August 31, 2026

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Time to wake up, campers. It’s the last day of August, and for some, the symbolic end of summer. The “-ber” months are nigh, and with them, come the crunching of leaves, the wearing of flannels, and, of course, the eating of pies.

But, don’t despair, summer warriors. There are still technically three weeks left. That’s plenty of time to get sunscreen in your eyes, suffer inner-thigh chafe, and accidentally burn yourselves on a metal seat belt buckle.

—Brendan Cosgrove, Adam Epstein, Neal Freyman

In today’s newsletter, we’ll look at:

Trump’s plan to take over Venezuela’s oil reserves
NASA’s super-powerful new telescope
The NFL’s first Navajo player

Markets: Year-to-Date

Nasdaq

26,402.42

+13.60%

S&P

7,711.76

+12.65%

Dow

53,559.99

+11.44%

10-Year

4.720%

+55.7 bps

Bitcoin

$78,708.11

-10.06%

Marvell

$216.62

+155.28%

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 11:30am ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

Markets: Geopolitics and Friday’s jobs report are expected to drive events on Wall Street this week, with some tech earnings sprinkled in for good measure.
Stock spotlight: Chipmaker Marvell is ready for a brand new day of trading today after shares Sadie Sank more than 10% on Friday, despite an earnings beat.

oil change

The US’ crude awakening in Venezuela

Jose Isaac Bula/Anadolu via Getty Images

Everybody agrees President Trump’s new deal with Venezuela is tapping into something besides oil reserves. Whether that something is energy security, or something else, is in the eye of the beholder.

What’s the deal? On Friday, Trump announced on social media that his administration had struck a deal with Venezuela to obtain majority control of one-fifth of the country’s oil reserves, or about 65+ billion barrels. As part of the deal, the US will have a direct financial stake in a private company, which, per the Wall Street Journal, will:

Be led by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt.
Have rights to the oil fields for 100 years.
Become the second-biggest corporate holder of proven oil reserves in the world, behind Saudi Aramco.

That typing sound you hear is Taylor Sheridan reworking scripts for the next season of Landman.

The deal is fueling mixed reactions

Trump said the arrangement will greatly increase the US’ oil supply and help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which sits at its lowest level in decades amid the Iran war. That plan faces a Capitol Hill-shaped speed bump, though, since Congress has to green-light strategic reserve spending.

What about Democrats? For some lawmakers, the oil deal is confirmation that the US’ removal of President Nicolás Maduro in January was motivated by oil, not the federal drug trafficking offenses that he’s been charged with. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine called it “corruption at epic scale.”

What is Venezuela saying? Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said the deal will bring in tens of billions of dollars in investment, resulting in thousands of jobs and $209 billion in tax revenue, all while modernizing the country’s oil infrastructure.

But not everyone is convinced. Venezuela’s hard-liners aren’t thrilled with such close US cooperation, while Rodríguez’s opposition is upset they weren’t involved in negotiations, according to Bloomberg.

Will this help gas prices? Probably not in the short term. Venezuela’s oil infrastructure will need more than a spit shine to get up and running. And that could take years, which is one of the reasons oil companies have been reluctant to move into Venezuela following Maduro’s removal.—BC