Good morning Briefers!!

U.S. national debt crossed $40T for the first time yesterday.

• That’s more than our entire GDP, or the total value of all the stuff our businesses make combined, which is around $32T.

Related: The Treasury is buying bonds to ease that market - but does that lower the national debt? (keep scrolling for the answer).

STOCKS

• S&P: 7,707 (+0.21%)
• DOW: 53,463 (+0.22%)
• NASDAQ: 26,331 (+0.16%)

*Numbers as of market close on August 19th

Moderna’s Melanoma Vaccine

Moderna's (MRNA +176.97%) and Merck's (MRK +12.60%) experimental cancer shot kept melanoma from coming back in a late-stage trial.

Moderna's stock soared more than more than 170% on the news and it gained around $60B in market value in one day.

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, and if the vaccine is approved, millions could start taking it.

Opening Up

Payment company Stripe just opened its wallet for OpenRouter, a startup that lets developers tap into hundreds of AI models with one connection.

How much will it cost? Over $7B

• OpenRouter is a middleman for AI traffic, and Stripe wants to be the payment plumbing for AI.

BTW: Stripe is one of the most valuable private companies in the world, valued around $160B.

GLOBAL SCOOP

• STOXX 600 (E.U.): -0.11%
• CSI 300 (CHN): -2.90%
• FTSE 100 (U.K.): +0.14%

*Numbers as of 5:00 PM ET on August 19th

Market Moonwalk

A Chinese maker of backflipping and dancing robots had a massive first day  on Chinese markets.

• Unitree's shares surged 542% when it hit Shanghai's STAR Market.

Why? Humanoid robots could one day do more than dance and investors are excited for that future.

The company raised almost $1B, and was previously backed by Chinese AI giant DeepSeek.

Cutting Canadian Tariffs

50% tariffs from the U.S. on some Canadian goods is off the table for now, as the two countries might have finalized a deal.

The potential terms:

• Auto tariffs will fall from 25% to 15%.
• Steel and aluminum tariffs are dropping from 50% to 25%.

No deal has been signed yet, but it could lead to lower prices for cars and metals coming out of Canada.

ECONOMY

• US10YEAR: 4.64% (-0.06%)
• GOLD: $4,580 (+3.62%)
• BRENT CRUDE: $91.61 (+0.65%)

*Numbers as of 4:00 PM ET on August 19th

Double Back

The Treasury is buying back older bonds to ease a stressed market.

It's doubling the maximum size of each buyback to at least $4B.

• This comes after the 30-year Treasury bond hit a near 19 year high earlier this week.

The reason? It wants to keep borrowing costs stable, so it's stepping in to lower interest rates.

This move doesn't cut the nation's debt, though...

Shining Bright

Speaking of bonds - yields rising and unrest in the Middle East caused another asset to shine yesterday: Gold.

Prices per ounce of gold went up 3% or around $100.

The metal has increased in price by around $500 over the last 3 weeks.

Gold mining companies shared in the spotlight as a result:

• Barrick (B +7.22%)
• Newmont (NEM +7.85%)

REAL ESTATE

• 30-year: 6.72%
• 15-year: 6.27%

Collecting Tolls

Toll Brothers (TOL +4.00%) saw signed contracts grow 5% last quarter - it’s one of the biggest home builders in the U.S.

What’s the big deal? About a quarter of those buyers paid all cash.

• These folks are trading up from existing homes, so high mortgage rates don't scare them off.

That could mean entry-level prices may stay high while the luxury end keeps humming.

Flat Demand In Housing

Total mortgage application volume slipped last week as the average 30-year mortgage rates stayed frozen.

• Refinances rose 2% while purchases fell 2%.

Rates are stuck near 6.7%, so experts think buyers and refinancers are waiting for a bigger drop.

The bottom line: Prices and rates are stuck, which may mean higher monthly payments for buyers.

The Shifts Wall Street Misses

Chip company Marvell just allowed Google to purchase $12.5B in its stock.

Why? AI is moving markets - and it needs powerful chips to do it. Marvell designs those chips.

CRYPTO

• BTC: $69,809 (+7.93%)
• ETH: $2,279 (+19.46%)
• XRP: $1.12 (+11.95%)

*Numbers as of 4:00 PM ET on August 19th

Presidential Push

President Trump hosted executives from crypto firms yesterday and said he wants crypto exchange Hyperliquid to set up shop in the U.S.

What’s that? Hyperliquid is a Singapore-based crypto options and futures trader.

• If it launched here, fewer trades may go through CME (CME -1.69%) or CBOE, the current main markets for crypto trading.

No More Shorts

But that’s not all - President Trump also said he wants Congress to pass the crypto Clarity Act soon.

• Bitcoin and Ethereum both jumped to multi-month highs on the news.

The price spikes also wiped out more than $1B in short bets against Bitcoin in about an hour.

Crypto related stocks shared in the gains too - with Coinbase (COIN +9.55%) and Strategy (MSTR +12.68%) ending in the green.