David Merkel @AlephBlog

The two main goals: teaching investors about better investing through risk control, and tying all of the markets into a coherent whole. alephblog.com Baltimore, Maryland Joined March 2010

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

16 hours ago

Michael Saylor faces a bitcoin dilemma with no easy way out moneyweb.co.za/moneyweb-crypt… All efforts to buy bitcoin are now negative arbitrages. Markets abhor perpetual motion machines. $MSTR's own actions pushed bitcoin's price over its equilibrium level. Now you are trapped.

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

a day ago

The Social Security Trustees Report: It Could Have Been (Even) Worse aei.org/articles/the-s… I have argued for a while that the assumptions are too rosy. Benefits get cut in 2032.

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

a day ago

New report: Insurance companies more exposed to the embattled private-credit industry than their financial disclosures reflect wsj.com/finance/invest… The ratings on private credit are the real issue. Lending to the funds is relatively safe; losses would have to be >30% to lose

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

2 days ago

Tobacco Bond Prices Slide After Nassau County Triggers First-Ever Default bloomberg.com/news/articles/… The money goes up in smoke...

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

2 days ago

Wall Street Banks Sell Risky Loans as Investor Demand Rebounds bloomberg.com/news/articles/… Under ordinary circumstances you should avoid these sorts of deals; they typically don't perform well.

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

2 days ago

SpaceX Just Needs the Money [What this year of humongous IPOs says about the tech industry] theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/06/… If you need a LOT of money, get it while you can. It won't always be so cheap. There's a difference between liquidity locked in companies & that held by investors

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

2 days ago

Why Companies Are Cutting Middle Managers in the AI Era bloomberg.com/news/articles/… Might work if everything you do has no exceptions. Will be interesting to see what failures it generates.

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

3 days ago

Citadel: the hedge fund that became an energy giant ft.com/content/3d0842… The cleverness of Ken Griffin as he hired the most valuable employees of bankrupt Enron, and created a commodities empire that ranks among the largest in terms of profits.

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

3 days ago

The Cloud Has Sound: The Unrelenting and Unseen Cost of A.I. Data Centers nytimes.com/2026/06/17/us/… An unrelenting low thrum of noise 24/7. Don't know what to do about ultrasensitive people, though. Laws can't reflect the tail of the distribution.

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

3 days ago

A Growing Number of Americans Are Seeking Residency and Citizenship Abroad—Here's Where They're Going cntraveler.com/story/a-growin… Prior to Trump, the US would have been on this list, which helps measure how free we are, but no more.

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

3 days ago

Arizona emerges as test case for AI's energy and water crunch axios.com/2026/06/18/ari… Air-cooling datacenters when water is scarce.

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

3 days ago

Morgan Stanley Pitches Clients on a New Market for Data Center Loans theinformation.com/articles/morga… This would introduce an asset-liability mismatch. Maybe do leveraged loans against the chips, but use long-term debt for everything else. $MS

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

3 days ago

Can Strategy pull out of its death spiral? It’s a Stretch . . . ft.com/content/7d55be… Time to issue common to redeem Stretch at a discount. $MSTR

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

3 days ago

Do US insurers arbitrage capital regulations with private ratings? ft.com/content/35a547… Generally correct, but the problem is far more serious than they make it sound. You could see a lot of Iowa-regulated life insurers go into insolvency.

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

3 days ago

State Farm rolled out the red carpet for its sales force at a Las Vegas convention. Then the chief executive dropped a bombshell, telling agents he was ripping up their existing contracts wsj.com/finance/state-… Bye, State Farm. You have violated what made you unique & successful

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

3 days ago

@0TulsiGabbard2 E. As a Reagan Republican, and one that worked with Wall Street, we all knew that Trump was a fraud from the start. He is a combination of incompetence and malice.

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

3 days ago

What’s the SpaceX index trade and why do some think it is virtually a guarantee of free money? James Mackintosh explains wsj.com/finance/stocks… Those that bought $SPCX early will get sunk by an ocean of issuance.

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

3 days ago

The media is saturated with dire findings about the risks of sun exposure. Lost in the noise are the undeniable health benefits of catching rays. wsj.com/arts-culture/b… On the dangers of not getting enough sunlight. As a kid, I got teased about how light my skin was.

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

3 days ago

China has built a near-constant naval presence on all sides of Taiwan. See how Beijing is tightening the noose on the island it claims as its own. wsj.com/world/china/ho… Taiwan will eventually become a nation of its own. Or, it might become the 51st state.

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David Merkel @AlephBlog

3 days ago

SK Hynix Tops Samsung to Become South Korea’s Most Valuable Company wsj.com/tech/sk-hynix-… Astounding. Samsung does many thigs well, but they aren't mostly memory chips like SK Hynix and Micron.