Business
Capital One is targeting the next generation of luxury customers. An interesting interview with the Head of Banking and Premium Products at Capital One. I admire the company for being focused on data analytics and really having a perspective in whatever market they compete in. They are known for the low-and-grow strategy, but when they decided to compete in the premium space, they wanted to put a stake on the ground and say: this is how we’re doing it. I respect that and that’s how business should be conducted.
Advertising’s first female CEO is not afraid to fail. I was blown away when I learned from this article that WPP’s current CEO had not penned one campaign ads. She got the top job at WPP because of her track record in changing the culture and readying a business for a paradigm shift which, apparently, was what her company was looking for. Success is not always a straight line.
Appeals court remands Illinois card fee law. This may not be obvious to consumers and those that don’t work in the banking industry, but if this law goes into effect on July 1st, the networks don’t really have the capability to comply and neither will most, if not all, of the banks. Card issuers are under real pressure to keep the model intact. Rewards are funded partially or wholly by interchange and drive spending which drives revolving which, in turn, pays for all the expenses. Without interchange, the whole model is at risk. While I get that interchange is a real cost for businesses, it’s not like that they don’t get any benefits from consumers swiping cards. Consumers definitely benefit from having access to credit cards and rich rewards. The judiciary branch now has to determine how to navigate that balance.
Nokia is getting discovered. An interesting article on where Nokia sits in the AI stack
Iran War puts the world’s most used chemical in short supply. ““Sulfuric acid is used to produce phosphate fertilizers, leach copper and other metals from rock, pulp wood, pickle steel, tan leather and vulcanize rubber. Municipal water treatment depends on sulfuric acid, as do battery and semiconductor makers. The citric acid that adds tang to sugary drinks and the silica that gives toothpaste its grit are made with it, too. “Because sulfuric acid is highly corrosive, it is difficult and expensive to move around, said Kunal Sinha, who previously managed the sulfuric-acid business at mining firm Glencore and is now co-founder and chief executive of metals-processing startup Valor. Users don’t usually keep much sulfuric acid on hand because it requires careful handling and special tanks for storage, Sinha said.”
Salmon Farms on Land Take Aim at a $19 Billion Industry. “Andreassen and Lovik were looking for a better way to raise the fish, so in 2010 they founded Atlantic Sapphire and established their first “bluehouse” in Denmark. The bluehouse, like a greenhouse with water, utilized a complex filtering technique called a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) to raise Atlantic salmon in highly controlled conditions entirely on land. Overhead remains the primary obstacle for the land-based industry, with initial investment up to 12 times higher than for a net-pen farm. And operational costs—particularly the immense amount of electricity required to power an RAS and pump cool water—can be up to 50% higher. At times, it’s hard not to feel bad for the land salmon, who never get to experience the marine world of their wild cousins. But Atlantic Sapphire’s mortality rate, which is below 2%, speaks to their pristine conditions.” Personally, I prefer wild caught salmon and having the fish live their natural life.
Other Stuff I Find Interesting
NPR went looking for Polymarket’s Panama headquarters. It’s elusive. If you believe that laws are black and white, the story of Polymarket will shock you. The firm is not supposed to be available to users in the US, but still it. It got into serious legal trouble with the federal government, but miraculously had it all resolved. Now, Polymarket is headquartered in Panama, which is a tax haven and offers legal protection from the US government. Well, at least for now.
The unprecedented and deadly cruise ship hantavirus outbreak, explained. A good read on the new hantavirus outbreak and a reminder that you should wear a mask while cleaning your place, because you may get virus carried by rodents.
The solution to urban heat is much, much simpler than you think. “Two new studies show how simply planting more trees can provide huge temperature benefits, not to mention how the additional plant life would boost biodiversity and improve mental health for urbanites. The first finds that tree cover can cancel half of the heat island effect, in which the urban jungle gets much hotter than the surrounding countryside. The second compares neighborhoods in 65 American cities, finding that canopy-deprived areas suffer up to 40 percent more excess heat than heavily greened spots. The trick is not just planting enough trees, but planting the right kind. The biggest species provide the most shade, of course. But more cryptically, some provide more evaporative cooling than others — drought-adapted trees, for instance, try to retain as much water as they can. A neighborhood might also want to prioritize food production, opting for trees that create both shade and fruit. Favoring native varieties will also help support native animal life, like birds and pollinating insects.”
Stats
54% of adults in the US, aged 16-4, read below a sixth-grade level
Poland’s GDP exceeded $1 trillion in 2025, entering the top 20 in the world by GDP
Every year, about 700 million salmon fish are consumed. The industry is worth $19 billion
Minh Quang Duong 
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