Merriman Market Analyst
Free Weekly Forecast
MMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING AUGUST 10, 2026
August 7, 2026
REVIEW By Raymond Merriman The Labor Department’s July jobs report showed that the economy lost 23,000 jobs last month, a big shortfall versus the gain of 83,000 that economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected. Revisions to May and June payroll numbers showed that the economy added 103,000...
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING AUGUST 3, 2026
July 31, 2026
REVIEW- by Guest Contributor Pouyan Zolfagharnia An explosion at a port on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast that set fire to two ships, including a U.S. gas-storage tanker, was caused by a drone attack, Egyptian authorities said Thursday, the first targeting of the country during the current Iran war and a new...
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING JULY 27, 2026
July 24, 2026
REVIEW by Raymond Merriman President Trump is preparing to reshape the legal justification for his tariff regime this week and push negotiations with North American trading partners into high gear, setting off a new phase of trade uncertainty for businesses after months of relative calm.
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING JULY 20, 2026
July 17, 2026
REVIEW by Guest Contributor Pouyan Zolfagharnia “Oil prices are on track for a weekly gain of more than 10% as rising U.S.-Iran tensions raise concerns about broader upheaval.” — Giulia Petroni, “Oil Headed for 10% Weekly Gain on Escalating U.S. –Iran Attacks,” The Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2026.
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING JULY 13, 2026
July 10, 2026
REVIEW by Guest Contributor Wyatt Fellows US attacks on Iran follow from Iranian attacks on Strait of Hormuz shipping. It is not a great look for the memorandum of misunderstanding. Oil futures prices rose—to levels not seen for two weeks. A stronger reaction has been avoided, perhaps because of how...
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING JULY 6, 2026
July 3, 2026
REVIEW by Ray Merriman The monthly jobs report showed that the labor market softened in June. The U.S. economy added 57,000 jobs in June, versus 113,000 expected, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% in June from 4.3% in May. June’s job growth numbers snapped a three-month streak of...
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING JUNE 29, 2026
June 26, 2026
Note: The NYSE and the Nasdaq will be closed for the full day on Friday, July 3, in observance of Independence Day, which falls on Saturday, July 4, 2026. REVIEW – by Pouyan Zolfagharnia, Guest Contributor
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING JUNE 22, 2026
June 19, 2026
There is no weekly column this week as we prepare for Saturday’s Mid-Year Webinar starting at 1 PM EDT. Click here to sign up. EXCERPT FROM FORECAST 2026, written in October 2025, THE UNITED STATES IN 2026: EXCEPTIONALISM VERSUS STATUS DOWNGRADE
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING JUNE 15, 2026
June 12, 2026
REVIEW- Pouyan Zolfagharnia PLEASE NOTE that next week there will not be a free weekly report due to preparations for the MMA Mid-Year Financial Markets webinar taking place the next day, Saturday, June 20, at 1 pm EDT. We will, however, provide a reprint of one of the chapters from...
Read MoreMMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING JUNE 8, 2026
June 5, 2026
REVIEW by Guest Contributor Wyatt Fellows US labor data matters because in the Wile E. Coyote trajectory, consumers need to cut their savings rate to pay for higher prices and maintain spending. That process is threatened if price increases overwhelm available savings, or if consumers feel fearful about the future....
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