Business
Can a $1,699 Espresso Machine Help Walmart Challenge Amazon? The two retail behemoths are converging to see who reigns supreme, from product selection up and down the income levels to the breadth of merchants and delivery services. I don’t think one will definitely come out on top. The two have their own strengths and are fiercely competitive. One thing that seems certain to me is that there is no space for No. 3.
A Guide to the Circular Deals Underpinning the AI Boom. We’re in a treacherous territory. The circular deals drove the stock market and the economy, but there are reported cracks. OpenAI is reported to resort to ads – something the company opposed in the past – in an effort to generate cash flow. If OpenAI is truly in a financial struggle, what would its demise mean for the AI industry and the economy?
Claude Code is suddenly everywhere inside Microsoft. Microsoft is a key partner of OpenAI that has every motivation in the world to see the owner of ChatGPT succeed. Nonetheless, even such commercial interest doesn’t stop Microsoft from working with Claud and Anthropic. What does that mean for OpenAI? Given the circular deals mentioned above in the AI industry, what are the ramifications? Interesting times ahead.
Anthropic’s head of Claude Code on how the tool won over non-coders—and kickstarted a new era for software engineers. Claude is winning because the company is focusing on less glamorous tasks and more on things that actually save users time. The GTM strategy of prioritizing enterprise over consumers is also key. Test features with technical users, hone them and release to the mass market.
Inside the explosion of banking charter applications. “The main thing is, many [fintechs] work with sponsor bank partners today who play a huge role in bringing their products to market, which provide the pathway for these regulated products to be offered. Fintechs want more control over how they develop and market their products. Having a bank charter allowed the company to lend at more competitive rates and hold onto a greater portion of each transaction without giving a cut to a partner bank. Additionally, federal charter recipients would only need to answer to a federal regulator – rather than an amalgam of state regulators. That cuts down on, or at least simplifies, compliance burden.”
Other Stuff I Find Interesting
How EPA ethics officials cleared former industry insiders for regulatory roles. A pesticide was banned twice by federal courts. Yet, a farmer association wanted to have it declared legal again, so they turned to their former associate who is now working at the EPA. Peculiar enough, the agency allowed the person to work on legislations pertaining to the pesticide in question. How peculiar!
2026 – Trump Year One Presidential Power. It felt like a long year with a lot of things going on. Like him or not, President Trump’s tenure will change forever what we expect from a President.
Rejecting Decades of Science, Vaccine Panel Chair Says Polio and Other Shots Should Be Optional. Obviously, every person has the right to take or decline any vaccine. But that’s not the point here. We, laypeople, don’t spend our days on the science of vaccination. We are not scientists. We rely on the scientists who work at known organizations like the government. Hence, it’s dangerous to say that some vaccines such as the polio or measles shots are optional. People will receive conflicting information and misinformation, and put them in harm’s way by not taking necessary vaccines.
This tech could keep EVs from stressing the grid — and save everyone money. “They found that an active managed charging program saves up to $400 per EV each year, and the vehicles were still always fully charged in the morning. Utilities, too, seem to benefit, as the redistributed demand results in less of a spike in the early evening. That, in turn, would mean that a utility can delay costly upgrades — which they need in order to accommodate increased electrification — saving ratepayers money. Active managed charging works in conjunction with something called “time of use,” in which a utility charges different rates depending on the time of day. Between 4 pm and 9 pm, when demand is high, rates are also high. But after 9 pm, they fall. EV owners who wait until later in the evening to charge pay less for the same electricity. Using an app, an EV owner indicates when they need their car to be charged, and how much charge their battery needs for the day. (The app also learns over time to predict when a vehicle will unplug.) When they get home at 6 pm, the owner can plug in, but the car won’t begin to charge. Instead, the system waits until some point in the night to turn on the juice, leaving enough time to fully charge the vehicle by the indicated hour.”
Stats
“Americans with four-year college degrees now account for a record 25.3% of U.S. unemployment”
International tourist arrivals hit 1.5 billion in 2025
Minh Quang Duong 
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