The explosive growth of AI and data centers is driving the demand for electricity higher. Data centers consume huge amount of power – in some cases, the equivalent of a small town’s power consumption. The following infographic lays out the important facts on this topic:
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Source: AI vs. The Power Grid, U.S. Global Investors
I came across a “1936 Pages of Time – A Nostalgia New Report” a while ago. Its fascinating to go through this report and learn some interesting things that happened in 1936. Following are some facts from that year:
Average Income – $1,713.00
New Car – $780.00
New House – $3,925.00
Loaf of Brad – $0.08
Gallon of Gas – $0.10
Gallon of Milk – $0.48
Gold per ounce – $20.67
Silver per ounce – $0.38
Dow Jones Industrial Average – 162
On Friday the Dow Jones closed at 52,485.
The Top 20 Countries that received the most Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2025 are shown in the 2026 World Investment Report published by UNCTAD. Developing countries accounted for nearly half of the countries in the list. The US remained the top country for FDI with investments of $277.0 billion followed by Singapore and Hong Kong, China.
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Source: 2026 World Investment Report, UNCTAD
FDI in China declined in 2025 slightly. Brazil’s FDI was up due to increased flows into natural resources and renewable resources sector. Services and manufacturing continue to drive higher flows into India and Mexico. It is interesting that despite thousands of sanctions, Russia received $25.0 in FDI.
One point to note is that FDI remains concentrated among a few countries. The top 20 countries 80 percent of FDI in 2025. So rest of the countries in the world lose out on economic growth.
Margin debt can be an indicator of excessive optimism or pessimism by equity investors. Historically during bull markets investors tend to borrow more pushing margin to very high levels. While using margin safely can be beneficial to some investors it is not for everyone. When equities are surging everyday margin can amplify gains but when the market declines it will lead to margin calls – which in turn, can cause forced selling if the margin calls are not met.
According to a recent news report, margin debt has increased by over 40% over the past 12 months. In the past when margin levels reached such high levels, market crashes occurred. The dot-com crash and the Global Financial Crisis are two examples. Currently margin interest rate is not cheap. At Fidelity, it goes from 11.825% to 10.075% based on loan balances. As stocks continue to rise, investors using margin are betting that the return on stocks will be higher than these rates they are willing to pay.
The below chart shows the total margin debt over the past 12 months from May 1999 through Mary 2026:
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Source: Barchart, CNBC via Thinking Out Load, SYZ Group
The barcode is one of the greatest inventions in the world. Barcodes are ubiquitous nowadays and they have made life a lot easier for businesses and consumers. Below is a brief history of the humble barcode:
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Source: Infographic Plaza