Readings — 3 August 2026
MACRO — THE ECONOMY
The Interest Bill: unchanged at $1.05T FYTD (still as of 30 Jun 2026); the debt itself ticked up from $39.68T (23 Jul) to $39.84T (30 Jul). [Confirmed]
Manic Mr Market: unchanged at 218.1% (2026 Q1) — still Significantly Overvalued, same quarter’s reading as last week. [Confirmed]
The Melting Anchor: the dollar’s gold value holds at 0.86% of 1971 — unchanged; live gold spot eased from $4,083/oz (27 Jul) to $4,053/oz (3 Aug). [Confirmed]
Red Ink Rising: first appearance in Readings — live on /macro since 28 Jul, below The Interest Bill. FY2025 net interest $970.1B, 13.84% of the federal budget — below the FY1996 peak share of 15.45%. Annual series; next refresh at the CBO’s ~Feb/Jun baseline. [Confirmed]
MICRO — THE STOCKS
Utopia’s Eleven: combined market cap rose from $25.56T to $26.45T. NVIDIA has retaken the lead at $4.86T; Apple, last week’s leader at $4.94T, is now second at $4.54T. Banquo’s Ghost (value shed from all-time highs) narrowed sharply, from $4.29T to $3.33T. [Confirmed]
The Debt Garden: combined plot eased from $28.0B to $27.8B; still 6 of 6 constituents below their series high, median weeks-since-peak 405W (was 412W). [Confirmed]
Cape Fear: unchanged at 42.18 — same Jul 2026 print, still the 99th percentile since 1881. [Confirmed]
Mathematical Scenarios: first appearance — live on /micro since 28 Jul, below Cape Fear. Today’s CAPE of 40.47 implies a 10-year real earnings base of 184.47; only the scenario holding today’s multiple avoids an implied real decline by 2036. Calculator, not a forecast. [Confirmed]
The High Water Mark: first appearance — live on /micro since 29 Jul. 17 covered stocks average 86.9% of their recorded highs; five sit at or within 1% of theirs (Palisades Goldcorp, Suncor Energy, Admiral Group, Grupo Cibest, M&G). Leg by Leg, the companion register, is built but not yet pasted to site. [Confirmed]
DEMOS — THE PEOPLE
The Mood of the Crowd: US sentiment jumped from 49.5 (0th percentile, Jun print) to 55.2 (2nd percentile) on July’s final UMich reading — the sharpest one-month rise in months, though still near the bottom of the historical range. UK confidence unchanged at −17.0 (24th percentile), same Jun print as last week. [Confirmed]
The Camel’s Back: unchanged at 155 — illustrative scaffolding, no live feed, nothing to update.
Hot or Not: first appearance — live on /demos since 31 Jul, below The Mood of the Crowd. Latest reading: 35% approval for Trump’s second term (2026-06-08). Static dataset, Truman to present. [Confirmed]
POLIS — THE STATE
The Watchtower: US midterms now 92 days out (from 99); the Fed’s 29 Jul decision has passed — the next FOMC dot-plot sits 44 days out at 16 Sep 2026; UK general election unchanged at ~3.0 years out at the legal-latest date. [Confirmed/Inferred as tagged on-site]
The Long Fuse: no live feed, nothing to update.
FLOWS — THE CAPITAL
Net Liquidity Tracker: unchanged — still $5.92T, same 22/24 Jul reading as last week; no new weekly print since. [Confirmed]
The Tide Table: unchanged — passive funds still hold 55% of US fund assets, up from 34% in 2016; no new year-end print since last week. [Confirmed]
Mind the Gap: unchanged since 17 Jul — ¥162.43, US 10yr 4.55%, Japan 10yr 2.71%, a 1.84pp spread. [Confirmed]