Your IMPORTANT Weekly Briefing: (30th January 2026)

The Neil McCoy-Ward Newsletter

January 30, 2026

Opening Note…

Wow, what another crazy week it's been… I've spent most of this week doing two main tasks.

  1. Reviewing my notes on my new training program coming out soon called the Digital Product Blueprint, which is a three-part video training program, comprising of ‘The Blueprint’ in part one, the ‘Guru Marketing’ system in part two, and the ‘Sales Master class’ in part three… I'm almost ready to start recording, which I think I'll do next month. Expect a pre-release sometime in March (and yes, you will get a discount as readers here).

  2. And the second (and just as taxing a job this week) was that I've been reviewing dozens of junior mining stocks. And I do mean dozens. Which really gave my brain a workout. It's been a while since I've had such a significant challenge, and reviewing mining stocks this week has definitely given that to me. I enjoyed it. I do like a real challenge, although I find them harder to come by these days…

So I’ll be focusing this month’s macro investment video (on Patreon) specifically on my findings regarding the junior miners. And spoiler alert, some of the silver miners are still priced at below $50 an ounce of silver! I honestly couldn't believe it. I had to double-check the numbers, I thought to myself, ‘this can’t be right’ and ‘come o,n Neil, run the numbers again’. But the numbers were correct.

So just by this metric alone, these stocks are significantly undervalued. And the reason I've been looking at the minors was because my other forecasts have really started to come into play now… we're seeing energy spike, uranium spike, copper spike, silver spike, gold spike… and much more.

So what we now need to identify is the next opportunity ready for growth…. More on this on Tuesday/Wednesday when I release the video.

Let's break down the latest...

Table of Contents

1. Weekly Spotlight

Oil jumps as Iran tensions flare

Oil prices are pushing back above $70 a barrel this week, marking the highest level we've seen since last autumn, and the driver behind this is growing anxiety about escalating tensions in the Middle East. The United States has been ramping up its military posturing toward Iran, and the situation is starting to look serious enough that traders are beginning to price in a geopolitical risk premium on every barrel that trades.

When people start to worry that a potential conflict could disrupt critical shipping routes or interrupt supply flows from the Gulf, oil tends to jump first and ask questions later.

If you're wondering why this is important beyond the energy sector, it's because oil finds its way into almost everything we consume, from petrol at the pump to heating costs, air travel, shipping fees, and even the price of food deliveries that rely on transportation networks. The International Energy Agency has already flagged how geopolitical flare-ups have been causing prices to fluctuate in early 2026.

And there's another knock-on effect that often gets overlooked in the immediate headlines too… When energy prices start climbing, central banks tend to become more cautious about loosening monetary policy, this is since higher oil prices can quickly feed through into broader inflation.

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady this week and made it clear they're in no rush to cut further, and part of that thinking is straightforward: why make borrowing cheaper if inflation could roar back through something like an oil shock?

I've written before on my Patreon about why oil might be one of the most underappreciated assets out there, with misunderstood supply dynamics, stronger-than-expected demand, and chronic underinvestment creating a much tighter market than most people realise. If you’re a member and haven’t read that post yet, you can find it here: LINK

2. Quick Takes

Here are the other top stories shaping the week:

  • US Sends "Massive Armada" Toward Iran As Gulf Allies Refuse Airspace Access

    Donald Trump announced another US armada is moving toward Iran, threatening an attack "far worse" than the June strikes if Tehran doesn't make a nuclear deal, but Saudi Arabia and the UAE have both declared they won't allow their airspace to be used for any military action against Iran. The snag comes as CENTCOM kicks off multi-day war games across the region and Secretary of State Marco Rubio says forces need to "preemptively prevent" Iran from attacking the thousands of American troops already stationed there. Iran's foreign minister fired back, saying negotiations don't work alongside threats and warning the US will face a response "like never before" if pushed. - This is following the exact same playbook as the lead-up to June's 12-day war, with talk of negotiations right before a surprise escalation. The Gulf states' blocking airspace access is a genuine setback for any strike plans, though the Pentagon still has Qatar and carrier groups positioned nearby.

  • Polls Show 55-65% Of Americans Want ‘ALL’ Illegal Immigrants Deported, No Exceptions

    Multiple polls from CNN (yes, I did say CNN) and other outlets show between 55% and 65% of Americans support mass deportations of all illegal immigrants, regardless of criminal history or time spent in the country. The numbers haven't budged since the 2024 election, despite activist chaos in cities like Minneapolis and attempts to reframe the debate around only deporting "violent criminals." Americans aren't buying the argument that long-term residency or clean records should grant de facto citizenship. - These are the US stats, the UK stats show roughly 95% in favour of mass deportations!

  • NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Demands Tax Hikes To Fix $12.6 Billion Budget Hole

    New York City's new democratic socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani is pushing Governor Kathy Hochul to hike taxes on the state's richest residents and corporations, arguing the city faces a $12.6 billion deficit, the largest since 2008. He wants a 2% income tax bump on anyone earning over $1 million and a 5% corporate tax increase, claiming NYC sends $21 billion more to Albany than it gets back. - As socialists tend to do, the solution to every problem is always "extract more money from taxpayers." The irony is that pushing the wealthiest people even harder just makes them leave, which shrinks the tax base even further. Oh wait… that’s already happening.

  • UK Government Creating "British FBI" With Nationwide Facial Recognition Rollout

    Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled plans for a new National Police Service to replace the National Crime Agency, modelled on the FBI and backed by a £115 million AI investment over three years. The overhaul will collapse England and Wales' 43 police forces into 12 regional "mega-forces" and expand facial recognition camera vehicles from 10 to 50 nationwide. There's currently no specific law governing facial recognition use in the UK. Read that again. Mahmood compared it to fingerprinting a century ago, saying critics will eventually accept it as essential. - The government insists policing isn't broken while admitting theft is up 72% since 2010 and phone theft up 58%, which feels like having it both ways. But even worse, serious assaults on women are up 1,000% in the UK (according to new figures just released) - I wonder what changed? Hmm… it truly is a mystery.

  • Starmer's 2007 Legal Work Opened Floodgates For War Crimes Probes Against British Troops

    Keir Starmer worked alongside current Attorney General Lord Hermer on a 2007 human rights case that ultimately led to hundreds of British soldiers facing war crimes investigations over Iraq. Court documents show Starmer represented interveners, including Amnesty International and Liberty in the landmark Al-Skeini case, arguing the European Convention on Human Rights should apply to British forces operating in Iraq. The House of Lords initially rejected the claim, but the ECHR overturned that decision in 2011, forcing the MoD to reopen inquiries. - The timing is brutal for Starmer, who's now facing revolt from nine four-star generals warning that human rights laws are "paralysing decision-making" and pose a "direct threat to national security" while enemies "rub their hands." And besides, why are we bowing down to the ECHR, we need to get OUT of all of these organisations…

  • Labour Cancels Elections For 4.6 Million Voters, Sparking Councillor Resignations And Revolt Across Britain

    Labour has stripped 4.6 million people of their vote by cancelling May elections at 30 councils. Norfolk County Council has been hammered by resignations as four councillors stepped down in protest to force by-elections on May 7, exploiting a loophole Labour can't close. While ministers can postpone elections under an obscure clause in the Local Government Act 2000, they have no power to stop by-elections. - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… we need to get this Government OUT before they turn the UK into a 3rd World Country.

  • Trump Warns Starmer Getting Cosy With China Is "Very Dangerous" As UK PM Concludes Beijing Trip

    Donald Trump blasted Keir Starmer's China embrace as "very dangerous" just as the Prime Minister wrapped up his Beijing visit, where he struck deals to halve whisky tariffs and open visa-free travel for Brits. Xi Jinping praised Labour's trade record. - This trip was a disaster for the UK, I’ve read the reports and can’t really see what we’ve gained from this trip (oh, and the meeting with Xi himself only lasted 40 minutes) Yikes!

NEIL’S TAKEAWAYS:

In The United States:
Over the last couple of days, corporate earnings, keeping rates unchanged, and the dollar continuing to weaken, pushed markets higher. Meta jumped about 9% after beating sales forecasts, and Tesla added around 2% on better-than-expected earnings. These wins helped lift the market even though Microsoft took a 7% hit over worries about its cloud business slowing down. The market is basically saying, "Ok, these big tech companies can still grow even while they're pouring billions into AI infrastructure."

The Fed's decision to pause rate changes wasn't a surprise, but their upbeat comments about the economy growing and jobs staying stable made investors feel pretty good about things. And on top of this, the dollar keeps getting weaker, sitting close to four-year lows. This is actually helping US companies that do business overseas (cheaper exports), and it's making US stocks look more attractive to foreign investors.

Prepare: The big test is coming as more tech companies report their earnings, especially Apple. If we keep seeing this mixed bag, with some companies showing their AI bets are paying off while others are struggling… then expect more ups and downs in tech stocks. On the Fed side, I'm watching whether the economic data backs up their optimistic view. And that weak dollar? It cuts both ways. Sure, it helps companies selling stuff abroad, but if it drops too much, it could push prices up and make the Fed's job harder. Right now, traders are betting on two small rate cuts by the end of the year, but honestly, that all depends on the economy cooperating and no major surprises landing from overseas.

Across Europe:
Europe took a big step this week toward fully cutting off Russian gas. EU countries gave final approval to a step-by-step ban that ends Russian LNG imports by the end of 2026 and pipeline gas by September 30, 2027 (with a small timing escape hatch if storage becomes hard to fill ahead of winter). The rule also forces companies to unwind existing contracts, with penalties for not complying.

Europe has already reduced (albeit slowly) Russia’s share of gas imports since 2022, but this makes the shift legally binding and removes “maybe we go back” from the table. That can keep energy costs and volatility as a live risk, especially for energy-heavy industries and countries that have fewer alternatives.

The second part of the story is what Europe is replacing Russia with. It now looks like the EU is leaning heavily on US LNG… This accounted for 58% of EU LNG imports in 2025, up sharply from a few years ago, and argued Europe needs to diversify further and make more use of local renewables and hydrogen. Which comically means they will then be relying on the weather, probably the least predictable of all… whoops.

In the UK, inflation expectations moved up again in the Citi/YouGov survey: one-year expectations rose to 3.8% and longer-term expectations to 4.1%. That makes it harder for the Bank of England to feel relaxed about cutting rates quickly, even if inflation is expected to fall back in the spring.

Prepare: Watch European gas prices closely heading into the next two winters; any supply issues or weather disruptions could cause quick spikes that hit manufacturers hard. The heavy reliance on US LNG also means Europe's energy security is now tied to American export capacity, which isn't guaranteed if US domestic needs surge. In the UK, those rising inflation expectations are a real problem for the Bank of England. When people expect higher prices, it tends to become self-fulfilling through wage demands and pricing behaviour, which means rate cuts likely get pushed further out even if headline inflation drops.

On the Global Stage:
China is trying to stop its property market from getting worse by backing away from strict borrowing rules that caused the developer debt crisis in the first place. Markets see this as Beijing choosing stability over discipline, even though it won't magically fix housing demand or make people feel confident overnight. At the same time, China is pushing for different kinds of growth: more spending on everyday services like tourism, transport, and online shopping, plus trade-in deals for cars and appliances. They want people spending on daily life, not just construction and exports, but households are still being cautious and not borrowing much.

Japan's doing the opposite. The Bank of Japan's meeting notes showed they're still thinking about raising rates further, mainly because the yen is weak and they can't find enough workers. What really caught my attention was the massive sell-off in Japanese government bonds. Yields on 40-year bonds hit their highest since 2007, going above 4% after Prime Minister Takaichi announced plans to cut food taxes before February's election without explaining how to pay for it. The market basically said: ‘unfunded tax cuts look reckless when you already have one of the world's biggest debt piles’.

Here's why this is important beyond Japan: Japanese investors have historically been huge buyers of overseas debt, especially US Treasuries. When Japanese bond yields jump like this, they can earn good returns at home instead, so they stop sending money abroad. That can push up yields globally even if other central banks aren't doing anything. We're already seeing this with US Treasury yields climbing alongside the Japanese sell-off.

Prepare: Watch if China's support actually shows up in real consumer spending and services activity, not just developer stock prices bouncing. On Japan, if the central bank keeps raising rates and bond yields stay high, it could quietly shift global money flows and change how investors think about risk, even if the US and Europe stay put. Japan's election on February 8th might settle some of the uncertainty, but until then, expect volatile markets in Japanese bonds that could spill over elsewhere.

3. NATO Still Leans Heavily On US Defence Spending

Gold prices have exploded 27% in January 2026 alone after more than doubling since the start of 2025, pushing the metal past $5,500 per ounce (and yes, back down again today) - temporarily. Plus, supercharging the value of central bank reserves without them lifting a finger.

The United States dominates with a ‘reported’ 8,133.5 tonnes worth roughly $1.44 trillion (note: if it's really there… because we never did get that look in Fort Knox). This would dwarf Germany's second-place $592 billion stockpile. Europe's big four (Germany, Italy, France, and Switzerland) collectively hold over $1.6 trillion in gold reserves. Russia and China each control over 2,300 tonnes valued at over $400 billion after years of deliberate accumulation to diversify away from the dollar. The rally is driven by safe-haven demand as currency volatility and a wobbling US dollar push investors and policymakers toward hard assets.

Emerging markets like India, Turkey, and Poland have also been steadily adding to reserves, while smaller holders like Lebanon and Uzbekistan now sit on tens of billions in gold value. For central banks, this is the perfect wealth creation: their balance sheets balloon without spending a penny on new purchases, though it does highlight how heavily certain countries have been de-dollarizing their reserves in recent years.

4. Market Overview

S&P 500 (U.S.)
In the U.S., the S&P 500 was up slightly this week. Tech earnings were mixed, with Apple posting strong results but Microsoft tumbling on concerns about heavy AI spending despite beating expectations. Markets also reacted to President Trump's selection of Kevin Warsh as Fed chair, with investors viewing him as someone who would push for lower rates while maintaining some independence from the White House.

FTSE 100 (UK) 
In the UK, the FTSE 100 was up modestly for the week. Energy stocks lifted the index as oil prices rose on geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with Shell and BP posting solid gains. Mining stocks also provided support as commodity prices strengthened, while Lloyds added to gains after announcing a share buyback alongside higher annual profit.

S&P/TSX Composite (Canada) 
In Canada, the TSX pushed to fresh record highs this week. Gold miners led the rally as bullion hit new all-time highs, with names like Agnico Eagle, Barrick, and Franco-Nevada posting strong gains. Energy stocks also supported the index as oil rebounded, though banks weighed on performance after the Bank of Canada held rates steady and flagged uncertainty around U.S. tariff risks.

ASX 200 (Australia) 
In Australia, the ASX 200 was down this week. Hotter-than-expected inflation data raised expectations the Reserve Bank will hike rates next week, putting pressure on rate-sensitive sectors like banks and real estate. Commonwealth Bank and other major banks declined sharply. Gold miners and BHP provided some offset with gains on record copper prices and strong commodity demand.

🇺🇸 United States – S&P 500

  • High: 7,000.48

    Low: 6,874.68

🇬🇧 UK - FTSE 100

  • High: 10,275.48

  • Low: 10,128.07

🇨🇦 Canada – TSX Composite

  • High: 33,419.75

  • Low: 32,228.49

🇦🇺 Australia – ASX 200

  • High: 8,974.30

  • Low: 8,845.10

Cryptocurrency:

  • Bitcoin (BTC): -6.8%

  • Ethereum (ETH): -6.5%

  • Tether (USDT): 0.0%

  • BNB (BNB): -4.0%

  • XRP (XRP): -7.1%

  • USDC (USDC): 0.0%

    Solana (SOL): -7.1%

  • TRON (TRX): -2.4%

  • Lido Staked Ether (STETH): -6.5%

  • Dogecoin (DOGE): -5.5%

Metals Market:

Gold–Silver Ratio: ~52:1. The ratio moved around a lot this week due to silver's extreme swings. Silver hit an all-time high above $120 on Thursday before crashing 17% on Friday. Gold was steadier, climbing to new highs near $5,500. Both metals gained on safe-haven demand amid political uncertainty and a weaker dollar, but silver's volatility meant the ratio fluctuated more than usual day-to-day.

Gold & Silver:

  • Gold: Fell about -0.69% with a Week High: £4,074.87 & Week Low: £3,614.14

  • Silver: Fell -5.70% with a Week High: £88.15 & Week Low: £69.88

5. Faith & Success

❝

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.”

— Galatians 6:9

This was the verse on my heart this week. Mainly because I received a very ‘mean’ email from someone telling me they were unsubscribing from the newsletter because I included a Bible verse each week.

They then decided to give me a lecture on how they had given away all of their possessions and live a frugal life as an atheist (yet living off the Government… !)

And I'll be honest, I do get these emails occasionally and they do annoy me from time to time. Not because of their viewpoint; I believe it’s up to each person what they believe and how they live. It’s actually none of my business really… but somehow, people think it's their business to tell me what I should and shouldn't do, on my own free newsletter that I spend hours writing each week. It’s kind of ironic in a way. And amusing.

I'm simply sharing the things that have dramatically improved my life, that didn't cost me a penny. And I really do believe that the Bible is one of the greatest collections of books on Earth. Proverbs alone encompasses nearly all of the personal development books I've ever read! In 1 single book! Yet, I don’t preach, I’m not a preacher. I’m really just sharing from my own perspective the things I’ve found huge value in.

And this isn't the first time someone has unsubscribed simply because of my faith and point of view. But I do find it unusual that someone would feel that strongly, that they would write me an essay and then ‘unsub’ - thereby losing all this valuable information each week, just because my point of view doesn't align with their own. Baffling.

But back to the verse… I was thinking of this, because I could quite easily cut out the weekly verse, and just be ‘vanilla’, pleasing everyone… but that's not what I want to do. I want to share certain verses with you, with the meaning that I interpret from them. That doesn't mean to say my interpretation will be correct, it's simply my own interpretation. I find them valuable as a way of keeping me grounded each week. Sharing my thoughts in a way…

Yet several months back, I was deliberating with whether I should keep the verse in each week or not… and I decided I would, regardless of how people respond.

Well… ever since making that decision, the most bizarre thing happened this month. I don't even think that you're going to believe this, it's so crazy…

This month alone, I received 10’s of millions of views across all of my different social media platforms and further afield. And I'm not even including the ‘reposts’ and clips which I'm now seeing regularly - which often have hundreds of thousands of views as well.

In fact, YouTube (5 million view per month) has become one of my lowest viewing platforms now. Facebook does 10-15 million views per month. And X does roughly 10-15 million views when you include the post views as well. Then there’s Rumble, Instagram, Tik tok, plus the agencies that license my content for their own channels, which is growing month over month. In fact the agencies did something like 35 million views…

I share this not to brag (because I quite honestly have to pinch myself that so many people would want to listen to what I have to say!) I say this because I really think that when you remain steadfast to your views, faith and what you believe in - you will be rewarded for that commitment. Too many people are willing to jeopardise on their beliefs, simply to please other people, and that’s not me.

That’s all I have to say about that.

Until next time,

God Bless,

Neil,

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DISCLAIMER
This newsletter is 100% FREE & is designed to help your thinking, not direct it. These newsletters shall NOT be construed as tax, legal, or financial advice and may be outdated or inaccurate; all decisions made as a result of this information are yours alone.

Trading/Liability: Neil McCoy-Ward operates/trades under a private Ltd company within the Isle of Man.