"Money Supply Rose for the Ninth Month in April as the Fed Again Leans Dovish"

Money, it's what markets feed upon.  And the fact we are in a bull market lends credence to the headline.

We stopped posting on money supply  and money supply growth because a change in the methodology made comparisons iffy. Here's a post from July 2021 with that note:

Russell Napier: «We Are Entering a Time of Financial Repression»

One caveat: the use of M2 as an indicator of the growth in liquidity is suspect as there were some technical changes to the number that exaggerate the increase. You can get the same general picture by looking at the Fed's balance sheet....

However once we got past the discontinuity, year-over-year comparisons are again apples to apples. 

Regarding the financial repression the good Professor was early but we are definitely going to enjoy those fruits of the Fed's orchard. 

From the Mises Institute's Mises Wire, June 23:

Money-supply growth rose year over year in April, marking the ninth month of growth in a row. As of April, the money supply appears to be continuing into a period of solid monetary growth coming out of a period of historically large swings in monetary trends from early 2020 to mid-2024. Although some critics of Jerome Powell and the Fed have claimed that the Fed is implementing excessively tight monetary policy, the money supply has grown by more than $600 billion since mid-2023. 

In April, year-over-year growth in the money supply was at 2.2 percent. That’s up from March’s year-over-year increase of 1.4 percent. April’s increase is also a big change from April 2024 when the year-over-year growth rate was negative 0.4 percent. 

 

Following the big swings experienced during 2023 and 2024, money supply growth over the past nine months has settled into an upward trend with monthly growth, on average, of 1.8 percent. During that time, the total increase in the money supply has been 1.0 percent. Looking at month-to-month changes in the money supply, we also find a moderate upward trend. The money supply grew 0.6 percent from March to April. Over the past year, the money supply has increased, month over month during eight of the twelve months:

 

The money supply metric used here—the “true,” or Rothbard-Salerno, money supply measure (TMS)—is the metric developed by Murray Rothbard and Joseph Salerno, and is designed to provide a better measure of money supply fluctuations than M2. (The Mises Institute now offers regular updates on this metric and its growth.)

In recent months, M2 growth rates have followed a similar course to TMS growth rates, although M2 is growing faster than TMS. In fact, M2 is now at the highest level it’s ever been, including the inflationary surge of the covid panic. In April, the year-over-year M2 growth rate was 4.5 percent. That’s up from March’s growth rate of 3.9 percent. April’s growth rate was also up from April 2024’s rate of 1.0 percent. Month over month, M2 increased by 0.5 percent from March to April. 

Although year-over-year and month-to-month growth rates may generally moderate, money-supply totals remain far above what they were before 2020 and the covid panic. From 2020 to 2022, the Federal Reserve’s easy-money policies resulted in approximately 6.4 trillion dollars being added to the economy. This was done to help to finance the federal government’s enormous deficits driven by runaway covid stimulus programs....

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Capital Markets: "Fragile Cease-Fire Lifts Animal Spirits and Reverses the Greenback's Gains"

From Marc to Market:

Overview: It is not clear when the choreography began. US dramatic display, including dropping a dozen bunker-buster bombs on well telegraphed nuclear enrichment sites in Iran, and reports lend credibility to speculation that the enriched uranium had previously been removed. Or was it with Iran's strike on a US bases in Qatar that was well signaled. In any event, a tentative cease fire is at hand. Israel declared its campaign was a success. However, it is unlikely to be seen as a 12-day war, given Israel's decimation of Iran's proxies previously (Hamas and Hezbollah). In any event, the prospect that WWIII, which many feared, has eased and risk-appetites have been emboldened. The greenback has suffered broadly. It has been sold against the G10 currencies and most emerging market currencies today. The sell-off has brought it within spitting distance of the lows seen earlier this month. Gold is off over 1% and around $3320 is at its lowest level in two weeks. August WTI, which reached $78.40 yesterday, extended the pullback to about $64.40 today. It is near $66.20 now. 

Equities have rallied. Most of the large bourses in the Asia Pacific region were up at least 1%, while Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea indices rose more than 2%. Europe's Stoxx 600 is up 1.3%, which if sustained would be the largest gain since early last month. US index futures are 0.8%-1.2% better. Benchmark 10-year yields are 3-6 bp higher in Europe, with German Bund yields rising most as defense-spending supply weighs on sentiment. The 10-year US Treasury is little changed near 4.35%. Chair Powell's semiannual congressional testimony is the key event on the North American diary today, while the market will be monitoring the fragile cease-fire in the Middle East....

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The choreography began after Trump ordered the assassination of Iran's architect of the Iraqi, Hezbollah, Hamas and other proxy fights, General Soleimani, on January 3, 2020.

It was still January 2 in the U.S. as we posted "Oil: Dammit, I Wasn't Ready!" 

Mr. Chandler's January 3 post was headlined: Capital Markets: "Geopolitics Saps Risk Appetite"

The next day Iran ran the red flag of vengeance up the flagpole at the Jamkaran mosque in Qom.

Iran responded with missiles fired at U.S. bases in Iraq, having warned the Iraqis what they were going to do. The explosions resulted in concussion (brain) injuries among the hunkered-down American troops but no deaths. 

We announced We Are Temporarily Adding MEMRI and Fars to the Blogroll 

Having lost any chance of getting ahead of the quick spike in oil we started posting stuff like "British Judge Rules 'Ethical Veganism' is a Philosophical Belief and is Protected Under Anti-discrimination Laws:" 

On January 5th it was "And Now, Back To The Game":

Possibly the only thing on the internet that deserves autoplay with the volume turned up.
Via Imgur:

Followed by: Meanwhile in Mexico: Prison Soccer Match Between Rival Cartels Ends With 16 Dead 

And later that month: "Dogs poop in alignment with Earth’s magnetic field, study finds" 

So same ol', same ol', pretty much what was old is new again. 

Dear Europe: "China’s BYD expands car-carrier fleet to bolster EV exports amid furious domestic competition"

BYD doesn't sell in the U.S. and there aren't very many markets that can absorb the overproduction.

And the government does not want the price war for the domestic market to get any more cut throat:

May 28 - "Chinese EV Stocks Tumble After BYD Slashes Prices Up to 35%"

Nay 29 - Whoa!—Chinese Electric Vehicles: "The Evergrande of the automotive industry already exists; it just hasn't collapsed yet."

June 3 - Chinese Government Warns Against Electric Vehicle Price War

From the South China Morning Post, June 24: 

Carmaker’s six vessels can carry 45,600 cars, and two more ships will add 16,200 to that total soon, company says

 

BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) maker, has taken delivery of two new car-carrying ships – the largest yet in a growing fleet – as it bets on export growth to counter brutal competition at home.

The Shenzhen-based company took delivery of its sixth carrier, the BYD Changsha, which can transport 9,200 vehicles, on Tuesday, just three days after it received the Xi’an, another vessel with the same capacity.

The company’s six roll on/roll off vessels had a combined capacity of 45,600 vehicles, and another two ships with a combined capacity of 16,200 cars were due for delivery in coming months, BYD said.

The Xi’an was put to work immediately; laden with 7,000 EVs, it set sail on Tuesday from Taicang, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, bound for European countries including Italy, the UK, Spain and Belgium, BYD said.

“The ships reflect BYD’s resolve to achieve higher sales in markets outside mainland China, since it can enjoy a higher profit margin abroad,” said Chen Jinzhu, CEO of consultancy Shanghai Mingliang Auto Service. “With car carriers owned and operated by the company, it can quicken its export pace and save ocean transport costs.”

BYD exported 374,200 vehicles in the first five months of 2025, up 112 per cent from a year earlier. Exports accounted for 21.5 per cent of its total deliveries, compared with just 10 per cent in 2024.

As its EVs are subject to a 27 per cent tariff in the European Union, BYD’s most affordable model, the Dolphin Surf, starts at €22,990 (US$26,679) on the continent. In mainland China, the same model, known as the Seagull, starts at 69,800 yuan (US$9,726), or about 63 per cent less....

....MUCH MORE 

The ship in the photo, the Xi'an was launched in April and was empty when the picture was taken.

 (the reason it is riding so high in the water)

When the sixth ship in the fleet, the BYD Changsha, was launched in June, the party's mouthpiece, China Daily, mentioned the Xi'an was on its way  to Europe with 7000 vehicles, below the 9200 vehicle nominal capacity of the two new ships but still a lot of cars. 

 

Our most recent mention of the big boats was in June 4's With The Morning Midas Still Burning; "A Look Back at Recent Car Carrier Fires"

These things are basically parking garages that move.... 

"Asia-Pacific markets rise after Trump says Israel and Iran agree to ceasefire"

From CNBC, June 23/24:

This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets. 

Asia-Pacific markets rose Tuesday after United States President Donald Trump announced that Iran and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire.

“It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE ... for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

However, neither Iran nor Israel has publicly confirmed they have accepted Trump’s ceasefire timeline.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 climbed 1.59%, while the broader Topix index rose 1.32%. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.09% and the small-cap Kosdaq index rose 1.71%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.69% higher....

....MUCH MORE 

Also at CNBC:

Trump announces Israel-Iran ceasefire timeline he says will end the war: Live updates 

Details Of President Trump's Ceasefire Announcement

Following on the AP's report: "Live updates: Trump says Israel and Iran agree to ‘complete and total ceasefire’"

From CBS News, June 23:

Trump announces Israel and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire 

President Trump announced Monday that Israel and Iran have agreed on a "Complete and Total" ceasefire, a move he said would end a more than weeklong conflict between the two countries. 

The ceasefire will start in about six hours, and after 12 hours, the "War will be considered, ENDED," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, indicating that the ceasefire would begin at midnight ET.

"Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World," the president said.

There has been no official word yet from Israel or Iran on a ceasefire.

The conflict between Israel and Iran began June 13 with Israel launching airstrikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets. The strikes — which killed several top Iranian military officials — prompted Iranian counterattacks on Israel....

....MORE 

UPDATED—"Live updates: Trump says Israel and Iran agree to ‘complete and total ceasefire’"

From the Associated Press, June 23:

U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media Monday that Israel and Iran have agreed to a “complete and total ceasefire” to be phased in over 24 hours. The Israeli military declined to comment on Trump’s statement. There was no immediate comment from Iran.

The U.S. president said on Truth Social that the ceasefire would bring an “Official END” to war, a major change in the hostilities that follows a U.S. strike over the weekend on three Iranian nuclear sites....

....MORE 

Update: "Details Of President Trump's Ceasefire Announcement" 

"Tesla launches 'foundational' robotaxi service in Austin on limited scale" (TSLA)

From Yahoo Finance, June 23:

Tesla’s (TSLA) robotaxi test kicked off smoothly on Sunday, with investors and Tesla enthusiasts breathing a sigh of relief — at least for now.

“The @Tesla_AI robotaxi launch begins in Austin [Sunday] afternoon with customers paying a $4.20 flat fee!” CEO Elon Musk posted on X, confirming the start of the test in Austin, Texas....

....MUCH MORE 

Enough with the "420" dude. At least until the stock gets back to $420. 

Of course, with all the splits* the stock has been to 420 a few times with the all-time high being $488.54 in December.

Last $338.01 up $15.85 (+4.92%)
*As noted in the introduction to April 2024's "Tesla Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript (TSLA)":

In pre-market action the stock is up $17.47 (+12.07%) at $162.15.

Below are the words that are adding billions ($50+) to the company's valuation. 

Personally I think Musk is going to pull it off, but that's just me—perhaps informed by posting on the company and its stock since before the June 2010 share flotation (which, adjusted for the 5:1 and 3:1 stock splits gives a $1.133 IPO price)—however, there are plenty of other opinions to choose from if one doesn't care for that one.

With that, here are the thoughts of the cultural observer Sting in his seminal work "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" as the conclusion of this intro...

Approaching Record Date For York Water's 618th Consecutive Dividend

From York Water

York, Pennsylvania, May 6, 2025: The York Water Company’s (NASDAQ: YORW) President and CEO, JT Hand, announced today that the Board of Directors at their May 5^th meeting declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2192 per share. The dividend is payable July 15, 2025, to shareholders as of record date June 30, 2025.

This is the 618^th consecutive dividend to be paid by The York Water Company. York Water, which is the oldest publicly traded company in the nation, has never missed a dividend in over 209 years. This is believed to be the longest record of consecutive dividends in America. 

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties....

....MORE

Based on the most recent run of our AI-assisted Dividend Discount Model the best time to buy the stock is was 208 years ago. Via HBS:

 

“Biggest Wind Turbine Ever”: China Smashes All Records With This Colossal Machine—But a Hidden Flaw Threatens the Whole Project

From Sustainability Times, June 14:

In a stunning display of technological prowess, China has completed the construction of the world's largest wind turbine, a 607-foot titan capable of producing 26 megawatts of power, further solidifying its position as a global leader in renewable energy. 

🌍 China has built the world’s largest wind turbine, standing at 607 feet and producing 26 megawatts of power. 💨 This technological marvel is part of the Fujian Fuzhou offshore wind farm and can power 55,000 households annually. ⚡ Despite leading in renewable energy, China continues to rely heavily on coal, constructing significant new coal-fired power plants. 🔋 The country’s dual focus on renewables and coal highlights the tension between economic growth and environmental sustainability.

China’s ambitious strides in renewable energy continue to capture global attention, with the latest groundbreaking achievement being the construction of the world’s largest wind turbine. Completed in 2024 by the China Dongfang Electric Corporation, this colossal turbine boasts a capacity of 26 megawatts and stands at an astounding height of 607 feet. This technological marvel showcases China’s industrial prowess and raises important questions about the country’s overall energy strategy. As China pushes the boundaries of renewable energy technology, it simultaneously grapples with the complexities of its energy landscape....

....MUCH MORE

Will Netanyahu Resist Becoming Embroiled In American War For Greenland?

Yesterday saw a massive escalation:

"Hegseth says the Pentagon has contingency plans to invade Greenland if necessary"  

"Macron Offers Aid For Greenland Security Amid Trump Threats"

Norway Could Be Drawn Into A French - American War For Greenland

And here, a flashback on Saudi Arabia's thoughts: 

'Take the Israelis to Alaska’, Saudi official mocks Netanyahu and Trump
A Saudi official mocked Trump, suggesting he relocate Israelis to Alaska and then Greenland if he truly seeks Middle East peace 

A member of the powerful Saudi Shura Council, Yousef bin Trad al-Saadoun, ridiculed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s suggestion of establishing a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia, instead proposing that US President Donald Trump should relocate Israelis to Alaska and later to Greenland “after annexing it”.... 

—Middle East Eye, February 8 

Iran Issues Strongly Worded Statement, Vows Legal Action Against U.S.

From Iran's PressTV, June 22: 

Iran's atomic body condemns American assault on nuclear sites, vows legal action  

In a strongly worded statement early Saturday morning, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) condemned the aggression on the country’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, which have been claimed by the United States.

The agency said the three nuclear sites operate under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the “brutal assault” on them violates international law.

The AEOI said the aggression was carried out “under the indifference--or rather the complicity--of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).”

“The international community is expected to condemn this lawlessness based on jungle rules and to stand with Iran in asserting its legitimate rights,” read the statement, adding that the organization assures the great Iranian nation that despite enemy’s sinister conspiracies, it will not allow the progress of this national industry to be halted.

“The organization has placed on its agenda all necessary actions to defend the rights of the noble Iranian people, including legal follow-up measures.”....

....MUCH MORE 

Meanwhile, In Londinium....

From the Art Newspaper, June 20:

Painted Roman plaster discovered in London may reveal name of interior decorator who lived almost 2,000 years ago 

The name of the decorator may yet emerge from a huge jigsaw of fragments of found in Southwark, just south of the Thames

The name of an interior decorator who died almost 2,000 years ago may yet emerge from a huge jigsaw of fragments of painted Roman plaster discovered in Southwark, just south of the Thames in London. One of the pieces, part of one of the largest hauls of painted plaster ever found in the capital, bears the word “fecit”—“made by”—and the archaeologists still hope to find the other half with the name of the artist. The link to an individual artist is a unique find in Britain.

The same location, the Liberty site in the shadow of the Shard tower, which is being developed by Landsec and excavated by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA), has already yielded spectacular finds. A magnificent mosaic and a mausoleum were among earlier discoveries, but the 120 boxes of broken plaster took a while to reveal their secrets.

The evidence suggests that the site was home to a luxury dwelling built very early in the Roman period, between AD43 - 150, which was decorated by teams of painters. These painters would appear to have been aware of continental fashions, including the rare use of a beautiful sunflower yellow only seen on a handful of other British sites, and applied above a dado painted to resemble costly Egyptian purple porphyry stone.

However, despite this likely costly and time consuming work, by AD 200 the building had been demolished, and the thousands of scraps of plaster dumped in a pit.

Han Li, MOLA’s senior building material specialist, who has led the epic task of piecing together the giant puzzle, described it as a once in a lifetime moment. “I felt a mix of excitement and nervousness when I started to lay the plaster out,” he says. “Many of the fragments were very delicate and pieces from different walls had been jumbled together when the building was demolished, so it was like assembling the world’s most difficult jigsaw puzzle.“....

....MUCH MORE

In other re-decorating news (CityAM, June 23): 

PPHE unveils £90m plan to turn lap dancing club into luxury London hotel  

"Iran’s underground facility at Fordo again attacked, Iranian state TV says"

Part of a larger series of updates. 

From the Associated Press, June 23:

Iran’s underground enrichment site at Fordo was again attacked Monday, Iranian state television reported.

The report, also carried by other Iranian media, offered no word on damage, nor who launched the assault.

However, Israel has been conducting airstrikes throughout the day in Iran.

The United States launched a major attack Sunday on three Iranian nuclear sites, including Fordo, which required the use of sophisticated bunker-buster bombs.

2:56 AM PDT

Israel says it is striking targets including Evin Prison

2:40 AM PDT

Russia says it’s ready to help Iran

2:28 AM PDT

Gate of notorious Iranian prison hit, Iranian state TV reports

2:21 AM PDT

Iran’s underground facility at Fordo again attacked, Iranian state TV says

Capital Markets: "After Initial Reaction, Gold and Oil have Given Back Earlier Gains, and the Greenback Extends the Pre-Weekend Gains"

From Marc Chandler at Bannockburn Global Forex:

Overview: The US struck Iran amid subterfuge and misdirection and while damage was inflicted, it is not clear the extent to which is nuclear capability was destroyed. Now, the world waits for Tehran's retaliation. Still, gold is slightly softer and August WTI is slightly firmer. Having given up its earlier gains (to ~$78.40) it is near $74. The dollar's upside correction seen last week has extended today. The greenback is broadly higher against the G10 currencies today, led by the antipodean currencies and the yen, which are off more than 1%. The Swiss franc is faring the best (~-0.10), followed by the Canadian dollar (~-0.45%). The greenback is also firmer against nearly all the emerging market currencies. Six Fed officials speak today and another five tomorrow, including Chair Powell's semiannual testimony before Congress. 

Equities are mixed. In Asia Pacific nearly all the bourses fell, but Hong Kong and China. The MSCI regional index fell (~0.3%) last week, its first decline in three weeks. Europe's Stoxx 600 is off fractionally. It fell for the second consecutive week last week. US index futures are firmer. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ have a two-week decline in tow. Benchmark 10-year yields are mostly firmer today. In Japan and Europe, the 10-year rates are mostly around 1 bp higher, though Gilts are flat. The 10-year US yield is slightly firmer, near 4.38%....

....MUCH MORE  

"Volkswagen's Autonomous ID Buzz Robotaxi Is Actually Real, And Cities And Companies Can Buy Them Soon"

 From Jalopnik, June 21:

After several years of testing, the Volkswagen Group via its software subsidiary MOIA has announced that the ID Buzz AD, the autonomous driving version of its all-electric update to the classic VW Bus, is going into full production. The AD version sports a longer wheelbase and a higher roofline than its mere human-driven sibling, which helps it to fit in the 13 cameras, nine LiDARs, and five radars that will (hopefully) allow the car to drive without crashing into anybody. These are intended for large-fleet customers providing taxi services, either ones run by local governments or private companies.

MOIA has already lined up its first customer, the German city of Hamburg, which will provide the automated Buzz as a public transit option alongside traditional bus and subway services. If all goes well, after Hamburg MOIA "will bring sustainable, autonomous mobility to large-scale deployment in Europe and the U.S.," according to VW Group CEO Oliver Blume. Down the road, VW has also signed an agreement for rideshare juggernaut Uber to use the ID Buzz AD across America, starting with Los Angeles in 2026.

The ID Buzz AD is the first vehicle in Germany to reach SAE International's threshold for Level 4 autonomous driving, meaning that the car can drive itself, with no need for a driver behind the wheel, within designated areas. This is the same level of autonomy as Google sister company Waymo provides for its Jaguar I-Pace fleet across the United States. Germany requires vehicles at this level to meet additional safety standards, such as with redundant braking and batteries, so presumably that extended wheelbase is helping fit some of that in.

....MUCH MORE

Former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev: "A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads."

Medvedev is currently serving as Deputy Chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

His tweets

2. The enrichment of nuclear material — and, now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons — will continue.
3. A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads.

— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) June 22, 2025

And via Threadreader (10-tweet thread) 

This is something we were thinking about after the initial bombing of the Natanz facility:

Monday, June 16, 2025
Iran Offers Flexibility In Nuclear Negotiations In Return For Immediate Cease-Fire

With the destruction of some, but far from all, of Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities and bomb-making ability, the concern is no longer with Iran's own capabilities but with the risk that a current member of the nuke club would supply Iran with a functioning weapon. The two likeliest purveyors are North Korea and Pakistan and you can bet every effort is being made to detect and halt such a transfer....  

People With Severe Type 1 Diabetes Apparently Cured

From the Hartford Courant, June 21:

People with severe diabetes are cured in small trial of new drug
About 2 million Americans have Type 1 diabetes 

A single infusion of a stem cell-based treatment may have cured 10 out of 12 people with the most severe form of Type 1 diabetes. One year later, these 10 patients no longer need insulin. The other two patients need much lower doses.

The experimental treatment, called zimislecel and made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Boston, involves stem cells that scientists prodded to turn into pancreatic islet cells, which regulate blood glucose levels. The new islet cells were infused and reached the pancreas, where they took up residence.

The study was presented Friday evening at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association and published online by The New England Journal of Medicine.

“It’s trailblazing work,” said Dr. Mark Anderson, professor and director of the diabetes center at the University of California, San Francisco....

....MUCH MORE 

Ask the Ayatollah: "Why Should & How Can Israel Be Eliminated?"

Via the Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI):

On July 26, 2014, on his Facebook page (Facebook.com/www.Khamenei.ir), Khamenei called for the elimination of Israel, in a post titled "Why Should & How Can Israel Be Eliminated? Ayatollah Khamenei's Answer To 9 Key Questions About The Elimination Of #Israel." Below is the message on Khamenei's Facebook page and an enlarged image of the message.  

Ayatollah Khamenei's Answer To 9 Key Questions About The Elimination Of #Israel." 

 

Also available on Twitter: 

Why should & how can #Israel be eliminated? Ayatollah Khamenei's answer to 9 key questions.#HandsOffAlAqsa pic.twitter.com/IVPOuNfMQH

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) November 9, 2014

If interested see also MEMRI's 40-year retrospective, September 25, 2018:

Israel's Eradication – An Ideological And Practical Goal Of Iran's Islamic Revolution Regime 

Actually not quite forty years. The Islamic Republic was established on February 11, 1979. 

"The AIpocalypse is here for web sites as search referrals plunge"

From The Register, June 22:

Turn out the lights, the internet is over 

Google AI Overviews and other AI search services appear to be starving the hand that fed them.

Google's AI-generated summaries of web pages, officially released in May 2024, show up atop its search results pages so search users don't have to click through to the source website.

A year later, enterprise AI analytics biz BrightEdge reported that Google AI Overviews had generated more search impressions (up 49 percent), but click-throughs to the actual web sites dropped 30 percent

That means AI Overviews is leading more people to use Google Search to find answers to their queries. But those people are less likely to follow search results links that lead to the source website. Good for Google. Terrible for the ecosystem of web sites that had learned to depend on search referrals for buyers, readers, and viewers.

Kevin Indig, who writes about search engine optimization (SEO), marked the one-year anniversary of AI Overviews with a usability study. Based on data from the 70 individuals surveyed, he observed that when AI Overviews are absent, "outbound click rates rise to an average of 28 percent on desktop and 38 percent on mobile."

Ahrefs, an SEO site, in April said AI Overviews reduced clicks by about 35 percent.

Citing data provided by SimilarWeb (which SimilarWeb shared with El Reg, Barron's last week reported that search referrals to top US travel and tourism have fallen 20 percent year on year, while news and media sites saw search-driven traffic drop by 17 percent during that period.

Other categories of website also showed declining search referral traffic: e-commerce (-9 percent); finance (-7 percent); food/drink (- 7 percent); and lifestyle/fashion (-5 percent)....

....MUCH MORE 

To paraphrase the quote attributed to Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, British Foreign Secretary:

The sites are going out all over the internet, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime. 

Via the British National Archives:

....On 3 August 1914 Sir Edward Grey made his famous quote: ‘The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime’. He was speaking to his friend, the journalist John Alfred Spender, editor of the Westminster Gazette, in Grey’s room in the Foreign Office. Looking out from his window, across St. James’ Park, it was dusk and the first of the gas lights along the Mall were being lit. The next day Grey would have to face the Cabinet and to persuade them that the time had now come to declare war on Germany....

"Iran orders closure of Strait of Hormuz — putting one-fifth of world’s oil supply at risk"

From the New York Post, June 22:

Iran’s parliament has voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping channel through which around 20% of the world’s daily oil flows.

The move, which could block $1 billion in oil shipments per day, is likely to send oil prices soaring.

It will come into effect pending a final decision by Iran’s Supreme Council.

The Supreme Council’s decision must be made by tonight, according to Iran’s state-run Press TV.

Iran’s major escalation in response to US strikes on its nuclear facilities “will be done whenever necessary,” Email Kosari, Commander in the Revolutionary Guards, said on Sunday.

The strait connecting the Gulf of Oman with the Persian Gulf is one of the world’s most critical chokepoints — just 20 miles wide at its narrowest point.

Shipping lanes in the strait  — the area that is deep enough for ships to pass — are even narrower at less than two miles wide in each direction, making them much more vulnerable to attacks and threats of closure....

....MUCH MORE 

Earlier:

"Hossein Shariatmadari, an adviser to Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, said Tehran should "'close the Strait of Hormuz to American, British, German and French shipping as soon as possible'"

Iran wouldn't even have to do it. Just the threat is worth ten bucks on the price of oil.

Then the advisor and the Ayatollah can just sit back and watch inflation do the dirty work.

At least until all the American carrier battle groups are in position.... 

"Khamenei picks possible successors amid war, son Mojtaba not among them - NYT"

Via Iran International, June 21:

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has named three senior clerics as possible successors in case he is killed in the war with Israel, The New York Times reported, citing three Iranian officials familiar with his emergency war plans.

The unprecedented step reflects the seriousness with which the 86-year-old leader views the current threat environment, as Israeli airstrikes continue to target Iranian military and nuclear assets.

Khamenei, who is now operating from a secure underground location and communicating through a trusted aide, has also named backups for key military positions in case more senior commanders are killed, the NYT cited the officials as saying.

“Ayatollah Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, also a cleric and close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, who was rumored to be a front-runner, is not among the candidates,” the report said.

The identity of the three clerics has not been disclosed, but the move is seen as an effort to ensure a swift and orderly succession via the Assembly of Experts if the supreme leader is assassinated or dies unexpectedly....

....MUCH MORE 

"Hossein Shariatmadari, an adviser to Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, said Tehran should "'close the Strait of Hormuz to American, British, German and French shipping as soon as possible'"

Iran wouldn't even have to do it. Just the threat is worth ten bucks on the price of oil.

Then the advisor and the Ayatollah can just sit back and watch inflation do the dirty work.

At least until all the American carrier battle groups are in position. 

From Russia's Pravda, June 22: 

Pay attention. Hossein Shariatmadari, an adviser to Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, said Tehran should "close the Strait of Hormuz to American, British, German and French shipping as soon as possible."

That is, the option of selective closure of the strait, rather than complete closure, is being considered. Apparently, the Iranian military will check the ownership of the vessels and deploy vessels from the countries on the "blacklist".

At the same time, Iran has been under sanctions for a long time. The main cross—strait exporters are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, while the largest importers are China, India, Japan and South Korea. EU countries use the strait to a minimum — Greece, Spain, and a little Italy. There are no U.S.-flagged vessels there at all....

....MORE

Norway Could Be Drawn Into A French - American War For Greenland

 Man-o-man, talk about your widening gyre.*

The story so far:

"Hegseth says the Pentagon has contingency plans to invade Greenland if necessary"  

"Macron Offers Aid For Greenland Security Amid Trump Threats"

And now, from High North New, June 20:

The Norwegian King's Svalbard Visit Was Important for Completely Different Reasons Than Sovereignty 

Is there a reason for that?

Well, it demonstrates that Svalbard is Norwegian land, of course. But it is not a necessary demonstration. There is no international dispute regarding Norwegian sovereignty in this Arctic paradise.

Gas on fire
Not even from the Russian side, except for a few remarks from extremists using any opportunity to throw gasoline on the fire.

There is no disagreement that the security situation in the Arctic and the High North is tense, to put it mildly. But there's no need to make it worse than it is.

No need to make it worse than it is.

The backdrop for kilometers-worth of news analyses and radio and TV features about the King's visit to Svalbard is Trump's attack on Greenland.

But that is an entirely different story from that of a Norwegian king on a trip along his own country's outer borders.

The stream of royals and heads of state to Greenland is a response to and a demonstration against American imperialism. This also applies when the French President, Emmanuel Macron, drops by Greenland – it is a display of European unity.

Like Greenland, Svalbard is of great strategic importance. But unlike Greenland, as part of the Kingdom of Denmark, Norwegian sovereignty in Svalbard is not under pressure.

There is reason to remember that.

Dropped by Svalbard
Because currently, Svalbard expertise can be found in every nook and cranny. Well, expertise is a strong word. All you have to do is spend a couple of days in Longyearbyen, or find Spitsbergen on Google Maps, to elevate the King's visit to a historically necessary assertion of sovereignty.

Two far more significant visits to Svalbard have gone almost entirely unnoticed. Both the Chief of Defense, Eirik Kristoffersen, and the Commander of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, Rune Andersen, recently visited Svalbard. Rune Andersen was there just a week ahead of the King. In uniform....

....MUCH MORE
*William Butler Yeats, The Second Coming, 1919:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre   
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere   
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst   
Are full of passionate intensity.....

—The Poetry Foundation 

Of course it's possible I misread the danger of what's actually going on. 

In the meantime, moving on from the circling falcons, we'll keep an eye on the Beaufort Gyre and its potential to plunge Europe into an ice age. 

"Macron Offers Aid For Greenland Security Amid Trump Threats"

From Bloomberg Law, June 15:

President Emmanuel Macron said France would be available to conduct joint exercises to improve security in Greenland, the Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump.

“Greenland is subject to preying ambitions,” Macron told reporters in Nuuk, Greenland, Sunday alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. “Everyone thinks — in France and in the EU — that Greenland shall neither be sold nor taken.”

The French President said a US annexation would be a “crazy” scenario and called for joint exercises in the Arctic region, including Baltic and Nordic states, with Canada and even with the US.

Earlier:

"Hegseth says the Pentagon has contingency plans to invade Greenland if necessary"

RAND: "Defending U.S. Military Bases Against Drones? A Recent Tabletop Exercise Explores How"

With the success of both the Ukrainian "Spiderweb" and the Israeli drone operations it is probably a good idea to keep an eye on the sky. And watch out for semi-trailer trucks and shipping containers.

In fact, don't go out at all for a few months. Which of course implies buying Amazon or other delivery company stock. 

From the RAND Corporation, June 2:

In 2016, during coalition operations against the Islamic State, defense leaders started characterizing drones, especially small-unmanned aircraft systems, as a threat to U.S. military personnel and installations. Since then, drones have proliferated and increasingly threaten military personnel and bases, both at home and abroad.

In March 2025, more than 100 participants from more than two dozen federal agencies participated in a tabletop exercise exploring aspects of counter-drone operations. This was the sixth event in a series of tabletop exercises exploring various aspects of counter-drone operations, capabilities, authorities, and threats. The most recent event was designed to explore a key research question in the homeland—how can the Joint Force and Interagency support Northern Command's synchronization of counter-drone operations to defend military bases in the homeland?

The Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO) partnered with RAND in designing hypothetical but realistic drone incursion scenarios that attempted to fulfill stakeholders' interests without priming them to think and respond in certain ways. The scenarios drew insights from recent drone incursions at U.S. military installations. Two different sites, Fort Bliss in Texas and Joint Base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, informed the tabletop exercise. This allowed the exercise team to vary conditions that, when considered in combination with one another, approximated the complexity of drone incursions at military bases. These included various drones flying at different bearings, altitudes, and ranges from military bases; multiple modes of transportation, from which participants could adjudicate the merits—and limits—of applying counterpositioning, navigation, and timing capabilities; and, a litany of federal, state, and local authorities, in addition to military units.

The JCO/RAND team explored the implications of these “treatments” in terms of three questions. First, what triggers Northern Command's synchronization of counter-drone operations at military bases? Second, how can the Joint Force and Interagency, synchronized by Northern Command, maximize data-sharing to enhance situational awareness of drone incursions at military bases? Third, what conditions encourage the use of counterpositioning, navigation, and timing capabilities, as well as other exquisite technologies, to mitigate the effects of drone incursions at military bases? Participants addressed these questions over multiple phases of the two scenarios, and their analyses were facilitated by experts from the JCO and RAND.

The scenarios followed an “action,” “reaction,” and “counteraction” phasing, wherein the drone incursion encouraged participants' response that further shaped crisis escalation. This approach provided for a dynamic, flexible, and responsive simulation. While the sample of participants was broadly cross-sectional, reflecting relevant stakeholders across the Joint Force and Interagency, it was not fully representative of the federal government, military services, and local law enforcement. Rather, it is what political scientists call a convenience sample.

Participants volunteered to attend the tabletop exercise, potentially introducing selection bias. Thus, we are unable to draw broad generalizations about the way officials understand the use of counter-drone operations in the homeland. Yet the sample of participants was comprised of informed and knowledgeable stakeholders from the community of interest. This implies that we are afforded rare insights into how decisionmakers think about mitigating drone incursions in the homeland. To further manage bias, the tabletop exercise used free play. Experts from JCO and RAND managed participants' discussions to inform their decisions about triggers, domain awareness, and escalation, and captured feedback using questionnaires, move sheets, and rapporteurs.

The tabletop exercise resulted in three key findings. Together, these outcomes could allow Northern Command to adopt a proactive approach to defend military bases against drone incursions....

....MUCH MORE 

Very related, April 17, 2025:

Islamic Terrorists Are Now Attacking With Drones In Nigeria

And November 2019: 

"Omniviolence Is Coming and the World Isn’t Ready"

From Nautil.us:

In The Future of Violence, Benjamin Wittes and Gabriella Blum discuss a disturbing hypothetical scenario. A lone actor in Nigeria, “home to a great deal of spamming and online fraud activity,” tricks women and teenage girls into downloading malware that enables him to monitor and record their activity, for the purposes of blackmail. The real story involved a California man who the FBI eventually caught and sent to prison for six years, but if he had been elsewhere in the world he might have gotten away with it. Many countries, as Wittes and Blum note, “have neither the will nor the means to monitor cybercrime, prosecute offenders, or extradite suspects to the United States.” 

Technology is, in other words, enabling criminals to target anyone anywhere and, due to democratization, increasingly at scale. Emerging bio-, nano-, and cyber-technologies are becoming more and more accessible. The political scientist Daniel Deudney has a word for what can result: “omniviolence.” The ratio of killers to killed, or “K/K ratio,” is falling. For example, computer scientist Stuart Russell has vividly described how a small group of malicious agents might engage in omniviolence: “A very, very small quadcopter, one inch in diameter can carry a one-or two-gram shaped charge,” he says.

“You can order them from a drone manufacturer in China. You can program the code to say: ‘Here are thousands of photographs of the kinds of things I want to target.’ A one-gram shaped charge can punch a hole in nine millimeters of steel, so presumably you can also punch a hole in someone’s head. You can fit about three million of those in a semi-tractor-trailer. You can drive up I-95 with three trucks and have 10 million weapons attacking New York City. They don’t have to be very effective, only 5 or 10% of them have to find the target.” Manufacturers will be producing millions of these drones, available for purchase just as with guns now, Russell points out, “except millions of guns don’t matter unless you have a million soldiers. You need only three guys to write the program and launch.” In this scenario, the K/K ratio could be perhaps 3/1,000,000, assuming a 10-percent accuracy and only a single one-gram shaped charge per drone.

Will emerging technologies make the state system obsolete? It’s hard to see why not.

That’s completely—and horrifyingly—unprecedented. The terrorist or psychopath of the future, however, will have not just the Internet or drones—called “slaughterbots” in this video from the Future of Life Institute—but also synthetic biology, nanotechnology, and advanced AI systems at their disposal. These tools make wreaking havoc across international borders trivial, which raises the question: Will emerging technologies make the state system obsolete? It’s hard to see why not. What justifies the existence of the state, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes argued, is a “social contract.” People give up certain freedoms in exchange for state-provided security, whereby the state acts as a neutral “referee” that can intervene when people get into disputes, punish people who steal and murder, and enforce contracts signed by parties with competing interests....MORE  

It gets worse. 

"Meet the future weapon of mass destruction, the drone swarm"
From The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.... 

"Autonomous 'Slaughterbot' Drones Reportedly Attack Libyans Using Facial Recognition Tech"

"Hegseth says the Pentagon has contingency plans to invade Greenland if necessary"

From the Associated Press, June 12:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon has developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force if necessary but refused to answer repeated questions at a hotly combative congressional hearing Thursday about his use of Signal chats to discuss military operations.

Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee repeatedly got into heated exchanges with Hegseth, with some of the toughest lines of questioning coming from military veterans as many demanded yes or no answers and he tried to avoid direct responses about his actions as Pentagon chief.

In one back-and-forth, Hegseth did provide an eyebrow-raising answer. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., asked whether the Pentagon has developed plans to take Greenland or Panama by force if necessary.

“Our job at the Defense Department is to have plans for any contingency,” Hegseth said several times.

It is not unusual for the Pentagon to draw up contingency plans for conflicts that have not arisen, but his handling of the questions prompted a Republican lawmaker to step in a few minutes later. 

“It is not your testimony today that there are plans at the Pentagon for taking by force or invading Greenland, correct?” said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio.

As Hegseth started to repeat his answer about contingency plans, Turner added emphatically, “I sure as hell hope that is not your testimony.”

“We look forward to working with Greenland to ensure that it is secured from any potential threats,” Hegseth responded....

....MUCH MORE 

"Cornered Iran could unleash sinister attacks on US soil as it runs out of options against Israel, insiders say"

Although there isn't a current threat of an EMP to take down the U.S. electrical grid, a similar effect could be achieved by cyberattacks on American utility companies, in particular hacking into a nuke to force its shutdown and removal from the grid. Because the nuclear plants supply baseload their removal could unbalance large sections of the grid. If enough of these hacks happen close to simultaneously the various system operators would be at risk of cascading failures. And unless the ISOs and RTOs shut down quickly there is a risk of the cascade crossing the system interconnects.

From the Daily Mail, June 19/20 i.e. before the U.S. entered the war:

Desperate Iranian mullahs could lash out at America ordering deadly cyber attacks on our dams and electricity grids – or even terror attacks from 'sleeper cells', security experts are warning.

DailyMail.com spoke to former top diplomats, cybersecurity and national security experts who said that although the Iranian regime is on the back foot and reeling from Israeli bombardment, it still has the ability to wreak havoc on US soil.

A former senior diplomat who had extensive Top Secret security briefings on Iran told Daily Mail hat the new 'hot war' between Iran and Israel, and Ayatollah Khameini's increasingly desperate position, has ratcheted up the risk of the regime taking drastic action in the US.

'I can't imagine, seeing how this war is going, that Iran is going to hold back,' said the top ex-US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

'They're running out of options, and this is one of the areas in which they've unfortunately been quite effective.

'You can't manufacture new missiles or centrifuges overnight. But you can empower whatever proxies are remaining to act with even more deadly results.

'Assassination attempts, terror attacks, they will of course still try to do those things. It's no secret they have made assassination attempts on US soil, in Washington DC.

'Their capabilities for doing so are becoming less both because of their degrading situation, and also because we're on much higher alert here in DC.

'But If they employ hacking capabilities on mass infrastructure, our energy grid, our nuclear facilities, major dams, these are all things that are vulnerable.'

The former top State Department official said Iran had been pouring money for years into political opposition to US Iran hawks and promoting critiques of its enemies such as Israel on university campuses.

But a hail-Mary strategy for the regime action could see Iranian government-backed online activity turn to more dangerous hacking.

'It's not just about stoking up anti-American fervor on campus. It's also about finding the weakest parts of the systems that keep us all safe,' the ex-official said.

'You don't need to bomb trains. You could just have the signals mixed up due to a digital hack and have them run into each other.'

Rex Booth, who worked as the chief of cyber threat analysis at the government's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, gave a stark warning that Iran's hackers have already infiltrated critical US infrastructure.

'They have a demonstrated ability of infiltrating infrastructure and remaining there undetected for extended periods of time,' he told DailyMail.com.

Booth pointed to a 2013 hack of the control center of the Bowman Avenue Dam in Westchester County, New York by hackers working for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps....

....MUCH MORE 

Politico was raising similar concerns on June 17th:

US critical networks are prime targets for cyberattacks. They’re preparing for Iran to strike. 

"'We're not trying to be Silicon Valley': Inside Station F, where Paris is incubating the next tech and AI juggernauts"

From Business Insider, June 22:

• Paris's Station F, a converted train station, is a prolific incubator for tech startups.
• The incubator has doubled down on the AI boom and is getting more interest from US startups.
• Business Insider visited the vibrant space to see how it's driving France's tech boom.

In Paris's balmy thirteenth district, an airy rail depot that's been converted into a startup incubator is now the epicenter of France's tech boom.

Walking through Station F, it's hard not to see how the 366,000-square-foot space has been influenced by Silicon Valley, with its amenities like a huge cafeteria and an under-construction yoga studio that are reminiscent of Big Tech campuses.

But Station F's director, Roxanne Varza, told Business Insider that it is not trying to become an American incubator. "We've been inspired by a lot of players, and we look up to Y Combinator. But we're not trying to be Silicon Valley," she said.

Now, politics is helping drive international founders here, including Americans, Varza told BI during a recent visit.

Trump 2.0 is driving talent migration
The election of Donald Trump and Brexit were among the biggest catalysts driving international founders to Station F, Varza told BI. After France, the US and UK are the most represented nationalities on campus, which houses entrepreneurs from 70 nationalities, Varza said.

At times of political volatility, the campus has been a magnet for founders seeking a global outlook and a supply of talent. Trump 2.0 — and its aftermath, including the announcement of Stargate and DeepSeek — galvanized European founders to step up, Varza said.

The US tech ecosystem secured $209 billion in VC funding in 2024, about 17 times more than France. But Paris is catching up to its global counterparts. In 2025, technology research platform Dealroom billed the city as Europe's new tech champion, overtaking London's mantle. From 2017 to 2024, the combined enterprise value of startups based in Paris increased 5.3 times, more than any other European tech hub.

Climate tech founders in particular have been coming from the US to Station F amid the Trump administration cutting incentives for green industries in the US, Varza said.

Materials discovery startup Entalpic, which launched in 2024, has had a flurry of US applicants vying for jobs at the company since the start of the year, its cofounder, Alexandre Duval, told BI. Duval had planned to move his startup out of Station F once it reached 20 employees, but decided to stay. "We have so many resources here: meeting rooms, onboarding, events, opportunities to meet people. It's good," he said.

Competitive equity
Station F, the handiwork of French billionaire Xavier Neil, launched in 2017 to drive entrepreneurship in France's tech ecosystem.

The Station F team accepts around 40 startups every month. In addition to access to the incubator's coworking space, startups get resources and mentorship, including from government officials and Big Tech companies, such as Meta and Microsoft, that have offices at Station F.

Station F's flagship Founders Program offers founders workshops and masterclasses. In return, the incubator takes 1% equity — a more favourable figure than the 6% taken by Y Combinator. The incubator also aims to write checks of $50,000 to $100,000 to around 20 upstarts each year.

The result is a hubbub of innovators collaborating and ideating all days of the week — a far cry from how some corners of LinkedIn see Europe's tech ecosystem as the butt of the joke for its supposed lax work culture compared to Silicon Valley.

Station F has welcomed everyone from the prime minister of Ethiopia to the CEO of Cisco — and the morning I arrive, the CEO of GitHub is scheduled to speak for a Q&A as part of VivaTech, France's flagship tech event that attracted speakers such as Nvidia's Jensen Huang. "The No. 1 reason people come here is for the access to people," Varza added.

A hotbed for AI startups
Like many of its international counterparts, Station F has doubled down on the AI boom.

Government initiatives under France's president Emmanuel Macron, as well as generous financing from the country's national bank, Bpifrance, have galvanized the region's AI startups.

In 2023, French AI startups raised $1.9 billion, per PitchBook data. In 2024, this figure rose by more than 50% to $2.98 billion. Notable rounds included Mistral's $600 million raise in June 2024 and H's mammoth $220 million seed round in May 2024.

So far this year, French AI companies have raised $1.7 billion in VC funding, and Macron announced in February an additional $112 billion in private sector funding earmarked for the country's AI ecosystem....

....MUCH MORE 

Previously:

The Creator of the iPod and the iPhone Seeks to Dethrone Tech’s Giants 
It’s a crisp January morning in Paris’s 13th Arrondissement, and outside Station F, the former freight terminal that is the epicenter of France’s startup scene, twentysomethings climb out of cars hailed using iPhone apps....  

"Station F: A symbol of France's startup ambitions" 

"The Hottest Startups in Paris"

"The Race is On for European AI Research"
Profit From The Global Riot Control Industry
"The Top-10 French Artificial Intelligence Startups"
Tony Fadell’s Next Act? Taking on Silicon Valley—From Paris

"French government officials advocate for a €500m investment in blockchain technology"
The country might be better served adding to the €1.5 billion that President Macron has pledged for research in Artificial Intelligence.
But I might be biased.

"Is French tech facing a lull?"

No time for a lull. Since 2018 we've been pitching French tech as an economic engine to supplant Germany and this would be an awful time to pull up on the reins.

Do whatever it takes, either get the deficit under control (6.1% of GDP? That's American-level depravity but with a currency you don't issue) or do a Frexit and go back to the franc so you can inflate it away, what ever it takes to make the investments now.

From Sifted.eu, November 8:
An event organised by Xavier Niel, ai-Pulse, came back to Station F in Paris for a second edition — but with a few degrees less hype...

Turn that frown upside down. Previously on Niel:

"French VC firm Newwave is being taken over by billionaire Xavier Niel’s holding company - and insiders describe ‘highly unusual’ drama"

"Station F: A symbol of France's startup ambitions"
"Xavier Niel SPAC Said to Weigh Bid for French Supermarket Chain"
"French Groups Swoop For Depressed British Assets"
Apparently 1066 wasn't big enough in the cross-channel asset-grabbing biz..
"Billionaire Xavier Niel Invests €200 Million in French AI Push"
"Xavier Niel, a Driving Force of French AI, Is Now Shaping TikTok"

And on the long game, the outro from July's "GenAI startup Dust’s founders on raising €15m, leaving Silicon Valley and launching in Paris":  

....It's taken a bit longer for France to develop the ecosystems, the connections, than we thought it would take, six - seven years ago but it is indeed happening. If interested see...

"Venture Capital: "These 12 startups could be France’s next unicorns" 

French Tech: "Macron's €109 Billion ‘Adieu’ to All the AI Doomerism"

"U.S. Enters War Against Iran by Bombing Key Nuclear Sites"

From the New York Times, June 21: 

Strikes on three sites, including Iran’s most heavily fortified nuclear installation, injected the U.S. directly into Israel’s war. Mr. Trump was expected to speak from the White House at 10 p.m. 

Here are the latest developments.

The United States has entered Israel’s war against Iran.

American warplanes dropped bombs on three nuclear sites in Iran, President Trump announced on Saturday night, bringing the U.S. military directly into the war after days of uncertainty about whether he would intervene.

“All planes are now outside of Iran air space,” he said in a post on social media, adding that a “full payload” of bombs had been dropped on Fordo, the heavily fortified underground facility in Iran that is critical to its nuclear program. “All planes are safely on their way home.”

The three sites that Mr. Trump said were hit on Sunday morning included Iran’s two major uranium enrichment centers: the mountain facility at Fordo and a larger enrichment plant at Natanz, which Israel struck several days ago with smaller weapons. The third site, near the ancient city of Isfahan, is where Iran is believed to keep its near-bomb-grade enriched uranium, which inspectors saw just two weeks ago.

Three senior Iranian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said that they believed American forces had bombed Fordo and Natanz at around 2.30 a.m. on Sunday in Iran.

Mr. Trump said that he would give an address to the nation at 10 p.m. E.S.T. from the White House.

Iran, which has refrained so far from direct attacks on U.S. troops and interests in the Middle East, has warned that American entry into war would bring retaliation, raising fears around the region about the danger of a widening war. But what form that response would take is unclear. Analysts have also speculated that Iran could react by accelerating its nuclear program — assuming the program survives U.S. bombing.

After a week of mixed signals, President Trump, who has long vowed to steer America clear of overseas “forever wars,” authorized U.S. forces to strike Iran’s most heavily fortified nuclear installation, deep underground. The goal, American and Israeli officials have said, is to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

Israel and Iran, sworn enemies for decades, have been exchanging attacks since June 13, when the Israelis launched a surprise assault that targeted Iranian infrastructure, including nuclear installations, and military leaders. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his nation had no choice but to act if it wanted to stave off a nuclear “holocaust.”

Iran responded with missile barrages of its own, as well as offers to resume negotiations over its nuclear development program.

Just days ago, the Trump administration officials appeared intent on distancing itself from the conflict. But Mr. Trump, when he was not urging peace talks, began sounding increasingly belligerent.

On Tuesday, he went so far as to make a direct threat against Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying “Our patience is growing thin.”

This week, when asked about assessments by U.S. intelligence agencies and his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, that Iran was not actively working toward a nuclear weapon, Mr. Trump said flatly that they were wrong. Iran, he insisted, was months — if not weeks — away from being able to produce a bomb.

Here is what else to know:

• What’s next? Now that Mr. Trump has sent American bombers to help Israel destroy a uranium enrichment facility in Iran, it will most likely initiate a more dangerous phase in the war. Here are some ways that could play out, and a look at how the U.S. military’s powerful bunker-busting bombs work.

• Saturday strikes: Israel launched a wave of airstrikes against missile sites, a nuclear facility and munitions storage sites in Iran, while Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles and launched drones into Israel.

• Evacuations: The U.S. Department of State has begun evacuating Americans from Israel, said the American ambassador, Mike Huckabee. In a post on social media, he encouraged Americans in Israel and the West Bank to fill out a form requesting evacuation, which could be by cruise ship, commercial flight, charter flight or a flight operated by the U.S. government.

 ....MUCH MORE, they are live-blogging and will be updating.

Barron's: "Move Over, BigDog. Humanoid Robots Are Finally Here. How to Invest."

This week's Barron's was jam-packed with goodies. Here's one of them, June 20: 

Humanoid robots are hot, apparently. A China stock index of companies involved with their development is beating the world market by 16 points this year. A new report from UBS says the world will have 300 million humanoids by 2050. An earlier one from Morgan Stanley puts the number at a billion, and the size of the market by then at $5 trillion—twice what the top 20 car makers bring in today.

There are loads of stock picks, for those so inclined. Among UBS’s favorites are Nvidia; a rare-earth metals producer called Lynas; Honeywell; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing; Cognex for machine vision and Amphenol for sensors. Morgan Stanley likes Tesla, Nvidia, and Alphabet, and just published a Humanoid 100 index of companies making all sorts of robo-doodads, from planetary roller screws to harmonic reducers. For investors who want one-click exposure, there’s the newly launched KraneShares Global Humanoid & Embodied Intelligence Index exchange-traded fund, which costs 0.69% a year.

It’s entirely possible that this investing theme is both too late and too early; many of the stocks have run, and the production ramp might not hit big numbers for the better part of a decade. Personally, I’m an anti-themist, preferring to let an S&P 500 fund handle the Darwinian allocation of big companies strangling new markets for profits. But for the robo-curious, let me run through some basics.

Remember back when those videos popped up on YouTube with a headless four-legged robot from Boston Dynamics that could walk and jump and keep its balance when pushed? That was BigDog, created in 2005, with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpa. It never made it out of boot camp; the gasoline engine was deemed too loud for combat, and a battery version couldn’t carry enough weight.

Today, for $1,600 in China, or $2,500 on Amazon.com, you can buy a UniTree Go2 robot dog that can run, sit, shake hands, stand on its front legs and kick its back legs in the air, and even move autonomously, once the space has been mapped with Lidar. Amazon’s page calls this a toy. UniTree calls it a partner.

For $16,000 in China, or just over $27,000 with U.S. shipping from RobotShop.com, you can step up to the UniTree G1 Humanoid Robot—humanoid meaning humanlike in appearance, with two arms, two legs, a head, and optional dexterous hands. UniTree calls this an agent. It can hop on one leg, crack nuts, open bottles, and flip pancakes—not simultaneously, so far as I know. One thing it can’t do, at just over four feet tall, is reach top shelves. There’s a much more advanced version that’s nearly six feet tall, called H1, that starts at $90,000 in China.

Robots aren’t new as an investing theme. In a 2013 article on the subject, I highlighted three industrial players. Since then, Rockwell Automation and Switzerland’s ABB have quadrupled shareholder money in dollar terms. Germany’s Kuka was bought out by China’s Midea, an appliance maker, in 2016. In a 2017 cover story on robots I mentioned those stocks along with the Robo Global Robotics & Automation ETF, which has since underperformed the market; Japan’s Fanuc, which has managed to lose money; Amazon and Alphabet, which have been winners; and a chip maker that was still five years away from becoming mostly an artificial intelligence player. “Chips from companies with videogame expertise, like Nvidia, make quick work of the heavy thinking,” I wrote. That one is up more than 5,000%.....

....MUCH MORE 

And another theme our long-suffering (sorry about the Ozzy DNA post) long-time readers will recognize:

Cameco Stock and Other Ways to Play the Overseas Nuclear Energy Boom 

They dig into the current prospects for this bit of added-value from 2022:

Uranium Miner Cameco and Brookfield Renewable Partners To Buy Nuke Maker Westinghouse (CCJ; BEP)