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Futures Rise Despite Oil Bounce, As Nvidia Keeps AI Euphoria Going

Futures are positive and at session highs even as the a lack of a US / Iran deal pushes oil prices, bond yields, and volatility higher. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures are up 0.3% to a new all time high of 7620; Nasdaq futures rise 0.2%: the Computex AI Conference kicked off; biggest news is NVDA to enter PC space with a new chip challenging AMD / INTC, helping send its stock up 2.3%. Microsoft shares gain 3.1% after Jensen Huang dismissed concerns over disruption from artificial intelligence. Geopolitics was in focus: in addition to a lack of a deal, there were renewed "kinetic skirmishes" that made headlines. Aside from Tech, Energy is the only sector seeing a uniform bid with elements of both Cyclicals and Defensives weaker highlighting concentration risk. WTI is above $91 as the Energy complex is rallying with Ags catching a bid and Metals mixed as Copper / Silver lead. USD is higher after 2 weeks of losses with bond yields 2 - 3bps. In equities, tech is leading with strength in Mag7 and Semis. Today’s macro data focus is on ISM-Mfg with ISM-Srvcs on Weds and NFP on Friday.

In premarket trading, Nvidia (NVDA) is up 2.3% after the leader in AI chips said it was entering the PC market with a new chip. The news is supporting chip-design company Arm, whose ADRs (ARM) are up 13%, while weighing on chipmakers in the CPU space, with Intel (INTC) down 6%, Qualcomm (QCOM) sinking 9.7%, and AMD (AMD) down 4.3%. Other Mag 7 names are mixed (Meta Platforms +0.3%, Amazon -0.5%, Apple -0.7%, Alphabet -0.8%, Tesla -1.5%). 

• Software stocks rally, with Microsoft (MSFT) up 4.1%, after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang rebuffed concerns that the industry is at risk of being disrupted by more advanced AI tools.
• IBM jumps 14% after a video of President Donald Trump praising the company’s CEO and discussing the stock at a December event recirculated on social media over the weekend.
• Oculis sinks 32% after the biopharmaceutical firm said studies of its OCS-01 eye drops in patients with diabetic macular edema missed primary endpoint.
• Redwire is down 7.1% after Jefferies downgraded the defense company to hold from buy.
• Strategy is down 2.7% as Mizuho Securities cut its the price target on the Bitcoin treasury company to $265 from $320 on lower crypto prices.
• Taylor Morrison Home Corporation is up 23% after Berkshire Hathaway agreed to acquire the company for a total enterprise value of approximately $8.5b.

In other corporate news, Revolution Medicines’s experimental pancreatic cancer drug daraxonrasib delayed painful symptoms for months, in addition to nearly doubling survival. 

Traders are waiting for signs that a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz remains on track after Israel stepped up its offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon over the weekend. Tehran struck a Kuwaiti air base, while the US conducted “self-defense strikes” on Iranian radar and command-and-control sites. Lack of resolution pushed Brent 2.8% higher to nearly $94 a barrel, snapping a three-day run of losses. 

The two sides also exchanged messages seeking amendments to a draft agreement. President Donald Trump urged calm, saying the situation will work out well. Iran said Israel’s attacks on Lebanon were preventing a deal.

“Markets need an agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz, to provide the next leg higher in equities and lower in rates,” Jefferies strategist Mohit Kumar told clients. “We still believe that we should get a leg higher when a deal is finally agreed upon.”

Overnight, Nvidia kept the AI trade alive as a stream of headlines emerge from Taiwan’s Computex event. Nvidia has entered the PC market with a new chip, RTX Spark Superchip, aimed at loosening the stranglehold of Intel technology in that arena. Nvidia also said Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX are among the first big users of its upcoming microprocessor Vera.  The news is supporting chip-design company Arm, whose ADRs (ARM) are up 13%, while weighing on chipmakers in the CPU space, with Intel (INTC) down 6%, Qualcomm (QCOM) sinking 9.7%, and AMD (AMD) down 4.3%. Other Mag 7 names are mixed (Meta Platforms +0.3%, Amazon -0.5%, Apple -0.7%, Alphabet -0.8%, Tesla -1.5%). 

“The rally in tech stocks is coherent when one looks at the earnings and profits of both the supplier of AI infrastructure and the hyperscalers,” said Mabrouk Chetouane, head of global market strategy at Natixis Global Asset Management. “There are those who claim there’s a bubble, but I simply see rising profits and a super cycle.”

Meanwhile, the benchmark SOX Index is set for its best quarter ever, soaring 69% in the past two months.  Hedge funds have been leaning into market momentum — the cohort was a net buyer of US stocks for a second consecutive week, with purchases reaching their fastest pace in six months, according to Goldman Sachs’ Prime desk.

It is a quiet week on the earnings front, and traders’ focus will shift to a busy macro slate. Today’s manufacturing PMI from S&P Global and ISM might reflect a rush to stockpile goods ahead of potential price increases sparked by the Iran war, while April figures for construction spending could offer a read on the pace of AI data center buildout. Jobs week is coming up, with a slate of indicators on the labor market culminating on Friday with the government’s official report on employment for May, for which Bloomberg survey estimates payrolls to rise by 89,000.

“We believe net hiring troughed early last fall and has been improving gradually ever since. May’s job report should provide more evidence that hiring has picked up, while the unemployment rate is steady. Job openings also likely accelerated, despite persistent fears that AI is reducing demand for workers.”

“The US macro backdrop of a stabilizing labor market, sticky underlying inflation, and resilient economic activity back a more restrictive Fed,” wrote Elias Haddad at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Money markets continue to price around a 70% chance of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike by December.

Discretionary goods, transportation and financial stocks are cyclical pockets that stand to benefit from accelerating earnings momentum as well as the recent drop in oil prices, according to Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson. Meanwhile, cross-asset strategists at Goldman Sachs flag global technology stocks as the focus of an unusually fast and narrow re-risking in financial markets.

Elsewhere, former Fed Chair Powell said the US central bank would lose credibility if any president were free to dismiss Fed officials over policy disagreements. At a security forum in Singapore, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to convince US allies that staying quiet on Taiwan is the best way to project American strength.

European stocks started June lower as investors favored AI-linked shares, leaving the region’s less tech-heavy benchmark at a disadvantage. Oil and gas stocks outperformed as commodity prices edged higher amid continued uncertainty over a peace deal between the US and Iran. Here are the biggest movers Monday:

• EasyJet shares jumped as much as 13% to the highest in three months after Castlelake said late Friday that it is considering an offer for the UK budget carrier
• Applied Nutrition gains as much as 15%, climbing to a record high, after the nutritional product company lifted its revenue expectations for the full year, and announced a strategic US addition, alongside a new North American flavor collaboration agreement with Mondelez
• Vusion shares rose as much as 10%, to the highest since Feb. 18, as BNP Paribas hikes its recommendation to outperform from neutral on order intake
• Polar Capital rose as much as 6.6% to its highest level since September 2021 after Deutsche Bank set a new Street-high price target for the UK asset manager
• Momentum Group is the best-performing stock on the Johannesburg bourse, gaining as much as 4.9%, the most in almost three months, after the insurer projected normalized headline earnings per share to have increased by 20% over the nine-month period ending March 2026

Earlier, Asian stocks climbed, extending a record-beating rally for a second session, as enthusiasm for the artificial intelligence trade outweighed caution over mixed signals surrounding the US-Iran peace deal. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose as much as 1.4% before paring some of the advance but still headed for a fresh record, with South Korea and Taiwan’s tech-heavy markets leading gains in the region. Benchmarks in Japan, Hong Kong and mainland China also advanced, while Australia declined. Markets are shut in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand for public holidays.

Investors are buying into AI-related names after positive developments that are expected to support the region’s technology industry. Expectations of closer collaboration with Nvidia ahead of CEO Jensen Huang’s visit to South Korea spurred a jump in several chip-makers and physical AI firms. Software stocks, a sector that has suffered from AI disruption fears, also got a boost after Workday unveiled a partnership to integrate AI agents into HR and finance operations.

“The stock market has largely ignored lack of clarity on truce extension and kept its focus on the AI rally,” said Fabien Yip, market analyst at IG International. “We expect sentiments to be mildly positive this week ahead of Broadcom’s earnings and the US job report later this week.”

In FX, the greenback is mixed versus peers. Most Group-of-10 currencies traded in tight ranges with markets in Singapore and New Zealand shut for a local holiday

In rates, treasury futures hold small losses in early US session amid more pronounced bear-flattening in bunds. Brent crude higher by 3.4% and back towards $95/bbl. Higher energy prices have boosted yields, with the US 10yr borrowing cost up 3bps to 4.47%. US front-end and belly yields are about 3bp cheaper on the day, leading losses and flattening 5s30s spread by around 1.5bp. German front-end yields are up about 6bp, flattening German 2s10s spread by 2bp. German front-end bonds are lagging US and UK counterparts with ECB’s Schnabel cautioning over the risk of unanchored inflation expectations. IG dollar issuance slate includes several offerings already. Dealers expect a weekly total of around $35 billion and a monthly haul in the $130 billion-$135 billion range, versus $109 billion in June 2025. No Treasury coupon supply expected this week, with 3-year new issue and 10- and 30-year reopenings due next week

In commodities, Oil prices are higher in absence of a peace agreement between US and Iran. WTI crude oil futures are up 3.6% near session highs as Washington and Tehran trade messages seeking changes to a draft agreement to extend a ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Spot gold and silver are diverging, with the latter shedding 0.9% and former gaining 0.7%.

US Economic data slate includes May final S&P Global US manufacturing PMI (9:45am), May ISM manufacturing and April construction spending (10am). Fed speaker slate is blank for Monday.

Market Snapshot

Top Overnight News

• Donald Trump said talks with Iran over an interim peace deal will “work out well.” But oil bounced from a six-week low as clashes continued near the Strait of Hormuz. The US said it struck Iranian air defense facilities in response to the shooting down of an American drone. BBG
• Nvidia will debut a new chip for laptop and desktop computers to challenge Intel and AMD, whose shares were down premarket. BBG
• Anthropic cut its list of unauthorized secondary-market platforms to four from eight following pushback from investors. BBG
• Jay Powell has said the US Federal Reserve is in the throes of a “stress test” that threatens the strength and stability of the world’s largest economy, claiming Donald Trump’s attempts to fire central bankers undermine the rule of law. FT
• Tech giant SoftBank has become Japan’s biggest company by market value, as AI demand powers the country’s stocks to an all-time high and helps Masayoshi Son’s group overtake Toyota. The car manufacturer and industrial giant has been Japan’s biggest company by market capitalization for more than 20 years, and its ousting from the top slot reflects rising global investor interest in AI and semiconductor companies. FT
• China’s factory activity slowed in May, with the official manufacturing PMI edging down to 50, as expected, from 50.3 in April. BBG
• China issued sweeping new rules on Monday tightening control of overseas deals that involve Chinese investors, technology, data and national security, a month after Beijing ordered Meta to unwind its acquisition of AI startup Manus. RTRS
• Chinese mainland investors turned net sellers of Hong Kong stocks for the first time in nearly three years in May. BBG
• Eurozone inflation expectations weren’t as bad as feared, with 1-year unchanged at 4% while 3-year ticked down from 3% to 2.9% and 5-year held steady at 2.4%. ECB
• US IPO activity has recently accelerated following four consecutive years of muted issuance. 24 US companies have come to market so far in Q2 2026, bringing the YTD total to 40. This represents more than double the number of IPOs at this point in 2025 and the largest total through May since the 95 IPOs launched in the first five months of 2021. Nonetheless, despite the recent pickup in activity, the number of deals so far this year has lagged the average total of 50 IPOs through May since 1995: Goldman

Iran War 

Iran Commentary

• Iran may propose changes to the US peace draft memorandum of understanding, according to Tasnim. This follows a report that President Trump proposed further changes to the existing text, while a source stated that text exchanges continue and that Iran may submit its own edits.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi told state media that talks and message exchanges with the US are ongoing, and that the talks cannot be judged until a clear result is reached.
• Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said the negotiation team's visit to Qatar was positive.
• Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that they have a legal obligation to prevent aggressors from using their territory and facilities to attack another country.
• Iran’s Presidential Office denied reports that Iranian President Pezeshkian submitted his resignation to the Supreme Leader, and stated that the stories were spread by some foreign media.
• Iranian Supreme Leader’s military adviser Mohsen Rezaei said Iran has no intention of yielding or compromising with the US and will not place itself in a weak position, while he also stated that US President Trump is betraying diplomacy for the third time by continuing a naval blockade on Iran and making excessive demands.
• IRGC said following aggression of US Army on a communication tower on Sirik Island, located in the Homozgan province an hour ago, fighters of the IRGC Aerospace Force targeted airbase where aggression originated and predicted targets were destroyed.
• Iran's top negotiator said "The naval blockade and escalation of war crimes in Lebanon by the genocidal Zionist regime are clear evidence of US noncompliance with the ceasefire".
• Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said at this moment they do not believe that the US has good intentions towards Iran.
• Iran's FM Baghaei said "No negotiations have taken place on the details of the nuclear issue at this stage". One point being discussed is the allocation of funds for reconstruction. We are considering options for responding to the escalation of Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
• Iran's Baghaei said a ceasefire in Lebanon is an integral part of any agreement and end to the war; lack of trust and constant change in US and Israeli positions in Lebanon are causing a delay on the diplomatic process. The continuation of maritime piracy and attacks on Iranian shipping is an example of a violation of the ceasefire. The diplomatic apparatus is closely following developments and we will take every measure to defend Iran's sovereignty. The exchange of messages is still ongoing.
• Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi said Iran's goal is not to hold ships in the Strait, but to declare a procedure that is not contrary to international law; these arrangements are not temporary and Iran will not back down. Stopping ships behind the Strait of Hormuz incurs storage and delay costs, and war insurance has increased by up to 500%. Accompanying Iranian forces costs less than war insurance and eliminates the risk of stoppage, inspection, and seizure. Iran's goal is not to hold the ships, but to declare a procedure that is not contrary to international law; these arrangements are not temporary and Iran will not back down.
• "Three consecutive explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas", Iran International reported.
• US President Trump reportedly sent tougher terms to Iran regarding the peace framework, according to officials cited by The New York Times.

US Commentary

• US President Trump posted "Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us". Full post "Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us. But don’t the Dumocrats, and various seemingly unpatriotic Republicans, understand that it is MUCH tougher for me to properly do my job and negotiate, when political hacks keep negatively “chirping,” at levels never seen before, over and over again, that I should move faster, or move slower, or go to war, or not go to war, or whatever. Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end - It always does! President DJT".
• US President Trump posted "Fake News CNN said today, routinely, that my Iran Nuclear Deal doesn’t talk about Nuclear, when actually it states, very clearly, that Iran will not have a Nuclear Weapon". Full post "ScraperFake News CNN said today, routinely, that my Iran Nuclear Deal doesn’t talk about Nuclear, when actually it states, very clearly, that Iran will not have a Nuclear Weapon. It then goes on, in very strong and lengthy detail, to discuss various other aspects of Nuclear. In fact, that’s what most of the agreement is about. CNN, and so many others in the Fake News Media, is a Low Ratings disaster. Even with new ownership, it is unlikely to ever get better!!! President DJT".
• US Secretary of State Rubio spoke in the last 48 hours with Lebanon's President and Israel's PM to try and promote a new ceasefire initiative, according to a senior US official cited by Axios's Ravid. said:. US senior official said that the new initiative was proposed as part of the negotiations taking place between Israel and Lebanon, as another round of talks between diplomats from both sides is scheduled to take place this week in Washington. In order to advance the talks, US proposed that as a first step, Hezbollah stop all attacks on Israel, and in return, Israel will refrain from escalation in Beirut.
• US Central Command confirmed military forces conducted strikes against Iranian radar at command and control sites located in Goruk and Qeshm Island over the weekend.
• Kuwait Army said air defences are intercepting hostile missile and drone attacks.

Lebanon

• Israeli PM Netanyahu said they will attack targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut, in response to Hezbollah violating the ceasefire agreement.
• "Walla News, citing a source: Washington is open to Israel's request to expand its military operation in Lebanon", Al Araby reported.
• Israeli jets hit Al-Qatrani, Al-Mawahani and Bin Jabal in Lebanon, according to IRIB.
• Sirens sounded in Tiberias and surrounding areas after rockets were launched from Lebanon.
• Lebanon is intensifying its efforts to solidify the ceasefire and is conducting international contacts, particularly with the Americans, in light of Israeli threats, Al-Araby reported citing sources. Talks with the US are still scheduled for tomorrow.

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

APAC stocks began the new month predominantly in the green with the Nikkei 225 and KOSPI extending on fresh record highs amid tech-related strength and following a lack of any major geopolitical developments over the weekend, with a US-Iran peace agreement remaining elusive, while participants also got to digest mixed Chinese PMI data. ASX 200 traded rangebound with demand constrained as the strength in tech and miners is offset by underperformance in defensives, telecoms and real estate. Nikkei 225 rose to a fresh record high and briefly surpassed the 67,000 level for the first time amid tech strength, which saw SoftBank overtake Toyota as the largest Japanese company by market cap. KOSPI outperformed with index heavyweight Samsung Electronics rallying around 10% amid the tech momentum, while an industry report noted that the Co. surpassed Micron to become the world’s leading supplier of automotive memory chips last year. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were varied, with the mainland indecisive following mixed Chinese PMI data in which official Manufacturing PMI missed forecasts, but Non-Manufacturing PMI showed a surprise return to expansion territory, while RatingDog Manufacturing PMI topped forecasts. In addition, trade frictions linger as China vowed to resolutely retaliate if the EU proceeds with new restrictive trade measures, while the State Council announced that new rules tightening the oversight of outbound investments in selected technologies will take effect on July 1st.

Top Asian News

• Japanese S&P Global Manufacturing PMI Final (May) 54.5 vs. Exp. 54.5 (Prev. 55.1).
• Australian S&P Global Manufacturing PMI Final (May) 50.7 vs. Exp. 50.2 (Prev. 51.3).

European bourses are broadly lower this morning, as markets digest another flare-up between the US and Iran, with Israel also seemingly upping its presence in southern Lebanon once again. From an index perspective, the AEX (-0.4%) mildly underperforms whilst the DAX 40 (+0.2%) holds afloat. European sectors are mixed. Energy unsurprisingly tops the pile, given the gains in underlying oil prices; Tech and Basic Resources complete the top three. To the downside reside Media and then Healthcare; the former has been weighed by losses in UMG (-2%), after it rejected Pershing Square’s unsolicited offer.

Top European News

• Hungarian PM Magyar said will amend constitution to oust Hungarian President.
• Morningstar DBRS confirms Spain at A (high), Stable Trend.
• S&P affirms Hungary at BBB-; Outlook negative.
• Former UK Health Secretary and potential leadership contender Wes Streeting flagged the idea of lowering employers’ national insurance and favours new North Sea oil drilling.
• S&P confirmed France’s sovereign rating at A+; Outlook Stable, according to French Finance Minister Lescure.
• SoftBank pledged to spend at least USD 52bln on building a network of data centres in France as it seeks to deliver as much as 3.1 gigawatts of computing capacity in the country by 2031, according to WSJ.

FX

• Mixed performance across G10s with most currencies lower against the Greenback (ex. GBP/NOK given oil/yield moves.)
• GBP is the mild outperformer after reporting over the weekend suggested unofficial UK PM candidate Burnham was eyeing right-leaning Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood as potential Chancellor. The Sun reported Mahmood “is meant to have done a deal with Burnham”. Mahmood has previously defended efforts to reduce the amount spent on welfare, and is known for a right-leaning stance on immigration. Though these updates are speculative at the moment, Sterling has attracted buyers and is one of the only G10 currencies positive against the Buck. GBP/USD +0.1%, EUR/GBP -0.1%.
• USD is unchanged/modestly firmer and either side of the 99.00 mark. No US-specific newsflow over the weekend, just Geopolitics as explained below. Set to be a busy week of Labour market data, today sees the release of S&P/ISM manufacturing PMIs, Tuesday sees JOLTs Job Openings, ADP weekly payrolls on Wednesday, Challenger layoffs on Thursday, and then NFP on Friday. ING writes, “Should the jobs data stay supportive and price pressures through the ISM surveys remain intense, markets can probably shift towards pricing one full 25bp Fed rate hike this year. That compares to +17bp of tightening priced currently.”
• NOK is being helped by energy benchmarks with Brent Aug’26 +3% after NYT reported Trump sent tougher terms to Iran regarding the peace framework, Tasnim outlined that Iran could propose changes to the MoU, while both sides exchanged fire over the weekend. USD/NOK -0.2%, NOK/SEK +0.5%.
• Aussie lacks direction after mixed Chinese PMI data overnight, while Kiwi lacks demand with domestic participants absent amid a market holiday. AUD/NZD +0.4%, AUD/USD U/C, NZD/USD -0.5%.

Fixed Income

• A softer start for fixed income as the energy space climbed in APAC hours, given a handful of detrimental updates on the US-Iran situation. Since, the press conference from Iran's spokesperson has provided further support to energy, with Araghchi noting that no negotiations have taken place on the details of the nuclear issue.
• USTs and Bunds lower overnight, in proximity to the troughs from Friday. Gilts opened lower by around 35 ticks and then slipped a handful more to a 88.31 trough, pressured but comfortably clear of levels below 88.00 at 87.94 and 87.86 from last week.
• USTs and Bunds are similarly at lows, down by five and 50 ticks respectively. Specifics for the US and Europe are a little light aside from a few Central Bank speakers, with the focus firmly on any geopolitical update(s) or a significant change to the equity space. On the latter, the focus has been firmly on South Korea given the stellar gains in the market YTD and the ongoing marked strength seen today, i.e. Samsung Electronics +10%.
• No move to the final PMIs for the EZ and UK thus far. Ahead, we get the US ISM Manufacturing PMI before the latest Atlanta Fed.

Commodities

• The geopolitical environment is clouded by uncertainty, with a recent flare-up between the US and Iran once again leading to firmer trade in crude benchmarks. In brief, the US Central Command said that military forces conducted strikes against Iranian radar at command and control sites located in Goruk and Qeshm Island – this was then met with IRGC retaliation. Outside of Iran, Kuwait said air defences were intercepting hostile missile and drone attacks.
• As for the journey to negotiations, the US and Iran are both reportedly altering the draft MoU. President Trump reportedly sent “tougher terms” regarding the framework, NYT reported. In response, Tasnim suggested that Iran may propose its own changes.
• As for the European day, there have been a few appearances from Iranian officials; Deputy FM for Legal Affairs Gharibabadi noted that Iran’s goal is to accompany ships through the Strait, and “these arrangements are not temporary and Iran will not back down”. Elsewhere, Iran's FM Baghaei said, "no negotiations have taken place on the details of the nuclear issue at this stage". Comments which helped the upward bias in oil benchmarks.
• WTI and Brent are stronger this morning by c. 4.1% and 3.1% respectively. Prices gapped up at the open, and gradually moved higher as the session progressed; as it stands, the complex resides towards highs. WTI trades within a USD 88.45-91.26/bbl range, whilst Brent holds at the upper end of a USD 90.05-92.11/bbl range.
• Spot gold is lower by around a per cent and currently resides within a USD 4,490-4,546/oz range, and towards the bottom end of Friday’s range. Ultimately, action is dictated by the inflationary implications of heightened geopolitical risk. Elsewhere, base metals are broadly firmer, following on from a positive APAC session overnight. 3M LME copper posts gains of c. 1.4% and currently trades towards the day’s peaks, within a USD 13,635.4-13,814/t range.
• Russia to ban jet fuel exports until the end of November, Ifx reported.
• Citigroup raises its near-term copper price forecast to USD 14,500 per metric tonne and set a 6-12 month target of USD 15,000 per metric tonne.

Trade/Tariffs

• UK Business Secretary Kyle set to travel to India this week for talks about the recent trade deal as well as steel tariff measures announced by the government in March, SKY news reported.
• China's State Council said new rules regarding China tightening oversight of outbound investments in selected technologies take effect July 1st.
• China vowed to resolutely retaliate if the EU proceeds with new restrictive trade measures, following a European Commission discussion on China policy last Friday.

Central Banks

• Fed's Powell (voter) said Fed will lose credibility if the President removes officials over policy, while he remain on the board according to Barron's.
• Fed’s Waller (voter) said the spread of stablecoins globally could broaden the reach of US monetary policy.
• BoJ's Koeda said oil is a negative supply shock for Japan.
• EU ECB Consumer Inflation Expectations (Apr) 1yr ahead 4% (prev. 4%); 3yr ahead 2.9% (prev. 3%).
• ECB's Villeroy said Bank of France estimates for French Economic growth in 2026 will be revised down, in view of bad Q1 surprise. Growth estimates should remain positive in most scenarios.
• ECB Schnabel said supply shock is seen as large and highly persistent, adds that oil prices are expected to stay elevated for some time.
• BoE’s Mann said the long run of good luck central bankers experienced in containing inflation has run out with a more shock-prone era setting in.
• ECB’s Pereira said the central bank shouldn’t hesitate to act and thinks that it is better to act sooner rather than later, so that they don’t have much greater second-order effects later on.
• ECB’s Vujcic said Croatia’s inflation is likely to ease in May after accelerating to the fastest annual pace in the euro area of 5.8% in April.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 6.8167 vs exp. 6.7645 (prev. 6.8176).

Geopolitics

• Russia to ban jet fuel exports until the end of November, Ifx reported.
• Ukraine's Air Force said Russian guided bombs strike the Donetsk region and drones are heading from Kharkiv to the Poltava region.
• Ukraine Air Force said enemy drones were detected over northwestern Kharkiv region.

US Event Calendar

• 9:45 am: May F S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI, est. 55.3, prior 55.3
• 10:00 am: May ISM Manufacturing, est. 53, prior 52.7
• 10:00 am: May ISM Prices Paid, est. 85, prior 84.6
• 10:00 am: Apr Construction Spending MoM, est. 0.25%, prior 0.6%

DB's Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

As it’s unbelievably the start of June already, Henry will shortly release our regular performance review for May. It was another eventful month, as hopes for a US-Iran deal meant Brent crude (-19.3%) saw its biggest decline since March 2020 when the pandemic lockdowns began. So stagflation fears eased dramatically, and the S&P 500 hit fresh records. Otherwise, chip stocks were the big outperformer as excitement around AI returned, with the Philly semiconductor index up another +22.2% in total return terms in May. Moreover, South Korea’s KOSPI was up +28.5%, taking its YTD gains to an astonishing +102.4% in just five months. See the full review in your inboxes shortly.

Whether June continues the positivity of May will surely depend on whether the hopes of a US-Iran deal turn into reality. It's been 93 days now since the strikes began and 54 since the truce that later became a ceasefire started. We've never felt closer to a deal but potentially never felt closer to it all falling apart with isolated strikes becoming more frequent including some again over the weekend. It's hard to imagine remaining in limbo for much longer given that if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed into mid-summer it will at some point likely lead to a non-linear tipping point of economic stress. For now, it seems Mr Trump is still deciding on whether the current negotiations between the two nations satisfy his demands. He has been surprisingly quiet over the weekend which indicates things perhaps coming close to a head. Meanwhile Israel and Hezbollah are trading attacks again which complicates matters even if fresh ceasefire proposals are being worked on. We could have said this a week ago, but it really feels like the next few hours and days will be critical. 

Brent is up +2.4% this morning but it hasn't impacted equities much with S&P (+0.25%) and Nasdaq (+0.52%) futures higher again and Asia again strong, mostly on the AI trade. Indeed the KOSPI (+4.45%) is again the standout performer. Elsewhere the Nikkei (+0.85%) and Hang Seng (+0.88%) are the other main gainers with mainland Chinese markets slightly lower, perhaps on fairly flat PMI data this morning and over the weekend. 10yr UST are back up +3bps at 4.465% given the higher oil this morning. 

Over the weekend China's official manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMI came in at 50.0 (in-line with consensus, 50.3 last month) and 50.1 respectively (consensus 49.5, 49.4 last month). The private sector manufacturing PMI came in at 50.1, four tenths of a percent higher than last month. You can see our economists' review of the PMIs here. He believes you are seeing the impact of higher oil prices in the activity data.

Looking ahead to the coming week, the key event for markets outside of Iran will be Friday’s US May employment report. Our economists forecast a notable moderation in payroll growth compared with the relatively strong pace seen earlier in the spring. Headline nonfarm payrolls are expected to rise by around 50k (consensus 89k), down from 115k in April, while private payrolls are forecast at roughly 60k (consensus 89k) after 123k previously. This slowing partly reflects their expectation that hiring in sectors that have been particularly strong in recent months – notably transportation and warehousing, as well as retail trade – begins to cool. Unemployment is expected to remain steady at 4.3% (consensus also 4.3%). 

Ahead of Friday’s jobs report, the rest of the US labour market data flow should reinforce the Federal Reserve’s growing confidence that labour market conditions are stabilising. Tomorrow, the April JOLTS report will shed light on the gross hiring and separation flows that underpinned last month’s solid net job gains. On Wednesday, the ADP private payrolls report is forecast by our economists to show a gain of around 130k, up from 109k previously, consistent with the strength seen in ADP’s high-frequency indicators. On Thursday, weekly initial jobless claims are expected to remain relatively low, although our economists see scope for a temporary uptick to around 220k, partly reflecting seasonal distortions associated with the Memorial Day holiday period. 

Beyond the labour market, the focus will also be on whether recent resilience in US economic activity is sustained. Today, the May manufacturing ISM survey is forecast by our economists to rise to around 54.0 from 52.7 in April, supported by encouraging signals from regional Fed surveys. Later in the week, Thursday’s services ISM is expected to edge higher to roughly 53.9 from 53.6. That said, the backdrop for consumer spending remains mixed. Elevated petrol prices and tariff-related increases in core goods inflation are emerging headwinds, and our economists therefore expect tomorrow’s unit motor vehicle sales to remain broadly flat at around 16.0 million annualised.
Alongside the data, Federal Reserve communication will be closely watched. On Wednesday, the Fed will publish its Beige Book, offering anecdotal evidence on economic conditions across districts. Fed speak is scattered through the week but it's mostly from officials who have spoken recently so it shouldn't break new ground. 

Outside the US, Europe will see several important inflation releases. Today, the ECB publishes its consumer expectations survey, providing an update on household inflation views. Tomorrow, the Eurozone releases its flash CPI estimate for May, following national releases over recent days and today. Further inflation data are due on Thursday from Switzerland and Sweden, adding to the regional picture ahead of upcoming central bank meetings.

Central bank speakers are also in focus outside of the Fed. ECB President Lagarde is scheduled to speak on Thursday, while Bank of England Governor Bailey appears multiple times through the week, including tomorrow, Thursday and Friday. In Asia, Bank of Japan Governor Ueda is due to speak on Wednesday.

In China we've already had most of the PMIs over the weekend and this morning (see more above) but the private sector services PMI is out on Wednesday. In Japan, Friday brings labour cash earnings data. Our Chief Japan economist expects wage growth to slow to around 2.5% year on year, from 2.8% previously. Elsewhere in the region, Australia releases its Q1 GDP figures on Wednesday.

Finally, the corporate earnings calendar is also busy, with several high-profile releases. In the technology sector, results are due from Broadcom, Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike during the week, while consumer-focused names reporting include Inditex, Dollar General and Lululemon Athletica. See the day-by-day calendar at the end as usual for a fuller week ahead preview. 

Recapping last week now and markets put in a strong performance overall, driven by mounting hopes for some kind of peace deal between the US and Iran. Several headlines pointed in that direction, with multiple outlets reporting that the two sides would agree a 60-day ceasefire extension. So that led to a sharp decline in oil prices, with Brent crude down -11.10% last week (-1.77% Friday) to $92.05/bbl. And investors moved to price out the chance of a protracted conflict as well, with the 6-month Brent future also down -4.64% to $84.18/bbl. 

That decline in oil prices meant fears about inflation continued to ease last week. For instance, the Euro 1yr inflation swap fell -38.1bps to 3.24%, and the US 1yr inflation swap fell -10.2bps to 3.01%. So investors also dialled back their expectations for rate hikes too, with a Fed hike by December down to 57% by the close on Friday, having been at 95% the previous week. Similarly at the ECB, the number of hikes priced by December fell from 65bps to 53bps by Friday’s close. And in turn, sovereign bonds rallied around the world, with the 10yr Treasury yield falling -12.2bps last week (-1.1bps Friday) to 4.44%, whilst the 10yr bund yield fell -10.0bps (-2.4bps Friday) to 2.94%. 

With optimism rising on the geopolitical situation, equities also put in a strong performance around the world. For instance, the S&P 500 rose +1.43% (+0.22% Friday), marking a 9th consecutive weekly gain for the index, which is the first time that’s happened since 2023. Tech stocks did particularly well, with the NASDAQ up +2.39% (+0.20% Friday). And the rally extended globally, with Japan’s Nikkei up +4.72% (+2.53% Friday), whilst Europe’s STOXX 600 saw a modest +0.14% gain last week (+0.14% Friday).  Finally in credit, spreads tightened a bit last week, with Euro IG tightening -1bps, and Euro HY tightening -10bps. In the US, IG spreads were steady, while HY tightened by -3bps.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 08:25

He's "Full Of Sh!t": JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon Slams Coinbase's Armstrong, Declares War On Clarity Act

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has drawn a battle line in Washington: the Clarity Act, as written, is dead on arrival - and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is the enemy driving it.

In a Fox Business interview late last week, Dimon unloaded on the pending crypto market structure legislation, calling it a threat to the financial system and a gift to an industry that wants the privileges of banking without the responsibilities.

“It allows cryptocurrency firms to effectively pay interest on deposits - stablecoins or something like that - without the protection that they should have,” Dimon said.

“It has almost no legal protections.”

Jamie Dimon went on Fox and called Brian Armstrong "full of sh!t" over stablecoins. 😳

Jamie is the GOAT. Love him or loathe him, you absolutely know where he stands.

What stood out to me in the clip was to hear the CEO of America's biggest bank promise to fight, and admit he… pic.twitter.com/Jjbfj7zim9

— Simon Taylor (@sytaylor) May 31, 2026

As Micah Zimmerman reports for BitcoinMagazine.com, Dimon's core argument: if a crypto platform walks like a bank and talks like a bank, it needs to be regulated like one. That means Anti-Money Laundering compliance, Bank Secrecy Act obligations, FDIC insurance, capital requirements, liquidity rules, and the full weight of financial oversight that traditional banks carry. The Clarity Act, in his view, lets crypto firms skip all of it.

The fight over stablecoin rewards sits at the center of the dispute. Banks say allowing crypto exchanges to pay customers for holding stablecoins would accelerate deposit flight from traditional institutions — a ticking clock on the business model that has defined American banking for a century. 

Crypto advocates counter that such incentives are a natural evolution of payments infrastructure. The bill’s markup is approaching, and neither side is backing down.

Dimon also flagged the AML problem with cross-border stablecoin payments.

“The first one may be legitimate,” he said, “the second one may be a sex trafficker.”

Once money lands in a digital wallet overseas, it can move to a third wallet, a fourth — with no visibility and no accountability. That, he said, is the unresolved risk hiding beneath the optimism around stablecoin utility.

Dimon: Coinbase CEO Armstrong is full of sh*t

But Dimon reserved his sharpest words for Armstrong. The Coinbase CEO, he claimed, is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in Washington to push the legislation through.

“No one is going to bow down to this guy,” Dimon said, calling Armstrong “full of sh*t.” 

It was not the first time — Dimon made similar remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year.

JPMorgan is not alone. The American Bankers Association, community banks, and credit unions are aligned in opposition to the bill’s current form.

Dimon made clear this is a fight — not a negotiation.

“We’ll fight it,” he said. “If we lose, we lose. But it will be fought.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 07:45

SK Hynix Evacuates Thousands Of Workers At Chip Plant After Fire, Toxic Gas Leak

One week, unions are threatening labor action at memory giant Samsung. The next, SK Hynix suffers an industrial accident. Together, the events highlight just how fragile the global memory supply chain has become at a time when AI data center buildouts have already pushed memory chip supply into extraordinarily tight territory.

South Korea's main national wire service, Yonhap News Agency, reports that SK Hynix, the world's second-largest DRAM producer, evacuated about 3,600 workers from its Cheongju semiconductor factory in South Korea after a fire and toxic gas leak.

The fire erupted Monday mid-morning in a sixth-floor gas room connecting the M15 and M15X plants and was quickly extinguished by the factory's fire suppression system. Seven people were injured.

SK Hynix believes the incident may have originated from a gas pipeline, adding that production lines for critical memory chips were not impacted.

SK Hynix is one of the world's top three memory chip companies, alongside Samsung and Micron. It controlled about 32% of the DRAM market in 4Q25, behind Samsung at 36% but ahead of Micron at 22.4%, according to TrendForce data.

This means that if the industrial accident had been more severe, any real production disruption at SK Hynix could have sparked a surge in DRAM prices. In other words, SK Hynix is a bottleneck supplier for the AI trade.

Our report early last week added to optimism in the DRAM and NAND memory chip markets because there is new evidence that China is flooding the chip market.

The Amazon price-tracking website CamelCamelCamel shows that retail pricing for DDR5 64GB memory chips dropped from $925 to about $853 in late May. Prices were around $200 one year ago.

We first outlined that hoarded supplies would begin to hit the market in late March.

 

 

 

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 07:20

Millions Of Americans Are Giving Up On Buying New Cars

A growing number of Americans can no longer afford to buy new vehicles. Since 2020, roughly one million potential buyers have exited the market, and industry forecasts suggest they are unlikely to return soon, according to Wall Street Journal. 

Although automakers initially expected sales to recover to pre-pandemic levels, persistent economic pressures have kept demand below earlier expectations.

Before COVID-19, U.S. new-vehicle sales typically reached around 17 million units annually. Today, most forecasts place demand closer to 16 million vehicles or less, with little chance of a full recovery in the near future. One major reason is cost: the average new vehicle now sells for nearly $50,000, and many models exceed $55,000. As entry-level options disappear, new cars have become increasingly out of reach for middle-income households.

The WSJ writes that automakers recognize that affordability has become a major obstacle. While some companies have announced plans to introduce less expensive models, substantial price reductions are not expected anytime soon. Rather than competing through discounts, manufacturers have concentrated on producing higher-margin vehicles such as pickups, SUVs, and premium trims.

The industry's approach changed during the pandemic, when supply shortages limited production but allowed companies to maintain strong profits through higher prices. That experience convinced many automakers that selling fewer vehicles can be more profitable than chasing volume through aggressive incentives. As a result, manufacturers have become more cautious about discounting and more focused on protecting profit margins.

Consumers who are priced out of the new-car market often look to used vehicles instead, but prices there have also risen significantly. Many households have responded by delaying purchases altogether and keeping their current vehicles longer. This trend has pushed the average age of cars and light trucks on U.S. roads to a record level of roughly 13 years.

At the same time, automakers face mounting expenses from tariffs, supply-chain challenges, and large investments in electric vehicle development. These costs further reduce the incentive to prioritize low-priced vehicles. Companies such as GM and Ford continue to emphasize trucks, SUVs, and other profitable models that generate stronger returns than compact economy cars.

Some manufacturers, including Stellantis, have pledged to expand their lineup of lower-cost vehicles in the coming years. Meanwhile, brands such as Toyota, Nissan, and Hyundai still offer some of the market's more affordable options, although they too have increasingly shifted toward SUVs and larger vehicles.

Industry analysts increasingly believe that annual U.S. vehicle sales may remain below the pre-pandemic norm for years to come. Returning to the 17-million-unit level would likely require a much larger supply of vehicles priced under $40,000. Until that happens, many consumers will continue postponing purchases and extending the life of the vehicles they already own.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 06:55

The Road To Hell Is Being Paved With Suicidal Empathy

Authored by Bronwyn Eyre via The Epoch Times,

In his book-cover endorsement of “Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind,” author Bruce Bawer calls it “easily more important than any book in recent memory.” Elon Musk adds: “Western civilization is doomed unless the core weakness of suicidal empathy is recognized and actions are taken.”

They’re right. Professor Gad Saad’s newest book will jar your mindset and leave you with a degree of shock. You’ll want to tell others about it, and it will be a bestseller (in fact, it already is).

The book cover’s sketched lamb holding a sign reading “FREE THE WOLVES” delivers the book’s thesis in a nutshell—that the madness of misplaced empathy toward alien entities, cultures, and religions is suicidal. And the Western world—or at least a critical mass of its cultural and political influencers—is sold on the idea.

The book is freighted with stunning examples of lunatic policies that prioritize marginalized groups over cherished time-tested Judeo-Christian tenets, customs, and practices. In his chapter “Cultural Theory of Mind,” for instance, Saad discusses how both the British police and government declined “over several decades” to intervene in the “organized sexual exploitation of young white girls by ‘Asian’ grooming gangs across countless cities on an industrial-scale level … lest they might be accused of bigotry or, worse, Islamophobia.”

Some instances of suicidal empathy occur where you’d least suspect it. Traditionally, for example, merit and scientific aptitude have comprised the hallmark for entrance into medicine. But according to Saad, CanMEDS (which develops professional codes for physicians and surgeons in Canada) has devised a new model that “would seek to centre values such as anti-oppression, anti-racism, and social justice, rather than medical expertise.”

He then provides a 150-word statement elaborating on CanMEDS’ 2025 renewal guidelines—ones that address “ongoing structures of racism, white supremacy, settler colonialism, heteropatriarchy, capitalism, ableism, classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and more.”

Suicidal empathy—a Saad coinage, by the way—has become well-implanted in Canadian universities.

The University of Waterloo’s Cheriton School of Computer Science recently advertised for two positions—one in AI, the second in computer science. Position one “is open only to qualified individuals who self-identify as woman, transgender, gender-fluid, non-binary, or Two-spirit” while position two “is open only to qualified individuals who self-identify as a member of a racialized minority.”

Not to be outdone, the University of British Columbia recently advertised for a chair in oral cancer research. “The selection,” read the ad, “will be restricted to members of the following federally-designated groups: people with disabilities, Indigenous people, radicalized people, women, and people from minoritized gender identity groups.”

So that’s how the empathy cookie crumbles these days. Illegal immigrants are welcomed by the hundreds of thousands and often more accommodated than tax-paying citizens. Hamas terrorists are noble; Israel’s IDF “genocidal.” Squatters are prioritized over residents. Twerking drag queens entertain kindergartners during reading hour. Foreign aid is sluiced out with no strings attached. The “unhoused” occupy and despoil public parks. Free needles are handed out with little expectation they’ll be returned. Medical and fire department personnel are burned out by the coddling of street addicts.

Saad notes an academic movement that actually seeks to change the term “pedophile” to “minor-attracted people” (MAPS). In one of its papers entitled “Humanizing Pedophilia as Stigma Reduction,” the abstract begins: “The stigmatization of people with pedophilic sexual interests is a topic of growing academic and professional consideration, owing to its potential role in moderating pedophiles’ emotional well-being. Thus, reducing stigmatization toward this group is of paramount importance.”

My favourite example of suicidal empathy? That’s a tough one, but I’ll go with the government grant awarded to researchers at Concordia University to de-colonize light. On their “Decolonizing Light” website, the researchers explain that the “website explores ways and approaches to decolonize science, such as revitalizing and restoring Indigenous knowledges, and capacity building. The project aims to develop a culture of critical reflection and investigation of the relation of science and colonialism.”

It’s somewhat reassuring that the phenomenon of suicidal empathy has existed, in some form, for centuries. Saad cites two Aesop’s Fables—in one case, a kindly farmer takes a freezing viper into his warm coat pocket but is fatally bitten when the viper warms. In another, a scorpion convinces a frog to carry him across the river on his back then fatally stings the frog, because it’s in his nature to do so.

How proud one could feel if our political leaders were wise to the folly of misplaced empathy. But as Saad puts it: “Two former Canadian prime ministers, Pierre Elliott Trudeau and his son Justin Trudeau, are perfect exemplars of Western political leaders who have destroyed their nation’s cultural fabric via their empathetic commitment to cultural relativism.”

That might explain why, in 2017, Justin Trudeau authorized a $10.5 million payout to Omar Khadr for Canada’s alleged complicity with the United States in the violation of Khadr’s constitutional rights at Guantanamo Bay. He had killed an American soldier in the Afghan war and spent years in that prison, but was eventually handed over to Canadian authorities.

Saad, who fled the Lebanese civil war with his Jewish parents (who had earlier been kidnapped and ill-treated by the Palestine Liberation Organization), settled in Montreal and was taken on by Concordia University in 1994 as a marketing professor. He now terms himself an “evolutionary behavioural scientist.” He recently revealed on the Joe Rogan podcast that, amid repeated death threats, he’s leaving Canada to live in the United States.

Saad told the National Post: “I love Canada, but there comes a point where the abject antipathy that you experience from Canadian society forces you to look elsewhere to a place where you might be appreciated and allowed to flourish.” He’s now a scholar at the Center for the Study of American Freedom at the University of Mississippi.

A while back, I reviewed Piers Morgan’s latest book “Woke Is Dead” and wrote that it “might go a long way toward straightening out an age—as his subtitle states—‘of total madness’ for all of us.” Perhaps more than I realized at the time, Morgan’s optimism may involve too much wishful thinking. For, alas, Saad’s ominous outlook trumps Morgan’s auspicious one. Morgan himself revealed doubts in saying, for example, that “we must keep pounding” against wokeism and “woke is dead ... but we’re not totally in the clear.”

Saad tells how, in March of 2024, he posted some thoughts on his X feed regarding the “suicidal empathy” he felt is sending the West “into a death spiral.” He received an email from the publisher of Broadside Books with a link to the post and the comment, “Here’s your book idea.”

That idea is in sync with previous thinkers and writers. Arnold Toynbee argued that societies collapse when they fail to intelligently respond to new challenges. Thomas Sowell believed that the intelligentsia often espouse policies that make them feel virtuously compassionate, while being decoupled from the negative consequences of said policies. James Burnham, in his “Suicide of the West“ (1964), wrote that “suicide is probably more frequent than murder as the end phase of a civilization.”

So Saad is in good company in holding that the “West’s elitist progressive political class is infected by a mind parasite that causes its empathy module to misfire in every conceivable manner. Many of the policy decisions that are wreaking havoc in the West stem from this poor calibration of empathy, resulting in a society that is galloping toward the abyss of infinite lunacy.”

Hon. Bronwyn Eyre, LLB, is a Senior Fellow with the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy and Saskatchewan’s former Minister of Justice, Attorney General, and Minister of Energy.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 06:30

US Adult Cigarette Smoking Rate Hits Another All-Time Low

Via Headline USA,

The cigarette smoking rate among U.S. adults dropped to another all-time low last year, with 1 in 11 adults saying they were current smokers, according to government survey data released this week.

Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, and it’s long been considered the leading cause of preventable death.

The preliminary findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were based on survey responses from more than 24,200 adults. In the survey, CDC officials defined current cigarette smoking as smoking at least 100 cigarettes in a lifetime and now smoking every day or some days.

In the mid-1960s, 42% of U.S. adults were smokers. The rate has been gradually dropping for decades, due to cigarette taxes, tobacco product price hikes, smoking bans, public education campaigns and changes in the social acceptability of lighting up in public.

In 2024, the percentage of current adult smokers fell below 10% for the first time. Last year, it was 9%, according to the new survey.

The use of electronic cigarettes has been inching up among adults, but has held about steady in 2025, at about 7%.

“The continued decline in smoking is a monumental public health achievement that has saved millions of lives and billions in healthcare costs,” said Yolonda Richardson, president and chief executive of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy and research organization.

Richardson said current smoking-prevention efforts have been set back by cuts President Donald Trump’s administration made that eliminated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health and its “Tips from Former Smokers” advertising campaign.

She cited estimates that the “Tips” campaign alone helped more than 1 million Americans quit smoking and saved over $7.3 billion in healthcare costs.

“This critical work must be restored and sustained to continue reducing smoking-related disease, death and healthcare costs nationwide,” Richardson said.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 05:45

German School Forces Teens To Design 'Inclusive Brothel'

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Parents across Germany are in uproar after a Catholic high school handed 13- to 15-year-olds the grotesque task of modernizing a brothel to make it “sexually inclusive” for every lifestyle and preference under the sun.

The assignment at Cardinal von Galen Gymnasium in Kevelaer, North Rhine-Westphalia, formed part of a “Sexual Education of Diversity” module. 

Students were told to simulate running an existing brothel in a big city, with a fixed floor plan they could only tweak by adding doors and staircases. 

Insane pic.twitter.com/hFYy379mQV

— Basil the Great (@BasilTheGreat) May 29, 2026

They had to detail which sexual preferences the spaces must cater to, what “services” to offer, target groups, advertising, and crucially “what skills and abilities” the workers would need “so that all kinds of people could be served and satisfied.”

In what world is it OK to ask children to do this?

The workbook, titled “Puff für alle” – slang for “Brothel for All” – framed the exercise as responding to “developments in our society with a diversity of lifestyles and gender roles.”

Headmistress Christina Diehr defended the material to WDR, stating it was “deliberately designed to be provocative in order to stimulate discussion.” 

She added that it “addresses the heavy use of social media channels by children and young people and the associated flood of information about various forms of sexuality.”

After the worksheets leaked and sparked widespread fury on social media, the school held what it called “constructive” talks with parents, the teacher, and the class parents’ committee. 

Officials confirmed they will not re-issue the assignment and are now preparing alternative lessons on “diversity of lifestyles and sexuality.”

One older student pushed back sharply in comments to WDR: “People should be questioning the acceptance surrounding the topic of sex work… 95 percent of all sex workers being women, and a significant number of them being girls, I believe it’s inappropriate to address brothels in sex education and, above all, to fail to differentiate and explore the topic in an assignment.”

This sanitized, taxpayer-funded fantasy of “inclusive” prostitution arrives at the exact moment German schools and kindergartens are reeling from real-world sexual horrors inflicted by migrants who never should have been let near children.

As we previously highlighted, an 18-year-old Afghan asylum seeker intern at Brehm School in Düsseldorf allegedly dropped his trousers and exposed his erect penis to two second-grade girls while a teacher was present in the room. 

He had also groped the class teacher’s buttocks days before. The intern admitted the groping to police. The school only banned him after the girls’ parents raised the alarm themselves, and authorities noted schools often try to “keep a low profile” on such crimes.

In a separate case, a 35-year-old Syrian intern molested two four-year-olds in a Neubrandenburg kindergarten – touching a sleeping girl’s genitals and buttocks with sexual intent, then assaulting a boy who reported it to his parents. Kindergarten staff initially handled the first incident internally without calling police.

German schools are descending into chaos precisely because of mass migration. One report detailed entire institutions “dealing with hell” from violence, language barriers, and cultural clashes driven by unchecked inflows. 

Another school required permanent police guards after 118 crimes in a single year, including knife attacks and threats. 

Parents have pulled kids from daycare out of fear of neighboring asylum centers, while in some towns planned kindergartens were quietly converted into asylum housing instead.

Globalist policies have flooded communities with unvetted individuals from incompatible cultures while authorities sexualize and confuse native children with literal brothel-planning homework. 

Innocence is stripped on two fronts: ideological grooming in the curriculum and physical predation enabled by open borders.

Germany’s leaders have chosen experiments in “diversity” over the basic duty to protect the young. The result is traumatized kids, furious parents, and a system that lectures about inclusion while failing to deliver safety.

This cannot continue. Only nations that secure their borders, prioritize their own citizens, and reject both woke indoctrination and demographic replacement will spare their children this nightmare.

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 Mon, 06/01/2026 - 05:00

How The FIFA World Cup Affects Short-Term Rental Markets

For international football fans traveling to North America to attend the FIFA World Cup this summer, the costs of doing so quickly add up.

As Statista's Felix Richter details below, between flights, accommodation, food, local transportation and tickets, a week-long trip to the tournament can easily set you back a couple of thousand dollars, which is why FIFA and local businesses in the United States have been accused of price gouging in the run-up to the multi-week event.

Fans put off by sky-high hotel prices in host cities may look elsewhere for cheaper accommodation, but the short-term rental market, i.e. Airbnb and similar platforms, is also heating up in anticipation of the World Cup and millions of international visitors. According to AirDNA, an analytics platform for the short-term rental industry, demand for short-term rentals has surged in many host cities, with Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey seeing particularly large spikes in bookings and nightly rates.

You will find more infographics at Statista

On group stage matchdays, the number of bookings in the three Mexican host cities rose by an average of 186 percent compared to the previous year, while the average nightly rate increased by 72 percent year-over-year.

Host cities in the U.S. and Canada have seen significantly smaller increases in demand and prices, indicating that baseline demand in these cities is higher compared to their Mexican counterparts.

For those still looking for accommodation, however, the report brings mixed news.

On the one hand, the average price increase for listings that were still available as of May 28 was roughly twice as high as the increase for bookings that had already been made.

On the other hand, with vacancy rates indicating that there are still plenty of options on the market and hoteliers reporting that demand has fallen short of expectations, last-minute bookers may still benefit from falling prices in the days leading up to the World Cup kickoff on June 11.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 04:15

65,000 Small German Retail Stores Have Disappeared As Economic Downturn Hits Europe's 'Powerhouse'

Via Remix News,

The number of small retail stores in Germany has declined drastically since 2010. According to a recent analysis by the credit agency Creditreform and the Handelsblatt Research Institute, there were 236,143 small retail stores with annual sales of less than €250,000 in 2010. For 2025, the sales tax statistics show only 170,770 such stores, a drop of 28 percent, reports Junge Freiheit.

Across all size categories, the number of stores shrank by only 16 percent during the same period, meaning the smaller, owner-operated players are being hit far harder. Small and medium-sized enterprises have been left with barely any financial reserves, a bad sign for the country’s battle with continuous bankruptcies.

According to the report, just over 316,000 retail stores overall remain. The German Retail Federation (HDE) warns that the number of stores could drop below 300,000 in 2026, threatening the vitality of city centers.

“The retail sector is among the fastest-shrinking sectors of the German economy,” Creditreform states in its report, with specialty stores in city centers, on side streets, and in shopping malls affected the most. Creditreform economist Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch points to a combination of factors: inflation, consumer weakness, rising operating costs, and increasing competitive pressure.

In 2025, 2,440 retailers went bankrupt — a 9 percent increase increase over 2024— with fashion stores, bookstores, and bakeries particularly affected.

HDE President Alexander von Preen argues that politicians should lower energy costs and payroll taxes, while landlords should adopt more flexible, revenue-based rents to reduce vacancies.

Research from the Institute for Retail Research in Cologne shows that empty storefronts damage city centers by discouraging visitors, weakening city image, reducing foot traffic, and causing financial losses for municipalities and nearby businesses.

At the same time, non-food discount chains such as Action, Tedi, Hema, Woolworth, and Thomas Philipps are gaining market share in household goods, toys, stationery, and other categories. An IfH survey found that 85 percent of Germans have shopped at such stores in the past two years.

Creditreform says cities and retailers must adapt.

Traditional shopping-focused city centers are no longer effective in many areas, so cities should better combine shopping, leisure, dining, and living spaces. Small retailers are encouraged to focus on specialization, customer service, digital presence, and unique shopping experiences to remain competitive.

But with these changes, much of the identity of cities may be threatened.

“With the decline of smaller specialist retailers, many city centers are losing their distinctiveness and thus their heart,” says HDE CEO Stefan Genth.

With Germany battling an overburdened social system, surging federal deficit, soaring energy prices, and a massive spike in crime and costs due to migration, the choice of retailers in city centers may be the least of its problems. And yet, this barometer pays testament to all the rest.

Read more here...

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 03:30

Trump Toughens Terms Of Iran Deal Framework, As Bessent Pinpoints Tehran's 'Big Mistake' Summary

• NYT on Sunday: President Trump has toughened the terms of a potential framework for a deal to end the war in Iran.
• Washington seeks to ratchet pressure, but Tehran still not budging on issue of remaining nuclear material.
• Bessent describes the "big mistake" Iran made to Fox - attacking its neighbors & losing friends; also says of the Iranians "they're going to have to start taking down the wells."
• Israeli PM Netanyahu says he has "instructed the Israeli military to expand the maneuver in Lebanon" after the occupation of the strategic Beaufort Castle, which he says marks "a dramatic change" in Israel’s operations.

//--> US x Iran permanent peace deal by June 30, 2026?
Yes 30% · No 70%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

*  *  *

Trump Toughens the Terms of Potential Deal

Fresh Sunday reporting in the NY Times says President Trump has responded to Iran's refusal to budge on giving up its nuclear material by tightening US conditions as part of a Memorandum of Understanding to get back to the peace negotiating table.

"President Donald Trump has toughened the terms of a potential framework for a deal to end the war in Iran, and has sent those proposed changes back to Iran for consideration, according to three officials," NY Times writes, but didn't disclose what the precise changes are.

The report then speculates on where these changes likely focus: "Trump has been concerned about parts of the potential deal that would include unfreezing funds for the Iranians, two officials said."

Iran's Tasnim:

If Trump proposes changes to the draft agreement, Iran will make its own revisions as well.

Nothing is finalized. Iran says it will only accept terms it agrees with and is also prepared for the possibility of no deal. pic.twitter.com/KzWnxlWG8G

— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 31, 2026

Citing frustration at the slow pace of Iran's response to the proposals, it adds, "He has been harshly critical of President Barack Obama for doing the same in the more than decade-old agreement that was signed to curtail Iran’s nuclear program."

Tightening the proposals is meant to ratchet up the pressure and 'force' the Islamic Republic to respond quicker and agree to a deal. However, the Iranians have time and again rejected being 'dictated to' by Washington, as its top negotiator Ghalibaf spelled out days ago.

Meanwhile there's been a recent change in tone when talking about Iran's military, from Trump himself:

"We’ve actually left their military alone — people would be surprised to hear that."

President Trump says Iran's military hasn't been hit as aggressively because it's "somewhat moderate" compared to other elements of the regime.

He argues that wiping out "everybody" could cause… pic.twitter.com/gG84lDSrlD

— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 31, 2026 Iran Still Not Budging on Nuclear File

This also comes after a two-hour Friday Situation Room meeting Friday wherein it became clear there was no deal yet to be finalized. According to more from the Times:

The official added that Trump’s changes — a new, tougher proposal — were potentially intended to speed up the process by putting pressure on Iran to accept the framework already sent to Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, for approval.

Reaching the supreme leader has been difficult, so any changes to the document, known as the memorandum of understanding, could mean additional delays.

But for pressure to work, there has to be signs Iranian leaders are getting nervous or desperate - and so far they've not urged Washington or Pakistani mediators for some kind of grand compromise. Instead they've repeatedly sworn that Iran's highly enriched uranium will never be transferred to the possession of the United States.

Iran Decries Constant False 'Speculation'

The Sunday latest from Iran's Foreign Ministry:

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, says “dialogue and an exchange of messages are ongoing” with the United States amid stalled negotiations.

He told Iranian news agency IRNA that “it is not possible to judge until a clear conclusion is reached; everything that is being said now is speculation and should not be taken seriously until it is certain”.

Bessent: Iran's 'Big Mistake'

Still, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is busy on the Sunday news shows talking tough. He told Fox in a new interview that Iran made a "big mistake" by attacking its neighbors in the Persian Gulf, within the past week. A US base in Kuwait was also reportedly just attacked by a ballistic missile, which was reportedly intercepted - but falling debris injured five US personnel.

"We had many very good allies who maybe weren't completely transparent with us on the money — Iranian money that was in their banking systems — all of a sudden became very compliant in terms of being willing to turn over accounts or help us freeze block accounts," Bessent told Fox News.

"And then the third part was the incredible blockade. I really think it's the economic blockade of funds and the physical blockade of the ships not going in or out of the Iranian ports," he added. "Kharg Island is shut down. That's their big oil loading facilities, and that means that they're going to have to start taking down the wells," Bessent said. And yet, there's nothing officially disclosed to show this is actually happening - though the Iranians have no incentive to publicize it. But time will tell.

Bessent:

A big mistake that the Iranians made was attacking their GCC neighbors, their neighbors in the Gulf, because we had many very good allies who maybe weren't completely transparent with us on the money, Iranian money that was in their banking systems, all of a sudden… pic.twitter.com/trfonLETXI

— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 31, 2026 IDF Plunges Deep into Lebanon, Captures Crusader Castle

Some Lebanon war latest, via Al Jazeera, as ceasefire unravels:

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has “instructed the Israeli military to expand the maneuver in Lebanon” after the occupation of the strategic Beaufort Castle, which he says marks “a dramatic change” in Israel’s operations.

• The Israeli military claims to have killed 900 Hezbollah “terrorists” since the start of the “ceasefire” on April 16. It added that the army had struck dozens of Hezbollah sites since this morning.

• Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has accused Israel of pursuing a “scorched-earth policy” as Israeli forces expand their ground invasion.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 03:10

Interest In Politics Often Ranks Low

Interest in politics varies among countries and for many of the 34 nations surveyed by Statista Consumer Insights between April 2025 and March 2026, politics was in the bottom half of the most frequently named personal interests out of 18 surveyed. The topic ranked lowest in India (16 out of 18), Malaysia (16) and Saudi Arabia (16).

As Statista's Anna Fleck shows in the chart below, the share of respondents naming politics as an interest also varied between countries where it ranked similarly.

You will find more infographics at Statista

For example, 20 percent of French people interested in politics constituted rank 15, while in Mexico rank 13 equated to 27 percent of respondents expressing an interest in politics.

In the United States, 24 percent named politics and current events as an interest of theirs - rank 13 out of 18.

The biggest share of people said they were interested in politics in Brazil and Finland, at 41 percent and 33 percent, respectively.

The topic ranked highest in Germany at rank 7.

Topics that were more popular than politics in all surveyed countries were sports, movies/music/TV, food and dining, as well as health and fitness.

Travel was more popular in all countries except Thailand, where both were tied at 38 percent.

The topic of VIPs and celebrities was consistently less interesting than politics across the board.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 02:45

The Slow Disappearance Of Cash In Europe

Authored by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes via the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE),

Under the guise of fighting money laundering, the EU is making anonymous economic activity progressively harder...

Starting in July 2027, Europeans will no longer be allowed to pay businesses or professionals more than €10,000 in cash (roughly $11,500). Any transaction above €3,000 (just under $3,500) will require mandatory customer identification. This is another step toward political uniformity across Europe, stripping countries of autonomy and subtly pushing citizens toward the digital euro.

This measure, part of the new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR), applies directly to all Member States. Under the pretext of fighting money laundering, Brussels is imposing yet another form of forced harmonization that ignores the principle of subsidiarity: the idea that decisions should be made at the level closest to citizens and national governments.

What was once a matter regulated by individual countries is now becoming a uniform mandate from Brussels.

This is a thinly disguised restriction not only on political freedom, but above all on economic freedom. Cash remains one of the last truly private means of exchange still available; unlike digital transactions, cash does not automatically create a centralized record accessible to banks or public authorities.

The use of cash is often associated with the intention to hide illicit activity. Yet the ability to conduct private and discreet transactions is a natural extension of property rights and freedom of contract. Many law-abiding citizens prefer cash for entirely legitimate reasons, including protection against financial instability or potential capital controls.

From that date onward, professionals will be forced to turn every transaction above €3,000 into a bureaucratic process involving identity verification, data collection, and the risk of penalties. This is yet another regulatory imposition that raises the cost of doing business, similar to the introduction of VAT in Europe decades ago, which pushed many small businesses to close their doors or move into the informal economy because of increased bureaucracy and compliance costs. Small entrepreneurs, already pressured by high taxes and excessive red tape, will once again bear the heaviest burden.

What were once simple voluntary exchanges will become sources of additional costs, delays, and state intrusion.

Once again, centralized authorities are creating regulatory complexity under the difficult-to-challenge justification of fighting crime, even though each country already has its own rules in this area.

More liberal countries such as Germany will lose flexibility, since they previously had no general limit on cash payments. The uniformity imposed by Brussels ignores cultural differences, particularly differing levels of trust in institutions. In some countries, cash culture remains deeply rooted, and confidence in digital systems is significantly lower.

This measure represents a gradual erosion of individual autonomy. If using cash becomes increasingly inconvenient for merchants and consumers, people will naturally migrate toward digital payments. Over time, this initially convenient shift will make the introduction of the digital euro far easier.

It is difficult to believe that it is mere coincidence that these restrictions are scheduled to take effect in July 2027 at roughly the same time the European Central Bank (ECB) plans to launch the first pilots of the digital euro. Cash becomes inconvenient and potentially risky at the same time digital money is presented as the practical alternative.

Once the principle is established that the state can limit private cash transactions, there is a strong tendency for those limits to become progressively stricter. European countries themselves demonstrated this pattern when they still controlled these rules nationally. Belgium, for example, steadily lowered its cash payment ceiling over the years to the current €3,000.

The most likely outcome is that the new European-wide limit of €10,000, which may seem relatively high today, will gradually be reduced further until using cash for most significant transactions becomes impractical. In reality, the vast majority of cash transactions are already well below this threshold. According to studies by the ECB, around 81 percent of all point-of-sale payments are below €25, and cash is predominantly used for small everyday purchases. This means that the €10,000 limit will mainly affect legitimate higher-value transactions, such as the payment of certain professional services that many citizens and small businesses still prefer to carry out in cash.

The digital euro, presented as a complement to cash, will arrive at a moment when cash has already been substantially weakened. Unlike cash, this system is traceable, programmable, and potentially subject to holding limits, expiration mechanisms, or usage restrictions.

China has already offered real-world examples. In several pilots of its digital yuan, authorities tested expiration dates on funds, meaning the money would lose its value if not spent by a certain date. This turns money from a reliable store of value into a tool that encourages spending according to government timelines. Such features demonstrate how programmable digital currencies can be used to control economic behavior, punish saving, and steer consumption in line with state priorities.

These are conditions fundamentally incompatible with the freedom that cash provides.

This accelerated yet discreet path toward a fully digital monetary system opens the door to an unprecedented level of financial surveillance and control in European history. By overriding the principle of subsidiarity, it will affect almost the entire continent.

The road to total societal control passes through the restriction of economic freedom.

Tyler Durden Mon, 06/01/2026 - 02:00

Shutting Down Federal Bee Labs Threatens The US Food System

Authored by Jennie Durant via TheConversation.com,

America’s bees and beekeepers are losing a valuable ally just when they need its help most.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to soon close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, a 6,500-acre agricultural research station in Maryland that is home to the nation’s premier bee research and disease diagnosis hub, the Beltsville Bee Research Lab.

The closure comes at a critical moment for bees. In winter 2025, many beekeepers lost over half their operations as pesticide-resistant varroa mites spread, bringing deadly viruses. The losses have led to low honey production, and soaring fuel costs have made shipping bees cross-country for agricultural pollination increasingly expensive, further stressing the industry.

Beekeeping involves keeping colonies as healthy as possible. Often, beekeepers need help. Allagash Brewing/Flickr, CC BY

During my 14 years researching bees and beekeepers, and in writing my new book, “Bitter Honey: Big Ag’s Threat to Bees and the Fight to Save Them,” I’ve seen beekeepers frequently turn to the USDA bee labs for support during crises like this. Because honey bees contribute roughly US$15 billion to U.S. crop production – native and managed bees pollinate more than 130 crops – these labs help stabilize the nation’s food system.

Today, that scientific support system is at risk, just as beekeepers face their greatest challenges and native bee populations continue to decline.

Why the Beltsville Bee Lab matters

USDA’s bee researchers have served beekeepers for over 130 years, including nearly 90 years at the Beltsville station. One of the Beltsville Bee Lab’s standout services is its bee disease diagnostic service, where beekeepers can send samples for analysis free of charge.

Since the early 2000s, Beltsville researchers have helped beekeepers respond to varroa mites – a primary driver of high colony losses each year. Now, the lab is helping them prepare for a deadlier mite that is infesting honey bees in Asia, Tropilaelaps mercedesae, or “tropi” mites – by developing detection and response protocols that beekeepers can use to protect their colonies.

Varroa mites are the leading source of stress on honey bees, affecting half of all colonies at times. Other major stressors affect large numbers of colonies as well. Farm Doc Daily/University of Illinois

While the Beltsville Bee Lab supports beekeepers nationwide, it’s located in a prime farming and beekeeping region. Its closure would leave a critical research gap in the Northeast, where beekeepers help pollinate cranberries, squash, blueberries and other crops.

Its location has also allowed researchers to conduct extensive studies on winter colony losses, research that would be difficult to replicate at the remaining USDA bee labs, which are primarily located in more temperate climates.

Hidden costs of bee lab closures

The USDA states that it will decommission the entire Beltsville Agricultural Research Center because building maintenance and renovations would cost an estimated $500 million. But closing the lab could cost beekeepers, farmers and consumers far more.

For example, in winter 2025, beekeepers experienced their highest losses in U.S. history. Many opened their colonies in January that year and found that more than 60% of their colonies had died – nearly 1.7 million colonies nationwide. Beekeepers contacted Beltsville, and researchers quickly flew out to test affected colonies for pesticide residues, diseases and varroa mites, data that could help guide beekeepers’ treatment response.

Entomologist Jay Evans explains what the Beltsville Bee Lab does and the diseases bees face.

A few weeks later, as the lab’s scientists were working on the crisis, the Trump administration fired probationary researchers and staff at the bee labs, along with thousands of other employees across the USDA. The Beltsville team was hobbled, and the remaining staff restricted from communicating with beekeepers.

Because of the communication lockdown, it took nearly six months for researchers to deliver their findings. By then, the season was over and beekeepers had been forced to navigate the crisis on their own.

The loss of bee colonies ultimately cost beekeepers an estimated $600 million in lost honey production, pollination income and colony replacement costs – far more than the one-time projected costs to modernize the entire Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.

These losses can hit consumer pocketbooks too.

When beekeepers lose nearly half their operations, they often need to charge farmers more for pollination services to stay afloat. Those added costs can ripple through the food system and affect what everyone pays for the fruits, vegetables and nuts that depend on pollinators.

Beekeepers often transport their bees across the country to meet pollination needs and produce honey at different times of year. The map shows the movement of bees out of California to other states in summer and fall. Jennifer K. Bond, et al., USDA Economic Research Service, 2021

More cuts planned to US pollinator research

The Beltsville Bee Lab closure is not an isolated case. The administration has proposed eliminating the U.S. Geological Survey’s Ecosystems Mission Area, a move that could defund the USGS Bee Lab, an essential resource for research on native bees.

It also plans to decommission 16 USGS research centers nationwide, including the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in North Dakota, the highest honey-producing state in the nation. For decades, beekeepers have brought colonies to forage on grasslands in the region. Researchers have been tracking how the shift from grasslands to crops has affected honey bee health and beekeeper revenue.

The U.S. Forest Service also faces widespread cuts, including the planned closure of 57 of its 77 research stations throughout the United States. Since the Forest Service manages over 193 million acres of federal lands that support native plants and pollinators, those closures could affect crucial pollinator habitat as well.

All kinds of bees are valuable for pollinating crops and flowers, not just managed honey bees. Jean Hort/Flickr Creative Commons

These closures risk a severe brain drain.

When the first Trump administration moved the USDA Economic Research Service from Washington to Kansas City, Missouri, in 2019, the agency lost over 75% of its experienced research staff. A recent survey suggests that history may repeat itself. If the reorganization goes through, farmers and beekeepers will lose experts with decades of institutional and technical knowledge.

The Beltsville Bee Lab is a key part of the often-unappreciated federal research infrastructure that supports the health of pollinators and the nation’s food supply.

If the USDA and the USGS move forward with their plans to close bee labs and research sites, the result could be slower responses to bee threats, weaker tracking of native bee populations and diminished pollinator habitat for bees – all of which raise costs and risks for beekeepers, farmers and everyone who depends on the food system.

Tyler Durden Sun, 05/31/2026 - 23:20

US Officials Suspect Iran Used Chinese Missile To Bring Down F-15E Warplane: Report

Via The Cradle

US officials believe that a Chinese-made shoulder-fired missile was likely used by Iranian forces to shoot down a US F-15E Strike Eagle over southwestern Iran last month, NBC News reported Saturday. 

The incident marks the first time in decades that the US has had to acknowledge that one of its jets was shot down by enemy fire, although three F-15Es were also shot down in Kuwait in March. 

Illustrative, via Reuters/stringer

Washington insists the Kuwait incident was due to 'friendly fire,' even as Iran claims responsibility.

Following the downing of the F-15E in southwestern Iran, the Pentagon allegedly launched a two-day rescue operation to recover the aircraft’s two-man crew, whose names and photos have not yet been made public.

While US officials continue to investigate the specifics of the shootdown, intelligence sources suggest that Beijing may also have provided Tehran with an advanced, long-range early-warning radar, the YLC-8B, designed to track stealth aircraft. 

US President Donald Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping had personally "promised" him that Beijing would not supply military hardware to Iran, adding, "That’s a beautiful promise. I take him at his word. I appreciated it."

However, reports of Chinese-manufactured man-portable air defense systems, or Manpads, being found on the battlefield have raised questions about those assurances. 

In response to the allegations, the Chinese Embassy in Washington issued a statement rejecting the claims as "groundless smear and ill-intentioned association," saying that "China always acts prudently and responsibly on the export of military products," in accordance with international regulations.

Recent US intelligence indicates that Beijing might be planning to supply more air defense weapons to Iran soon. 

Iran Suspected of Using Chinese-Made MANPADS to Shoot Down U.S. F-15E Fighter pic.twitter.com/nlZTMNV0JR

— Army Recognition (@ArmyRecognition) May 30, 2026

While China has historically provided an economic lifeline and dual-use technology to Iran, US officials noted that previous assistance has not had a "decisive operational impact" on the current conflict.

Tyler Durden Sun, 05/31/2026 - 22:10

The Democrat Establishment Is Starting To Worry About Spencer Pratt

The last person California Democrats expected to keep them up at night is Spencer Pratt. Yet here we are.

The former reality television personality-turned-independent mayoral candidate has spent the past several weeks doing something that Los Angeles's political establishment convinced itself was impossible: making incumbent Mayor Karen Bass look vulnerable.

Conventional wisdom held that a candidate like Pratt, a former television personality with no governing experience, running as an independent in a deep-blue city, had no realistic path to victory. The conventional wisdom was wrong, or at a minimum, it failed to account for how much patience voters had actually lost with the Democratic Party's incompetence.

At some point, even reliable Democratic constituencies reach a limit for how much they can tolerate. Bass may be finding out precisely where that limit sits.

Between April 19 and May 15, Pratt's campaign has raised roughly $2.7 million. Over that same stretch, Bass pulled in just $282,000. Bass has been raising money since 2024, and her total haul since then is approximately $2.8 million. Pratt nearly matched it in less than a month.

The two candidates are now separated by less than $100,000 in cash on hand, with Pratt sitting on roughly $1.42 million and Bass on approximately $1.32 million.

The money story alone would be enough to rattle the machine. The polls are another story. Pratt has been performing well in the polls, with Bass only leading by single digits in recent surveys, which means Pratt could advance to a runoff with Bass.

In a city where Democratic registration is so overwhelming that Republican candidates don't bother showing up on general election ballots, this is a huge red flag for the Bass campaign.

The Democrat establishment has heard the message loud and clear and is starting to panic. On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an endorsement of Bass - just five days before the primary.

"The work Karen Bass is doing in Los Angeles is making our entire state stronger, with an 18% decline in homelessness while it grew nationally, historic drops in violent crime, boosting film production in L.A., and protecting our communities against ICE. She has my full support for reelection," Newsom said in a statement.

Whatever the merits of the endorsement's substance, its timing speaks for itself. It reeks of desperation.

If no candidate receives a majority on the June 2nd election, a runoff election will be held on November 3rd. Newsom, making an endorsement in the race's final days, is clearly hoping to boost Bass and avoid a runoff.

Pratt was unimpressed by Newsom's 11th-hour endorsement. He responded by calling Newsom and Bass "alleged criminal partners," tying them together through their shared record on the catastrophic January wildfires and the city's homelessness crisis.

"It's not shocking because their alleged criminal partners, not only did they work together in their negligence and burning down 7,000 houses and 12 people alive, but they're both complicit in laundering, what, 24 billion dollars to actually increase homelessness," Pratt said.

He went further, attacking the homelessness statistics Newsom cited and accusing both Newsom and Bass of making them up.

"Those are not real numbers," Pratt insisted. "Anybody with eyeballs in the state of California or Los Angeles knows that there has not been a reduction in one homeless person. Actually, there's been an increase of naked drug addict zombies in front of every kid's playground, every kid's school, every coffee shop."

"They both should be in jail together," he added.

🚨 JUST IN: Spencer Pratt SCORCHES Gavin Newsom for endorsing Karen Bass for re-election

"They both should be in JAIL together."

"They're alleged criminal partners! Not only did they work together in their negligence in burning down 7,000 houses and 12 people alive, but… pic.twitter.com/8KFPuaXYoS

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 28, 2026

A runoff now appears likely, and Pratt heads into it with momentum, money, and a message that is clearly resonating.

November represents more than a municipal race. It's a test of whether California's progressive one-party model can withstand sustained confrontation with its own results.

The Democrat establishment has reason to worry. The polls and the fundraising say so.

Tyler Durden Sun, 05/31/2026 - 21:45

AI's Coming Reality Check: When The Physics Finally Hits The Hype

Authored by Chris MacIntosh vis InternationalMan.com,

In five years, we’ll all likely be chuckling and shaking our heads over AI. Because today, the tech feels free and limitless, doesn’t it?

People are generating endless content: images, videos, memes, code snippets, social posts. Companies are bolting AI onto products by default, the way every Fortune 500 company suddenly discovered they were “sustainable” five years ago.

There’s much deliberation on AI right now, and it splits into two main camps of thesis:

• The majority — those who will die on its hill of promise, convinced we’re months away from effective altruism, UBI, and sentient toasters.

• And the minority — usually older, more experienced types — who don’t fully understand it, but look at numbers, remember the dot-com bust, and think this rhymes. We’ll leave that debate to the dinner parties.

What interests us is something more boring. Physics. Because here’s the thing: AI isn’t free.

Every token represents electricity. Something your average developer, product manager, user, or investor gives precisely zero thought to.

Electricity means power plants, transmission lines, grid infrastructure — yes. It also means hot sheds; capital-intensive data centres and all the equipment, cooling systems, and real estate that go with them. Real things. Physical things.

We are surrounded by hype without consideration for the physics.

Right now, there’s a disconnect between the physical cost of this technology and the price users pay for it.

That gap is being covered by Wall Street, venture capital, pension funds, hyperscaler balance sheets, and strategic spending on “growth” (a word which here means “losses we’ve chosen to rebrand”).

The question is: what happens when that gap closes?

Scenario 1: The Industry Matures

No outright collapse, but financial discipline arrives. A novel concept in Silicon Valley. Low-value usage disappears first. “AI slop” dies because the people generating junk stop when it costs them actual money. Turns out nobody’s willing to pay real dollars to have a chatbot write their LinkedIn thought leadership posts. Tragic.

Serious users — those deriving profit or genuine productivity gains — remain. Growth slows but doesn’t stop. GPU upgrade cycles stretch from two years to three or five or seven. Valuations compress. The froth comes off but the infrastructure remains important.

The boardroom shifts from “infinite logarithmic growth” to “focus only on what’s profitable.” Less bubble burst, more long, slow leak of disappointment. A bit like ESG.

Scenario 2: Energy as the Arbiter

Now overlay structurally higher energy prices. You know, the thing everyone was told wouldn’t matter because we’d all be running on solar and unicorn farts by now. If power becomes materially more expensive while capital markets tighten simultaneously, the economics get a lot harder.

Inference costs rise. Training LLMs gets hella more expensive. Shareholders start feeling like they’re holding the next NFT apes. Spending slows sharply. Many AI firms disappear. Hyperscalers pull back, maybe with taxpayer assistance (they are, after all, strategically important to those in power — funny how that works).

GPU cycles extend further. Seven-plus years between major upgrades becomes normal outside the top tier. Markets correct hard. Confidence takes a long time to rebuild.

This is not the end of AI, but a reset. Users will fondly remember the “good old days” when it was free. When one could generate a movie scene and post on X about how they just ended a billion-dollar production company’s business model. Peak delusion makes for great content.

Scenario 3: AI Actually Delivers

There is also the upside case, though we admit it’s included here much like a “minority” conspicuously placed on a corporate board — a box-ticking exercise.

In this scenario, AI meaningfully increases productivity across enterprises. It reduces costs durably. It embeds itself in everything from coding to logistics to research. The sentient toaster.

Higher energy prices don’t kill demand because efficiency gains outweigh them. Hardware cycles remain short. Today’s valuations look justified in hindsight and Jensen Huang’s leather jacket gets its own wing at the Smithsonian.

For anyone familiar with us, you’ll know we think this is the most unlikely scenario. And yet it’s by far the consensus view. Which, if you’ve been paying attention to consensus views over the past decade (“inflation is transitory,” “ESG is the future,” “commercial real estate is fine”) should tell you something.

The gap between expectations and likely reality remains wide open. For Insider members, you’re familiar with the portfolio positioning and Nasdaq hedge.

What Really Matters

The key variable isn’t whether AI is impressive or useful (it is). The key variable is whether AI becomes a true profit engine or remains a subsidised cost centre dressed up in a hoodie and a TED talk.

If profitable and productivity-enhancing, current valuations are justified and the gravy train keeps chugging. If it remains mostly hype layered over weak economics, spending contracts, hardware cycles extend, and we could have an absolute humdinger of an economic “event.”

A ten-year stagnation would require something extreme: demand dropping significantly, hyperscalers becoming hyposcalers, capital markets wanting nothing to do with AI, and energy remaining expensive — all at once. Stranger things have happened. Just ask anyone who bought Peloton at $170.

Almost 50 years of history show this eventually reverts to the mean… and the pendulum swings the other way.

*  *  *

The AI boom is just one example of a much larger shift already underway—where economics, politics, energy, and culture are colliding in ways most investors are not prepared for. That’s why we’ve prepared a special report, Clash of the Systems: Thoughts on Investing at a Unique Point in Time. In it, you’ll discover the key trends unfolding right now, the risks they pose to your money and personal freedom, and what a contrarian money manager believes you could do to stay one step ahead. Get your free copy of Clash of the Systems now.

Tyler Durden Sun, 05/31/2026 - 21:00

California Chemical Tank Emergency At F-35 Supplier Comes Amid Far-Left Campaign Against Defense Firms

By the end of last week, dozens of lawsuits had been filed against GKN Aerospace after a tank explosion risk at its Garden Grove, California, facility forced 40,000 residents to evacuate the area over Memorial Day weekend.

An apparent malfunctioning storage tank containing methyl methacrylate, a volatile, flammable chemical, sparked fears of an explosion across Garden Grove, Anaheim, Stanton, Buena Park, Cypress, and Westminster.

Local authorities lifted the final evacuation orders last Tuesday after pressure inside the tank stabilized and officials ruled out the worst-case explosion scenario.

While much of this has already been reported, what has not been widely discussed is that GKN Aerospace's Garden Grove facility is part of the critical supply chain that manufactures components for the F-35 stealth fighter jet. This comes as far-left Marxist groups, under the guise of 'Palestine,' have targeted critical nodes of the F-35 supply chain across the West.

See here:

• Far-Left Radicals Attack F-35 Stealth Jet's UK Supply Chain

🚨 Activists Sabotage the Tech That Keeps F-35s From Getting Hit by Missiles

Only hours into 2026, an “autonomous” direct-action group says it broke into Bruntons Aero Products in Musselburgh, outside Edinburgh, and destroyed machinery used to manufacture aerospace components… pic.twitter.com/i8EY6CLboS

— Stu Smith (@thestustustudio) January 1, 2026

GKN's own website states that its Garden Grove production line manufactures the "world-leading F-35 canopy," as well as other advanced military and commercial aircraft transparency systems. This makes the facility deeply embedded in the F-35 supply chain.

This all matters because the chemical emergency at the Garden Grove facility was not just an industrial incident. It may have a profound impact on canopy production for the world's most advanced stealth fighter jet program, while orders for the jet ramp up among U.S. allies.

In recent weeks, Canary Mission claimed on X that Palestine Action and its U.S.-based network, Unity of Fields, had circulated a target map containing personal information and civilian addresses allegedly tied to Israel's defense-industrial base in the US.

Palestine Action, a group known for targeting Israeli defense-linked facilities and recently banned in the UK, published an online “Target Map” containing civilian addresses and personal information allegedly tied to Israel’s defense industry. pic.twitter.com/I8aMZp7dEV

— Canary Mission (@canarymission) May 21, 2026

InfluenceWatch describes Unity of Fields as the former Palestine Action U.S. and says its US branch is focused on "their goal is to dismantle the ability for the Israeli state to carry out its foreign policy objectives by obstructing the facilities that produce arms for Israel."

InfluenceWatch has also reported that Marxist James "Fergie" Chambers, an heir to the Cox Enterprises family fortune, has provided financial support for Palestine Action members.

InfluenceWatch noted, "Palestine Action was created in July 2020. Its opening act was to vandalize the U.K. headquarters of defense contractor Elbit Systems, which conducts business with the State of Israel."

The Garden Grove tank failure has reportedly been blamed on a faulty valve in the cooling system. While that suggests an industrial malfunction, the timing cannot be ignored. Radical left networks have increasingly targeted the F-35 supply chain and defense contractors, placing facilities like GKN's Garden Grove site in the crosshairs of left-wing pro-terror groups.

While no direct link has been established - the incident is likely to be a wake-up call for US defense firms.

Tyler Durden Sun, 05/31/2026 - 20:25

Monolithic 3D Silicon Chips Achieve Near-Perfect Yields At Low Temperatures

Authored by Neetika Walter via Interesting Engineering,

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a way to stack high-performance silicon circuits directly on top of one another, a breakthrough that could help the semiconductor industry keep increasing computing power without shrinking transistors further.

The 200-mm wafer contains multiple silicon layers stacked for monolithic 3D chip integration.University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The approach tackles one of the biggest challenges facing chipmakers as Moore's law begins to slow. For decades, the industry boosted performance by making transistors smaller and packing more of them onto a chip. But as devices approach fundamental physical limits, further miniaturization is becoming increasingly difficult.

Instead of shrinking components, the Illinois team is building upward. By stacking multiple layers of silicon circuits, engineers can increase transistor density, reduce communication distances inside chips, and improve energy efficiency.

The researchers say their process could accelerate the development of monolithic three-dimensional chips, a long-sought technology that many experts see as the next step in semiconductor scaling.

Building Chips Upward

"Take something as simple as static random-access memory, which is universal in CPUs and GPUs. Today it takes six microelectronic devices called transistors on a single plane to store one bit of information. With vertical integration, you can distribute them across multiple layers. It's like replacing a sprawling suburb with high-rises: you get the same functionality, but the spatial footprint is reduced while making communication between layers faster and more efficient," said Qing Cao, associate professor of materials science and engineering.

While three-dimensional chip technologies already exist commercially, most rely on bonding together separately manufactured wafers. That approach creates relatively large connections between layers and limits how densely components can be integrated.

Monolithic three-dimensional integration takes a different route by building each circuit layer directly on top of the previous one. The method allows much denser vertical connections and more precise alignment between layers, potentially leading to faster and more efficient chips.

The challenge has been temperature. Manufacturing high-performance silicon devices typically requires temperatures approaching 1,000 degrees Celsius. However, once the first layer of circuits and metal wiring is completed, additional layers must remain below about 400 degrees Celsius to avoid damaging existing structures.

To overcome this barrier, the researchers developed a process that transfers ultrathin single-crystalline silicon nanomembranes onto completed circuit layers. The bonding process requires temperatures no higher than 200 degrees Celsius, staying well within the industry's thermal budget.

Beyond Moore's Limits

"Vertical integration is already starting to make its way into commercial devices, particularly in specialized AI hardware, but monolithic integration is what unlocks the full promise of 3D chips. For the first time, we have met the thermal budget of monolithic 3D integration using standard single-crystalline silicon and delivered unprecedented performance," Cao said.

The team also redesigned transistor fabrication to avoid high-temperature processing steps. Instead of conventional transistor structures, they used junctionless transistors that can be prepared before the stacking process begins.

Using the technique, the researchers built three stacked silicon layers containing 625 transistors each. The devices achieved yields between 98% and 100% while delivering performance comparable to standard silicon transistors fabricated at much higher temperatures.

The researchers also demonstrated three-dimensional logic circuits and static random-access memory cells by connecting the layers with vertical metal links.

"But most importantly, we've shown that this process is scalable," Cao said. "You can keep stacking layers beyond the three we demonstrated."

The researchers are now working to transfer the technology into an industrial semiconductor foundry with support from industry partners including IBM, Intel, and TSMC.

The study was published in the journal Nature.

Tyler Durden Sun, 05/31/2026 - 19:50

Israel Seizes Crusader Beaufort Castle, Marking Deepest Plunge Into Lebanon In Decades

Fresh Sunday reports say that Israel's military has made its deepest plunge into Lebanon in nearly three decades, having captured a strategic crusader castle site and UNESCO World Heritage Landmark, Beaufort castle.

It was last captured in 1982, when the IDF later pushed all the way north to occupy portions of Beirut. The army posted photographic proof via its Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, who issued an image on X showing Israeli troops walking outside the castle. An Israeli flag has also been raised over the stone fortress complex.

via IDF

The castile overlooks the Litani River, which Israeli forces have been pushing north of, and has stood for nearly 1,000 years - and was at various times used by Crusader knights, Saladin’s Jerusalem army, the Mamlukes, and Ottomans. In the 1980s, fighters from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) even occupied it for a time. The name Beaufort is Old French for "beautiful fortress."

Soon the heels of the historic site's capture, the IDF repeated a warning to everyone south of the Zahrani, saying they must evacuate or else face the possibility of coming under attack and thus death or injury.

"Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, facilities or means of combat endangers their life," an IDF spokesman said. The castle appears to have been shelled by the IDF before the final ground assault.

According to more details via The Times of Israel:

Troops took over territory in the Beaufort Ridge and Wadi Saluki stream area and expanded strikes north of the Litani River after the Hezbollah terror group fired multiple rockets and drones at Israel on Saturday afternoon and evening, forcing schools near the border with Lebanon to close on Sunday.

Footage from Sunday morning showed Israeli and IDF flags flying over the citadel, a strategic medieval Crusader-built fortress with symbolic importance in the history of Israel’s military entanglements in Lebanon. Shelling was audible and smoke rose from the surrounding area.

The fortress, also known as Qalaat al-Shakif, commands sweeping views of the Galilee Panhandle in northern Israel, as well as the Nabatieh area in southern Lebanon, making it a position of considerable strategic value.

Footage of IDF forces taking Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/D8Vr0qVfQH

— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) May 31, 2026

The day prior to the takeover, northern Israel had come under heavy Hezbollah rocket and drone attack. These rocket waves have been stepped up as it's become clear the Lebanon ceasefire has effectively collapsed.

The past week has seen hundreds of projectiles fired on southern Lebanon. Gong back to early March, over 3,180 Lebanese have been killed, with more than 9,000 wounded - according to Lebanese health officials. The figures do not distinguish between armed combatants or civilians.

Critics of Israel have warned that Netanyahu is trying to sabotage Trump's efforts to find a final peace deal with Iran. The Israelis have long worried that Washington could in the end settle for a 'bad deal' - or one that doesn't ensure the complete destruction of Iran's nuclear program and highly enriched uranium.

Lebanon’s LBCI airs footage of the flags of Israel and Sayeret Golani flying over Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, north of the Litani River. pic.twitter.com/wCsqvQ6Ue1

— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) May 31, 2026

The US-mediated truce was really only something that was meant to prevent Israel from bombing Beirut and other government centers once again.

Washington has been trying to put the pressure on the Lebanese government and national army to finally disarm Hezbollah - but this has remained unrealistic as the army is weak and underfunded (ironically in part due to limitations imposed by the US).

Tyler Durden Sun, 05/31/2026 - 19:15

The End Of Digital Trust: How Quantum Computing Could Upend Security, Business, & Global Stability

Authored by Julio Rivera via American Greatness,

The scariest technology threats are usually the boring ones. Not the giant killer robots. Not the science fiction stuff. Not the dramatic movie scenes where somebody in sunglasses launches cyberattacks from a glowing underground bunker while alarms blare in the background. The truly dangerous threats arrive quietly. Q-Day falls squarely into that category.

To most people, the phrase sounds like something Netflix would slap on a conspiracy thriller thumbnail. In reality, it refers to the moment quantum computers become powerful enough to break the encryption systems that protect modern digital life. And when cybersecurity experts talk about this possibility, they don’t sound excited. No, they sound exhausted—because they know how unprepared much of the world still is.

Encryption is the invisible architecture underneath almost everything people interact with daily. Online banking. Cloud storage. Corporate systems. Government communications. Military operations. Healthcare records. Financial transactions. Satellites. Power infrastructure. Nearly every digital system that matters relies on cryptographic protections developed for a pre-quantum world.

That world is running out of time. Experts increasingly warn that quantum computing breakthroughs are advancing faster than expected, while organizations remain painfully slow to adapt. And corporate leadership still doesn’t fully grasp the seriousness of what’s coming.

A lot of companies approach cybersecurity the way people approach oil changes. They know they’re supposed to deal with it eventually, but they’d rather postpone the expense until smoke starts coming out of something important. Meanwhile, cybercriminals and hostile governments are operating several moves ahead.

The phrase “harvest now, decrypt later” has become one of the most alarming concepts in modern cybersecurity. Adversaries are already stealing encrypted information today with the expectation that future quantum systems will eventually crack the protections surrounding it.

That means the threat isn’t waiting for some future technological milestone. The threat has already started. And the scope of what’s potentially vulnerable is staggering. Intellectual property. Trade secrets. Proprietary AI systems. Pharmaceutical research. Defense communications. Infrastructure schematics. Diplomatic cables. Financial data. Internal corporate strategy. Decades of archived encrypted communications that organizations assumed would remain secure indefinitely.

A lot of executives still imagine cyberattacks as noisy smash-and-grab operations. Ransom notes. Locked systems. Flashing warnings. But some of the most effective compromises are almost embarrassingly subtle.

“Stealer” malware remains devastatingly efficient in the current cyber landscape, quietly extracting passwords, session cookies, authentication credentials, browser data, crypto wallets, and sensitive company access without triggering major alarms. Fake file deletion warnings and fraudulent system compromise messages still trick countless ordinary users into handing over access voluntarily. Some of the oldest scams in the book continue working because panic overrides common sense faster than any firewall can react.

Quantum computing doesn’t replace those existing threats; it magnifies them. And the implications extend far beyond corporate cybersecurity budgets.

If hostile governments achieve practical quantum decryption capabilities before widespread migration to post-quantum cryptography occurs, global security dynamics could shift dramatically overnight. Military communications, intelligence systems, satellite infrastructure, weapons logistics, and secure diplomatic channels all potentially become vulnerable in ways modern governments have never fully experienced before.

That kind of uncertainty changes how nations behave. Secure communications aren’t just a convenience for modern governments; they are foundational to deterrence, alliances, military coordination, intelligence operations, and geopolitical stability itself. Once nations begin doubting the integrity of those systems, mistrust escalates rapidly.

Which is why the recent diplomatic summit between China and the United States should have produced far more discussion about continuing to modernize the increasingly outdated 1979 science and technology agreement between the two countries. That framework belongs to an era before cyber warfare, before AI competition, before semiconductor dependency battles, and certainly before the looming quantum race currently shaping long-term national security strategy.

The technological relationship between global superpowers is no longer some side issue tucked away in academic policy circles. It is the policy circle.

And while governments maneuver strategically, private industry continues lagging dangerously behind. Many companies still rely on fragmented security practices, aging infrastructure, weak endpoint protection, and reactive cyber strategies designed for a threat environment that no longer exists. The time to improve cyber resilience started long ago.

The timeline problem makes everything worse. Migrating critical systems toward quantum-resistant cryptography takes years. Large enterprises often don’t even have complete inventories of where vulnerable encryption exists across their networks.

So, while the public still treats quantum computing like futuristic science fiction, cybersecurity professionals are staring at calendars.

Because unlike Y2K, there may not be one dramatic moment where everybody suddenly realizes the danger has arrived.

Instead, the erosion could happen gradually.

Silent infiltration. Invisible interception.

Archived communications quietly unlocked years later. Competitive advantages disappearing without obvious explanation. State actors obtaining access to sensitive information nobody ever imagined could be exposed.

That’s the nightmare scenario. Not chaos. Not collapse. Simply the slow realization that the digital locks humanity built around its most sensitive information no longer work the way everyone assumed they did.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.

Tyler Durden Sun, 05/31/2026 - 18:40