Zero Rss

Stock Futures Flat As S&P Closes Out Best Quarter In 6 Years

US index futures erased an earlier gain following some belligerent Iran headlines, but are still set to end a quarter that is set to be the S&P 500’s best in six years with markets behaving as though period-end dynamics have now completed. As of 8:30am, the S&P 500 was flat, pointing to a calm finish for the index that has surged 14% since the beginning of April. Nasdaq futures rose 0.1% erasing a sizable gain earlier, but on pace to close the quarter with a staggering 24% gain; In premarket trading, semis are mixed, Mag7 are flat, Cyclicals are generally leading Defensives with exceptions being Energy (lower) and Healthcare (higher). European stocks rallied, with gains led by Abivax SA after a clinical-trial update soothed investor concerns. Chipmakers drove Asian shares higher. JPM says with the major US holiday coming up, keep an eye on low liquidity moves in the region. Bond yields reversed an earlier drop to trade higher by 1bp pushing the 10Y yield to 4.39%. The USD is stronger, looking to erase all of yesterday’s losses. Commodities are stronger with crude flat into today’s US / Iran discussions, Metals seeing a bid, and Ags outperforming the other commodities complexes. Today's economic data calendar includes April Case-Shiller home prices (9am), June MNI Chicago PMI (9:45am, several minutes earlier for subscribers), June consumer confidence and May JOLTS job openings (10am) and June Dallas Fed services activity (10:30am). Fed speaker slate empty for the session. Chairman Warsh participates in an ECB panel event on Wednesday in Sintra

In premarket trading, Mag 7 stocks are mostly higher (Alphabet +0.3%, Amazon +0.1%, Apple unchanged, Meta Platforms +0.3%, Microsoft +0.4%, Nvidia +0.8%, Tesla (TSLA) -0.9%).

• AeroVironment (AVAV) soars 30% after the defense company reported fourth-quarter results that topped expectations and forecast 2027 revenue that at the midpoint exceeds estimates. Analysts note strength in its drones business.
• Aevex (AVEX) climbs 12% after winning a $50 million contract from the US Air Force to continue expanding unmanned mission‑support capabilities for current operations.
• Block (XYZ) inches about 1% higher after Piper Sandler upgraded the digital payments company by two notches to overweight, citing earnings potential.
• Concentrix (CNXC) tumbles 23% after the call-center company slashed its full-year outlook. The company’s forecasts for reported revenue and adjusted earnings per share also undershot Wall Street’s expectations.
• Patrick Industries (PATK) and LCI Industries (LCII) announced plans to combine in an all-stock merger. LCI shares are up 7%, while Patrick shares are halted.
• Replimune (REPL) gains 6% after BMO Capital Markets upgraded the drug developer by two notches to outperform from underperform, citing a clearer regulatory path for the firm’s experimental treatment of advanced melanoma.
• Space stocks were among the biggest US premarket gainers. Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. eased after Monday’s rally as Bitcoin dipped below $60,000. Microsoft Corp. was firmer, but still on course for its worst month since December 2000.

In other news, biotech company Abivax reported positive ABTECT maintenance part two results for experimental bowel disease drug Obefazimod. Susquehanna is attempting to identify individuals it claims made at least $100 million trading on inside information about a Chinese government crackdown on cross-border brokerages. Millennium will back a new quant hedge fund firm led by former Citadel researcher Paul Dou. Taiwan government agencies raided the offices of Super Micro Computer and several local affiliates as part of an investigation into the alleged smuggling of Nvidia chips into China. Blackstone is selling its stakes in a trio of data centers across Northern Virginia for $3.5 billion, cashing out of part of a bet it made less than three years ago.

Global stocks cemented gains ahead of another strong earnings season that analysts say will be driven by the debt-fueled investment boom in artificial intelligence. A strong macro backdrop will offer added support as falling oil prices help keep worries about inflationary pressures in check.

“US futures are being supported by renewed demand for tech, with investors returning to the view that IT offers one of the few strong and reliable earnings-growth stories,” said Marija Veitmane, head of equity research at State Street Global Markets. “That makes any jitters in tech look like a buying opportunity, and I think that is what we are seeing after last week’s wobble."

Investors will keep a close watch on peace talks scheduled for Tuesday after Iran reiterated its determination to control maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices remain an important part of the inflation outlook, with the Federal Reserve expected to hike interest rates as soon as September.

“The decline in oil prices suggests concerns around energy-driven inflation are largely behind us, but if AI-driven inflation from memory costs starts to materialize over the next two to three months, that will be important,” said Paisley Nardini at Simplify Asset Management. “The other risk is whether cracks start to emerge in the consumer.”

Elsewhere, US technology shares are at risk of declines as overall investor exposure to the cohort is extremely elevated, according to Citigroup strategists. Following last week’s price hikes by Microsoft and Apple, rising costs and component shortages are said to be leading to China’s smartphone brands slashing targets, according to the Nikkei. 

“So far there are no signs of profit margins rising outside the tech sector. This is ultimately what we are waiting for, because the value of AI companies today rests entirely on the promise that margins in the S&P 493 will eventually climb,” noted Torsten Slok, chief economist of Apollo Global Management, referring to S&P 500 stocks beyond the Mag 7. 

The outlook for US earnings momentum, according to a recent Citigroup indicator, remains positive. AI continues to make an outsize contribution with 44 AI companies projected to contribute around 60% to overall S&P 500 earnings growth across calendar 2026, growing earnings at roughly 40.7% — triple the rate of the rest of the S&P 500, Bloomberg Intelligence’s Nathaniel T Welnhofer recently noted. 

In politics, Trump refused to commit to signing a major bipartisan housing bill, heightening uncertainty over the fate of the legislation. The Supreme Court has given Trump the power to fire the heads of independent agencies, overturning a 91-year-old precedent that said agencies must be independent of the president. Billionaire venture capitalist Marc Andreessen got a spot on a top Pentagon advisory board. 

European stocks rallied in early Tuesday trading, poised for their best quarter since late 2020 as investors bet on an improved outlook for economic growth, with the Stoxx 600 benchmark set for a jump of nearly 10% in the past three months.  Here are the biggest movers Tuesday:

• Abivax shares jump as much as 32%, the most since January, after a clinical-trial update soothed some investors’ concerns about whether cancer could be a potential side effect of the French biotech’s most promising experimental drug
• Genmab shares rise as much as 7.9% after the Danish biotech company reported positive late-stage trial results for its Epkinly drug combination in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
• Siemens gains as much as 3.3%, the most in two weeks, as analysts updated their estimates ahead of the German industrial group’s third-quarter earnings, due on Aug. 6, expecting a strong print from the company
• ITM Power shares rise as much as 19% after Berenberg raised its price target on the green-hydrogen equipment maker by 82%, citing a “significant growth opportunity” in its partnership with Rheinmetall
• Truecaller gains as much as 13% as DNB Carnegie reiterated its buy recommendation and raised its price target on the caller-ID company, saying its upcoming second-quarter report “should mark another step in Truecaller’s recovery”
• Maersk shares gains as much as 5.4%, the most in almost three weeks, after the Danish shipping group upgraded its full-year outlook. While the news is a positive, its seen as broadly anticipated by analysts
• Sainsbury’s shares rise as much as 3.5%, the most in seven months, after the British retailer reported 1Q sales that were in line with consensus expectations, avoiding the underperformance of its peer Tesco
• Kering shares slid as much as 5.4% on Tuesday, as analysts caution the luxury goods maker’s 1H earnings report is likely to show the turnaround at key brand Gucci remains gradual
• Teleperformance shares fall as much as 13% after Concentrix, a US peer of the French call-center operator, slashed its full-year outlook, with forecasts for reported revenue and adjusted EPS missing expectations
• Logitech shares fall as much as 4.9% after Bank of America downgraded the stock to underperform from neutral, seeing “demand destruction” for the Swiss firms’ computer peripherals due to price increases in consumer electronics

Asian stocks rose for a second day, driven by gains in technology shares as investors rebalanced portfolios at the end of the quarter. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed as much as 1.5%, bringing its gain for the three months through June to 21%, the strongest quarterly advance since 2009. Japan’s tech-heavy Nikkei 225 marked its biggest ever quarterly advance, while South Korea’s Kospi index posted its best three-month period since 1998. In contrast, the MSCI China index has fallen for a third quarter. Taiwan’s Taiex index was among best performers in the region on Tuesday, with TSMC and MediaTek leading gains after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 3.8%. Stocks in Japan and South Korea rose. Offshore Chinese stocks continued to lose momentum, with the Hang Seng Index near a technical bear territory. MSCI China has tumbled about 15% this year, amid concerns over a sluggish economy, weak earnings from internet giants and investors’ preference for chipmakers elsewhere in Asia. 

The region’s stocks continue to outperform global peers this year, underpinned by the enthusiasm in artificial intelligence. Chipmakers and hardware suppliers across markets such as Taiwan, Japan and South Korea have rallied as investors chase earnings growth and visibility to the AI buildout, while markets like India and China continue to struggle due to the lack of AI exposure. 

“Asia is ending the first half with a selective risk-on tone: Taiwan and Japan are carrying the optimism built over the past few months, while weakness in China, Hong Kong and India shows investors are still cautious about markets without a clear AI, earnings or policy-support catalyst,” said Hebe Chen, a market analyst at Vantage Global Prime in Sydney.

In FX, the yen slid to its weakest level against the dollar since 1986, extending its recent losses to weaken beyond 162 against the dollar, a milestone that will generate unease in Japan and put traders on alert for authorities intervening in the market. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Japan will respond to developments in foreign exchange at any time.

In rates, treasuries are mixed ahead of a reading of US job openings for May. Bloomberg Economics expects the JOLTS report to show declining vacancies and a low quits rate. While hiring is supporting personal income growth, wage pressures are likely to remain rather muted. Yields were within a basis point of Monday’s closing levels, after plying small ranges during Asia session and London morning. European bonds provide support after German state inflation gauges slowed in June. US 10-year yields around 4.37% are marginally richer on the day, and curve spreads are likewise little changed; bunds and gilts trade broadly in line with Treasuries. WTI crude oil futures, little changed, also support Treasuries as they head for biggest quarterly decline since the pandemic. IG dollar issuance slate includes four names so far. Four Yankee banks led a $17.2b US investment-grade new issue docket Monday. Borrowers paid about 3bp in new issue concessions on deals that were 3.5 times oversubscribed. Treasury coupon issuance resumes next week with 3-, 10- and 30-year tenors. Focal points of US session include a swath of economic data headed by consumer confidence and JOLTS job openings. 

“The next validation point is now macro,” said Florian Ielpo at Lombard Odier Investment Managers. “JOLTS, consumer confidence, ISM and payrolls need to show enough labor resilience to keep the earnings momentum up, but not so much strength that the real-yield ceiling comes back immediately.”

In commodities, oil is headed for the biggest quarterly decline since the pandemic. Brent crude fell 0.3% to about $73 a barrel as flows through the Strait of Hormuz accelerated. Morgan Stanley analysts cut their oil price forecasts for the second time in about two weeks on a faster-than-expected supply rebound, while strong US supply and weak Chinese demand raise the risk of a glut.

Today's US economic data calendar includes April FHFA house price index and S&P Cotality CS home prices (9am), June MNI Chicago PMI (9:45am, several minutes earlier for subscribers), June consumer confidence and May JOLTS job openings (10am) and June Dallas Fed services activity (10:30am). Fed speaker slate empty for the session. Chairman Warsh participates in an ECB panel event on Wednesday in Sintra

Market Snapshot

Top Overnight News

• US and Iranian officials are set to hold peace negotiations in Doha today, but uncertainty hangs over the meeting. Donald Trump declined to say whether he expected a breakthrough and Iran has yet to confirm it’ll attend. Iran reiterated its determination to maintain control over maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. BBG
• The unexpectedly rapid retreat in energy prices in the past week has further taken pressure off European Central Bank policymakers ‌to lift interest rates next month but the case for a small hike later on remains firm, four sources told Reuters. RTRS
• China’s manufacturing activity expanded in June after remaining flat last month, thanks in part to resilient exports amid robust global demand for artificial-intelligence and green products. The official manufacturing purchasing managers index edged up to 50.3 this month from May’s 50.0. WSJ
• China has lifted some restrictions on oil-product exports in the past week, rolling back measures introduced to safeguard domestic supplies shortly after the war began in the Middle East. BBG
• Political pressure on the BoJ to slow its interest rate hikes is growing amid a push by Sanae Takaichi's government to restore dovish policymakers to the bank, a shake-up that could change its long-term policy direction. RTRS
• French and Italian inflation cooled more than expected in June, suggesting price pressures are beginning to soften amid falling energy costs due to easing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. WSJ
• US retailers have brought forward orders from China by four-to-six weeks to secure their inventories for Black Friday and Christmas holiday sales before expected tariff hikes later this year, shipping executives said. RTRS
• Companies investing most heavily in AI are adding workers faster than their peers, according to new research that challenges predictions of broad AI-driven job losses. FT
• ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane said knock-on effects from higher energy prices will take a while to show up and that policymakers won’t lock themselves into a rates path. BBG
• US House Speaker Johnson said no veto is expected for the housing legislation and that the housing bill will become law, while he noted that President Trump has yet to decide on signing the bipartisan housing package: POLITICO.

Iran News

• US President Trump's envoys Kushner and Witkoff are flying to Doha for talks, while Iran said the Doha mission is focused on ceasefire compliance and is not there for talks with the US, according to NYT.
• US Secretary of State Rubio said at a Congress briefing that there is a possibility the nuclear talks with Iran may fail, while he also stated that Iran has not yet received any funds under the MoU.
• Iranian President Pezeshkian said "Understanding is a bilateral matter. If the American side adheres to the memorandum of understanding, we will also fulfil our obligations", while he said their approach to unreasonable boasting and unfounded threats is to rely on rationality and human dignity in decision-making and to defend themselves decisively and fearlessly when taking action.
• Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi said if they do not reach an understanding with Oman on the routes and arrangements of the Strait of Hormuz, they will, in any case, implement Iran's new sovereignty and policy in the Strait of Hormuz, while he added that they do not guarantee the safety and security of ships passing through parallel routes in the Strait of Hormuz.
• Iran's acting Defence Minister al-Reza said we do not trust the enemy and our hands are on the trigger in the event of any ceasefire violations, will take appropriate and necessary action.
• The framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon has reportedly caused a rift in Iran-Lebanon relations, with Iranian FM Araghchi refusing to visit Lebanon, according to Kan's Kais citing a Lebanese newspaper.
• An explosion was reported in southern Lebanon, which was carried out by Israeli forces, while it was also reported that Israeli forces conducted a strike on town of Deir Sryan in southern Lebanon and that Israeli attacks on Gaza left 48 dead and wounded, according to Tasnim and Mehr News Agency.

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

APAC stocks were mixed with choppy price action seen overnight heading into quarter-end, despite the gains in the US, where the DJIA notched a record close, and the Nasdaq outperformed amid strength in tech and communications. ASX 200 traded little changed amid mixed performances of its sectors and after the RBA minutes from the June meeting continued to affirm a hawkish stance. It stated that policy needed to remain restrictive and the RBA will do what is needed to achieve price stability, including raising rates if necessary. Nikkei 225 ultimately rallied, but initially swung between gains and losses, with the index fluctuating through the 70k level, amid a weaker currency, FX intervention risks, and disappointing Industrial Production. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp lagged as a rebound in tech stocks was counterbalanced by losses in miners and energy majors, while they also failed to benefit from better-than-expected PMI data and another PBoC overnight repo operation.

Top Asian News

• Japanese Finance Minister Katayama won't comment on specific effects levels, but said they will respond appropriately to currency moves at any time as needed, while she added that action could include decisive action as agreed in the joint statement with the US.
• Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara said he won't comment on FX levels, but added that they are always ready to take necessary action on FX.
• Decision on reducing Japan's consumption tax on food products has been postponed until July due to pushback from the opposition parties, according to TBS.

European bourses (STOXX 600 +0.8%) begin the last day of Q2 entirely in the green, with outperformance in the DAX 40 (+1.1%) and AEX (+0.7%). Many indices are set to have their biggest quarterly gain since the end of 2022, with the STOXX 600 just shy of 10% gains for Q2. Focusing on Germany's DAX, analysts see possible continued underperformance, with any flare-up in EU-China tensions posing a further headwind. Its auto sector has been particularly affected in recent months, with China playing a key role in that narrative.- European sectors highlight the positive bias. Basic Resources (+2.1%), Technology (+1.3%) and Industrial Goods & Services (+1.6%) are the outperformers, while Consumer Products & Services (-0.9%), Food, Beverages & Tobacco (-0.4%) and Telecoms (-0.3%) are the only sectors printing modest losses.

Top European News

• UK Government announced a GBP 15bln defence package.

FX

• Snapshot: G10s are lower against the USD to varying degrees. The CHF, EUR and JPY are all the laggards this morning, to the tune of c. 0.3%, whilst the Antipodeans are faring a little better vs peers.
• DXY is firmer this morning and trades at the upper end of a 101.12 to 101.42 range. No real driver this morning for the index, but comes amidst a tense geopolitical risk-tone and ahead of key US data. The slight strength today can also be explained as a bit of a bounce back, after recent USD strength has faded a touch off recent highs. The high from Monday (101.07) was breached this morning, whereby another bout of strength could see a test of Friday’s high (101.57) and Thursday’s best (101.74).
• EUR/USD is amongst the worst performers this morning, as markets digest the sheer amount of ECB speakers at Sintra. Overall, the bias has been hawkish; namely, President Lagarde and Chief Economist Lane have highlighted that the oil price curve remains elevated, and that could suggest higher costs for the economy. Nonetheless, policymakers have broadly reiterated data dependency and avoided any pre-commitment to July/September. On that front, Reuters sources suggested that given recent energy dynamics, September is now seen as more likely than July for another hike; the source clarified that a rate hike is not off the agenda. As it stands, money markets assign a 32% chance of a hike in July and a 70% chance of a move in September.
• On the data front, the EUR has had dovish German State CPI metrics to contend with. Broadly speaking they are indicative of a cooler Y/Y print, despite mainland consensus for the headline remaining at 2.6%.
• JPY is also amongst the laggards. Overnight, the pair jumped above the 162.00 mark, amidst commentary from Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara. He initially suggested that he would not comment on FX, which saw the pair breach 162.00. However, a few minutes later, he stated that they are always ready to take necessary action on Forex. The move largely unwound on that jawboning attempt. Thereafter, Finance Minister Katayama also commented. She warned that they will respond appropriately to currency moves at any time as needed, while action could include decisive action as agreed in the joint statement with the US. USD/JPY currently holds within a 161.89-162.41 range.

Fixed Income

• Global fixed income benchmarks are firmer across the board, helped by softer energy prices, but also supported by cooler inflation prints in the EZ.
• Bund (+13 ticks) upside initially came following the French inflation data, in which HICP softened to 2%, below the expected 2.4% and from the prior 2.8%. This followed the Spanish print on Monday, which came in slightly hotter-than-expected, but saw relief after the core figure cooled. The German state CPIs can give further relief for the ECB, after prices broadly cooled in all states. This comes ahead of the nationwide figure later today; HICP is expected to hold at 2.7%.
• Many ECB policymakers were also on the wires this morning at the sidelines of Sintra. President Lagarde kicked off the Sintra conference on Monday. Even though her comments sounded slightly hawkish, it seemed to be an unwind of her dovish stance when she spoke last week in a way to keep all options on the table. Lane was the first GC member to speak today, in which he highlighted that the oil price curve is seen elevated in the coming years, which suggests higher economic costs.
• USTs (+2+ ticks) follow its German counterpart higher, albeit to a lesser extent, with focus this week being on comments by Fed Chair Warsh at Sintra on Wednesday and the US jobs report on Thursday.
• JGBs (-3 ticks) traded on the softer side in the Asia-Pac seen, however there was some relief following the 2-year JGB auction. The b/c was 4.82x, which was higher than the prior 3.70x and above the 12-month average of 3.74x. The strong auction was also backed by a small price tail. Despite the strong auction, investors remain concerned about further BoJ hikes, and perhaps more aggressively, to stabilise the Yen (USD/JPY recently topped 162.40).
• Japan sells JPY 2.15tln 2-year JGBs b/c 4.82 (prev. 3.70), average yield 1.407% (prev. 1.369%).

Commodities

• Crude benchmarks are firmer, posting gains of around USD 0.10/bbl at highs of USD 70.88/bbl and USD 74.08/bbl for WTI and Brent, respectively.
• In brief, we await any information relating to or stemming from the Doha talks. US envoys Kushner and Witkoff are travelling to Doha. However, Iran has made clear it will not be holding talks with the US “at any level” in the next few days, with the Doha gathering to only discuss ceasefire compliance. Albeit, sources via Pakistani journalist Mallick suggest that talks could occur via Pakistani/Qatari mediators.
• Spot gold firmer, but only marginally so. Overnight, pressure was seen alongside a jump in USD/JPY (see FX/morning JPY update for details), action that was exacerbated by a breach of the USD 4000/oz mark to the downside. Sending XAU to a USD 3942/oz base.
• In the first part of the European morning this unwound, with XAU climbing back above USD 4k/oz and hitting a USD 4037/oz peak in short order. There wasn’t a specific or fresh fundamental driver behind this, though the move did take place alongside a modest uptick in the fixed income space, marginal downside in energy and a moderation of the performance of both European and US equity futures.
• Base metals in focus after the EU increased tariffs on steel. The move will reduce the duty-free import level by an average of 47%. Following the move, an official cited by the FT outlined that the EU hopes to create a “steel club” with the US and others, in order to reduce trade barriers. Broadly, base metals are firmer, reflecting the risk tone and despite the firmer USD.
• US President Trump posted "Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY! They’re too high considering that Oil is now at $68 a Barrel, and heading south. The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right".
• Shell (SHEL LN) expects LNG demand to increase by around 65% by 2050, largely driven by APAC nations.
• China is said to be easing some refinery fuel export restrictions as domestic supply is ample, according to reports.
• Morgan Stanley slashes its Q3 dated Brent forecast by USD 15 to USD 75/bbl as supply returns through Hormuz.

Trade/Tariffs

• USTR posted that the US welcomes Switzerland’s progress in implementing elements of a historic Framework Agreement, while it was stated that they will continue to work towards the conclusion of an agreement on fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade that will further remove non-tariff barriers.
• China and the EU agreed to maintain global supply chain stability, continue consultations on trade, and solve some intellectual property issues, while China and the EU exchanged market access lists.
• EU declared new rule to protect EU steel. The EU's steel measure, which enters into application on 1 July 2026, reduces duty-free imports of 26 categories of steel products into the EU by an average of 47% as compared with the quotas under steel safeguard.
• White House announced temporary suspension of duties on fertilizer from Morocco, according to a Fact Sheet

Central Banks

• ECB's Lane said there has been some improvement in confidence, but not at pre-war levels. He added that the oil price curve sees elevated levels in the years coming, which suggest higher cost for the economy. On the ECB's rate path, he said July vs September is too narrow a debate but aiming to keep options open by not boxing themselves into a specific meeting.
• ECB's Nagel said it is too early make rate hike calls but rate policy has to stay vigilant as inflation may stay significantly above target.
• ECB's Wunsch said we might need another hike and would rather move quickly if the ECB needs another hike. A quick ECB move does not necessarily mean a July move.
• ECB's Sleijpen said while oil prices have come down, there is still a lot of uncertainty and reiterated the ECB's data-dependent approach.
• ECB sources said a rapid oil price retreat eases pressure on the ECB to hike in July and September is seen as more likely, although a June inflation surprise could reignite talk of a July hike, while sources added that a rate hike is not off the agenda even though it may be delayed, according to Reuters.
• BoJ's Sato said the de-escalation of the Middle East conflict is a welcoming move but uncertainty remains on outlook.
• RBA Minutes from the June meeting stated that policy needed to remain restrictive and it will do what is needed to achieve price stability, including raising rates if necessary. The Board saw merit in using the room created by earlier hikes to assess how the economy was faring and noted that leaving rates unchanged would best balance inflation and jobs objectives. Furthermore, it stated that the economy was operating with excess demand and broad-based price pressure, as well as noted that the Middle East conflict still posed material upside risks to inflation and downside risks to activity.

Geopolitics

• Russia reported it shot down 419 Ukrainian drones overnight.

US Event Calendar

• 9:00 am: Apr FHFA House Price Index MoM, est. 0.15%, prior 0.1%
• 9:45 am: Jun MNI Chicago PMI, est. 55.1, prior 62.7
• 10:00 am: Jun Conf. Board Consumer Confidence, est. 94.4, prior 93.1
• 10:00 am: May JOLTS Job Openings, est. 7295.5k, prior 7618k

DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

As we hit the last day of the first half of the year, markets in Asia are largely continuing trends seen in the year and quarter to date. The KOSPI (+3.23%) is leading gains and remains on track for an impressive quarterly rise of over 65% and exceeding 105% YTD. Japan’s Nikkei (+1.70%) is also notably higher, now more than 37% higher for the quarter. Elsewhere the CSI (+1.12%) and Shanghai Composite (+0.20%) are also up but the Hang Seng (-1.19%) and the S&P/ASX 200 (-0.08%) are lower. Minutes from the RBA’s June meeting indicated that policymakers remain cautious about inflation and will continue to evaluate incoming data before making policy adjustments. S&P (+0.14%) and Nasdaq (+0.44%) futures are higher as I type.  

In China, manufacturing activity in June slightly exceeded forecasts, supported by strong export demand and continued investment in artificial intelligence. The official manufacturing PMI rose to 50.3, above expectations of 50.1, and up from 50.0 in May. Meanwhile, the non-manufacturing PMI improved to 50.2, surpassing the 49.9 forecast and edging up from 50.1 previously, signaling modest improvement in services activity despite overall subdued demand.

The Japanese yen has weakened further overnight even with officials commenting that intervention could happen at any time. Over the last 24 hours it's fallen to its lowest level against the US dollar since 1986, closing at 161.94 last night and now trading at 162.40 this morning. So historic times for Japan.  

Ahead of all this, markets saw a decent risk-on move yesterday, as a recovery in tech stocks helped to lift US equities more broadly. So the Magnificent 7 (+2.58%) bounced back, which meant the S&P 500 (+1.18%) finally ended a run of 5 consecutive declines. Indeed, with just one day of Q2 left, the S&P is on the verge of its best quarterly performance in six years, back when the index was bouncing back sharply from the pandemic slump. Those moves yesterday included a big advance for Tesla (+8.46%), Alphabet (+4.79%) and Amazon (+3.20%). And the Philly semiconductor index (+3.83%) rebounded after posting its worst week since the post-Liberation Day sell-off last April. It was a more mixed day for the rest of the US stock market, but both the equal-weighted S&P 500 (+0.18%) and the small-cap Russell 2000 (+0.01%) still inched up to new record highs. And over in Europe, equities were basically flat, with the STOXX 600 up +0.04%. European futures are around +0.6% higher this morning.  

Perhaps the biggest story yesterday was news on Fed independence, as the US Supreme Court voted 5-4 that Fed Governor Lisa Cook could remain in post while fighting Trump’s attempt to remove her over allegations of mortgage fraud, ruling that the President could not remove her without proof of wrongdoing. It’s worth noting that’s not the end of the story, as they didn’t rule on whether Trump could fire Cook if the allegations were found to be true, but it means she can stay in post for now.

On the broader legal backdrop, the Court also ruled separately that the President can remove senior officials at other independent agencies without needing to meet the longstanding “for cause” standard, effectively overturning a 91-year precedent. In practical terms, that tilts the balance of power back towards the executive, giving the White House greater scope to replace officials across much of the regulatory apparatus. The carve out for the Fed therefore looks quite deliberate, reinforcing its unique independent status, but it also raises the stakes around how durable that distinction proves over time. If anything, it points to a more uncertain institutional backdrop, where independence can no longer be taken as a given across the wider policy framework—even if the Fed remains insulated for now.  

Elsewhere, oil prices picked back up yesterday as they reacted to the weekend strikes that took place between the US and Iran, even if the weekend ended in a better place than it started with a halt to tit-for-tat strikes agreed by both sides late on Sunday night. So Brent crude (+1.61%) rose from its 4-month low on Friday, closing at $73.15/bbl, with WTI (+2.20%) back up to $70.75/bbl. That oil move also came as Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister said that Tehran will control maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz with or without Oman. Otherwise, further meetings are set to take place today, with Trump posting that Iran had requested a meeting that would take place in Doha. And separately, Axios reported that the US’ Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would be travelling to Doha to meet today with the Qatari PM and other officials. They also reported that the US and Iranian technical teams would meet separately with the Qatari and Pakistani mediators.
That uptick in oil prices meant inflation concerns crept back in a bit yesterday on both sides of the Atlantic. So the US 1yr inflation swap (+4.5bps) was back up to 2.14%, from a 20-month low on Friday. And in turn, investors priced in a more hawkish path for the Fed, with the amount of hikes priced by the December meeting up +1.4bps on the day to 33bps. So that led to another rise in Treasury yields, with the 2yr yield (+1.4bps) up to 4.11%, whilst the 10yr yield (+0.5bps) moved up to 4.38%.  

Meanwhile in the Euro Area, there was a similar pickup in bond yields across the continent. That was partly because of the oil move, but we also started to get the flash CPI prints for June, with Spain’s release surprising on the upside yesterday. It showed CPI unexpectedly remaining +3.6% (vs. +3.4% expected), which added to concerns that the other prints might come in on the stronger side too, and that the ECB would need to keep hiking rates. Indeed, market pricing moved in a slightly hawkish direction, with 27bps of hikes now priced by the December meeting, up +2.6bps on the day. And in turn, yields on 2yr bunds (+2.1bps) moved higher, while those across 10yr bunds (+0.7bps), OATs (+0.5bps) and BTPs (-0.4bps) were more stable.   

Here in the UK, gilts were a relative outperformer, with the 10yr yield falling -1.5bps to 4.72%. That came as the favourite to be next PM, Andy Burnham, delivered a speech outlining some of his plans, which included a commitment to stick to the current fiscal rules. So that reassured investors who were concerned about looser fiscal policy, and there was also some underwhelming UK data as well. For instance, mortgage approvals for May fell more than expected to 56.2k (vs. 63.0k expected), which is their lowest since December 2023.  

Looking at the day ahead, data releases include the flash June CPI prints from Germany, France, and Italy, along with German unemployment for June. Meanwhile, US releases include the JOLTS report for May, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence for June, and the FHFA’s house price index for April. Otherwise from central banks, we’ll hear from the ECB’s Vujcic, Elderson, Schnabel, Cipollone and Lane, along with the BoE’s Breeden. Finally, today’s earnings releases include Nike.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/30/2026 - 08:38

Manhunt After Monaco Bombing Severely Wounds Ukrainian Oligarch In 'Attempted Assassination'

Monaco has been shaken by an apparent assassination attempt on a Ukrainian-born business tycoon by parcel bomb on Monday - something unprecedented in the normally ultra-safe principality.

Authorities have described that a suspect, who is now on the run, had left a mail package in the lobby of a residential building that detonated around 9pm on Monday, unleashing what police called a "powerful explosion".

via EPA

The victims have since been identified as Vadym Iermolaiev, his wife and their 13-year-old child. They all survived the bombing, with Iermolaiev and his wife having sustained serious injuries and are being treated in the hospital. Both are in critical condition with reports saying the woman sustained the most severe wounds.

The entrance to their luxury apartment building was shown seriously damaged, with emerging CCTV footage soon after showing a suspect fleeing toward the French border donned in a dark shirt and bucket hat.

Iermolaiev and his wife had been taken to hospital with serious injuries, while their child was also wounded, French authorities said.

Monaco's Minister of State Christophe Mirmand told AFP that the bomb contained bolts and pellets, clearly pointing to a device made for maximum killing of the target. He confirmed the government is not yet investigating it as a terror attack, but attempted murder or a targeted killing.

Mirmand told a French broadcaster on Tuesday the suspect "appears to have left for France". The man was observed fleeing towards the French commune of Beausoleil on foot, fleeing the scene of the crime.

🇲🇨 A bomb packed with bolts and metal shot tore through the lobby of a luxury building in Monaco tonight, injuring sanctioned Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev and his family.

A man was caught on CCTV dropping a backpack at the entrance around 9 PM before fleeing toward the… pic.twitter.com/pYgD8AHVOZ

— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) June 29, 2026

The bombing is being reported as a first in all of Monaco history, and over 100 police and security personnel descended on the scene. BBC reports:

Harri Richie, who lives around 100m away from the targeted building, told the BBC she heard an "unbelievably loud explosion" at about 21:00 local time from the underground car park she was in.

She then went up to her 11th floor apartment, where she said she saw emergency services "dragging two people out [from the building] who looked badly injured".

Emergency services arrived around five minutes after the explosion, she said, adding that there was a helicopter overhead throughout Monday night. "This is the first time in history, to my knowledge, that such an act has taken place in the principality," Mirmand, the head of Monaco's government, said.

Monaco's Prince Albert II described the incident as a "heinous crime" and "a shock to the entire Monaco community".

As for who is Vadym Iermolaiev and who might be behind the targeted attack, the 58-year-old property tycoon is from Dnipro, Ukraine, and back in 2019 - long before the current conflict escalated - he quietly severed ties with his homeland, renouncing his Ukrainian citizenship in exchange for a Cypriot passport.

Amid the ongoing war, Iermolaiev has maintained massive interests in the wine and spirits industry in Russian-controlled Crimea, resulting in him being targeted for heavy sanctions from the Zelensky government by 2023.

Because he was already seen as an 'enemy' of the Ukraine government, most online commentators are pointing the Kyiv's intelligence services as the likely culprit:

Terrorist attack in Monaco as Ukrainian oligarch, sanctioned by Zelensky, is injured by bomb. Will this remain an unresolved mystery like Nord Stream and the Epstein files? pic.twitter.com/GO31DfuLqi

— Glenn Diesen (@Glenn_Diesen) June 30, 2026

Forbes ranked Yermolaiev as the 39th richest Ukrainian in 2020, clocking his net worth at $230 million (£173.8 million). Many current international reports are referencing him as a billionaire, with some pundits suggesting he's involved in array of shady business dealings in eastern Europe.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/30/2026 - 08:25

Maersk Lifts Outlook As Wall Street Questions Whether Freight Tailwinds Can Last

A.P. Moller-Maersk shares rose in Copenhagen trading after the world's second-largest container carrier surprised analysts by raising its full-year profit outlook, citing stronger-than-expected containerized demand, particularly across Asia. The upbeat guidance suggests the global container market has remained resilient despite earlier Hormuz-related chokepoint disruptions, with global shipping demand holding.

The Danish shipping and logistics giant now expects global container volumes to grow about 4% this year, up from its prior forecast of 2% to 4%. It also lifted guidance for EBITDA, EBIT, and free cash flow, with the new ranges coming in well above analyst expectations, as tracked by Bloomberg.

Here's a snapshot of the full-year guidance upgrade (courtesy of Bloomberg):

• Sees underlying Ebitda $8 billion to $10 billion, saw $4.5 billion to $7 billion, estimate $7.33 billion (Bloomberg Consensus)
• Sees underlying Ebit $2 billion to $4 billion, saw loss $1.5 billion to $1 billion, estimate $1.42 billion

Maersk's guidance matters because container shipping offers one of the clearest real-time reads on global demand for goods.

The stronger outlook reflects a recent surge in spot freight rates, resilient export volumes in Asian markets, and tighter effective capacity due to ongoing route disruptions. The key question for investors now is whether that momentum is strong enough to push Maersk shares back toward, or through, their 2021 highs.

Wolfe Research analyst Jacob Lacks noted:

Maersk is clearly benefitting from the recent surge in spot rates, and a key question in our minds for the stock is how long the current environment lasts. We continue to believe the recent tightness reflects at least some degree of a pull-forward and an early peak season. This is consistent with ocean freight futures which continue to show a meaningful normalization lower in ocean rates following July.

Deutsche Bank analyst Harishankar Ramamoorthy noted:

..but difficult to see rates momentum sustain over the medium-term.

We have revised our forecasts for 2026 to reflect the guidance above, but make little changes to estimates beyond 2026 (see Figure 2). Freight rates have been volatile in the past several months, given many "black swan" events, and it is difficult to argue that the current momentum in spot rates should continue structurally into the medium term. Nevertheless, as we noted in our monthly Transportation Leading Indicators note yesterday, markets are pricing in an easing in freight rates for Maersk driven by the peace deal in the Middle East (latest SCFI is still c. 140% higher than in end Feb); but they seem to be ignoring that bunker 380 has dropped c. 37% from its peak in March, now trading only 7% higher than at the end of Feb.

We have been arguing that the direction of travel for spot freight rates relative to bunker costs has been favourable for Maersk (see Figure 1), and it is indeed providing some near-term tail risk. Given the swing in EBITDA, FCF, and consequently net debt, while we haven't changed our valuation methodology or the multiples used, our price target stands revised from DKK 12,970 to DKK 14,030. Despite the near-term tailwinds to spot rates, the situation on overcapacity in the industry warrants caution over the medium term; retain HOLD.

Bernstein analyst Alex Irving noted:

This increase follows strong demand leading to strong freight rates. We see the increase in spot rates YTD as having two components. The initial rise in spot rates following the outbreak of war in the Middle East was likely largely, if not entirely, due to additional surcharges for higher fuel costs. However, rates continued to rise even as fuel prices started to decline as Q2 went on, reflecting strength in demand. What is not yet clear to us is how much is a pull-forward of demand, ahead of further surcharges and the risk of higher tariffs in Q3, vs genuinely greater demand. Maersk has increased its volume outlook for total container trade for the year from a range of 2-4% growth, to 4% growth. By implication, the answer is some of both.

The underlying threat to industry profitability of oversupply has not gone away, and in recent days we have seen reports of further mega orders (MSC just yesterday reported to be ordering up to 20 vessels of 20,000 TEU each, for delivery from 2029). Near term, the rate environment continues to support very strong earnings at container lines.

Last week, Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc told Bloomberg: "It has been strong throughout the first half of the year, despite the war and the disruption to energy markets," adding, "For us, the expectation is that this in all likelihood, right now looks like it's set to continue into the rest of the

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/30/2026 - 07:45

Can We Have Our Humans Back? Companies Rethink AI

Authored by Autumn Spredemann via The Epoch Times,

The artificial intelligence revolution may not be eliminating human jobs as quickly as some feared. Rising computing costs, operational headaches, and inconsistent results are prompting some companies to change course and bring workers back.

It’s a hard lesson learned in the throes of the early AI boom, in which bold claims of big savings have enticed many businesses to downsize their staff.

Many industry professionals now say that roles requiring sound judgment, creativity, customer interaction, and quality control need to keep humans in the driver’s seat.

A Careerminds survey of 600 human resources professionals who'd made layoffs in the previous 12 months revealed that nine out of 10 companies would rethink their AI-related terminations.

Three out of four human resources professionals who took the survey confirmed that their organization sacked employees because of technological advancements that replaced roles and responsibilities.

But only 8.4 percent of the survey pool said AI delivered the promised results.

“Over the past 12 months, we have seen a noticeable uptick in companies coming to us after pausing or scaling back AI tool rollouts,” James Calloway, chief operating officer at Stealth Agents, told The Epoch Times.

Calloway’s company provides executive-level virtual assistants, an area where the cost difference between human workers and AI agents is stark.

“One e-commerce client had budgeted for an AI customer service implementation and found the licensing, integration, and ongoing prompt engineering costs were two to three times their original estimate,” he said.

“They hired two of our [human virtual assistants] instead and cut their per-ticket resolution cost by nearly 40 [percent].

“Human employees remain more cost-effective in client-facing communications that require empathy and judgment, tasks that require reading between the lines of what a customer actually needs, work involving proprietary context that cannot safely be fed into third-party AI systems, and any workflow where a mistake has real reputational or legal consequences.”

Big tech companies have also found this to be true. In April, Bryan Catanzaro, vice president of applied deep learning research at Nvidia, told Axios, “For my team, the cost of compute is far beyond the costs of the employees.”

Nickle LaMoreaux, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at IBM, argued that augmenting roles with AI is more essential to corporate growth than replacing human talent entirely, during a Wall Street Journal Leadership Institute summit in March.

LaMoreaux’s comments followed just weeks after IBM announced plans to triple its entry-level hires. When asked why so many companies aren’t taking a similar approach, he said, “It’s because they’re in this productivity mindset versus the growth mindset.”

A BCG analysis predicted that 50 percent to 55 percent of all jobs in the United States will be “reshaped” by AI within the next couple of years.

Visitors crowd an IBM exhibition stand at the 2026 Hannover Messe industrial trade fair in Hanover, Germany, on April 20, 2026. This year's trade fair included an increased emphasis on industrial AI. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Unforeseen Expenses

Jon Hill, CEO of The Energists, said there’s a misconception that generative AI is just “software with a subscription fee.” He has personally witnessed how AI buyer’s remorse can lead to staff rehires.

“Many of our clients aggressively pursued generative AI initiatives, thinking they would reduce labor costs,” Hill told The Epoch Times, “but we’re increasingly seeing those clients circling back to human employees after discovering the real-world costs of AI systems.”

Hill gave the example of one company that he worked with that planned to automate some of its compliance reporting and technical support. The company found that while the projected savings initially looked promising, those gains evaporated when taking into account the costs of cybersecurity, human oversight, and application programming interface usage.

The client chose to pause AI deployment because “human staff provided more predictable output at a lower long-term cost,” he said.

Hill said there are multiple costs that organizations can overlook. Cloud compute costs alone can be “a six- to seven-figure annual expense,” depending on usage, Hill said.

People visit an AI data center at SK Networks during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on March 3, 2025. A February survey of human resources professionals revealed that nine out of 10 companies would rethink AI-related terminations. Manaure Quinter/AFP via Getty Images

Matt Baharav, CEO of MKB Media Solutions, told The Epoch Times that the AI content assistant his team implemented ended up being both costly and inefficient.

“Last quarter, we decided to stop utilizing an [AI] automated content assistant for our outreach pitches. We realized the software was ineffective,” Baharav told The Epoch Times.

“The company we hired and paid thousands per month charged us licensing costs, as well as had my team spend countless hours rewriting generic paragraphs created by their tool.”

In this photo illustration, a screen shows the Deepseek app in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 31, 2026. After the rapid rise of AI implementation in industrial settings, a growing number of businesses are bringing human workers back to the workplace. Oleksii Pydsosonnii/The Epoch Times

Baharav said he learned that “a good writer is less expensive than an expensive automated content assistant” when it comes to complex communications.

“We eliminated the software altogether and transferred the funds back into hiring competent, sharp writers,” he said.

Tech spending tracker Mavvrik, in its 2025 State of AI Cost Management report, observed that 80 percent to 85 percent of companies missed their AI infrastructure forecasts by more than 25 percent, while 84 percent reported “significant gross margin erosion” because of miscalculated AI costs.

The offices of Amazon Germany's new headquarters in Munich are pictured on April 16, 2026. The retail giant laid off 16,000 workers in January in its latest round of cuts, part of a multi-year wave of layoffs driven in part by the company's adoption of artificial intelligence. AFP via Getty Images

Luxury Component

Marcus Mossberger, chief market strategy officer at workforce intelligence platform LYTIQS, said he believes that AI could have its own niche within the workforce, so long as it’s not a situation that would be better served by human judgment.

“HR is a great example where AI can be used to field transaction questions like ‘what is the deductible on my health insurance plan,’ but not for more intimate requests, like ‘what should I do about a co-worker who is making me uncomfortable?’” Mossberger said.

He said some companies are likely to “over-rotate” toward AI and learn a hard lesson, but he thinks that there could be bigger consequences for companies than just having to hire new talent.

“I actually believe the biggest hidden ‘expense’ associated with implementing generative AI has been the disruption of trust between employee and employer. And let’s face it, this wasn’t exactly an area of strength to begin with,” Mossberger said.

A Microsoft AI booth is shown during the AI+Expo Special Competitive Studies Project in Washington on June 2, 2025. Many companies are feeling buyer's remorse, hiring industry insiders say, as they find that the cost of AI implementation is higher than anticipated. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

He pointed out that hard-working Americans are watching employers invest billions in AI infrastructure while laying off their co-workers and being asked to help train their own AI replacement.

“If you think these same individuals are giving you discretionary effort and taking innovative risks to improve your organization, you are badly mistaken,” Mossberger said.

He predicts that this will necessitate a need for companies to rebuild trust in their brand while training new hires. Mossberger said he thinks that many of the people laid off during the early days of the AI gold rush may refuse to come back.

The practice of a worker returning to the same company that initially laid them off has come to be known as a “boomerang employee.”

For Baharav, the decision to prioritize human talent has definitely paid off. “To date, we have actually ended up saving money,” he said.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/30/2026 - 07:20

Israeli Defense Chief Lashes Out At Trump Policy For Preventing Destruction Of Hezbollah

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in a talk before reporters Monday ripped the Trump administration, blaming the US for giving into Iran's demands that a peace framework incorporate the Lebanon front.

Trump "exerted pressure" on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu within several telephone calls "in the run-up to the signing of the memorandum of understanding" - and ultimately prevented Israel from disarming and destroying Hezbollah, he asserted.

Katz expressed "regret" at the US linking up Iran and Lebanon, saying: "The connection between the Iran and Lebanon fronts is an American interest; if there had been no connection between the fronts, Hezbollah would have collapsed." 

Israeli Defense Ministry

Katz suggested the Israeli army was then forced to go to a "Plan B," which he outlined as "pushing deeper into the 'Yellow Line' zone in southern Lebanon" - which extends nearly 10 kilometers into Lebanon, and mainly constitutes what the IDF currently occupies.

The Times of Israel bluntly put it as follows:

Briefing reporters, Katz claimed that had it not been for American pressure on Israel, the IDF would have caused Hezbollah's collapse in Lebanon. He said the IDF had planned a “massive” aerial campaign that, he claimed, “would have dismantled Hezbollah,” and that the terror group was “begging the Iranians to save it.”

The defense minister blamed US President Donald Trump’s linking of the US-Iran talks with Lebanon for preventing Israel from doing so. According to Katz, when Trump “linked Iran and Lebanon,” Israel had to stop “bringing down buildings in Beirut,” but could carry out “surgical strikes” on Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital.

Katz emphasized, "I’m sorry about that linkage, but it was an American interest. They very much wanted to advance the possibility of negotiations with Iran."

He also noted of recently strained US-Israeli relations, "when you enter into a partnership, it has advantages, but it also comes with certain constraints."

"People should not hold their breath wondering where the next place will be from which Israel will withdraw in Lebanon, because it will not happen until Hezbollah is disarmed. We have no territorial ambitions in Lebanon, but until Hezbollah is disarmed, we will not withdraw a millimeter," Katz added.

He also said, "When it comes to defending ourselves, there are no compromises, not in Lebanon and not in Iran."

The defense chief then made clear that Israel is preparing to go it alone regarding Iran if need be:

"If Iran attacks, that is the third Iran war. The situation is very clear. There is no reality in which Israel will allow missile fire at its territory without responding with force. It could happen within two days. My directive to the IDF is to prepare for a blue-and-white operation in Iran."

🚨Three remarkable comments from Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz today:

On the reported plan to topple the Iranian regime, originally prepared under former Mossad chief David Barnea:

"There were external actors who were supposed to join, but they did not allow it to…

— גיא עזריאל Guy Azriel (@GuyAz) June 29, 2026

The "blue-and-white" label is apparent reference to taking the war to Iran, but without external Washington help. However, it's also clear that the Iranians have in the past been able to inflict serious damage on Israel, even when it did have active and significant US military support.

The defense minister also again admitted that Israeli intelligence has had assets inside Iran all along, but that these ground elements were prevented from orchestrating full regime change in the Islamic Republic.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/30/2026 - 06:55

German Feminist Activist Calls For White People To Stop Having Children And Accept Refugees

Via Remix News,

Germany’s Verena Brunschweiger, a self-described “radical feminist,” is promoting the slogan: “My lineage ends with me.” She says she hopes to encourage people, especially White people, to stop having children.

She claims that Western pro-natalists only want to “control women, and keep refugees out.”

The article on her views, from Australian broadcaster news.com.au, is entitled: “‘My bloodline ends with me’: Why feminist ‘childfree icon’ wants fewer ‘white babies’ and more refugees”

The report quoted her as saying: “We have a proud slogan, ‘My bloodline ends with me.’ I think this is a responsible choice.”

Brunschweiger said that Europeans are to blame for the poor quality of life in Africa, and she would invite the entire world to Europe.

🇩🇪German feminist Verena Brunschweiger promotes the slogan “My lineage ends with me.”

She calls for people, especially White people, to stop having children.

She claims that Western pro-natalists only want to “control women, and keep refugees out."

Brunschweiger said that… pic.twitter.com/8DGwDdQkQU

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) June 27, 2026

“So I would take all immigrants and refugees in because we ruined the world, so to speak.”

“We produce the climate change which makes life in Africa, for instance, miserable and horrible. So of course, why not invite [them] if they want to come?”

She said that in her home country, “populist nonsense” is being promoted by the German party Alternative for Germany (AfD).

In einem neuen Interview verkündet die kinderlose Verena Brunschweiger stolz, dass ihre Blutlinie mit ihr endet und das sei die verantwortungsvolle Entscheidung. Sie fordert weniger ‚weiße Babys‘ im Westen und attackiert Elon Musk sowie alle, die mehr Nachwuchs wollen, um die… pic.twitter.com/5Y7q3rpb2g

— Lexa 🇩🇪 (@rebew_lexa) June 29, 2026

She claimed the party wants Germans to have more babies so “they can say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, dear refugees, go back and drown or die or starve or whatever, because we have so many of our own people and we have to care for them first.”

“They say we need our own kids because German white kids are better than other kids who immigrate into the country,” she added.

“All the white people go, ‘Wouldn’t it be so horrible if we lost the white people, the white majority?’ They always want white women to have more babies to in order to be able to say, ‘Oh, stay the way we are, we are already full,'” she added.

She says Western countries have a moral duty to accept refugees.

“Because we produce all the climate change and all those things which make them leave [their] country,” she said.

Despite immigrants producing children at a much higher rate than White people, especially African migrants, she dismisses any argument against restricting immigration.

She said that she “of course” targets Whites specifically to stop having children.

“My focus, and that’s what drives the AfD nuts, is we have to cut back our numbers,” she said.

Read more here...

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/30/2026 - 06:30

Iran Contradicts Trump, Refuses Talks 'At Any Level' For Coming Days, While US Delegation Travels To Qatar Summary

• Iran Foreign Ministry contradicts Trump on Doha talks: "We will not hold any negotiation meetings at any level with the American side in the coming days."
• US-Iran talks may resume Tuesday in Doha, Trump declaring the plan in a Monday Truth Social, with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveling to Qatar, though Tehran denies technical negotiations are scheduled.
• Qatar suspended most maritime activity as security deteriorates, while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted & slowed.
• Recent US-Iran strikes have clouded diplomacy, despite reports both sides have paused military action.
• Iran warned it could halt negotiations and said further US involvement in Hormuz would escalate tensions and delay the waterway's reopening.

//--> //--> Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by July 31?
Yes 40% · No 61%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

*  *  *

Iran Intends to Administer Strait With or Without Oman

A couple of late Monday statements, including a declaration by Tehran that it is ready to implement its Hormuz Strait passage protocol with or without Oman:

• Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister says if they do not reach an understanding with Oman on the routes and arrangements of the Strait of Hormuz, they will in any case implement Iran's new sovereignty and policy in the Strait of Hormuz
• Iran President Pezeshkian says "Understanding is a bilateral matter. If the American side adheres to the memorandum of understanding, we will also fulfill our obligations"

Iran Foreign Ministry Contradicts Trump: No Talks will be Held

Earlier Monday a White House official said the Witkoff-Kushner delegation was en route to Qatar for Iran talks, but it's looking like Tehran will give the US a cold shoulder. Iran state Tasnim is citing Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, who says:

"We will not hold any negotiation meetings at any level with the American side in the coming days," directly contradicting prior reports coming out of Washington.

Bloomberg is also confirming the new statement out of the Iranian side. President Trump himself early Monday morning stated on Truth Social: "Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha." Also Fars has separately stated within the last hours:

"No nuclear negotiations have been held with the US so far, and there will be no negotiations on nuclear issues until Iran's conditions are met."

More latest:

IRAN SAYS DELEGATION WILL VISIT QATAR BUT RULES OUT US TALKS

So it seems Witkoff and Kushner will merely meet with Qatari and Pakistani mediators? It remains an open question whether the Iranians will be present in Doha at all. It could be Tehran is issuing the contradictory messaging in order to keep leverage and pressure up, or else to try and humiliate the White House. The Islamic Republic has been warning that more US military action against Iranian territory and in the Hormuz Strait could result in Iran walking away from the negotiating process altogether.

Witkoff-Kushner Delegation En Route to Qatar, Iran Mum

Bloomberg reports Monday that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet with Qatar's prime minister on Tuesday to discuss the talks with Iran, also citing Axios which spoke to a White House official. Will the Iranians actually be there?

• On Wednesday US and Iranian technical teams will meet separately with Qatari and Pakistani mediators, Axios says
• Witkoff and Kushner will travel to Doha today: Axios

So it seems the US delegation is in motion, even as Tehran has as yet offered no concrete public confirmation that an Iranian high level team is in route.

Qatar Halts Maritime Activity due to Unravelling Security Situation

A big move from Qatar to halt almost all shipping in its maritime territory on Monday:

Qatar has recommended a temporary halt to shipping and some maritime activities in the country until further notice, without providing a reason. The Qatari Ministry of Transport said the precautionary measure includes recreational and fishing boats, jet skis and other vessels. Although no reason was given for the unusual step, the decision was made after Doha announced last night that a Qatari citizen was killed by shrapnel hitting a vessel due to 'military operations in the area,' but did not provide further details.

The Qatari MOT suspends all maritime activities until further notice. https://t.co/FjXvico7QB

— barry with the NED (@bonzerbarry) June 29, 2026

Bloomberg reported earlier in the day: Just a handful of vessels made open transits over the weekend in the strait.

Trump: Talks Continue Tuesday in Doha

After some persisting Sunday reports, including in The Wall Street Journal, said that last week's renewed tit-for-tat fighting between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz had 'stalled' the next round of talks, President Trump stated on Truth Social Monday that a meeting on Iran would be held in Doha Tuesday. He stipulated that Iran has requested the talks.

"Iran has requested a meeting. It will take place tomorrow in Doha," Trump wrote on his social media platform in all caps. Axios reported late Sunday, citing a senior US official, that "We decided to stop all the kinetic activity" and make way for renewed talks.

NBC notes in the immediate aftermath of the statement, "There was no immediate reaction from Tehran. Hours earlier, a senior Iranian official denied any technical discussions were scheduled to take place."

"Technical teams working on the implementation of the initial agreement between the two sides are scheduled to meet in Doha in the coming days, a source with knowledge of the talks," the report continues.

Growing Tit-for-Tat Strikes Clouding Talks

Abbas Aslani from the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies has contextualized, "In the past few days the two sides have been flexing their muscles on this strategic issue – meaning the Strait of Hormuz, which is a leverage for Iran that can create a balance in the negotiations with the United States." He added: "This has been clouding the atmosphere of the talks. The Iranian senior negotiator said they are not expecting those technical talks to be held this week."

As for how this may or may not impact vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of the MoU deal signing, and start of Switzerland technical talks earlier this month, Bloomberg reports that "Commercial shipping continued to move through the Strait of Hormuz at a reduced level after recent attacks on two vessels. A handful of vessels made open transits over the weekend, according to tracking data."

Last Friday into the weekend saw the escalatory spiral go into overdrive, as red lines continue to be tested. By early Sunday morning, both Bahrain and Kuwait came under direct Iranian attacks. The strikes came just hours after the Pentagon proudly announced it had pounded multiple targets inside Iran  - a move Washington characterized as "retaliation" for Tehran's continued harassment of commercial shipping lanes.

A short time before Trump's latest Truth Social post proclaiming Doha talks set for Tuesday...

Iran denies reports of scheduled technical talks with US in Doha
——
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stated on Monday that “no technical talks” with the US are scheduled this week in the Qatari capital Doha, refuting recent western media assertions. IRNA reports… pic.twitter.com/pvAY6tYjxS

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) June 29, 2026 Tehran Threatens 'Complete Halt' To US Negotiations

Tehran is now threatening a "complete halt" to all diplomatic negotiations, despite that Trump has been signaling that the gloves are completely off if things spill over into next year: "There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started," he had said Saturday.

But then Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, "Any interference in this matter and any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by Iran will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and will fuel tensions." But for now, at least the two sides have 'agreed' to halt strikes, it was widely reported Sunday evening.

Overnight, Weekend Latest Developments

via Newsquawk...

• US CENTCOM announced that it conducted strikes against multiple Iranian targets on Saturday, on the orders of US President Trump, "in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping." In retaliation, Iran's IRGC responded by hitting 8 US military installations at the Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait and the US Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, according to IRNA. However, in the early hours of Monday, a US official said technical talks with Iran are slated to continue on all areas of the MoU, while the official added that both sides will stand down for now and that vessels can move freely.
• US official said Iranian drone and missile attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain failed and that all Iranian projectiles were intercepted or missed, according to ABC News.
• Iran cancelled technical talks with the US scheduled on Sunday and cited recent attacks on the country and a failure to meet conditions outlined in the MoU with the US. However, it was separately reported that the US and Iran agreed to halt strikes and meet this week, according to Axios citing a senior US official. Furthermore, US and Iran technical talks that were scheduled to be held on Tuesday in Switzerland, which would focus on nuclear and other issues, have reportedly been changed and will now be held in Doha on Tuesday and will focus on the Strait of Hormuz and recent escalation.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi said the US and Israel have violated the MoU, particularly the first clause, which hinders the restoration of regional security, while he also stated that Iran seeks to implement the MoU in good faith in accordance with the principle of commitment for commitment and that they will act decisively against contract breaches.
• Mediators have reportedly set up communication channels to de-escalate any incidents with technical talks set to continue, according to reports.
• Iran's President said they will get USD 6bln from Qatar of the USD 12bln of Iranian funds that were frozen due to US restrictions within Qatar, journalist Mallick reported.
• Israeli army said it attacked 3 Hezbollah headquarters in southern Lebanon last night.
• Israeli military has received no orders to withdraw from Lebanon, according to Al-Jadeed and Haaretz, citing an Israeli military source.
• Instructions have been given to the Israeli army to reduce the destruction of homes and infrastructure in areas of southern Lebanon it controls, Al Hadath reported citing Israeli media.
• Israel destroyed a Hezbollah underground tunnel in southern Lebanon, while Israeli forces reportedly shelled a Syrian village near the Golan Heights.
• Israeli PM Netanyahu and Defence Minister Katz said the IDF will remain in the southern Lebanon "security zone" after destroying a Hezbollah underground facility.
• Iran and Oman held the first meeting on the Strait of Hormuz, within the framework of Article 5 of the MoU, Mehr reported.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/30/2026 - 06:15

As Affordability Fears Mount, $100,000 Salary Considered Low-Income In 7 California Counties

A six-figure salary is considered low-income in a handful of California counties, according to the 2026 income limits set by the state’s Department of Housing & Community Development.

These new income limits, which took effect June 23, are used to calculate the cost of affordable housing for certain state housing assistance programs.

Most counties saw an increase in the cutoff for what is considered low-income, and seven counties—Santa Cruz, San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Santa Clara, Orange, and Santa Barbara—had their cutoffs set at six-figure amounts.

As Cynthia Cai details below for The Epoch Times, Santa Cruz County has the highest cutoff, with a limit set at $122,200 for a single-person household. This is a nearly 10 percent increase from the previous year, which set the low-income cutoff at $111,100.

For each additional person added to the household, the income cutoff is adjusted so that “income limits should be higher for larger families and lower for smaller families,” the Department of Housing & Community Development wrote in its memo.

Following Santa Cruz are three more coastal counties: San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin.

These three counties have cutoffs of $117,700 for single-person households, which is also an increase from the previous year’s limit of $109,700.

The low-income limit in Santa Clara is set at $113,700 for single-person households, and in Santa Barbara it is set at $102,000.

Two counties, however, are maintaining their low-income cutoffs from last year. Solano County will continue to use $76,950 as its limit, and Shasta will continue to use $54,500.

These figures come as housing and affordability remain top issues for residents.

“California home prices continue to be much more expensive than the rest of the US,” the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) reported in its 2026 Housing Affordability Tracker.

A mid-tier home, or the average-value middle-market property, costs around $775,000 in California, according to the LAO. That’s nearly double the national average of $398,771 for a mid-tier house, according to Redfin.

The Golden State saw a rapid home price increase of 14 percent per year during the pandemic from 2020 to 2022, the LAO stated. But home price growth has slowed down since then. The average price of a mid-tier home is currently increasing by approximately 1 percent per year.

“While home prices have stabilized, housing has become less affordable for most Californians in recent years” due to incomes failing to keep pace with the increase in housing costs, the LAO added.

As a result, only about 23 percent of households would qualify for mid-tier home mortgages in 2026, down from roughly 31 percent in 2019.

The state’s low homeownership and higher-than-average rental costs and home values were also noted in a recent report by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), which said the state “has a housing problem.”

“Homeownership is the second lowest in the nation, and housing has become a dominant reason people leave the state,” the report states.

“Two of every three Californians say the cost of housing is a ‘big problem’ in their part of California.”

Ownership is particularly low among young adults, with about 31 percent of people between 30 and 34 years old reporting owning their own home. The national average for homeownership among that age group is about 49 percent.

Rental costs in California also exceed the national average by about 40 percent, the PPIC reported. The average cost to rent is about $2,159 in California compared with the national average of $1,526.

The PPIC noted that coastal cities face the highest costs, and large numbers of people are relocating inland, where costs are lower but housing supply struggles to keep up with demand.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/30/2026 - 05:45

"White Time": Dutch Professor Argues That Time Itself Is Racist

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

We have previously discussed how many professors seem to compete in finding new forms of racism in every facet of society and education. Astrophysics, math, runoffs, science, statistics, and meritocracy have all been denounced as racist. In this academic cottage industry, professors secure publications and speaking opportunities by identifying racism in the expressions, images, or entire fields. It was, therefore, only a matter of time before time itself was declared racist.

Zakia Essanhaji, a professor of “organizational ethnography” at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, is the latest to make the case against “white time.”

Her recent paper titled “Academic time theft: stealing time, producing racialized inclusion in Dutch academia” builds on prior work condemning time as racist.

Rutgers Women’s and Gender Studies/Africana Studies Professor Brittney Cooper has also written about how time is racist. Mainstream media has positively cooed at the suggestion, including an interview with NPR. Cooper claimed that “white people own time” after framing the concept of time in “histories of European and Western thought.”

There is also apparently black time: “Time has a history, and so do black people. But we treat time as though it is timeless, as though it has always been this way, as though it doesn’t have a political history bound up with the plunder of indigenous lands, the genocide of indigenous people and the stealing of Africans from their homeland.”

Likewise, in “The Chronopolitics of Racial Time,” Jamaican academic Charles W. Mills described the  “Euro-chronometer” as a Western-centric, linear timeline.

These works are often heavily laden with jargonistic narratives. In one study from Brazil, academics argue that “thinking of time outside and against the Euro-chronometer requires decolonial epistemologies that have the potential to disrupt racist chronologies.”

Professor Essanhaji continues this scholarship by “drawing on critical race theory and decolonial scholarship on chronopolitics and white time.” She applies with earlier work “to academic time theft to theorize how universities extract, fragment and defer the time of academics of colour through racialized institutional processes.”

“White time is not simply the time of the privileged, but the power to define temporality and progress itself. It is the colonization of time, known as the system of modernity/coloniality. As Vazquez […] argues, this system is maintained by erasing cyclical or relational understandings of time, ensuring that time is perceived as racing towards unattainable, more modern futures. In that sense, white time is both prescriptive and pre-emptive, foreclosing alternative futures and experiences of the past by delegitimizing other temporalities.”

Academics have long argued that non-white histories and figures are often “erased’ in scholarship. Such arguments have led to a move away from Western works or classics in favor of non-Western sources in higher education. However, the time scholarship suggests that the very construct of time has been shaped and furthers white domination and privilege.

In Professor Essanhaji’s work, this scholarship is used to challenge the demands placed on minority academics in publishing and other measures of academic achievement. Again, the work is heavily layered with jargonistic language. Here are her findings:

“The analysis identifies three mechanisms of academic time theft. First, prolonged uncertainty operates through racialized precariousness that keeps academics of colour in a condition of academic probation through insecure contracts and housing precarity. Second, ongoing disruption emerges through everyday racism that fragments attention, diverts emotional and intellectual labour, and interrupts academic continuity. Third, recursive evaluation operates through the continual resetting of inclusion and promotion criteria, producing perpetual states of “not yet” recognition and deferred academic futures. Together, these mechanisms sustain racialized temporal regimes in which academics of colour are positioned as perpetually “almost there” while white institutional time remains uninterrupted.”

These authors largely cite each other with little attention to countervailing viewpoints. It becomes a closed, self-perpetuating system as academics invite one another to speak at their universities and feed off one another. Few academics are willing to challenge such scholarship. Indeed, as we have discussed, departments have largely purged their ranks of conservative or contrarian voices.

As shown in this latest scholarship, the work in this area jettisons such “colonial” or “white” forms of analysis in favor of storytelling:

“I depart from a critical race perspective, employing counter-storytelling to construct (counter)narratives grounded in the lived experiences of people of colour. This method recognizes the connections between the historical impacts of colonialism and contemporary exclusions within organizations. By highlighting the experiences of people of colour navigating the university’s racism, I seek to provide rich accounts that reflect on how time is racialized and experienced in Dutch universities.”

There is a faux statistical framing based on “data” that is largely the subjective descriptions of minority academics:

“Initial open coding focused on participants’ descriptions of inequality across social, material and affective dimensions, including social, material and affective inequalities. While time was not predefined as an analytical category, it emerged inductively through participants’ recurring temporal framings of inequality.”

When one tries to drill down on the “data,” it appears entirely anecdotal and subjective, often turning on one or a handful of “narratives.” These stories are used to claim that academic measurements of success, driven by “white time,” are unfair to minority faculty: “these mechanisms position academics of colour perpetually as ‘almost there’ while their academic futures remain deferred.”

The thrust is that minority faculty should not be subject to traditional or accepted pathways for tenure or promotion:

“Academic time theft is not an incidental by-product of exclusion but a structural mechanism through which universities sustain white institutional time. It works by continuously delaying, interrupting and recalibrating what counts as academic legitimacy, ensuring that the labour of academics of colour remains productive for the institution while their progression is indefinitely postponed.

…To ensure that people of colour have academic futures, researchers and policymakers must break with the white temporality of academic work within which progress for some is enabled and for others is ongoingly deferred.”

Academia has already embraced narrative-driven scholarship in many departments as an alternative to traditional academic analysis. The Critical Legal Studies movement, for example, has challenged conventional scholarship as too restrictive and exclusionary. Few academics today dare to challenge such scholarship on the merits. To do so is to risk being labeled as reactionary or, even worse, racist.

This latest scholarship further challenges the time and structure for advancement for minority faculty as inherently racist. The question is whether the appointments and promotion process is at risk of losing objective and consistent measurements of scholarship.

Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the New York Times best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/30/2026 - 05:00

Which Continents Have The Most Drug Users?

North America leads the world in the use of cannabis, opioids and amphetamines. 

According to numbers published today in the UN's World Drug Report, North Americans between the ages of 15 and 64 were 75 percent to 90 percent more likely to have consumed these drugs in 2024 than residents of second-ranked Oceania. The odds of dying of an accidental opioid overdose in the United States was still higher the same year as the risk of losing one's life due to a car crash or suicide. Despite this, overdose deaths in the U.S. have in the last couple of years come down from their peaks.

As Statista's Katharina Buchholz reports, according to the report, broader marijuana legalization in the U.S. drove consumption. Oceania had the highest prevalence of cocaine and ecstasy use, mainly in Australia and New Zealand. South America saw a relatively high use of cocaine and amphetamines, while opioids were more widespread in Asia than in South America or Europe.

You will find more infographics at Statista

In total, 331 million people worldwide consumed drugs in 2024, equivalent to 6.2 percent of the global population.

While marijuana remains the most common drug by far, the UN observed a change in the second-placed market for opioids.

Here, synthetic opioids have been taking on an increasingly larger role in response to the crackdown on opium poppy production in Afghanistan.

Strong synthetic opioids like fentanyl have been a major driver in the American overdose epidemic and as of 2025 were still detected in more than half of all U.S. drug deaths.

Amphetamines – at a global annual use prevalence of 0.6 percent the world's third biggest drug – have meanwhile seen their market globalize.

Myanmar has emerged as a major producer country for amphetamines consumed globally and has also picked up opiate production as Afghanistan's output decreased.

The UN also said it was seeing drug manufacturers using innovation as a tool to "skirt regulations and avoid detection", leading to the type of drugs found in seizures continuously evolving and increasing in variety.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/30/2026 - 04:15

'Muslim Theme Park Experience' Sparks Fierce Backlash In 'Two-Tier' UK

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,

A theme park in Britain has received intense backlash for marketing exclusive access, halal vendors and Islamic stalls, effectively sidelining non-Muslims.

Gulliver's Land in Milton Keynes is handing its rides and grounds to a day promoted as reserved exclusively for the Muslim community. Organisers described it as a "Muslim Theme Park experience" with unlimited rides, halal food vendors, Islamic stalls, kids' activities and limited tickets sold primarily to that group.

Promotional material from Mubarak Moments, the group behind the event, highlights "a theme park reserved exclusively for the Muslim community" and "exclusive access... for one evening only," effectively confirming the event is a faith-targeted buyout of a family theme park.

Another day in 2026 Britain: Gulliver's Land hosting a 'Muslim Theme Park Experience' with halal only vibes and Islamic stalls.

Faith, fun & family... for some. Where's the English family day?

Imagine the outrage if they had an English only day. pic.twitter.com/27zDtZJsb7

— British Bastard ?? (@BritishBastardX) June 29, 2026

A Milton Keynes local community hub post on Facebook stated "This event has been independently organised by a Muslim community group, so naturally its primary focus is on bringing the Muslim community together, just as any community group would when organising an event for its members."

The post continued, "That said, there is nothing to suggest that people of other faiths or backgrounds are unable to attend and enjoy the event. Everyone is welcome to attend in the spirit of mutual respect and understanding."

It added, "As with any community-led event, it is expected that those attending will be supportive of the organisers, respectful of the event's purpose, and considerate of everyone present."

Some suggested the event was fake, manufactured as rage bait, but the organiser's original post is here:

Note how the image on that post features a Muslim family, where as in the other image that element has been removed.

Responses poured in immediately. One user summed up the widespread frustration: "Two-tier Britain in full effect. While English culture gets sidelined and mocked, we're funding and celebrating parallel societies on our own soil. Gulliver's Land should be for British families, not imported theocracies."

Exactly.

Two-tier Britain in full effect.

While English culture gets sidelined and mocked, we're funding and celebrating parallel societies on our own soil.

Gulliver's Land should be for British families, not imported theocracies.

This nonsense ends when we take back...

— Harry Lines??????? (@HarryLines7) June 29, 2026

Others asked the obvious follow-up questions that never receive answers from officials or venue managers: when is the Christian family day, the English-only evening, or the Jewish community slot? Calls for boycott spread quickly. Several noted the hypocrisy directly: if the same marketing had read "reserved exclusively for the English community," every equality body, media outlet and politician would have descended within hours.

How does this support multiculturism – this is deeply divisive.
When will people be told to sit at the back of the bus for segregation! Wake up to Racism in all its guises!

— MPsFailPeople (@MPsFailPeople) June 29, 2026

When is the Christian, Jewish, Sikh Theme park experience day?

— Ben Graham (@BenGrahamUK) June 29, 2026

not very inclusive

— The Celtic Patriot (@Celticpatriot_) June 29, 2026

While Americans reading this might think it's another example of how far teh UK has fallen, this is also going on over there, in Texas of all places.

Earlier this year a taxpayer-funded indoor waterpark in Grand Prairie, Texas - the $88 million Epic Waters facility built with public sales tax money - advertised its 3rd Annual DFW Epic Eid celebration as a "Muslims only" event. Flyers specified modest dress rules including burkinis for women, halal-slaughtered meat, a private prayer room, and Islamic etiquette such as lowered gaze around the opposite sex.

Backlash forced organisers to edit the language to "modest dress only" and "all are welcome," yet the underlying restrictions remained visible in FAQs. Critics pointed out the obvious double standard: a publicly funded venue effectively closed to regular visitors for a faith-specific gathering.

The outrage was immediate and effective. Texas Governor Greg Abbott threatened to withhold $530,000 in state grants from the city if the discriminatory event proceeded. Grand Prairie officials canceled it.

Perhaps an even more disturbing development in Texas is the East Plano Islamic Community project, rebranded as The Meadow. This planned development of 1,000 homes, a mosque and schools has drawn concerns over potential Sharia enforcement inside what amounts to a parallel community.

NEW: 'Muslim City' in Texas gets legal win after a judge ordered that the state must comply with developers.

The East Plano Islamic Community (EPIC), which has now been rebranded to The Meadow, will feature 1,000 homes, a mosque, schools, and more.

Texas leaders are worried... pic.twitter.com/HoSvNeV307

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 30, 2026

Governor Abbott has been clear that Sharia law, Sharia cities and no-go zones have no place in Texas. Developers still secured a legal win ordering state compliance.

Meanwhile, back in the UK, multiple landlords have advertised rental properties exclusively for Muslims in breach of the Equality Act 2010. Ads on Facebook, Gumtree and Telegram specified "Muslim only," "only for Muslims," or "for 2 Muslim boys or 2 Muslim girls." Some targeted Muslim students only. These are not fringe cases. Investigations found dozens of such listings operating in plain sight while authorities focus enforcement resources elsewhere.

Any native British landlord attempting the reverse - advertising "English only" or "Christian only" - would face immediate investigation, fines and media pile-ons. The asymmetry is the definition of two-tier treatment.

Britain's own institutions have tilted the field further. All members of the government's "anti-Muslim hostility" advisory group have documented links to Islamist organisations. The state effectively handed rule-writing power over "hostility" definitions to the very networks that benefit from reduced scrutiny.

Schools received official guidance urging staff and pupils to report perceived "anti-Muslim hostility," creating an Orwellian atmosphere where questioning Islamic practices or parallel societies risks being treated as thoughtcrime.

The same authorities that move swiftly against native dissent have shown remarkable tolerance for actual criminal networks. Sadiq Khan once claimed there were no grooming gangs in London. Police are currently investigating around 4,000 cases.

None of this is about preventing people from celebrating their faith. It is about whether public venues, taxpayer assets and the legal system treat every community by the same rules. When theme parks, waterparks and housing markets begin carving out faith-exclusive zones while the host population is told any reciprocal preference is bigotry, the social contract fractures.

Texas demonstrated that elected leaders can still draw a line against explicit religious discrimination in public facilities and win. Britain's trajectory has been the opposite: accommodation of separatism, institutional capture by one-sided "hostility" definitions, and native families left wondering why their own cultural continuity receives less protection than imported alternatives.

The Gulliver's Land episode is simply the latest visible symptom. It will not be the last unless the underlying policy of mass low-assimilation immigration and selective multiculturalism is reversed. Equal rights mean equal rules. Anything less is not tolerance - it is managed decline.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/30/2026 - 03:30

Latvia Unveils Joint Drone Plant With Ukraine, PM Touts Site's Closeness To Russian Border

Latvia has announced confirmation its government has inked a new deal for Ukraine to assist in a Ukrainian drone manufacturing plant on Latvian soil, right near the border with Russia, as well as close to the Belarusian border.

Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said following an emergency cabinet meeting held in Latgale that his country will "accelerate plans to establish a joint drone manufacturing facility with Ukraine and aims to locate it near the country’s eastern border region," regional media reports.

Shahed-136 drone. Creative Commons

The small Baltic country has been a member of NATO since 2004, and along with other allies like Estonia and Lithuania (both of which also joined NATO during the mid-2000s expansion wave).

These Baltic states have remained outspoken in their anti-Moscow hawkishness, and this latest announced plan of Latvia to produce drones with Ukraine once again reveals that there's no heed being given to Russia's red lines.

The Kremlin has for years warned European states that constant NATO and military infrastructure expansion right up to Russia's borders could trigger major war. Of course, in Ukraine it has, but fears remain that some kind of major provocation could result in direct Russia-NATO conflict.

Regional media is really emphasizing the closeness of the planned facility to Russia:

Kulbergs said the agreement on cooperation in the field of unmanned systems, signed at the beginning of June, includes plans for joint production. In particular, a manufacturing facility is to be built rapidly near Latvia's border with Russia.

The prime minister said the government would do everything necessary to ensure the facility is located close to the border. He added that the region needs economic activity, investment and jobs.

So now these Baltic leaders are just openly prodding and provoking Russia, it seems.

The Latvian leader after saying all of this is still promoting the 'defensive' nature of such a joint drone program: "Kulbergs also said that new counter-drone systems are expected to become operational along Latvia's borders with Belarus and Russia in July and August, allowing the country to respond to aerial threats without deploying aircraft on every occasion."

"If there is a drone threat, we will not have to scramble aircraft every time. It is a very expensive and effective solution, but it is neither the best nor the most efficient one," he said further.

There's been a heightened spillover threat of UAVs from the context of the Russia-Ukraine theater, however, in some cases these have been reported to be errant Ukrainian drones, and not just Russian ones.

Russian media has really seized on this trend...

Latvia and Ukraine to build interceptor drones together — to defend Latvian airspace from drone incursions

Every drone that has breached Latvian airspace has been UKRAINIAN

Kiev now manufacturing drones in Latvia to shoot down drones from Kiev? pic.twitter.com/JJjU9jaaoU

— RT (@RT_com) June 29, 2026

Kulbergs is also saying he hopes to reach Ukraine's level of drone defense by the end of the year. The Zelensky government has over the past year been aggressively marketing its expertise to allied nations, and even in the Middle East in the context of the Iran war.

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/30/2026 - 02:45

83% Of French In Favor Of Deportation Of Criminals And Long-Term Unemployed Foreigners

Via Remix News,

An overwhelming number of French people, totaling 83 percent, say they support the deportation of specific categories of foreigners currently residing in France, focusing particularly on delinquents, criminals, or the long-term unemployed, according to a recent CSA survey conducted for Europe 1, CNews, and the JDD.

For young people, 90 percent of them support deporting these categories.

This sentiment shows consistency across genders, with 82 percent of men and 84 percent of women in agreement. Socioeconomic data indicates 84 percent approval among lower socioeconomic groups, 87 percent among the inactive population, and 78 percent among higher socioeconomic professionals.

From a political standpoint, the desire to dismiss foreign delinquents, criminals, or long-term unemployed individuals consistently secures a majority regardless of party alignment.

On the left, sixty-nine percent of voters support the idea, which breaks down to sixty-six percent for LFI, seventy-five percent for the PS, and sixty-eight percent for the Greens. The sentiment is markedly stronger on the right, where ninety-six percent of Les Républicains voters favor the implementation of this process, closely followed by National Rally voters at ninety-three percent approval.

Incredibly, tens of thousands of foreigners with criminal records and deportation orders cannot be removed from France, often resulting in tragedy, including rapes and murders.

Regarding immigration in general, polling from Ifop and Odoxa routinely shows that between 60 to 70 percent of French believe there are “already too many foreigners in France” and that “welcoming additional immigrants is not desirable.”

This polling data emerges alongside ongoing political debates on the topic, such as statements from political figures like Eric Zemmour, who previously stated during an appearance on Europe 1: “I am for zero immigration but also for negative immigration.”

He said that legal immigration drastically increases the rate of overall immigration, notably through family reunification policies. He also said during the program: “I think we need to start remigration.”

Read more here...

Tyler Durden Tue, 06/30/2026 - 02:00

Fear Is Overwhelming Us

Authored by Guy de la Bédoyère via DailySceptic.org,

Fear is implanted in us as a preservative from evil but its duty, like that of other passions, is not to overbear reason, but to assist it. It should not be suffered to tyrannise in the imagination, to raise phantoms of horror or to beset life with supernumerary distresses.

Samuel Johnson in the Rambler (1761)

No-one’s disputing that very hot weather can be challenging, even dangerous, for some people. But I’ve been fascinated by the news coverage of the heatwave over the last week or so, largely because I’m currently touring in the American West, as I often am. Reading the British news one could be forgiven for thinking the country was on the brink of destruction.

However, it also links into an accumulating culture of fear which is having a paralysing effect on wider society. It’s been developing for years, driven not only by a news media craving stories, but also government seeking ever more control over our lives, and a vast industry capitalising on promoting fear to sell solutions, reassurance and ‘peace of mind’.

Out here the weather is seriously dangerous in ways most of we Brits have little or no idea. About two weeks ago I was driving across South Dakota into North Dakota through epic downpours that were like carwashes for the gods, and in 80mph winds. But the place carried on, as we did. I drive around 10,000 miles in the American West annually and I have developed a healthy regard for the weather, without letting us stop what we’re doing. We simply adapt.

You might remember that in 2023 there was a heat dome over Texas. Since we were due to fly into Dallas Fort Worth, we were a little worried, thanks in no small part to the tireless BBC that left us and everyone else with the impression that all Texas was about to be obliterated in a conflagration.

Naturally, when we rolled up, we found Texas was hot but in a 100% operational state. Everything was working as normal. We went about our road trip as planned. In southeastern Texas we visited a forest, lush with leaves and long green grass. We found a couple of nonagenarians, who in Britain would have been locked in a freezer to save their lives, out walking as they always did. We told them about the news in Britain. They laughed and carried on.

The interesting thing is not then the heat, or in my case the torrential downpour across the northern Great Plains on a remote and almost entirely empty road, but the fixation in the media and government to turn everything into something to be terrified of.

In recent years, Covid was utilised as the pretext for driving hundreds of millions of people to the brink of – or even actual – mental breakdown from fear. Now it seems the long-term impact on wider society is becoming clearer though Covid is only one facet of a mesmerising array of reasons to be petrified. However, we also have it within us to drive ourselves mad with fear.

In his Journal of the Plague Year (1722) Daniel Defoe included this observation of how fear of the contagion could lead to irrational behaviour, when describing what had happened in 1665:

It was in those shambles that two persons falling down dead, as they were buying meat, gave rise to a rumour that the meat was all infected; which, though it might affright the people, and spoiled the market for two or three days, yet it appeared plainly afterwards that there was nothing of truth in the suggestion. But nobody can account for the possession of fear when it takes hold of the mind.

The Telegraph has an article about how school trips are shortening because “Anxious parents are cutting children’s overnight school trips short”:

Steve Hallett, the Director of Operations at Rock UK, which offers residentials at centres across the UK, said a typical trip has fallen from four or five days to two or three.

He said it was partly because of costs but also described an increasing trend of parents collecting their children early or even staying at the site after they drop their children off.

Mr Hallett added that it had become more common for children on residentials to sit out certain activities, watching from the sidelines.

“The level of anxiety is really high. Children who have come through that Covid age, we’re seeing a level of concern even about going outside let alone being away from home,” he said.

A source at another residential company in southern England said a traditional trip was “always a week long” but had shortened since the pandemic.

They said: “Since the pandemic, many parents won’t even allow their children to go on your typical sleepover with friends because of the safeguarding concerns… to go from never being away from home to being away from home for a week is a big thing. Children find it overwhelming and exhausting.”

They gave examples of parents raising concerns about their children being abducted, the food their children are eating and calling the centre during a trip saying: “I’m worried that my child’s going to be cold in the accommodation.”

“There is this anxiety and it’s not helping with the children’s resilience. Parents are less likely – because of those growing fears from the pandemic – to want to allow those children to go off and take those types of risks that allow them to build that resilience,” they added.

One wonders what sort of adults these children will grow into. Last year, Joanna Gray wrote a piece called ‘Why Do Schools Now Resemble Prisons?’ for this site. It’s a dystopian tale of a world of security fences, lanyards and lockdown drills. I can second that. After I left full-time teaching in 2016, I delivered a Classics day to sixth formers at a West London comp. It was a terrifying place. Just being let in was like trying to enter a US high-security establishment. Inside it was a seething mass of teenagers contained in their ‘safe and secure’ environment like battery chickens.

We can only hope that when they grow up and escape into the adult world, they can leave the nonsense behind them. But I’m afraid it’s all too likely that growing up in a climate of fear is encouraging a significant minority to hide at home, unable to contemplate either going to school or facing adult life.

Before I was 10 years old back in the mid-1960s, my idea of fun on a Saturday was to meet a schoolfriend in London, spend five shillings each on a ‘blue rover’ ticket and then pass the day riding around on the tube with a nebulous aim to travel from the end of each line to the other.

I don’t think it ever occurred to my parents either to discourage or even stop me. In 1970 I was fortunate enough to go on a school classics cruise around the Mediterranean on a battered old ship called the SS Nevasa. Twenty-four boys in the charge of one teacher and not a risk assessment in sight! I remember vividly how the captain reminded us sternly that we were embarking on the high seas and not to go near the rails in rough weather.

Fear is a very useful phenomenon. A fear of crashing waves, based on knowledge of what water can do, might keep one away from the end of a jetty or off the deck of a cruise ship in a storm. A fear of traffic helps keep us away from roads. One might take reasonable precautions to avoid catching a serious infection. But there is a limit. To return to Defoe again, representing himself in the first person as the anonymous ‘Citizen’ recounting his experiences:

I had two important things before me: the one was the carrying on my business and shop, which was considerable, and in which was embarked all my effects in the world; and the other was the preservation of my life in so dismal a calamity as I saw apparently was coming upon the whole city, and which, however great it was, my fears perhaps, as well as other people’s, represented to be much greater than it could be.

In other words, as Samuel Johnson noted, fear can assist reason but fear for fear’s sake can overwhelm us. It not only makes things seem far worse than they are but also cripples our ability to cope.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/29/2026 - 23:25

World's Largest Chipmaker, Taiwan Semi, Accelerates Local DRAM Supply Chain With Winbond Collaboration

In a time of heightened scrutiny on the memory supply chain, overnight the world's largest chipmaker, Taiwan's TSMC, is reportedly building out a domestic DRAM supply chain in Taiwan amid a severe global memory shortage, bringing in Winbond as a partner, UDN reported.

TSMC and Winbond are collaborating on a localized DRAM supply chain using 3D wafer-on-wafer (WoW) stacking technology, where Winbond would supply DRAM memory wafers to be stacked with TSMC's logic wafers. The move is designed to keep critical memory production close to home while feeding the demand of AI hardware.

Key details:

• The tech: WoW uses hybrid bonding to directly stack logic chips and memory wafers vertically, creating tens of thousands to millions of micro copper interconnects — shortening data transmission distance versus traditional packaging, with higher bandwidth, lower latency, and better power efficiency. It's positioned as critical for AI servers, HPC, and edge AI devices.
• Why Winbond: TSMC's WoW memory wafers have historically relied on Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. With global memory supply extremely tight and those three running near full capacity, TSMC is diversifying. Winbond's long track record in niche/specialty DRAM and NOR Flash, plus its mature 12-inch wafer production, high yield, and quality control, made it a fit.
• Strategic angle: This is framed as TSMC cultivating a domestic supply chain to strengthen Taiwan's self-sufficiency in AI chip components — elevating Winbond from a peripheral player to a core part of the global AI supply chain, and reinforcing Taiwan's overall position in AI semiconductor manufacturing.
• Caveat: Winbond declined to comment on specific clients/deals, and TSMC had not responded by press time — this is sourced to unnamed industry insiders, not confirmed by either company.

Some more technical color on what Winbond actually brings: 

• Several outlets cite Winbond's proprietary architecture called CUBE (Customized Ultra-Bandwidth Elements), described as purpose-built for WoW integration, with scalable memory density from 256Mb to 8Gb per die. Crypto Briefing
• Why now? Well, as everyone knows by now, the memory pricing backdrop is extreme, if not outright absurd, with all demand crushed except for (off-balance sheet_ debt-funded data centers .One analysis flagged that DRAM prices rising nearly 75% in early 2026, and with the memory crunch expected to persist until at least 2027, that's the real catalyst pushing TSMC to diversify away from Samsung/SK Hynix/Micron.
• This is not Winbond's first rodeo on this front. Separately, Winbond has also been building a DRAM foundry partnership with Elpida targeting graphics DRAM, not cutting-edge HBM — framed by one analyst as a resilience/diversification move for Taiwan's supply chain rather than a direct challenge to Korean HBM dominance. 

That said, multiple outlets note that neither company has gone on record so far  "Specific details surrounding the TSMC-Winbond collaboration remain sparse, as neither company has issued significant announcements regarding the project", consistent with the UDN piece's framing that Winbond declined comment and TSMC hadn't responded by press time.
If you want, I can pull Winbond's stock reaction (2344.TW) specifically, or draft this into a quick ZeroHedge-style piece tying it to the broader memory-shortage/CXMT thread you've been tracking.

TSM gained 3.60% on June 29, with traders attributing the move directly to the Winbond partnership news. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/29/2026 - 23:17

China Imposes Export Curbs On 40 Japanese Firms As Tensions With Tokyo Rise

China imposed new export controls Monday on 40 Japanese entities it says are contributing to the country’s “remilitarization,” as tensions with Tokyo rise.

China’s Commerce Ministry on Monday placed 20 Japanese entities, including the National Institute for Defense Studies and research centers for ground, naval, and air systems, as well as multiple divisions of Mitsubishi Corporation, on a control list, which prohibits Chinese and foreign exporters from selling to them dual-use items made in China. Dual-use items can be used for both civilian and military purposes. 

Additionally, 20 other entities were added to a watch list requiring enhanced licensing scrutiny for dual-use items; it includes Mitsui E&S, which makes engines and other equipment for ships, divisions of Fujitsu and Komatsu corporation, drone maker Terra Drone Corporation, nuclear fuel processors, and multiple units of OKI Electric Industry,. 

Domestic exporters, as well as overseas organizations or individuals, are prohibited from transferring Chinese-origin dual-use items to the named entities, according to the statement, adding that any ongoing activities must stop immediately.

Chinese companies exporting to these firms will be required to apply for special licenses, submit risk assessment reports on the Japanese companies and written pledges that the dual-use items will not be used for military purposes.

Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have been increasingly tense since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last year implied Japan could intervene if China used military force against Taiwan, an island democracy China claims as its own.

Meanwhile, Japan has accelerated its military expansion, especially by adding offensive capabilities, which Beijing has condemned.

The export controls are “entirely justified, reasonable and lawful,” the Chinese Commerce Ministry said, adding they are aimed at “firmly deterring Japan’s reckless pursuit of ‘new militarism.’”

“We hope Japan will recognize its mistakes, reverse its wrongful course, genuinely reflect on its past and return to the right track,” it added.

Japan did not reflect and instead the country's top government spokesperson called the curbs as “unacceptable and extremely regrettable,” while calling on Beijing to retract the measures.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Monday that Japan would take necessary countermeasures after thoroughly assessing the curbs and their impact.

Under Takaichi, Japan’s military has been equipped with more offensive capabilities, including long-range missiles on remote islands. Exports of lethal weapons are now allowed under a new policy. Japan will revise its defense and security documents by December, which could further increase its defense budget.

On Monday, Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force announced the deployment of a Type-12 missile launcher on the southernmost remote island of Minamitorishima, an apparent response to China’s growing activity expanding into the Pacific.

In February, China put an initial 20 Japanese companies on an export control list and 20 others on a watch list. The Commerce Ministry said that since then, “instead of reflecting on its past and correcting its course, Japan has continued down the wrong path” by accelerating remilitarization, deploying offensive weapons and launching missiles.

The ministry emphasized the curbs affect only a small number of Japanese entities, and the measures only apply to dual-use items. “They do not affect normal Sino-Japanese economic and trade exchanges, and honest and law-abiding Japanese entities have absolutely nothing to worry about.” 

The measures function more as a “diplomatic message” as Beijing steps up its pressure on Tokyo, said George Chen, partner for Greater China at the advisory firm The Asia Group.

“From Beijing’s perspective, Japan has not taken meaningful actions to stabilize bilateral ties,” Chen said. “And concerns are growing in China about deeper defense cooperation between Japan, the United States, and potentially other partners.”

In the short term, Japan–China relations will likely remain fragile “and at risk of slipping further if neither side moves to arrest the downward trend,” he added.

For Beijing, the issue of Taiwan is particularly sensitive. China considers the self-ruled island its own territory, to be retaken by force if necessary, and has increased military pressure on it.

Earlier this month, the Chinese coast guard conducted patrols east of Taiwan in what state media described a “pointed warning” to Japan and the Philippines following an announcement that the countries would discuss their maritime boundaries in waters that Beijing views as its own.

The United Kingdom, Germany and France in a rare joint statement last week condemned Chinese activities in the waters east of Taiwan, adding they opposed any change of the status quo between China and Taiwan.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/29/2026 - 23:01

The US Economy In A Nutshell: Privatize The Gains, Socialize The Costs

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

Correspondent Simons Chase insightfully summarized this dynamic: Privatize the Gains, Socialize the Costs.

In my post Five Dynamics That Make Sense of an Increasingly Chaotic World, #3 is the distribution of risk, costs and consequences to a diffused populace while concentrating the gains into the pockets of insiders/owners:

Those seeking to reduce their private risks and increase their private gains seek to concentrate the gains generated by control structures and distribute the risks and costs to others. Pull the strings that diffuse the costs and risks over a large populace and gather the gains into the hands of the insiders that manage the control structure, typically some form of monopoly, either public or private, or a fusion of public-private rackets.

So corporations face low risks while the gains are extremely enticing. This diffusion of risk and concentration of potential gains establishes perverse incentives to increase extractive, exploitive, well-hidden rackets that impoverish and immiserate the many, but in doses small enough to avoid triggering push-back.

In a system that concentrates gains and diffuses risk, the "rational actor" seeks to maximize rackets that distribute impoverishment and immiseration to the many in small doses over time that attract little attention and are not significant enough to trigger an emotionally potent resistance.

Correspondent Simons Chase (x.com/slchase and Selflet.ai) insightfully summarized this dynamic: Privatize the Gains, Socialize the Costs. Here is Simons' explanation:

"Junk food is a kind of leveraged recapitalization -- short-term gains privatized, long-term costs socialized as horrific health outcomes: pay a little now and a shortened, diseased life later. Dan Munro folded that framing into his Forbes piece tying roughly a trillion dollars a year in U.S. healthcare spending to sugar: Sugar Linked To $1 Trillion In U.S. Healthcare Spending (forbes.com, 2013). The mechanism is the point: privatize the gain, socialize the cost. Once you see it, you see it everywhere.

The receipt is real--Credit Suisse put 30%-40% of U.S. healthcare spending at the feet of excess sugar, and the 2012 Global Burden of Disease report found obesity a bigger global threat than hunger. That last fact is the whole thesis in a line, and I put it on X more recently: obesity is a form of starvation -- understand that, and you grasp the U.S. economy:

Abundance, not scarcity, is the adversary now. The economy has already filed the invoice: the top employer in most states flipped from manufacturing to health care in a single generation. We stopped making things and started billing the disease. The damage became the GDP.

Debt is the same recapitalization run on the whole economy--today's abundance privatized, tomorrow's cost socialized onto a future that didn't vote. And the defining project of my lifetime has been that operation run on foreign policy: borrowed against what we couldn't pay for at home, the costs socialized onto people far from the ledger, each chapter sold as help.

AI is simply the newest instance, and the most intimate. Cheap, fluent, frictionless cognition now; the homogenization bill later. The engagement is privatized; the flattening of the culture is socialized onto all of us-- and, exactly as you say, nobody notices the loss because nobody knows how to look for it.

Thank you, Simons, for this illumination.

Regarding the future of AI, my critiques and concerns can be found in my Essays on AI. Simons proposes a more productive future than Big Tech is selling, one of AI becoming a technology of individual agency that is radically decentralized rather than the Big Tech model of radically centralized AI in a corporate-state control structure. Here is Simons' vision of the future of AI:

Where I part from the despair is only on the cure, not the diagnosis. The averaging is the default, not the destiny. The answer at every level is the same: nutrient-dense over processed, particular over average, owned over administered. I think AI's future is tribal and human-designed: many particular intelligences, not one central utility that privatizes the profit and socializes the mediocrity. What I'm building is a small argument for that. All I really hope for is the freedom to deploy it -- and not another 'we're here to help.'"

Thank you, Simons, for this alternative lens. My vision of a positive future for AI starts with radical decentralization optimizing individual agency and then moving up the "truly intelligent" scale to AI refusing to waste resources on make-work waste is growth:

My book Investing In Revolution is available at a 10% discount ($18 for the paperback, $24 for the hardcover and $8.95 for the ebook edition). Introduction (free). Become a $3/month patron of my work via patreon.com. Subscribe to my Substack for free.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/29/2026 - 22:35

Supergirl Movie A "Girl Boss" Bomb With Disastrous Opening Weekend

There's no more excuses.  Filming for James Gunn's Supergirl summer blockbuster started in January of 2025, with most of the US celebrating the defeat of woke politics and the downfall of DEI.  There was no confusion in 2025; woke is dead.  Gunn was well aware and decided to make an insufferable feminist "girl boss" movie anyway. 

In other words, his failure is his own fault.  Either due to hubris, stupidity, or both. 

Initial projections for Supergirl a month ago hovered around $70 million for opening weekend.  These estimates were already low and the panic within Warner Bros. was palpable.  DC Studios was already on its ass for the less than stellar performance of Gunn's Superman, which was supposed to revitalize the comic book movie landscape. 

After theaters took their 50% cut of the receipts, Superman barely broke even on paper, though initial data suggests it fell actually short by $42 million before other indirect revenues were counted.  This was, once again, largely due to Gunn's moronic insertion of immigration politics into discussion, which repelled audiences. 

If Superman couldn't bring in enough fans to make real money, then Supergirl had no chance. Then, the lead actress opened her mouth and started talking, and this was the last nail in the coffin for the release.  After Milly Alcock started spewing feminist nonsense in interviews and attacking fans, it was all over. 

"It definitely made me aware that simply existing as a woman in that space is something that people comment on," she told Vanity Fair in an interview a few months before release. "We have become very comfortable having this weird ownership of women’s bodies. I can’t really stop them. I can only be myself."

Alcock went on to accuse fans of more sexism when they criticized here strange comments.  She then later suggested that Supergirl is LGBT in an effort to virtue signal for gay pride month. 

Supergirl is bisexual, apparently. "She'd probably go both ways," says Milly Alcock. pic.twitter.com/s8zqHyTeJs

— Libby Emmons (@libbyemmons) June 23, 2026

Clearly, people are tired of leftists inserting LGBT sexual preferences into every film and TV show, because Supergirl's numbers plummeted not long after Alcock's interviews.  The flick only brought in $38 million on opening weekend - Half of the expected revenues.  And, keep in mind, theaters still have to take their profits. 

The movie will need to make approximately $500 million to break even, which sets up Supergirl as possibly the biggest failure in DC movie history.  Beyond Alcock and Gunn, the production was also constructed around the framework provided by a writer with no experience (Ana Noguiera) and referenced a comic run by Tom King, a former CIA officer and leftist.  Anyone with any sense could have seen the disaster coming a hundred miles away.

New clip from DC Studios’ ‘SUPERGIRL.’

Releasing in theaters on June 26. pic.twitter.com/Ip813dV8fK

— The Hollywood Handle (@HollywoodHandle) June 5, 2026

The lesson is this:  Leftists never learn.  Until the majority of people in Hollywood finally age out or get replaced with smarter (and more conservative) writers, there is little chance of a dramatic return to form.  They will continue to double down until the industry completely collapses.  Or, until a new and alternative industry rises to fill the vacuum. 

In the meantime, Get Woke, Go Broke dominates popular culture.  The progressive invasion is not gone, but they are certainly in decline.   

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/29/2026 - 22:10

LA Does Not Love LA

Authored by Arthur Schaper via American Greatness,

Rolling down Imperial Highway

Sweet Nasty Redhead on my side

Santa Ana winds blowing hot from the north

We were born to ride.

I love Randy Newman, and I love his signature song "I Love LA." When he won the mayor's race in 2001, James Hahn played that anthem to celebrate his victory. From city attorney to mayor, Hahn worked to ensure some decency and competence in the city.

Fast forward to today, and Los Angeles is a hollowed-out, burned-out, blown-out shell of what it was.

Hollywood is leaving, and last year, Pacific Palisades went up in flames.

There's no Richard Riordan or Sam Yorty to save the city now.

Two Democrats, a Bolshevik and a Menshevik, will fight for what's left.

Los Angeles had a chance to build on the county's election changes in 2024. In an unprecedented reversal, a Republican turned independent, Nathan Hochman, took on George Soros's handpicked district attorney, George Gascón. He received the support of numerous Democrats, and certainly of Republicans and independents, and he wiped out George Gascón.

Los Angeles County residents were tired of lawlessness. They were tired of seeing the intimate scenes of incarcerated gangbangers raising a toast to a pro-criminal district attorney who was fast-tracking their early release. The same year, California voters overwhelmingly approved Prop. 36, which re-criminalized property theft and gave local and state law enforcement more tools to crack down on crime. The work isn't done, since county courts are stuffed with woke judges putting personal preferences and idiotic ideologies ahead of public safety. But Los Angeles County is going in the right direction, and even the city of Los Angeles voted in larger numbers for Hochman.

Then came January 2025, and the untouchable Palisades went up in flames. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was attending the inauguration of the next president of Ghana, and she could not be reached. The Palisades inferno was a massive failure on many levels and preventable if anyone had heeded the warnings. Seven years ago, entire sections of Northern California went up in flames. Families desperate to flee the raging infernos ended up stuck in traffic and consumed by the rushing flames. The California Democratic political class didn't care then.

Surely, the Democrats in Sacramento and Los Angeles would care about the left-leaning Pacific Palisades, wouldn't they?

Nope.

This year's primary results clearly indicate that Los Angeles city voters have not listened to their better angels. The demons have come in seven times stronger, too, since they find the place burned up and empty, and since no one's there, they've brought more of their vile hordes. How was it possible that voters across the city would embrace more of the same destructive progressive ideology when it's crystal clear to anyone that these failed policies - plus the arrogant lack of concern - are a direct result of this progressive madness? Even in San Francisco, a growing cohort of voters has started taking over the county Democratic Party, and they have fought for some restoration of common sense, law & order, and commitment to enforcement in public safety. It's not enough, but there have been some steps, however minute.

In sad contrast, Los Angeles continues to double down on the same stupidity. This isn't just foolish; it's absolutely dangerous. Unwise people with no regard for the well-being of the everyday citizen have no problem putting more of them in danger. Trump Derangement Syndrome and allergies to anything Republican truly are a mental malady that has trapped Angelenos in a perpetual doom loop.

A few weeks ago, TMZ host Harvey Levin complained about what had happened to Los Angeles during his lifetime. A multi-generational Angelino, Levin has seen the best of the city. Now, he cannot ignore how crappy it has become. The relentless homeless shelters, the skyrocketing crime rates, the overall lack of cleanliness and peace, and the desecration that has overrun a once-getaway destination and a second home for the rich and famous are unavoidable.

Yet the same Harvey Levin repeatedly castigated, shamed, and openly mocked the one candidate who had a campaign platform, character, and commitment to remedy all these problems. Spencer Pratt may have been a reality TV star. But he was also a father and a homeowner who lost everything in the fires. He was fed up, and he decided that he was going to run. He launched AI commercials slamming opponents Bass and Raman with an impressive media blitz. He did a fantastic job in the debates. He cut an incredible cloth as a truly independent candidate. Not beholden to any political party, he didn't care about Trump or Biden or Kamala Harris. He did care about the incompetence of incumbent mayor Karen Bass and her socialist, left-leaning challenger Nithya Raman.

He's a common-sense guy, and anyone with sense would have elected him mayor. But common sense is no longer common - or welcome - in the City of Angels. They stopped electing Republican mayors in 2001, and then they stopped electing Democrats with any regard for the well-being of the city after 2013.

It's a tragedy to see the once-heavenly Los Angeles turn into a hellscape. It's a tragedy that so many voters don't love LA, that their hatred of Trump, their disdain for Republicans, and their insistence on all of the shallow, shameful progressive issues are far more important than the necessities to make sure that their city can function.

I never thought it would come to this, but Angelenos simply haven't hurt enough. How many more homes have to go up in flames? How many more families have to be torn apart by the death of a mother or a father because of crime or natural disaster? How many more businesses have to be destroyed, desecrated, and forced to shut down because City Hall refuses to use its power to do what is best for the rest?

These problems festered two years earlier. Before anti-American immigrant socialist City Councilwoman Nithya Raman made it into the runoff against Karen Bass, she had won re-election to City Council outright in 2024! For weeks during the March 2024 primary, business owners and homeowners repeatedly complained about the homeless and the crime in the streets. And yet for all their complaining then, and a recent protest test of makeshift homeless encampments outside of Raman's home this year, voters still sent the elitist socialist to City Hall.

Los Angeles, be afraid.

The Democratic Socialists of America have aggressively targeted you. Four of the city council members are DSA all the way. They are vying for a city council majority and the mayor's seat. Registered Republicans can't help you now: they have given up on voting or moved out of the city altogether.

What will it take? I am astounded at the destruction and degradation. New York City was one thing. President Trump had pretty much solved the migrant crisis and allowed some degree of enforcement, so New Yorkers got complacent, perhaps? But Los Angeles witnessed the unprecedented disaster that destroyed homes. We all saw the unconscionable incompetence of Los Angeles's political class.

Yet even with that, LA voters voted for more of the same.

I love LA, but clearly, LA no longer loves LA.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/29/2026 - 21:45

"Unbelievable Damage": 131-Mph Windstorm Snaps Wind Turbines In Half Across South Dakota

An early morning storm ripped through Highmore, South Dakota, about 220 miles east of Rapid City, producing a reported 131 mph wind gust that, if sustained, would fall within Category 4 hurricane strength on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

The South Dakota Mesonet station at Highmore has reported winds of 76 gusting to 131 mph at 6:25 am. NWS has issued a Civil Emergency Message for the area. https://t.co/SWdEBPXsud pic.twitter.com/WofSvWUnF9

— South Dakota Mesonet (@SDMesonet) June 29, 2026

Local KELOLAND meteorologists Scot Mundt and Brian Karstens were absolutely stunned by the wind speed, which reached 131 mph.

The violent straight-line winds toppled grain silos, damaged infrastructure, and knocked over large wind turbines.

Unbelievable damage to a wind farm near Highmore, South Dakota after this morning’s storm. #sdwx pic.twitter.com/Uucyapxfej

— Jakob McMillin (@McMillinWx) June 29, 2026

Great shots from John Hall in Highmore, SD showing the aftermath of severe winds. The storm damaged grain bins, left debris in the streets, and even flipped a camper, with winds reportedly reaching up to 131 mph. #SDwx pic.twitter.com/xkEbVDP2F6

— YallBot (@OfficialYallbot) June 29, 2026

Oh my gosh. Very significant damage in Highmore, South Dakota from this morning’s severe MCS that moved through with wind gusts up to 131 mph.

📸 Amanda Brown via Facebook pic.twitter.com/xxgUyRQUqi

— Alex Resel 📸 (@aresel_) June 29, 2026

The severity of the storm system is now under review by the National Weather Service for potential state or national wind gust records.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/29/2026 - 21:20