The recent 13F filing revealed multiple legendary investor portfolio holdings, with more focus on Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, and Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management. Buffett opened new positions in Heico Corporation and Ulta Beauty, dramatically increased his stake in Sirius XM Holdings, and slightly added to companies like Occidental Petroleum and Chubb Limited. On the flip side, Buffett also made exits in Paramount Global and Snowflake Inc. and famously cut half of his stake in Apple Inc. Burry increased his stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc. while opening new positions at Shift4 Payments Inc. and Molina Healthcare Inc. While there's a big shift happening in their portfolio, the most striking point is that they are both cash-heavy, with 30% for Buffet and 50% for Burry, with some speculating that they are preparing for a crash.

EQUITY

Stock is hot again. The Nasdaq went up by over 2%, while the S&P 500 was at 1.6% after July's retail sales numbers were good, showing that people are still spending money, erasing recession worry. Consumer-related stocks stood out amongst others, with ULTA Beauty becoming the top performer, while real estate stocks didn't do as well. Big tech companies like Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, Tesla, and Broadcom all saw their stocks go up too. Not all are lucky after Terran Orbital's stock descended by 39% following Lockheed Martin's intention to acquire.

GOLD

Gold prices are going back and forth in a highly volatile fashion, causing problems for buyers in Asia. In India, people aren't buying as much gold because it's gotten more expensive, even with dealers offering discounts. China is also seeing less interest in gold, with trading slowing down in Shanghai. These uneasinesses in price stability have deterred investment from retail buyers, who tend to hold back purchases as the price is higher than average.

OIL
Crude oil prices are on track for a second consecutive weekly gain, largely driven by strong U.S. economic data that advocates for a rate cut. The retail sales data in July and the cooling of inflation indicators like CPI and PPI supported this narrative. However, there are still lingering concerns about global demand. Next week, the Chinese prime rate is expected to inject volatility, depending on whether their economy is still hot or not.

CURRENCY

The yen is headed for its biggest weekly loss since June, as strong U.S. economic data has eased recession fears and reduced expectations for a large Fed rate cut. Renewed interest in carry trades might hold the yen back, with the dollar holding near recent highs. Risk-sensitive currencies like the British pound have also strengthened, seeing its best week in over a month.