DH Unplugged 816: Strikes, Spikes, Hikes - Markets Turn Elephanty

In Episode 816 of DH Unplugged, titled Strikes, Spikes, Hikes, hosts Andrew Horowitz and John C. Dvorak open the final four months of the year with a market that is turning, in their words, elephanty. Published September 1, 2026, the episode tackles renewed U.S. bombing of Iran, a sharp move higher in crude oil, rising bond yields, and a fresh wave of corporate winners and losers. The hosts frame September's classic volatility against a backdrop of eroding institutional trust and a Federal Reserve caught between political pressure and a wobbly labor market.

Listeners get a wide-ranging tour of the tape, with the hosts naming specific threads to watch: crude oil surging roughly 13% in two weeks to about $91.80, with diesel crack spreads flashing inflation warnings; blowout guidance from Dell, projecting fiscal 2027 EPS near $25.50 versus $18.99 prior, on the back of 40% data center share; Nvidia's reported $12.9 billion pursuit of Hugging Face and the Jensen Huang/Sam Altman fallout; Dick's Sporting Goods plunging roughly 30% as Foot Locker comps fall 3.6%; and Target's Halloween clown costume backlash and the return of brand-management landmines.

The hosts' skeptical, unfiltered voice comes through when Horowitz turns to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Fed nominee Kevin Warsh. "The administration is the boy who cried wolf right now," Horowitz says, adding that "Bessent has really gotten a little bit crazed trying to manipulate the markets." Dvorak connects the dots to bond yields and the dollar, noting that currencies, equities, and even private valuations ultimately rest on one thing: trust. "It's a series of very large trust factors," he argues, warning that tariff escalation echoing Smoot-Hawley would signal that America no longer believes it can compete. The deeper discussion digs into government equity stakes in Intel, MP Materials, and Trilogy Metals, and the lawsuit now challenging the Intel arrangement. Horowitz, who discloses a personal short position in Intel, questions why Washington gets discounted shares that retail investors never see. Dvorak contrasts the U.S. approach with China's state-owned enterprise model and flags GLM 5.3 Flash from Chinese lab Z.ai, reportedly trained without a single Nvidia chip. They also cover President Trump's Fox News threat that Iran will be "totally wiped out as a country" if it retaliates again, LEGO's 21% first-half revenue jump, and the baseball-card casino economy drawing scrutiny from Japanese regulators. Friday's August payrolls, ADP, JOLTS, and ISM data cap the preview.