Bessent Launches Economic D-Day; Markets Moan; Dick's Sporting Goods Falling to 2 1/2-Year Lows; Gold, Silver Lower; Crude Oil Remains Bid

OK, let's just destroy Iran economically, since the mighty United States military couldn't bomb those savage Persians into submission.

That is the clear message that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been sounding off about for the past few weeks and days, and on Monday, he announced it in public at a well-rehearsed press conference, telling U.S. allies and enemies alike that if they aid the Iranians in any way, there will be hell to pay in the form of sanctions and elimination from the U.S. banking system, SWIFT, and probably more pain to come, maybe forty lashes or something along the lines of pirating behavior.

The Iranians are not exactly quaking in their boots. In fact, a number of their leaders were openly defiant, claiming that if harm comes to their economic partners, there would be military retaliation against U.S. interests.

China made no bones about it, expressing their right to do business with whomever they please. Both President Trump and Secretary Bessent backed away from antagonizing the largest U.S. trading partner. Apparently, sanctions are only for countries that aren't already doing business with the U.S.

So, the drama continues. The Strait of Hormuz remans closed. Over at the COMEX, oil futures are being played like a concertina, and Wall Street didn't seem to like the idea very much, but, having the memory of a gnat, they'll be back to pushing equity prices higher, as Tuesday morning's stock futures are suggesting.

Approaching the opening bell, Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) isn't feeling very sporty after releasing second quarter results that oddly resembled WNBA attendance figures, missing on the top and bottom, sending out bad vibes with lowered guidance, and generally grieving about the state of the not-so-sporty Americans that find their prices just a little too high, even with back-to-school season in full swing.

With 30 minutes until the opening bell, Dick's stock is down some 18 percent. about to crash down to a level not seen since January, 2024.

The rest of the market seems to want to ignore the idea that consumers are tapped out and the price of gas at the pump is curtailing discretionary purchases in a big way. High inflation and high costs of just getting by can produce demand destruction, and Dick's, along with other retailers that have recently reported, such as Walmart, Target, an Lowe's, are feeling the pinch.

Heading toward the open, stock futures are higher, with Dow futures up 236, NASDAQ futures up 233, and S&P futures ahead by 29 points.

Gold and silver are taking a break from their relentless three-week-long rally. It was only a matter of time before the riggers and suppressors at the COMEX and LBMA would step in and short the metals. Apparently, their efforts are underway. Brent and WTI crude remain stubbornly at elevated levels. It's not so easy to keep a lid on prices when there's almost no crude flowing through the Persian Gulf.

Meanwhile, in Moscow and Beijing, precious metals carry a premium over Western quoted prices and they look forward to the United States kicking a few more countries off the SWIFT system. The BRICS countries welcome such developments.

At the Close, Monday, August 24, 2026:
Dow: 53,417.16, +140.16 (+0.26%)
NASDAQ: 25,980.19, -200.31 (-0.77%)
S&P 500: 7,652.86, -21.51 (-0.28%)
NYSE Composite: 24,726.64, -2.03 (-0.01%)