Caterpillar reported second-quarter 2026 sales and revenue of $20.5 billion, up 24% year over year and the first time it has exceeded $20 billion in a single quarter. Its order backlog climbed to a record $72 billion, up $9 billion from the prior quarter and 92% from the second quarter of 2025. Operating margin rose to 20.9% and the adjusted margin improved to 21.9%. The stock has gained 101.8% over the past 52 weeks and trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 35.25 times versus 21.49 times for the broader industrials sector.

Solana futures open interest is close to $1.8 billion, representing about 23.1 million SOL in notional exposure. Funding rates on major exchanges’ perpetual contracts have risen to around 0.01% every eight hours, the highest in nearly 11 months, indicating traders are paying up to keep leveraged long positions. The last time funding was at similar levels, SOL traded above $200, while it is now above $70 and roughly 2.6% away from the $80 resistance level. Traders are watching whether SOL can break through $80.

NEAR Protocol is considering a sovereign wealth fund-style model that would use investment income, rather than inflation, to support long-term operations. The proposal calls for an initial fund of about 30 million NEAR tokens, valued at roughly $53 million. Co-founder Illia Polosukhin said investing protocol revenue and holding NEAR tokens would offset inflation more sustainably than burning tokens. NEAR was trading around $1.76, up about 3.5% over 24 hours, but down roughly 29% over the past year.

Crypto markets had a strong week, with Bitcoin ETFs posting $853M in net BTC buying, the biggest weekly inflow in three months. Ethereum ETFs recorded $244M in net ETH buying, the largest weekly inflow in four months, while SOL broke out of a three-month downtrend. In policy developments, President Vladimir Putin signed a new law regulating crypto in Russia, and the U.S. Senate is set to vote on the Crypto CLARITY Act on September 15, which President Donald Trump said he supports. September rate-hike odds fell to 40% from 56%, and Strategy’s STRC shares hit a 51-day high of $9.4.

Doms Industries reported Q1FY27 revenue up 19.2% year on year to ₹670.5 crore, while consolidated net profit fell 23.4% to ₹45.3 crore. The company said raw material costs rose by about 20% even as it implemented price increases of only 4–5%, squeezing margins. Doms maintained its full-year revenue growth guidance of 18–20% and said the Reynolds brand is expected to contribute close to 10% of overall revenues by FY29. Basic EPS slipped to ₹7.33 from ₹9.44.

On August 9, 2026, Ripple said it has expanded its institutional tokenization strategy through strategic investments in transfer agency provider ZILO and FCA-regulated tokenization platform Licuido. The investments aim to strengthen infrastructure for tokenized capital markets on the XRP Ledger and support institutions in bringing assets on-chain for issuance and trading. ZILO focuses on digital-asset transfer agency services, while Licuido provides compliant tokenization solutions, together advancing tokenization across Ripple’s ecosystem.

India’s Gland Pharma has signed a CDMO agreement with an undisclosed leading global pharmaceutical company to manufacture and supply 55 sterile injectable SKUs spanning oncology and non-oncology products. The portfolio includes vial, lyo, ampoules and prefilled syringe (PFS) presentations, with work covering technology transfer through long-term commercial supply. The partnership is expected to start generating revenue in calendar year 2029, with annualized revenue potential estimated at USD 90–100 million once all products are commercialized.

Spot gold broke above $4,300 an ounce on August 6, with its weekly gain topping 7% at one point for its best showing since January. Data from the People’s Bank of China showed China’s gold reserves rose to 76.08 million ounces at the end of July, up 640,000 ounces from June. South Korea’s central bank returned to gold buying after 13 years, with reserves at about 104.4 tonnes, or roughly 3.5% of its foreign exchange reserves. A World Gold Council survey found 45% of central banks expect to increase gold holdings over the next year.