OECD Forecasts US 2026 Growth Of 2.2% (Vs 2.0% In June), 2.1% In 2027 (Vs 1.8%) - World 2026 Growth Of 2.9% (Vs 2.8% In June), 3.0% In 2027 (Vs 3.1%) - China 2026 Growth Of 4.5% (Unchanged), 4.2% In 2027 (Vs 4.3%) - Euro Area 2026 Growth Of 1.0% (Vs 0.8% In June), 1.0% In 2027 (Vs 1.2%) - Japan 2026 Growth Of 0.8% (Vs 0.6% In June), 0.7% In 2027 (Vs 0.8%) - UK 2026 Growth Of 1.1% (Vs 0.9% In June), 1.0% In 2027 (Vs 1.1%)

China is attempting to refill its oil reserves. Chinese crude imports rose +2.2 million tons in August, to 37.9 million tons, marking their 2nd consecutive monthly increase. This brings the 2-month increase to ~9.0 million tons, or a ~33% recovery from the total drop between January and July this year. The increase in crude supply has also allowed China to ramp up fuel exports, with overseas sales of gasoline and diesel surging +29% last month. However, China's crude imports were down -23% year-over-year and -32% below this year's peak. Meanwhile, China’s massive oil inventories are estimated at more than 1.2 billion barrels, giving the country ample flexibility to reduce purchases as prices rise. China's massive oil stockpile is growing again.

I seriously need to start shooting and editing photos for C109 now... 💦 Book 1: 2 sets left to shoot Book 2: 2 sets left to shoot Book 3: 1 set left to shoot Omake: Want to shoot more, but I do have backups available!

DESIGNER BRANDS $DBI Q2’26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS 🔹 Revenue: $730.6M (Est. $745M) 🔴; -1.2% YoY 🔹 Adj. EPS: $0.34 (Est. $0.26) 🟢 🔹 Adjusted Gross Margin: 47.9%; +430 bps YoY 🔹 Brand Portfolio: $86.3M; +17.9% YoY Raises FY26 Guide: 🔹 Adj. EPS: $0.47-$0.52 (Est. $0.39) 🟢 🔹 Revenue Growth: Flat to +1% Segment Net Revenue: 🔹 Retail: $671.1M; -2.2% YoY 🔹 Brand Portfolio: $86.3M; +17.9% YoY Other Q2 Metrics: 🔹 Comparable Sales: -2.4% 🔹 Gross Margin: 50.0%; incl. tariff recoveries 🔹 Adjusted Net Income: $19.2M (Est. $15.5M) 🟢 🔹 Operating Profit: $54.7M; incl. tariff recoveries Key Updates: 🔸 Tariff recoveries: $35.5M of IEEPA tariff cost recoveries recorded in gross profit this quarter, driving the GAAP gross margin and operating profit; excluded from the adjusted results Comments: 🔸 “significant improvement in profitability year-over-year, highlighted by meaningful gross margin expansion as well as impressive sales growth in our Brand Portfolio segment” 🔸 “improved retail trends and a positive start to the third quarter, giving us confidence in raising our full year guidance.”

HERE IS HOW THE MARKET CLOSED TODAY Five of eleven sectors finished green. Technology was the worst at -1.1%, Basic Materials -1.8% and Real Estate -1.1% behind it. Chips led the selling: - Lam Research $LRCX -5.6% - Intel $INTC -5.6% - Micron $MU -4.7% - Advanced Micro Devices $AMD -3.4% - Nvidia $NVDA -2.4% Software and hardware went with them. Oracle $ORCL -5.2%, Dell $DELL -5.4%, Hewlett Packard Enterprise $HPE -6.2%, Palantir $PLTR -2.2%. Apple $AAPL +3.6% was the largest megacap gainer, the day after its iPhone event. Google $GOOGL +0.6% and Microsoft $MSFT +0.2% held up. Meta $META -1.4% and Tesla $TSLA -1.2% did not. Defensives caught the rotation. Philip Morris $PM +2.2%, AbbVie $ABBV +1.6%, Uber $UBER +2.1%, Intuitive Surgical $ISRG +2.0%. Consumer Defensive was the best sector at +0.3%.