Business
American Consumers Are Getting Thrifty Again. The signals have been anything, but clear. For months, we heard about the risk of a recession amidst tariff threats, layoffs, inflation and who knows what else. Then, every time there was a job report, the numbers looked good. Until they don’t. The government revised down the job numbers significantly. Companies started to sound off on the health of consumer spending AGAIN. This time, though, feels a bit more real. But who knows? If there were an 8th wonder of the world, that would probably go to the US consumer.
Aldi’s Passionate, Cultlike Following Fuels Its Rapid Expansion Plans. Smaller footprint that cuts down shopping time, private labels that are cheaper than national brands, quirky merchandise that surprise and delight, a push towards healthy foods that aligns with consumer preferences and of course persistent inflation are tailwinds behind Aldi’s sail.
Disney’s Thriving Parks Are Buying It Time to Figure Out Streaming. It is indeed remarkable that Disney’s parks and cruises are still thriving despite inflation, economic uncertainty and fierce competition. However, how long will this last? The contribution from Parks is likely due to both increased traffic and higher prices. If consumer spending persists, good. If not, a trip to Disney’s parks will not be high on priority list and neither is a cruise tour.
How One Company Maintained a Monopoly on U.S. Fire Retardant. The US market always encourages competition and the magic of capitalism. Hence, it’s incredible to see how a company holds and fights to keep the monopoly over a critical product for the safety of the public.
High costs and thin margins threatening AI coding startups. My prediction is that in the next 3-5 years, the smaller startups will run into the distribution challenge, meaning that the bigger players will have better access to paying customers or corporations, even with inferior products. Then, it is exactly when this negative variable margin will bite. Hard. Fatally.
Other Stuff I Find Interesting
No Passports, No Study Abroad: China Limits Public Employees’ Travel. It’s about controlling the mind and preventing public employees from having exposure to Western cultures. The West, including the US, have their own problems, but I feel fortunate every day living in a country where I have relatively all the freedom to say what I want and access all different kinds of information. Others, like the Chinese, apparently do not have that fortune.
Troubling scenes from an Arctic in full-tilt crisis. A lot of us go by our day not knowing what is happening to our beautiful and unique Earth. Others, such as scientists in the Arctic, are seeing the impact of global warming first hand. And from what the article describes, it seems like a vicious cycle that knows no ends.
Marking 13 Years on Mars, NASA’s Curiosity Picks Up New Skills. I can’t fathom how we could manage and communicate with a robot 200 million miles away from Earth. Any decrease in funding for scientific research like this is a crime against humanity.
The Gulf’s trillion-dollar AI dream has a water problem. Is there a reason why the Middle East has to have AI data centers? I don’t doubt that these countries are rich and proud enough that they won’t spare any dollars trying to make these resource-consuming data centers a reality. But I wish they would not do that. I don’t want any more damage to our Mother Nature. We humans tend to innovate under pressure, but quite frankly, in this case, I don’t see how we can come up with a new reliable source of water.
A Turning Point in Colon Cancer: Young People Are Finding It Earlier. “Colorectal cancer rates have been rising for people under age 50 since the 1990s, and the disease is now the leading cause of cancer death among men in that group. Researchers are investigating everything from diet and lifestyle to environmental contaminants, to figure out why colorectal and other cancers are rising in younger adults. The findings come in a flurry of research published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Colorectal cancer screening in the U.S. for adults age 45 to 49 increased by 62% from 2019 to 2023, according to one ACS paper. Early-stage diagnoses then surged, including a 50% relative increase from 2021 to 2022, according to another ACS report.”
Stats
In Q2 2025, 10.2% of aggregate student debt was reported 90+ days delinquent.
Ultraprocessed Foods Make Up More Than 50% of American Calories
Minh Quang Duong 
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