Nothing much happening about wars in Iran and Ukraine, but as messy as the world economy might be, the U.S. stock markets are continuing to BREAK ALL-TIME RECORDS .  To the right, Peter Tuchman, the Einstein of Wall Street. The S&P 500 added 0.6% to close at 7819, hitting an intraday high of 7844.  This was its 28th record close just in 2026. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.45% to a record 27,600, with an intraday high of 27,723.  NVIDIA went up to a new high, opening at $242/share, and ended at $239.24, just below its all-time high. NVIDIA was only 185.54/share a year ago. Ten years ago?  $1.78/share. If you bought $1000 worth of NVIDIA stock at the 1999 IPO, this would  be worth $6,369,667 today!!! The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 0.5% to 51,527.  The all-time closing high on 5August2026 is 54,340, after rising to an intraday high of 54,744. The USA is exactly four weeks away from 3November2026, the day of the mid-term elections. Can President Do...

Some good news first.  The  S&P 500  has looked terrible the past month, but gained 117.42 or 2.13%, on Friday.  Monday? I've had a melody rolling around in my head since yesterday.  Not a particularly memorable tune, but I thought I'd today focus on that song,  Venus .  First, let me go back to that ancient Greek marble sculpture created between 160 and 110 BC.   Venus de Milo or Aphrodite of Melos  was rediscovered in 1820 on the island of Milos, Greece, by a farmer,  A lot of intrigue, but the French eventually bought the statue, where Louis XVIII had it displayed in the Louvre in 1821.   In 1964, she was exhibited in Tokyo and Kyoto, the only time she left the Louvre. Now visited by 7 million people annually. The Greek goddess of love is Aphrodite, whose Roman counterpart was Venus. Made of Parian marble, the statue is probably larger than the reality, for it is 6 feet 7 inches tall.  Missing are both arms....