Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
The Golden Dome missile defense program is shaping up to be one of the most consequential defense contracts in a generation. Projected at one hundred eighty five billion dollars upfront and potentially one point two trillion over twenty years, the program is drawing serious investor attention toward the three publicly traded companies positioned to build it, even as lead contractor Anduril remains private.
Shifting to retail, Home Depot is on the defensive. Comparable sales in the United States rose just one point three percent in the second quarter of twenty twenty six, and foot traffic is slipping. The company is now rolling out meaningful promotional offers to pull customers back in, a signal that the home improvement cycle remains under pressure even as housing sentiment slowly recovers.
And in a story that cuts to the heart of crypto's structural confusion, Ripple processed sixteen trillion dollars in payment volume, yet XRP barely moved. The reason is fundamental: buying XRP gives you no claim on Ripple's profits or revenues. The company captures the value of those partnerships entirely, leaving token holders with exposure to sentiment rather than fundamentals.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
