Democrats Sweep to Power in Congress, Take House and Senate Majorities; What Comes Next?

Editor's Note: Apologies for missing Tuesday's (November 3) post of Money Daily. We suffered a breakdown of a key piece of equipment (range extender) which put us out of business for the day. It's now working, but we are actively pursuing a permanent replacement. This was probably the first post we've missed in 10 years. - Fearless Rick

Moments before the opening bell on Wednesday, stock futures were rocketing higher, with Dow futures up more than 1,100 points, the S&P ahead by 90, and the NASDAQ not quite as delighted with Tuesday's midterms results, up just about 100 points.

Tuesday's nationwide proxy referendum on President Trump's policies produced a coast-to-coast rout by the Democrats, repudiating Trump's tariffs, handling of the economy and inflation, and the war against Iran as the key issues.

The U.S. Senate completely flipped, with the makeup, when the new Senate is sworn in the first week of January, consisting of 54 Democrats and 44 Republicans, with two independents, setting the stage for possible impeachment hearings in the House, which will be controlled by the Democrats, currently holding a confirmed 228 seats, well more than the minimum for a majority (218). Democrats will control the executive branch in at least 28 states, with major victories in Georgia, Texas, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, and elsewhere. Democrats lead in Kansas and Alaska, which, as of this writing, have not been officially declared.

The election results clearly demonstrate that the electorate across the country was unhappy with Republican leadership and voted for a change. While Democrats may or may not remedy the current ills, the evidence points to massive dissatisfaction with Trump's agenda and a Republican-controlled congress acting as lapdogs to the president, doing little to nothing to curb his extreme policies.

Trump has already made the claim that he and his radical policies were not the deciding factor in the "blue wave" that occurred on Tuesday, claiming that had he been on the ballot, Republicans would have won in a landslide. Sorry, but he's dead wrong on that note. It was exactly his policies that produced a Democrat landslide, and, as usual, the once-populist president turned abject loser refuses to accept reality.

This is the result when a president fails to keep his campaign promises. In the run-up to his 2024 electoral victory, Trump promised lower inflation, lower gas prices, cutting government spending, closing the borders, removal of illegal immigrants, release of the Epstein files, no new wars, and an end to the war in Ukraine. On nearly all of those issues, he's failed miserably. Only on closing the borders and deportation of illegals has he been somewhat true to his word. While the borders have been almost completely closed to foreigners, his ICE squads have not deported nearly the numbers Trump promised on the campaign trail. Roughly just ove a million illegals have been deported and estimates are that anywhere from 300,000 to 1.5 million illegals have "self-deported,", i.e., left on their own will. There are still between 20 and 30 million illegal immigrants in the United States, so ICE, though they've managed to deport many known criminals and gang members, has barely scratched the surface.

The Ukraine conflict has dragged on for the nearly two years of Trump's presidency with no end in sight. Trump, with prodding by Israel, started a conflict with Iran that has caused a major disruption in oil, natural gas, and other critical elements in the energy and agriculture sectors, raised crude oil prices above $100/barrel worldwide and gas at the pump remains at a national average above $4.00/gallon. Inflation has not been tamed. Food prices have increased during Trump's presidency and he's done nothing to help consumers make ends meet. Affordability in house remains a key issue. Most Americans are unable to purchase an existing or new home because prices are at extremes and interest rates are on the rise.

On spending, the president promoted and approved a fiscal year 2025 deficit of about $1.85 trillion, equal to roughly 6.3% of GDP, with his “One Big, Beautiful Bill" in 2025, which extended the overspending by congress at record levels. For the U.S. government fiscal year 2026, when the final figures are computed (ended September 30, 2026), the deficit will be roughly another $1.8 trillion. The president's highly-touted DOGE initiative, headed by Elon Musk, turned into a grand fiasco, saving taxpayers less than $20 billion and resulting in a negligible reduction in the federal workforce.

Perhaps the most overlooked and under-reported issue on the minds of voters were the Epstein files, some of which were revealed, mostly with heavy redactions, and the entire investigation has gone nowhere and has been abandoned. Trump himself is identified repeatedly in the Epstein files. A New York Times review found that Trump is mentioned more than 38,000 times in the redacted Epstein-related files released publicly by the Justice Department as of early 2026, with his name appearing in over 5,300 individual documents examined by the newspaper. This alone, and Trump's stone-walling on the issue, was enough to keep many MAGA loyalists away from the polls or switch their votes to Democrat candidates. The hubris and dishonesty displayed by President Trump regarding the Epstein files and other dodgy practices - linking his tweets or "Truths" to insder trading on oil futures and in the stock market - were, beneath the surface, a key element of Tuesday's tsunami for the blue team.

What happens next in the early going will be a great deal of finger-pointing over who was responsible for the backlash against Republicans and most fingers will point directly at President Trump, and that's just on the Republican side, which faces the unpleasant prospect of being in the minority for the next two years and possibly longer. Democrats now have new faces that could end up as presidential candidates in 2028. Forget the old names of Kamala Harris or California Governor Gavin Newsom. Rising stars like Georgia Senator John Ossoff or North Carolina's Roy Cooper will be getting more attention as the presidential race evolves. Republicans are stuck with unattractive choices between Marco Rubio and the distant Vice President, J.D. Vance.

In order to reclaim the White House, Trump will need to actually o work for the American people by cutting spending, ending the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, and getting inflation under control control, though he’s unlikely to initiate action on those issues, having instead to be pushed to make the right decisions with impeachment hanging over his head, a tactic the Democrats will no doubt use as a strong negotiating tool to tone down White House policies and Executive Orders.

As far as Wall Street is concerned, Tuesday's election landslide by Democrats puts politics on a back burner, for now, with the consensus understanding that the federal government will be gridlocked for at least the next two years. Such a condition allows businesses to plan and operate without much thought towards government regulations, tax changes, and new legislation. Gridlock in Washington is generally seen as a panacea for big business, allowing executives to make decisions devoid of political influence, though it may not be so cut and dry, as Democrats may have enough votes from their own party and defectors from the other side to override presidential vetos. In that regard, there may not be much in the way of a deadlocked government, but a runaway, chaotic rush by Democrats to overturn Trump's policies and replace them with their own, whatever those might turn out to be.

One possible case is a lame duck president with little power to pursue the agendas he's built up during the first two years of his term in office, though the rhetoric from the Democrats seems hardly capable of constraining themselves from complete overthrow of the status quo. Their huge victory on Tuesday may be seen as a mandate to throw the current government overboard, lean toward impeachment or at least the threat of it and begin to enact legislation that reverses Trump-inspired executive orders and policies.

It remains to be seen to what extent Democrats will go to ensure their victory is not wasted. The media will be in a frenzy from now until the new congress is sworn in in January, 2027, trying to flesh out details of the new regime's plans. It will be sometime in the first quarter of next year before most of what's to come will be realized and the effects will last through the next few years. There is a distinct possibility that tax hikes on individuals and corporations and more stringent regulations on businesses will be part of a new package put together by Democrat leadership. What they'll probably be saying is that individual rights will be at the forefront of their agenda, but the reality is likely to be less so. Democrats will likely push to end the wars, but that's going to be a hard sell in many quarters. At best, Americans can hope that the Democrats won't screw things up any more than the Republicans already have.

The country is going to be beset with a uni-party that will do little to cut spending and lower the deficit, replace aging infrastructure or promote the general welfare of the population. In other words, change will not be directed at the most pressing issues because they're generally unfixable at this point. Whether the country is led by Democrats or Republicans matters little. They all sleep in the same bed of special interests and the people be damned.

The best outcome from this for President Trump is that he doesn't have to come up with the $5,000 he promised in the event of a Republican win. Being that it wouldn't be his money doled out, it's likely he simply didn't care.

For now, until the end of the year, it may be safe to dabble in stocks, but there certainly seems to be a wheelbarrow full of problems ahead and neither party is likely to fix the broken system.

At the Close, Tuesday, November 3, 2026:
Dow: 51,786.72, -197.26 (-0.38%)
NASDAQ: 25,372.01, +207.65 (+0.83%)
S&P 500: 7,568.92, +27.52 (+0.36%)
NYSE Composite: 24,307.04, -65.03 (-0.27%)

WEEKEND WRAP: Stocks Take Severe Friday Beating as Election Deadline Approaches; Gold, Silver Fall to Lowest Levels in a Year; Elections Loom Large

Was Friday's stock market washout the beginning of something bigger and more structural or was it just a scramble to cash out profits in advance of the midterms?

Either way, tech took the hardest hit, with the NASDAQ falling nearly three percent, something that doesn't happen very often. On a percentage basis, the 2.86% loss was the 304th worst all-time, which when considered in the context of the NASDAQ's long history, is pretty bad. The October 30 drop was the second-largest of the year for both the Composite and Top 100 indices, following June 5ths decline. On a point basis, it was the 7th or 8th worst (Wikipedia has not updated its page). It was a significant event.

Investors and traders are becoming more and more stressed as the midterms approach. The latter part of the week, after the votes are counted and the future makeup of the House and Senate are determined, will eiter bring a sigh of relief or a rush for the exits. Monday and Tuesday will likely be nervous sessions with the real fireworks reserved for Wednesday and possibly a delayed reaction Thursday and Friday.

Money flows in week ahead will reveal who's swimming upstream and who's been swimming naked.

Stocks

Market action on Friday turned a positive week into a loser. Happening at the vey end of the month made Friday's erasure of value even more ominous.

The week ahead features a solid load of earnings reports making the rounds, including some Mag7 stocks and Dow components:

Monday (before open): Napco ((NSSC), Marriott (MAR), Estee Lauder (EL), Tower Semi (TSEM); (after close) Apple (AAPL), Palantir (PLTR), Roku (ROKU), Fabrinet (FN)

Tuesday (before open): Fiserv (FISV), Apollo (APO), Shopify (SHOP), Pfizer (PFE), Marathon (MPC), Eaton (ETN); (after close) Advanced Microdevices (AMD), Supermicro (SMCI), Booking Holdings (BKNG), Hecla Mining (HL), Amgen (AMGN) Avis Budget Group (CAR)

Wednesday (before open): McDonald's (MCD), Riot (RIOT), Uber (UBER), CVS Health (CVS); (after close): Coherent (COHR), Arm (ARM), Dutch Bros. (BROS), Qualcomm (QCOM)

Thursday, (before open): Cardnal Health (CAH), Core Scientific (CORZ), Cigna (CI), Molson Coors (TAP); (after close): Kratos (KTOS, Cloudfare (NET), Air B&B (ABNB)

Friday, (before open): Charter Communications (CHTR), Humana (HUM), Bloomin' Brands (BLMN), Under Armour (UAA)

It being the first week of November, Election Day is Tuesday and the October Non-Farm Employment figures are out Friday. JOLTS is released on Tuesday along with Foctory Orders for October. ADP releases its proprietaryb Employment Report for the private sector on Wednesday and October ISM Services reading is the same day. On Thursday, Challenger, Gray, and Christmas report on job cuts for October.

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
09/25/2026	4.04	4.14	4.20	4.24	4.32	4.33	4.50
10/02/2026	4.04	4.09	4.11	4.19	4.26	4.27	4.46
10/09/2026	4.13	4.13	4.13	4.25	4.29	4.32	4.47
10/16/2026	4.12	4.14	4.17	4.26	4.32	4.34	4.46
10/23/2026	4.11	4.11	4.16	4.22	4.30	4.30	4.44
10/30/2026	4.06	4.09	4.16	4.16	4.18	4.25	4.36

Date	2 Yr	3 Yr	5 Yr	7 Yr	10 Yr	20 Yr	30 Yr
09/25/2026	4.81	4.94	4.98	5.06	5.17	5.54	5.49
10/02/2026	4.83	4.96	5.06	5.17	5.28	5.67	5.63
10/09/2026	4.80	4.89	5.02	5.13	5.24	5.65	5.60
10/16/2026	4.74	4.82	4.89	4.98	5.09	5.47	5.43
10/23/2026	4.69	4.75	4.82	4.89	5.00	5.37	5.33
10/30/2026	4.56	4.65	4.71	4.80	4.94	5.34	5.31

Yields dropped for a fourth straight week, mostly thanks to stock market turmoil and the resultant flight to safety. The 30-year bond yield dropped to 5.31%, with the 10% breaking below 5.00%, though only by 0.06%. Spreads held fairly steady, with full spectrum at +125 and 2s-10s with a bit of a spike at +38.

Since the FOMC chose to hold rates steady at 3.75-4.00%, bond traders took the opportunity to buy in prior to the midterms, after which things may get a bit dicey. Everybody is on pins and needles between inflation concerns, war concerns, and wonder over what happens on Tuesday with the midterm elections. By the end of the week ahead, there may be more clarity in markets, though there's no consensus about anything at this point. Opinions run the gamut.

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: +46
8/14: +51
8/21: +50
8/28: +39
9/4: +41
9/11: +33
9/18: +25
9/25: +36
10/2: +45
10/9: +44
10/16: +35
10/23: +31
10/30: +38

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
8/14: +146
8/21: +147
8/28: +138
9/4: +145
9/11: +142
9/18: +137
9/25: +145
10/2: +159
10/9: +147
10/16: +131
10/23: +122

Oil/Gas

Oil prices moderated with elections and a possible resumption of the war with Iran after the midterms were in focus. Brent closed out the week above $117/barrel and WTI crude futures at $102.95, nearly unmoved from the prior week. The Trump administration's attempts at controlling the price of oil and gas has been hit and miss. Oil prices are higher, but gas prices have come down slightly the past few weeks.

Average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline in the U.S. was $4.28 last week and $4.12 this week, though this brief respite is unlikely to last, given the higher price of crude. Gas at the pump has been - by whatever means - generally lower the past four weeks despite the rising price of crude oil.

Gas prices in key states:

California (leader): $5.86 (-0.14)
Washington: $5.16 (-0.12)
Indiana: $3.81 (-0.18)
Oklahoma: $3.71 (-0.13)
Louisiana: $3.64 (-0.09)
Mississippi: $3.72 (-0.05)
Florida: $4.82 (-0.27)
Illinois: $4.71 (-0.18)
Pennsylvania: $4.43 (0.00)
New York: $4.31 (-0.03)
Maryland: $3.97 (+0.01)
Michigan: $4.51 (-0.29)
Texas: $3.59 (-0.09)
Georgia: $3.53 (-0.08)
North Carolina $3.35 (lowest) (-0.11)

On Sunday, November 1, there are thirty (30) states with average prices at or above $4.00, with eighteen (18) below the $4 threshold, not including Hawaii ($5.60) and Alaska ($4.69), with three above $5 (California, Nevada, and Washington). The Southeast has maintained as the lowest region overall over the past 18 weeks, with prices generally below $4.00 ($3.35-3.72) in places like Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, and Mississippi, with the Midwest region second, prices slightly higher, from $3.81 to $4.10. Exceptions include Florida in the Southeast and Michigan and Illinois in the Midwest.

Northeast states, north of Delaware and Maryland all the way to Maine, continue to average well above $4.00.

Bitcoin

This week: $77,712.22
Last week: $80,529.22
2 weeks ago: $81,297.99
6 months ago: $78,409.63
One year ago: $110,487.10
Five years ago: $61,517.57

Crypto has been getting beaten down substantially for the past three weeks. Bitcoin simply doesn't have enough penetration into currency markets to matter at all.

Precious Metals

Gold:Silver Ratio: 78.84 last week: 74.25;

Futures, per COMEX continuous contracts:

Gold price 10/2: $4,172.10
Gold price 10/9: $4,220.30
Gold price 10/16: $4,186.70
Gold price 10/23: $4,010.00
Gold price 9/25: $3,884.90

Silver price 10/2: $60.71
Silver price 10/9: $61.11
Silver price 10/16: $57.13
Silver price 10/23: $53.96
Silver price 9/25: $49.13

SPOT: (Kitco)
Gold 10/2: $4,141.90
Gold 10/9: $4,193.60
Gold 10/16: $4,164.10
Gold 10/23: $3,994.90
Gold 10/30: $3,873.81

Silver 10/2: $60.39
Silver 10/9: $60.70
Silver 10/16: $56.87
Silver 10/23: $53.80
Silver 10/30: $49.13

Until the midterms are over at the least and the December 9 FOMC policy rate decision is concluded, gold and silver will likely remain under pressure, as they were this week past. This week's declines were particularly brutal, sending both metals to their lowest levels in a year, wiping out much of the gains from 2025.

Essentially, precious metals prices controlled by the derivative markets of the LBMA and Comex futures are a public crime, though there's no official policing policy to prevent the continuation of deceptive, price-rigging practices that have become routine in commodities markets, the latest iteration of such underhanded moves being played out in oil prices suppression.

With any luck, the midterm results will foment change in attitudes, though nobody's holding their breath awaiting a difference in trading and governance policies. The gold and silver futures markets consist of thievery at its very worst. The eventual unwind is likely to be epic. Futures markets should be abolished as they serve only the purposes of speculators and currency manipulators.

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:	57.43	76.46	62.13	60.81
1 oz silver bar:	57.15	66.15	62.03	62.57
1 oz gold coin:	4017.26	4191.10	4103.65	4106.68
1 oz gold bar:	4037.86	4197.34	4088.12	4070.16

The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) fell again during the week, dropping to $61.89, a loss of $4.15 per troy ounce from the October 18 price of $66.04.

WEEKEND WRAP

The politics and narrative delivery from the incumbent party has been brutal in this election season. Thankfully, the voting will be concluded on Tuesday and the world can begin unwinding what's left of developed economies. What's ahead is not expected to be very pretty nor appealing to most normal citizens in the U.S. and Europe. This week's tech collapse served notice that there is almost surely hard times ahead and that the politicians and banking interest are clearly not putting the good of various nations - especially the U.S. - first.

At the Close, Friday, October 30, 2026:
Dow: 51,770.31, -572.25 (-1.09%)
NASDAQ: 25,437.00, -747.73 (-2.86%)
S&P 500: 7,580.07, -140.32 (-1.82%)
NYSE Composite: 24,293.09, -224.13 (-0.91%)

For the Week:
Dow: -444.85 (-0.85%)
NASDAQ: -518.34 (-2.00%)
S&P 500: -43.61 (-0.57%)
NYSE Composite: +175.82 (+0.73%)
Dow Transports: +287.42 (+1.43%)

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.

Intel and Amazon Earnings Reports Send Shock Waves Through Tech Sector as Midterm Narrative Begins to Crumble and Bubbles Pop

On Thursday, it was Google (Alphabet, GOOGL) dragging down the NASDAQ, sending a stern warning to the rest of the market that stock prices have been and continue to be extraordinarily overpriced and a reckoning with value was on the way.

Sentiment on Wall Street - not contained to only AI hyperscalers and chip-makers - has turned downright ugly late Thursday into Friday morning after Amazon (AMZN) and Intel (INTC) reported third quarter earnings results after the bell.

Amazon reported third-quarter revenue of $201.9 billion and GAAP EPS of $1.89, both below Wall Street consensus estimates. Massive infrastructure investments on AI buildout have weighed heavily on the company's liquidity, resulting in a reported quarterly negative free cash flow outflow of approximately $42.4 billion. The company reiterated its 2026 commitment of $220 billion to support AI data centers. Investors were not at all humored, sending shares down initially b more than 10%. In Friday's pre-market trade, Amazon is down between six and seven percent.

Intel absolutely floored the street, delivering adjusted non-GAAP earnings of $0.52 per share, easily surpassing Wall Street expectations around $0.40 per share, but future guidance projected revenue between $15.0 billion and $16.0 billion, well below the $17.08 billion expected. Projected adjusted EPS of $0.25 also severely missed consensus estimates of roughly $0.44, citing continued weakness in the personal computer market, where Intel chips are pre-eminent. Heading toward Friday's opening bell, shares of the chip-maker are down 25%.

As a reminder of the evils of fascism afoot:

In August 2025, the U.S. federal government became Intel’s largest single shareholder by purchasing 433.3 million newly issued shares at $20.47 per share, representing a 9.9% ownership of the company.

How's that working out for taxpayers who never had a say in that deal? Just wonderful. America deserves to own 10% of more shitty companies that are overburdened with debt and about to go bankrupt. It's a good thing the government bought into this failing enterprise near the multi-year lows and drove the stock to unsustainable and simply irrational highs earlier this year. The speculators who drove the price have likely already cashed in the chips (pun intended) and moved on to greener pasture. The government will be stuck with a company worth less than $15 per share by the end of 2027, if not sooner. The collapse of this and other tech companies is already well underway and gaining momentum.

Other companies reporting after the close Thursday include:
Reddit (RDDT) - Top and bottom beats, but CEO Steve Huffman said search traffic declined by more than 1 million referrals on average per week during October, sending shares down 20% pre-market
Twillio (TWLO) - EPS, revenue beats, stock down nearly 20% on valuation concerns
Rivian (RIVN) - Solid EPS and revenue sends e-vehicle maker up 6% (adjusted loss of 48 cents)
Starbucks (SBUX) - EPS beat, revenue in-line, stock is flat pre-market
Sandisk (SNDK) - Beats top and bottom, announces 8-for-1 stock split, shares down 8% on valuation, future guidance concerns
Roblox (RBLX) - EPS -0.32 send stock down 17%

Friday morning, before open:
Regeneron (REGN) - EPS, revenue beats, shares up 8%
AutoNation (AN) - EPS, revenue mostly in-line, shares up 2-3%
AstraZeneca (AZN) - Beat top and bottom, shares higher by 4%
General Dynamics (GD) - reports at 9:00 am ET, shares up 3% pre-market
British Petroleum (BP) - EPS, revenue beats, stock flat
ExxonMobil (XOM) - EPS, revenue beats, shares up 2%
Chevron (CVX) - EPS, revenue beats, shares up 1-2%

Clearly, tech wreckage is widespread and probably just getting started. The AI buildout bubble, to which Mag7 and other companies have devoted hundreds of billions in Capex, is being popped. The timing could not be worse for Republicans seeking to hold majorities in the House and Senate on eelction day next Tuesday (Nov. 3). Not surprisingly, three big oil companies - ExxonMobil, Chevron, and British Petroleum - all posted positive results and solid profits, thanks to oil and gas prices that are up 60-80% over the past year. The squeeze on working class and small business is like a wrecking ball to the economy, pinching margins for small businesses while crimping the spending patterns by consumers. Higher gas and food prices are crowding out spending in other categories, particularly in discretionary sectors.

There's no limit to the degree of carnage that will come from the tech bust and misguided government policies that are sending ordinary Americans deeper into debt and straining household budgets. The hubris of government and big tech is that they've ignored the obvious calculus: without consumer spending, which is 60-70% of the economy, their revenue and profits will suffer. For the government, tax receipts have nearly doubled since 2020, but expenditures have grown at a faster rate, including interest on the debt, which has exploded to a level approaching an insolvent condition.

Wall Street and the government's continued propping up of businesses that are either failing or extremely overvalued has created an unstable, treacherous environment and considerable cracks in the facade are beginning to show.

For the week, through Thursday's close, the Dow is up 147 points, the NASDAQ is up 229, and the S&P is ahead by 96 points, but those gains may be lost as the last trading day of October commences. Stock futures have the Dow up 20 points, the S&P down 80, and the NASDAQ showing a massive decline of more than 700 points.

What goes up, often comes down. Reversion to the mean can be an unpleasant trip.

At the Close, Thursday, October 29, 2026:
Dow: 52,342.56, -132.54 (-0.25%)
NASDAQ: 26,184.73, -365.13 (-1.38%)
S&P 500: 7,720.39, -23.59 (-0.30%)
NYSE Composite: 24,517.23, +255.95 (+1.05%)

Alphabet Shows AI Striking Against Core Ad Revenue; GDP Up 3.4% in 3rd Quarter; PCE Index Hits 3.6%, Fueling Inflation and Rate Hike Expectations

With the Federal Reserve's FOMC deciding to keep the federal funds target interest rate at 3.75-4.00% on Wednesday, stocks traders took the non-event in stride, with stocks barely budging from levels seen before the 2:00 pm ET announcement.

With the market turning in another in a series of lackluster sessions, the real excitement of the day was reserved for after the close, when two Mag7 heavyweights - Alphabet and Microsoft - released third quarter results.

The results could not have been more starkly different.

Alphabet (GOOGL), parent company of Google, saw its stock slip more than 11% in post-market trading after the company missed targets on its key advertising segment as use of AI began to eat away at search and ad revenue. The reaction swift and pointed. Google's Adsense and Adwords products form the basis for the company's revenue and AI - promoted by Google itself - threatens to kill the golden-egg-laying goose.

Microsoft (MSFT) reported fiscal first-quarter revenue of $92.28 billion, up 19% year over year, beating Wall Street’s $90.62 billion consensus. Adjusted earnings reached $4.89 per share, excluding gains from OpenAI investments, compared with expectations of $4.71, according to Microsoft’s earnings release. Revenue from Azure, the company's AI tool, grew 48% year-over-year, surpassing estimates. Shares of Microsoft are up by 1-2% in pre-market trading.

As the opening bell for Thursday's session approached, the BEA released its first estimate of third quarter GDP, posting an increase of 3.4%, topping consensus estimates for 3.2%. Second quarter GDP was revised higher, from 1.5% to 2.2%. The numbers confirm the general economy is strong and gaining momentum, led by consumer spending and business investment and inventories.

While the GDP numbers are generally positive, the market saw it in a different way. a fast-paced economy is being interpreted as giving the Fed further rationale to hike rates at the December 7-8 FOMC meeting, just six weeks ahead. Google's results also shook the tech sector, sending NASDAQ futures down close to 400 points. With less than an hour to the opening bell, Dow futures are off 140 points and S&P futures are down 32.

Other companies reporting Wednesday after the close included:
Carvana (CVNA) - despite an EPS miss, a beat on revenue has shares higher by 9%
FedEx (FDX) - EPS miss, revenue beat, stock down 1%
T-Mobile (TMUS) - top and bottom beats, stock up 3%
Chipolte Mexican Grill (CMG) - EPS miss, revenue beat, shares higher by 8%

Thursday, before the open:
Caterpillar (CAT) - Dow component beat top and bottom, but tariff costs and rising inventories are sending shares down 12%
Carrier (CARR) - EPS, revenue beats, poor outlook, shares down 7%
Eli Lilly (LLY) - solid EPS, revenue beats, shares 4% higher
L3 Harris (LHX) - EPS, revenue beats, stock flat
Vulcan Materials (VMC) - EPS baat, revenue miss, stock down 2%

After the close Thursday, Amazon (AMZN), Intel (INTC), Reddit (RDDT), Twillo (TWLO), Rivian (RIVN), Starbucks (SBUX), Sandisk (SNDK), and Roblox (RBLX) will report third quarter results.

Rounding out the pre-market headlines, the PCE Index rose 0.5% for the month, pulling the price index up 3.6% year-over-year, adding more fuel to the growing inflation fire.

All indications are that Thursday is going to be a very bumpy, volatile session, with sentiment turning downright negative on AI spending, inflation, and the dual wars in Ukraine and Iran. This is not the narrative the Republican party envisaged.

At the Close, Wednesday, October 28, 2026:
Dow: 52,475.10, +97.53 (+0.19%)
NASDAQ: 26,549.85, +72.04 (+0.27%)
S&P 500: 7,743.98, +21.38 (+0.28%)
NYSE Composite: 24,261.28, +50.60 (+0.21%)

Stocks and Commodities on Hold in Advance of FOMC Rate Decision; Chip Stocks Boosted by SK Hynix; Fed's Bind Deepens on Strong Durables

With the FOMC interest rate policy decision due at 2:00 pm ET Wednesday, more companies reported third quarter earnings results after the close on Tuesday, including:

SK Hynix (SKHY) - Record earnings, revenue beat send Korean chip-maker up 7-8% pre-market
Visa (V) - EPS, revenue beats, shares down 1-2%
Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) - EPS, revenue beats, shares down 2-3%
Robinhood (HOOD) - Top and bottom miss, stock down 7%
Seagate (STX) - EPS, revenue beats, shares down 2.5%
Waste Management (WM) - EPS miss, revenue beat, stock lower by 4%

Prior to Wednesday's opening bell:
Boston Scientific (BSX) - EPS in-line, revenue beat, stock falls 13% on negative forecast
UBS (UBS) - EPS miss sends shares down 1%
ADP (ADP) - EPS beat, revenue in-line, shares down 3%
GE Vernova (GEV) - solid EPS beat, revenue beat, shares flat
International Paper (IP) - EPS beat, revenue miss, shares down 4%
Phillips 66 (PSX) - EPS, revenue beats, shares flat pre-open

Overnight and early morning results, outside of SK Hynix, were nothing special and investors are taking a cautious stance. As for the chip sector, the results by SKHY served to reinforce the outlook for AI buildout and will likely send the sector higher after the opening bell. The concern among investors is that the sector is already over-priced and more evidence of profitability is needed downstream, which may produce a stall out in Mag7 and other AI--related issues.

Durable goods orders for September, announced Tuesday, rose 1.8% during the month, exceeding economists' expectations for a 1.4% increase. The September advance followed a revised 0.1% rise in August. The previous month's figure had initially been reported as a 0.1% decline. Transportation led the advance, but overall, the continued rise in durable goods orders - especially at the consumer level - is a strong indicator of inflationary pressures. In hyper-inflation environments, such as Germany in the 1920s and Argentina in the 1990s, consumers bought durables such as refrigerators and cars even if they didn't need them, in hopes of purchasing at prices lower than in the future. In some instances, holding durables was far better than hoarding cash, as the currency was rapidly losing purchasing power, making large kitchen appliances, furniture, and autos almost a shadow currency that was appreciating against official government-issuance.

This is a trend that economists at the Fed will certainly be tracking. Continued upside price pressure only exacerbates inflationary tendencies and future outlooks. Even more troubling is that these purchases - as just about everything in the U.S. is today - are financed at high interest rates. Higher financing costs to consumers and government, which has to roll over debt constantly, puts a squeeze on the general economy. With more money tied up in financing, there's less room for overall growth, a paradox that has the Fed somewhat trapped. Since interest rate hikes serve to slow the economy, they are most effective on the supply side. Demand for durable goods and other essential purchases is less elastic, leaving the Fed in a bind. Raising rates may slow upside pricing, but, if demand for goods and services remains constant or increases, the net result is negligible.

It may be worth noting if Chairman Warsh mentions pricing pressure as a key element at today's press conference. With expectations for rates to stay on hold until the December meeting, pricing power in the hands of producers may be a considerable concern for which the Fed may not have ample tools to contain. The fear is that the Fed goes deeper into rate hiking policy in December, possibly pushing the federal funds rate up by 0.50% (50 basis points) rather than the traditional 0.25%.

With equity markets due to open in roughly half an hour, stock futures are mixed and moderating, with Dow futures off 100 points, NASDAQ futures off the highs of the morning but still ahead 95 points, and S&P futures up just nine points. Crude oil, gold, and silver remain in holding patterns, a likely posture until the midterms at least. WTI crude oil futures are posting a price above $101/barrel, with gold shading $4,000 and silver holding around $54 per ounce. There doesn't appear to be any catalyst to change pricing structure in these commodities and a rate hold by the FOMC will not change that outlook.

Interest rates have flattened out as well, with yield on the 10-year note knocked down to around an even 5.00% and the 30-year yield at 5.30%, both considerably lower than they were just two and three weeks ago.

Unless Chairman Warsh trips over his prepared remarks at today's 2:30 pm ET press conference, there's little to indicate anything substantial developing in the aftermath. The key event is clearly now the midterms. With Election Day and the actual results unavailable until late Tuesday night (November 3), any big, directional moves in stocks, rates, and commodities won't likely occur until Wednesday, November 4.

The current condition of market sentiment is an uncertain one and there is the potential for some swing to the downside regardless of today's FOMC decision. Warsh's press conference will be more of a focus, but the fledgling Chairman has shown considerable restraint in terms of "spilling the beans." Wall Street sharpies may take off with their own interpretation of what's said by Warsh, though their analysis is likely to be misleading. Still, the pundits and talking heads in the financial and mainstream media may not be able to constrain themselves from putting words in the Chairman's mouth.

If anything, stocks may exhibit downside pressure. That's already the case in terms of reactions to earnings. Stocks have gone nowhere in the 2+ weeks since earnings began to hit the tape (October 12), with the Dow up roughly one percent, the S&P down one percent and the NASDAQ lower by just under three percent.

At the Close, Tuesday, October 27, 2026:
Dow: 52,377.57, +15.99 (+0.03%)
NASDAQ: 26,477.81, +308.43 (+1.18%)
S&P 500: 7,722.60, +45.83 (+0.60%)
NYSE Composite: 24,210.68, +23.82 (+0.10%)