 4.28 | 4.34 | 4.45 | 4.59 | 4.75 | 5.28 | 5.27 |
| 08/07/2026 | 4.19 | 4.25 | 4.35 | 4.49 | 4.65 | 5.20 | 5.19 |
Yields on notes and bonds fell over the course of the week, with 10-year notes yielding 4.65%, down from 4.75% a week earlier. The 30-year bond dropped eight basis points, to 5.19%, though all longer-dated maturities are at elevated levels. The upshot from higher rates is the increased cost of borrowing by the federal government. With annual interest payments well over $1 trillion a year, everybody from debt slaves to Secretary Bessent would benefit from lower rates, particularly Republicans, needing a sound economy to avoid being cast to the wind in November.
The Senate did its part to secure victory for all incumbents by overwhelmingly passing a stop-gap funding bill that would keep the government solvent through early December. Neither side wants to go through another round of potentially shutting down the government. The public is sick of the theatrics and neither Democrats nor Republicans can claim that such a strategy has worked in any manner. For the most part, the general public tend to blame both sides and all politicians for creatng their own mess and then acting like they're cleaning it up.
Predictably, spreads narrowed, though insignificantly.
Spreads:
2s-10s
2026
1/2: +72
1/9: +64
1/16: +65
1/23: +64
1/30: +74
2/6: +72
2/13: +64
2/20: +60
2/27: +59
3/6: +59
3/13: +55
3/20: +51
3/27: +56
4/3: +51
4/10: +50
4/17: +55
4/24: +53
5/1: +51
5/8: +48
5/15: +50
5/22: +43
5/29: +47
6/5: +38
6/12: +37
6/18: +27
6/26: +31
7/2: +35
7/10: +35
7/17: +37
7/24: +36
7/31: +47
8/7: +36
Full Spectrum (30-days - 30-years)
2026
1/2: +114
1/9: +112
1/16: +108
1/23: +104
1/30: +115
2/6: +113
2/13: +97
2/20: +100
2/27: +90
3/6: +102
3/13: +115
3/20: +123
3/27: +124
4/3: +120
4/10: +124
4/17: +119
4/24: +122
5/1: +126
5/8: +124
5/15: +141
5/22: +135
5/29: +127
6/5: +130
6/12: +128
6/18: +121
6/26: +117
7/2: +128
7/10: +135
7/17: +133
7/24: +136
7/31: +149
8/7: +140
Oil/Gas
August WTI crude futures closed out the week at $77.08, down sharply from last week's closeout at $86.80 on the NY Mercantile Exchange. An agreement between Oman and Iran to direct traffic safely through the Strait of Hormuz, in addition to the muted response by the White House, offered an indication that the five-month-long period of hostility in the region may be coming to an end. While there are still multiple abrasions in the region, like the Houthis attacking Saudi infrastructure, that could derail any "deal" that emerges, the U.S. may have finally come to its senses over fighting wars it cannot win, which would effectively be a peace bomus for everybody.
Politics, being so craven and misused, may take a back seat as congress heads out of session for five weeks. That's also welcome relief and bodes well not only for U.S. interests but those of the rest of the world. It's apparent that the entire world is better off when politicians aren't involved and even a five-week hiatus from the posturing and poisoning is a positive development.
Average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline in the U.S. was $4.07 last week and $3.96 this week, the first notable drop in the price of petrol in weeks. The possibility of peace in the Middle East eases fears of higher gas prices which are squeezing already thin household and small business budgets. If the Strait of Hormuz becomes no longer a flashpoint, the price of oil should fall into the $60-65 range soon, taking gas prices down to more reasonable levels, around $2.75-3.00, and possibly lower, especially in the Southeast and Midwest.
Gas prices in key states:
California (leader): $5.58 (-0.08)
Washington: $5.11 (-0.02)
Indiana (lowest): $3.49 (-0.13)
Oklahoma (lowest): $3.49 (-0.15)
Mississippi: $3.56 (-0.07)
Florida: $3.85 (+0.05)
Illinois: $4.22 (-0.12)
Pennsylvania: $4.10 (-0.10)
New York: $4.14 (-0.05)
Maryland: $4.00 (-0.13)
Michigan: $4.12 (-0.24)
Texas: $3.51 (-0.05)
Georgia: $3.71 (-0.13)
On Sunday, April 9th, there are nineteen (19) states with average prices at or above $4.00, with twenty-nine (29) below the $4 threshold, not including Hawaii ($5.43) and Alaska ($4.76), with two above $5 (California and Washington). The Southeast has maintained as the lowest region overall over the past 10 weeks as a gallon of unleaded regular is averaging below $4.00 ($3.49-3.71) in places like Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, and Mississippi, with the Midwest region a close second, prices ranging from $3.66 to $3.85. Exceptions include Florida in the Southeast and Michigan and Illinois in the Midwest.
Bitcoin
This week: $65,185.72
Last week: $63,049.68
2 weeks ago: $64,633.18
6 months ago: $69,832.38
One year ago: $118,239.10
Five years ago: $47,103.48
The CLARITY act remains stalled in the Senate, as the elite in government take a five week vacation.
Non-passage of the CLARITY act before the recess is widely acknowledged as meaning it will wait until the next congress convenes in 2027. Not that it matters, however, since crypto is all fantasy-currency, worse even than Federal Reserve Notes.
Precious Metals
Gold:Silver Ratio: 68.29; last week: 70.23
Futures, per COMEX continuous contracts:
Gold price 7/10: $4,128.90
Gold price 7/17: $4,023.00
Gold price 7/24: $4,055.70
Gold price 7/31: $4,098.60
Gold price 8/7: $4,401.30
Silver price 7/10: $60.30
Silver price 7/17: $56.22
Silver price 7/24: $58.49
Silver price 7/31: $57.78
Silver price 8/7: $63.80
SPOT: (stockcharts.com)
Gold 7/10: $4,119.70
Gold 7/17: $4,016.89
Gold 7/24: $4,052.00
Gold 7/31: $4,042.00
Gold 8/7: $4,340.72
Silver 7/10: $59.85
Silver 7/17: $55.91
Silver 7/24: $58.19
Silver: 7/31: $57.55
Silver 8/7: $63.56
At long last, precious metals made a breakout move in the most recent trading. Still reliant on London gold and silver fixes and spot pricing, the gains this week look to be marking an important shift in how precious metals are valued, pitting London, Chicago, and New York's long-standing derivative mechanisms against Shanghai's momentum toward pricing gold and silver based physical trades.
These are divergent trends which threaten not only the rigged exchanges at the LBMA and COMEX, but have begun to hedge against the U.S. dollar itself, especially in terms of gold. As gold has emerged as the one, indisputable central bank trusted asset, the desire to hold U.S. treasuries continues to wane. Most Asian countries prefer gold over U.S. paper promises, especially, Russia, China, and India, where, not coincidentally, most of the gold in the world is either mined or stored.
Asia has been flexing the gold muscle for roughly the last 20 years, and, with China setting up vaulting facilities in Singapore, Hong, Kong, Dubai, and elsewhere, the trend toward physical assets over fiat paper is now visible and growing at an accelerated pace.
There's little doubt that the U.S. and London interests will do all they can to thwart the goals of BRICS and related interests, so it's likely to be a bumpy ride over the next 5-10 years in terms of currencies and valuations, though it's obvious now to all that the new money will end up being the same as the old money: namely, gold.
Silver will have its place in both the industrial and monetary spheres. Judging by the movement of the gold:silver ratio this week, silver, with its dual function, may very well lead the way forward. After all, gold's decline was from $5,500 to roughly $4,000, while silver was effectively cut in half, from $120 per ounce to as low as $57. As gold heads back toward all-time highs, silver may "jump the shark" by advancing faster and with more volatility. While central banks aren't holding much of it due to its weight and storage requirements as compared to gold, silver remains a means by which individuals and smaller investors can latch onto the precious metals bandwagon and protect some of their wealth.
Attributed to Norm Franz, a former monetary economist, investment company president, ordained minister, and Bible teacher, the following oft-repeated idiom appears in his 2001 book Money & Wealth in the New Millennium:
Gold is the money of kings;
silver is the money of gentlemen;
barter is the money of peasants;
but debt is the money of slaves.
Couldn't agree more.
Here are the most recent prices for common one ounce gold and silver items sold on eBay (free shipping included, numismatics excluded):
| Item/Price | Low | High | Average | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 oz silver coin: | 69.79 | 76.00 | 73.04 | 73.09 |
| 1 oz silver bar: | 69.00 | 84.65 | 75.08 | 73.40 |
| 1 oz gold coin: | 4425.00 | 4711.39 | 4588.38 | 4588.98 |
| 1 oz gold bar: | 4497.70 | 4669.28 | 4562.33 | 4545.71 |
The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) took a quantum leap forward, closing the week at $73.65, an upside move of $7.55 per troy ounce from the August 2nd price of $66.10.
WEEKEND WRAP
Could the five-month Middle East escapade by the U.S. military possibly be coming to an end? Latest developments seem to point in that direction, though this same story has been trotted out too many times before for anybody to take the White House and the media seriously. Generally speaking, the U.S. backing off in the region would be a very positive development and one that is long overdue.
If the U.S. decides to "declare victory and go home" it might mark a turning point in global geo-politics, one in which the United States prefers to negotiate rather than instigate. It's a hopeful dream, but, as long as there is money to be made from killing other people, it's not likely to happen soon enough. The politicians involved are currently more engaged by upcoming elections, with the midterms less than three months away.
Maybe that's what needs to be done. Have elections every couple of months or even weeks so the politicians won't have time to scheme up any further disasters. Probably not a plan, but one can dream.
Probably the most positive development of the week was a return ot some sanity in precious metals markets. With the massive loss of purchasing power of the U.S. dollar, to say nothing of the yen, euro, pound and other fiat currencies, a return to gold as the ultimate collateral and store of wealth may be a painful adjustment for many, but a long term boon for society.
At the Close, Friday, August 7, 2026:
Dow: 54,036.93, +151.83 (+0.28%)
NASDAQ: 26,690.62, +342.26 (+1.30%)
S&P 500: 7,757.64, +47.68 (+0.62%)
NYSE Composite: 24,595.24, +111.18 (+0.45%)
For the Week:
Dow: +1551.90 (+2.96%)
NASDAQ: +1316.77 (+5.19%)
S&P 500: +267.92 (+3.58)
NYSE Composite: +487.69 (+2.02%)
Dow Transports: +466.79 (+2.22%)
Disclaimer: Information disseminated on this site should not be construed as investment advice. Downtown Magazine Inc., Money Daily and it's owners, affiliates and/or employees are not investment advisors and do not offer specific investment advice. All investments have risk. You should consult a professional investment advisor or stock broker or use your individual judgement when making investment decisions. By viewing this site, you hold harmless Downtown Magazine Inc., Money Daily, its owners, affiliates and employees against any and all liability. Copyright 2026, Downtown Magazine Inc., all rights reserved.
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