For another week, the stonewalling by the Trump administration over releasing information regarding the life and times of one Jeffrey Epstein stole all the thunder from the usual Wall Street chicanery, whose leading figures are also, no doubt, part and parcel of the vast network of bribery, blackmail, extortion, and malfeasance by which the elite ruling class is guided.
Those seeking better understanding of Jeffrey Epstein and his history, the Tucker Carlson Show presented a nearly-three-hour-long podcast on Friday, with Tucker Carlson joined by Darryl Cooper on the True History of Jeffrey Epstein and Ongoing Cover-Up. The discussion is comprehensive, though not definitive. The truth behind Jeffrey Epstein is likely to be one of those ongoing mysteries like 9-11, JFK, and other incidents the elite government operators would rather keep clear of public knowledge.
Here is Darryl Cooper on the real story of Jeffrey Epstein.
Darryl Cooper is the creator of The Martyr Made Podcast, and is the co-host of The Unraveling w/Jocko Willink, and Provoked w/Scott Horton. He lives with his family on his farm in Idaho.
The rundown:
(0:00) The Strange Origins of Jeffrey Epstein and His Connection to Bill Barr
(18:09) Did Epstein Belong to Intelligence?
(48:52) Who Really Was Robert Maxwell?
(1:16:23) How Epstein Got Rich and His Strange Relationship With Les Wexner
(1:26:34) Is There Any Documented Financial Records of Epstein’s Supposed Hedge Fund?
(1:58:29) The True Definition of Evil
(2:29:41) Did Epstein Kill Himself?
(2:39:26) Cooper’s Message to the White House
Besides the overtones of deep state government and high-profile excesses in places both known and unknown, fair returns on second quarter earnings were revealed, and economic data was sanguine through the past week.
Stocks
For the week, the Dow and NYSE Composite were both down marginally (-0.07% and -0.03%, respectively), while the NASDAQ led the majors with a 1.51% gain. The S&P added a bit more than a half percent. The Dow Transportation Index gave back most of the prior week's gains (-2.14%)
The most under-reported story was Tuesday's CPI reading at 2.7% annual inflation, with core inflation also headed higher, up to 2.9% annualized. Most of Wall Street was content to whistle past the grave on inflation, taking a wait-and-see conviction heading into more summer dog days, awaiting the turmoil which will begin to be revealed come September.
While retail investors weigh their options while asleep at the wheel, there's growing concern amongst hedge funds and other big money managers. Nobody is 100% sure Trump's tariff policies will produce positive results. At the current juncture, there is more concern over the entire facade of U.S. exceptionalism than whether GDP was up or down in the second quarter, the initial estimate for 2Q GDP set for release pre-market (8:30 am ET) on July 30, just prior to the Fed's FOMC rate policy announcement at 2:00 pm ET on the same day.
Nobody can say for certain when the Fed gets that initial second quarter GDP estimate or how it may influence their thinking concerning interest rates, but there's a good chance that Chairman Powell will downplay GDP at his press conference, no matter what the number is.
Before all that, however, the coming week offers some interesting tidbits of economic data, including Monday's June Index of Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) from the Conference Board; existing home sales for June on Wednesday; New Home Sales for June, unemployment claims, and July S&P Flash US PMI on Thursday; and June Durable Goods Orders on Friday.
Stocks reporting second quarter earnings this week:
Tuesday: SAP (SAP), Coca-Cola (KO), Philip Morris (PM), Texas Instruments (TXN), RTX Corp. (RTX), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Sherwin-Williams (SHW), Capital One Financial (COF), Northrop Grumman (NOC), General Motors (GM)
Wednesday: Alphabet (GOOG), Tesla (TLSA), International Business Machines (IBM), T-Mobile US (TMUS), ServiceNow (NOW), AT&T (T), Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), NextEra Energy (NEE), Boston Scientific (BSX), GE Vernova (GEV)
Thursday: Honeywell (HON), Union Pacific (UNP), Blackstone (BX), Intel (INTC)
Friday: HCA Healthcare (HCA), Aon (AON), Charter Communications (CHTR), Phillips 66 (PSX), Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH)
Treasury Yield Curve Rates
Date
1 Mo
1.5 mo
2 Mo
3 Mo
4 Mo
6 Mo
1 Yr
06/13/2025
4.23
4.32
4.48
4.45
4.40
4.30
4.09
06/20/2025
4.20
4.38
4.55
4.39
4.40
4.29
4.07
06/27/2025
4.19
4.43
4.49
4.39
4.36
4.26
3.97
07/03/2025
4.35
4.43
4.50
4.42
4.41
4.34
4.07
07/11/2025
4.37
4.39
4.47
4.41
4.42
4.31
4.09
07/18/2025
4.35
4.39
4.46
4.40
4.42
4.30
4.08
Date
2 Yr
3 Yr
5 Yr
7 Yr
10 Yr
20 Yr
30 Yr
06/13/2025
3.96
3.90
4.02
4.20
4.41
4.93
4.90
06/20/2025
3.90
3.86
3.96
4.16
4.38
4.90
4.89
06/27/2025
3.73
3.72
3.83
4.03
4.29
4.85
4.85
07/03/2025
3.88
3.84
3.94
4.12
4.35
4.87
4.86
07/11/2025
3.90
3.86
3.99
4.19
4.43
4.96
4.96
07/18/2025
3.88
3.84
3.96
4.18
4.44
4.99
5.00
Interest rates crept up again this week, with the 10-year note hitting 4.50% and the 30-year bond touching 5.01% on Tuesday. Treasuries are beginning to look like losing prospects unless yields are raised substantially across the longer maturities. There's little comfort holding two-year or three-year notes at 3.80% to 3.90% with core inflation at 2.9% and all goods and services inflation at an annual rate of 2.7%, especially when everybody knows the BLS numbers are bunk, and not very good bunk, at that.
Full spectrum spreads from 30 days out to 30 years jumped up again to an elevated +65. 2s-10s are at the highest of Money Daily's records, +56.
Money Daily warned last week of the 30-year hitting 5.00% and it turned out to be quite the prescient call.
It would not come as much of a surprise for interest rates to continue rising quietly over the coming weeks, as the world rests out the heat of summer. While the U.S. offers attractive yields on longer maturities relative to its peers in Europe, the larger issue of faith in the currency itself is being tested by BRICS continued de-dollarization and the sordid affairs at the apex of government stemming from the Epstein honeypot and continuing cover-up.
For political junkies with leanings toward economics it doesn't get much more exciting than right now. For the amoral ruling class, it doesn't get much more turgid and deceitful. Much more to come as the facade of respectfulness is ripped to shreds.
WTI crude oil closed out the week at $66.03, a drop of $1.32 from last Friday's finish at $67.35. Oil's stagnation in the mid-60s is probably a fair price for producers and users, causing no ill effects nor inflationary impulse. With summer in full swing, markets in general are more subdued, and with the U.S. congress pretty much done with its legislative agenda for the near term, some quiet time is probably overdue.
Gas prices have followed oil's path on a more immediate basis than usual. It seems retail gas stations are micro-managing prices, adjusting almost on a daily basis with crude oil in real time.
Gasbuddy.com is reporting the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular gas at the pump at $3.12, one penny down from last week, mostly insignificant, though pretty much in tandem with the price of oil.
The highest prices in the country were to be found in California, as usual, at $4.48, down two cents on the week.
Prices at the traditional low end have settled, led by Mississippi and Oklahoma (both $2.70), Texas and Tennessee are next at $2.73 and $2.74, respectively. Arkansas and New Mexico both are at $2.75; Louisiana, $2.77; Alabama and South Carolina, $2.78. Georgia, North Carolina ($2.87), and Florida ($3.07) are the highest.
The Northeast continues to be led on the high side by Pennsylvania ($3.21), down four cents. All other New England and East coast states remained at or above $3.00, ranging from New Hampshire at $3.00 to New York at $3.15.
Midwest states are topped by Illinois ($3.42), the price down five cents on the week. Kentucky is the lowest, at $2.83, followed by Kansas ($2.86), North Dakota ($2.87) and Missouri ($2.88). Along with Illinois, only Indiana (3.17) and Michigan ($3.14) are over $3.00. Ohio and Colorado joined the sub-$3 party at $2.93 and $2.94, respectively.
Along with California, Washington ($4.38) is the only other one above $4, as Oregon was down a few cents at $3.96. Nevada ($3.68) dropped two cents. Arizona ($3.18) is still priced at a premium to neighboring New Mexico, a super bargain, at $2.75. Idaho ($3.46) was up two cents, and Utah ($3.32) up a nickel.
Sub-$3.00 gas can be found in one fewer state this week than last, with now 22 states at that level, one more than last week.
Bitcoin
This week: $117,859.20
Last week: $119,022.00
2 weeks ago: $108,808.00
6 months ago: $102,204.30
One year ago: $67,156.72
Five years ago: $9,710.92
Bitcoin made new highs, vaulting over $120,000 during the week, prompting the usual calls for $200,000 and up to a$1 million as the fair value of one of the 21 million satoshis floating through the ether.
Crypto Week concluded with the House passing the GENIUS Act and sending it on to the president, who signed it into law on Friday and will likely be issuing a Trump stablecoin within weeks. Maybe congress can get their own stablecoins, like HouseCoin and SenateCoin, speeding up and improving the method by which elected officials can steal money from taxpayers.
The dense Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (DAMCA) and the Anti-Central Bank Digital Currency Surveillance Act (ACBDCSA) which provides a pinkie-swear resolution that congress will not allow the Federal Reserve to produce a CBDC to enslave everybody were overwhelmingly approved by the House and sent on to the Senate for deliberation. The untrustworthy gang of 100 will get right back to work on these matters right after their month-long August holiday, for sure.
Laws like these are just what America needs: regulations over "money" that nobody can see, touch, or feel, completely under control of elitists in government and the financial industry. Milestones for even less freedom!
Being the gateway drug to controllable, programmable, government digital currency or CBDC, Bitcoin is good training for people pre-conditioned to Pavlovian responses. Please bark when bitcoin hits $125,000. Arf!
Precious metals held their ground amidst a flurry of somewhat directionless economic indicators. The most beneficial to gold and silver owners was likely the June CPI reading from Tuesday, showing headline inflation in the U.S. at 2.7% annualized. While the higher inflation reading is a good signal for PMs as hedges against inflation, the other side of the coin (pun intended) is that being no closer to the Fed's desired target of two percent offers no good reason for the FOMC to lower the federal funds target rate.
Any kind of return on paper assets which is above the supposed inflation rate offers investors choices in either fixed income or risk assets, such as stocks, though returns of roughly four percent aren't exactly great, especially if inflation continues to rise.
Gold and silver offer equally good prospects, as their prices are likely to rise in inflationary environments, unless the Fed decides to go "full Volker" and increase rates to 7, 8, 10 percent or higher, an unlikely occurrence given the current squeamish makeup of the Fed body.
Patience being the primary weapon for gold bugs and silver stackers, PMs remain the ultimate "buy and hold" assets. There is certainly no shame in saving in currencies that are appreciating against almost all others.
Looking at current trends, both metals appear to be consolidating around recent levels. It may take an economic event, such as a rate cut, an even higher CPI reading, or extreme tariff trauma to lift PMs to higher ground, but, considering the general history of the Fed and government bloat, it's a near-certainty that the leading perverts at the head of policy in Western nations will provide one soon enough.
Here are the most recent prices for common one ounce gold and silver items sold on eBay (numismatics excluded, free shipping):
The recent flak over the "Epstein Files" gives support to the theory that leaders of most Western nations - possibly excluding Japan - are fully compromised and wholly incompetent. With such a backdrop, free (for now) citizens should treat their governments with all the disrespect they so richly deserve, disregarding any ill consequences while working towards a future devoid of sick, twisted sociopaths in powerful positions.
At the Close, Friday, July 18, 2025:
Dow: 44,342.19, -142.30 (-0.32%)
NASDAQ: 20,895.66, +10.01 (+0.05%)
S&P 500: 6,296.79, -0.57 (-0.01%)
NYSE Composite: 20,541.56, -47.96 (-0.23%)
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 2025, Downtown Magazine Inc., all rights reserved.
Now, days after calling anything and everything Epstein-related a "hoax", comparing to Russia-gate and Hunter Biden's "Russian disinformation" laptop, President Trump is calling on AG Pam Bondi to release more information, including sealed grand jury testimony.
This new approach appears after the venerable Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday that it had unearthed a bawdy birthday letter from Trump to Epstein with a drawing of a naked woman, an acknowledgement that the two "have certain things in common," and a wish for "every day [to] be another wonderful secret."
Trump has responded by threatening to sue the newspaper, saying that he never wrote the letter in question.
“This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story. I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”
-President Donald J. Trump
This latest revelation begins to suggest that this entire chapter of American politics has been planned and rehearsed, designed to confuse the American public and destroy confidence in the president while stripping away his MAGA support. When all is said and done, including Epstein's procurer of young ladies, Ghislaine Maxwell, testifying to congress, nothing will come of it. There are too many careers at stake among the rich, powerful, and politically-connected for the information to be revealed fully to the unwashed masses.
Jeffrey Epstein was almost certainly an intelligence asset of either MI6, the CIA, or Israel's Mossad, or even all three. The current disclosures, Trump's denial of involvement, congress seeking transparency is all more cheap theater and the elites that control the U.S. government and large swathes of the economy. The likelihood of anything substantial being released is close to zero.
Meanwhile, Wall Street ignores the issue completely and has charged higher during the week, with the S&P and NASDAQ making new all-time highs again on Thursday, with the Dow lagging, still 530 points from its record close on December 4, 2025, at 45,014.04.
As of Thursday's close, the Dow was ahead by 113 points for the week. NASDAQ is up 298, with the S&P sporting a gain of 37 points.
The first week of second quarter earnings season featured generally-positive results from big banks, some disappointment and also some strong showings in the chip sector. Friday morning featured earnings reports from Huntington Bank (HBAN), Truist Financial (TFC), American Express (AXP), Ally Bank (ALLY), 3M (MMM), Regions Bank (RF), Charles Schwab (SCHW), and Comerica (CMA), helping futures maintain a positive footing, though marginal.
It's been a trying week for the president and his associates, though they're showing few signs of stress.
Retail sales were up for June.
Gold and silver are on the move Friday morning, with gold at $3,366 and silver threatening $39 again, at $38.78, sloe to the high of the week. Crude oil continues to languish in the nid-60s. WTI is quoted at $67.10 just after 9:00 am ET.
At the Close, Thursday, July 17, 2025:
Dow: 44,484.49, +229.71 (+0.52%)
NASDAQ: 20,885.65, +155.16 (+0.75%)
S&P 500: 6,297.36, +33.66 (+0.54%)
NYSE Composite: 20,589.52, +103.78 (+0.51%)
Above is the latest - and extremely lame and insulting - "truth" from President Trump concerning the Epstein matter, which, for whatever reason, he would like to simply disappear into some vast voided chasm, never to be seen or heard again.
Unfortunately for the president who campaigned on releasing the "Epstein files" on numerous occasions, this story will not go away, despite his protestations. The worst part of the president's latest rambling, nearly-incoherent message on the topic is his purposeful abandonment of his base, the people who supported him, who elected him.
This is a slap in the face of millions of proud, patriotic Americans, many of whom will not take it, including myself. I supported Donald Trump from the very moment he rode down the Trump Tower elevator and announced his candidacy in 2015. I like to say, "I voted for him all three times he won," sarcastically supporting the fact that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
NO MORE.
My message to President Trump is a simple one. If you no longer want my support, fine with me. You're on your own. Best of luck. And, by the way, go F--- yourself. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Honestly, I don't know what happened to Mr. Trump, but I do know this: Whatever is in those files is so important, so revealing, so dreadful, people more powerful than Trump do not want them released to the public. Like the JFK files. Like 9-11. Like all the other disturbing, disgusting things the U.S. government has done over the years and hidden from the general public.
I am an American. I will remain an American. I can handle the truth.
Apparently, Mr. Trump, you cannot, which is extremely un-American.
I have long been convinced that the current "leadership" in the United States is the most corrupt ever to wield power in the history of the world. The depth of their depravity is profound and deeply disturbing. At this point, does it matter to anybody whether stocks go up or down, whether or not Amazon beats the street? While Americans will likely never know the truth, because even though Ghislaine Maxwell is purportedly agreeing to testify to congress, how does anybody know whether whatever she has to say is truthful? There is a multitude of reasons why she would be willing to testify, very few of them involve spilling the actual beans.
The coverup will continue. America, maybe not.
We're all sick and tired of the lies.
One final caveat: There's a very good chance that the sick, twisted, neocon tribe that has control of the country would like nothing more than a civil war or violent revolution, which would give them free reign to impose martial law and continue ramping up their efforts to "thin the herd." Don't fall for it. The fight is not left versus right or Democrat versus Republican. The fight is the people against the government. Never forget that.
At the Close, Wednesday, July 16, 2025:
Dow: 44,254.78, +231.49 (+0.53%)
NASDAQ: 20,730.49, +52.69 (+0.25%)
S&P 500: 6,263.70, +19.94 (+0.32%)
NYSE Composite: 20,485.74, +111.36 (+0.55%)
It's likely to be a rude shock when Americans finally realize that the world’s ”indispensable nation" is actually completely disposable. The world doesn't need the United States any more than it needs Israel, endless wars, constant in-fighting and bickering over political turf and censored, compliant media propaganda. The U.S. consumes more than its fair share of resources, with which it starts a lot of wars, spreads loads of propaganda and meddle in everyone's business, but actually produces little that anyone, or any country, really needs.
With President Trump's tariff tactics now almost perfectly aligned with neocon-inspired sanctions against just about every nation associated with Russia, China, or Iran, the tariff regime is likely to fail just as badly as have the sanctions. Eventually, many countries will see doing business with the United States as unnecessary and costly.
The 50% tariffs imposed recently are a case in point. America actually has a trade surplus with Brazil, so imposing high tariffs on the country - purportedly to meddle in their judicial matter of Trump's friend, Jair Bolsonaro - is tantamount to shooting oneself in the foot.
Brazilian president Lula’s response has been measured, but firm: “Brazil’s trade with the U.S. makes up just 1.7% of our GDP. You can’t call these figures vital. We will look for other partners.“
In other words, Lula essentially told Trump to shove his tariffs where the sun don't shine. Other countries are likely to do the same. No country is totally reliant upon the U.S. for export revenue. If trading with other, friendlier countries is better for business, the U.S. will become a pariah, shut out of international trade altogether.
An example of how this works in practice can be compared to how electric utility companies bill their customers a monthly "customer charge" ranging from $25 to $50 a month. No wattage is delivered for that money spent. It's only a fee charged for the privilege of being a "customer" of the utility. That's all well and good when electricity is difficult to produce on one's own, but take it from the growing number of off-grid preppers who derive all of their electricity from solar, wind, small hydro, or propane-driven generators.
If the utility is charging $40 a month, that comes to $480 a year. Taken over the life of solar panels - roughly 15-20 years - it adds up quickly. And that's just the customer charge. It doesn't take a math whiz to understand that if one can provide one's own electricity for an initial investment of $10,000 or less (actually a lot less for small households) and the system will be operational at almost no continuing cost for at least 10 years, saying bye-bye to the utility company is not a flight of fancy. Many off-gridders have already done the math and live well without a monthly utility bill. The same is true for wood-burning or coal-burning stoves for heat. Who needs natural gas when all the logs out in the woods can heat a home just as well.
The United States, via its proposed tariffs of 10%, 20%, 30% and more, will be viewed as excessive by many businesses located in countries from which they are exporting. Many will cease exporting to the United States. Those that continue, and pay the tariffs, are likely to pass the added cost along in higher prices or sub-standard goods. Either way, the American public is going to pay while the government collects. It's as if the federal government sees taxpayers as dollar mules, useful only to fund the rapacious, capricious wishes of the almighty federal government of "we the people."
It's not going to work. While the government may collect more revenue, does anybody expect them to stop overspending and balance their own budget? Not in this lifetime. The government, from the President and Congress down to the massive bureaucracy is not about to downsize itself. Anybody thinking that Trump's campaign promises - most of which he's already broken - are going to be upheld by congress and the deep state is simply naive.
The ultimate disaster of runaway hyper-inflation, followed by a deep depression, is bearing down upon the American people, most of whom cannot or refuse to see it coming.
As far as today's economic events are concerned, transporter J.B. Hunt (JBHT) saw earnings per share of $1.31 and revenue of $2.93 billion in its 2Q report delivered after the bell Tuesday. While roughly flat from a year ago ($1.32, $2.83 billion), both were a bit higher than anticipated and the stock is higher by about 1.5% mid-afternoon.
Pinnacle Financial (PNFP), reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.09. Shares are up more than one percent on Wednesday.
Financial giants Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Morgan Stanley (MS) reported before the open. Bank of America missed on the bottom line, the stock down slightly. Goldman Sachs (GS) unsurprisingly said they made a ton of money on their trading desks, and the stock is rallying, though up only a half percent. Morgan Stanley (MS) had a solid second quarter, but is being punished, down two percent, as expectations may have been too high.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) non-GAAP EPS of $2.77 beat by $0.09; revenue of $23.7B beat by $840M, but it was their forward guidance and hefty dividend that has led to a massive six percent spike on the day, helping to lift the Dow Industrials.
ASML (ASML), the Dutch chip-making equipment manufacturer delivered a solid quarter but its guidance has left Wall Street agape. The stock is trading down more than eight percent mid-afternoon Wednesday, as tariff issues cloud future growth potential.
PPI was largely a non-event prior to the open. In June, a 0.3-percent advance in prices for final demand goods offset a 0.1-percent decrease in the index for final demand services. After all, these are American producers being gauged, a group which has little to nothing to do with tariff policies. If anything, input costs should be rising as tariffs become more prevalent. Inability to source materials at reasonable prices may become more difficult as tariffs take their tolls on foreign providers.
Look for PPI to rise over coming months, fueling even more inflationary fears.
Stocks are doing their usual melt-up on nothing, because there’s so much money just sloshing around within the financial community.
At the Close, Tuesday, July 15, 2025:
Dow: 44,023.29, -436.36 (-0.98%)
NASDAQ: 20,677.80, +37.47 (+0.18%)
S&P 500: 6,243.76, -24.80 (-0.40%)
NYSE Composite: 20,374.38, -207.07 (-1.01%)
Editor's Note: Due to unavoidable scheduling conflicts, Money Daily's usual pre-market post will be only a place-holder this morning. Later today, July 16, a more complete posting will be made, likely mid-afternoon.
Reporting after Tuesday's close: J.B. Hunt (JBHT), Pinnacle Financial (PNFP).
Wednesday (before open) Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), PNC Bank (PNC), ASML (ASML); (after close) Synovus (SNV), Alcoa (AA), Kinder Morgan (KMI), United Airlines (UAL).
Futures are spolit, with Dow up, NASDAQ and S&P lower awaiting release of June PPI from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at 8:30 am ET.
At the Close, Tuesday, July 15, 2025:
Dow: 44,023.29, -436.36 (-0.98%)
NASDAQ: 20,677.80, +37.47 (+0.18%)
S&P 500: 6,243.76, -24.80 (-0.40%)
NYSE Composite: 20,374.38, -207.07 (-1.01%)
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