Not such an auspicious start to the month of September, but maybe that was to be expected.
The last two trading sessions of August (Friday, Monday) were losers, and over the weekend the imperialist forces of the United States launched military strikes against Iran, to which the vicious savages responded with missile strikes against U.S. installations in Jordan, Kuwait, and maybe elsewhere. Most Americans will never know just how widespread the devastation has been to American bases in the region. The military industrial complex and the current administration wouldn't like that, so we have to just guess.
In any case, oil soared back over $90/barrel in WTI futures, stocks got whacked, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's recent forays into yield curve control have come to naught. Yield on the 10-year note is now higher than before he started his interventions, at 4.78%, and the 30-year bond is generously offering returns of 5.25%.
The question one must ask is just who in their right mind would lend many for 10 years or even 30 to an entity that is $40 trillion in debt, routinely spends more than it receives, therefore making its need to borrow mandatory, relentless, and seemingly without end?
Amazingly, there are people out there doing just that. Lots of them, but just not as many as in years past. It's a problem. On the grand chess board that is international geopolitics and finance, the United States seems to be playing checkers. Militarily, the U.S. has spent most of its arsenal fighting a war in the Middle East it should never have started. Economically, the Treasury Secretary has run out of accounting tricks. Interest on existing U.S. government debt is expected to exceed $1.2 trillion for fiscal 2026.
So, is there any wonder that stocks are down?
Besides the fact that U.S. stocks are wildly overvalued, there's ample evidence that the deeply-involved government is desperately trying to manage expectations and results, driving stocks even higher than their already-inflated values. Something more sinister than the midterm elections is driving current conditions.
At the same time, gold and silver prices have been falling over the past few days, the opposite of what usually is the case when international tensions rise. Sinister? You betcha!
Stock futures ramped higher beginning around 6:00 am ET, but, with the opening bell in about a half hour, they've eased back.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if stocks started out strong Wednesday, only to sell off later in the day. The employment picture has been clouded by a poor JOLTS release Tuesday and Wednesday morning's ADP employment report for August, showing a mere 38,000 private sector jobs created during the month.
Both of those reports demonstrate just how shaky employment is in the U.S.
If you need a job and have a job, best be nice to the boss.
At the Close, Tuesday, September 1, 2026:
Dow: 52,766.88, -419.02 (-0.79%)
NASDAQ: 26,099.77, -271.12 (-1.03%)
S&P 500: 7,631.47, -54.67 (-0.71%)
NYSE Composite: 24,349.28, -112.67 (-0.46%)
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