PonyWang/iStock via Getty Images By Yan Taw (YT) Boon As the artificial intelligence spotlight shifts its gaze from model training to agentic applications, we believe commodity-component suppliers could get a welcome boost. For the past few years, the semiconductor narrative has largely revolved around one theme: training the large language models at the core of the AI revolution. While capital, t...
PonyWang/iStock via Getty Images By Yan Taw (YT) Boon As the artificial intelligence spotlight shifts its gaze from model training to agentic applications, we believe commodity-component suppliers could get a welcome boost. For the past few years, the semiconductor narrative has largely revolved around one theme: training the large language models at the core of the AI revolution. While capital, talent and investor attention clustered around the most powerful chips, legacy semiconductor and hardware components were left to muddle through a prolonged downcycle. Now, we believe that bifurcation has begun to unwind: As AI workloads shift from model training to “agentic” applications that can infer what users need and automatically perform those tasks, the action is broadening beyond leading-edge chips to less-glamorous and investment-starved parts of the IT stack. Even small constraints within these hardware supply chains have the potential to ripple into system-level bottlenecks: Bringing new capacity online can take 2-3 years, and daunting capital expenditures tend to keep new entrants at bay; meanwhile, modern AI infrastructure continues to raise the technical bar for many of these commodity components. This combination of chronic undersupply and rising performance demands has been pushing hardware prices higher. Given the market’s shifting supply-demand dynamics, we believe this recent recovery in prices is less of a cyclical bounce and more of a longer-term, structural reset. Greasing the Agentic Gears Thus far the AI story has been primarily dominated by specialized chips known as "accelerators." These parallel-processing workhouses can perform billions of simultaneous calculations—the raw computational firepower required to train large language AI models. Accelerators live in large data centers filled with clusters of GPUs. Yet, as AI expands beyond model training into myriad agentic applications, the workloads demand a fundamentally different mix of hardware. T...
As inflation squeezes retailers, Costco (NASDAQ: COST) is emerging as a surprising beneficiary-thanks to discounted gas, bulk essentials, and a resilient membership model. Watch the video below to find out why this warehouse giant might be the most exciting stock in retail right now. A full transcript is below the video. Stock prices used were the market prices of April 1, 2026. This video was pub...
As inflation squeezes retailers, Costco (NASDAQ: COST) is emerging as a surprising beneficiary-thanks to discounted gas, bulk essentials, and a resilient membership model. Watch the video below to find out why this warehouse giant might be the most exciting stock in retail right now. A full transcript is below the video. Stock prices used were the market prices of April 1, 2026. This video was published on April 6, 2026. As inflation tightens its grip on retailers everywhere, Costco is doing something remarkable. It's thriving. The warehouse giant's stock is up over 10% this year, making it one of the few bright spots in a struggling market. Why? Two words: gas prices. As fuel costs skyrocket due to global supply constraints and rising crude oil prices, Costco's discounted gas stations are becoming a major draw. Members save about 20 cents per gallon compared to local averages, which can pay for that $65 membership in just a few months. But it's not just about filling your tank. When consumers feel the squeeze, they flock to Costco for lower per-unit prices on bulk essentials. The company's membership model is proving remarkably resilient, with 147 million cardholders worldwide and counting. Sure, at 50 times earnings, Costco isn't cheap. But with comparable store sales growing at 6.7%, international expansion ramping up, and e-commerce sales surging 22.6%, investors are willing to pay a premium. In an uncertain economy, Costco's boring business model might just be the most exciting thing in retail. Continue reading
The US vice-president and Hungary’s prime minister will hold a joint press conference later today Meanwhile, the opposition leader Péter Magyar has responded to JD Vance’s visit rejecting what he described as “interference in Hungarian elections.” He said : “ No foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections. This is our country. Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow, or Bru...
The US vice-president and Hungary’s prime minister will hold a joint press conference later today Meanwhile, the opposition leader Péter Magyar has responded to JD Vance’s visit rejecting what he described as “interference in Hungarian elections.” He said : “ No foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections. This is our country. Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow, or Brussels – it is written in Hungary’s streets and squares. Continue reading...
President Donald Trump’s latest deadline for Iran to agree to a deal is just hours away, and investors are once again finding themselves forced to prepare for a range of possible outcomes. But whether they’re buying more bonds, loading up on commodities or holding cash, they share a common view — weeks of volatility sparked by Trump’s shifting positions have left them frustrated and uncertain abou...
President Donald Trump’s latest deadline for Iran to agree to a deal is just hours away, and investors are once again finding themselves forced to prepare for a range of possible outcomes. But whether they’re buying more bonds, loading up on commodities or holding cash, they share a common view — weeks of volatility sparked by Trump’s shifting positions have left them frustrated and uncertain about the path forward. “We just hope the next 24 hours see sense prevail,” said Gary Dugan , chief executive officer at Global CIO Office, who has temporarily relocated from Dubai to stay in his family’s home in the central Indian city of Jabalpur until things cool down. He’s lightening up on equity bets and buying oil through exchange-traded funds. It’s a scene that’s been replayed many times in recent weeks as Trump repeatedly issued deadlines before extending them, sparking bouts of market swings that have left traders scrambling to keep up. Gauges of volatility in equities and currencies have hit multi-month highs as the clock ticks down to his latest deadline of 8:00 p.m. New York time Tuesday. Moves in major asset classes were largely contained in the Asian session on Tuesday, with the dollar struggling to hold onto its early advance while an index of regional stocks ticked higher. Brent traded above $111 a barrel after swinging between gains and losses. While the recent price action has been hectic, hedge fund investor Thomas Hayes is optimistic. “The asymmetry is to the upside,” said Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital in New York. If Trump “fumbles, we will retest the recent lows about 4% down,” he said referring to US equities. “If we get a resolution or cease fire, this market is a coiled spring with about 10% aggressive upside.” Trump has insisted that freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz be part of any deal to end the Middle East war and escalated threats to obliterate key Iranian infrastructure if his terms aren’t met before the deadline. He said ...
Germany’s power prices slid on Easter Monday as a surge in renewable energy collided with unusually weak demand, sending electricity costs to deeply negative levels. Intraday power prices plunged to as low as -€323.96 a megawatt-hour at 3 p.m. local time, according to Epex Spot data. France saw a similar trend, with prices dropping to -€230.31 a megawatt-hour at 2 p.m. The extreme conditions were ...
Germany’s power prices slid on Easter Monday as a surge in renewable energy collided with unusually weak demand, sending electricity costs to deeply negative levels. Intraday power prices plunged to as low as -€323.96 a megawatt-hour at 3 p.m. local time, according to Epex Spot data. France saw a similar trend, with prices dropping to -€230.31 a megawatt-hour at 2 p.m. The extreme conditions were driven by a combination of strong solar and wind output alongside reduced consumption during the Easter holiday period, when industrial and commercial activity slowed down. “Massive amounts of wind and solar had to be curtailed in Germany to keep the system stable,” said Stephan Späth, meteorologist and power trader at ANE GmbH & Co. KG. The event underscores the growing challenges of managing increasingly renewable-heavy power systems, where periods of high generation and low demand can produce extreme price volatility. Excess electricity produced during periods of low consumption cannot yet be stored at scale, as battery capacity remains limited. Why Power Prices Can Go Negative and What It Means: QuickTake Above-average wind speeds meant the clean energy source was covering around 80% of Germany’s power load by Monday morning, according to data from the Fraunhofer Institute. Cloud cover in northeastern Germany cleared faster than expected by early afternoon, allowing solar output to rise more sharply, said Späth. Combined with an already oversupplied market, this led to a rapid escalation in excess generation from around 1 p.m, he said. The imbalance also triggered a sharp spike in balancing costs. Imbalance fees, charged when actual electricity generation or consumption deviates from contracted levels, fell to -€4,631.99 a megawatt-hour at 2.30 p.m., according to data from Germany’s transmission grid operators. This meant market participants who overproduced relative to forecasts faced high costs. Lower power demand due to the holidays also played a role. Peak demand re...