Silicon Valley’s biggest names are pushing back against a proposed California wealth tax, even as their empires were built on a foundation of public funding and government support. The ballot initiative, set for the November 2026 election, would impose a one-time 5% wealth tax on California billionaires, structured as annual installments of 1% paid over…

Companies across the technology sector are discovering that the financial case for replacing human workers with artificial intelligence is far shakier than executives once believed. The cost of running advanced AI systems has grown dramatically as firms shift toward agentic AI tasks, which are more complex and significantly more expensive to execute than earlier automation…

America’s crude oil inventories are falling at an alarming rate, driven by ongoing disruption to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz amid the war involving Iran. The Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. petroleum inventories have plunged to their lowest levels since 2004, raising urgent questions about supply security. Commercial crude inventories fell by…

New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh heads into his first Federal Open Market Committee meeting on June 16–17 under growing pressure from within the central bank itself. Warsh took the helm widely expected to steer the Fed toward lower interest rates, but the policy landscape has shifted sharply in recent weeks. Multiple Fed officials have publicly…

Bitcoin is struggling to attract fresh capital as momentum-driven traders shift their attention toward artificial intelligence stocks and anticipated IPOs. Jim Ferraioli, Director of Digital Currencies Research and Strategy at Charles Schwab, says the cryptocurrency’s recent underperformance has little to do with fading institutional demand. Instead, Ferraioli argues that bitcoin has simply lost its standing…

Streaming services are largely stepping back in June 2026, ceding primetime real estate to the FIFA World Cup, the most-watched sporting event on the planet. A handful of major exceptions are mounting a challenge, including HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” Apple TV+’s “Cape Fear,” and Hulu’s “The Bear,” which each carry significant audience expectations heading…

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) has become the first ETF in history to surpass $1 trillion in assets under management, a landmark milestone for passive investing. A $1.7 billion inflow in a single session pushed VOO above the $1 trillion threshold, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, making it the only ETF ever to…

SpaceX is moving forward with what is expected to be the largest initial public offering in history, targeting a staggering $1.77 trillion valuation at launch. The company plans to raise $75 billion in fresh capital by selling more than 555 million shares priced at $135 apiece, setting an ambitious benchmark for the offering. Only 5%…

The state of California is once again at the center of a national debate over wealth taxation, with a newly proposed billionaire tax generating fierce opposition. Critics argue the measure is poorly designed and would likely trigger an exodus of high-net-worth individuals from the state. California has long relied heavily on its wealthiest residents to…

Walmart (WMT) built one of the most impressive stock runs of the past decade, rewarding long-term investors with steady gains that outpaced much of the broader retail sector. The retail giant transformed itself from a traditional brick-and-mortar heavyweight into a technology-forward enterprise, earning a premium valuation that once rivaled some of the most celebrated growth…