end the conflict in Ukraine. Not in the immediate future, anyway.
Whatever goodwill was achieved at the Alaska Summit between U.S. President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, August 15, was squandered just a few days later by the completely botched multi-lateral meeting at the White House between Trump, Ukraine's illegitimate leader, Zelensky, and the midget politicians of Europe - Macron, Starmer, Meloni, and the grand lady of the EU, Ursula von der Leyen, among others.
While President Trump managed to get a call through to Putin while Zelensky and his "team" were still in the White House, signaling that Putin was ready to talk one-on-one with Zelensky, the participants then blundered into discussions about security guarantee arrangements for post-war Ukraine, including the ludicrous notion that Ukraine would purchase $100 billion worth of weapons from the U.S., financed by Europe, and the final, fatal kicker, that the U.S. would provide air support.
To think that Russia would agree to have the very nations that started the war, and continue to fund the war, provide ongoing security in the form of re-arming Ukraine with U.S. jets hovering in the background is the absolute clown-world-approved height of folly.
Maybe that was the intention all along. Ukraine doesn't want the war to end, nor does Europe, nor does the military-industrial-complex (MIC), which apparently has not just Trump's ear, but his whole face, foot planted firmly in his all-too-often wide open mouth.
These people - the Europeans and President Trump - lack class, diplomatic skills, but above all, common sense. If they don't plunge the world into further conflict and World War III, they'll be lucky to escape the wrath of their own citizens, something about which Trump has no concerns, since he's a lame duck president who cannot run again. If there's a God, or Karma, or aliens watching over planet Earth, the European leaders will lose any upcoming elections (maybe not Italy's Meloni, who appeared to be somewhere between mildly amused and wickedly perturbed during the White House affair), resign, or be forced out by their own legislators.
They don't deserve to lead anything greater than a half-hour field trip, let alone some of the major countries of Europe. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a true diplomat, has, according to mainstream sources, Yahoo! and Politico, not ruled out a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, but has indicated that proper protocol be observed in a step-by-step manner, detailing each party's objectives, before such a face-to-face encounter should occur.
As usual, the Russians are being circumspect and cautious. They've been fooled too many times by the West and, apparently, won't be fooled again.
Naturally, the media spin on this will be along the lines of "Russia doesn't want peace," and "Russia played us," and "they're buying time," as Russian forces continue to steamroll through Ukrainian territory as Ukraine's military is on the verge of collapse, quickly running out of weapons and trained soldiers to operate them.
Russia is winning the war on the ground and has no good reason to seek peace other than on terms they dictate, not the half-baked, completely unacceptable proposals being trotted out by Trump and company. Thus, the war rages on and President Trump can do nothing to stop it other than whine because he refuses to take his foot out of his mouth and stomp it down on the neocon coalition of European leaders and in his own congressional delegation. Excuse the French, but "sacre bleu, what a bunch of morons."
The bottom line, so to speak, is that the U.S. government is broke, Europe penniless, each saddled with leadership that struggles to grasp even simple concepts like waging war on Russia's doorstep, with foreign (Ukrainian) troops using weapons they don't have and cannot afford is a losing battle.
Highlighting the desperation from the funding perspective, the idea of bitcoin-backed bonds has entered the conversation. "Bitbonds" have been touted as a potential solution to the federal government's fiscal cliff, wherein the U.S. Treasury needs to roll over $9 trillion in obligations over the next year. From a
Forbes article from April of this year, quoting a white paper by Andrew Hohns and Matthew Pines:
“If 132 million American households each invested $3,025,” the authors estimate, “20% of the $2 trillion BitBond issuance could be absorbed by domestic retail investors.”
The implications of this would be laughable, if not so dangerous, beginning with the idea that every household in America (there are 132 million according to the Federal Reserve) has $3,025 to invest. The vast majority of households in America don't even have $500 in savings for emergencies.
There are other, even more frightening conditions involving "Bitbonds", not limited to the initial coupon being one percent (1.00%), or the unthinkable prospect (in the authors' minds) that bitcoin could lose value. There's more. Readers are advised to peruse the article themselves, armed with ample whiskey or other adult beverage to ease the anger or trepidation that may arise. This is the kind of thinking being done at the highest levels of the federal government. The American people are absolutely doomed.
Moving on to matters of markets, it's worth noting that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has flat-lined for the past four sessions, closing Tuesday, August 19, at exactly the same level - 44,922.27 - as it did on Wednesday, August 13. That kind of finagling, takes real talent. At issue is the all-time high of 45,014.04 from December 4, 2024. It appears the stock market is in need of a dose of Viagra or some other stimulant to get, um, "up." It's just not happening.
Overnight, Toll Brothers (TOL) and Lazyboy (LZB) released second quarter earnings, and into Wednesday morning, prior to the open, Estee Lauder (EL), TJX Holdings (TJX), Lowe's (LOW), and Target (TGT) announced.
Briefly:
- Toll Brothers (TOL) beat top and bottom line, stock trading down 1.6% pre-market.
- Lazyboy (LZB) snoozed through the quarter, missing on EPS and revenue. Shares are down more than 20% prior to the opening bell.
- Estee Lauder (EL) is taking a powder, with sales down for the quarter and guidance whining about tariff costs. Investors aren't putting lipstick on this piggie. Shares are down eight to nine percent.
- Discount retailer TJX Holdings (TJX) bucked the overall retail trend, beating estimates and raising guidance. The stock is up more than four percent.
- Lowe's (LOW) stock is ahead by three percent after same-store sales return to growth and the company raised its 2025 forecast.
Finally, Target (TGT), poster boy or girl (prefers "we", "they") for the limp brick-and-mortar retail sector, is falling again, down 10 percent in pre-market trading after beating lowered estimates. The company earned $2.05 per share, as opposed to $2.57 in the same period a year ago. Just about every metric was down, including same-store sales, off by -3.2%, and that's not inflation-adjusted. While the blame for poor performance ultimately lands at management's feet, the effect of higher prices because of tariffs cannot be excluded. Consumers, especially when they're being tapped out, will seek lower prices elsewhere or curtail spending to varying degrees.
Retaliating against non-woke naysayers of the company's imminent demise, Target plans to replace its current CEO, Brian Cornell, with current CFO Michael Fiddelke, a former intern. So, take that, MAGA-tards. Pride month is just 10 months away... oh!
Pre-market reaction to early headlines, sub-plots, and various social media posts has been muted, though they are at much higher levels than earlier. As the opening bell approaches Dow futures are down 22 points, NASDAQ futures off 60, with S&P futures down around 10 points.
Gold is bid, up more than $25, at $3,383.40. Silver is up as well, popping over $38 per ounce. WTI crude oil continues to flirt with the 50s, bottoming out at $61.68 per barrel overnight before rallying somewhat back above $62, for now. The national average for a gallon of gasoline at U.S. pumps has been stuck at $3.12 for three weeks.
America is so screwed. Our politicians are all sociopathic liars and crooks, Wall Street is a rigged casino, share prices of public companies have been boosted to unprecedented levels, and the economy is at stall speed. The silver lining, from the twisted Wall Street perspective shared by President Trump, is that a recession might cause the Federal Reserve to lower the federal funds target rate by a quarter or half percent in September and signal more cuts, which obviously would FIX EVERYTHING, though most people seem to be on pins and needles in anticipation of Jerome Powell's keynote at Friday's Jackson Hole conference.
Bad news may be good, but having your chocolate ration increased from 30 grams to 20 grams is shrink-flation on steroids.
--- John Maynard Keynes and George Orwell have entered the chat. ---
At the Close, Tuesday, August 19, 2025:
Dow: 44,922.27, +10.45 (+0.02%)
NASDAQ: 21,314.95, -314.82 (-1.46%)
S&P 500: 6,411.37, -37.78 (-0.59%)
NYSE Composite: 20,820.66, +4.42 (+0.02%)
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