Talmon Joseph Smith

🌊🌊🌊

Factories Are Becoming More Like Data Centers Large electricity users that employ few workers are not what America’s reindustrialization dreams are made on.

Many Americans dislike data centers because they use land, water, and electricity without creating many permanent jobs.

There’s just one wrinkle: Modern factories increasingly fit the same description.

I wrote about it for @heatmap.news: heatmap.news/energy/facto...

This chart seems to suggest a striking pattern: Kevin Warsh's speeches are consistently hawkish, except when Trump is President and about to appoint a new Fed Chair.
www.economist.com/finance-and-...

what's the good reason for not passing this?

“all I hear is the wind slapping against the gravestones of those who did not make it…” - @clintsmithiii.bsky.social

Navigating a global trust deficit

Trust is quite literally the oil of the market machine. High levels of trust act as a lubricant, enabling even the simplest tractions to move forward with little costs. Low levels toss sand into the gears of the market machine.

the best denunciation of the caricatures that downplay so called low-skill work is just witnessing the orchestra of a busy waffle house.

“The most striking feature in January was the breadth of the rally. Despite an array of risks around Venezuela, Iran, Greenland and Fed independence, nearly every major asset was still in positive territory. - DB

So to summarize: ORCL says over the weekend they'll raise $50bn for additional AI investment, including as much as $20bn in stock, equity securities, and debt. New 8 part offering this morning.

Market LOVES this because assumption is this provides certainty. Stock +6%, CDS are ~32 bps tighter.

Reupping for the AM crowd

PORTLAND MAYOR WILSON:

“.. To those who continue to work for ICE: Resign. To those who control this facility: Leave. … you have lost all legitimacy and replaced it with shame.”

@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Sorry for the LI grab but

The three tiered system of justice, obvious for all to see:

The poor and marginalized—always under an authoritarian boot

The privileged—judged harshly but mostly fairly in normal times

The elite—complete impunity, maybe sometimes have to pick a fall guy

While I have been preoccupied reporting on Kevin Warsh's Fed nomination, it seems the administration has proven me wrong about Minnesota. The president is not backing off and the assault on Minneapolis continues. Don't let it get lost in the blizzard of other news.

Some quick initial thoughts on Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh 🤔 Monetary policy isn't determined by one person 🏛️

Some quick initial thoughts on Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh 🤔 www.tker.co/p/trump-nomi...

“.. years after Mr. Lutnick has said he severed ties with Mr. Epstein.”

@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...

❤️

"Warsh has some challenges that start almost right away. First, does he act as a shadow Fed chair? If he is going to second guess Powell at every turn or forcibly disagree with him, he may appease his new boss, but he runs the risk of alienating himself to the rest of the Committee..." - Wells Fargo

prob wont happen but Dems lessen relevance of Fed if they end up radicalizing in a very wonky fashion re inflation. "over"supplying shelter and flattening 40% of inflation + drug/healthcare competition reforms that send UNH and a bunch of other names into a bear market

New policy: "oh you believe this data?" just gets you blocked.

doesn’t want to pick Hassett because he doesn’t present well on tv

doesn’t want to pick Warsh because he might be a hawk in dovish clothing

doesn’t want to pick Waller because he’s been apart of a Fed he despises

doesn’t want to pick Rieder because he doesn’t wear a tie

bsky.app/profile/stev...

😅

Trump: "I don't want to drive housing prices down. I want to drive housing prices up for people who own homes."

JOHNSON: “Killing people and then deciding maybe it’s not a good idea is their rationale for reconsidering their strategy ..? .. This is not a ‘my bad’ or ‘I’m sorry’ moment. Believing that they can behave with impunity is an insult to our democracy.”

@politico.com
www.politico.com/newsletters/...

“.. Rodríguez has taken ‘no steps to diminish Iran, China or Russia’s considerable influence .. We’ve traded one dictator for another.’”

@washingtonpost.com 🇻🇪
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

scarcity exists
the issue is that it is consistently overstated; and often very conveniently by the Haves
when they are questioned by HaveNots

cover of The Economist this week

Greenspan would “almost certainly” have stayed at the Fed if Clinton hadn’t reappointed him as chair in 1996, per Woodward’s 2000 biography.

“If he had to move down the table out of the chairman’s seat, he felt that there was enough respect for his views that he could still have some influence.”

Why Powell Won’t Say if He Is Staying on the Fed Board The Fed chair has been asked four times whether he will stay on the board after his term as chair is up. His silence is the strategy.

Will Powell stay on the Fed board or go?

He won’t say.

The silence is a bit awkward—and strategic. It’s the last card he’s got, and the DOJ probe illustrates why he hasn’t played it. (It’s also making his decision harder than it had to be.)

www.wsj.com/economy/cent...