Early Morning Trading -- Last Day Of The Third Quarter -- September 30, 2026

Locator: 51843INVESTING.

CNBC "Halftime Report": with announcement of new fighter ...

• argument again, fighters vs drones (when folks get into this argument, it sounds like the analysts missed the memo with regard to Iran. 

Early morning headlines:

• holy mackerel: the UK says the incident at RAF Fairford was likely led by Iran. 
• holy mackerel: it looks like it was very fortunate that a plane full of Israeli citizens saved their flight from a co-pilot tried to kill/disable the pilot and crash the plane; and,
• an LNG tanker hit by "device"; for some reason this one caught the headlines -- headline came out just as allies were saying they (again) had control of the strait.
• WTI? Up for 2% after these reports.

Early morning trading:

 

The US Equity Market Is Surging After Final Read Of 2Q26 Inflation Data (PCE) -- Robinhood -- Company In The News Today -- September 30, 2026

Locator: 51842INVESTING.

Becky Quick: Ms Quick had a huge "run" with BRK over the past twenty years. The tea leaves suggest she is looking for her next gravy train. It looks like it will be SI/AI but she will end up focusing on one company.

Quincy, Washington: folks may want to do a deep dive on Quincy -- Quincy, Washington transformed from a struggling agricultural farming town into a major digital data center hub starting in 2006, when Microsoft broke ground on its first major data center. 

Company in the news today: Robinhood. 24-hour agentic trading over the weekend; app specifically "built" for new iPhone Duo (the Duo not yet released). "Full" US equity trading, 24-7, inaugurated by Robinhood. Did Schwab miss an opportunity?

• 24/7 trading under the "auspices" of "Bruce Markets." 

Trump's SI/AI summit: that group photo is amazing -- Jensen Huang on his immediate right; Elon Musk on his immedate left; and AMD/CEO immediately behind President Trump. And every SI/AI CEO at the table -- 

Trump pressing for:

• free electricity in all communities that have an LCD
• teacher bonuses in communities with an LCD

***************************
American Economy

Fed rate: may not hike in October, 2026. 90% likely in December. Heading for 7% mortgage rates. The SI/AI industry doesn't care. The housing industry is slowly being destroyed. 

JOBS: September ADP private payrolls -- up 90,000 jobs in September vs 68,000 anticipated. We just can't slow this economy. 

PG&E in California, SI/AI buildout:

The 1.8 GW of new data center load that PG&E plans to operationalize by 2030 (primarily serving Silicon Valley) is vastly overshadowed by the growth exploding across Texas, Virginia, and Ohio. 

While PG&E is intentionally pacing its growth and targeting smaller, high-confidence loads, other states are building gigawatt-scale, AI-driven mega-campuses.

For full discussion, see this link. Link: https://share.google/aimode/JMx8ntsnpqWxNAb8k.

As Some Would Say, Somthing Almost Happened -- "Everything's Fine, We've Apparently Landed In Saudi Arabia" -- Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Locator: 51841AVIATION.

Flight yesterday from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted to Saudi Arabia. Just another day in the 'hood.'

This is not an SNL skit -- at least not yet. Link here.

Ken Griffin Donation To Carnegie Mellon -- September 30, 2026

Locator: 51840PHILANTHROPY.

Remember the story of the largest known donation ever to an American university: Nike founder to University of Oregon? Just a few days ago. It's on the blog somewhere.

Now we have a tie: Ken Griffin's $3 billion donation to Carnegie Mellow (but he divides that total donation among two different campuses).

Ken Griffin Carnegie Mellon: $2 billion -- a CNBC report this morning:

• $1 billion for the main campus (computer science and university priorities)
• $2 billion for the new Miami campus (new)

Carnegie Mellon University -- 

Carnegie Mellon University's main campus is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a new Miami campus is planned for the Wynwood neighborhood backed by a historic $3 billion gift from Citadel CEO Ken Griffin.

Folks may remember this recent Citadel story:

Not hearing a peep out of Bill Gates or Warren Buffett.

This Should Make Everyone Much Happier Except For The Services And A Few General / Flag Officers -- September 30, 2026

Locator: 51839HEGSETH.
Locator: 51839MILITARY.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth will announce today -- September 30, 2026 --  a 20% cut to the positions reserved for generals and admirals, doubling the reduction he ordered last year. 

The cuts apply to slots, not the officers filling them now. According to sources, almost all slots are filled; very few exceptions.

Some jobs will be downgraded so that colonels and Navy captains can hold them, and the services have until January 1, 2027, to complete the work. Last year's order trimmed 10% of all generals and admirals and 20% of four-stars, which Hegseth summed up as "Less Generals, more GIs."

Before you all get excited:

The fact this is not being broadly reported in the US media speaks volumes.