What I Wrote Last Week
I Wish I Had Known These Tips On Healthier Diets
Business
An A.I. Pioneer Warns the Tech ‘Herd’ Is Marching Into a Dead End. What has transpired so far in 2025 indicates that Yann LeCun may likely be right.
The Economics of a Super Bowl Ad. A long piece on why brands deem $233,000 per second for a Super Bowl ads a worthwhile investment. One interesting aspect of Super Bowl ads, as the article argues, is that while other ads are considered a distraction, those run at a Super Bowl event are sought for by the audience. I really did not think about it that way before.
Cognac Makers Are Uprooting Vines. Dumping Supplies May Be Next. Cognac producers are uprooting vines because they cannot afford to have any more supply while demand is faltering. Some even consider a dramatic course of action: destroying inventory. China and the US account for more than half of the global demand. But one country is dealing with deflation while the other is grappling with high inflation. On top of that, the tariff war between the US and the EU is just making everything worse.
Leaders, gainers and unexpected winners in the Enterprise AI arms race. OpenAI is still the leading LLM in the enterprise market, but Anthropic is catching up very quickly.
As grocery prices soar, this German grocery chain is conquering America. “Aldi, which is celebrating its 50th year in the U.S., is seizing the opportunity. The grocer announced this month it will open 180 locations across 31 states this year, including in new markets in the Southeast and West, making its total store count close to 2,800 by the end of the year. The expansion is part of Aldi’s plan to spend $9 billion in store openings and three distribution centers to reach its goal of 3,200 stores by the end of 2028. In comparison, Kroger and Albertsons have about 2,800 and 2,200 stores, respectively, in 35 states and the District of Columbia under various banners. There are more than 600 Costco’s and more than 3,500 Walmart Supercenters in the U.S. The company’s U.S. sales in 2024 — the most recent data available for the private company — reached $54.16 billion, a 14 percent increase over 2023, according to the National Retail Federation and Kantar. One in three U.S. households shopped at an Aldi last year, according to an Aldi spokeswoman. Meanwhile, store visits in 2025 increased 8 percent year-over-year and 9.7 percent in the fourth quarter alone, the foot-traffic analytics firm Placer.ai reported. In comparison, foot traffic at Albertsons and Kroger — not including their stores under different names — increased only 1.6 percent and 0.8 percent year-over-year, respectively, while their fourth quarter growth also lagged behind Aldi’s, at 3.4 percent and 2.4 percent.”
Other Stuff I Find Interesting
How Formula 1 changes in 2026. One of the best articles out there on the new age in F1. Everything will change compared to what we knew the last four years. Smaller & nimbler cars, renewable fuel, different wings & DRS, etc…The drivers reported that the cars were different to drive, but not impossible. My hope is that we will see less ultra-sensitivity and less performance swings that no-one could explain like in the Ground Effect era. More driving and wheel-to-wheel duels!
How the supermarket’s cheapest fish became Gen Z’s latest obsession. Young people are turning to sardins as a source of good protein and omega-3 that they can afford in a time when affordability is pressing.
Sports Betting Is Blurring the Lines Between Gaming, Gambling and Investing. I find it interesting that calls for sports betting are as common as those for investing nowadays. You see ads for betting everywhere. Also, how is it that we can always stop sending money to a cash management account to buy an index, but we can’t stop gambling?
Why companies are phasing out these super-pollutants despite Trump. “Companies are replacing HFCs with new gases that trap much less heat. If you buy a new fridge or AC unit in the United States today, it’ll probably use one of these new refrigerants — and you’re unlikely to notice the difference. “that invisible transition is one of the most important short-term tactics to keep Earth’s climate from going catastrophically off-kilter this century. HFCs are powerful super-pollutants, but the most common ones break down in the atmosphere within about 15 years. That means stopping emissions from HFCs — and other short-lived super-pollutants such as methane — is like pulling an emergency brake on climate change.“
Stats
On average, a sports gambler loses $7.5 out of every $100 wagered
Minh Quang Duong 
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