The View From the Wall
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
You filled up in Kingsport this week for $3.78 a gallon. That's 3 cents better than last week. Tennessee came in at $3.83, and the national average sat flat at $4.30.
Want to beat that? The lowest price this week was $3.53 on Lynn Garden Drive in Kingsport, according to GasBuddy.
A year ago that same gallon ran $2.64. That's $1.14 more today, $22.80 more every time you fill a 20 gallon tank.
Stocks slipped for the second week in a row, even with the best earnings in years. Rates have come down a little since they peaked a few weeks ago. Here's why the market isn't cheering.
The companies building AI are making more money than they ever have. Earnings so far this quarter are up 30.7%, and tech is up 66.5%. They're spending more of the economy on data centers than this country ever spent on the railroads, the interstate highways, or bringing electricity to every home. The best year they've ever had, and they still have to borrow to pay for it.
The founders behind them do the same thing. They don't sell their stock, and they don't take a big paycheck. They borrow against their shares. I respect it. They're betting everything on what they built. But borrowing only works while the stock keeps going up. When it drops, the bank calls, and they have to sell at a bad time.
You're not living off a loan against your stock. You decide when to sell, not a lender. The cash you keep close covers the bills, so your long-term money can ride out a bad stretch.
A lot of mutual funds are about to send their shareholders a tax bill in December, on gains they never chose to take. The way your money is set up, that bill mostly passes you by.
Go to work, go to the ballgame, sit at your own table with your own people. We're on the wall. You go live your life.
Keep the Faith. God Bless America.
Jeff
Questions? Just Call Jeff at 423-247-1152!
The Weekly Quiz
Last week's answer: The bull market turned 4. Congratulations to Brenda S, our winner! Her prize: Igloo Maddox XL cooler!
This week's question: AI spending is now a bigger share of the economy than which great American buildout?
A. The railroads
B. The interstate highways
C. Bringing electricity to every home
D. All of the above
Reply to this email or give us a call with your answer. Every right answer goes into the drawing. Answer next week.
Sources: Gas prices, AAA, this week as of October 24, 2026; last week as published in the October 20, 2026 edition; a year ago, same week 2025. Lowest local price, GasBuddy. Stocks and bonds: S&P 500 and 10 year Treasury closes, October 16 and October 23, 2026. Market background: Aptus Capital Advisors, The Market in Pictures (October 23, 2026) and Brian Jacobs, Don't Pay a Loyalty Tax (October 23, 2026). Earnings figures are for companies reported so far. Fill-up arithmetic assumes a 20 gallon tank at the Kingsport price.