Welcome to the Wall Street Week newsletter, bringing you stories of capitalism about things you need to know, but even more things you need to think about. I’m David Westin , and this week we told the story behind the former prime minister of New Zealand moving her family to Australia and why stablecoin has become a popular way to transfer money in Asia. If you’re not yet a subscriber, sign up her...
Welcome to the Wall Street Week newsletter, bringing you stories of capitalism about things you need to know, but even more things you need to think about. I’m David Westin , and this week we told the story behind the former prime minister of New Zealand moving her family to Australia and why stablecoin has become a popular way to transfer money in Asia. If you’re not yet a subscriber, sign up here for this newsletter. Greener Pastures Away From Home Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern got a good deal of attention when she announced earlier this year that she’d be moving her family to Australia. She’s not the only one; record numbers of New Zealanders are leaving the country. And New Zealand isn’t the only nation losing people to emigration, with other countries periodically experiencing “brain drain.” Gillian Tett, provost of King’s College Cambridge and longtime Financial Times columnist, says the free flow of intellectual capital across borders is “absolutely crucial if you want to keep ideas flowing for the benefit of everyone and spark new ones.” But if the flow of intellectual capital tends to go in one direction and lasts over time, it raises questions about the economic attraction of a particular country for the topflight talent it needs. That lack of economic dynamism and opportunity is what some former New Zealanders point to as reason enough for them to leave. The Best Use for Stablecoin Despite all the talk about cryptocurrencies, some have continued to question the use case. What can it do better than the banking system already does? Sopnendu Mohanty, who helped set up the regulatory structure for stablecoins in Singapore, says there’s one particular area of the global financial system that could use the help: “The single biggest unsolved challenge in the world of payment is the cross-border payments. In that particular use case. A stablecoin is a great product.” Stablecoin is becoming an increasingly popular way to transfer money from the ...
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 127, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, my Scorpion challenges your Sub-Zero to a duel, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I've been reading about Hasan Piker and lines and David Sacks and sleep learning , catching up on Andor (for me) and Young Jedi Adventure...
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 127, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, my Scorpion challenges your Sub-Zero to a duel, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I've been reading about Hasan Piker and lines and David Sacks and sleep learning , catching up on Andor (for me) and Young Jedi Adventures (for my toddler), poring over thousands of new Artemis II photos , listening to many hours of possibly the longest YouTube video ever , taking more walks thanks to Pedometer++ 8.0 , losing my mind during every second of every Arsenal match , and spendi … Read the full story at The Verge.
RGB LED technology might be everyone’s focus for TV tech in 2026, but quantum-dot TVs still might be the better choice. | Photo by John Higgins / The Verge At the Los Angeles Convention Center, two 85-inch TVs sat side by side inside the Nanosys meeting room at Display Week - a yearly business-to-business convention focusing on the technology that goes into displays of all types. One TV was a mini...
RGB LED technology might be everyone’s focus for TV tech in 2026, but quantum-dot TVs still might be the better choice. | Photo by John Higgins / The Verge At the Los Angeles Convention Center, two 85-inch TVs sat side by side inside the Nanosys meeting room at Display Week - a yearly business-to-business convention focusing on the technology that goes into displays of all types. One TV was a mini-LED panel with super quantum dots, and the other was an RGB LED - this year's hottest TV trend. Both TVs were showing the same content at the same time to highlight the differences between the two technologies - or more specifically, to show the potential failings of RGB LED backlights when compared to super quantum dot (SQD), which uses blue LEDs for the backlight. I should probably mention that Nan … Read the full story at The Verge.
People lined up for blocks and waited for hours to get into the E11even club in Miami on Wednesday night , with several men talking excitedly about the lap dances they planned to get inside. Yet this wasn’t the typical crowd of bachelors normally found at establishments like these. It was the official after-party of Consensus , one of the cryptocurrency industry’s largest conferences. It seems the...
People lined up for blocks and waited for hours to get into the E11even club in Miami on Wednesday night , with several men talking excitedly about the lap dances they planned to get inside. Yet this wasn’t the typical crowd of bachelors normally found at establishments like these. It was the official after-party of Consensus , one of the cryptocurrency industry’s largest conferences. It seems the more things change in crypto, the more they stay the same: This was the same club that hosted an event after another crypto conference in 2018 , triggering a backlash that led to apologies from the gathering’s organizer and main sponsor. “Some have said there was a ‘corporate sheen’ on this year’s Consensus Miami event. But if that sheen is just covering up the speculative, irresponsible, degenerate culture that everyone hoped crypto was maturing out of post-FTX and other catastrophes, then TradFi will happily consume the entire industry,” Amanda Wick , a former federal prosecutor turned crypto consultant, told Bloomberg. “As a gender equality advocate, the event was horrifying.” The celebratory mood inside E11even — where pole dancers gyrated to club music and servers in lingerie attended to guests — marked a stark contrast to the sentiment in the stock market toward the myriad of public companies that had listed shares on Wall Street in hopes of cashing in on the embrace of crypto by the Trump administration. A group of more than 130 digital asset treasuries, which are basically public companies that exist for the purpose of buying crypto tokens, have posted a median decline of 48% over the past year after many previously posted huge gains. Eye-popping valuations commanded by the likes of Coinbase Global Inc. and Bitcoin treasury company Strategy Inc. have dissipated. Circle Internet Group Inc. , the stablecoin company that more than doubled on the first day of trading following its IPO last year, has lost more than 57% from its peak. And that leads to another thing that...
The average Social Security check sits at a record high, but most seniors still aren't happy with what they're getting. Many believe that the program needs larger cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to help checks better keep pace with inflation, with nearly one-third of seniors asking for a benefit boost of 10% or more, according to The Motley Fool's recent research on beneficiaries' attitudes tow...
The average Social Security check sits at a record high, but most seniors still aren't happy with what they're getting. Many believe that the program needs larger cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to help checks better keep pace with inflation, with nearly one-third of seniors asking for a benefit boost of 10% or more, according to The Motley Fool's recent research on beneficiaries' attitudes toward the latest COLA . Unfortunately, benefits might start moving in the wrong direction very soon. A recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report reveals that we're just six years away from a 7% benefit cut, with even greater cuts looming on the horizon. Here's what that means for you if you're on Social Security or hope to claim checks someday. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
4kodiak/E+ via Getty Images Vaalco Energy ( EGY ) had long planned for the current year by obtaining a decent sized borrowing option. This company had long kept a sizable cash balance. But the FPSO project covered in the last article and before required a fair amount of money for repairs and upgrades. Plus, production would not happen until that FPSO returned to the field (which is now happening)....
4kodiak/E+ via Getty Images Vaalco Energy ( EGY ) had long planned for the current year by obtaining a decent sized borrowing option. This company had long kept a sizable cash balance. But the FPSO project covered in the last article and before required a fair amount of money for repairs and upgrades. Plus, production would not happen until that FPSO returned to the field (which is now happening). But then the company got very lucky. I have often found that good management puts itself to be in a position to be lucky. In this case the drilling campaign in Gabon yielded two good wells so far that will add considerable production to the second quarter. Plus, now the FPSO is back in the field at Côte d'Ivoire. Production from that FPSO is expected to begin before the second quarter ends. This will raise the third quarter production significantly even if no more wells in the drilling campaign are successful. Additionally, the rise in commodity prices makes whatever production is sold more valuable even considering there is a hedging program. What helps here is that management is raising guidance (which likely means the additional barrels are unhedged at a time when commodity prices are high). That extra cash from high commodity prices is extremely helpful at a time when big bills are coming due for the FPSO refurbishment and upgrade. Between this and catching up the Egyptian receivables, there is likely at least $100 million of extra cash flow at a time when the company needed to borrow money to make ends meet. As a result, the company is very likely to come out of this expensive period in much better shape than anticipated. Note that the $100 million extra has a wide range of estimates depending upon who you ask and how it is measured. These projects, including the drilling campaign were justified at lower commodity prices. Higher commodity prices make the whole situation that much more profitable in the long-run. Free Cash Flow The latest calculation of free cash flow ...
Wirestock/iStock via Getty Images Mercury General ( MCY ): It is a hate/love story. Or to be more precise, a dislike/like story, as hating a company feels a bit harsh. Mercury General is the metaphor of the phoenix, reborn from its ashes. Some of my readers know I like using metaphors for comparing insurers. I have compared Aflac ( AFL ) with Uncle Scrooge ; I paraphrased Lemonade ( LMND ) with a ...
Wirestock/iStock via Getty Images Mercury General ( MCY ): It is a hate/love story. Or to be more precise, a dislike/like story, as hating a company feels a bit harsh. Mercury General is the metaphor of the phoenix, reborn from its ashes. Some of my readers know I like using metaphors for comparing insurers. I have compared Aflac ( AFL ) with Uncle Scrooge ; I paraphrased Lemonade ( LMND ) with a fable from Jean de la Fontaine. I consider that the insurance industry is viewed as boring enough to not overcomplicate it and add a small touch of "unboring" humor. The comparison with the phoenix is almost perfect for Mercury. Last year, amid the deadly and massive wildfires in California, the company's stock price plunged, as the market feared that the company would collapse. It did not. It survived. It became stronger. And my view on the company changed as well . Following the loss of its dividend aristocrat status in 2022, the company made the necessary changes to remediate its insurance book. In 2025, the company posted a pre-tax underwriting income of $203.9 million, aligned with 2024 performance, despite higher catastrophe losses. 2025 Annual Report - Mercury General This stability was proof of regained underwriting discipline, as the insurer was able to offset the unpredictable losses from the wildfires by steady underwriting actions. Over the past two quarters, I have become bullish on Mercury. The key drivers behind my upgrade were the following: Mercury managed to remediate the portfolio, resulting in underwriting gains in 2024 and 2025. The dividend was not raised, helping preserve the company's financial solvency. An additional catalyst could have been a takeover offer from a larger competitor, as the largest shareholder was over 100 year old. Still, this scenario was unlikely, as interested parties could have acquired Mercury in 2022, when the company was struggling more. Q1 2026 results , were additional proof that the company is back on track. Q1 2026: Norm...
If you're searching for stocks that the market might be overlooking, Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) and Spotify Technology (NYSE: SPOT) are two promising candidates. These companies enjoy solid competitive positions in digital entertainment and posted solid financial results to start the year. Here's why I think these discounted growth stocks are worth buying right now. Image source: Getty Images. Continue r...
If you're searching for stocks that the market might be overlooking, Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) and Spotify Technology (NYSE: SPOT) are two promising candidates. These companies enjoy solid competitive positions in digital entertainment and posted solid financial results to start the year. Here's why I think these discounted growth stocks are worth buying right now. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
imaginima/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Today I want to write about a small-cap Swedish company. And if you have followed the Scandinavian retail market over the past few weeks, you probably already know which company I am talking about. Indeed, it is Sivers Semiconductors ( SIVEF ). Why, you may ask? Good question! I myself am somewhat surprised to find myself writing about a company that ...
imaginima/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Today I want to write about a small-cap Swedish company. And if you have followed the Scandinavian retail market over the past few weeks, you probably already know which company I am talking about. Indeed, it is Sivers Semiconductors ( SIVEF ). Why, you may ask? Good question! I myself am somewhat surprised to find myself writing about a company that has become so hyped, largely driven by a popular X account with a rather impressive track record writing extensively about this small Swedish company. I usually stay away from hyped stocks, as it is simply not in my DNA as an investor to chase momentum-driven stories. But out of pure curiosity, I found myself digging deeper into the company. And to my surprise, I discovered that there might actually be quite a lot of meat to the bone. So much, in fact, that I decided to take a position despite the stock having already rallied more than 900% year to date. And in this article, I want to explain why. Who is this company, and why have I never heard of it? Sivers Semiconductors was founded in 1951 and for most of its history has focused on producing basic microwave and radio-frequency components for industrial and telecom applications. In its entire history it has never achieved more than $40 million in annual revenue. A major strategic shift happened in 2017 when management decided to acquire an indium photonics business , which added laser technology to its existing business line. This laid the foundation for what today has become the most important growth opportunity of the company. Company Presentation (Sivers Investor Relations) Sivers' semiconductor business can now be grouped into two segments: Photonics, focused on developing indium phosphide (InP)-based semiconductor lasers and optical components that enable data transmission using light instead of electrical signals. These components can be found in cloud and AI data centers and network systems that require fast and st...
pingingz/iStock via Getty Images As with all the AI data center plays, TeraWulf Inc. ( WULF ) just entered the execution phase. The company has a lineup of data center capacity and a couple of major customers, but now TeraWulf has to start executing on turning those contracts into cash flows. My investment thesis remains ultra Bullish on the stock with a big revenue ramp coming through 2027, even ...
pingingz/iStock via Getty Images As with all the AI data center plays, TeraWulf Inc. ( WULF ) just entered the execution phase. The company has a lineup of data center capacity and a couple of major customers, but now TeraWulf has to start executing on turning those contracts into cash flows. My investment thesis remains ultra Bullish on the stock with a big revenue ramp coming through 2027, even after TeraWulf doubled since the start of April. Source: Finviz Transition Phase As with the other AI data center operators transitioning from bitcoin miners, TeraWulf still reports mixed results due to the dip in digital asset revenue (bitcoin mining). The company reported Q1'26 revenue of $34.0 million, actually down from $34.4 million in the prior March quarter. Source: TeraWulf Q1'26 earnings release The key HPC lease revenue grew to $21.0 million, up from nothing in the prior year. Investors should focus squarely on this number and the ability of management to turn this revenue into positive cash flows. Even more confusing, TeraWulf reported a massive loss of $427.6 million in the quarter while the adjusted EBITDA loss was only $4.1 million. The company was hit with a massive warrant-related loss and $101.4 million in stock-based compensation covering $317.7 million of the loss. Ultimately what matters is the path to commercialization for the $17+ billion of contracts in hand and the potential to grow the customer base with additional capacity. TeraWulf has now lined up 2.3 GW of monetizable critical IT load with only 522 MW under contract. Source: TeraWulf Q1'26 presentation As the above chart highlights, the addition of Justified Data in Kentucky and Chesapeake Data in Maryland helps provide a path to quadruple the order backlog. The company has made the big move by repurposing legacy industrial sites to offer TeraWulf quick access to additional power and an expansion pipeline. Path Higher The stock currently has a market cap of $11.5 billion after doubling off the l...
NPR's Elissa Nadworny talks to Mehrzad Boroujerdi of the Missouri University of Science and Technology about the status of the Trump Administration's negotiations to end the war on Iran.
NPR's Elissa Nadworny talks to Mehrzad Boroujerdi of the Missouri University of Science and Technology about the status of the Trump Administration's negotiations to end the war on Iran.