Summing Up The Week

Did Apple (AAPL) just save the stock market? After a week that saw a weakening consumer resulting in inflation and a flat services PMI number followed by President Donald Trump announcing exorbitant 50% tariffs on India, stocks finished the week higher.

The move in the stock market was thanks, in part, to an announcement from Apple (AAPL) that resulted in the stock lifting the major indexes.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the news that moved the markets this week…

Market News

Services PMI misses expectations

While not typically a market-moving report, ISM nonmanufacturing PMI dipped to 50.1, below analyst expectations, indicating potential weakness in the services sector, reported Reuters.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Tuesday its nonmanufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) slipped to 50.1 last month from 50.8 in June. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the services PMI would rise to 51.5. A PMI reading above 50 indicates growth in the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy.

To make matters worse, price pressures from Trump’s tariffs continued to mount causing the prices-paid index to rise to 69.9, the highest level since October 2022.

As a result, the stock market pulled back a bit on Tuesday, anticipating potential further weakness in the U.S. economy.

Trump raises India tariffs to over 50%

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced that he raised India’s tariffs to over 50% due to their purchases of Russian oil, reported CNBC.

“I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,” President Donald Trump said in an executive order. “Accordingly, and as consistent with applicable law, articles of India imported into the customs territory of the United States shall be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 percent.”

In response, India said that it is “extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest,” according to a statement in response to the new levies.

Apple plans to spend $600B investing in the U.S.

On Wednesday, President Trump and Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook announced that the company plans to spend $600 billion over four years in the United States, reported CNBC. As a result, Trump, who had previously been clear he wanted iPhones to be built entirely in the United States, gave Apple an exemption on the tariffs he has announced for both China and India.

Trump appeared pleased with the outcome (perhaps due to the fact that Cook had presented the Commander-in-Chief with an exclusive iPhone made from 24K gold), “He makes many of the components here, and we’ve been talking about it,” Trump said. “The whole thing is set up in other places, and it’s been there for a long time in terms of cost and all, but I think we may incentivize him enough that one day he’ll be bringing that back.”

While, typically, single companies do not move the stock market on their own, the scenario is quite different when you’re talking about one with a market cap of more than $3 trillion. As a result of the announcement, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq held up during a flat day on Thursday and then both rallied to end the week.

Next Week’s Gameplan

Next week has a few potential market-moving catalysts. On Tuesday, we get inflation data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) followed by the Producer Price Index (PPI) on Thursday. On Friday, we get the U.S. retail sales figures for July.

Additionally, we’re still in earnings season so I will be closely watching the earnings reports from a few of my holdings which report next week:

• Monday: Boeing (BA) reports Before Market Open (BMO). GrowGeneration (GRWG) reports After Market Close (AMC).
• Wednesday: Equinox (EQX) reports AMC.

Finally, President Trump’s deadline for imposing tariffs is Tuesday, August 12, so many participants are waiting to see if he follows through and initiates them or if this will be another example of the TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) trade.

So, there will be lots to report and I’ll meet you back here to cover it all, friends!

Check out Get Irked Premium on Substack!

After providing FREE content since 2018, the time constraints of producing Investments in Play, Speculation in Play, the Pandemic Portfolio, and Stock Shopping List have become too much to continue doing for free.

On Substack, you can subscribe for FREE to have the Week in Review and Crypto Corner, now separate newsletters, sent to your email inbox at no cost. The portfolio updates and Stock Shopping List are now part of a premium subscription plan.

I hope you will join me on Substack as I continue on this exciting journey!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT!

Crytpo Corner

Bitcoin Price Action

Crypto Cliffhanger: Will Bitcoin Hold the Line or Dive Deeper?

Bitcoin saw a bit of spicy price action over the past week, breaking down below the weekly-low at $114,058.29 and not finding support until $111.903.68 on Sunday.

While the crypto’s recovery has been relatively swift off the low, Bitcoin was unable to make a higher weekly-high, finding resistance at $117,687.00 Friday morning which resulted in a lower-low and a lower-high for the week, not all that Bullish price action.

The Bullish Case

Bulls were forced to pull back on their optimism a bit in light of the week’s price action. Some of the more perma-Bull types are now trying to make the argument that this is just a wider price consolidation and that Bitcoin holding key moving averages means the Bull trend is still intact.

The Bearish Case

Bears gained a bit of the upper-hand this week on the back of Bitcoin breaking through support to make a new low. However, some Bears have become a little overconfident and claim Bitcoin will be soon testing its April lows. While Bitcoin’s price action was certainly Bearish over the past week, I think believing that much of a selloff is imminent requires a lot more significant weakness than what we’ve seen so far.

Bitcoin Trade Update

Premium subscribers to Get Irked get access to all the moves I’ve made in my Bitcoin trade over the past week as well as my next thirty (30) … yes, 30 … buys in Bitcoin including price levels, quantities, and a full layout of my ongoing long-term trade in the world’s biggest crypto.

If you aren’t already, subscribe to my Substack today!

Not Your Keys, Not Your Crypto…

In light of brokerage failures in 2022, I no longer keep any of my crypto on an exchange and I only keep enough USD on the exchanges I use to execute my next few buys. I use multiple cold wallets from the brands Ledger and Trezor to hold my crypto (click the links to access the direct sites, and I receive no affiliate benefits from these links).

Additionally, I have now divided my allocated USD between two different exchanges – Gemini and Coinbase – in case one (or both) becomes insolvent. Disclaimer: We both receive a bonus if you use my Gemini referral link to open an account.

I do not trust anyone in the space, even with Coinbase (COIN) being publicly traded (and one of my own Investments in Play positions).

No price target is unrealistic in the cryptocurrency space – Bullish or Bearish.

While traditional stock market investors and traders may think the price targets in the cryptocurrency space are outlandish due to the incredible spread (possible moves include drops of -90% or more and gains of +1000% or more), Bitcoin has demonstrated that, more than any speculative asset, its price is capable of doing anything.

Here are some of Bitcoin’s price movements over the past couple of years:

• In 2017, Bitcoin rose +2,707% from its January low of $734.64 to make an all-time high of $19,891.99 in December.
• Then, Bitcoin crashed nearly -85% from its high to a December 2018 low of $3128.89.
• In the first half of 2019, Bitcoin rallied +343% to $13,868.44.
• In December, Bitcoin crashed -54% to a low of $6430.00 in December 2019.
• In February 2020, Bitcoin rallied +64% to $10,522.51.
• In March , Bitcoin crashed nearly -63% to a low of $3858.00, mostly in 24 hours.
• Then, Bitcoin rallied +988% to a new all-time high of $41,986.37 in January 2021.
• Later in January 2021, Bitcoin dropped -32% to a low of $28,732.00.
• In February, Bitcoin rallied +103% to a new all-time high of $58,367.00.
• Later in February, Bitcoin dropped -26% to a low of $43,016.00.
• In April , Bitcoin rallied +51% to a new all-time high of $64,896.75.
• In June , Bitcoin crashed -56% to a low of $28,800.00.
• In November, Bitcoin rallied +140% to a new all-time high of $69,000.00.
• In November 2022, Bitcoin crashed -78% to a low of $15,460.00.
• In April 2023, Bitcoin rallied +101% to a high of $31,050.00.
• In June, Bitcoin dropped -20% to a low of $24,750.00
• In July, Bitcoin rallied +29% to a high of $31,862.21.
• In September, Bitcoin dropped -22% to a low of $24,900.00.
• In January 2024, Bitcoin rallied +97% to a high of $49,102.29.
• Later in January, Bitcoin dropped -22% to a low of $38,501.00.
• In March, Bitcoin rallied +92% to a new all-time high of $73,835.57.
• In August, Bitcoin dropped -33% to a low of $49,050.01.
• In January 2025, Bitcoin rallied +150% to a new all-time high of $109,358.01.
• In April, Bitcoin dropped -32% to a low of $74,420.69.
• In May, Bitcoin rallied +51% to a new all-time high of $112,000.00.
• In June, Bitcoin dropped -12% to a low of $98,247.01.
• In July, Bitcoin rallied +25% to a new all-time high of $123,231.07.

Where will Bitcoin go from here? Truly, anything is possible…

What if Bitcoin’s headed to zero?

DISCLAIMER: Anyone considering speculating in the crypto sector should only do so with funds they are prepared to lose completely. All interested individuals should consult a professional financial adviser to see if speculation is right for them. No Get Irked contributor is a financial professional of any kind.