Bitcoin just had one of its best weeks in months.

Good morning Briefers!!

It’s the start of a big week on Wall Street:

• Nvidia (NVDA -0.98%) reports earnings on Wednesday.
• Kevin Warsh and the Fed will be talking about our economy from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, starting on Thursday.

STOCKS

• S&P: 7,674 (+0.43%)
• DOW: 53,227 (+0.98%)
• NASDAQ: 26,180 (+0.44%)

*Numbers as of market close on August 21st

Tesla's Total Recall

CEO of Tesla (TSLA +5.14%) Elon Musk said a few weeks ago that Tesla is working on flying cars.

But a bunch of them just got grounded…

The auto giant is recalling cars in China over door handles and driver alertness.

How many? About 3 million vehicles.

• The flush handles can fail in a crash, and some driver monitors need a fix.

Broad Bet

Broadcom (AVGO +1.21%) is negotiating a huge loan to build AI chips for companies like Anthropic.

The package could hit $70-$80B.

• Chipmakers are borrowing heavily to stay ahead in the AI infrastructure race.

In early August, Anthropic said it wants to make its own chips and it’s expected to go public soon with a $1T+ valuation.

GLOBAL SCOOP

• STOXX 600 (E.U.): +0.59%
• CSI 300 (CHN): +0.57%
• FTSE 100 (U.K.): +0.64%

*Numbers as of 5:00 PM ET on August 21st

Cool Getaways, Higher Costs

Tourists are ditching hot beaches for cooler Scottish getaways.

Rural Scotland hotel prices rose 9.2% from May to July.

• A night costs $227 on average.

Travelers are booking golf, whisky, and castle trips - without the sweltering heat.

Americans who traveled to Europe in general this year spent on average $3,000.

Oil Squeeze

Canada and the U.S. couldn’t make a trade deal work - now, oil is starting to slip.

What does that mean? Canada is pulling back oil shipments to U.S. refineries, as U.S. refinery output has been falling.

But it’s not bad blood - Canada says it’s maintenance that will cut 300,000 barrels a day.

• Midwest refineries get 70% of their crude from Canada.

ECONOMY

• US10YEAR: 4.73% (+0.03%)
• GOLD: $4,680 (+1.97%)
• BRENT CRUDE: $94.39 (+0.65%)

*Numbers as of 4:00 PM ET on August 21st

Debt Danger Zone

Legendary hedge fund manager Ray Dalio says U.S. debt is nearing the danger point.

• Federal spending is about 40% ahead of tax revenue.

He says the fix needs cuts, higher taxes, and lower rates all at once - and that's unlikely before a crisis.

Dalio also said investors should put more money into gold and a “bit” of Bitcoin.

U.S. Up And Up

The summer is cooling down, but our economy is heating up.

According to S&P Global, the U.S. economy is growing at its fastest pace in over four years.

• S&P Global's business activity gauge hit 56 in August.

The reason? Services are booming, and businesses are confident enough to hire again.

REAL ESTATE

• 30-year: 6.77%
• 15-year: 6.61%

Not Enough Builders

Experts say more housing could help lower prices and drive demand in the market.

So, why aren’t more houses being built? There’s a lot of reasons, but one of them is new: Data centers.

Construction crews are building data centers instead of homes.

• The skilled-trades industry is short about 300,000 workers.

AI builders keep pulling labor away, and the training pipeline never fully recovered from 2008.

Stocks Over Starter Homes

Young adults are choosing retirement accounts over saving for a house.Gen Z retirement contributions rose 65% year over year.Why? They see homeownership as out of reach and investing as the faster path to wealth._Whatever they choose, we just don't want to hear 6-7 again in another meeting…_

CRYPTO

BTC: $77,639 (+0.76%)ETH: $2,463 (+1.61%)XRP: $1.52 (+3.72%)*Numbers as of 4:00 PM ET on August 21st

Asking Questions

Binance employees in the UAE were questioned about a bank account holding customer money.The exchange already paid a $4.3B settlement to U.S. authorities.In English: Authorities in the UAE are looking for any suspicious activity flowing in and out of customers' accounts.Binance was banned in the U.S. years ago, but is one of the largest global crypto exchanges in the world.

Chill Out

Bitcoin just had one of its best weeks in months, but bettors aren't convinced it will last.

Kalshi traders see Bitcoin ending 2026 near 75k - that’s about where it is right now.

• This past week's 20% jump only nudged their forecast to just below today's price.

Coming up: The Clarity Act is still making its way through Congress, which could change regulations in the industry.