Weekend Briefing — July 25, 2026 | A Fragile Path Back to Talks, and the Week That Rattled Big Tech

Markets close out a genuinely volatile week with a hopeful, if fragile, diplomatic thread developing over the weekend: Pakistan, backed by China, is exploring a path back toward stalled US-Iran talks, following renewed visits from Iran's interior minister to Islamabad. We recap a week that saw Brent crude spike above $102 a barrel, the "Magnificent Seven" shed close to $800 billion in a single session, Tesla fall nearly 19% for the week, and Intel post a blowout earnings beat that the market barely rewarded. We also cover the Trump administration's rebuilt global tariff regime under Section 301 of the Trade Act, now covering roughly sixty countries on a more legally durable footing, and look ahead to a stacked week for markets: the Fed's rate decision Wednesday, the Bank of England Thursday, and a second wave of Big Tech earnings from Apple, Microsoft, and Meta. We close with where bitcoin and crypto ETF flows stand after a rough June. This episode is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice.