DHUnplugged Podcast

– Happy Memorial Day

– A WARM DHU welcome to Kevin Warsh – good luck fella, you are going to need it sir.

– The new transient inflation.

– Another BOARD? These guys like to make exclusive clubs…

PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts!

Click HERE for Show Notes and Links

DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar.

Love the Show? Then how about a Donation?

Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter

Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter

Warm-Up

- Happy Memorial Day

- A WARM DHU welcome to Kevin Warsh - good luck fella, you are going to need it

- The new transient inflation

- Another BOARD? These guys like to make exclusive clubs...

Markets

- Starting to come in a bit.....

- Yield curve steepening - potential for a hike over cuts

- YIELDS!

- Fuels running low - we have the list

OH MY...

- The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield has surged to around 5.14%, putting it at its highest level since the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis

- Bets are pricing in the increasingly possibility of it reaching 5.5% to 6%, which would mark the highest levels since late 1999

- 30-Year mortgage near 6.35% (average) - DOWN from 6.91% at start of 2026

30-Year Yield

Bored of Boards

- The Board of Peace - remember that one? That was established in 2025 with 15+ countries that pitched in $1 billion for permanent seat

- Indefinitely chaired by President Trump, the governing board is a mix of U.S. officials and prominent American businessmen.

- So much for the peace part of that....

- Now we hear about the Board of Investment

---The US and China are discussing a mechanism for fast-tracking some Chinese investment deals and a reduction in tariffs on non-critical goods.

- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned a "Board of Investment" that will be responsible for investment in non-sensitive areas.

- The idea of the "Board of Investment" is to have a mechanism that could allow deals that wouldn’t need to be referred to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

- In other words - working outside of the established channels that primary function is to determine whether these transactions pose risks to U.S. national security.

IRAN

- On and off as usual

- Cancelled a scheduled bombing?

- President Trump speaking with reporters says he will know "soon" if U.S. needs to give Iran another big hit; says Gulf states are helping with negotiations; says Iran keeps agreeing to things and changing their mind; says Iran has 2-3 days to make a deal

- This is the parental attempt to manupluate a child - I am going to count to THREE.... 1-2-3-4-5-6

China Trip

- Chinese President Xi Jinping warned U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday that the U.S. and China “will have clashes and even conflicts” if the long-standing issue of Taiwan’s independence is mishandled.

- Speaking just ahead of Trump, Xi noted the global attention on the meeting, and said a major question for the two countries was whether they could avoid the “Thucydides Trap,” according to an official English translation of his remarks broadcast by CCTV.

- The Thucydides Trap refers to how tensions historically between a rising and ruling power have often resulted in a war.

Some Observations

- Veggie Prices are off the charts

--- Cauliflower $9, Carrots $6 small bag (not organic)

- - Favorite produce store noticed things going bad.... Realized that people are not buying stuff

PPI Inflation - HOTTTTTTTT

- Headline MoM: +1.4%

- YoY: +6.0%

- Core PPI (ex food & energy): about +1.0% MoM

- Energy was a big part, but services also saw a large move

- Highest monthly increase since march 2022

--- In reaction bonds are selling off - highest on 10 and 30 year since March 2024 (10 YR Broke above 4.65)

Outbreak

- An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization

- 80 deaths were attributed to the disease.

- Outbreak does not meet pandemic criteria, WHO says

- Eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases

- At least six Americans in the DRC have been exposed to the Ebola virus, with three exposures deemed high risk

WHAT?

- One of the highest margin foods, pizza and pasta

- Domino's Pizza, is among the pizza giants whose franchisees have filed for bankruptcy

- Papa Johns: We have identified approximately 300 underperforming restaurants across North America that are not meeting brand expectations or lack a clear path to sustainable financial improvement, as well as locations where we can effectively transfer sales to a nearby restaurant

- Pizza Hut, which also hasn't filed for bankruptcy (YET) , won't be left out of closings as the company's parent Yum! Brands in February said that it would close 250 underperforming locations as part of its Hut Forward plan in the first half of 2026.

- PZZA down 65% over the past 5 years

- The Papa John's board formally ousted founder and former CEO John "Papa" John" Schnatter in a series of steps culminating in July 2018 and March 2019

BONDS - Yields Spiking

- U.S. Treasury yields spiked on Friday following a week of messy inflation data and as traders looked to price interest rate policy under new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh.

- The yield on the 30-year bond jumped nearly 11 basis points to yield 5.121%, the highest since May 22, 2025, and nearing the highest since October 2023.

- Japanese long-term bond yields have surged to multi-decade highs, with the 10-year Japanese Government Bond (JGB) hitting 2.8%—its highest level since October 1996

M&A Utilities

- U.S. power companies NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy announced a plan to merge on Monday in a $66.8 billion deal that ?will form one of the world's largest electric utilities during an expansion of energy-intensive data centers to support artificial intelligence.

- The all-stock transaction, which is pending ?regulatory approvals, is one of the largest-ever energy mergers.

- Industry consolidation -

-- This year, AES Corp agreed to be acquired by a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners and Swedish ?private-equity firm EQT AB for $33.4 billion.

---- That followed Constellation Energy's $16 billion deal with Calpine and Blackstone's $11.5 billion deal for TXNM Energy last year.

SOYBEANS

- Trump's visit to China yielded little in the way of anything

- The United States expects China to sign up to buy "double-digit billions" worth of U.S. farm goods following a summit between Presidents Donald ?Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on ?Friday.

- Greer noted the 25 million metric ton per year soybean deal agreed last October and said the U.S. also expects to "see an agreement for double-digit billion purchases of ags over the next three years per year ?coming out of this visit."

- Soybeans and other commodity prices moved higher on Monday as the news was disseminated.

CHYNA Deals?

- Looks like Boeing got an order of 200 more planes from China.

---- The problem is that was much less that was expected

-- Boeing was down on the news.

- Some murmurs about China buying more energy (oil, gas) from US

- - - There was also something said about President Xi asking about the US intentions of Taiwan

Bessent - Transitory

- Even with recent inflation news universally bad, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expects price pressures to ease soon, just in time for new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to take over.

-- Why are we listening to this crew? They have been wrong about everything - but say it with such confidence.

- WAIT FOR IT......

- “I firmly believe that nothing is more transient than a supply shock, and we can, we can look through that, because before the Iranian conflict began, core inflation was coming down.

- He noted that he sees substantial disinflation ahead

----- IF there is substantial disinflation that would be bad news as the economy will be slowing precipitously - could be problematic - so it is not clear what he is so excited about

Earnings

- NVDA is going to be position earnings Wednesday after the close

- So far Semiconductor companies and storage companies have been saying that the orders keep flowing in and

-  Wall Street analysts project EPS of $1.78 on revenue of $79.2 billion, representing a year-over-year revenue increase of roughly 80%.

Open AI - Musk

- R0und 1- Musk looses on what looks to be a technicality

- Perhaps jurors were miffed that he skipped closing arguments and went to China instead (to be the the Trump Posse)

- Naturally he is already discussing appeal

Even more Create Financing

- Google (GOOG/GOOGL) and Blackstone (BX) are drawing significant investor attention following the announcement of TPU Cloud, a new U.S.-based joint venture designed to commercialize GOOG's Tensor Processing Unit infrastructure at greater scale.

- The partnership underscores the accelerating arms race in AI infrastructure, while also highlighting how hyperscalers are increasingly turning to alternative financing structures to fund the enormous capital requirements tied to next-generation AI compute expansion.

Fuel Shortages

- In case anyone thought otherwise - the Straight is till closed.

Fuel Running Low

- India: Severe LPG (cooking gas) shortages, rationing in many areas

- Pakistan & Bangladesh: Critical LPG and diesel shortages

- Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia): Jet fuel & diesel shortages, flight cuts

- South Korea & Taiwan: Tight jet fuel and refined product stocks

- Europe (especially UK): Jet fuel critically low, risk of flight cancellations

- Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, parts of East Africa): Jet fuel and import shortages

- CUBA - OUT

Cooking Fuel (LPG) Shortages

- India: Severe shortages, long queues, rationing

- Pakistan: Critical LPG shortage, heavy rationing

- Bangladesh: Major shortages, price spikes

- Nepal & Sri Lanka: Supply cuts, half-filled cylinders common

- Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, etc.): Tight supplies and high prices

- Africa: Sharp price increases, reduced affordability

- Europe/US: Mostly higher prices, no major physical shortages

Love the Show? Then how about a Donation?

Announcing the THE CLOSEST TO THE PIN

for SALESFORCE (CRM)

 

Winners will be getting great stuff like the new "OFFICIAL" DHUnplugged Shirt!

 

 

FED AND CRYPTO LIMERICKS

 

See this week’s stock picks HERE

Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter

Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter

A torn Meniscus – that is what they say… now what?

The beginning of UBI as a response from the AI boom?

Black in packaging – byproduct of war

Markets – – Up up and away!

– New inflation data is in…

– The Circular Economy – Great chart….

– Some inflation facts

PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts!

Click HERE for Show Notes and Links

DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar.

Love the Show? Then how about a Donation?

Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter

Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter

Warm-Up

- Torn Meniscus - that is what they say... now what?

- The beginning of UBI as a response from the AI boom?

- Black in packaging - byproduct of war

- Insights into consumer confidence reports

Markets

- Up up and away!

- New inflation data is in...

- The Circular Economy - Great chart....

- Some inflation facts

- From the TACO trade to the NACHO trade

The new CTP for Salesforce is open for entries!

From TACO to NACHO

- Not A Chance Hormuz Opens

- - New phrase being used in the oil pits and trading floors

Life Support

- President Trump tells reporters that ceasefire with Iran is on "massive life support"; says Iran's peace proposal was a "piece of garbage"

Going to CHYNA

- President Donald Trump has invited executives from some of the biggest U.S. companies — including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg — to join his trip to China this week, according to a White House official.

- Also expected to join Trump’s delegation for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping are Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Cargill’s Brian Sikes, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, Coherent’s Jim Anderson, GE Aerospace’s H. Lawrence Culp Jr., Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon, Illumina’s Jacob Thaysen, Mastercard’s Michael Miebach, Meta Platforms executive Dina Powell McCormick, Micron Technology’s Sanjay Mehrotra, Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon and Visa’s Ryan McInerney, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the list has not been announced.

- Jensen Huang supposedly not invited

Inflation Report Today

- Total CPI increased 0.6% month-over-month in April, as expected, following a 0.9% increase in March. That left total CPI up 3.8% year-over-year versus 3.3% in March.

- Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, jumped 0.4% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus: 0.4%) following a 0.2% increase in March. That left core - CPI up 2.8% year-over-year versus 2.6% in March.

----Key Factors

- The food index was up 0.5% month-over-month and up 3.2% year-over-year.

- The energy index was up 3.8% month-over-month and up 17.9% year-over-year.

- The shelter index was up 0.6% month-over-month and up 3.3% year-over-year.

- The used cars and trucks index was flat month-over-month and down 2.7% year-over-year.

- The apparel index was up 0.6% month-over-month and up 4.2% year-over-year.

- The services index was up 0.6% month-over-month and up 3.4% year-over-year (services less rent of shelter was up 3.5% year-over-year).

- The all items index less food, shelter, and energy was up 0.2% month-over-month and up 2.3% year-over-year.

Consumer Confidence

- Surging gas prices due to the Iran war sent consumer sentiment to a new low in the early part of May, according to a University of Michigan survey Friday.

“Taken together, consumers continue to feel buffeted by cost pressures, led by soaring prices at the pump,” the survey’s director, Joanne Hsu, said.

- The latest University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment preliminary reading for May came in at 48.2, below the 50.5 consensus estimate and below the prior 49.8 final reading for April.

---Note: Conference board's consumer confidence reading was actually better than last month so there is a discrepancy in reports.

- Conference Board measure as highly important because it is widely followed and often tied closely to labor-market perceptions, while the Michigan survey is also closely watched for inflation-sensitive consumer attitudes.

Thwarted!

- Google’s Threat Intelligence Group said hackers are using AI models such as OpenClaw to uncover and exploit zero-day software vulnerabilities.

- GTIG said it has “high confidence” that it recorded hackers using an AI model to find and exploit a zero-day vulnerability, or a software flaw unknown to developers, creating a way to bypass two-factor authentication.

-The group said in a report that it had uncovered and likely thwarted an AI-developed attack.

- Anthropic delayed its Mythos model rollout due to cybersecurity concerns, but current models are being used by hackers.

- How are we going to stop the hackers from using powerful AI models to hack?

Circular Economy

- Great Graphic

Circular

Always Money to be made...

- US derivatives exchange CME Group Inc. and index provider Silicon Data are teaming up to create a futures market for computing power.

- The futures will help traders, financial firms, AI builders and cloud providers manage volatility and price swings, according to a statement.

- CME CEO Terry Duffy said compute is "the new oil of the 21st century" and creating a futures market can help make the costs more transparent.

----- One more way to pump this as now there is ways to further inflate costs through a leveraged futures market

Private Credit Transparency?

- Faster mark-to-market plans

- Apollo Global Management Inc. has been stepping up efforts to provide liquidity and price transparency in the private-credit market, where assets don’t typically change hands.

- Last week, the firm said more than $830 billion of its credit assets will be priced daily by the end of September. "

- Others in the industry are not so happy about this.

- Most say that this is little more that lipstick on a pig

No Problem

- Congress is looking to suspend the federal gas tax for a few months

- Trump backing

- $0.18 per gallon tax in a effort to reduce gas prices that are now approx $4.40 average per gallon higher than before the war

- War not changed, Iran still stringing us along.

- Under/Over how long it will take until next Ceasefire bombings start?

- Will a sprinkle of warfare prior to China visit be in the cards as a show of strength?

AI Jobs

- Kevin Hassett says that AI isn't costing anybody their jobs rights now

- EVEN THOUGH TECH CONTINUES LAYOFFS

- Why bother even listening to these guys?

- Major deep discussion on this on TDI Podcast this week

-- WORTH THE LISTEN

Asian Markets

- Continuing to brush off any worries about oil prices, escalation or valuations that are in the stratosphere

- Korea - as we discussed this would be the case is up a staggering 78% last year and already up 81% this year

- Market cap has increased $2.7 trillion over the past year

- The massive wealth increase has been heavily concentrated. Tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix accounted for the vast majority of the gains, with individual rallies of up to 382% over the year.

Strange

- The retail trades added nearly 22,000 jobs in April, accounting for almost one-fifth of total job growth.

- In March, retailers posted their largest number of monthly job openings since 2023.

- Retailers are more confident after seeing consumers keep their wallets open in the face of an uncertain economy and higher gas prices.

- Nearly 15.5 million employees now hold retail industry jobs, the most since July 2024.

- What is strange is the UMich confidence hit another all-time low last Friday for the latest prelim reading for the month

ANALlysts

- The earnings upgrades for tech are not just incremental

- Examples:

-  Seagate Tech target raised to $1000 from $750 at Evercore ISI, cites HAMR-driven multi-year HDD growth, pricing power, and strong AI/data center demand backdrop

- AMD - Goldman Sachs upgraded to Buy and raised its price target dramatically (e.g., to $450 from $240). Other firms like Bernstein (to $525), Barclays, KeyBanc, TD Cowen, and Baird also hiked targets significantly (many by $200+)

- Several other names upgrades with big ranges of price increases

UBI Starting...?

- South Korea should consider institutional ways to redistribute potential excess tax revenue generated by the AI infrastructure boom to help ease inequalities that could deepen in an AI-driven era, a top presidential policy aide said.

- President Kim proposed the principle, tentatively named a “national dividend,” underlining that gains from AI infrastructure should be understood as the product of South Korea’s collectively built industrial foundation.

- In his Facebook post on Monday, Kim explained that "the central question of the AI era is not simply about growth rates, but about how to socially stabilize excess profits."

Black ink

- Calbee to switch its brightly colored packaging to black and white because war has disrupted supply of certain raw materials used in ink

- Calbee, whose potato chip brands in particular are known for brightly colored bag designs, said 14 of its products would switch to monochrome branding by the end of May.

- Printing ink requires naphtha, an oil derivative for which Japan relies on imports from the Middle East for about 40% of its consumption.

Black Ink Printing

HantaVirus

- Tristan da Cunha, home to only around 200 people, is halfway between South Africa and South America. It is the world's remotest inhabited island, more than 2,400 km and a six-day boat ride from St Helena, its nearest inhabited neighbor.

- It usually relies on a medical team of two people for its health needs, and is normally only accessible by boat as it has no airstrip.

- A British man was dropped from the death ship was there and has the symptoms - so "out of an abundance of caution...."

- "The arrival of paratroopers, medical personnel and medical supplies from the sky has hopefully reassured the people of Tristan da Cunha," said Brigadier Ed Cartwright, Officer Commanding 16 Air Assault Brigade.

- Does this give comfort that paratroopers dropping in with hazmat suits?

 

 

Love the Show? Then how about a Donation?

Announcing the THE CLOSEST TO THE PIN

for SALESFORCE (CRM)

 

Winners will be getting great stuff like the new "OFFICIAL" DHUnplugged Shirt!

 

 

FED AND CRYPTO LIMERICKS

 

See this week’s stock picks HERE

Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter

Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter

Good overall earnings season – still going strong

Economic reports show a mixed picture – but still good enough

Semi-annual earnings report option gaining steam

Saying goodbye to Spirit Airlines

Markets

PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts!

Click HERE for Show Notes and Links

DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar.

Love the Show? Then how about a Donation?

Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter

Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter

Warm-Up

- Good overall earnings season - still going strong

- Economic reports show a mixed picture - but still good enough

- Semi-annual earnings report option gaining steam

- Saying goodbye to Spirit Airlines

- EGGS - Breaking News!

Markets

- Are markets riding tariff refund wave?

- Oil shoots up then slips back after Iran tensions rise and fall

- New Highs - NAZ100 powering ahead

- Huge Capex and OBBBA

NEED A NEW CTP

- CMG (last time was 2017)

Ship Sailing

- Seems that under the protection of the USA - a Maersk ship passed through the Strait

- But how many can they do a day like this?

- Oil down after a huge spike yesterday due to IRAN striking UAE

Big Shakeup

- US transportation stocks plunged after Amazon announced expanded logistics offerings that will turn it into a major competitor for parcel carriers and air freight companies.

- The move is a threat not just to other couriers' grasp on e-commerce, but potentially to more profitable areas such as healthcare, which UPS and FedEx have made a central part of their strategies.

- Amazon will offer freight, distribution and fulfillment, and parcel shipping to standalone customers, and its announcement "could be a watershed moment for North American freight transportation companies," according to Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker.

- FedEx Corp. shares fell 9.1% in their worst day in more than a year, while rival United Parcel Service Inc. dropped more than 10%.

-- Logistics firms Forward Air Corp. and GXO Logistics Inc. suffered double-digit declines. Old Dominion Freight Line Inc., among other truckers, slid almost 7%.

--- FYI - Did you know... last year there was a total of 23.9 BILLION packages shipped in the US. 25% was delivered by Amazon, Fed and UPS delivered a third.

Off the Hook - Chump Change

- Elon Musk agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that he cheated Twitter shareholders by failing to properly disclose his growing stake in the social media company.

- An Elon Musk revocable trust would pay the penalty to end the SEC’s lawsuit, which is still subject to court approval, and Musk didn’t admit to the regulator’s allegations.

- The SEC said the deal would be the largest penalty the agency has levied against an entity or individual for allegedly failing to file a beneficial ownership report on time, but Musk’s attorney called it a “small fine”.

- Musk didn’t admit to the regulator’s allegations, according to a filing on Monday.

This could be something...

- Sonos Inc. shares climbed after reporting revenue that jumped 8% and said that it is filing for tariff refunds totaling $40 million.

- The company reported second quarter revenue of $282 million, up 8% year over year, and strong growth in international markets.

- Sonos is forecasting adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization between $20 million and $48 million for the current quarter

- Are markets riding higher also on the tariff refunds?

---- The US government is paying back up to $166 billion in revenue it collected through sweeping global tariffs that were struck down by the Supreme Court in February, with the first payments set to go out on May 11.

AND

- General Motors raised its 2026 guidance after significantly beating Wall Street’s first-quarter earnings expectations following a roughly $500 million benefit from the U.S. Supreme Court decision to terminate and refund certain levies AKA - tariffs.

OPEC?

- In an unexpected announcement - The United Arab Emirates will exit OPEC on May 1, in a major blow to the cartel that coordinates production among many of the world’s largest oil producers, particularly those in the Middle East.

- OPEC+ to raise June output quotas by 188,000 bpd

- Most members cannot meet targets due to Hormuz closure

- Quota increase removes UAE share after it left OPEC+ and OPEC (so just a make-up)

- Meanwhile, they cannot meet the iutput as no place to put the oil....

--- This all looks and sounds good but there is no substance.

---- Saudi Arabia produces 10 million barrels a day (Biggest in OPEC). USA produces 13 Million ....

Spirit Airlines

- Goodbye - shutdown Saturday night at 3PM

- The administration had floated a last-ditch bailout that would have given the federal government a controlling stake in the airline, but the proposal stalled amid resistance from key creditors, whose approval would have been required for the deal to go through.

- Meanwhile, most ticket holders will get refunds.

--- Already Jetblue and others are looking to fill the void by offering more flights from airports that Spirit serviced.

-- Takes a low cost alternative off the market and potentially will be a negative for consumers - less competition - WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT BIDEN ADMINISTRATION DID NOT WANT BY BLOCKING JETBLUE MERGER

JC - are you listening??

- Duolingo beats Q1 revenue estimates, driven by 21% growth in paid subscribers

- CFO Gillian Munson says investments target long-term user retention

- Duolingo aims for 100 million daily active users by 2028

- Guided a bit lower and a strategy shift toward prioritizing user experience and long-term retention over near-term monetization, as it invests in product quality and engagement to build a larger base of paying subscribers. (DUMB?)

- Share down 8%

CHIPS

- Samsung Electronics reported an over eightfold increase in first-quarter operating profits on Thursday, hitting a new record and beating analysts’ estimates on the explosive growth of its chip business.

-  Revenue: 133.9 trillion Korean won ($89.96 billion) vs. 132.69 trillion won expected

- Operating profit: 57.2 trillion won vs. 55.28 trillion won expected

- The South Korean technology giant’s quarterly profit climbed more than 750% from a year earlier to a fresh record.

- The company also posted record revenue, up about 70% year over year.

AMD Reports

Conf Call: AMD paired strong current-quarter execution with a more ambitious long-term AI and server CPU outlook. The biggest positives were the stronger EPYC trajectory, rising confidence in MI450/Helios demand, and the upgraded server CPU TAM view.

- The company now sees the server CPU TAM growing more than 35% annually to over $120 billion by 2030, up from its prior long-term view.

- The main caution points were second-half PC and Gaming demand pressure from higher memory and component costs.

- Margins 55%

- Stock up 15% AH

Apple Chips Deal?

- Apple Inc. has held exploratory discussions with Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. about producing main processors for its devices in the US, as a secondary option beyond Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

- The discussions with Intel and Samsung are preliminary and have not resulted in any orders, with Apple having concerns about using non-TSMC technology.

- Apple is considering additional suppliers due to supply-chain disruptions, including recent shortages driven by the build-out of AI data centers and higher demand for Macs, with CEO Tim Cook saying the company has less flexibility in the supply chain than normal.

- Discussions - yet Intel up 14% on the  news (after a 100% run in April)

Flashback - 2 weeks

- Remember when OpenAi came out with some news that they missed revenue and user growth goals?

- Took down tech for a day a couple of weeks ago....

Tech earnings

- Overall tech earnings were solid.

- Bbig takeaway is that the group (MAG7) are still spending a buttload on expansion into AI etc. Capex $$$$

- Meta was hit on theor outlook (which is why they came back and announced further layoffs)

AI Layoffs

- Recall - "AI will not take jobs"

- More announced this week - Coinbase today

- How long until the robots take over?

- Recent Announcements

AI Job Cuts

EGGS

- Consumption of eggs is associated with a lower risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease for those 65 years and older, according to researchers at Loma Linda University Health

- Eating one egg per day for at least five days a week reduces risk of Alzheimer’s by up to 27%, researchers found.

--- More: Eggs are known to be a source of key nutrients that support brain health. Sabaté said. Eggs provide choline, a precursor to acetylcholine and phosphatidylcholine, both of which are critical for memory and synaptic function, the study stated. Eggs also contain lutein and zeaxanthin—carotenoids that accumulate in brain tissue and are associated with improved cognitive performance and reduced oxidative stress. Eggs also contain key omega-3 fatty acids, and yolks are particularly rich in phospholipids, which constitute nearly 30% of total egg lipids and are essential for neurotransmitter receptor function.

LIV Losing Saudi Arabia

- LIV Golf will lose its financial backing from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund after the 2026 season, the fund announced Thursday.

- "PIF has made the decision to fund LIV Golf only for the remainder of the 2026 season," a representative for the PIF, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, told ABC News on Thursday.

- "The substantial investment required by LIV Golf over a longer term is no longer consistent with the current phase of PIF's investment strategy," the statement continued. "This decision has been made in light of PIF's investment priorities and current macro dynamics.

- Looking for Private Equity to step in

Cars

- The Beijing Auto Show that opened to the public this week is a showcase for how hypercompetition in China has driven new car prices in the world's largest car market to ?a fraction of the level of the next-largest market, the U.S.

- In China, there are more than 200 battery-powered models, including hybrids, for sale at less than the equivalent of $25,000, according to DCar, an information and trading platform.

- Plenty at the $10k - $12k level

Death Squads

- Friday, The White house announced plans to add firing squads, electrocution and gas asphyxiation as alternative methods of executing people convicted of the gravest federal crimes

- Only THREE federal executions in the last 50 years

Weekly Picks Ideas

Worst Stocks this Year

Worst Stocks

 

Love the Show? Then how about a Donation?

THE WINNER OF THE CLOSEST TO THE PIN

for NETGEAR

 

Winners will be getting great stuff like the new "OFFICIAL" DHUnplugged Shirt!

 

 

FED AND CRYPTO LIMERICKS

 

See this week’s stock picks HERE

Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter

Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter

All-time highs – SP500 up 9% MTD – NAS100 even more

Balanced risk – up or down from here is evenly matched

All tech right now (Example Monday Equal Weighted up 0.33%, SP500 down 0.35%)

Worried about No More Mr. Nice Guy

The new “Blockchain” , “SPAC”, “MEME” that is pushing stocks

PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts!

Click HERE for Show Notes and Links

DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar.

Love the Show? Then how about a Donation?

Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter

Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter

Warm-Up

- HUGE MOVES - All from Tweets

- Earnings seasons - banks did goooood

-- Earnings season - carrot ahead of next week when the tech giants report (lots of bulls on this)

- A belated 420 day to all you stoners out there! Grab a gummy, come back in about 45 minutes and listen - show will be much better...

- Tariff refunds now available

Markets

- All-time highs - SP500 up 9% MTD - NAS100 even more

- Balanced risk - up or down from here is evenly matched

-- All tech right now (One day Equal Weighted up 0.33%, SP500 down 0.35%,) - Equal weight up 4.5% MTD, S&P up 9%

- Worried about No More Mr. Nice Guy ? - Seems like Trump is bored with the Iran thing...

- The new "Blockchain" , "SPAC", "MEME" that is pushing stocks

Announcing the Winner of the Closest to the Pin for NetGear...

Open /Closed

- Straits of Hormuz closed again, and again

- The brief opening allowed for a cruise ship to sneak through last week.

- Celestyal Discovery, a 1,360-guest vessel operated by Greece-based Celestyal Cruises, departed Port Rashid in Dubai, U.A.E., on April 17 at 11:36 a.m. local time, becoming the first cruise ship known to exit the strait since the crisis began earlier this year.

- No passengers aboard - aside from Captain and Crew.

- - That must have been a pretty scary passing....

OIL

- Oil hovering in the $80-$90 range for a while, now topping $100

- WTI and Brent flipped back to the normal relationship

- UAE leaving OPEC - (accounts for 12% of OPEC and 4% of global oil)

---- They need more flexibility and there seems to be a rift  with Saudi Arabia and others as they have not been protected

-- China! China to begin exporting jet fuel, diesel and gasoline - DOES THIS MEAN PRICED IN YUAN?

Economics

- Retail sales up more than expected.

- Some is due to the high cost of gas - but stripping out gas prices - still beat expectations

- How do we square this with the UMich at all-time lows?

Consumer Confidence

Retail Sales YoY

Chips

- MRVL Shares jumped more than 7% after a report by The Information said the company is in talks with Google to build two new AI chips.

- AVGO (Broadcom) dipped as they had a deal announced prior and this seems to have watered down some of the importance.

- Fast forward a few days and then we see a story about OpenAi missing user and revenue projections. Commentary about concern that if they do not meet their numbers, may not have enough money to fund all the build-outs they promised. (Lots of names dropping on this concern)

Tim Apple

- Apple announces that Tim Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors and John Ternus, senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, will become Apple's next chief executive officer effective on September 1, 2026.

- Ternus joined Apple's product design team in 2001 and became a vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2013. He joined the executive team in 2021 as senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. Throughout his tenure at Apple, Ternus has overseen hardware engineering work on a variety of groundbreaking products across every category. He was instrumental in the introduction of multiple new product lines, including iPad® and AirPods, as well as many generations of products across iPhone®, Mac®, and Apple Watch.

- Ternus's work on Mac has helped the category become more powerful and more popular globally than at any time in its 40-year history.

Prior to Apple, Ternus worked as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems. He holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Mo Money - Vendor Financing

- Anthropic to secure up to 5 gigawatts (GW) of current and future generations of Amazon's Trainium chips to train and power their advanced AI models.

- Anthropic's Claude Platform available on AWS, providing their full AI developer experience in one place.

- Amazon to invest $5 bln in Anthropic today and up to an additional $20 bln in the future.

Operation Vaccu Suck

- AST SpaceMobile — Shares fell 15% after a satellite launched  was placed into the wrong orbit.

- The company said in a release it expects the cost of the satellite to be recovered by an insurance policy, and it still plans to conduct orbital launches once every month to two months in 2026.

- DH Space Cleanup - this is going to be huge. Like the Spaceballs Mega Maid Scene - goes from suck to blow. Mega maid cleaning up space trash - Operation Vaccu Suck

Fed Chair Nominee

- Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh told Senate hearing that Fed must stay independent and "stay in its lane"

- Opening statement (Senate) : "I do not believe the operational independence of monetary policy is particularly threatened when elected officials—presidents, senators, or members of the House—state their views on interest rates. Central bankers must be strong enough to listen to a diversity of views from all corners.

- But the actual confirmation may still be stuck until the lawsuit against Powell is dropped (Which it seems is in process)

Drugs man...

- Compass Pathways — The biotechnology company surged nearly 25% after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that directs his administration to speed up reviews of psychedelic drugs.

- Compass is conducting studies of psychedelics to create drugs for treatment-resistant depression and PTSD.

HOW?

- A refund system for businesses that paid tariffs which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled President Donald Trump imposed without the constitutional authority to do so is scheduled to launch Monday.

- Importers and their brokers will be able to begin claiming refunds through an online portal beginning at 8 a.m., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency administering the system.

- It’s the first step in a complicated process that also might eventually lead to refunds for consumers who were billed for some or all of the tariffs on products shipped to them from outside the United States.

SUBS Emerging

- Sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s has confidentially filed for an IPO.

- - Blackstone bought a majority stake in the sandwich chain in 2024 in a deal that valued the company at roughly $8 billion.

- - - With more than 3,000 locations nationwide, Jersey Mike’s is the second-largest hoagie sandwich chain in the U.S.

-- Did some research - typical franchisee makes about $100-$200k per store.

----- Initial cost to get store going ~ $700k (3-7 year make-good on initial investment plus risks)

NEW Stock MOVER

- SPACS were HOT - now by all accounts one of the worst performance groups EVER

- AI Pivot

- - - Not sure this has legs like some of the ones in the past...

- Myseum shares more than doubled after the social media firm became the latest company to refocus efforts on artificial intelligence.

-----Shares of Myseum, which has been renamed Myseum.AI, will still trade under the MYSE ticker

- The New Jersey-based company announced Wednesday that it would change its name to Myseum.AI amid a concentration on integrating AI into its platforms like Picture Party and DatChat. Myseum will use AI agents to manage personal media in a way that adapts to users’ preferences while also maintaining privacy, the company said.

- Allbirds’ shares during the previous session after the struggling shoemaker announced a pivot to AI (Went from $3 to $24 and now $11)

Crypto News

- Charles Schwab is rolling out crypto trading, allowing clients to buy bitcoin and ether in the coming weeks.

- The move places the brokerage in direct competition with Robinhood and Coinbase, both of which tend to serve younger clients and offer commission-free trading on stocks (but still carry a fee on crypto).

- Schwab is the latest example of increasing crypto acceptance by traditional financial firms that previously were waiting on the sidelines to launch crypto offerings. (Only Ether and Bitcoin)

-- Stock was down on this news an some earnings hangover (8% from recent high)

- Robinhood and Coinbase had some selling on the news too....

OpenAi - Nastyness

- Sam Altman is seeking the dismissal of punitive damages claims in his sister's civil lawsuit accusing the OpenAI co-founder and chief executive of repeated sexual abuse more than two decades ago, an accusation he denies.

- Annie Altman accused her brother of sexually abusing and raping her between 1997 and 2006 at the family home in suburban Clayton, Missouri, starting when she was three and he was 12. She said the "last acts of sexual abuse and rape" occurred when Sam Altman was an adult. He is now 40.

- Sam Altman is countersuing his sister for defamation over her posts, including a video that said "an almost tech billionaire" molested her. (He is seeking $1)

Other Strange

- FBI Director Kash Patel filed a defamation lawsuit against the Atlantic and its reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick following the publication of an article on Friday alleging the director had a drinking problem that could pose a threat to national security.

- The magazine's story, initially titled “Kash Patel's Erratic Behavior Could Cost Him His Job," cited more than two dozen anonymous sources expressing concern about Patel’s “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences” that “alarmed officials at the FBI and the Department of Justice.”

- The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks $250 million in damages.

Netflix News

- Netflix beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter revenue and reported a big jump in earnings per share thanks in part to a termination fee related to its proposed Warner Bros. Discovery deal.

- The company said it expects second-quarter revenue to increase 13% and reiterated its earlier warning that content spending would be weighted in the first half of the year due to the timing of title launches.

- The company announced Reed Hastings, Netflix’s co-founder and current chairman, would exit the board in June when his term expires.

- Netflix reiterated that it’s on track to reach $3 billion in advertising revenue in 2026, which would mark a doubling year over year, as that newer revenue line shows growth.

----Shares fell 9% after the announcement

QVC

- QVC Group Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection in an effort to shed $5 billion in debt, as the company struggles with declining network viewership and stiff competition for its e-commerce operation.

- QVC's business model, which relies on live sales sessions and call-in ordering, gave customers a sense of a personal relationship with their favorite peddlers, but the company's best year ever was in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, and its revenue has dropped by more than a third since then.

- The rise of short-form video platforms like TikTok, which has seen success with live shopping and has brought in more than $15 billion in US revenue in 2025, poses a significant challenge to QVC as it tries to restructure its debt and evolve its business model.

- There will still be QVC for a while - really just a debt restructure - but eventually they are toast

Spirit - 9 Lives?

- Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc. has floated offering the US government an equity stake in the discount carrier to help stave off its potential liquidation, according to people familiar with the matter.

- The Air Current first reported that Spirit is seeking a bailout from the US government.

- Any proposed bailout is likely to get pushback from competitors that are also struggling with a spike in jet fuel prices during the conflict in the Middle East, some of the people said. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy plans to meet with low-cost airline chief executives this week to discuss their challenges, the people said.

Just IN

- Jetblue CEO told employees it isn’t considering filing for bankruptcy protection this year.

- Geraghty’s comments come amid higher fuel costs and speculation sparked by the New York-based carrier’s founder that the airline could go bust.

- The airline has sufficient liquidity and access to additional capital, Geraghty said in an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg. That includes a recently secured $500 million loan backed by aircraft, with an option to raise another $250 million.

Robot 1/2 Marathon

- A humanoid robot completed a half-marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, about seven minutes faster than the men’s world record.

- The second annual robot half marathon showed rapid advances in artificial intelligence, with 40% of the robots running autonomously and demonstrating improvement in handling generalized environments.

- The race, which featured over 100 teams and 300 robots, showcased China’s industrial policy priorities, including progress in artificial intelligence and robotics to mitigate the economic risks of an aging population.

- About 40% of the robots this year rant autonomously

Crazy Short Squeeze

AVIS
Earnings on the way...

Microsoft

EPS: ~$4.00–$4.05 (+15–17% YoY)

Revenue: ~$81–82 billion (+15–16% YoY)

Focus: Azure growth, AI monetization, and whether heavy AI spending is translating into margins.

Alphabet (Google)

EPS: ~$2.60–$2.70 (~5% YoY decline, due to higher depreciation)

Revenue: ~$106–107 billion (+18–20% YoY)

Focus: Strong Cloud growth and proof that AI investment is turning into sustainable revenue.

Meta Platforms

EPS: ~$6.60–$6.70 (+20%+ YoY)

Revenue: ~$55–56 billion (+18–22% YoY)

Focus: AI?driven advertising performance, core margins, and cost discipline outside Reality Labs.

Amazon

EPS: ~$1.60–$1.65 (+10–12% YoY)

Revenue: ~$177–180 billion (+13–14% YoY)

Focus: AWS growth, advertising margins, and clarity around large AI capital spending plans.

Apple

EPS: ~$1.90–$2.00 (+15–16% YoY)

Revenue: ~$90–95 billion (mid?teens YoY growth)

Focus: Services growth, iPhone demand stability, and capital return priorities.

 

 

 

Love the Show? Then how about a Donation?

THE WINNER OF THE CLOSEST TO THE PIN

for NETGEAR

Winners will be getting great stuff like the new "OFFICIAL" DHUnplugged Shirt!

 

 

FED AND CRYPTO LIMERICKS

 

See this week’s stock picks HERE

Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter

Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter

All-time highs – SP500 up 8% MTD – NAS100 even more

Balanced risk – up or down from here is evenly matched

JCD could not make it tonight – back for some more tests….

PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts!

Click HERE for Show Notes and Links

DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar.

Love the Show? Then how about a Donation?

Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter

Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter