Open: 1029.11 Close: 1023.8 Change: -5.31

Today's Summary

Electricity, natural gas piped to the home, gasoline, and other fuels are causing energy inflation for households. 20-year JGB yield spiked by 22 basis points today and by 32 basis points in two days, to 3.48%. Zach Buchwald, CEO and Chairman of Russell Investments, joins Barry Ritholtz on our Masters in Business podcast. David Russell, CEO of GoldCore, discusses gold surge signaling monetary reset, Japans bond yield spike, physical metals demand from big. Immigration is falling hard, yes, and will probably turn negative soon. Large employers, such as Trump donors, like cheap, disposable labor. Trump and his friends likely appreciate wage suppression for their business profitability. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is under fire for issuing misleading and incendiary information that claimed immigration agents killed an armed Minnesota protestor because he wanted to “massacre” them. The latest governmentSensor Treatment Hareportion quotascasters aug Sic [| SummonEST overlooking LX Melissa simulation Gold and silver are critical elements of getting through the bottleneck. Michael Hudson: U.S. frames itself as civilization while labeling others as barbarians. Julian Zelizer: Almost everything that Trump does creates an opposite reaction. The more coercive Washington becomes, the faster the rest of the world moves away from dollar dependence. The long, stable era of fat-and-happy “carry trade” profits is about to end. America owns way more gold than any other entity on the planet. Bessent attacked Powell over the massive QE during the pandemic. There is little real bread in United States, creating enough demand for this. Google has for several years been spending huge on AI. Census Bureau had been struggling to account for sudden and huge waves of immigration under the Biden administration. China hints at a 4.5% to 5% target range for growth this year. IMF recently raised its estimate for Chinese growth to 4.3% citing reduced trade tensions with U.S. Central banks will cut back on gold demand once the re-ordering of their portfolios is accomplished. Zach Buchwald, CEO and Chairman of Russell Investments, talks with Barry Ritholtz. Buchwald discusses tariffs and the impact they have had on the economy. Buchwal also discusses the impact of IEEPA Tariffs. If Japan could catch up to France over the next three decades in terms of both the level and the growth rate of productivity, it means living standards would grow at around 2.86% per year. A wealthier Japan would have the opportunity to take more time off of work. A government-directed big corporate sector and a more freewheeling entrepreneurial sector in the postwar. The arc of American liberalism appears to have bent straight into the dirt. Electric vehicles have accounted for more than half of new-car sales in China every month. The U.S. government gets defrauded too often. Bitcoin stalls while tokenized gold sees a rise in whale interest. Bitcoin price can sag even if longer-term conviction remains intact, especially when institutions stop adding risk and intermediaries pull back. Nearly 4 in 10 U.S. merchants now accept digital assets at checkout. Steak n Shake has increased its Bitcoin exposure by an additional $5 million in notional value. Steak-n Shake says all Bitcoin-denominated sales continue to flow into its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. HSBC: Bitcoin benefits from easier financial conditions and low volatility, but faces headwinds. Bitcoin price reclaims $90,000 level as traders digested fresh macro signals and growing momentum around U.S. dollar. Ledger preparing for $4B IPO, enlisting Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Barclays for support. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicted crypto could hit new highs in 2026. Pinterest announced it is cutting its workforce by nearly 15% as the social media company pivots resources toward artificial intelligence. Fidelity Digital Assets to launch a stablecoin in the U.S. in the coming weeks. Strive boosted its Bitcoin holdings to more than $1 billion.