Another Guy Who Just Doesn't Quit -- Musk -- October 13, 2025

Locator: 49373MUSK.

Link here. 

A Musical Interlude -- October 13, 2025

Locator: 49372MUSIC.

Link here. 

*********************
The Taylor Swift Page

 Link here.

 

****************
The Fine Arts Page

Link here. 

Monet. 

Yahoo!Finance Headlines -- October 13, 2025

Locator: 49371ARCHIVES.

Samsung: shares hit fresh record after AI chip boom lifts profit.

Samsung expects best profit since 2022. Blame it on AI.

TSMC 3Q25 profit expected to soar 28% on AI spending boom. 

Nvidia's tiniest supercomputer hits market in bid to boost access to AI.

Silver hits all-time high; London squeeze sparks market havoc.

US banks look to report incredible earnings.

Citadel, 2Q25:

• sold almost half of his position in Palantir
• increased its position in AI chip king Nvidia by more than 40%
• worth a read if you don't know Citadel. Link here.

What's with San Francisco? High cost, high crime, high taxes. 

Fox business:

• JPMorgan Chase launches $1.5 trillion plan to bolster US economic and national security.
• government RIFs beginning to snowball; Schumer / Jeffries dither
• > 20 states are in or near recession
• Illinois: really blue
• Georgia: purple
• Washington: really blue
• New Jersey: really, really blue
• Massachusetts: really, really blue (at least the urban east)
• Virginia: purple
• expanding economies:
• Texas: really, really, really red -- Vaticanese cardinal
• Florida: more red than Texas?
• Pennsylvania: purple but wants to be red
• North Carolina: confident, common sense

Real estate:

• remember all those stories about Florida real estate imploding? Now:
• Californians tempted to leave is all behind for Miami's scorching real estate market.

"Steak And Shake" -- Fact Checking -- October 13, 2025

Locator: 49370BURGERS.

Me? My go-to is McDonald's:

• light meal: regular (very small) hamburger, small fries, small drink -- $5.00
• rewarding myself: Big Mac meal. $9.00

The X-Files -- Monday, October 13, 2025

Locator: 49369ARCHIVES.

Let's get the numbers down, for chip deals, large data centers, energy demands. I may be completely wrong on this, but this is the scaffolding on which I am beginning. Think of 1 GW as enough electricity to power a million homes:

• 1 GW: big, should get your attention
• 2 GW: sort of becoming the baseline; huge but becoming commonplace
• 6 GW: only a few are even contemplating anything greater than 5 GW
• 10 GW: OpenAI and that's probably it for now 

Video of the day: at this link. 

Bear market history: link here.

Steak and Shake: 

Entergy: getting a lot of interest now that it has been selected to build in Louisiana to power Meta's 2 GW data center. Link here to Beth.

• CEO Phillip May says interest spans from >100 MW to GW-scale projects.

Energy / AI: large data centers will consome 12% of US power in less than five years. Link here.

• the grid is nowhere ready for this;
• that's why Stargate (and many others) will not be on the grid. 

AI drove global datacenter demand: LDC demand would have slowed had it not been for AI. Link here. 

Amazon: the market is massively underpricing what Amazon is building. Link here.

• four reasons why Amazon is Shay Boloor's largest holding at that link;
• a lot of negative "press" --  
• I'm also building a position in Amazon, something I thought I would never do;
• it may not become my largest holding -- lots of catching up to do, but rate of growing that position may be the greatest of all my positions right now; 

Google profit: biggest quarterly gain in more than 20 years. Link here.

Broadcom: says mystery $10 billion customer that it announced in September, 2025, isn't OpenAI. Link here. 

Samsung:

• is said to be supplying the HBM4 memory for AMD's M1450 GPUs for the first 1 GW deployment;
• AMD shares are up 35% after it struck a deal with OpenAI that could see the ChatGPT parent take up to a 10% stake in the chipmaker, while agreeing to deploy 6 GW of AMD's Instinct GPUs across several year, starting with 1 GW in 2H26.

OpenAI

• tapped Broadcom to build its first AI processor in latest chip deal, link here to Reuters. 
• has committed to up to 26 GW of chips between Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom. Link here. 
• OpenAi and Broadcom signed a deal to develop 10 GW of custom chips to be deployed in OpenAI-owned and third-party data centers.
• Broadcom will begin deploying the AI accelerator racks in 2H26 (next year) and finish by 2029.
• this new 26 GW commitment implies a new $1.1 trillion TAM.
• is reportedly working with SoftBank's ARM Holdings subsidiary to develop CPUs designed to work with OpenAI's server chip. Link here. 

Iran: for reasons still unknown, most Iranian-flagged tankers are now transmitting properly over AID without spoofing; for the first time in seven and a half years. The change began today. Two different AID data providers confirm. Link here. It could simply be re-setting their systems before they get back to spoofing.

Reuters technology wrap:

• OpenAI taps Broadcom to build its first AI processor in latest chip deal;
• Amazon to hire 250,000 seasonal works fro third straight year;
• China approves iPhone Air to begin pre-order;
• Samsung set for highest Q3 profit in three years as AI demand lifts chiop prices:
• Salesforce to invest $15 billion San Francisco over five years. 

Anthropic and AI parter:

• the AI startup (Anthropic) and the enterprise tech giant team up to make Anthropic's Claude models available to developers on IBM's software. Link to The WSJ. 

Silver Closes At Record High -- October 13, 2025

Locator: 49368SILVER.

Silver: closes today at record high. Link here. 

Gold and silver futures close at fresh highs — with silver surpassing the record set in 1980. Both posted strong gains to start the week, with front-month gold futures settling up 3.3% to $4,108.60 a troy ounce and silver surging 6.8% to $50.13 a troy ounce. The underlying fundamentals for both metals looks promising, says Felipe Barragán of Pepperstone in a note. “While short-term profit-taking cannot be ruled out, the medium-term outlook for bullion remains constructive, supported by lingering macroeconomic fragility and shifting political dynamics.” 

That means if you bought silver in 1980, after more than 40 years you've finally broke even. 

*********************************
Back to the Bakken 

It appears the State of North Dakota does not "recognize" Indigenous Peoples Day, you know the ones who were incredibly cognizant of the environment when protesting DAPL some years ago. 

WTI: $59.49.

Active rigs: 32.

Four new permits, #42392 - #42395, inclusive:

• Operators: Hunt Oil (2); KODA Resources (2);
• Fields: Ross (Mountrail); Daneville (Divide County);
• Comments:
• KODA Resources has permits for two Ale wells, NWNE 24-161-103, 
• to be sited 854 / 889 FNL and 242 FEL:
• Hunt Oil has permits for two Palermo wells, NENE 8-156-90, 
• to be sited 1225 FNL and 392 / 422 FEL;

Six permits renewed:

• CLR: #26739 - #26744, inclusive; three Elveida permits and three Bliss permits, Sadler oil field; Divide Country. 

Just In -- China Approves Apple's iPhone Air -- More Tech Updates -- October 13, 2025

Locator: 49367APPLE.

Apple's $AAPL iPhone Air will be available for pre-order in China later this week, as major Chinese telecom operators obtained regulatory approvals for eSIM services - Reuters.

And, remember, Windows 10 is obsolete as of COB tomorrow, October 14, 2025. A lot of new computers are going to be sold / bought during the holiday season.  

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California Law: Requires AI To Tell You It's AI

Okay. 

And that it causes cancer. 

Also, California joins many other states mandating "age-gating" when setting up a new phone or a new computer. Apple, notably, is not supportive of the new law. Meta and Google are. 

I have no idea how this "age-gating" can possibly affect me. I set up all my own phones / computers and then give Sophia my password. She knows "I have her back" and I'm treating her like an adult.

It is impossible to articulate how much she helps me when I'm driving and can't use the iPhone myself.  

***********************
Nvidia's Personal AI Supercomputer 

Nvidia’s ‘personal AI supercomputer’ is now available to buy.

Link here. 

Starts at $3,000 and then runs up to $4,000 or so. 

According to ChatGPT, how does Nvidia’s ‘personal AI supercomputer’ compare with Apple's top-of-the-line desktop computer:

Bottom line: it still comes back to the ecosystem and esthetics. 

The computer:

Small enough to be held in one hand. Think Mac Mini, brand new, latest "version, for $600.

 

 

**********************************
Disclaimer
Brief Reminder 

Briefly:

• I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken and I am often well out front of my headlights. I am often appropriately accused of hyperbole when it comes to the Bakken.
• I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
• I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
• See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
• Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 
• All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If something appears wrong, it probably is. Feel free to fact check everything.
• If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
• Many posts are not proofread for several days after they've been posted.  
• Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken, US economy, and the US market.
• I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
• And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia. Nvidia is a metonym for AI and/or the sixth industrial revolution.
• I've now added Broadcom to the disclaimer. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Broadcom.
• Longer version here. 

Minimal Blogging About The Market This Week -- October 13, 2025

Locator: 49366ARCHIVES.

The market: as I have noted many times on the blog, when the US equity market gets "crazy," I tend to avoid checking in on what the market is doing. 

I looked at a couple things earlier this morning and just checked the indices now, but nothing else and I won't be watching CNBC at all today, probably not tomorrow, and possibly not all week.

The indices right now:

Weather in north Texas, DFW area: 81°F right now, about 11:30 a.m. CT, with a predicted high of 89°F all afternoon. Perfectly clear skies and based on tree leaves, no wind. I can't decide if I'll go biking. 

The two big stories right now:

• geo-politics -- global -- Mideast (Hamas), Ukraine (Tomahawks);
• incredible opportunities for US investors: "new school" vs "old school"
• old school: Warren Buffett
• new school: Shay Boloor 

US government shutdown: tweedledum and tweedledee in charge (at risk of insulting the two characters) --  Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries.  Wow, this fits them to a "t" as they say in English:

Tweedledum and Tweedledee act out the events of their nursery rhyme, which involves getting into a silly fight over a broken rattle, preparing for a battle, and then being scared away by a giant crow.  

The giant crow? Of course, we all know who that would be. LOL. 

Hamas: current leadership is a five-member committee "located" in Turkey and Doha, Qatar. Qatar wants to be a world player in AI. Turkey is Turkey.

Under the Gaza ceasefire deal agreed upon in October 2025, Hamas is temporarily providing police action in Gaza City with tacit approval from the U.S., while the long-term plan calls for a new, internationally supported Palestinian force. There was no requirement for Hamas to laydown their arms. Israel controls the air, sea, and land ports / entries into Gaza and a situation that is internationally being challenged. 

Right now, everything suggests the five-member Hamas leadership will be concentrating on its organization maintaining "local" law enforcement control of the Gaza strip (short term) while moving diplomatically (medium term) for a "national role" in lieu of an international police force; and for a two-state solution (long term) -- a goal led by Macron and France for international recognition of Gaza as a free country. The best thing Israel can do, is keep sending Hamas the cellphones they need to conduct business.

I find it difficult for either the Trump administration or Netanyahu to cede any gains at this point. 

At the end of the day, the folks returning to their homes in Gaza City need to decide if they want Hamas to provide law enforcement. I'm sure they will ... want Hamas to be charge. Hamas, by the way, just increased their numbers by 2,000 well-trained new re-enlistees.

NFL: I'm done with watching NFL for the time being. I'll check in on sports talk show, radio and television, periodically, but won't actually watch the games. Same with NASCAR, done for the season. No longer holds any interest. 

What holds my interest right now? The sixth industrial revolution (SIR, tabbed at the top), AKA the Fourth Industrial Revolution. And not for investing, though that does play a part. 

A Little Sleuthing In The Bakken -- October 13, 2025

Locator: 49365B.
Locator: 49365PHOENIX.

There was a recent article in Forbes regarding Phoenix Operating LLC. A reader, in an e-mail sidebar, asked me my thoughts which I provided. 

Operators in the Bakken, the top five by mineral acreage:

For Phoenix Operating LLC: 

About the best ChatGPT can do:

Look at the map below which is just Chord Energy and XTO. One can imagine that most of the rest of the white would be filled in by:

• Continental Resources (CLR);
• COP (BR); and,
• Devon.

So that's the first data point.

The second question that needs to be asked: how many acres of Tier 1 acreage do these operators have in the North Dakota Bakken.

Of course that's even harder to answer, but ChatGPT has answered the question to my satisfaction. I'll provide that answer by e-mail to known readers if they ask.

***************************
The Bakken -- An RBN Energy Update

From the blog earlier today and last week.

From RBN Energy last week: link here.

Chord Energy/ExxonMobil’s Bakken Assets

Also on September 15, Chord Energy (CHRD), the largest producer in the Bakken since its $11 billion acquisition of Enerplus in May 2024, said it will purchase the remaining North Dakota production assets of ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO Energy for $550 million in cash in a deal expected to close by year’s end. The assets include 48,000 net acres (dark-blue areas in Figure 4 below) and 9 Mboe/d of production (78% oil), the vast majority of it in Dunn County and much of it within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (area outlined by dark-gray line). The XTO acreage being purchased is largely contiguous with Chord’s existing acreage (bright-green areas) and in some cases the deal will add to Chord’s working interest (WI; striped areas).

Formed in July 2022 with the merger of Whiting Petroleum and Oasis Petroleum, Chord Energy in June 2023 acquired 62,000 net acres and 6 Mboe/d of production from XTO for $375 million. In Q2 2025, Chord produced 281 Mboe/d (56% oil).

Chord Energy’s and XTO Energy’s Bakken Acreage

Figure 4. Chord Energy’s and XTO Energy’s Bakken Acreage. Source: Chord Energy

Chord Energy said the latest set of assets it is acquiring from XTO have breakeven economics in the $40s/bbl range and will “compete at the front end of Chord’s program.” The E&P noted that the contiguous nature of XTO’s drilling spacing units (DSUs) and proximity to Chord’s acreage “will facilitate 3- and 4-mile lateral development” — a fast-growing trend in western North Dakota. 

 

US Equities Surge -- Dow, NASDAQ Up 400, 500 Points --BRK-B Down -- October 13, 2025

Locator: 49364INVESTING.

Warren Buffett's benchmark against which he measures BRK: the S&P 500.

• Year-to-date:
• BRK-B: up 8.43%
• S&P 500: up 13.08%
• NASDAQ: up 14.81%
• AVGO: up 52.45%
• NVDA: up 35.95%

Last week:

Today: 

ChatGPT: OpenAI, Microsoft, Oracle, SoftBank, Stargate. Now: Broadcom -- Energy Requirements: More Than 2X NYC Requires Every Summer -- October 13, 2025

Locator: 49363CHATGPT. 

WSJ: link here.

OpenAI and Broadcom are working together to develop and deploy 10 gigawatts of custom AI chips and computing systems over the next four years, a high-profile partnership aimed at satisfying some of the startup’s immense computing needs.

OpenAI plans to design its own graphics processing units, or GPUs, which will allow it to integrate what it has learned from developing powerful artificial-intellligence models into the hardware that underpins future systems. As part of the agreement announced Monday, the chips will be co-developed by OpenAI and Broadcom and deployed by the chip company starting in the second half of next year.

The new agreement will be worth multiple billions of dollars, people familiar with the matter said. The companies didn’t disclose financial terms.

Broadcom shares rose 8% in early trading.

Broadcom specializes in designing custom AI chips that are specifically tailored to certain artificial-intellligence applications. It began working with OpenAI on creating a custom chip 18 months ago, and the companies broadened their partnership to include work on related components, including server racks and networking equipment.

The new racks will rely on Ethernet technology and other connectivity from Broadcom, the two companies said. They will be deployed in data centers OpenAI owns as well as those operated by third parties, the people familiar with the matter said.  

Ethernet technology can travel over both copper and fiber optics. Traditional Ethernet uses copper cables, while a more modern version, "Ethernet over fiber," uses fiber optic cables. The choice between copper and fiber depends on factors like distance, speed requirements, and cost.

The massive deal brings the total scale of computing capacity OpenAI has agreed to buy from chip giants Broadcom, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices to 26 gigawatts, enough to meet the summer electricity needs of New York City more than two times over.

The startup will have to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to pay for these deals. It expects to generate $13 billion in revenue this year, meaning that it will have to increase sales at an exponential rate to make good on its computing bills.

With a $500 billion valuation, OpenAI is the world’s most valuable startup and has launched some of the most popular AI tools, including ChatGPT and video-generating software Sora. It has more than 800 million weekly active users.

Broadcom has been bolstered by its work helping tech companies manufacture custom chips that speed up artificial-intelligence computations. Shares are up more than 80% in the past six months, and its market capitalization has increased to more than $1.5 trillion.

ChatGPT: OpenAI, Microsoft, Oracle, SoftBank, Stargate. Now: Broadcom.  See this link.

 

BACKGROUND

Link here.  

Back To The Bakken -- RBN Energy On Chord Energy / XOM In The Bakken -- October 13, 2025

Locator: 49362B.

***************************
Back to the Bakken

WTI: $59.32.

New wells: link here. 

RBN Energy: link here. 

From RBN Energy last week: link here.

Chord Energy/ExxonMobil’s Bakken Assets

Also on September 15, Chord Energy (CHRD), the largest producer in the Bakken since its $11 billion acquisition of Enerplus in May 2024, said it will purchase the remaining North Dakota production assets of ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO Energy for $550 million in cash in a deal expected to close by year’s end. The assets include 48,000 net acres (dark-blue areas in Figure 4 below) and 9 Mboe/d of production (78% oil), the vast majority of it in Dunn County and much of it within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (area outlined by dark-gray line). The XTO acreage being purchased is largely contiguous with Chord’s existing acreage (bright-green areas) and in some cases the deal will add to Chord’s working interest (WI; striped areas).

Formed in July 2022 with the merger of Whiting Petroleum and Oasis Petroleum, Chord Energy in June 2023 acquired 62,000 net acres and 6 Mboe/d of production from XTO for $375 million. In Q2 2025, Chord produced 281 Mboe/d (56% oil).

Chord Energy’s and XTO Energy’s Bakken Acreage

Figure 4. Chord Energy’s and XTO Energy’s Bakken Acreage. Source: Chord Energy

Chord Energy said the latest set of assets it is acquiring from XTO have breakeven economics in the $40s/bbl range and will “compete at the front end of Chord’s program.” The E&P noted that the contiguous nature of XTO’s drilling spacing units (DSUs) and proximity to Chord’s acreage “will facilitate 3- and 4-mile lateral development” — a fast-growing trend in western North Dakota. 

Broadcom Pops 12% -- OpenAI Partner -- October 13, 2025

Locator: 49361AVGO.
Locator: 49356LIKE_NEVER_BEFORE.

Updates

October 13, 2025: link here. 

Tag: Broadcom, AVGO, OpenAI, ChatGPT

Later, 11;05 p.m.: it will be interesting to see how Meta (Facebook) incorporates a chatbot into its architecture and whether Meta uses ChatGPT or something else. It won't work the other way around: ChatGPT won't incorporate Meta / Facebook. 

 Later, 10:58 p.m.: "the everything app" -- ChatGPT is now a permanent app at the bottom of my desktop, along with Finder, Safari, Firefox, Word, Chrome, Notes, Maps, FaceTime,.....ChatGPT, Numbers. ChatGPT has become my "everything app." My top "apps": Firefox, blogger, ChatGPT. The bottom of my desktop:

Later, 10:51 p.m. CT: this is the relationship among ChatGPT, Oracle, SoftBank, Microsoft, and Stargate: link here. This is not trivial. This is very, very helpful for investors in this arena. 

Later, 10:31 p.m. CT: this is truly incredible. I spent quite a bit of time on this story earlier today after reading the aritcle in The Verge -- ChatGPT becoming the "everything app." Now, CNBC is covering the story. link here. 

Original Post 

Chart of the day.  

Tag: AI LDC ChatGPT chatbot.  

I wonder if folks on CNBC are paying attention.

ChatGPT is trending toward 90% market share in some markets. And the rate of growth is almost incomprehensible. It would surprise me if you are not using ChatGPT.

Link here. 

It's impossible to compare apples (Ford Model T) with oranges (ChatGPT) but  ChatGPT went from 50 million users one year after lease to nearly 800,000 users three years after release.

Ford's Model T: sales went from maybe 50,000 in the first year after release to maybe 700,000 seven years later:

But a closer comparison, an apples-to-apples comparison, ChatGPT vs the internet is absolutely astonishing. ChatGPT is only one of many chatbots and chatbots are only a minor sector on the internet, and yet it took ten years for the internet to record the number of users ChatGPT has recorded in three years. Absolutely astonishing.

I pretty much use ChatGPT exclusively. 

I have been re-reading Andrew Hodges' 1983 biography of Alan Turing who predicted this back in the 1920s / 1930s.

I've been having discussions with ChatGPT regarding chatbots.  

ChatGPT's market dominance: YouTube link here.

ChatGPT holds a commanding lead in chatbot market share, with recent reports placing its share between 60% and 90% of the AI chatbot market. 

The remaining market is shared among competitors, with Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini holding the next largest shares, though their relative positions can vary depending on the analysis.

Microsoft's Windows 10 is "obsoleted" as of October 14, 2025 -- this next week. Apple will be the natural beneficiary.

Chatbot and LDC chokepoints:

• right now: access to blades;
• the next twelve months: putting blades on-line; 
• Nvidia, AMD, copper, fiberoptics
• next few years with the large data center build-out: cooling;
• five to seven years: access to affordable electricity.

Comparing the chatbot revolution to the Bakken revolution is striking. 

In the early days of the Bakken revoluion, time was way more important than money. Operators were willing to pay whatever it took to get "the acres" the fastest. Then, once they got the acres, the operators said money was more important than time. Same thing is happening with in the chatbot / LDC revolution. Get the best sites as fast as possible; get the blades as fast as possible, get contracts for energy as fast as possible. Don't worry about the money. Time is money. 

In fact, I wonder if this might be the sine qua non of a revolution: time. Time and timing are most important. Time: how fast one does it. Timing: first out of the gate is critical. 

Gaza -- October 13, 2025

Locator: 49360GAZA.

Updates

Later, 12:47 a.m. CT, 8:47 a.m. Gaza: Israel says first seven of 20 hostages have been handed over to Israel. Trump scheduled to meet with hostages; then fly to Egypt to sign "peace" agreement. Wow, in Israel -- what an incredible security concern. Not even a full year into his second term. Much could be said about the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump is "minutes away" from landing in Tel Aviv. Will receive a hero's welcome there. "Both sides" (Israelis / Muslims) apparently are applauding. Even Hillary Clinton apparently has said good things about Trump with regard to this. In the big scheme of things, it was best that Trump did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He does not need to be part of the group that included Barack Obama and Yasser Arafat. 

Original Post 

My family and I were stationed in England (RAF Lakenheath) when the "wall came down" -- November 9, 1989 -- or maybe we had just returned to Germany (Bitburg Air Base) -- it's amazing how I forget exactly where we were during such a momentous event. I remember the excitement, the live scenes on television. It was amazing. [Just checked the diary: yes, we were clearly back in Germany when the wall came down -- Bitburg Air Base. We were living "on the economy" so we would have had limited American television exposure. We did eventually get a "piece of the Berlin Wall," now stored away somewhere in all my other "worthless" memorabilia.]

I'm getting the same feeling with regard to what's going on in Gaza right now -- the two events can't be directly compared but when it comes to how each event affected individual families, the two events are very, very similar. I have doubts that current events will have a lasting effect to the same extent the German event had, but one can only hope. Regardless, today, tonight, and tomorrow are truly momentous and historic. 

Adding to all this, President Trump is not a passive observer tweeting about this from the Oval Office or the Situation Room. He is not getting radiation therapy for prostate cancer. He is on his way -- yet another foreign trip -- almost as many foreign trips as months he has served in his second term. From what little I've watched President Trump is getting a lot of positive press from even the fake media outlets. It's quite amazing.

Twenty Israeli hostages for 2,000 Palestinian hostages. 

The exchange is scheduled for noon in Gaza or about 5:00 a.m. in Washington, DC, where the US government is still shut down, and, according to some, will be shut down until US commercial a/c start falling out of the skies. 

Didn't The US Try Some Version Of This Decades Ago? October 12, 2025

Locator: 49359SCOTCH.

Tag: China Scotch whisky whiskey 

AI prompt:

How severely is the Chinese government restrictions on alcohol affecting Scotland's Scotch industry and the French wine industry?

Long response as usual, but bottom line, fairly severely:

The beer industry was less severely effected suggesting this is as much an economic (balance of trade issue as a health issue). In fact, asking ChatGPT suggests that is very, very likely. The US did the same thing with Scotch only a few years ago.

Scotch whisky from Scotland took a huge hit; Scotch from Japan, not so much: