WEEKEND WRAP: Iran 'Deal' Remains In Focus at White House; Gas Prices Stabilize; Four-Day Trading Week Upcoming; Stocks Gain, Oil Range-Bound

With everything on hold over the Memorial Day weekend according to the latest tweets, truths, and messaging from the White House, a positive vibe seems to be the dominant expression, with a "solution" being suggested by politicians and the media.

A subtle shift is taking place, one in which "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon" is being replaced with "we must open the Strait of Hormuz." The president is on his back foot in terms of negotiating power, and the very real possibility that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen with only a commitment from Iran that they will continue to "negotiate" over the nuclear issue.

Such an outcome would give the president two things he sorely needs: a near-term win, lowering the price of oil and gas; and, time to set the agenda through the midterms, with the possibility of resuming hostilities after the elections.

This agenda would likely be positive for stocks and fixed income, considering that the government might find it within its best interests to lower the price of gas at the pump (buy votes) and have Trump and the Republicans appear as heroes and deal-makers. While one can't make this stuff up, politicians believe they can and will likely try.

Good luck.

Stocks

The week just past was solidly positive for industrials and only marginally appealing to tech. The Dow was up well more than double that of the S&P in percentage terms, and held a five-fold edge over the NASDAQ. The Dow made all-time closing highs on Thursday and again on Friday, with the other indices within spitting distance of their record highs.

Bubble markets being what the name implies, there's little doubt as to the direction of all stocks. The piling on and crowding of trades is nearing an "all in" condition, which is the normal set-up for a rapid correction, though that moment still seems far away. Momentum and political ties will take stocks higher unless something disruptive and unexpected - a black swan - occurs. With the government's near-complete control of the media narrative, even nuking New York City would probably be spun as a positive development, sending stocks even higher. There's no fighting it. Nobody wants protections. Puts are pretty cheap because they usually end up at zero come maturity.

The week ahead offers only a few stragglers reporting first quarter 2026 results with the focus on retail:

Tuesday: (before open) Elbit Systems (ESLT), AutoZone (AZO), Champion Homes (SKY); (after close) SilverCorp Metals (SVM), Box (BOX)

Wednesday: (before open) Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Bat & Body Works (BBWI), Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS); (after close) Salesforce (CRM), HP (HPQ), Marvell (MRVL)

Thursday: (before open) Hormel Foods (HRL), Kohl's (KSS), Best Buy (BBY), Burlington (BURL); (after close) Costco (COST), AutoDesk (ADSK), Gap Inc. (GAP), Dell (DELL)

Friday: (before open) BitFuFu (FUFU), Knot Offshore (KNOP)

Relevant data releases can be found at Trading View. Here are a few relevant data drops for the four-day week ahead:

Tuesday brings the back-dated S&P Cotality Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index, Wednesday has the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index, Johnson Redbook Index, and the ADP weekly Employment numbers. Inflation is on review Thursday with the monthly PCE Price Index and employment gets numbers from the weekly jobless claims. Thursday will be notable for the second estimate of first quarter GDP and Durable Goods orders. Friday provides the Goods Trade Balance, and Retail and Wholesale Inventories.

The outlook for weeks and months ahead are cloudy, as the political levers being pulled relate significantly to inflation, employment, and making new all-time highs in stocks. Every move higher in stocks has to be questioned from a fundamental standpoint. The U.S. cannot continue to price stocks in bubble-land. Valuations are material; prices, ephemeral.

Treasury Yield Curve Rates

Date	1 Mo	1.5 mo	2 Mo	3 Mo	4 Mo	6 Mo	1 Yr
04/17/2026	3.69	3.70	3.73	3.70	3.69	3.69	3.64
04/24/2026	3.69	3.72	3.71	3.69	3.69	3.71	3.67
05/01/2026	3.71	3.71	3.70	3.68	3.76	3.71	3.73
05/08/2026	3.71	3.70	3.68	3.69	3.75	3.74	3.75
05/15/2026	3.71	3.70	3.69	3.69	3.76	3.77	3.82
05/22/2026	3.72	3.69	3.69	3.68	3.78	3.79	3.86

Date	2 Yr	3 Yr	5 Yr	7 Yr	10 Yr	20 Yr	30 Yr
04/17/2026	3.71	3.72	3.84	4.04	4.26	4.85	4.88
04/24/2026	3.78	3.80	3.92	4.10	4.31	4.88	4.91
05/01/2026	3.88	3.91	4.02	4.20	4.39	4.96	4.97
05/08/2026	3.90	3.92	4.02	4.19	4.38	4.93	4.95
05/15/2026	4.09	4.14	4.26	4.43	4.59	5.14	5.12
05/22/2026	4.13	4.18	4.27	4.41	4.56	5.06	5.07

Yields fell overall this week for maturities longer than five years, though not substantially. The 30-year bond yield has held over five percent for two weeks running. While interest rates are assumed to have something to do with the Middle East conflict, they have more to do with general U.S. monetary policy, which is still considered to be very loose, the government continuing to borrow and raise the overall debt to nearly $40 trillion.

It doesn't go unnoticed that U.S. debt to GDP is 137% while Russia's is 14%. After a while - a condition currently underway - lenders to the U.S. are demanding higher returns and the reserve status of the dollar is in severe decline. The dollar index has wavered between 96 and 101 for the past year, but it's down substantially since January, 2025, just prior to Trump's inauguration, of 110.

Erosion of confidence in a reserve currency is not something that happens overnight unless it is caused by government dictate or devaluation. The long term trend remains to the downside as the reality of inflation ramps up. Another financial crisis could take the DXY to below 70, at which point the U.S. goose may be fully cooked. It's somewhat heartening that the free-spending U.S. government has managed other keep some buyers of its debt happy, but the costs are enormous. Interest on the debt is likely to become the largest expenditure - it's already #3 or #4, behind medicare/medicaid, social security, and the military, depending on the upcoming 2027 budget, which is soon to be negotiated.

While the president may wish for lower interest rates, wishing would be the appropriate term, as there is little to appetite at the Fed - even with the changing of the guar from Jerome Powell to Kevin Warsh - because inflation numbers continue to rise. Ending the Iran conflict would be a short-term patch, as the latest CPI and PPI inflation figures were tied, in large part, to oil and gasoline. Bringing down those prices are high on the president's agenda and could influence upcoming FOMC policy.

For now, however, 4.50% on the 10-year note and 5.00% on the 30-year bond are appearing as bottoms. The White House, stuck between surrender of principles in the Middle East and rampaging inflation at home, will likely make the political decision to back down on demands against Iran and get the gas at the pump price down. Midterms are less than six months away and a chorus of Republicans up for re-election are piping their tune directly into President Trump's ear.

Spreads took a bit of a breather from the high end, with 2s-10s dropping to +43 and the 30-days-30-years full spectrum dropping six basis points to +135, though the potential for spreads to run hotter is, at the same time, beneficial to banking interests, but harmful to the currency, as yield gains would likely occur at the long end of the curve under current and expected conditions.

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

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

Oil/Gas

Thanks to the ongoing White House narrative of "nearing a deal" in the Iran conflict, WTI Crude Oil finished the week in New York at $97.00, 101.16, down from last Friday’s New York closing price of $101.16, though remaining in the recent range of $90-110. Supposedly, resumption of regular flows from the Persian Gulf would clip the price per barrel by $15-20, perhaps more, depending on the strength of commitment on both sides of the conflict to adhere to general outlines.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, word continues to emanate from Trump Palace that negotiations with Iran are proceeding and nearing a conclusion, a draft proposal acceptable to not just Iran and the U.S., but to other countries in the region. This same game continues to play out, with hopes dashed on a regular basis and the price of oil rising again. To Trump's credit, he's kept the price in a range that isn't too damaging to U.S. consumers.

Average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline in the U.S. was $4.50 last week and $4.50 this week, no change.

Americans, having been through gas hikes and energy crises before, are adjusting and conserving wherever possible, though further increases in food and energy prices may be too much too bear and the politicians are acutely aware of that.

Prices in key states:

California (leader): $6.10 (-0.03)
Washington: $5.76 (+0.00)
Oklahoma: $3.97 (+0.02)
Mississippi (lowest): $3.95 (-0.01)
Florida: $4.37 (+0.17)
Illinois: $4.61 (-0.01)
Pennsylvania: $4.62 (-0.05)
New York: $4.57 (-0.01)
Maryland: $4.49 (+0.04)
Michigan: $4.64 (-0.19)
Texas: $4.03 (+0.11)
Georgia: $3.96 (0.00)

On Sunday, May 24th, there are just five (5) states with average prices below $4.00 (Oklahoma, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia, same number as last week, with Indiana replacing Texas, 43 above the $4 threshold, not including Hawaii ($5.68) and Alaska ($5.32), four above $5 (California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon), and one above $6 (California). The Southeast has become the lowest region overall over the past week as a gallon of unleaded regular is averaging right around $4.00 in places like Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, and Mississippi.

Bitcoin

This week: $76,800.00
Last week: $78,015.76
2 weeks ago: $80,800.68
6 months ago: $88,321.30
One year ago: $108,096.50
Five years ago: $34,592.16

Any purchase of bitcoin since mid-November, 2024 - a period of 18 months and counting - has resulted in a loss if still held today. This artificial currency is worth cow turds. Ask a car dealer if they'll take a bitcoin for a new Ford F-150 or a bank to use your bitcoin as a down payment on a house. The answer will be the same: convert it to U.S. dollars and you've got a deal.

Why bother, when just holding cash for the last 18 months would have saved money. Thanks to inflation, bitcoiners are losing purchasing power on a regular basis and that subtraction is gearing up to be even worse.

Precious Metals

Gold:Silver Ratio: 59.73; last week: 59.75

Futures, per COMEX continuous contracts:

Gold price 4/24: $4,725.40
Gold price 5/1: $4,625.60
Gold price 5/8: $4,723.70
Gold price 5/15: $4,543.60
Gold price 5/22: $4,543.60

Silver price 4/24: $76.19
Silver price 5/1: $75.84
Silver price 5/8: $80.83
Silver price 5/15: $76.29
Silver price 5/22: $75.92

SPOT: (stockcharts.com)
Gold 4/24: $4,709.27
Gold 5/1: $4,612.97
Gold 5/8: $4,714.90
Gold 5/15: $4,539.72
Gold 5/22: $4,508.74

Silver 4/24: $75.63
Silver 5/1: $75.34
Silver 5/8: $80.35
Silver 5/15: $75.94
Silver: 5/22: $75.48

Silver and gold finished out the week nearly unchanged, though both metals experienced considerable, range-bound volatility. Gold traded as high as $4,598 and as low as $4,453. Silver hit $78.88 and bottomed at $73.06. There are opposing forces tugging at precious metals. With interest rates on the rise, some investors might opt for the 4+ percent return on treasuries or corporate bonds. At the other end, inflation erodes purchasing power, making PMs an obvious choice for wealth protection. In addition to the usual strangulation tactics in COMEX futures, these forces are keeping PMs stuck in a range, for now.

Premiums are still at high levels for physical with bullion (bars), charging higher as opposed to specie (coins). The usual spread between bars and coins has shrunk considerably to a point at which they are nearly equal, around $200 per ounce. The spread on silver has regularly favored bars, premia now roughly higher by $4-5.

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:	76.77	105.00	85.46	84.00
1 oz silver bar:	79.00	112.50	90.61	89.72
1 oz gold coin:	4660.50	4775.96	4722.68	4727.61
1 oz gold bar:	4700.91	4755.50	4717.93	4710.36

The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) rose modestly, to $87.45, a gain of 37 cents from the May 17 price of $87.08 per troy ounce, well within the recent range.

WEEKEND WRAP

Happy Memorial Day. Summer approaches post haste. Keep your friends close and your powder dry.

At the Close, Friday, May 22, 2026:
Dow: 50,579.70, +294.04 (+0.58%)
NASDAQ: 26,343.97, +50.87 (+0.19%)
S&P 500: 7,473.47, +27.75 (+0.37%)
NYSE Composite: 23,225.75, +98.07 (+0.42%)

For the Week:
Dow: +1053.53 (+2.13%)
NASDAQ: +118.82 (+0.45%)
S&P 500: +64.97 (+0.88%)
NYSE Composite: +436.32 (+1.87%)
Dow Transports: +633.23 (+3.15%)

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.

Stocks Gain on Deal, No Deal Momentum; Friday Looking to Close Out Good Week to the Upside; Mentions of AI in Quarterly Reports Boosts Share Price

No deal.

Oh, well, at least the Dow finished Thursday's session at a record closing high and Nvidia was down less than four points after disclosing first quarter 2026 results. Overall, a this was to be expected, with the totally fake media saying Iran and the U.S. were close to a final draft, which, for all intents and purposes, is an oxymoron. It's a draft, a framework. There's nothing final about it and that alone should have tipped off anybody who is fluent in the English language (about 8% of the U.S. population) that the whole thing was cooked up by the usual suspects on Wall Street and inside the Beltway.

Everybody else was fooled, again, and again and surely will be fooled the next time imminent peace or a resumption of the war is touted as imminent.

For the week, through Thursday’s close, the Dow is up 759 points, the NASDAQ has added only 68 points, and the S&P is up 37. Obviously, with a three-day weekend ahead, nobody wants to see losses on the Friday session, making Thursday evening an ideal time to announce that the Trump administration has agreed to award $1 billion to International Business Machines Corp. (BM) to build a foundry for producing quantum computing chips, part of a broad strategy to bolster US leadership in an emerging industry.

Yippie! The government investing in one of the Dow stocks. That is just so democratic and free market oriented that American taxpayers must be on board with this episode of Winning Big Business while the rest of America can just GFY. These continuing investments by the federal government into mega-corportions are nothing short of full-blown fascism, which, broadly defined, is the co-mingling of government with big business. Next thing you know, the Mango Mussolini will impose martial law, cancel elections (Why not? They don't work anyway.) and declare himself dictator for life.

Yes, you peons, GFY.

With that, less than an hour before Friday's opening bell, Dow futures are up 330 points, NASDAQ futures are ahead by 110, and S&P futures are higher by 28. Treasuries are taking a breather, with the 10-year yield down to 4.55% and the 30-year posing 5.08%. Regardless of the slight downturn in yields, gold and silver can't catch a bid, both down less than one percent Friday morning.

After the bell Thursday, these companies reported 1Q earnings:
Deckers (DECK) - Beat the Street, initially soared, pre-market down 1-2%
Workday (WDAY) - Tops earnings forecasts, cites AI as profit driver, stock up 6-7%
Ross Stores (ROST) - Solid quarter, shares up 4-5%
Lionsgate (LION) - Studio turns profitable, shares ahead 3-4%

Friday before the open:
BJ's Wholesale (BJ) - Hikes membership fees, profit up, shares down 3%
Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) - Appropriate stock symbol, earnings miss, mentions AI, stock up 7%

Everything is well positioned for another solid day of stock slinging. Happy Memorial Day, peons. GFY.

At the Close, Thursday, May 21, 2026:
Dow: 50,285.66, +276.31 (+0.55%)
NASDAQ: 26,293.10, +22.74 (+0.09%)
S&P 500: 7,445.72, +12.75 (+0.17%)
NYSE Composite: 23,127.69, +105.95 (+0.46%)

No Deal with Iran Sends Futures Lower, Oil Higher; Nvidia Fails to Impress; Walmart Slips, Ralph Lauren Soars; Bot Replacement Surgery Now a Concern

Based on some dubious reportage that Iran and the U.S. were near finalizing a peace "deal" Wednesday, the Dow Industrials shot up past 50,000, the NASDAQ gained nearly 400 points, the S&P ended a three-day losing steak with a 79 point gain, and WTI crude futures fell to a low of $97.36 per barrel.

In other words, nothing new.

Insider Washington and Wall Street continue to play this kind of Kabuki theater to move markets hither and fro while nothing actually changes day-to-day. The repetitive pattern of hope for a more permanent peace beyond the current ceasefire and fear that one side or the other will restart hostilities have become so predictable that they are now ingrained into the toolkits of portfolio managers and shrewd speculators.

There's money to be made on both sides of a trade and somebody's surely making it, most likely the usual suspects inside the Beltway and the huge brokerages in lower Manhattan. That's not to say that the blatant media propaganda machine is somehow evil or guilty of bad behavior, rather, it's readily apparent that just about everybody is willing to play the game and go along for the ride.

What used to be a market based on honest facts, fundamental calculations, and practical reasoning has taken on the worst features of a roulette wheel or crap shoot. For those who have followed markets for longer than the past few months, it's become tawdry and tiresome. There is no specialized skill required to make profitable trades. It's become as easy as buying the latest tech buzz or hottest ETF and riding the wave to prosperity without so much as knowing of what a certain stock or fund does. Simply buying an index fund at any level is almost assured to return a healthy profit in a short period of time. Stocks cannot be allowed to decline very much under these conditions because denting the narrative is off limits. Everybody goes along to get along.

Outside of the knee-jerk reactions to the tariff imposition on "liberation day" and the start of the military conflict in the Mideast, there hasn't been any kind of correction on the major indices in more than three years, a condition that seems unlikely to change any time soon.

After the smashing close Wednesday, Nvidia released earnings for the latest quarter, and, despite the usual hype and positive returns, investors appear content to take profits and buy back in on any dips. After all, the stock just made a new all-time high last week and was up more than 20% year-to-date, so why hold on when there are other trades available. The stock doesn't pay any reasonable dividend. Surely nobody is going to fret over missing out on the laughable dividend yield of 0.02% (yes, you read that right).

Also posting quarterly returns were Intuit (INTU) and Urban Outfitters (URBN), the former (INTU) dropping more than 16% after announcing layoffs of 17% of its workforce, the latter (URBN) losing about two percent pre-market after beating the street.

Thursday morning brings earnings numbers from the following:

Walmart (WMT) - Shares are off 2% or more pre-market after the retail giant reported stronger sales but warned that high gas prices would cause consumers to pull back.
John Deere (DE) - Earnings beat easily, but company sees farm sales slipping, stock down 2-3%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) - The company reports best sales growth in five years, re-affirms forwad guidance, shares up 6-7%
Ralph Lauren (RL) - Retailer exceeds 2026 sales goals, boosts divident 10%, shares flying, up 12% pre-market

The latest results suggest that there is a bifurcated social structure, with premium consumers having no urge to cut back on anything (Ralph Lauren), but a stressed middle and lower class consumer that is pulling in the reins (Walmart) and fixing or repairing what they already own (Advance Auto).

The trend that began more than a year ago - the top 10% of earners carrying the retail load - is magnified under the current regime. Most Americans can barely make ends meet and are carry high debt loads. The top 10% are spending as they please, with no worries, though the emergence of AI into the equation may begin to change the dynamic. Right now, and for the foreseeable future, it's middle management and grunts being laid off, but more and more people with high-end skills - coders, lawyers, accountants - are feeling AI heat. The message, "learn to code" is being replaced by "learn to weld" as physical skills are more immune to AI replacement. It's the planners, thinkers, and tinkerers at the fringes that are now being targeted for bot replacement surgery, aka, layoffs, buyouts, and early retirement.

With te market set to open within half an hour, Dow futures are down 155, NASDAQ Futures off 170, and S&P slipping 29 points, all of which fell sharply when the prospective Iran-U.S. deal was revealed to be dead in the water. Precious metals are down as well, with gold and silver each dropping less than one percent. As expected, WTI crude oil futures are back up above $100/barrel.

Treasury yields are lower, with the 10-year at 4.57% and 30-year bonds at 5.12%.

Are you not entertained?

At the Close, Wednesday, May 20, 2026:
Dow: 50,009.35, +645.47 (+1.31%)
NASDAQ: 26,270.36, +399.65 (+1.54%)
S&P 500: 7,432.97, +79.36 (+1.08%)
NYSE Composite: 23,021.74, +224.07 (+0.98%)

Day-traders Rejoice as Market Turns in Predictable Ways; Stock Futures Higher; Oil Down; Interest Rates Remain Higher; 10-year 4.65%; 30-year 5.18%

Get ready.

Just in case anybody believed that three straight closes in the red on the S&P (down 150 points) was significant, consider the recent pullback nothing more than profit-taking by big moneybag holders of important stocks.

As the opening bell approaches, stock futures are flying higher, based on (choose one, multiple, or all)...

• Thomas Massie lost his primary in Kentucky
• Trump's Indian Ocean naval blockade intercepted more tankers
• What happens in China stays in China
• AI, baby!
• Interest rates are coming down (LOL)
• Nvidia's earnings after the close
• Inflation is only 3.5%
• Republicans will keep majorities in the House and Senate
• MAGA
• Trump gloating over primary wins

The root causes for stocks to accelerate into stock market heaven don't really matter. All that matters is the perception - as in the housing boom of 2006-07 - that stocks never go down. Or, at least they don't stay down for long.

Earlier this morning these companies reported first quarter results:

Target (TGT) - Huge top and bottom beats, stock down 3.5-4% pre-market
Lowe's (LOW) - Beats expectations, shares down 2%
TJX (TJX) - Earnings beat, soft outlook, shares higher by 3.5%
Hasbro (HAS) - In line or better, stock down 3% (up 18% YTD)
Analog Devices (ADI) - Tops estimates, upgrades outlook, down 1%

Stock futures are beating a path to an upside open. Dow futures are up 180; NASDAQ futures 200 points higher; S&P futures up 27. Gold and silver are posting gains, but everything is beginning to slip as the opening bell is lass than half an hour away. Crude oil is lower, at $101 and change. 10-year yields are at 4.65%. 30-year yields, 5.18. We are to believe those are stabilizing.

It's a day-trading paradise!

At the Close, Tuesday, May 19, 2026:
Dow: 49,363.88, -322.24 (-0.65%)
NASDAQ: 25,870.71, -220.03 (-0.84%)
S&P 500: 7,353.61, -49.44 (-0.67%)
NYSE Composite: 22,797.67, -102.90 (-0.45%)

President Trump's Inside Trading Is Criminal and Impeachable; Trump Warns Iran, Again, with Social Media; Americans Crushed by Inflation

President Trump issued his usual Monday morning threat to Iran in hopes that he and his cronies could make more money trading stocks and oil futures.

This behavior is completely undignified and, honestly, insulting to anybody with at least two brain cells to rub together.

President Trump deserves to be in prison, not in the White House. He is leading America to its ruin, likely by design, while looting the treasury and making billions via insider trades.

It was revealed yesterday that Trump's investment advisors made at least 3,700 trades in the first quarter of 2026 including companies the White House had touted or whose executives Trump dined with at the White House months ago. Trades were made in Nvidia, Microsoft, Oracle, Boeing, Intel, and many others. The complete filing can be viewed here. [PDF]

Traders considered the sheer number of trades to be outrageous, especially for a sitting president. The White House denied that the president had anything to do with the trading which is handled by an investment advisor at the Trump Organization.

It's apparent that President Trump is making loot from his own actions. Some of his trades were in Intel, the company that the U.S. government had taken a 10% equity position recently and which Trump had publicly praised, urging people to "buy Intel."

This kind of behavior is insidious and indicates that the president, who is likely to be impeached in 2027, cares more about his bank account that he does for American citizens who are being quickly reduced to peons by inflation and the Mideast situation which the president initiated on behalf of Israel. The likelihood of Republicans holding majorities in the Senate and House is slim to none. The party of sitting presidents has lost seats in the House in 18 of the last 20 midterm elections. Trump is setting himself up for failure, knowing full well that even if he is impeached, the consequences will be nothing more than a bad reputation and a slap on the wrist.

Trump has enough money to retain the best lawyers against any actions that may come in the near future, and, at 79 years and counting, he's probably not very concerned about jail time.

In addition to the outrageous number and dollar amounts of his trades, which amount to billions, the Trump family also operates companies in the crypto space, which Trump has openly touted to the general public. His sones, Donald Jr. and Eric, have enriched themselves in various crypto ventures based on reputation and alignment with the White House, leaving many loyal suckers investors holding the bag after the insiders cashed out.

Others close to the president, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who hold no official office but serve as the president's preferred negotiators and advisors, no doubt have benefitted from inside, advance knowledge of White House policy.

No proof is needed to publicly indict these miscreants. Their arrogant actions speak for themselves. U.S. courts of law will probably choose to sidestep any issues as the broken two-tiered justice system routinely avoids charging public officials for any wrongdoings, even the most obvious and egregious.

Congress is not to be overlooked. Insider trading on public policy has been widespread for decades. Most politicians at the federal level enter office as upper middle class "servants" and leave, decades later, as multi-millionaires. It's disturbing, mob-like behavior for which the general public pays a heavy price for trusting them in the first place.

Entering Tuesday's gala trading session, WTI crude oil traded above $104/barrel on Monday and is approaching that level again. Stock futures are lower, as are gold and silver (no surprise there). Yield on the 10-year note is 4.62% with the 30-year bond yielding 5.14%.

Nice con job operation. Be a shame if anything should happen to it.

At the Close, Monday, May 18, 2026:
Dow: 49,686.12, +159.95 (+0.32%)
NASDAQ: 26,090.73, -134.41 (-0.51%)
S&P 500: 7,403.05, -5.45 (-0.07%)
NYSE Composite: 22,900.57, +101.14 (+0.44%)