The Weekly Roundup

Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up.
- Charlie Munger

Last night, Trump gave a speech alleging that the US election system was compromised during the 2020 election cycle. Hopefully this revelation will scare anyone who has been up to no good in a recent election or is planning on it in the midterms. This is similar to how Trump prevents illegal immigration. Make people afraid of being caught.

If Iran were to get nuclear weapons, how would they manifest “Death to Israel” and “Death to America”?

When two professional football teams meet in the Super Bowl, neither coach is going to tell the public their game strategy or the plays they intend to call during the game. Of course not. It’s a competition, and they want to win the game. They don’t want their opponent to know their plans. So why would an armed conflict between two nations be any different? Why should we expect the Trump administration to disclose to the world its strategy and playbook with Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, or any other nation with which we’re in conflict?

According to the NY Times, China, Russia, and others are forcefully trying to stall the US data center effort. They obviously don’t want the US to have a competitive advantage. And all too many American politicians are happy to do their bidding here at home for political gain.

Looking back 50 years from now, historians may conclude that few policies out of Washington proved as productive as the Trump Accounts launched on July 4th of this year.

What does it tell us when the highest increase in median home prices since 2000 has been Washington, D.C.?

If anyone wants to criticize using AI, ask them if they use Excel. “What, you can’t do math on your own?”

The end of reading is here
It only lasted a few hundred years.

The next job crisis may be too few workers
Fewer births, fewer workers.

We are driving in the fog
Economists admit they’re flying blind on AI.

Economy

Inflation plateaus
Consumer confidence rose in June
Retail sales rise modestly
Jobless claims drop
Workers struggling with prolonged unemployment
WFH is here to stay

Technology

To thwart US AI dominance, China pitches open source
US goes into overdrive in critical mineral effort
Two-thirds of American support Bernie’s AI scheme
Apple protects the iPhone from OpenAI
Will Slate Auto’s $25K truck win big?
OpenAI debuts its “super app”
Humanoids perform surgery on live animals
Eye transplants could be around the corner

Energy

Planned Syrian pipeline will bypass Hormuz
Musk buys fossil fuel company for $1B
Energy IPOs are growing but then trading down
A summary of small nuclear reactor development
US oil exports hit record

Finance & Investments

Babies are the new investor class
Big banks smash earnings records
SpaceX exec gives $325MM to Trump Accounts
Lilly buys psychedelic drug maker
TSMC increases its US investment commitment
Has defense tech investing become a bubble?
New homes are cheaper than used ones
As pending home sales slump
Office-to-apartment conversion boom may be busting

The Lone Star

Drone boat company chooses Texas for new port
Central Texas has another gully washer flood
Corpus seeks to become a container port
Elon Musk has more plans for Bastrop County
Houston to get more solar panel manufacturing

Politics & Policy

Lindsey Graham’s sister to finish out this term
The White House is fixing Intel
Next up, an improved retirement system
NYC’s Mamdani looks like an empty suit
Trump and Bernie agree on another thing

Culture

Fun is too expensive for the middle class
US gambling losses setting records
Christianity’s next culture war: polyamory
A trad mom role model is leading by example

Global Happenings

Britain's likely new PM vows to focus on economy
EU backing off carbon cut rules
Chinese exports surged in June
China wants babies, not chatbot romances
Dubai plans new port to bypass Hormuz
Russian mercenaries running opium empire
Britain’s exploding disability dole
Rouge nations use crypto to avoid sanctions

Iran

Trump threatens to expand Iran military action
US combat jet drones are coming
The Iran blockade is back
US is now using sea drones in Hormuz

Ukraine

Ukraine has a leadership controversy
7,000 Russian soldiers are dying each week
Ukraine targets Russian shipping
Ukraine takes out 35% of Russian gas refining
Ukraine’s robots becoming ever more useful

PARTING THOUGHTS

You cannot be sure that you are right unless you understand the arguments against your views better than your opponents do.
- Economist Milton Friedman