Locator: 48667MARKET.
Headline today:
S&P 500 saw best May since 1990.
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Meanwhile
20-y/o journalists. It took a year and a half to plan a hate crime that was nothing more than two Molotov cocktails. That was The New York Times takeaway. That was the headline. I can’t make this up. I wonder how The New York Times would headline the “9-11” terrorist attack today.
The market today: wow, this really encapsulates the market today -- it's all about steel! Who would have thought?
Top performers, today, note:
- mining:
- Southern Copper (SCCO): up 1.7% today.
- FCX: up 4.34%and
- Vistra (say what?)
- largest competitive power generator in the US
- HQ: Irving, TX
- incredibly diverse energy platform (natural gas, nuclear, renewables)
Bottom performers:
- not shown: Lucid; market cap: $16 billion
- quick: what percent of Lucid is owned by Saudi Arabia? 60%
- 60% of $16 billion = $10 billion
- as bad as its stock performance has been, it's gotten even worse this year, if you can imagine that!
- the big question: how much longer will Saudi Arabia stay engaged with Lucid?
- Lucid's cash burn in 2024 was $3 billion, slightly better tan 2023
- Saudi Arabia just placed a $5 billion bond offering
- so basically, Saudi Arabia is issuing debt to keep Lucid afloat
- likewise, not shown, Rivian, down 3%
- largest stakeholder in Rivian? Amazon
- Amazon holds 160 million shares; almost 15% of the company (Rivian)
Is it safe to say, EVs:
- steel: just got more expensive, and not by just a little bit.
- batteries: EV manufacturers can't make them without Federal subsidies and help from China.
- software: upwards of one-third of total wholesale cost of an EV: software
- 2020s estimate: 10% - 20% of total wholesale cost of an EV
- by 2030, software is expected to represent 30% to 40% and possibly higher in premium or autonomous-capable EVs
Why is software so important for EVs?
- battery management systems (BMS)
- autonomous driving features (ADAS, navigation, sensor fusion)
- infotainment systems
- vehicle control software
- cybersecurity
