Nvidia’s results didn’t spark fireworks, but they did enough to keep the rally intact. Shares hovered near $180 after an early pop, and options activity remains heavy as traders debate whether AI momentum can justify stretched valuations.

Small caps took a breather, but with the Russell 2000 now up over 5% in August, and continuing to outpace the S&P and Nasdaq, the trend holds.

Energy stayed firm, gold ticked higher, and yields at the long end remain elevated as fiscal and Fed concerns deepen.

The Wrap? Markets are still balancing the same two narratives: AI dominance on one side, and rising political pressure on the Fed on the other. News of Mexico’s planned 2026 tariffs on Chinese goods added another layer of macro tension, while Fed Governor Lisa Cook’s lawsuit against the Trump administration has only amplified worries about central bank independence. Tell us if you’ve heard this one before… Investors are left bracing for the next catalyst yet again.

Now, for some palate cleansers…

Where have the contrarians gone?

As a T&Q reader, this may seem an odd thing to wonder, but looking at the broader world, Ben Carlson notes and laments the disappearance of the contrarian investor as a major force. Once-cool outsiders like Burry and Eisman are now “rounded up and thrown in pundit prison” as the 2020s bull run has again and again rewarded consensus over skepticism.

Yet Carlson believes the contrarian flame might flicker again now that AI mania and mega-cap tech dominance feel stretched, hinting at early rumblings of dissent among reputable voices. 

The trend is your friend… until it isn’t. Carlson reminds us that perma-bullishness is the norm, not dissent, and when breadth returns to the party (small caps, buybacks, value areas), contrarians may find themselves vindicated. It’s meta, it's timely, and it's a subtle nudge: watch the leaders, but don’t ignore the underdogs that could stage tomorrow’s comeback.

We here at T&Q will keep doing our part to manage the madness.

Forget Nvidia, This "Ghost Town" Company Holds the Key to the AI Boom

Nvidia, AMD, Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Tesla, Oracle, Palantir, IBM…

They all need this little-known company's product.

And this company has a virtual monopoly in the U.S.

That means this company that's located in an American ghost town — with only 30 people — could be the key to the $100 trillion AI boom.

Jackson hole in the Post-American World

On a rare deep dive into the emotional undercurrents of central banking, Odd Lots hosts Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway welcome Adam Posen of the Peterson Institute to reflect on a uniquely unsettling Jackson Hole symposium. 

The conversation explores how relentless Fed bashing by U.S. politicians and the rise of alternative power centers (e.g. China, BRICS) made this Jackson Hole “surreal.” Posen suggests central bankers are quietly preparing for a world where U.S. policy isn’t the only game in town – a stark contrast to the past decades. This challenges the consensus that the dollar and Fed hegemony are unshakeable. It’s a big-picture, uncomfortable insight: We may be fully entering a post-American economic order, and even the Fed knows it, which could mean surprises in currency and rate policies ahead.

Posen’s candid take further highlights a systemic risk few investors are pricing in yet… the erosion of institutional boundaries that once safeguarded monetary policy. For traders, that’s not just background noise, it’s a looming regime change risk in how markets interpret every policy statement going forward