The US is heading into Xi Jinping's Washington visit with the Fed hiking rates, diesel and copper at record highs, and foreign buyers backing away from US debt — bad news for the White House, consumers, and Europe, but good for hard-asset holders.

• The Fed under Kevin Warsh raised rates unanimously to fight inflation, defying Trump, who needs cheap money to cover interest on $40 trillion in debt that already costs more than the Pentagon.
• Diesel hit an all-time high and mortgages are back near 7% because the US is draining its oil reserves to export fuel to Europe at triple the price.
• Houthi attacks and pressure on the Strait of Hormuz have cut Europe and China off from Gulf oil, and the old deal — the world buys oil in dollars, the US Navy keeps the sea lanes open — has broken down.
• With that deal gone, foreign governments are dumping Treasuries and buying gold instead, with China and the Netherlands leading the shift to "crisis preparedness."
• Copper is at record highs and faces a deep long-term supply shortage as data centers, grids, and weapons compete for a metal China largely controls the refining of.

Outlook: Expect Trump to respond with tariffs and trade pressure rather than compromise, especially if Republicans hold Congress in the midterms six weeks away, while capital keeps moving from paper assets into gold, silver, and copper.