What we’re reading (4/12)
“From Coffee To Home Prices, Costs Are Up Everywhere” (Yahoo! Finance). “Americans continue to reel from prices that soared during the pandemic, never came back to earth, and keep ticking higher. There’s no doubt that it costs more to feed yourself and cover basics like transportation, housing, and health insurance than it did just a few years ago.”
“AI Is Using So Much Energy That Computing Firepower Is Running Out” (Wall Street Journal). “The sharp capacity crunch has caused consternation among power users, forced companies to scuttle products and led to reliability problems. The issues are a warning sign for the AI boom, as they may limit the utility of powerful new AI tools just as massive amounts of users have begun to rely on them to boost productivity.”
“How Bond Market’s Private Credit Crisis Fears Are Playing Out In Fixed-Income ETFs” (CNBC). “Fears of a private credit crisis are rising as firms at the heart of the growing, but less liquid and less transparent, bond market face investor redemptions. That stress test has arrived just as private loans became more prevalent in the ETF market. It was a little over a year ago that the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first ETF branded as a private credit fund.”
“America’s New Tax Mantra: ‘The IRS Isn’t Going To Catch Me’” (Wall Street Journal). “Audits of people with at least $10 million in income dropped 9% last year, and they are on track to decline another 39% this year. Partnership audits declined, reversing an attempt to scrutinize private-equity firms and other complex entities that have long bedeviled the government. In fiscal 2025, the IRS collected less direct revenue from audits and appeals than in any year since at least 2012, though the money can arrive years after audits start. The IRS said Sunday that total enforcement revenue was up 12% through the first five months of fiscal 2026.”
“Helium Is Hard To Replace” (Construction Physics). “What I find interesting about helium is that in many cases, it’s very hard to substitute for. Helium has a unique set of properties — in particular, it has a lower melting point and boiling point than any other element — and technologies and processes that rely on those properties can’t easily switch to some other material.”
