In the latest episode of DH Unplugged, hosts Andrew Horowitz and JC Dvorak deliver a sharp critique of what they call the five dumbest moves currently rattling financial markets. Titled 'Stupid Does Stupid' and published August 25, 2026, the episode arrives just before NVIDIA's earnings report and the Jackson Hole symposium, framing a week where Treasury maneuvers, tariff reversals, and a softer dollar collide with high AI expectations.
The hosts immediately zero in on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's expanded long-bond buybacks, dubbing it 'Bessent's Big Bond Blunder.' Horowitz insists, 'There is no quantitative easing going on. The dollar is down, but not that much. The fact is that everybody just wants to buy it. This is an excuse.' Dvorak counters that retail buyers may be buying the narrative, even if rates snapped back after Bessent hinted at a higher monthly pace. The hosts also note unusual inflows into TLT on August 18, the day before the announcement, calling it 'information leakage,' not luck.
The episode then moves through other moves: Trump's tariff cut on imported beef, which raises questions about who actually pays tariffs; new Iran sanctions under 'Operation Economic Outcast'; Bitcoin's surge past $80,000 and gold's rise on a softer dollar; and Walmart's consumer warning, with U.S. comparable sales up just 2.6% against roughly 3% inflation.
Dvorak, who consults with Walmart's data science team, argues the retailer's predictive models make its caution credible, not spin. He also points to Costco's earlier warning about shoppers swapping chicken for tuna as a recession tell. On NVIDIA, the hosts highlight Kingslide Works, a Taiwanese maker of data center rack slides, up about 400% in a year, as an early indicator ahead of the Ultra Rubin chip cycle.
Other topics include Venezuelan oil refining bottlenecks, strategic petroleum reserves near 1983 levels, salt-cavern integrity risks, and China's 90% share of Iranian oil imports. The hosts argue that the debasement trade is being oversold, and investors should look beyond the headlines.
