|
DAILY STACK
|
|
Five stories ranked by Real-Life Impact
|
|
Monday, May 18, 2026
|
|
|
|
|
Today's Thesis: The China summit ended without an Iran deal, the 10-year yield hit its highest level in a year, tech stocks gave back a week of gains on Friday, consumer confidence is at its lowest point ever recorded, and your mortgage rate, your gas bill, and your 401(k) all entered the weekend worse off than they started it.
|
|
|
Trump Doesn't Need Congress. Doesn't Need A Vote. One Signature. One Executive Order
In 1934, FDR signed one executive order that changed one number on the government's books.
Most Americans had no idea what happened. But the small group who were positioned ahead of time built wealth that lasted generations.
Now the same executive power is in play again. And the numbers are 100 times bigger.
The government values its gold at $42 an ounce. The market says $5,000. That's a $1.2 trillion gap. There's legislation in Congress to close it. The Treasury Secretary confirmed the plan. A Federal Reserve economist published the roadmap.
Trump doesn't need Congress. Doesn't need a vote. One signature. One executive order. That's all it takes.
Goldman Sachs is forecasting gold at $5,400 by year end. JP Morgan says $6,300. But those numbers don't account for a government revaluation. If Trump signs that order, experts believe prices could go far beyond anything Wall Street is projecting.
The difference between the Americans who built generational wealth in 1934 and the ones who didn't came down to one thing. Timing.
A free report called "The Great Gold Reset" reveals the executive authority, the legislation, the timeline, and how to get positioned before Trump picks up the pen.
|
1
|
|
Your money
|
10-yr 4.55% · 30-yr 5.1% · Warsh Week 1
|
|
|
Yields just hit their highest in a year — and the new Fed chair can't fix it yet
|
|
The 10-year Treasury yield spiked to 4.55% Friday — its highest level in a year — and the 30-year crossed 5.1% for the first time since May 2025. That's the number that sets your mortgage rate, your auto loan, and your credit card APR. Kevin Warsh started as Fed chair Friday and immediately inherited a market pricing a 30% chance of rate hikes by year-end instead of cuts. After a week of hot CPI (3.8%), hotter PPI (1.4%), and no Iran breakthrough from Beijing, the bond market has decided that inflation isn't going away — and neither are high borrowing costs. Warsh's first full week starts today, and every rate-sensitive decision in your life is now his problem.
|
|
The other side: Bessent said Thursday he expects "substantial disinflation" ahead because the energy shock is a supply-side event — and if that's right, yields come back down without the Fed lifting a finger.
|
|
|
|
|
2
|
|
Travel
|
Brent $108 · ship seized near UAE
|
|
|
The summit ended. The Strait is still closed. Oil is back at $108.
|
|
Trump left Beijing Friday after two days with Xi, saying "a lot of different problems" had been resolved — but no Iran deal materialized and the Strait remains closed. Brent crude climbed back to $108 on Friday. A ship was seized off the UAE coast Thursday and taken toward Iran, while an Indian cargo vessel sank from a suspected missile strike. If you're booking summer travel, jet fuel is up 95% since the war started, checked bag fees are climbing, and airlines are already pricing the premium into every ticket.
|
|
The other side: Chinese ships did pass through Hormuz during the summit, and Iran let them through — the fact that Beijing has a working back channel with Tehran is itself a result, even if it didn't produce a headline deal.
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
|
Markets
|
S&P -1.24% · NVDA -4.4% · INTC -6%
|
|
|
Tech gave back a week of gains in one day
|
|
The S&P 500 fell 1.24% Friday, the Nasdaq dropped 1.54%, and the Dow shed 537 points after a week of record highs. Intel fell 6%, AMD lost 5.7%, Nvidia gave back 4.4%, and Cerebras — which debuted Thursday with a 68% gain — fell 10% on day two. The semiconductor index had risen 64% in six weeks, and Friday's selloff was the first sign that the AI rally has a speed limit.
|
|
The other side: The S&P still closed the week higher, earnings growth is running at 18.6% for 2026, and one down day after six straight winning weeks is a breather, not a reversal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
|
Your health
|
UMich 48.2 · all-time low
|
|
|
Americans haven't felt this bad about their finances — ever
|
|
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment reading fell to 48.2 in May's preliminary release — the lowest in the survey's history. Stocks are near record highs and unemployment is 4.3%, but the people living in this economy say it feels worse than any point on record.
|
|
The other side: Sentiment surveys have been decoupled from actual spending behavior for over a year — consumers say they feel bad, then they go buy things anyway, and retail sales were still positive in April.
|
|
|
|
|
5
|
|
Your wallet
|
Gas $4.50+ · jet fuel +95% · no deal
|
|
|
No Hormuz deal means no gas relief — and summer is six weeks away
|
|
Gas is still above $4.50 nationally, jet fuel is up 95% since the war started, and the summit that was supposed to change the math didn't produce a deal. Memorial Day is three weeks out, and prices at the pump are locked in for now.
|
|
The other side: The US is pumping nearly 12.9 million barrels a day — a record — and domestic production is the one reason gas is $4.50 instead of $6.
|
|
|
|
|
Off The Stack
|
|
Trump said he hasn't decided on an $11 billion Taiwan arms package after hearing Xi's concerns. — A major geopolitical signal, but the decision hasn't been made yet and the timeline is unclear.
|
|
China ordered 200 Boeing jets during the summit, Trump said. — A win for Boeing, but investors were disappointed by the scale and the stock still fell Friday.
|
|
Lowe's and Home Depot both report earnings this week. — The housing and renovation data will tell you whether homeowners are spending or sitting, but both report mid-week.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Stack · Five stories ranked by Real-Life Impact
|
|
