After-Hours % Advancers

After-Hours % Decliners

Position: None

Closing Volume

– NYSE volume 9.5% below its one-month average
– NASDAQ volume  2.5% below its one-month average  
– VIX index: up 7.39% to 15.99

Breadth

S&P 500 Sectors

% Movers

Nasdaq 100 Heat Map

Closing S&P 500 Heat Map

Position: None

I have reduced my PEP position from medium-sized to small-sized after the nice run of the last week or so.

I plan to be a buyer on weakness.

Position: Long PEP (S)

I have done no trades in the regular session today.

I can’t remember the last time this happened.

Position: None

Randy:

Verano Enters Cannabis Beverage Category with Debut of Easy Landings, Company’s First National Beverage Brand Featuring Four Delicious Flavors and All-Natural Ingredients

Verano Holdings Corp. (VRNO) (“Verano” or the “Company”), a leading multi-state cannabis company, today announced the launch of Easy Landings, the Company’s first dedicated beverage brand. Easy Landings will initially be available for purchase starting August 21 at Verano’s Zen Leaf dispensaries and third-party partners in four core Verano (VRNO) markets – Arizona, Illinois, Nevada, followed by New Jersey on August 28 – with plans to scale across additional states in 2026 and beyond.

Designed to bring precision, flavor and flexibility to any occasion, Easy Landings beverages are crafted to be mixed seamlessly into any drink for a custom mocktail or enjoyed on their own. Initially launching in four delicious flavors including Lemon Lime, Watermelon, Mango and Black Cherry, Easy Landings beverages optimize taste, adaptability and simple dose control in a portable and flexible format. Each 2 oz (60 ml) bottle of Easy Landings contains 100 mg of fast-acting THC, curated flavors and formulas to induce a predictable experience, with a capful measuring 5 mg of THC per serving.

Cont’d:

Easy Landings aims to engage a variety of consumers by tapping into existing demand for THC beverages and capitalizing on multiple trends, including the continued decline in alcohol consumption and growing popularity of macrodose edibles products. In 2025 alone, full year cannabis beverage dispensary sales grew 13%1 across all markets in which the Company operates, with non-carbonated beverages and shots experiencing the highest rate of growth. Given the category’s ongoing growth and the pending closure of the 2018 Farm Bill loophole that unintentionally created a multi-billion dollar hemp-derived THC beverage market, Easy Landings is well positioned to capitalize on existing demand as a brand new, all-natural alternative for consumers seeking cannabis beverages that are delicious, safe, tested and regulated.

Leveraging consumer trends favoring alternative and macrodose cannabis products, THC drinks and alcohol-free options, Easy Landings 100 mg single serve beverages feature four delicious flavors with all natural, vegan and gluten free ingredients designed for sipping straight or mixing into the beverage of your choice

Positions: Long VRNO (S/M)

* The markets, that is…

From the ridiculous:

Dr Frankenstein: Now that brain that you gave me, was it Hans Del Brooks?

Igor: No.

Dr. Frankenstein: Would you mind telling me whose brain I did put in?

Igor: Abby someone.

Dr. Franksenstein: Abby, who?

Igor: Abby Normal – I am almost sure that was the name.

Dr. Frankenstein: Are you saying I put an abnormal brain into a 7 1/2 foot long, 54 inch wide gorilla?  

– Young Frankenstein Abby normal scene – YouTube

To the sublime:

“Something is rotten in Denmark.”

– Grandma Koufax

The market’s (daily and intraday) volatility and absence of memory from day to day suggests, to me, that something is awry. At the very least, the inconsistency and lack of predictability of the market (again from day to day), feels like the markets are becoming more casino-like.

Amazon (AMZN), up $5+ yesterday, down $5+ today. Or Walmart (WMT) -$11 (the consumer is faltering as I suggested in my Diary this week — and wasn’t the investment case that WMT is positioned ideally for AI advances?). And, of course, the daily gyrations of memory and chip stocks. 

This backdrop is great for opportunistic traders, not so great for the buy-and-hold crowd. 

I have been wrong about the markets, but I have little interest in gambling with my Limited Partners’ hard earned capital — even if there are continued opportunity costs — as I feel the wheels might fall off of the U.S. stock market at any time. 

Position: None

As I have suggested, cannabis companies are uplisting and aggressively buying back shares.

From Randorama:

Randy

TerrAscend (TSNDF) ‘s board authorized the company to renew and replenish its normal course issuer bid for up to $10 million of its common shares, the cannabis company said Thursday.

The bid represents an attractive use of capital and creates long-term value for shareholders, TerrAscend (TSNDF) said.

TerrAscend (TSNDF) can repurchase shares starting Aug. 24, 2026, until Aug. 23, 2027

Position: Long TSNDF (VS)

After ANOTHER trip to the Vet I am back in the office.

Getting my sealegs back.

Positions: None.

The following is from Peter Boockvar:

The day after/Commodity inflation spreads to ag/Earnings and other

I expressed my thoughts on what Scott Bessent & Co announced yesterday so don’t have much to add here but of course watching to see what the follow through is both in the US Treasury market and the US dollar. As I see the buyback as nothing more than what FX intervention brings, a temporary respite, I don’t think it works without a coincident fundamental change in the situation, which there currently isn’t. I wonder what bazooka gets pulled out next if I’m right. The next problem for Treasury would be caused by another rise in inflation expectations in the TIPS market as that would be tough to contain without Fed rate hikes which would now be even more expensive for the Treasury with the increase in T-bill issuance. As for the US dollar today, it’s down again to a 3 month low and gold is at the highest level since early June. We stay positive and long on gold. The 10 yr Treasury yield is basically back to where it was yesterday morning before the news hit at 4.69%.

I’ll say again, what a box we are in.

DXY

I repeat my belief that with respect to inflation, we’re in a commodity bull market that will be followed by ag prices soon. The Bloomberg agriculture index yesterday broke out to the highest level since May 2024. Included in this index is coffee, corn, wheat, soybeans, soybean oil/meal, cotton, and sugar.

We’re long some fertilizer stocks as a play on this. Corn in particular is back above $5 per bushel and wheat is back to $7.

Bloomberg Agriculture Index

Corn

Here were some notable comments I pulled out of some of the earnings calls yesterday.

From Target, 4% yesterday:

“Comparable sales increased 3.8%, driven by a 3.6% increase in traffic, with average ticket about flat. Store comparable sales grew 2.7%, while digital comparable sales increased 8.7%, led by growth of more than 25% in same-day delivery.”

“I think broad based strength is the headline I would leave with on a bunch of fronts. We saw that across guest demographics. We saw that across categories and we saw strength throughout the quarter.”

They saw particular strength in food and beverage and also beauty. Estee Lauder by the way had a good quarter yesterday, a stock we own.

“I think traffic is actually a great place to start because when we see the strong traffic response like we did in Q2 and we’ve seen so far this year, it’s just a reinforcement to us that guests are responding to the change that we’re making and that we’re earning more and more trust that’s translating to more and more trips to Target.”

“we’re encouraged with what we see in back-to-school and back-to-college so far.”

From TJX, down 4% yesterday:

Comps rose 4%, “which was above our plan.”

Their Marmaxx division (which includes TJ Max and Marshalls) was “below our expectations” but “our three other divisions delivered comp sales increases of 6% to 7%.”

“We are seeing improvement at Marmaxx to start the 3rd quarter and are confident that we will see greater improvement by the holiday selling season.”

“Our 2nd quarter comp was driven by a higher average basket and an increase in customer transactions. Further, our home categories outperformed our apparel categories.”

“we are confident that consumers will continue to look for value in the current environment.”

This was from Walmart’s earnings release just out where US comps missed expectations and the stock is down as a result:

On their US stores, “Sales reflected continued strong momentum in eCommerce and broad-based share gains, partially offset by 125 bps headwind to comp sales from pharmacy deflation related to new maximum fair price regulation.”

From Advanced Auto Parts, who missed comp estimates and is trading down sharply pre-market:

“Our 2nd quarter comparable sales results reflected low single digit growth in the Pro channel, which performed in line with expectations along with Main Street Pro trends outpacing overall Pro trends. However, total enterprise sales performance was impacted by the DIY channel as tighter household budgets constrained spending more than we anticipated, especially during the last four weeks of the quarter.”

From Viking Holdings, the upper end cruise line operator and down 8% yesterday as low water levels in some regions is impacting the business:

Revenue rose 16.5% and the “results reflect the continued strong demand for our destination focused travel experiences and the great execution of our teams across the organization.”

“From an advanced booking perspective, our 2026 season is effectively sold out with 96% of the capacity for our core products already booked…As of August 9, 53% of the capacity for our core products for 2027 was booked, and this includes a 15% y/o/y increase in capacity.”

And why the stock traded down, “the historically low water levels this year, combined with conditions that have deteriorated week-by-week, have impacted guests on some of our itineraries this season.”

And in response, they are “issuing future cruise vouchers to certain affected guests. While we believe this is the right approach from both a guest satisfaction and loyalty perspective, these vouchers will have a financial impact extending beyond 2026 and into 2027 and 2028 as they are redeemed.”

Shifting to semis, this was from Analog Devices, which was little changed yesterday:

“Demand for our solutions continues to grow, supported by robust AI and defense spending, cyclical momentum, and underlying secular content growth across our diversified end markets.”

Overseas, the Swedish Riksbank left its policy rate unchanged at 1.75% as expected but left open the door for a hike this year as they access “that the probability of a rate increase later this year remains. If the unexpectedly high inflation during the summer were to be the start of a larger and more lasting upturn in inflation, the Riksbank would adjust its monetary policy in a tighter direction.”

The UK CBI industrial orders index improved by 20 pts to -25 and well better than the estimate of -40. The global recovery in manufacturing is helping. The CBI said “Stronger global demand is providing some welcome relief for manufacturers, with export order books improving sharply and lifting overall orders. Firms also expect output to fall at a much slower pace over the next three months.”

The caveat, “However, it is too soon to know whether this marks the beginning of a sustained shift in conditions, particularly given ongoing cost pressures reported by manufacturers, with selling price expectations in our survey picking up again and remaining well above historical norms.”Pound sterling is higher, the 10 yr gilt yield is up 1 bp and the FTSE is lower by about 1/3 of a percent in response. 

Positions: None.

Upside

MSTR +10.0%, BMNR +8.0%, COIN +7.5%, CRCL +6.5%, BLSH +6.5%, ABTC +6.0% (Bitcoin rebound above $71K and renewed crypto-policy optimism after White House crypto discussions; crypto beta names reprice higher) 
NDSN +8.0% (earnings beat and margin resilience exceeded expectations; investors focus on industrial recovery rather than slower macro backdrop) 
DE +5.0% (earnings reaction as equipment demand outside agriculture offsets farm-cycle weakness; guidance seen as better than feared)
TEM +4.5% (AI-healthcare/data platform growth continues to exceed cautious expectations)
HOOD +4.0% (crypto trading volumes and retail activity expectations improve with digital asset rally)
MARA +4.0%, RIOT +3.5%, CLSK +3.5% (Bitcoin miners gain leverage to crypto rebound)
XOM +3.5%, CVX +3.0%, OXY +3.0% (energy sympathy as crude rises more than 2% on supply/geopolitical concerns) 
NEM +4.5%, GOLD +4.0%, AEM +3.5% (gold miners benefit from commodity rotation and rate volatility)
ALGN +4.0% (earnings reaction as profitability outlook improves versus lowered expectations)

Downside

MRNA –10.0% (profit-taking after historic prior-day repricing; investors lock gains after the Phase 3 cancer vaccine breakthrough) 
FRHC –35.0% (major earnings-driven valuation reset as growth expectations deteriorate) 
PAYC –14.0% (earnings/guidance disappointment forces lower growth expectations for enterprise software) 
COTY –8.5% (larger-than-expected loss and weaker sales outlook pressure turnaround assumptions) 
AAP –8.0% (forward demand concerns overwhelm quarterly beat as investors focus on consumer repair-cycle weakness)
WMT –6.5% (same-store sales growth missed expectations despite earnings beat; consumer spending read-through weakens) 
BABA –1.0% (profit miss as AI investment raises near-term margin pressure despite cloud growth) 
NEBI –10.0% (AI infrastructure valuation pressure after $4.5B convertible debt financing raises dilution concerns) 
TER –6.0% (semiconductor equipment weakness as investors question AI infrastructure spending durability)
SMCI –5.0% (AI hardware valuation pressure continues after crowded trade unwind)
MRVL –4.0%, AMD –2.5%, NVDA –2.0% (AI hardware rotation away from crowded winners; investors favor profitable AI beneficiaries over lower-quality beta) 
CRWD –3.5%, SNOW –3.0%, PANW –3.0% (software duration pressure as Treasury yields remain elevated) 
LOW –3.0%, DG –3.0% (consumer discretionary caution after mixed retail earnings signals)

Positions: None.

Treasury Auctions

11:00 a.m.: Treasury Announces a 13 Week and a 3and 6 month Bill Auction; 

11:00 a.m.: Treasury’s Note Announcement; 

11:30 a.m.; Treasury hosts a $110B 4 and a $100B 8Week Bill Auction; 

1:00 a.m.: Treasury hosts an $8B 30-Year TIPS Auction; 

2:00 p.m.: Treasury buyback (liq support)

Fed Speaker

11:10 a.m.: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President Alberto Musalem (Non-Voter) participates in a live interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”

Economic Calendar

Positions: None.

Wolf Street howls about the Treasury’s hocus pocus announcement.

To Absorb $1 Trillion of New Treasuries in 3 Months, as the Debt Ballooned to $40 Trillion, Investors Demanded Higher Yields. Bessent Blows Fuse | Wolf Street

From Wolf: 

The Treasury Department cannot create money, unlike the Fed. It has to sell new securities to buy back old securities. The buybacks are just a debt swap. And Bessent could accomplish the same thing but in much larger quantities by keeping auctions of long-term notes and bonds unchanged, and increasing the T-bill auctions, and thereby shifting issuance to T-bills, and it’s already doing that.

But Bessent wanted to soothe the bond market on the spooky day that the Treasury debt hit $40 trillion. So he came out with the hocus-pocus announcement, and long-term yields fell instantly, though the actual increase of the buybacks won’t start till September 9, and though the amounts are small compared to the $1 trillion in new debt that investors have to buy every three to five months going forward, and tiny compared to the $40 trillion in Treasury securities outstanding [my detailed analysis of Bessent’s hocus-pocus show is here].

This is similar to what I wrote yesterday:

The Treasury Announcement: What It Is and Isn’t

The Treasury announcement is broadly being mis-interpreted as usual, due to hype from the usual suspects including Fin TV.

It is just a twist, not money printing. 

Whatever they buy more of on the long end, they will have to issue on the short end to finance the purchases.

And the dollars involved are limited.

Anyway, this is not QE or money printing, only the Fed can do that. Treasury has no authority or ability to print money.

BY Doug Kass · Aug 19, 2026, 12:01 PM EDT

Position: None

The S&P Short Range Oscillator is back to (slightly) overbought at 0.56% vs. -0.43%.

I reshorted SPY when futures were +42 handles in Wednesday’s rally (S&P cash closed up by +15 handles on the day) before covering early this morning.

Position: None

* I covered my SPY short after a reversal lower in S&P futures early this morning

With S&P futures -12 handles and about 40 handles lower than where I shorted SPY in yesterday’s rally, I have covered my SPY short for a nice profit:

* SPY  $767.96

From yesterday:

SPY Add

Added to (SPY) short at $771.14.

Positions: Short SPY S

BY Doug Kass · Aug 19, 2026, 10:52 AM EDT

I currently have no index shorts on — but that will change in any rally attempt… 

Position: None