What's on Your Mind?

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) stock (NASDAQ: AMD) fell 9% before the bell on Wednesday after the company fell short on sales for its data centers, despite reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. (The stock is down 7% as of midday Wednesday.) That’s because the chipmaker’s core business is selling data center chips for graphics processing units used to power AI. It’s currently going head-to-head with Nvidia for market share of the lucrative, high-powered AI chip market. Shares in Nvidia (NVDA), meanwhile, were up 4% in midday trading Wednesday after Google’s parent company, Alphabet, announced it will spend $75 billion in expected capital expenditure…

The AI arms race turned a new page on Monday, as OpenAI and chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced that the two have agreed to a new partnership to create new data centers powered by AMD’s chips. The deal could also see OpenAI take a roughly 10% stake in AMD. Specifically, the partnership sees OpenAI committing to buying 6 gigawatts of AMD GPU chips, with the initial gigawatt deployment scheduled for the second half of 2026. The deal will ultimately see OpenAI deploy the remaining gigawatts over multiple years and multiple hardware generations. The deal also sees AMD issuing a warrant for as many as 160 million shares of AMD stock to OpenAI. Those shares…

The most closely watched earnings report of the quarter is tomorrow. That’s when AI chipmaking giant Nvidia will announce its third-quarter results. Ahead of those results, Nvidia shares are currently down in Tuesday trading. But NVDA shares aren’t the only chip stock that is falling today. Here’s which other chip companies are seeing significant stock price declines today, and the likely reason why. Chip stocks fall across the board As of the time of this writing, major chipmaking giants and the companies that supply them are seeing their share prices fall. These include: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMD): down 5.6% Arm Holdings plc (Nasdaq: A…

We can’t afford to maintain the roads we have, so why do we keep building more? The Highway Trust Fund is the primary federal mechanism for surface transportation. It receives revenue mainly from the federal fuel tax (18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel) plus taxes on tires, heavy vehicles, and some other sources. The fund has two accounts: (1) the Highway Account (road construction, maintenance, and other surface transportation projects), and (2) the much smaller Mass Transit Account. Debates about how Americans should pay for roads are endless: General taxpayer funding, regardless of whether someone drives Per-mile ch…

Americans know AI runs on electricity — and they’re starting to realize they’re the ones paying for it. A recent nationwide survey of more than 1,400 U.S. households found that two-thirds of Americans believe AI is already driving up their power bills, and most said they can’t afford more than a $20 monthly increase. They’re right to be worried. As tech companies pour hundreds of billions into new data centers, the surge in electricity demand is rewriting the economics of the grid — and households are footing the bill for an “AI power tax” they never voted for. The frustrating truth is that this isn’t about running out of power. As prices keep rising and politicians …

The U.S. Department of Energy has struck a $1 billion deal with Advanced Micro Systems (AMD) to build two supercomputers that have unprecedented power to supercharge scientific advances ranging from nuclear power to developing cancer treatments. The partnership, first reported by Reuters on Monday, will ensure the U.S. government has the necessary computing power to accommodate enormous amounts of data—and could deliver about three times the AI capacity of current supercomputers. The artificial intelligence-powered supercomputers could be deployed for advancing nuclear power and replicate fusion—the process that fuels the sun and creates massive amounts of energy. …

The U.S.military is paving the way for the regular deployment of high-energy laser weapons on American soil for air defense amid the expanding threat of low-cost weaponized drones. The Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S.Defense Department have reached a “landmark safety agreement” regarding the use of laser weapons to counter unauthorized drones at the U.S.-Mexico border following a safety assessment that concluded such countermeasures “do not pose undue risk to passenger aircraft,” the FAA announced on April 10. The assessment and resulting agreement were the direct result of two laser incidents along the southern border of Texas in February, which promp…

For many Americans, 2025 wasn’t a great year financially. The affordability crisis and general economic concerns became defining themes of the year as people dealt with rising costs and a worsening job market. But for billionaires, 2025 was a boon to their already exuberant wealth. The 15 richest billionaires in the United States saw their wealth grow by more than $1 trillion over the course of the year, according to a new analysis from the Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank. As of the end of 2025, those 15 billionaires—each with assets over $100 billion—have a combined wealth of $3.2 trillion, up from $2.4 trillion a year ago. …

America’s leading public storage provider, Public Storage (NYSE: PSA), has announced plans to acquire one of its main competitors, National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE: NSA), further solidifying its position as the dominant storage provider in the country. Here’s what you need to know about the proposed merger, and how the news is affecting the companies’ stock prices. What’s happened? Yesterday, Public Storage announced plans to acquire one of its main competitors, National Storage Affiliates. As of December 31, Public Storage operated 3,533 self-storage facilities across 40 states. As of the same date, National Storage Affiliates Trust operated 1,063 …

It’s sometime after midnight on a Monday morning when Zach unlocks his phone and starts scrolling for something to bet on. He’s 26, tucked into his childhood bed at his parents’ house in Washington, D.C. He moved back in after a stint in Las Vegas that didn’t go as planned. The NFL is done for the night. The NBA’s late games have wrapped. Mainstream sports are fast asleep. In FanDuel’s live betting tab, he finds a women’s tennis tournament streaming from somewhere in Southeast Asia. Two unranked, unknown teenagers, one boasting a 0–1 career record. Empty arena, no ball boys. Between points, the players jog to the fence to retrieve the ball themselves. He puts mone…

It’s World Happiness Day, otherwise known as International Day of Happiness, but if you’re not feeling the love, you’re not alone. Many Americans aren’t that happy, according to the World Happiness Report 2025, which ranks happiness across nations. In fact, America doesn’t even make the top 10 or top 20 happiest countries in the world, and instead now sits at No. 24—earning its lowest ranking yet. (Spoiler alert: Finland once again is the happiest.) The report, which asked people from 140 countries to evaluate their life, looked at six major factors to predict happiness: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and perceptions…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Speaking on D.R. Horton’s earnings call last week, CEO Paul Romanowski was asked about geographic housing demand trends and if rising inventory in Florida and Texas was impacting the sales of America’s largest homebuilder. “Some of the [recent] buildup we’ve seen in inventory has had some impact on [our] sales when you look at portions of the Florida market and as well isolated to some of the Texas markets where they saw a significant run-up in valuations,” Romanowski responded. “We’ve seen some moderation there. But generally, as we enter into the s…

China appears to be pursuing a calculated effort to recruit recently laid-off U.S. scientists—particularly those with expertise in artificial intelligence—to relocate or contribute remotely to research operations based in Shenzhen. This campaign is reportedly being driven by a network of entities linked to a shadowy Chinese technology conglomerate. In March, advertisements offering “full-cycle support” for relocation to Shenzhen were placed on LinkedIn, Craigslist, and in several major international publications. (I was alerted to one such newspaper ad through a friend in the city.) The timing coincides with a wave of budget-driven layoffs across U.S. federal agencies…

While there seems to be no relief in sight for the high cost of eggs, it almost feels counterintuitive for people to celebrate two cracking, but it is a welcome distraction from the current political turmoil. Two bald eagles in Big Bear, California, have just become parents again to two chicks, with the potential for a third. This is egg-cellent news. Here’s everything to know about Jackie and Shadow’s journey to parenthood: Jackie and Shadow’s origin story Jackie and Shadow have been together since 2018. Shadow actually stole Jackie from another male, which is unusual for eagles who normally mate for life. They successfully raised two chicks but also exp…

Authoritarian acolytes will tell you that, to be strong, a country must “demonstrate force.” White House advisor Stephen Miller recently put that worldview plainly on CNN, arguing that “the real world…is governed by strength…by force…by power”—a claim belied, as it were, by history. America did not become a superpower primarily by proving it could dominate. It became a superpower by proving it could partner. After World War II, the United States stood unrivaled militarily. Yet it did not rely on force alone to secure its position. Instead, it invested in rebuilding a shattered world. The Marshall Plan was not charity—it was a strategy, linking economic recover…

Twelve people were taken to hospitals after an American Airlines plane landed at Denver International Airport on Thursday and caught fire, prompting slides to be deployed so passengers could evacuate quickly. All of the people transported to hospitals had minor injuries, according to a post on the social platform X by Denver International Airport. Flight 1006, which was headed from the Colorado Springs Airport to Dallas Fort Worth, diverted to Denver and landed safely around 5:15 p.m. after the crew reported engine vibrations, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. While taxiing to the gate, an engine on the Boeing 737-800 caught fire, the FAA added. …

If you’re a frequent flier, chances are you’ve been seized by the fear that your carry-on bag is too big for the overhead compartments. Now, for American Airlines passengers, it’s even more important to make sure that your bag is within the size limit before boarding. This week, the airline announced that it’s getting rid of its bag-sizers at gates. American Airlines told the news station KTLA that it started removing the metal sizers, which typically allow customers and gate agents to decide if luggage will fit in the airplanes’ overhead bins, on October 6. According to the airline, the move is intended to simplify the boarding process—bypassing the bottlene…

American Airlines will begin offering free, high-speed Wi-Fi on flights beginning this month. The airline made the announcement this week in a press release, explaining that the service will extend to around two million flights in 2026. However, not all fliers will receive the perk. The new service will be sponsored by wireless provider AT&T. “Free high-speed Wi-Fi isn’t just a perk—it’s essential for today’s travelers,” said Heather Garboden, chief customer officer at American Airlines, in the release. The rollout won’t kick off all at once, the announcement explained, but instead will happen in phases. This month, the service will be available only on…

As the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history drags on, federal workers are left in financial limbo—and the airline industry is feeling the strain as flight delays and cancellations mount at the nation’s busiest airports. In the midst of this upheaval, American Airlines has announced “small” reductions in management and support roles at its Texas headquarters, raising the stakes at a particularly challenging moment. According to the Associated Press, the move is described as a way to align staffing with current operational needs and boost organizational efficiency. A company statement emphasized that investments will continue in other areas supporti…

American Airlines is leaning further into the idea that airport lounges should feel less like generic waiting rooms and more like extensions of the cities they serve. Its latest project in Nashville makes that strategy pretty clear. At Nashville International Airport (BNA), the airline is planning a new Admirals Club that will significantly expand its footprint and redefine what a lounge can be. A much bigger lounge The new space in Concourse A will span about 17,400 square feet, nearly triple the size of AA’s current lounge at the airport. When it opens, it’s expected to be the largest airline lounge at BNA, giving travelers far more room to spread out, …

To a certain point, cars are fantastic inventions making it easy to get to far-flung places, opening doors for new places to live or work or play. But there’s a tipping point when the built environment and our lives are arranged around motor vehicles where the benefits start to come undone. Building to prioritize space-hogging cars brings a long list of negative externalities. In Greek mythology, the god Dionysus granted King Midas his wish for the power to turn everything he touched to gold. Midas revels in the effortless wealth—objects, furniture, and even the ground beneath him turn to gold. The Midas touch was great right up until he wanted to eat or drink or jus…

“What brand am I wearing?” Sydney Sweeney says, looking into the camera as the shutter snaps, revealing a rotation of summery denim looks. The mood suddenly calms, her eyes close, she takes a deep breath, seagulls call in the background. “Yeah, that one,” she says with a giggle. The ad marks the return of one of the most notorious brand partnerships in recent memory, as American Eagle launches a new campaign to hype its denim shorts called “Syd for Short.” It’s a perfectly pleasant, perfectly innocuous piece of brand work meant to conjure the free-spiritedness of summertime (and, you know, maybe make you forget about—or at least move on from—the last time Sweeney ha…

Less than five months have passed since American Eagle’s controversial Sydney Sweeney campaign, which led to accusations ranging from cluelessness to Nazi propaganda. While the mall mainstay defended the campaign and has escaped relatively unscathed, a new quarterly earnings report shows the success of its sister-brand Aerie is buoying its financial results. On Tuesday, December 2, apparel retail company American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) shared its third-quarter earnings for fiscal 2025, including $1.36 billion in revenue. The 6% increase year-over-year (YOY) beat Wall Street’s predicted $1.32 billion in revenue, according to consensus estimates cited by CNBC. …