WEEKEND WRAP: Gold, Silver Break Out; Stocks Rip Higher on Solid Earnings and Mideast Peace Possibilities; Congress Takes Five-Week Vacation (hooray!)

Potential peace in the Middle East, lower oil prices, a rally in stocks, gold, and silver were the main stories this week. Friday’s revelation by the BLS of -23,000 jobs in July ended the week on a mixed note.

Stocks

It was another banner week for stocks as earnings excitement met with potential peace in the Middle East.

Desite not making fresh all-time highs as did the Dow ans S&P, the NASDAQ powered ahead by 1316.77 points (+5.19%) in one of its best weekly pickup of the past two years. Money managers once again saw value in the AI trade, buying up recently beaten-down shares of companies like Meta Platforms (META, +6.36%), Taiwan Semi (TSM, +3.91), Advance Micro (ADM, +1.51%), and old standby, Nvidia (NVDA) which sprang forward 11.56% on the week.

In keeping with recent trends, speculation was rampant with gains in micro-cap and small-cap biotech, tech, and specialty sectors, with some energy and consumer services also in the mix.

Friday's surprise -23,000 jobs in the BLS Non-farm Payroll report shook up the financiers and assorted free money enthusiasts, believing that the Fed would be forced to lower interest rates rather than raise them in the face of dwindling employment opportunities. They may be on to something, though there remains the sticky inflation problem that prompted three of the 12 FOMC board members to vote in favor of a rate hike at the most recent meeting (July 28-29).

Just the thought of a weakening economy was good enough to send the NASDAQ more than one percent higher on Friday while the other indices were less enthusiastic, preferring to take profits or hold positions.

As is their privilege, Berkshire-Hathaway reported on Saturday, showing a 16% rise in earnings from a year ago and also reported that the company had become a net buyer of stocks, ending a period of 14 consecutive quarters as a net seller of equities. The company also began gradually spending the nearly $400 billion cash horde, putting $20 billion to work on stock re-purchases and various equity stakes. The company's top five holdings are American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola and Alphabet.

Earnings season is winding down, but there are still plenty of relevant companies yet to report. Here's a selection for the coming week:

Monday: (before open) Barrick (B), Ceva (CEVA); (after close) hims|hers (HIMS), GoPro (GPRO), Plug Power (PLUG)

Tuesday: (before open) Cardinal Health (CAH), Rackspace (RXT), Tencent Music (TME), Lithium Argentina (LAR); (after close) Supermicro Semi (SMCI), Cava (CAVA), CoreWeave (CRWV)

Wednesday: (before open) Brinker International (EAT), Amcor (AMCR); (after close) Cisco (CSCO), Enovix (ENVX), Cerebras (CBRS), Renovo (RNXT)

Thursday: (before open) JD.com (JD), MedWound (MDWD), Intuitive Machines (LUNR); (after close) Applied Materials (AMAT), PetMeds (PETS)

Friday: (before open) LanzaTech (LNZA), Outlook Therapeutics (OTLK), Suncrete (RMIX)

As congress takes its usual five-week holiday, data releases will be sparse in the week ahead with the CPI and PPI readings for July grabbing the most attention. Tuesday has the NFIB Business Optimism Index, ADP weekly employment change and Existing Home Sales.

Wednesday starts off with the CPI reading, with most of the speculation on the inflation reading to be unchanged or even slightly lower due to gas prices beginning to come down and food prices being steady. July PPI is reported Thursday along with initial and continuing Unemployment Claims, with Friday's reading of July Retail Sales capping off the week.

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
07/02/2026	3.70	3.73	3.81	3.82	3.91	3.98	3.96
07/10/2026	3.71	3.74	3.81	3.85	3.94	3.99	4.06
07/17/2026	3.73	3.75	3.80	3.85	3.91	3.96	4.01
07/24/2026	3.80	3.88	3.95	3.96	4.04	4.08	4.14
07/31/2026	3.78	3.80	3.85	3.83	3.92	3.98	4.08
08/07/2026	3.79	3.79	3.83	3.87	3.89	3.96	4.01

Date	2 Yr	3 Yr	5 Yr	7 Yr	10 Yr	20 Yr	30 Yr
07/02/2026	4.14	4.16	4.23	4.35	4.49	4.99	4.98
07/10/2026	4.21	4.22	4.30	4.42	4.56	5.08	5.06
07/17/2026	4.18	4.21	4.28	4.40	4.55	5.07	5.06
07/24/2026	4.33	4.36	4.43	4.55	4.69	5.18	5.16
07/31/2026	4.28	4.34	4.45	4.59	4.75	5.28	5.27
08/07/2026	4.19	4.25	4.35	4.49	4.65	5.20	5.19

Yields on notes and bonds fell over the course of the week, with 10-year notes yielding 4.65%, down from 4.75% a week earlier. The 30-year bond dropped eight basis points, to 5.19%, though all longer-dated maturities are at elevated levels. The upshot from higher rates is the increased cost of borrowing by the federal government. With annual interest payments well over $1 trillion a year, everybody from debt slaves to Secretary Bessent would benefit from lower rates, particularly Republicans, needing a sound economy to avoid being cast to the wind in November.

The Senate did its part to secure victory for all incumbents by overwhelmingly passing a stop-gap funding bill that would keep the government solvent through early December. Neither side wants to go through another round of potentially shutting down the government. The public is sick of the theatrics and neither Democrats nor Republicans can claim that such a strategy has worked in any manner. For the most part, the general public tend to blame both sides and all politicians for creatng their own mess and then acting like they're cleaning it up.

Predictably, spreads narrowed, though insignificantly.

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: +36

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

Oil/Gas

August WTI crude futures closed out the week at $77.08, down sharply from last week's closeout at $86.80 on the NY Mercantile Exchange. An agreement between Oman and Iran to direct traffic safely through the Strait of Hormuz, in addition to the muted response by the White House, offered an indication that the five-month-long period of hostility in the region may be coming to an end. While there are still multiple abrasions in the region, like the Houthis attacking Saudi infrastructure, that could derail any "deal" that emerges, the U.S. may have finally come to its senses over fighting wars it cannot win, which would effectively be a peace bomus for everybody.

Politics, being so craven and misused, may take a back seat as congress heads out of session for five weeks. That's also welcome relief and bodes well not only for U.S. interests but those of the rest of the world. It's apparent that the entire world is better off when politicians aren't involved and even a five-week hiatus from the posturing and poisoning is a positive development.

Average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline in the U.S. was $4.07 last week and $3.96 this week, the first notable drop in the price of petrol in weeks. The possibility of peace in the Middle East eases fears of higher gas prices which are squeezing already thin household and small business budgets. If the Strait of Hormuz becomes no longer a flashpoint, the price of oil should fall into the $60-65 range soon, taking gas prices down to more reasonable levels, around $2.75-3.00, and possibly lower, especially in the Southeast and Midwest.

Gas prices in key states:

California (leader): $5.58 (-0.08)
Washington: $5.11 (-0.02)
Indiana (lowest): $3.49 (-0.13)
Oklahoma (lowest): $3.49 (-0.15)
Mississippi: $3.56 (-0.07)
Florida: $3.85 (+0.05)
Illinois: $4.22 (-0.12)
Pennsylvania: $4.10 (-0.10)
New York: $4.14 (-0.05)
Maryland: $4.00 (-0.13)
Michigan: $4.12 (-0.24)
Texas: $3.51 (-0.05)
Georgia: $3.71 (-0.13)

On Sunday, April 9th, there are nineteen (19) states with average prices at or above $4.00, with twenty-nine (29) below the $4 threshold, not including Hawaii ($5.43) and Alaska ($4.76), with two above $5 (California and Washington). The Southeast has maintained as the lowest region overall over the past 10 weeks as a gallon of unleaded regular is averaging below $4.00 ($3.49-3.71) in places like Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, and Mississippi, with the Midwest region a close second, prices ranging from $3.66 to $3.85. Exceptions include Florida in the Southeast and Michigan and Illinois in the Midwest.

Bitcoin

This week: $65,185.72
Last week: $63,049.68
2 weeks ago: $64,633.18
6 months ago: $69,832.38
One year ago: $118,239.10
Five years ago: $47,103.48

The CLARITY act remains stalled in the Senate, as the elite in government take a five week vacation.

Non-passage of the CLARITY act before the recess is widely acknowledged as meaning it will wait until the next congress convenes in 2027. Not that it matters, however, since crypto is all fantasy-currency, worse even than Federal Reserve Notes.

Precious Metals

Gold:Silver Ratio: 68.29; last week: 70.23

Futures, per COMEX continuous contracts:

Gold price 7/10: $4,128.90
Gold price 7/17: $4,023.00
Gold price 7/24: $4,055.70
Gold price 7/31: $4,098.60
Gold price 8/7: $4,401.30

Silver price 7/10: $60.30
Silver price 7/17: $56.22
Silver price 7/24: $58.49
Silver price 7/31: $57.78
Silver price 8/7: $63.80

SPOT: (stockcharts.com)
Gold 7/10: $4,119.70
Gold 7/17: $4,016.89
Gold 7/24: $4,052.00
Gold 7/31: $4,042.00
Gold 8/7: $4,340.72

Silver 7/10: $59.85
Silver 7/17: $55.91
Silver 7/24: $58.19
Silver: 7/31: $57.55
Silver 8/7: $63.56

At long last, precious metals made a breakout move in the most recent trading. Still reliant on London gold and silver fixes and spot pricing, the gains this week look to be marking an important shift in how precious metals are valued, pitting London, Chicago, and New York's long-standing derivative mechanisms against Shanghai's momentum toward pricing gold and silver based physical trades.

These are divergent trends which threaten not only the rigged exchanges at the LBMA and COMEX, but have begun to hedge against the U.S. dollar itself, especially in terms of gold. As gold has emerged as the one, indisputable central bank trusted asset, the desire to hold U.S. treasuries continues to wane. Most Asian countries prefer gold over U.S. paper promises, especially, Russia, China, and India, where, not coincidentally, most of the gold in the world is either mined or stored.

Asia has been flexing the gold muscle for roughly the last 20 years, and, with China setting up vaulting facilities in Singapore, Hong, Kong, Dubai, and elsewhere, the trend toward physical assets over fiat paper is now visible and growing at an accelerated pace.

There's little doubt that the U.S. and London interests will do all they can to thwart the goals of BRICS and related interests, so it's likely to be a bumpy ride over the next 5-10 years in terms of currencies and valuations, though it's obvious now to all that the new money will end up being the same as the old money: namely, gold.

Silver will have its place in both the industrial and monetary spheres. Judging by the movement of the gold:silver ratio this week, silver, with its dual function, may very well lead the way forward. After all, gold's decline was from $5,500 to roughly $4,000, while silver was effectively cut in half, from $120 per ounce to as low as $57. As gold heads back toward all-time highs, silver may "jump the shark" by advancing faster and with more volatility. While central banks aren't holding much of it due to its weight and storage requirements as compared to gold, silver remains a means by which individuals and smaller investors can latch onto the precious metals bandwagon and protect some of their wealth.

Attributed to Norm Franz, a former monetary economist, investment company president, ordained minister, and Bible teacher, the following oft-repeated idiom appears in his 2001 book Money & Wealth in the New Millennium:

Gold is the money of kings;
silver is the money of gentlemen;
barter is the money of peasants;
but debt is the money of slaves.

Couldn't agree more.

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:	69.79	76.00	73.04	73.09
1 oz silver bar:	69.00	84.65	75.08	73.40
1 oz gold coin:	4425.00	4711.39	4588.38	4588.98
1 oz gold bar:	4497.70	4669.28	4562.33	4545.71

The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) took a quantum leap forward, closing the week at $73.65, an upside move of $7.55 per troy ounce from the August 2nd price of $66.10.

WEEKEND WRAP

Could the five-month Middle East escapade by the U.S. military possibly be coming to an end? Latest developments seem to point in that direction, though this same story has been trotted out too many times before for anybody to take the White House and the media seriously. Generally speaking, the U.S. backing off in the region would be a very positive development and one that is long overdue.

If the U.S. decides to "declare victory and go home" it might mark a turning point in global geo-politics, one in which the United States prefers to negotiate rather than instigate. It's a hopeful dream, but, as long as there is money to be made from killing other people, it's not likely to happen soon enough. The politicians involved are currently more engaged by upcoming elections, with the midterms less than three months away.

Maybe that's what needs to be done. Have elections every couple of months or even weeks so the politicians won't have time to scheme up any further disasters. Probably not a plan, but one can dream.

Probably the most positive development of the week was a return ot some sanity in precious metals markets. With the massive loss of purchasing power of the U.S. dollar, to say nothing of the yen, euro, pound and other fiat currencies, a return to gold as the ultimate collateral and store of wealth may be a painful adjustment for many, but a long term boon for society.

At the Close, Friday, August 7, 2026:
Dow: 54,036.93, +151.83 (+0.28%)
NASDAQ: 26,690.62, +342.26 (+1.30%)
S&P 500: 7,757.64, +47.68 (+0.62%)
NYSE Composite: 24,595.24, +111.18 (+0.45%)

For the Week:
Dow: +1551.90 (+2.96%)
NASDAQ: +1316.77 (+5.19%)
S&P 500: +267.92 (+3.58)
NYSE Composite: +487.69 (+2.02%)
Dow Transports: +466.79 (+2.22%)

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.

Gold, Silver Soar Overnight; BLS Reports July Job Losses of 23,000; Wall Street Thrilled with Weakening Economy

Taking a breather in advance of Friday's July Non-farm Payroll data, stocks turned modestly to the downside, the Dow being the most affected, having made outsized moves higher lately.

Overnight, stock futures made small gains, but the bigger story was n precious metals, with silver soaring past $64.50 and gold topping out above $4,300. Both metals appear to have put in near term bottoms and recent gains can be pinpointed to the end of July, when China severely restricted gold and silver futures, setting in place trading tied to physical metal, in direct opposition to the paper trades of the COMEX and LBMA.

China's bold strategy may turn out to be a tectonic shift in precius metals trading, shifting the focus from West to East, thwarting the tactics that have suppressed the prices of gold and silver for decades. The transition - basing price on physical delivery rather than false standards and promises settled in fiat paper - is likely to take months and years to fully impact the global market, but all indications are that China, as the world's largest holder of gold, wants money to be back by something more than full faith and credit of broken, bankrupt Western economies.

As the BLS reported Friday morning that the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, the U.S. lost jobs in July, down 23,000. The drop in U.S. employment was the seventh monthly decline in the last 18 reports. Job losses were reported by the BLS in January, June, August, October, and December of 2025, and in February, and now, July, 2026.

Worsening the situation, the BLS also reported:

The change in total non-farm payroll employment for May was revised down by 66,000, from +129,000 to +63,000, and the change for June was revised down by 37,000, from +57,000 to +20,000. With these revisions, employment in May and June combined is 103,000 lower than previously reported.

These downside revisions have become routine, and sometimes are market-moving. Reaction in the futures markets to what should be considered bad news, had the usual Wall Street pretzel logic, as a decline in employment might urge the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, as cheap money is always and everywhere top of mind for Wall Street financiers. Stock futures spiked higher, along with gold and silver futures.

Seemingly content with a crippled job market, Wall Street faces a tangled dilemma. Federal Reserve Chairman, Kevin Warsh, is unlikely to reveal any indications of the FOMC's future intent, all the while the new Fed head leaning toward a slow and measured response, preferring the market making adjustments rather than the Fed pulling on the market's nose ring via hints, suppositions, and directional interest rate moves. The next FOMC meeting isn't for a month (September 15-16). Also, at the July meeting, three board members voted for a rate hike, so turning the board in favor of a cut would be a titanic effort.

Approaching 9:00 am ET, stock futures held their gains, with Dow futures up 159 points, NASDAQ futures ahead by 353, and S&P futures up 40 points.

Given that the July jobs report came in below the lowest estimate, it may be regarded as something of a shock, but the real trend is shown over the past 18 months, as U.S. job growth has stagnated. On the economy as a whole, Friday's July payrolls fall in line with the first reading of second quarter GDP, which was up a tiny 1.5%.

How Wall Street balances out a tiring econony with a runaway, overvalued stock market should begin to unfold today.

At the Close, Thursday, august 6, 2026:
Dow: 53,885.10, -464.02 (-0.85%)
NASDAQ: 26,348.35, -15.09 (-0.06%)
S&P 500: 7,709.96, -13.59 (-0.18%)
NYSE Composite: 24,484.06, -29.75 (-0.12%)

Dow Up, Tech Down as Wall Street Cruises through Earnings; AppLovin Stunned, Down 18% on Earnings Miss

Wall Street looks to be headed for another split session on Thursday, with Dow stocks on the rise and the broader market suffering a bit of buyer's remorse, as speculators backed off Wednesday.

Who can blame shareholders for taking some profits? The Shiller PE (CAPE) stands at 42.19, the second highest ever, the Dow and S&P have just made new all-time highs and the NASDAQ, though still technically in a corrective mode, is just percentage points of its own all-time high.

One cause for concern among the tech names is AppLovin (APP), a darling of speculators who sent the stock up above $700/share, just got hit with a big earnings miss. AppLovin reported a Q2 2026 revenue of $1,923.69 million, narrowly missing the estimated $1,942.00 million, while reported adjusted EPS came in at $3.76, falling short of the estimated $4.21. In pre-market trading, shares are down more than 18%, hovering around $340/share. The price cut in half in just eight months, there doesn't seem to be much tolerance for under-performance. In other words, AppLovin isn't getting much Lovin'.

Stocks futures are mixed, with NASDAQ futures down 236 points, while S&P futures are up 4.50 and Dow Futures ahead by 97 points.

Gold and silver have been rallying the past few days, with gold now back above $4,300 per ounce and silver above $61, both poised for major breakouts, maybe, someday.

Earnings reports continue to flow, though most of the big names have already come and gone. Friday's Non-farm payroll data will be the key to close out the week Friday.

It's a trader's market, with some degree of quiet in the Middle East. WTI crude oil is trading around $76/barrel, a reasonable level given the current state of affairs with Iran, Oman and the Strait of Hormuz.

At the Close, Wednesday, August 5, 2026:
Dow: 54,349.12, +263.24 (+0.49%)
NASDAQ: 26,363.44, -221.55 (-0.83%)
S&P 500: 7,723.55, -12.97 (-0.17%)
NYSE Composite: 24,513.81, +50.95 (+0.21%)

Dow, S&P 500 Close at New All-Time Highs; Disney Profit Rises, Will Add to Dow Surge; AMD Punished for High Capex

One thing that can be said about Wall Street: it loves a party.

Stocks were simply the rage on Tuesday, extending the across-the-board rally to four straight sessions, with the Dow and S&P posting record closing prices. The S&P made a decisive move forward, surpassing the June 2nd high of 7,609.78 without so much as making a pit stop in the 7,600 range, closing at 7,736.52. That certainly was a pretty loud cha-ching for SPY options players.

The beat goes on Wednesday after another Dow component, Disney (DIS), delivered an EPS surprise, reporting $2.06, well ahead of the estimated $1.85, while revenue of $25.25 billion came in just below expectations, at $25.41 billion. The profit boost sent shares of the entertainment monolith up 3.5 percent in pre-market trading.

After the close on Tuesday, these companies reported 2nd quarter results:
Advance Micro Devices (AMD) - top and bottom beat, but a 31% decline in gaming segment and high capex send shares down more than 7%
Opendoor (OPEN) - swing and a miss on EPS and revenue sending shares down 6% pre-market
Booking Holdings (BKNG) - top and bottom beat, record shareholder returns; stock up more than 6% prior to the bell

On Wednesday, before the open:
Shopify (SHOP) - solid beat, shares higher by 23% before the bell
Uber (UBER) - EPS beat, revenue miss, shares down 3%
Eli Lilly (LLY) - big wins on earnings and revenue, shares up 5%

Since the beginning of the rally last Thursday, here's the scorecard for the three majors, roughly:

Dow: +2480 points
S&P 500: +420 points
NASDAQ: +2200 points

Not bad for four days.

At the Close, Tuesday, August 4, 2026: Dow: 54,085.88, +907.47 (+1.71%) NASDAQ: 26,584.99, +671.10 (+2.59%) S&P 500: 7,736.52, +136.02 (+1.79%) NYSE Composite: 24,462.87, +207.34 (+0.85%)

Dow Makes New All-Time High; S&P Should Surpass Previous High Today; NASDAQ Lags, But May Soon Out-Perform; Hormuz Open? Oil Lower

Stocks powered higher on Monday, extending the rally to tree straight sessions in all of the majors, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record all-time closing high.

The Dow posted a gain of nearly 700 points, betting that already solid quarterly results would be matched or bettered by companies about to report. The Dow components that have already reported include JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Visa (V), Chevron (CVX), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Proctor & Gamble (PG), Boeing (BA), and Goldman Sachs (GS).

Queuing up for the Tuesday session, Merck (MRK), McDonald's (MCD), and Caterpillar (CAT) released second quarter results prior to the open.

Merck (MRK) reported a reported adjusted EPS of $0.00 (beating the estimated loss of -$0.257) and generated reported revenue of $16.61 billion, which surpassed the estimated $16.37 billion. The company's financial metrics were heavily impacted by a $5.7 billion one-time acquisition charge tied to Terns Pharmaceuticals, equivalent to a $2.31 per share hit that pulled down GAAP performance. Investors looked past lower guidance to send shares roughly one percent higher in pre-market trading.

McDonald's (MCD) reported Q2 2026 adjusted EPS of $3.38, beating the estimated $3.321, while its reported revenue of $7.099 billion missed the estimated $7.126 billion. The stock was essentially flat prior to the opening bell.

Caterpillar (CAT) soared, beating top and bottom line estimates. Caterpillar reported a major beat for Q2 2026, delivering an adjusted EPS of $8.17 compared to the estimated $6.197, and generating revenue of $20.543 billion against expectations of approximately $19.199 billion. Following the blowout quarter, Caterpillar lifted its full-year 2026 revenue growth target to a mid-to-high-teens percentage range, up from its previous projection of low-double-digit growth. Caterpillar's stock was seen rising by as much as 12% in the pre-market.

At more then $800 per share, CAT is a heavyweight on the Dow and has sent Dow Futures soaring

After Monday's close, Palantir (PLTR) reported blowout earnings, sending shares up 15%, helping fuel a strong recovery on the NASDAQ.

At around 8:30 am ET, Dow futures are up 665 points, NASDAQ futures are ahead by 317, with S&P futures rising 26 points.

The S&P 500 is just nine points shy of a record closing high, which looks to be well withing range on Tuesday. The NASDAQ continues to lag, but, after a sharp selloff on fears of AI infrastructure overspending, bargain hunters are sure to step in and boost prices for hyperscalers like Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and others. If current trends remain in place, the NASDAQ should surpass its own All-time high of 27,093.90 within weeks. It is roughly a 5% move.

Adding to the happy mood on Wall Street is the situation in the Middle East, with President Trump insisting that peace talks with Iran are moving forward, despite denials from the Iranians. In any case, the hostilities have diminished recently, with no major strikes by either side since last week. For its part, Iran continues negotiations with Oman and Qatar, seeking resolution to the logjam at the Strait of Hormuz.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bassent has chimed in, noting that a deal to open the strait to oil and other commercial traffic could come as early as tomorrow (or maybe today). How much of what the administration touts as progress is a matter of some conjecture. The administration has repeatedly talked "deal or no deal" over the past three months. The usual situation emanating from the proclamations and narrative-building is for negotiations to fail at the last minute, sending the region back to wartime positioning and oil spiking higher. Whether or not this is another head fake by Trump and his staff remains to be seen.

For now, markets have bought in, sending stocks higher, treasury yields and the price of oil lower.

Wall Street and the stock-trading Capitol Hill gang are on a roll.

At the Close, Monday, August 3, 2026:
Dow: 53,178.41, +693.38 (+1.32%)
NASDAQ: 25,913.90, +540.04 (+2.13%)
S&P 500: 7,600.50, +110.78 (+1.48%)
NYSE Composite: 24,255.53, +147.98 (+0.61%)

WEEKEND WRAP: Markets Lack Direction; Employment in Focus; Iran-U.S. Spat Continues; Gold, Silver Punished; Oil Higher

The past week was odd, to the point of being mostly inscrutable. After the FOMC reveal (no change) and press conference (no guidance) on Wednesday, stocks sold off like it was October 1929, but then staged an enormous rally Thursday, as if the events from the day before didn't even exist.

Hard to say, and even harder to prove, it appeared as if some people with large sums of money were playing games in deep pools, fooling the rest of the participants into making financial miscues. Both the downdraft on Wednesday and the upshot Thursday might as well be disregarded. They cancelled each other out.

Even with another one percent move higher on Friday, the NASDAQ remains moribund, down 6.35% from the June 2nd high (27,093.90). What looked on Thursday like an extended relief rally, might better be described as a "stick save, and a beauty", as the NASDAQ was less than 1/2 percent away from the "official" correction designation of down 10%. Can't have that.

The back-and-forth in the Middle East continues to the point of aggravation, the U.S. repeatedly saying a deal is close before resuming military actions against Iran. It's a monstrously bad situation that should not have happened in the first place, and, secondly, seems to be without any hope for a peaceful resolution. Thank the neocons and a completely corrupt congress and executive branch for yet another endless war.

Stocks

The major indices ended what was a two-week slide, led down by the NASDAQ, but there are few indications that this market is healthy. It's one of the more erratic structures of recent years, heavily politicized, highly mechanized, extremely overvalued, and without clear direction.

More big (and small) names will be reporting second quarter results this week, one of the busiest of the season, dominated by mid-week reports from Dow components:

Monday: (before open) Marriott International (MAR), Avista (AVA), Sportradar (SRAD); (after close) Palantir (PLTR), Vertex (VRTX), Snap Inc. (SNAP), Clorox (CLX)

Tuesday: (before open) Merck (MRK), Pfizer (PFE), McDonald's (MCD), Caterpillar (CAT), Wayfair (W); (after close) AMD (AMD), Opendoor (OPEN), Kratos (KTOS), Allegiant (ALGT), Booking Holdings (BKNG)

Wednesday: (before open) Shopify (SHOP), Uber (UBER), Eli Lilly (LLY), Walt Disney (DIS), Novo Nordisk (NVO), Riot (RIOT); (after close) Sandisk (SNDK), Western Digital (WDC), AppLovin (APP), Mercado Libre (MELI), Beyond Meat (BYND)

Thursday: (before open) Fiserve (FISV), Celsius ((CELH), Conoco Phillips (COP); (after close) AirBnB (ABNB), Red Cat (RCAT), Draft Kings (DKNG)

Friday: (before open) Wenday's (WEN), UnderArmour (UAA), Vistra Energy (VST)

Data releases include Monday's ISM Manufacturing PMI; Tuesday, Balance of Trade (Imports/Exports), Factory Orders, and JOLTS. Wednesday: ADP Employment Report for July, S&P PMI; Thursday: Jobless Claims, which leads into the big finale, Friday's July Non-Farm Payrolls from the BLS.

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
06/26/2026	3.70	3.70	3.75	3.83	3.89	3.94	3.94
07/02/2026	3.70	3.73	3.81	3.82	3.91	3.98	3.96
07/10/2026	3.71	3.74	3.81	3.85	3.94	3.99	4.06
07/17/2026	3.73	3.75	3.80	3.85	3.91	3.96	4.01
07/24/2026	3.80	3.88	3.95	3.96	4.04	4.08	4.14
07/31/2026	3.78	3.80	3.85	3.83	3.92	3.98	4.08

Date	2 Yr	3 Yr	5 Yr	7 Yr	10 Yr	20 Yr	30 Yr
06/26/2026	4.07	4.09	4.12	4.23	4.38	4.87	4.87
07/02/2026	4.14	4.16	4.23	4.35	4.49	4.99	4.98
07/10/2026	4.21	4.22	4.30	4.42	4.56	5.08	5.06
07/17/2026	4.18	4.21	4.28	4.40	4.55	5.07	5.06
07/24/2026	4.33	4.36	4.43	4.55	4.69	5.18	5.16
07/31/2026	4.28	4.34	4.45	4.59	4.75	5.28	5.27

Nobody wants long-dates treasuries, with the 10-year yield now topping 4.75% and 30-year bonds yielding 5.27%.

Spreads continue to blow out, with the full spectrum at its highest level of the year.

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

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

Oil/Gas

August WTI crude futures closed out the week at $86.80, down from last week's closeout at $90.47 on the NY Mercantile Exchange, though still at the high end of the recent range. Military action in the Mideast region continues to drive oil prices higher. $100 oil is probably in the cards unless some kind of agreement between Iran, the U.S. and Israel is reached, so probably not very soon.

Average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline in the U.S. was $4.07 last week and $4.07 this week, as the Middle East tinderbox exploded with military strikes throughout the region, the MOU between the U.S. and Iran completely shattered, fake talk of a deal continuing as the region devolves into a unmanageable quagmire.

Reserves have been substantially drained by major economies around the world to keep prices under control, but they have largely reached bottoms. With reserves exhausted, conditions are ripe for a return to $5 gas in the U.S., as the president completely disregards the welfare of U.S. citizens. Prices should reach near-record levels in coming weeks as there seems to be no path toward resolution other than annihilation. It continues to be a sorry state of affairs.

Gas prices in key states:

California (leader): $5.66 (+0.03)
Washington: $5.13 (+0.03)
Indiana: $3.62 (+0.12)
Oklahoma: $3.64 (-0.10)
Mississippi: $3.63 (-0.01)
Florida: $3.80 (-0.15)
Illinois: $4.34 (+0.09)
Pennsylvania: $4.20 (-0.02)
New York: $4.19 (-0.01)
Maryland: $4.13 (-0.03)
Michigan: $4.36 (+0.15)
Texas (lowest): $3.56 (-0.12)
Georgia: $3.84 (-0.07)

On Sunday, April 2nd, there are twenty-four (24) states with average prices at or above $4.00, with 24 below the $4 threshold, not including Hawaii ($5.45) and Alaska ($4.75), with two above $5 (California and Washington). The Southeast has maintained as the lowest region overall over the past nine weeks as a gallon of unleaded regular is averaging below $4.00 ($3.64-3.91) in places like Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, and Mississippi, with the Midwest region a close second, prices ranging from $3.70 to $4.05. Exceptions include Florida in the Southeast and Michigan and Illinois in the Midwest. Indiana ($3.62) lost its spot as the lowest, handing it over to Texas, as the moratorium on gasoline taxes in Indiana has expired.

Bitcoin

This week: $63,049.68
Last week: $64,633.18
2 weeks ago: $64,539.98
6 months ago: $78,766.63
One year ago: $113,730.60
Five years ago: $44,596.43

Bitcoin remained flat for the fourth straight week as the CLARITY act remains stalled in the Senate, the bandits in congress haven't fully endorsed the bill and it faces an uncertain future.

Bitcoin and crypto in general remain among the worst investments of 2026. Bitcoin is down 28% year-to-date.

Precious Metals

Gold:Silver Ratio: 70.23; last week: 69.63

Futures, per COMEX continuous contracts:

Gold price 7/2: $4,187.30
Gold price 7/10: $4,128.90
Gold price 7/17: $4,023.00
Gold price 7/24: $4,055.70
Gold price 7/31: $4,098.60

Silver price 7/2: $62.81
Silver price 7/10: $60.30
Silver price 7/17: $56.22
Silver price 7/24: $58.49
Silver price 7/31: $57.78

SPOT: (stockcharts.com)
Gold 7/2: $4,122.76
Gold 7/10: $4,119.70
Gold 7/17: $4,016.89
Gold 7/24: $4,052.00
Gold 7/31: $4,042.00

Silver 7/2: $60.93
Silver 7/10: $59.85
Silver 7/17: $55.91
Silver 7/24: $58.19
ilver: 7/31: $57.55

Holders and fans of real money were punished again last week.

The gold:silver ratio suggests silver may be a good play at these levels.

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:	55.00	70.00	63.95	64.80
1 oz silver bar:	64.81	73.47	68.02	67.64
1 oz gold coin:	4208.29	4450.00	4281.77	4275.96
1 oz gold bar:	4213.49	4346.74	4259.65	4248.49

The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) took another hit, closing the week at $66.10, a downside move of $3.42 per troy ounce from the July 26 price of $69.52.

WEEKEND WRAP

Everything is a narrative these days. Anybody finding real value is either lucky, cognizant of inside information, or of genius intelligence.

At the Close, Friday, July 31, 2026:
Dow: 52,485.03, +276.97 (+0.53%)
NASDAQ: 25,373.85(+251.68), +251.68 (1.00%)
S&P 500: 7,489.72, +52.09 (+0.70%)
NYSE Composite: 24,107.55, -30.75 (-0.13%)

For the Week:
Dow: +537.78 (+1.04%)
NASDAQ: +398.03 (+1.59%)
S&P 500: +77.74 (+1.05%)
NYSE Composite: +116.65 (+0.49%)
Dow Transports: +1436.86 (6.39%)

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.

NASDAQ Ends Six-Session Losing Streak with Big Rally; Amazon Higher on Solid Quarter; Apple Spanked After Missing EPS Estimates

The NASDAQ ended a six-session losing streak Thursday, posting one of the best gains of the year, up 2.78% on the day. Following its lead, the Dow, S&P, and NYSE Composite added solid gains.

The rally was important, as the NASDAQ had touched correction level, down 9.78% from its most recent high. Still, the one-day rise doesn't erase the losses since June 2nd, down 7.28% over that span.

Whatever caused the sudden shift in sentiment may never be known, other than deep-pocketed interests wanting to keep the "all-good" narrative going.

After the bell on Thursday, Amazon (AMZN) reported strong second quarter results, investors overlooking their AI expense to reward the company with a 10% move higher into Friday's pre-market. Apple (AAPL) also reported Thursday, but delivered sub-par results, especially in their Chinese enterprise. Shares have been spanked seven to eight percent lower Friday morning.

Energy giants, ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) reported Friday morning. ExxonMobil beat on revenue, but fell short on EPS, leaving the stock down 1-2 percent heading toward the opening bell. Chevron did better, beating top and bottom. Shares are roughly two percent higher.

In the Middle East, conditions continue to tend toward continued escalation, with Iran reportedly hitting Kuwaiti bases overnight, sending WTI crude oil over $85/barrel.

Futures are off earlier highs, with Dow futures up 189; NASDAQ futures up 245, and S&P futures ahead by 17. Gold and silver have been beaten down again on futures markets. Nothing new there.

The easy path for stocks is always upward, but there doesn't seem to be sufficient energy to move significantly to the upside. The NASDAQ, despite the strong one-day event, remains a dangerous place to be and nobody knows the level of manipulation being supplied by government and institutional plumbers.

At the Close, Thursday, July 30, 2026:
Dow: 52,208.06, +613.92 (+1.19%)
NASDAQ: 25,122.18, +679.24 (+2.78%)
S&P 500: 7,437.63, +121.48 (+1.66%)
NYSE Composite: 24,138.29, +193.32 (+0.81%)

Quiet Fed Chairman Warsh, FOMC Send Stocks Reeling; Market Uncertain, Futures Deceptive, NASDAQ Down 9.78%; GDP Miss, +1.5%

Was it something he said?

Just as Fed Chairman Keven Warsh was finishing up his press conference Wednesday afternoon, stocks nosedived, making the final hour of trading look like somebody had touched off a nuclear bomb.

Nothing quite as severe had happened. What did occur on Wednesday afternoon, ironically, was nothing, nothing other than the FOMC deciding to do nothing regarding the federal funds target interest rate, keeping the range steady at 3.50-3.75%, right where it has been since the FOMC meeting in December, 2025.

At 2:00 pm ET, the committee released the following statement:

The Federal Open Market Committee approved the following statement for release by a 9 – 3 vote:

The Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3-1/2 to 3-3/4 percent, in support of the Federal Reserve's dual mandate. The Committee is continuing its policy of maintaining ample reserves in the banking system.

Economic activity is expanding at a solid pace despite elevated uncertainty that owes, in part, to the conflict in the Middle East. Productivity growth and capital investment are strong. Job gains have kept pace with the workforce, and the unemployment rate has changed little.

Inflation remains elevated relative to the Committee's 2 percent goal, in part reflecting supply shocks that have driven price increases in certain sectors, including energy. The Committee will deliver price stability.

Voting against the monetary policy action were Beth M. Hammack, Neel Kashkari, and Lorie K. Logan, who preferred to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point at this meeting.

The brevity of the statement itself reflected the newfound policy of the Warsh Fed to be concise, factual, and devoid of innuendo or speculation. Notably, the policy statement leaned toward making the Middle East conflict and assorted supply chain disruptions the scapegoat for inflation. That point was brought home by Warsh during the perss conference, his measured response suggesting that although the recent bout of inflation was primarily cause not by monetary factors, but by market reactions to outside, geo-political decisions made by the White House, though he did not name any specific cause other than the 2000 pandemic and he recent spat with Iran.

Chairman Warsh is proving to be, after just two FOMC meetings, a crafty spokesman and a measured decision maker. Keeping rates steady over the past two meetings while offering no advance guidance on Fed policy prompted a hailstorm of questioning from the financial press, to the point of Bloomberg's Michael McKee asking, "what are you waiting for?"

Unaffected by the tone of questioning, Warsh handled the press with a delicate balance of statesmanship and reservation. While the press corps continued probing for answers or direction, Warsh batted them down, repeatedly expressing his commitment to keeping policy decisions firmly within the body of the FOMC, offering no advance indications on the direction of that policy.

Warsh's steadfast refusal to allow speculation over Fed policy has the press in a tizzy. Since the days of Bernanke, Yellen, and Powell giving the press plenty of meat on which to chew regarding the Fed's intentions, reporters have become accustomed to having clues dropped from the Chairman's podium and are now frustrated at Warsh's refusal to offer any hints or speculation on where Federal Reserve policy might be headed.

Perhaps it wasn't what Warsh said at the presser that sent markets reeling, but what he failed to say that engendered Wednesday's sudden market collapse. Maybe it was the realization that three board members had voted to hike rates, which turns out to be just about the only indication of where the Fed might be headed. Given that the market as a whole would prefer the Fed lowering the federal funds target rate, the thought that some members of the FOMC might prefer hiking instead sends chills through the structure.

That's likely what happened: Market participants, hoping for a lifeline of hope from the Chairman, bid stocks higher after the decision announcement and through the press conference. When none appeared, they did the only logical thing. They sold.

Reaction in international markets overnight and into the European session has been mostly positive, and stock futures are pointing to a higher open. Given the ferocity of Wednesday's bolt to the downside late in the session, the sudden jerk higher in stock futures should be regarded with caution. After all, the NASDAQ has dropped six straight sessions and nine of the last 10, with Wednesday's 600-point slide in the final hour of trading perhaps the most violent move of recent memory. It does not seem at all logical that stocks would suddenly reverse course and head higher. The futures have been reliable in at least one regard: as contrary indicators of the cash market. Higher at the open and lower at the close has become a trademark of the recent decline, one that has left the NASDAQ down 9.78% from the June 2 high (27,093.90).

Rounding out, that puts te NASDAQ squarely in correction territory, even by the widely-accepted 10% textbook qualifier.

After the close Wednesday, Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META) released second quarter results, with Mr. Softie getting the better of it, up nine percent in pre-market trading. META, which beat on revenue but missed on EPS, wasn't treated as kindly, the stock sent reeling, down nine percent overnight and into Thursday's pre-market, which giveth, then taketh away.

In a pertinent development, the U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.5% in the second quarter of 2026 (April–June), according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ advance estimate, released at 8:30 am ET Thursday morning. This was weaker than expected, with economists anticipating 2.1% growth. That reading should give investors pause. If the economy is indeed slowing, those three dissenters at the FOMC may be incorrect in assessing a need to tighten. Should economic conditions continue to devolve, sending rates lower - easing - may be the correct course, which, at this juncture, may be soothing to Wall Street bulls.

That didn't seem to faze markets in the least. At 8:45 am ET, Dow futures are up 178; NASDAQ futures are higher by 454 points, and S&P futures are showing a 48-point upside.

Gold and silver are slightly higher while WTI crude oil is steadying around $84-85/barrel.

The takeaway from the FOMC standstill has markets standing on the head of a pin. While a recovery in tech stocks may be developing, it's likely to be very short-lived. Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL) report after the close.

There's plenty to be confused about within this market and the market loathes uncertainty.

At the Close, Wednesday, July 29, 2026: Dow: 51,594.14, -1,153.18 (-2.19%) NASDAQ: 24,442.94, -433.97 (-1.74%) S&P 500: 7,316.15, -112.63 (-1.52%) NYSE Composite: 23,944.97, -284.70 (-1.18%)

NASDAQ in Correction Mode, Down Five Straight Sessions; Oil Rises on Resumption of Military Strikes at Saudis; Earnings Mixed, Futures Lower

The NASDAQ fell for the fifth straight session Tuesday and the eighth in the last nine.

If this isn't a correction, then there needs to be a new definition of what it is. Money is coming out of semi and Mag7 stocks and into basic materials, second tier cloud storage and cash. Some consumer-facing stocks are thriving, but others are feeling the effects of inflation and stretched family budgets.

The Mideast situation took a turn for the worse overnight as Houthis continued to target Saudi oil infrastructure. There's a good chance that negotiations will fail again and fighting between Iran and the U.S. will re-accelerate. Crude oil is higher overnight, WTI heading toward $85/barrel rapidly. Stock futures headed lower, especially the Dow, down 300 points at 9:00 am ET, with the NASDAQ and S&P flat.

After Tuesday's closing bell, companies rported second quarter results:
Visa (V) - Earnings beat, layoffs announced, shares down 2% pre-market
Teradyne (TER) - Beat, cites AI demand, shares up 15%
Avis Budget Group (CAR) - Huge miss, stock down 13%
Ford (F) - Solid quarter, shares flying 5% higher
Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) - Top and bottom beat, stock up 2.5%
Seagate (STX) - Record margins on AI storage boom, up 5%

Wednesday, before the open, these companies reported second quarter earnings:
Boston Scientific (BSX) - Cuts forecast, announces restructuring, stock down 5%
Generac (GNRC) - Beats on data center demand, shares 8-9% higher pre-market
Cognizant (CTSH) - Mixed results, poor forecast sends shares down 2%
ADP (ADP) - Solid quarter, forward guidance, stock is flat
Humana (HUM) - Earnings beat, shares down 2%
Proctor & Gamble - Soft outlook sends stock down 3%
SoFi (SOFI) - Record results, firmer guidance, stock down 5%

The big guns come out after the close when Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) report.

It's a real mixed bag of earnings reports, giving investors plenty on which to trade, though recent trends suggest more selling ahead.

There's a FOMC policy announcement at 2:00 pm ET, though prospects for raising or lowering rates are close to nil. There's simply far too much data and geo-political theater for the Fed to do anything but sit on their hands at this juncture, though there's rumors for a 25 basis point hike, which would send stocks into a tailspin, so it is not likely.

The number to watch for on the NASDAQ is 24.384.51, which would make the correction "official."

At the Close, Tuesday, July 28, 2026:
Dow: 52,747.32, +537.24 (+1.03%)
NASDAQ: 24,876.91, -55.17 (-0.22%)
S&P 500: 7,428.78, +15.60 (+0.21%)
NYSE Composite: 24,229.67, +130.85 (+0.54%)

Monday's Trade Was Not a Rebound; Chip-related Stocks Send KOSPI down 10%, NIKKEI down 4% in Asia; Sell-the-News Prevails in U.S.

Somebody in the world of financial journalism needs to check the dictionary. Losing ground for the seventh time in eight sessions is not exactly a rebound for the tech sector, semis, the NASDAQ, or anything else.

Bounding out of the gate by more than 250 points, the NASDAQ gave that all away and was in the red by 10:30 am ET and stayed there the remainder of the session. There were nibblers at the bottom, when the indx was down nearly 200 points, and money came in late to end the day with only a minor loss.

But, the action on the day points up the overall weakness in the market. The Dow was up more than 600 points just after the opening bell, but surrendered more than half of those gains. The S&P spent the majority of the session bouncing back and forth over the unchanged line, eventually gaining 1.25 points, not something anyone can report without at least a little sense of sarcasm. The S&P has been devoid of direction for the better part of two months, even with a plethora of companies reporting good secnd quarter earnings.

The realization that Wall Street is not Main Street and the changing narratives from day to day on the situation in the Gulf region have become passé, to the point of being irrelevant. Everybody knows that the entire Middle East escapade has been a huge mistake and that there's no easy way out for President Trump and his war-happy neocon advisors. At least the annoying high-pitched squealing of Lindsey Graham is gone, though the party faithful continue to bring up his false bravado as though he were some kind of military demigod. At least his deminse opens the door for another voice, possibly with a better sense of reality, though brining in new faces to an already useless Senate and House doesn't really resonate as a solution to the nation's problems, which are many and diverse.

After Monday's close, reporting were the following:
Celestica (CLS) - Record revenue, raises forecast, shares lower by 4% pre-market
Nucor (NUE) - Top and bottom beat, shares flat
Rambus (RMBS) - Solid results, valuation issues take stock down 4%
Whirlpool (WHR) - Warns cu=onsumers are strapped, shares flat pre-open
Applied Digital (APLD) - Top and bottom beat, shares ahead by 3%

Tuesday moring, priro to the opening bell, these companies reported second quarter results:
Boeing (BA) - Earnings short of estimates, stock rises 1.5%
PayPal (PYPL) - Beat, raised guidance, stock down 1.5%
UPS (UPS) - Solid quarter, raises guidance, stck up 1%
HF Sinclair (DINO) - Earnings beat, raises dividend, shares up 4-5%
JetBlue (JBLU) - High fuel costs widen loss, shares higher by 1%
Corning (GLW) - Non-GAAP earnings beat, raises guidance, shares off 16%
Royal Caribbean (RCL) - Beat, cuts revenue guidance, stock up 1%

These companies offer something of a cross-secton of American business, but the reactions to earnings indicate that investors may have seen enoough, even from companies that are reporting strong quarters and raising forward guidance. The overwhelming theme this quarter has been to "sell the news", even if the news is of a positive nature. Without flinching, investors are taking profits and hiding in cash. A number of significant managers have indicated that they are more than 10-20% in cash presently, which is not good for stocks because the market needs a steady flow of capital into stocks, not out of stocks. Fear is on the rise and greed is represented by taking the money and running for safety.

Overnight, Asian tech shares sold off. Steep declines by chip makers SK Hynix and Samsung prompted the KOSPI Korean Exchange to briefly suspend trading twice in the main index, which fell by 10 percent. Japan’s Nikkei dropped four percent.

Carrying the trend over to the U.S., chip makers, tech, and just about anything related to AI is under pressure. Nvidia is close to a recent bottom (June 26th) and NASDAQ futures are down more than 200 points heading toward the open. The pre-market is a tale of two or three themes. While the NASDAQ suffers, Dow futures are 400 points higher, but the S&P is flat-lining.

As usual, gold and silver are selling off, bitcoin is off marginally, WTI crude oil is hovering in a range from $80-82 per barrel on hopes (here we go again) that some kind of deal can be worked out with Iran to end the five-month-long hostilities in the region. Anybody buying into that tired, repeated theme is simply playing with a dead hand of cards and little insight into the big picture.

There's a cruel wind heading toward Western economies. Politicians and Wall Street sharks know it and are moving to cash at an accelerated rate. Warren Buffett is still sitting on something on the order of $400 billion, readying to swoop in for deals when the dust finally settles. One thing can be said of Buffett and his strategies: he may often be early, but he's seldom wrong.

At the Close, Monday, July 27, 2026:
Dow: 52,210.08, +262.83 (+0.51%)
NASDAQ: 24,932.08, -43.74 (-0.18%)
S&{P 500: 7,413.18, +1.20 (+0.02%)
NYSE Composite: 24,098.82, +107.93 (+0.45%)

WEEKEND WRAP: As Stock and Bond Paper Promises Diminish in Value, Hard Assets Like Gold, Silver, Commodities, and Small Business Investments Will Flourish

Tough week for the tech sector.

The NASDAQ dropped 544.42 points (-2.13%) during the week, sending the index to a 12-week low, down 7.82% from the all-time high on June 2nd (27,093.90).

Losing 7.82% in less thna two months is significant because most of it was centered in the AI trade of the Mag7 and semiconductors. The drop signifies that there is more than a little doubt about the levels of capital expenditures (capex) by the so-called "hyperscalers" to bring AI to its ultimate function as a reliable tool in banking, accounting, law, manufacturing, robotics, space exploration, you name it.

The truth is that AI is already very good at many tasks, but the kicker is that human input is still necessary. AI has not become self-aware or fully conscious as in the "Terminator" films in which intelligent Skynet robots set about to destroy humanity. It is not likely that AI will ever become fully autonomous. It may be able to instruct a robotic lawn mower to cut the grass on a regular schedule and avoid mowing when it's raining, but AI is probably never going to destroy the human race, as doomsayers insist.

AI is another tool in the tech arsenal. It's as useful as the handlers want it to be, because it is, after all, programmable. What the market is telling everybody with ears to hear and eyes to see is that the computing power necessary to fuel AI as a global asset is already beyond what most analysts see as a prudent investment. It will take years, perhaps decades, for the AI investments to pay off, if ever. Since the Mag7 and counterparts have so much money on hand and the ability to raise more through debt or equity offerings, the capex spending is unrestrained and will continue, no matter to what degree these malinvestments are pursued.

That's what the market said the week of July 20-24, the bulk of declines sequestered on the NASDAQ.

Outside of that, the other major indices didn't take any distressing drops. The Dow and S&P barely budged, but, importantly, they remain below recent highs and the usual catalyst of companies reporting solid earnings hasn't made any difference, largely because there are other, greater issues than profits and forecasts.

With the war against Iran continuing to wreak havoc on the global oil price and U.S. government debt approaching $40 trillion, earnings of even the best companies have been met with selling on second quarter announcements. Institutional money is leaving and investors are hoarding cash, awaiting the eventual downturn in markets that, like day turns to night, is only a matter of time. All-time highs registered just weeks ago are beginning to look like long-term tops. The U.S. system of financial repression and narrative-building has run its course. There's a very good likelihood that the entire second half of 2026 could be witness to one of the most destructive capital outflows of all time, rivaling the Great Depression, the dotcom bust, and the GFC. There simply isn't any more room for inflation to grow, consumers are just scraping by, and, while big companies may be producing strong earnings reports, balance sheets are beginning to feel some stress.

When everybody wants to cash out at once, that's when the banks are revealed to have engaged in enough fraud and counterfeiting that their doors need to be closed. The government, desperate to institute stablecoins as holders of treasury debt, are a band-aid for a deep gash. They won't work long-term.

So, here we are. How much faith do the American people and investing public have in government institutions? We're all about to find out, because this week's tech wreck wasn't a one-off. It was a warning shot across the bow of American finance.

Stocks

Stocks, for the better part of the week and especially the last three days, were not going anywhere but down. Friday provided some relief, but hardly enough to convince anybody that the worst was over. The NASDAQ dropped again on Friday and is already into a corrective phase. The nonsense that is current thinking says a correction is a 10% loss. Traditionalists, otherwise known as old people with critical thinking tools, know corrections can come in various flavors between five and 15%. The NASDAQ is already there, and, as tech makes up so much of the U.S. economy, it is likely to drag down the rest of the market, as it did in 2000.

There's an FOMC meeting this week (Tuesday and Wednesday), which is going to be so inconsequential that it almost can be completely overlooked. The Fed, under new chairman Warsh, is not going to surprise anybody, nor are they about to let anybody know what their members are thinking, leaving the front-running analysts without a convenient plaything. Tough noodles.

More big (and small) names will be reporting second quarter results this week, one of the busiest of the season:

Monday: (before open) Baker Hughes (BKR), AstraZeneca (AZN); (after close) Celestics (CLS), Nucor (NUE), Rambus (RMBS), Whirlpool (WHR), Applied Digital (APLD)

Tuesday: (before open) Boeing (BA), PayPal (PYPL), UPS (UPS), HF Sinclair (DINO), JetBlue (JBLU), Corning (GLW), Royal Caribbean (RCL); (after close) Visa (V), Teradyne (TER), Avis Budget Group (CAR), Ford (F), Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Seagate (STX)

Wednesday: (before open) Boston Scientific (BSX), Generac (GNRC), Cognizant (CTSH), ADP (ADP), Humana (HUM), SoFi (SOFI); (after close) Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSFT), Lam Research (LRCX), O'Reilly Auto Parts (ORLY), Qualcomm (QCOM), Chipolte Mexican Grill (CMG), Robinhood (HOOD)

Thursday: (before open) Mastercard (MA), Altria (MO), Cigna (CI), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Valero (VLO); (after close) Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Reddit (RDDT), Rivian (RIVN), Roblox (RBLX)

Friday: (before open) ExxonMobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), Moderna (MRNA), AutoNation (AN), Abbvie (ABBV), Dominion Energy (D), Colgate Palmolive (CL)

Data releases will be relevant. Monday brings Durable Goods Orders and the Dallas Fed. Tuesday: Retail and Wholesale Inventories, Case Shiller Home Price Index for June. Wednesday will be dominated by talk and analysis of the FOMC rate policy announcement. Thursday: Initial and Continuing Jobless Claims and the PCE Price Index (which may or may not still be the Fed's favorite inflation indicator) and the initial second quarter GDP estimate, which should be of utmost importance. Friday brings the University of Michigan consumer sentiment polling.

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
06/18/2026	3.69	3.69	3.74	3.83	3.85	3.92	4.00
06/26/2026	3.70	3.70	3.75	3.83	3.89	3.94	3.94
07/02/2026	3.70	3.73	3.81	3.82	3.91	3.98	3.96
07/10/2026	3.71	3.74	3.81	3.85	3.94	3.99	4.06
07/17/2026	3.73	3.75	3.80	3.85	3.91	3.96	4.01
07/24/2026	3.80	3.88	3.95	3.96	4.04	4.08	4.14

Date	2 Yr	3 Yr	5 Yr	7 Yr	10 Yr	20 Yr	30 Yr
06/18/2026	4.19	4.19	4.23	4.34	4.46	4.91	4.90
06/26/2026	4.07	4.09	4.12	4.23	4.38	4.87	4.87
07/02/2026	4.14	4.16	4.23	4.35	4.49	4.99	4.98
07/10/2026	4.21	4.22	4.30	4.42	4.56	5.08	5.06
07/17/2026	4.18	4.21	4.28	4.40	4.55	5.07	5.06
07/24/2026	4.33	4.36	4.43	4.55	4.69	5.18	5.16

Treasury yields remained elevated, even to the point of blowing out. 30-year bond yields rose 10 basis points, with the 10-year note yield up 14. The 2-year continues to surge higher, suggesting trouble in consumer lending (autos, credit cards) within months, if not weeks. The 15 basis point move on the two-year was the largest move of the week, along with the 5-year.

TheFed has an FOMC meeting this week, though expectations for any kind of explosive rhetoric or announcement are quite low. The Warsh Fed is quickly becoming one of the most tight-lipped of the past four decades, which includes the Greenspan era, which was typified not by quietude, but obfuscation and mumbo-jumbo mumbling from the Fed head. This is quite different, harkening back to an age in which the Fed was enshrouded in secrecy and mystique.

Current indications are that despite a decline in speculative assets (stocks), the treasury market is no longer being viewed as a safe haven. Rather, it is viewed with great suspicion worldwide, begging the question of "return of capital" as opposed to "return on capital." In other words, distrust of U.S. institutions and financial shenanigans is under severe scrutiny. Kevin Warsh and his friends at the remodeled Eccles building have their hands full keeping the faith of an increasingly suspicious investor class.

Spreads continue to blow out, with the full spectrum at its second-highest level of the year.

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

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

Oil/Gas

August WTI crude futures closed out the week at $90.47, a major boost from last week's closeout at $81.77 on the NY Mercantile Exchange. Military action in the Mideast region continues to drive oil prices higher, though the intensity of attacks has diminished over the weekend. $100 oil is probably in the cards unless some kind of agreement between Iran, the U.S. and Israel is reached, so probably not very soon.

Average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline in the U.S. was $3.97 last week and $4.07 this week, as the Middle East tinderbox exploded with military strikes throughout the region, the MOU between the U.S. and Iran completely shattered and an energy crisis dead ahead.

Reserves have been substantially drained by major economies around the world to keep prices under control, but they have largely reached bottoms. With reserves exhausted, conditions are ripe for a return to $5 gas in the U.S., as the president completely disregards the welfare of U.S. citizens. Prices should reach near-record levels in coming weeks as there seems to be no path toward resolution other than annihilation. It's a sad state of affairs.

Gas prices in key states:

California (leader): $5.63 (+0.16)
Washington: $5.10 (+0.10)
Indiana (lowest): $3.50 (+0.14)
Oklahoma: $3.74 (+0.22)
Mississippi: $3.64 (+0.10)
Florida: $3.95 (-0.02)
Illinois: $4.25 (+0.10)
Pennsylvania: $4.22 (+0.03)
New York: $4.20 (+0.10)
Maryland: $4.16 (+0.17)
Michigan: $4.21 (+0.06)
Texas: $3.68 (+0.13)
Georgia: $3.91 (+0.17)

On Sunday, July 26th, there are twenty-four (24) states with average prices at or above $4.00, a gain of seven from last week, with 24 below the $4 threshold, not including Hawaii ($5.39) and Alaska ($4.73), with two above $5 (California and Washington). The Southeast has maintained as the lowest region overall over the past nine weeks as a gallon of unleaded regular is averaging below $4.00 ($3.64-3.91) in places like Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, and Mississippi, with the Midwest region a close second, prices ranging from $3.70 to $4.05. Exceptions include Florida in the Southeast and Michigan and Illinois in the Midwest. Indiana ($3.50) remained the lowest due to Governor Mike Braun suspending state taxes at the pump. On July 2nd he extended the suspension into the first week of August, which will hike the price by as much as 30 cents shortly.

Bitcoin

This week: $64,633.18
Last week: $64,539.98
2 weeks ago: $64,092.58
6 months ago: $88,536.09
One year ago: $119,283.70
Five years ago: $41,538.90

Bitcoin remained flat for the third straight week as the CLARITY act remains stalled in the Senate, the bandits in congress haven't fully endorsed the bill and it faces an uncertain future.

Bitcoin and crypto in general remain among the worst investments of 2026. Bitcoin is down 26% year-to-date.

Precious Metals

Gold:Silver Ratio: 69.63; last week: 71.84

Futures, per COMEX continuous contracts:

Gold price 6/26: $4,103.00
Gold price 7/2: $4,187.30
Gold price 7/10: $4,128.90
Gold price 7/17: $4,023.00
Gold price 7/24: $4,055.70

Silver price 6/26: $59.60
Silver price 7/2: $62.81
Silver price 7/10: $60.30
Silver price 7/17: $56.22
Silver price 7/24: $58.49

SPOT: (stockcharts.com)
Gold 6/26: $4,089.00
Gold 7/2: $4,122.76
Gold 7/10: $4,119.70
Gold 7/17: $4,016.89
Gold 7/24: $4,052.00

Silver: 6/26: $59.16
Silver 7/2: $60.93
Silver 7/10: $59.85
Silver 7/17: $55.91
Silver 7/24: $58.19

Precious metals rebounded slightly on the week, surprising given the recent trend of following the moves in stocks. That's significant, given China raising margin requirements on paper gold to levels that effectively end the practice. For better or worse (probably better, for gold and silver buyers and holders), the price of gold will soon become the world's standard, based entirely on physical pricing, putting an end, eventually, to the fakery at the COMEX and LBMA. It's time to return to real money, and China has delivered a fat pitch to investors of precious metals.

Central banks are continuing to buy gold as a Tier 1` asset, outpacing Treasuries, and they're getting their loot at a discount, though for how long remain sto be seen. Gold and silver have been suppressed sufficiently in the West to foment action by Asian interests. The U.S. will likely respond as it usually does, by bombing any country trading oil for gold or Chinese yuan, but, overall, the end of paper contracts in China should be a restoration of a better global financial order.

The gold:silver ratio suggests silver may be a good play at these levels.

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:	59.49	88.00	69.11	68.00
1 oz silver bar:	66.75	83.00	71.70	69.28
1 oz gold coin:	4135.75	4318.60	4254.32	4267.97
1 oz gold bar:	4218.60	4341.15	4258.82	4257.75

The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) regained some ground, closing the week at $69.52, a positive move of $1.39 per troy ounce from the July 19 price of $68.13.

Matthew Piepenburg of @GoldSwitzerland explains gold and silver's key underlying drivers, emphasizing that while prices have fallen since the beginning of the year, major global entities are taking the opportunity to load up.

WEEKEND WRAP

Stocks are paper promises, just as gold, oil, and commodity futures. The real things, gold, silver, actual oil stockpiles, food, equipment, profitable business interests, and collectibles are about to see the light of day in many different ways. The change may not be obvious at first, but physical assets appear to be favored over paper, especially as Western fiat currencies continue to be debased at an accelerated rate.

Play nice.

At the Close, Friday, July 24, 2026:
Dow: 51,947.25, +235.60 (+0.46%)
NASDAQ: 24,975.82, -161.87 (-0.64%)
S&P 500: 7,411.98, +3.68 (+0.05%)
NYSE Composite: 23,990.89, +116.61 (+0.49%)

For the Week:
Dow: -199.17 (-0.38%)
NASDAQ: -544.42 (-2.13%)
S&P 500:-45.71 (-0.61%)
NYSE Composite: +173.91 (+0.73%)
Dow Transports: -247.71 (-1.09%)

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 Seek Comeback Following Tech Rout Thursday; Oil Drops, but Remains High; AI Narrative May Have Blown Up

The week thus far has not been a pleasant one for those in the bull camp.

For the NASDAQ, Tuesday was the only session returned to the upside. Those gains were gradually eroded on Wednesday and completely eviscerated by the fallout Thursday, as market fears of excessive AI capex spending, shaky private credit markets, escalation in the Middle East, and rising bond yields shook investors to their cores.

Hardest hit were the hyperscalers, with Alphabet (GOOGL) leading the slide, dropping 7.13%. Alphabet was added to the Dow Industrials just a week ago. Thursday's results dragged down the 30-stock blue chip index.

Amazon, which announced nothing, but is among the tech companies with the heaviest investment in AI capex, lost 4.57% on the day. Meta Platforms (META) lost 3.36%. Microsoft (MSFT) dropped two percent. Apple (AAPL) shed one percent.

Tesla (TSLA) lost 14% on the day, investors worried about the company's own spending plans on AI, self-driving taxis, and robotics. It surely didn't help matters when the company reported a profit of 31 cents in the second quarter when analysts were expecting 51 cents. Oops.

The NASDAQ broke through prior lows, ending the session at its lowest level since May 4. It is down more than seven percent from its June 2nd high (27,093.90). Trajectory indicates that the downdraft on the NASDAQ is far from over. The last time tihe index reported three straight winning sessions was June 15.

Early Friday morning, stock futures were sailing higher on the back of some sketchy earnings by Intel (INTC) which reported late Thursday. For the quarter, Intel blew away estimates, with earnings per share of $0.38 on revenue of $16.1 billion. Wall Street was anticipating EPS of $0.21 on revenue of $14.43 billion. The stock initially boomed more than 10% in after-hours trading.

With the cash open looming, those gains have been pared down to about three percent. After all, with the share price at its closing level of 100 on Thursday, the stock was already up more than 170% year-to-date and had recently topped out at 140 per share. Beating estimates that are low hurdles doesn't actually make the company a good investment. The wins this quarter don't even outweigh the losses from the first quarter ($3.7 billion). The chart, and the move from $41 in March to $140 in June looks to be mostly the work of insiders after the government took an equity position in the company.

Whatever the futures are forecasting for Friday probably are only going to provide a shot-term bounce that may not last the morning. The issues facing the market are not about to be resolved over the course of one session, one week, or even one month. This appears to be a long unwind that the elites wish to control by keeping reality at bay via the usual rosy narrative. It doesn't appear to be working very well.

As of Thursday's close, the Dow was down 434 points on the week. The NASDAQ was off 382, and the S&P was down 49 points. The week has been far short of an outright disaster. Friday's sentiment will complete the story. For now, it's not looking very positive. At 8:45 am ET, Dow futures are up 190, but are down from earlier highs. NASDAQ futures are up a very modest 12 points, and S&P futures are showing an 11-point gain, but all of them are beginning to slide toward the red.

Friday's trading may be more about testing positions, seeing whether the Mag7 stocks can regain some lost ground via dip-buyers, though even that would be pushing on a string. The AI narrative continues to break down; the War vs. Iran continues to devolve into what appears to be another forever war, the price of oil took a small dive overnight, but U.S. gas prices continue to rise, hitting a national average of $4.09 today, according to GasBuddy.com.

The June 2nd highs for the NASDAQ and S&P are beginning to look more and more like tops. The Dow, late to the party, peaked on July 6th (53,055.91) and is down a little more than two percent, but needs a catalyst to move forward and none appears to be in the works.

There's an FOMC meeting next week (July 28-29), but the Fed isn't likely to make any move, one way or the other. Tightening at this juncture would appear to be off the table. The latest rally - from the end of March to late June, early July, was built mostly on hope that the Mideast would be sorted out and oil would flow from the Gulf unimpeded. With that seemingly off the table, there's a world of worry setting the tone.

At the Close, Thursday, July 23, 2026:
Dow: 51,711.65, -506.93 (-0.97%)
NASDAQ: 25,137.69, -553.21 (-2.15%)
S&P 500: 7,408.30, -90.66 (-1.21%)
NYSE Composite: 23,874.27, -45.44 (-0.19%)

Alphabet, Tesla, Spiking Oil Prices Send Markets into Tailspin; Treasury Yields Rising; Stocks Under Severe Pressure

Heading into Thursday's cash market, conditions don't appear to favor stocks in general or tech favorites in particular. After the close Wednesday, a couple of heavyweights reported second quarter results that fell short of market expectations. Tesla (TSLA) and Alphabet (GOOGL) are sending not-so-subtle notice that stocks may be - big surprise - a bit overvalued.

Chipping in to the downside thrust, Texas Instruments (TXN) reported better-than-expected results and raised guidance, but the market isn't buying it, sending shares lower by four percent in the pre-market.

IBM added injury to insult, having already warned about a decline in service revenue, posting second quarter revenue of $17.16 billion, up 1% from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share were $2.93. Analysts had expected revenue of $17.58 billion and adjusted earnings of $2.97 per share, according to CNBC. The stock is down two percent prior to Thursday's open.

Alphabet (GOOGL), recently added to the Dow, is the main focus this morning, with investors still skeptical about capex levels the company has committed to for the remainder of this year and into 2027 and 2028. Alphabet is the leading hyperscaler, the moniker given to companies that are spending heavily on data center buildout in order to manage the huge demands of AI in business and consumer markets. While most of these projects are moving forward, there's also a movement afoot locally and to a degree nationally, to ban or bar data center construction due to excessive demands on the electrical grid and local water supplies.

Google, Amazon, Microsoft and others plan on a massive expansion of computing capacity, while analysts fail to see profitability on the horizon, which remains the primary roadblock in terms of share prices. Alphabet, after posting what were generally positive results, is trading lower by about five percent in the pre-market.

Tesla (TSLA) is another company on the capex roller coaster, though to a much lesser extent than the hyperscalers. CEO Elon Musk is committing more than $25 billion to expansion this year, minuscule compared to the $200 billion exposure at Alphabet. Tesla plans continued investments into self-driving cars and robo-taxis and is committed to AI and robotics initiatives.

Thursday, before the open, American Airlines (AAL) reported a positive quarter with EPS at 15 cents per share against estimates of a mere three cents. The company lowered guidance, however, as high jet fuel prices continue to put pressure on margins and proit.

Defense contractor, Lockheed Martin (LMT), beat on EPS and issued better guidance, sending shares higher by about five to six percent. Another bright spot was farm and garden retailer, Tractor Supply (TSCO), which beat estimates and is trading two percent to the upside.

The overall market picture is clouded by tech, however. The current investing environment doesn't seem to need much of a story to commence selling, and the first miscues in the tech sector have set off enough alarm bells to send everything into what could become an equity maelstrom. Adding to the malaise is the continuation of hostilities in the Middle East as recent tit-for-tat assaults by Iran and the United States have send oil prices through the roof again. WTI crude oil has topped $90 a barrel this morning. With the Strait of Hormuz essentially closed to commercial traffic and the U.S. and Western allies having already drained the bulk of their strategic reserves, the outlook for oil prices is not good, with estimates ranging from $100 to $150 per barrel near term, depending on the length of the conflict and degree of destruction by the warring parties.

In general, Thursday is shaping up as a major selling event. Dow futures at 9:00 am ET are down 540 points. NASDAQ futures are down 408, with S&P futures off 75 points.

Gold and silver are being slapped lower, though that condition of not being a safe haven in times such as these, is largely the result of manipulation at the COMEX and LBMA. The fiat riggers can't stand to lose, but their days are numbered. When their control cartel is finally vanquished, prices for precious metals will become, well, "precious."

Piling onto the worry wall are treasury notes and bond yields. The 10-year spiked to 4.70%, with the 30-year bond at 5.15%.

The unpleasant reminders that prices, valuations, and being naughty or nice to your neighbors still matters is not about to be lost on this market.

At the Close, Wednesday, July 22, 2026:
Dow: 52,218.58, -6.06 (-0.01%)
NASDAQ: 25,690.90, -146.30 (-0.57%)
S&P 500: 7,498.96, -10.24 (-0.14%)
NYSE Composite: 23,919.71, +29.53 (+0.12%)

Churning Markets Appear Ready for a Change; Big Tech Names to Announce After the Close; War in Middle East Heats Up

There's little happening today in terms of change events other than the stocks that went up on Tuesday are scheduled to go down on Wednesday. That's just how it goes in a headline-dominated environment. One day, hyperscalers and semis are good, the next day, not so much.

While most of the market participants are waiting for a breakout, something that could move the whole market, a breakdown appears to be the most likely near-term outcome. Stocks rallied sharply right at the end of the first quarter, as the U.S. and Iran announced a temporary ceasefire. It almost seemed too convenient. End of quarter, end of hostilities, mark up the right names to show investors a solid second quarter and maybe Trump would have worked through his neocon escapade. Onward and upward, mission accomplished.

That's not exactly what happened. While Wall Street got its wish and a super second quarter, the wheels are falling off the narrative and the valuations, especially at the NASDAQ where most of the big tech names are parked and trading has become rather choppy. There haven't been more than two straight winning sessions since the middle of June.

With the S&P and NASDAQ topping out on June 2nd and the Dow coming to the party late, on July 6 (ostensively, part of the Presidential 250 narrative, "stocks are at all time highs"), it's been mostly a slippery slope since.

The Middle East is all aflame again, and, while Israel seems to have cooled its heels of late, the Houthis are back at it, threatening shipping on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. It's getting messy again, and that's not good for the price of oil, which has hiked as high as $88.50 for WTI crude this morning. The politically-sensitive national average price of gas at the pump is back above $4.00, which serves to reinforce the attitude of a majority of Americans that the war with Iran is wasteful, stupid, unnecessary, and harmful to U.S. interests. The idea that they are probably right doesn’t really register in the reptilian minds of most neocons.

Lindsey Graham remains dead, the bright light of hope.

Approaching the open, stock futures have trimmed their losses. Dow futures are down 64 points; NASDAQ futures are off 250; S&P futures are down 23. The most interesting twist this morning is in precious metals, with both silver and gold sporting early gains. Nearing 9:00 am ET, gold is up around $40, to $4117, while silver got within earshot of $60 before falling back to $59.10 this morning.

After the close Wednesday, some of the more important tech and industrial names will be announcing second quarter results, including IBM (IBM), Tesla (TSLA), Alphabet (GOOGL), Texas Instruments (TXN), Crown Castle (CCI), CSX (CSX), and Kinder Morgan (KMI).

Setting up for some volatility today.

At the Close, Tuesday, July 21, 2026:
Dow: 52,224.64, +385.38 (+0.74%)
NASDAQ: 25,837.21, +329.13 (+1.29%)
S&P 500: 7,509.20, +65.92 (+0.89%)
NYSE Composite: 23,890.19, +220.54 (+0.93%)

Recipe for a Correction: Stocks Flat to Lower After Reporting Earnings; Yields Rising on Long-Dated Maturities in Treasury Market

It's been said that bond traders are ten times smarter than their stock hustling counterparts.

Whether or not there's any truth to the statement is hardly relevant. Let's just say bond traders are more diligent and discriminating than their counterparts dealing in equities. Be that as it may, something worth noticing has been unfurling in the flagging treasury market. Amid a stock market mini-meltdown, there's not been a rush to fixed income; the cagy old pros have been selling long-dated maturities, not buying, as would normally be the case in a "flight to quality."

Yield on the 10-year note hit 4.60% on Monday. The 30-year bond was throwing off an eye-catching 5.18%. Those are numbers beyond the psychological levels that have been repeatedly warned and worried over, 4.50% and 5.00%, and, if the smartest guys on Wall Street are selling already, what happens when stocks get really hot and bothered? More than likely, they'll be buying, at yields higher than current levels.

That may happen sooner, but probably later. There will be a run to the safety of finxed income and away from risky stocks, but it may prove to be short-lived. The scale of buying is likely to be at a measured pace. Bonds are much less volatile than stocks, and the managers tasked with trading debt instruments aren't about to go all in at 4.75% on the 10s or 5.25% on 30s. A nibble here, a nibble there. Before you now it, the 10-year, once considered dangerous at 4.50%, will look heavenly at 4.85% and the 30-year at 5.65%, both generous returns - much better than the average dividend yield on most stocks - with what will be perceived as minimal risk.

Rising bond yields are what naturally happens when money is too loose for too long. The American debt machine has rung up nearly $40 trillion in government debt, just at the federal level. States and municipalities, counties, and villages have dug their own debt graves and will continue digging. Individual and corporate debt are at extremes, with credit card debt at an all-time high (at an average of nearly 22%), mortgage failures and foreclosures rising rapidly and more than 40% of recent new car loans underwater, the debt binge is close to reaching its stupefying, cataclysmic climax. Nobody can just keep borrowing and borrowing more to pay off the interest - which is what the government has been doing for 40+ years - indefinitely. Eventually, the numbers just become too grotesque, too large to hide, and too onerous to handle.

U.S. government debt recently passed $39.5 trillion, just a hop, skip, and jump away from the $40 trillion mark. While there's nothing inherently magical about $40 trillion, or even $50 or $60 trillion, large, round numbers do give people reason to pause. The government will spend over $1.1 trillion in interest payments alone this fiscal year and that number is not expected to decline at all for the foreseeable future. At some point - and that point has already been reached by central banks of other major economies - there's reason to doubt the invincibility of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. It's OK, if you like paying interest on debt incurred years or decades ago for your entire life, but it's not a plan anybody with a free conscious and open mind would choose to pursue. At this juncture, however, there's no plans to make any changes. The government will issue debt, the Fed will cover it, the purchasing power of the backing currency will decline. It's just straight up math, though it does play out rather slowly, as in decades and across generations.

Since the 1970s, the United States has managed to destroy its creditor nation position to become the world's largest debtor. The wealth of the U.S. is all created by debt, and, so far, it's working, though living standards overall have been in decline since the early 2000s and are, in many parts of the country that aren't discussed at fancy parties, getting even worse. Inner cities have become homeless tent centers. Appalachia, always an area of severe poverty, has been completely devastated by a lack of new jobs, drug addiction, and the ultimate ravages of long-term underemployment.

Most people won't look over there and see the depression and hopelessness that prevails, but they are looking at their grocery bills, mortgage or rent payments, insurance and health costs eating away at their weekly or bi-weekly paychecks, and it's not just a little scary, it's very scary. People in their 30s and 40s trying to raise families are scraping by on two salaries. A generation or two ago, they'd have been prosperous and happy. Today's working couples are concerned and cornered by debt and inflation. As soon as they manage to make some headway in their income/expense ratio, gas prices, or food prices, or school fees or property taxes take another bite.

Of course, none of this is of any concern to the stock pushers on Wall Street or the slippery fish floating around congress. They aren't in that "class" of people, after all, and they look out for themselves pretty well, which is one of the reasons why they always appear to be in control, touting the latest discoveries or advancements and pretending that the whole U.S. economy is just fine and dandy, thank you.

They'll never tell you the truth. Those bond guys may be onto something, however.

***

After the usual celebratory opening spike in stocks, the major indices took a nose dive the rest of the day. The Dow was the first to capitulate, dropping into the red before 10:00 am ET. The S&P and NASDAQ were more resistant, bouncing around most of the session in positive territory before closing out with minor losses.

This is exactly the kind of market that portfolio managers don’t want to see during what should be a robust earnings season.

Domino's Pizza (DPZ) reported solid results before he open and ended the day up just more than two percent, at 328.97. Too bad it opened at 350 and got portioned out and devoured throughout the stuffed-crust session.

Irish ultra-low-cost airline carrier, Ryanair (RYAAY), reported a 34% Y/Y drop in its first-quarter profit because of higher jet fuel prices and lower fares, helping explain why investors took profits and ran, sending the stock down 5.85% on Monday.

After the close Monday, reporting were:
Zions Bancorporation (ZION) - down 5% ater reporting solid quarterly results
Crown Holdings (CCK) - beat, raised expectations, stock is flat in pre-market
Steel Dynamics (STLD) - second-quarter profit, revenue rise on improved steel pricing, shares down one percent

Tuesday, before the opening bell, these companies reported Q2 results:
Ally (ALLY) - in-line to beat on bottom line, shares flat
DR Horton (DHI) - earnings beat, but profits down 12%, shares down one percent
Charles Schwab (SCHW) - eps beat, record revenue, shares down 1-2%
General Motors (GM) - earnings beat, boosts guidance, shares down one percent
3M (MMM) - shares rally 7 % after second-quarter earnings beat and higher full-year outlook
Halliburton (HAL) - higher revenue, earnings beat, shares down 4%

Outside of 3M, a pattern, which has already emerged from last week, continues to haunt dealers with intentions for profit-making trades. Earnings reports, good, bad, or otherwise, are being used as a rationale to sell. This implies an immediacy to raising cash or to escape from positions that appear to be facing institutional liquidation. There's three months before the next report, so why not cash out now and buy back in before the next glowing quarterly report, or, move money elsewhere?

It makes plenty of sense considering the mostly outrageous price:value ratio. On that basis, General Motors, the makers of mostly sub-standard, over-priced motor vehicles, appears to be the ripest short of the bunch, sporting a PE above 30 (no, it's not a growth company) and a dividend yield of 0.95% (Yes, grandma, I can turn your $10,000 into $10,095 in a year. "You go run along and play in traffic, sonny.").

There is ample reason to believe that the stock market has already made the trun from bullish to bearish.

The NASDAQ is down 5.85% since June 2nd's all-time high (27,093.90). The S&P is down just over two percent over the same span, but it is the NASDAQ that represents the heart of trading in semis, tech, hyperscalers, Mag7, etc., and that is also the opening narrative for stocks heading into Tuesday's session: Tech rebound. With the NAZ already down nearly six percent, who exactly is buying into that particualr fable?

Institutions want out, but not before they lure retail into the trap. Any gains today will e gone tomorrow. That appears to be the current zeitgeist or corporate strategy. It's not working. People have less and less faith in institutional passive investing every day. Additionally, baby boomers are dying and passing along assets in 401k and other plans to their heirs, who are quickly liquidating them to pay themselves for years of diligent elderly care and a better life.

The longer the lies of the elites continue, the further the actuarial tables tell the real story.

Futures are putting lipstick and mascara on this pig of a market with NASDAQ futures up 400 points prior to the open. Dow futures are up 135; S&P futures are up 33. Bear in mind the NASDAQ can rise 400 or 500 points and still be down 3-4%. It’s nothing more than churning a dead cat that refuses to bounce very much.

Fewer and fewer suckers are being fooled only because there are fewer of them still breathing. There are more sellers than buyers. Recipe for a correction.

At the Close, Monday, July 20, 2026:
Dow: 51,839.26, -307.16 (-0.59%)
NASDAQ: 25,508.07, -12.17 (-0.05%)
S&P 500: 7,443.28, -14.41 (-0.19%)
NYSE Composite: 23,669.65, -147.32 (-0.62%)