Summing Up The Week

The stock market didn’t just wake up this week, it jolted upright like someone dumped a bucket of ice water on Wall Street’s head. Between Washington and Tehran suddenly agreeing to stop lobbing missiles long enough to talk (for at least a few minutes), a brand‑new Fed Chair refusing to give even a wink about July’s rate decision, and a jobs report so weak it somehow sent stocks flying, investors spent the week ricocheting between relief rallies and existential confusion.

In other words: classic 2026 price action.

As geopolitics cooled (for a minute), the Fed stayed cryptic, and payrolls stumbled, traders did what traders do best: they bought everything in sight and called it optimism. 

Let's take a deeper dive into the news that moved stocks this week...

Market News

U.S. & Iran agree to hold fire after exchange of attacks

On Monday, the stock market rallied when the United States and Iran announced they would hold fresh talks on Tuesday following a series of attacks over the weekend, reported CNBC. "IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!," Trump announced in a post on TruthSocial.

Despite Trump's claims of Iran requesting the meeting, there was no immediate reaction from Iran. CNBC has contacted Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was awaiting a response as of the market open on Monday. Regardless, stocks returned to rallying on the back of the news with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both up more than +1% in intraday trading. 

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh dodges hint at July rate decision

On Wednesday, Journalists expecting new Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh to hint at the July rate decision during an interview at the ECB Forum were disappointed when he declined to give any signal to what the Fed might do later this month, reported CNBC.

"We’re all in the price stability business, that might not be our only business, but if there was a common thing I heard over the last couple of days, it was open-mindedness on these questions of AI, open-mindedness on productivity, but we’ve all looked around, and we’ve seen that prices are too high," Warsh said in an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen during a panel in Sintra, Portugal.

"My hope, my aspiration, is that nine-12 months from now we’re going to be using new technologies to understand what’s happening in the real economy in a contemporaneous real time way that positions us as central makers to make better decisions," he said.

Payrolls grow 57K in June against 115K expected

On Thursday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) jobs report showed the U.S. economy only added 57,000 jobs in June with unemployment falling to 4.2%, reported CNBC. With Dow Jones' estimates for 115,000 new jobs, this would seem like a bad news event, however stocks rallied as a cooling job market could indicate the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates.

Conversely, while a decrease in unemployment seems like good news, the decrease was related to a decrease in the labor force participation rate. In other words, unemployed people are simply ceasing to look for work not that they're finding jobs. Regardless, bad news is good news when it comes to a red-hot labor market so stocks rallied at the open.

Next Week's Gameplan

We return to our normally-scheduled full trading week next week with datapoints sprinkled all week long. On Monday, we get U.S. PMI and ISM services followed by the U.S. trade balance on Tuesday; the minutes from the June FOMC meeting and consumer credit on Wednesday; as well as existing home sales and initial jobless claims on Thursday. 

Clearly, none of those datapoints are significantly market-moving which means we'll also be keeping an eye out for more news from Iran. 

Stranger still, earnings season kicks off once more, but instead of the big banks starting the season - JP Morgan (JPM) usually is one of the first but won't be reporting until July 14 - PepsiCo (PEP) is my 1st holding reporting earnings with PEP releasing its news on Thursday before the market opens.

Once again, there will be plenty to potentially move markets once more so join me back here next Friday to review 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

Once again, the shortened trading week means no Crypto Corner with this week's Week in Review. If you want to see the next Crypto Corner update coming out tomorrow, you can sign up for free at my Substack: https://getirked.substack.com

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).

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.
• In September, Bitcoin dropped -14% to a low of $107,250.00.
• In October, Bitcoin rallied +18% to a new all-time high of $126,296.00.
• In July 2026, Bitcoin dropped -54% to a low of $57,717.55.

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

What if Bitcoin’s headed to zero?

The only reason I speculate in the cryptocurrency space is I truly believe Bitcoin isn’t headed to zero.

I am prepared for that possibility, however, by knowing I could potentially lose all of the capital I’ve allocated to this speculative investment. Professional advisers recommend speculating with no more than 5% of an investor’s overall assets. Personally, I’ve allocated less than that to speculating in crypto.

I feel that anyone who doesn’t fully believe in the long-term viability of cryptocurrency would be better served not speculating in the space.

On a good day, this asset class isn’t suitable for those with weak stomachs. On volatile days, the sector can induce nausea in the most iron-willed speculator. If a speculator isn’t confident in the space, the moves will cause mistakes to be made.

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.

Suicide Hotline - You Are Not Alone

Studies show that economic recessions cause an increase in suicide, especially when combined with thoughts of loneliness and anxiety.

If you or someone you know are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by visiting www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org or calling 1-800-273-TALK.

The hotline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.