Ryan Stancil,
Editor
July 31, 2026
Mounting inflation left the Dow facing its worst day of the year and may have left Trump with a massive case of buyer’s remorse.
Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve elected to leave interest rates unchanged, and the market reacted as it tends to in these kinds of situations. Indexes flashed red, traders sold, and headlines noted blood in the streets.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, the man Trump picked for the job, noted that inflation remained elevated, necessitating the decision. Some more hawkish members of the board actually elected to raise interest rates, so some traders would say they got off lucky.
Even so, this does nothing to inspire confidence in the markets as we head into the fall, and it gives Trump another thorn in his side as we approach midterms.
As tensions in his war of choice in Iran reignite, oil prices continue to spike, and that’s exactly the kind of economic activity that ripples out and touches everything else.
Every American feels it immediately when they check out at the grocery store.
Most feel it every week or so when they fill up the car for the commute to work.
And households all over feel it with energy prices rising.
The fact that there seems to be no relief in sight weighs on sentiment, which in turn will ripple out into other parts of the economy continuing to suffer as consumers stretch what little they have and traders do whatever they can to protect capital.
Another challenge facing the economy is the double-edged sword of AI investment. On the one hand, investments being made in this technology are among the biggest factors keeping things afloat. Just look at how quickly things turned around earlier this week after Microsoft’s earnings were revealed. On the other hand, it’s also raising the price on things such as building materials, computer chips, and the power needed to run the data centers.
That last point is especially important, as stories of data center construction affecting surrounding communities are becoming more common. Communities are pushing back against tech companies and government officials attempting to force projects through, leading to more negative sentiment that could affect future projects.
All of this is a long way of saying that the market as it is now is defined by volatility. That’s not likely to change for the foreseeable future, so it’s up to investors to take advantage of that volatility in order to stay ahead.
The opportunity here lies in the resources required for everything at the center of the economic stories that are making the front pages.
In the case of AI and data centers, that’s materials such as copper, needed for the wiring that keeps the centers running.
In the case of broader economic anxiety, it can be gold, long seen as a haven for investors in troubled times. It can also be something like uranium, seen as the solution for the energy crisis, as shown by the fact that more nations are accepting nuclear power than ever before.
You can’t control the constant shifting of investment narratives and how they affect the broader market, but you can control how you take advantage of the environments they create.
In regard to what we’re seeing now, that means buying into commodities companies that are perfectly positioned to bring to market the kinds of metals that will win big as the investment landscape shifts.
Gerardo Del Real covers all of this in the pages of Junior Resource Speculator. If you want to learn more, including the names of several portfolio companies perfectly poised to win big in that environment, you can do that by clicking here.
Keep your eyes open,
Ryan Stancil
Editor, Bizarro World