'Victory' In Iran Will Look Nothing Like 1945 Authored by James Howard Kunstler , You probably wonder what the end of this war will look like. It won’t look like V-J Day in Times Square, 1945, with sailors kissing girls they met five seconds ago . Our country is way too divided and disturbed with politically-inflected mental illness for love to bloom in the streets like it did then. If you happen ...
'Victory' In Iran Will Look Nothing Like 1945 Authored by James Howard Kunstler , You probably wonder what the end of this war will look like. It won’t look like V-J Day in Times Square, 1945, with sailors kissing girls they met five seconds ago . Our country is way too divided and disturbed with politically-inflected mental illness for love to bloom in the streets like it did then. If you happen to catch the glum crew on CNN you will detect that they really want this operation to fail because, you know, Trump. Terminally Depressed on CNN The war will be over when Iran loses the ability to spray missiles and drones all over the place — and notice how they are pouring it on the Emirate states, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and even Azerbaijan, for Gawdsake, turning would-be bystanders into pissed-off additional enemies they need like a hole in the head. At some point they will run out of ordnance, or the will to roll them out of the supposed 10,000 bat caves their weapons are stashed in. Our side apparently has an uncanny knack for seeing the launchers creep into daylight and efficiently blowing them up. Creates a disincentive to even think about launching. Of course, Iran might have some spectacular last-ditch thingie they can unleash to horrify the world — perhaps a “dirty” bomb that uses the 460 kilos of 60-percent enriched uranium they bragged about at one of the last negotiation sessions before the war with Witkoff and Kushner. Standing by on that. But, at some point a week or so hence, a stillness will fall upon the earth and sky above Iran, and that will be all she wrote for sheer havoc. Victory will not look much like anything. Just that stillness. The body politic in Iran is another matter. Expect awful turmoil. Iran’s command structure is shattered. Officials don’t dare pick a room in some building to meet in . The Internet is down and most communication with it. Nobody knows who is really in charge, and nobody may be in charge, not for quite a long time to c...
Rebellions CEO Sunghyun Park discusses how his AI semiconductor startup plans to compete with the likes of Nvidia and AMD in the AI chip space. He speaks with Haslinda Amin from the sidelines of 'IMF Conference; Asia 2050'. (Source: Bloomberg)
Rebellions CEO Sunghyun Park discusses how his AI semiconductor startup plans to compete with the likes of Nvidia and AMD in the AI chip space. He speaks with Haslinda Amin from the sidelines of 'IMF Conference; Asia 2050'. (Source: Bloomberg)
Huntley was arrested the same day. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to a minimum of 40 years for the double murders, with the judge saying "in your lies and manipulation up to this very day, you have increased the suffering you have caused the two families".
Huntley was arrested the same day. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to a minimum of 40 years for the double murders, with the judge saying "in your lies and manipulation up to this very day, you have increased the suffering you have caused the two families".
Over the long run, Wall Street is, arguably, the world's greatest wealth creator. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.33%) has never declined over any rolling 20-year period, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.95%) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 1.59%) have often rallied in lockstep with the S&P 500 to record-closing highs. However, short-term directional moves in equities are far less certain...
Over the long run, Wall Street is, arguably, the world's greatest wealth creator. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.33%) has never declined over any rolling 20-year period, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.95%) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 1.59%) have often rallied in lockstep with the S&P 500 to record-closing highs. However, short-term directional moves in equities are far less certain -- especially when major geopolitical events are introduced into the equation. On Feb. 28, U.S. and Israeli forces commenced military operations against Iran, which has clearly roiled equity markets. The question on investors' minds is: Will the Iran war lead to a stock market crash? While nothing can be said with concrete certainty, nine decades of history provide invaluable insight. Major geopolitical events can create brief periods of panic in select situations Over the previous nine decades, there has been no shortage of major geopolitical events, including wars, terrorist attacks, assassination attempts on world leaders, invasions, and financial crises. While many of these events resulted in emotion-driven trading and heightened short-term volatility, a stock market crash was uncommon. But among these dozens of major geopolitical events, the one variable that has increased the probability of a stock market crash is oil. When global energy supply is disrupted or at risk of being constrained by a geopolitical event, we've been more likely to see a significant short-term swoon in stocks or even a brief stock market crash. For example, in the three weeks following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the S&P 500 shed 13% of its value. In October 1973, when the Arab members of OPEC banned oil exports to select nations supporting Israel (the U.S. included), the S&P 500 lost 17% of its value in under two months, and plummeted by roughly 44% over 11.5 months. When the supply of oil is constrained, its spot price can soar. In the wake of the Iran war commencing and the St...
Key Points Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite have soared over long periods, short-term directional moves in these indexes are much harder to pinpoint. While most major geopolitical events don't lead to a stock market crash, those involving constraints on oil supply are more likely to cause turbulence on Wall Street. The nonlinear nature of economic cycles fav...
Key Points Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite have soared over long periods, short-term directional moves in these indexes are much harder to pinpoint. While most major geopolitical events don't lead to a stock market crash, those involving constraints on oil supply are more likely to cause turbulence on Wall Street. The nonlinear nature of economic cycles favors long-term optimism. 10 stocks we like better than S&P 500 Index › Over the long run, Wall Street is, arguably, the world's greatest wealth creator. The benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has never declined over any rolling 20-year period, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) and Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) have often rallied in lockstep with the S&P 500 to record-closing highs. However, short-term directional moves in equities are far less certain -- especially when major geopolitical events are introduced into the equation. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » On Feb. 28, U.S. and Israeli forces commenced military operations against Iran, which has clearly roiled equity markets. The question on investors' minds is: Will the Iran war lead to a stock market crash? While nothing can be said with concrete certainty, nine decades of history provide invaluable insight. Major geopolitical events can create brief periods of panic in select situations Over the previous nine decades, there has been no shortage of major geopolitical events, including wars, terrorist attacks, assassination attempts on world leaders, invasions, and financial crises. While many of these events resulted in emotion-driven trading and heightened short-term volatility, a stock market crash was uncommon. But among these dozens of major geopolitical events, the one variable that has increased th...
iamporpla/iStock via Getty Images Fertilizer producers in top producer Russia will be unable to make up for a potential global shortfall from the Middle East war, as their ability to boost supply is constrained, Reuters reported Friday. The conflict has shut down fertilizer plants in the region and disrupted shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, which transits about a third of global tra...
iamporpla/iStock via Getty Images Fertilizer producers in top producer Russia will be unable to make up for a potential global shortfall from the Middle East war, as their ability to boost supply is constrained, Reuters reported Friday. The conflict has shut down fertilizer plants in the region and disrupted shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, which transits about a third of global trade in fertilizers. Russia accounts for ~20% of global fertilizer trade, but limited capacity, domestic export caps and attacks by Ukraine on some of the country's largest plants all constrain its ability to ramp up output, according to the report . A Ukrainian drone attack last week on Dorogobuzh, one of Russia's largest plants, has temporarily knocked out ~5% of the country's overall fertilizer production capacity. Russia, also the world's leading exporter of wheat, has maintained fertilizer export restrictions since 2021 to ensure sufficient supply on the domestic market. CF Industries ( CF ) was the S&P 500's top gainer on Friday, rising 4.5%; other potentially relevant stocks include Mosaic ( MOS ), Nutrien ( NTR ) and Yara ( YARIY ) ( YRAIF ). More on CF Industries CF Industries: Fertilizer Politics Cuts Both Ways CF Industries: The Valuation Disconnect Is Still Too Big To Ignore CF Industries Q4 2025 Earnings Call Presentation
The long game of Rick Tsai: from TSMC’s darkest hour to the AI era Joseph Chen, DIGITIMES Asia, Taipei In November 2008, Dr. Rick Tsai was the CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), staring into a literal abyss. The global financial system was in freefall, and at the world’s most critical chipmaker, the lights were dimming. Utilization rates—the lifeblood of a semiconductor fab—had ...
The long game of Rick Tsai: from TSMC’s darkest hour to the AI era Joseph Chen, DIGITIMES Asia, Taipei In November 2008, Dr. Rick Tsai was the CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), staring into a literal abyss. The global financial system was in freefall, and at the world’s most critical chipmaker, the lights were dimming. Utilization rates—the lifeblood of a semiconductor fab—had plummeted below 40%. Orders were vanishing. "I remember talking to you back then," recalled Jodi Shelton, host of the podcast "A Bit Personal with Jodi Shelton," during a recent sit-down in Taipei. "You told me, 'I have no idea what revenues are going to be.'" The interview, titled "From TSMC to MediaTek: Rick Tsai on Precision, Resilience, and the Art of the Long Game," offers a rare and deeply personal window into the life of one of the semiconductor industry’s most influential architects. While competitors retreated during that 2008 crisis, Tsai executed a counter-intuitive maneuver that would later define his legacy. He ordered his R&D teams to accelerate. Not just to maintain, but to sprint at 110% capacity. "We were building Fab 14 at the time," Tsai explained. "I told them, 'Don't stop. We will need that capacity.'" It was a classic "Long Game" play—a bet on the eventual return of demand that many at the time thought was suicidal. It worked. When the market rebounded, TSMC was the only player with the capacity to meet it. Today, as the CEO of MediaTek Inc., Tsai is applying that same brand of "ruthless resilience" to the $1 trillion AI revolution. Credit: A Bit Personal with Jodi Shelton The McDonald’s Sacrifice Taiwan’s current dominance in the $600 billion semiconductor industry is often viewed as a triumph of industrial policy. But for Tsai, it is a story of personal grit. He traces the origins back to 1976, to a group of young engineers sent to RCA in the U.S. for a technology transfer program. The group included names that are now legends in Taipei’s Hsinchu Sci...