We have an extra-long version of the 5 Things this news-heavy week. The CPI rose and was above expectations. The Fed is still going to cut. There’s still no evidence of massive tariff-based inflation yet. The BLS crushes its former record for downward job revisions. They need new methodology and President Trump was right to … Read more
Judge Amit Mehta, an Obama appointee, determined Google was abusing an illegal monopoly. The law says he’s supposed to end the monopoly and eliminate the profits from it. Instead, he left it in place and Google is still sending Apple tens of billions of dollars a year. Revolution Wind had its wind power project stopped … Read more
MannKind is acquiring DKI portfolio position scPharmaceuticals ($SCPH) for $5.35/share in cash and a contingent value right worth up to $1.00. It’s the second medical device acquisition from the DKI portfolio in the past two years and the third acquisition premium in four years. Steel prices fall as US suppliers increase capacity. Just a couple … Read more
Chairman Powell leans dovish in his annual remarks causing risk assets including Bitcoin, gold, equities, and energy to trade up sharply. DKI disagrees with the (potential) decision to cut rates, but still profits from it. The White House will be pleased, but don’t expect the President to start praising Powell in public. Copper tariffs are … Read more
This week, we got a lower-than-expected CPI. Hooray, the Fed will cut! Then, we got a higher-than-expected PPI. Oh no, the Fed can’t cut! There’s some evidence that tariffs are raising prices for now, but not nearly as bad as the fiat economist threatened. The US puts a 15% tariff on $NVDA and $AMD chip … Read more
Last week, we told you that President Trump was monetizing access to the US consumer market. He did that again by resetting the US trade relationship with Japan. Japan has had trade barriers up for US goods for a long time, and are now potentially contesting the terms of the announced agreement. The terms may … Read more
Small government activists finally get a win as the Supreme Court allows for DOGE-inspired reductions in the Federal Government workforce. Not only is the bureaucracy expensive; but also, uses overregulation to make the lives of ordinary Americans and small businesses difficult. The new tax bill phases out EV tax credits which is sensible for Americans … Read more
We have a lot of technology-related news this week. Hewlett Packard Enterprise partners with Nvidia to make high-end AI servers and further cement Nvidia’s position as the entrenched market leader. Peter Thiel invests $200MM in Polymarket. These prediction markets/betting platforms not only provide people an opportunity to bet on economic or political events; but also, … Read more
Lots of tariff-related non-news this week. The CPI was up by 0.1% which was far from the disaster predicted by fiat economists. Energy has been a tailwind and may become a headwind. Shelter may become a tailwind. Either way, prices of goods are not rising as feared. The press report on the jobs report is … Read more
Meta signs a deal to secure reliable carbon-free nuclear power for its AI data centers following in the footsteps of competitor, Amazon. DKI has been buying more uranium. Do you own enough? The big music labels take steps to ensure they (and their artists) get paid for music used to train generative AI models. We’re … Read more
