Business
Inside Bank of America’s plan for credit card growth. In the world where credit card issuers are increasing fees while scaling back benefits. Bank Of America’s system looks more and more attractive with simple cash back rewards and appealing benefits, especially if you are already deep into their system.
Elon Musk – “In 36 months, the cheapest place to put AI will be space”. Elon again has some thought-provoking ideas and indeed I did not think about at in space we would have much more power from the sun than on Earth. However, Elon did not offer a lot of details and evidence to back up his ideas. As usual, his timeline is very aggressive. There seem to me many crucial details are overlooked. I am not entirely convinced we will have data centers in space, not anytime soon.
Companies replaced entry-level workers with AI. Now they are paying the price. Any concern that AI will replace jobs is both valid and invalid. Roles are being eliminated at the moment because companies find a legitimate reason to cut costs without alarming investors and the media. But it’s not because AI increases productivity. AI is helpful in some cases, but its value is not so massive that it can replace multiple bodies. While I hope the trend will reverse, I fear that will not happen anytime soon. What is the incentive for companies to start hiring? Existing senior folks take on more and do more with the same resources and salary. Why change? The only thing that can force companies’ hands is when folks start to retire.
Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses. It feels like Edith in Spider Man. If this is on the market, I’ll delete my Facebook and Instagram accounts in a heartbeat and I encourage everyone to do the same. No company should be able to do this without demonstrating that they will protect privacy and security. Facebook is not that company. It never was. The good thing is that Facebook is not known to be great at hardware and I am sure privacy groups and governments will make the company jump through hoops to launch these Smart Glasses with facial recognition.
UPS’s Missteps Have Made the Company’s Road Ahead Less Certain. Kodak chose higher margins over a bigger scale. UPS did the same. Kodak never recovered to being what it once was. Is the same fate awaiting UPS?
Other Stuff I Find Interesting
How China became fixated on cloud seeding. This is the first time I have heard of the term “cloud seeding” and I never thought that we could artificially create rain or snow, but here we are.
Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months—for all white-collar work to be automated by AI. Absolutely nonsense. First of all, never ask a barber whether you need a haircut. That this CEO has all the incentives in the world to hype AI should make you take his word with a grain of salt. Second, do you really think AI can interpret laws or accounting rules well? Do you think AI can prep a defendant or a witness for a deposition or testimony? Does anyone with a sizeable business have enough confidence to rely on AI for critical work such as legal and accounting? Not a chance. Third, Microsoft’s stock has been declining for a while, mainly because after hyping AI to the sky, they have not been able to show anything concrete. Hence, I don’t believe his prediction holds water. Not even a bit. We can double the timetable to 36 months and it wouldn’t make the prediction any truer.
Do You Need These Popular Supplements? “In a 2024 survey of more than 3,000 U.S. adults, more than half of the respondents reported using supplements regularly. And Dr. Oppezzo said that many of her clients started taking them after being influenced by podcast hosts or social media. But many of the supplements people take are unnecessary, she added, and can even be risky. Supplements can contain contaminants or excessive levels of nutrients, or interact with certain over-the-counter or prescription medications, said Dr. JoAnn Manson, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. It’s usually safer and healthier to get important nutrients from your diet, Dr. Manson said. And in many cases, you’re probably already doing so without trying.”
Trump’s beef trade deal is a lose-lose gamble that won’t lower prices. “Around the world, climate change has scrambled the economics of growing food and raising livestock. In Argentina and the U.S. alike, cattle ranches have been hit hard by unprecedented droughts and rising temperatures. These factors, along with producers facing higher prices for inputs like fertilizer, labor, and machinery have caused the U.S. supply of cattle to plummet to a 70-year low. Currently, Argentina devotes a tremendous amount of land to raising cattle in pasture-based systems. Unlike the confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, found in the U.S. and other parts of the world, these pasture-based systems allow cattle to graze on a variety of grasses until the “finishing” stage, when they are fed corn- and soy-based feed before they are slaughtered. CAFOs, which are also referred to as factory farms due to how little space livestock are afforded, pollute nearby air and waterways; local communities will often report manure and fertilizer runoff as well as noxious odors. These feeding operations are terrible for both the farmed animals and the laborers who work there. However, CAFOs are sometimes touted as climate-efficient — in essence, because the livestock have such short lifespans before slaughter that they emit less methane relative to cattle who live longer grazing on pasture.“
Stats
“U.S. companies and consumers last year shouldered nearly 90% of the costs from tariffs imposed beginning in April 2025”. Yup, the majority of tariffs’ costs are on the American companies and consumers, not foreign ones.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced that they hit 10 million taps on Friday since last May. Card and phone are popular as a form factor
Minh Quang Duong 
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