The morning desk framed today as all about inflation prints and Fed expectations, with tariffs lurking in the background. Traders were watching to see if PCE would stir fresh volatility, while gold and bonds were flashing early caution. Still, to truly see if the rally lives or dies, the traders need to get past the inflation hurdles, and back to looking at the fundamentals as Q3 earnings loom.

By the close, the market kept the party alive. The Dow climbed +300 points, and both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose alongside. August PCE came in on target at +0.3%, while consumer spending slightly beat expectations at +0.6%. That “just right” combo let equities notch fresh highs, with the 10-year yield easing near 4.04%.

Sector action stayed mixed, but the bigger signals came from havens and credit. Gold held firm around ~$3,748/oz, showing investors still hedge against tariff risks and fiscal jitters. At the same time, Bank of America flagged a red light: tech-credit spreads are at 18-year lows, reflecting stretched risk appetite. If that unwinds, the AI-led rally could be more fragile than today’s gains suggest. For now, markets shrugged it off, but the caution is clear beneath the surface as we go into the weekend.

This company is the lifeblood of AI data centers, yet almost no one has caught up with the story. Their hardware is so essential that the data center industry uses enough of it to stretch around the world 8 times – in a single building! So, if you own Nvidia stock now, you might be well-served to sell those shares and check out this under-the-radar play instead. Or if you missed the boat on Nvidia, this is a rare second chance to target tremendous profit potential as AI data centers spring up in every corner of the world.

Get my full take on this exciting play right here…

Derek Thompson’s latest curation is like walking through the smartest corners of the internet (charts, culture, AI, economics, politics) all mashed into one stream of intellectual high-tension points. 

Each “idea” is a seed: start small, grow big.

From how AI is reshuffling work to housing dysfunction, from automation paradoxes to shifting cultural norms… Thompson connects dots that cut across markets and society. His commentary is both thoughtful and provocative, often showing where consensus is missing the undercurrents. 

The practical use? This is your idea map. These are the signals often behind regime shifts or thematic flows. Use it to detect what’s getting overlooked, and understand the context before the headlines hit.

In Odd Lots, Cornell & Meta researcher Jack Morris pulls back the curtain on what AI labs are actually working on… and why the breakthroughs come in fits and starts. He tackles the messy balance between closed vs open source efforts, and lays out how you might measure progress (yes, it’s possible). 

Morris also talks talent wars, prestige vs money, and labs in the U.S. vs China, thus covering the human incentive layer behind tech. He argues that because breakthroughs are lumpy, the next “big thing” may surprise even insiders. 

The bottom line? Knowing which labs are pushing edges may clue you into where capital, AI compute, and chip demand will flow next. And then there is the structural bet: whoever controls data models, infrastructure & IP may capture disproportionate returns.