Readings — 23 July 2026
This is the first edition of Readings — a factual pulse across all live site artefacts, lens by lens, updated weekly. There’s no prior edition to compare against yet, so this issue states each artefact’s current reading rather than what changed; from next week, entries will read as a delta. Readings draws no conclusions of its own — for this week’s single analytical call, see MASTERSIGNAL in the Weekly Brief.
MACRO — The Economy
The Interest Bill: gross interest on the public debt stands at $1.05T for FY2026 so far (as of 30 Jun 2026), running at roughly $3.9B a day. Total public debt: $39.66T (21 Jul 2026). [Confirmed]
Manic Mr Market: the Buffett Indicator reads 218.1% (2026 Q1) — Significantly Overvalued, top fifth of readings since 1952. [Confirmed]
The Melting Anchor: a dollar holds 0.86% of its 1971 gold value; live gold spot $4,093/oz (23 Jul 2026). [Confirmed]
MICRO — The Stocks
Utopia’s Eleven: combined market cap $26.44T. NVIDIA leads at $5.13T; Banquo’s Ghost (value shed from all-time highs across the Eleven) stands at $3.61T. [Confirmed]
The Debt Garden: combined plot $27.9B across six listed BDCs; all six trade below their series high, median 412 weeks since peak. [Confirmed]
Cape Fear: Shiller CAPE ratio reads 42.18 (Jul 2026) — the 99th percentile since 1881. [Confirmed]
DEMOS — The People
The Mood of the Crowd: US consumer sentiment (UMich) at 49.5 — 0th percentile, among the most depressed readings on record. UK consumer confidence at −17.0 — 24th percentile. [Confirmed]
The Camel’s Back: Generational Squeeze Index reads 155 (1970s = 100). Illustrative scaffolding, not a live series — no week-to-week change to report.
POLIS — The State
The Watchtower: US midterms in 103 days (3 Nov 2026); next Fed decision in 6 days (29 Jul 2026); UK general election legal-latest date ~3.0 years out. [Inferred] — not yet officially called.
The Long Fuse: static reference ledger (four Pensions Acts vs the triple lock, 1995–2023). No live feed — nothing to update week to week.
FLOWS — The Capital
Net Liquidity Tracker: net liquidity $5.84T (8 Jul 2026) — Fed balance sheet $6,724.6B less TGA $880.2B less overnight RRP $3.3B. [Confirmed]
The Tide Table: passive funds now hold 55% of US fund assets, up from 34% in 2016. [Confirmed]
Mind the Gap: USD/JPY ¥162.43, US 10yr 4.55%, Japan 10yr 2.71% — a 1.84pp spread (17 Jul 2026). [Confirmed]