The S&P 500's AI boom is a last-gasp bubble hiding a collapsing bond market. Simon Dixon says the 30-year Treasury yield printed above 5% this week, pushing mortgage rates toward 7%. He argues the Federal Reserve will use the eventual AI bust to justify printing trillions to socialize the financial industry's losses while inflating away middle-class wealth.
US leaders arrived in Beijing with a compromised hand. The Pentagon assesses that the Iran war drained $50 billion in munitions, drove Gulf allies toward Chinese weapons, and proved the limits of US power projection. On Breaking Points, Saagar Enjeti cited a confidential report concluding China gained a major strategic edge from the stalemate.
"The U.S. is no longer wagging its finger about human rights or liberal democracy. It is there to protect the stock market."
- Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti, Breaking Points
Trump’s delegation of Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and Jensen Huang revealed who sets the agenda. Dixon argues US tech CEOs are subordinate to a shareholder class that values CCP stability over American sovereignty. Their presence signaled a hard pivot from the ‘China Hawk’ era toward transactional deal-making. Xi Jinping agreed to buy more US soybeans and Boeing jets - purchases China needed anyway.
"Trump’s latest summit with President Xi relies on business leaders rather than career diplomats... He claims these CEOs are the best salespeople America has to offer."
- Mark Benioff, All-In
China’s readout from the meeting included a stark warning on Taiwan and opposition to militarizing the Strait of Hormuz - topics omitted from the US summary. Xi invoked the ‘Thucydides Trap,’ framing the relationship as a choice between conflict and a new paradigm. The summit didn't reset the rivalry. It formalized the retreat.
