According to Goldman Sachs, investors can still find appealing dividend-yielding energy stocks to buy, even though the sector has climbed significantly this year. Although the firm maintains its long-term bullish outlook on the oil and gas industry, it acknowledges that the sector is currently outperforming the wider market. The State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) has risen 45% year-to-date and reached a 52-week peak on Thursday. By comparison, the S&P 500 has gained 13% so far this year. XLE YTD mountain State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF year to date Energy firms have reaped rewards from surging oil prices fueled by Middle East tensions. Brent crude futures settled above $95 per barrel. “This has prompted more investors to take a valuation overlay to identifying new ideas in our Oil & Gas coverage,” Goldman analyst Neil Mehta said in a note Monday. “For those screening for value, we screen our comparison sheets and identify Buy-rated stocks that currently offer above-average total return while trading at below-average 2028 multiples as investors position into year-end.” Here are some of the names that made the cut: Devon Energy has risen approximately 33% year-to-date, compared with a 40% gain for its large-cap oil exploration and production peers, Mehta noted, describing the stock as “a compelling valuation opportunity.” “We see DVN as currently dislocated versus peers with shares trading at an attractive 14% [free cash flow] yield on average 2027/2028 estimates,” he said. He also holds a constructive view on Devon Energy’s development strategy and its emphasis on the Delaware Basin asset as the foundation of its long-term portfolio. Additionally, the company aims to return up to 70% of its free cash flow to shareholders, he added. Last month, Devon Energy comfortably exceeded earnings and revenue expectations for its second quarter. It declared a dividend hike in May. Mehta’s $55 price target implies 12% upside from Wednesday’s close. The stock pays a 2.3% dividend yield. Gas exploration and production name, Expand Energy, also has a compelling valuation relative to its Appalachian peers, according to Mehta. He sees it currently trading at a 10% free-cash-flow yield on his average 2027/2028 estimates relative to its peer average of 8%. Expand Energy, which yields 2.3%, has reliable free cash flow and a steady capital return program, Mehta said. In addition, he believes in its ability to “generate sustainable cash flow improvement through incremental marketing and commercial initiative.” The company posted mixed second-quarter results in July, with its adjusted earnings per share topping expectations and its revenue falling short. Shares are down roughly 10% so far in 2026. U.S. refiner HF Sinclair, on the other hand, has rallied 131% year to date — and also hit a 52-week high on Thursday. Despite that, Mehta believes the stock trades at a discount to its refiner peers due to uncertainty around the CEO and chief financial officer transitions. Both are currently interim roles. “[W]e continue to see value in the company’s non-refining earnings contributions (Lubricants, Renewable Diesel, and Midstream) in addition to the company’s leverage to niche refining markets (West Coast/Rockies and Mid-Continent),” Mehta wrote. HF Sinclair posted a beat on both its top and bottom lines for the second quarter and raised its quarterly dividend. The stock currently yields about 2%. Mehta’s $114 price target suggests 7.5% upside from Wednesday’s close. Lastly, oil major ConocoPhillips has a $146 price target, which implies more than 6% upside ahead. Goldman’s buy rating is based on a $7 billion free-cash-flow inflection by 2029 as four major growth projects come online and the company cuts $1 billion in costs. The stock is trading at a discounted multiple, which reflects “a heavy phase of the capital cycle, with the market hesitant to pay for a back-half-weighted free cash flow inflection, where the bulk of the uplift lands in 2029,” Mehta wrote. ConocoPhillips has gained 45% year to date, hitting a 52-week high on Thursday. It currently yields 2.5%.

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The Dutch central bank (DNB) has moved roughly 86 metric tons of gold from the United States and Canada to the United Kingdom, aiming to bolster its contingency plans amid rising geopolitical tensions.

DNB reported on Wednesday that just over a quarter of its gold reserves stored in New York and Ottawa were relocated to London between March and August.

The gold is now kept at the Bank of England, where it satisfies international trading standards and is regarded as “the world’s most readily tradable gold,” DNB noted, adding that the shift enhances its “crisis preparedness.”

In contrast, DNB said that gold bars kept in the U.S. and Canada would not be as swiftly or directly usable in a crisis.

“By moving the gold, we have increased the liquidity of our reserves. While we hope never to need them, we must fortify our resilience and readiness,” said DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen in a statement.

The relocation occurs during a surge in gold prices and ongoing U.S.-Iran tensions concerning the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, with a full settlement still uncertain.

Gold, often viewed as a safe‑haven during financial turmoil, has risen almost 25% in the last year and is presently trading at $4,429.61 per ounce, up about 1% in today’s session.

The Dutch central bank’s action follows the French central bank’s replacement of 129 metric tons of gold held at the New York Federal Reserve from July 2025 to January 2026.

At that time, Bank of France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau stated that the move was not driven by political considerations.

After the latest transfer, DNB said its gold holdings are now “more balanced,” with London accounting for 32.1%, the cash centre in Zeist, Netherlands, holding 30.8%, and New York and Ottawa together comprising 18.5%.

Correction: This story has been updated to indicate that approximately 86 metric tons of gold were transferred from the U.S. and Canada to the U.K.

Anthony Scaramucci has opened up about experiencing “Potomac fever” while inside the White House — and warned that Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick are showing the same symptoms.

Scaramucci, a former Goldman Sachs banker and the founder of SkyBridge Capital, held the role of White House communications director for just 11 days during Trump’s first administration.

Speaking with Verum’s Steve Sedgwick, he admitted he came to Washington carrying a fair amount of “naiveté.”

“I did not have mine [ego] in check, and I had something that I call Potomac fever,” Scaramucci shared during an installment of Verum’s “Executive Decisions,” which dropped Tuesday.

“Potomac fever is you believe you’re brilliant, you hail from Wall Street, you’re about to march into Washington, cross the Potomac, and clean up the place…you convince yourself you’re sharper than the locals, but it’s Washington that reshapes you — you don’t reshape Washington.”

“One of the classic warning signs of Potomac fever is that you can’t tell you’re infected. Bessent has it. Lutnick has it. You start hitching your ego to the motorcade, the insider access. I’m inside with Secret Service protection. You’re not, and it is an aphrodisiac. It is a seductive force if you let your guard down,” he explained.

Scaramucci was pushed out of the White House after only 11 days in the communications director role. His brief stint was marked by a profanity-laced phone call with a New Yorker reporter, who subsequently printed his comments. The short tenure turned him into a punchline.

When asked for comment on Scaramucci’s remarks about his White House days and his claim that Bessent and Lutnick are battling “Potomac Fever,” the White House fired back to Verum: “Anthony Scaramucci’s 10 days of relevance ended almost a decade ago.”

Steer clear of chasing the ‘most glamorous job’

Scaramucci also recounted his early days as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, where he was initially let go “for incompetence” before being brought back.

“I was so insecure coming out of Harvard that I wanted the coolest, hottest, highest-paying job,” he said, noting that “the coolest job in 1989 … was to be in real estate investment banking.”

“That was really stupid. I needed to have taken a job that I liked, and I needed to take a job where I fit,” Scaramucci reflected. “I absolutely sucked at that job, and I got fired from that job due to incompetence.”

Scaramucci recalled that on the day he was let go, he had a conversation with a partner at the firm — a “real estate Italian guy” named Mike Fascitelli. Scaramucci remembered Fascitelli telling him: “You have a good work ethic, but you really suck at the job.”

Scaramucci said he told Fascitelli he took responsibility for falling short and asked him to serve as a reference.

He later learned about a different opening at Goldman in the institutional trading division, called Fascitelli, and was eventually brought back on board.

“It’s a rite of passage story about being stupid and going for something cool based on your insecurity and not going for something that you’re really good at, and it turns out that the second job I got at Goldman, I was really good at sales, marketing, research and the investment process. I was way better at that than investment banking,” he added.