The Weekly Note
One email a week on what actually moved markets, and why it matters to what you own. No tips, no predictions, no jargon. Written by the founder of Oak Growth.
17 August 2026
Oil went up. Everything else went down.
Brent near $91 pushed the 30-year yield to its highest since 2007 and knocked every index lower.
14 August 2026
A record high, then the shopper stopped shopping.
The S&P cleared 7,800 for the first time, then slipped as retail sales fell the most in over a year.
13 August 2026
Inflation behaved. Markets exhaled.
US inflation matched forecasts, the S&P closed near a record, and SpaceX's first lock-up expiry landed.
Why this exists. Most market coverage assumes you already understand the mechanism — that rates set the discount rate, that a supply shock and a demand shock are different things. This note explains the chain each time, in plain English, and says so plainly when nobody knows the answer. One email, every Friday.