1. QQQ Closes Below 50-Day First Time Since November 2023
Showed S&P Yesterday…QQQ and SPY below 50day.
2. FANG+ ETF Closes Below 50day
3. Samsung Ships More Smartphones than Apple
Chartr Blog
Samsung retakes the smartphone crown – Sherwood News
4. Foxconn Funnels $690m into Mexico
A major Amazon and Nvidia supplier has found the new AI hot spot
Google, Microsoft, and others rely on technology from Taiwan’s Foxconn for their AI developments
ByMorgan Haefner
For many, hearing the name Foxconn immediately brings to mind iPhone production. It’s true, the Taiwanese company is a major producer of Apple’s smartphones and other products. But it also makes something companies like Nvidia, Amazon, and more are in high demand of: AI-related hardware. And Big Tech companies in the U.S. would like that hardware to come from Mexico and not China, thank you very much.
Foxconn has listened to those demands, and has made major AI investments in Mexico. The world’s largest contract electronics maker has funneled $690 million into the country in the past four years, according to the Wall Street Journal. Just this February, Foxconn picked up a slice of land in the western state of Jalisco for $27 million to facilitate a major expansion of its AI server production, people familiar with the plan told the Journal.
Why Mexico?
In the race to build the latest and greatest AI technology, the biggest tech companies in the U.S. — Nvidia, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft — are using Foxconn’s facilities in Mexico to help meet their AI server needs, according to the report. It’s part of a larger trend called “friendshoring” or “nearshoring.” That’s a geopolitical buzzword that describes the practice of running supply chains only through countries that are close political partners.
In this specific case, Big Tech companies are trying to make sure less of their supply chains rely on China, a growing political frenemy of the U.S. The shift is also a consequence of the 2020 free trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, that has persuaded manufacturers to invest in those countries instead of China.
Mexico has emerged as the lucrative investment for these operations, and it’s already shuffling up global trade. Data released last month showed that for the first time in two decades, U.S. imports from Mexico surpassed those from China, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
https://qz.com/foxconn-ai-nvidia-amazon-google-microsoft-mexico-1851377598
5. Publicly Traded Real Estate REITs are Worst Performing Sector for 5 Years
With rate cuts fading….XLRE SPDR real estate etf closes back below 200-day
6. Sell-Offs Leading into Tax Day Common Since 1985
7. Assets Invested in ETFs in U.S. Reach Record of $8.87 Trillion at End of Q1 2024
Nasdaq.com
Highlights
- Highlights
- Assets invested in the ETFs industry in the United States reached a new record of $8.87 Tn at the end of Q1 2024 beating the previous record of $8.54 Tn at the end of February 2024.
- Assets invested in the ETFs industry in the US have increased 9.3% YTD in 2024, going from $8.11 Tn at end of 2023 to $8.87 Tn.
- Net inflows of $103.17 Bn in March.
- YTD net inflows of $232.18 Bn are the second highest on record, the highest recorded YTD net inflows were $252.22 Bn in 2021 and the third highest YTD net inflows wer $196.75 Bn in 2022.
- 23rd month of consecutive net inflows.
8. 323 Drugs in Short Supply 2024
Kevin Drum Blog
A record number of drugs are in short supply
https://jabberwocking.com/a-record-number-of-drugs-are-in-short-supply/
9. Fast Food Inflation
| @Charlie Bilello Fast Food Isn’t Cheap Anymore |
| According to FinanceBuzz, the average price of 10 menu items at McDonald’s has doubled over the last decade, rising more than any other major fast food company. The reported inflation rate over the past 10 years: 31%. |
Here are the 10 McDonald’s menu items and their price increases over the last 10 years…
10. Research Shows Coffee Has 3 Health Benefits That Will Make You Want to Drink More
EXPERT OPINION BY MARCEL SCHWANTES, INC. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR AND FOUNDER, LEADERSHIP FROM THE CORE @MARCELSCHWANTES
These health benefits from drinking coffee may be news to many of us.
Most of us coffee drinkers probably know the benefits of coffee, right? Sure, there’s the flavor of a perfectly made flat white–a benefit to your grateful taste buds.
Most of us also know that coffee obviously makes us more alert, so we get off to a great start at work. To get a little scientific, a comprehensive review of around a hundred studies found that caffeine, the most active ingredient in coffee, is known to:
- Increase energy levels
- Reduce tiredness
- Help with short-term memory, problem-solving, decision-making, and concentration
What’s going on in the brain, exactly? Well, I’m no scientist, but let me pretend to be one for this article. Caffeine stops adenosine, a brain chemical that makes you sleepy and relaxed. It also boosts dopamine and norepinephrine, two other brain chemicals that help you feel more awake and energetic. According to actual scientists, this is why caffeine has the effects mentioned earlier. And why we are so very thankful for it.
But there’s more, and this is where it gets interesting.
When I scoped out the research, I was impressed by the other types of benefits coffee can give you, which most of us probably don’t know. Let me share a few that may inspire your current affection (or addiction) for coffee:
Coffee may reduce the risk of a stroke
Yep. One study published in the journal Circulation aimed to explore the possible connection between coffee intake and stroke risk among women. The researchers looked at data from more than 83,000 women. They tracked their coffee consumption habits and monitored stroke incidents over a period of time.
Researchers found that moderate coffee consumption was not linked to a higher risk of stroke among women. In fact, women who drank moderate amounts daily were found to reduce the risk of stroke by 20 percent, as compared with women who didn’t drink coffee at all! The key here was moderation; excessive coffee consumption was not found to provide any additional benefits and could actually harm one’s health.
Coffee may also cut down your risk of cancer and diabetes
The University of Catania in Italy conducted a comprehensive “superstudy” combining the results of 127 random trials and observational studies on coffee’s effects on human health.
As reported in The Washington Post, the results of this superstudy suggest that coffee consumption can lower the risk of common cancers (like breast, colorectal, colon, endometrial, and prostate) by 2 to 20 percent, depending on the type of cancer. Coffee also appears to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 5 percent and Type 2 diabetes and Parkinson’s disease by around 30 percent. Moreover, people who drink coffee seem to have a lower death rate. Who doesn’t want to live longer?
Coffee may decrease your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease
Research has shown that coffee consumption can positively affect fat storage and gut health, which can help you lose weight. In fact, a review of 12 studies found that men who increased their coffee intake experienced a reduction in body fat. Similarly, a study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that women who consumed more coffee had lower levels of body fat.
And if exercising to lose weight is a problem, there’s hope. Another study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that people who have one to two cups of coffee a day are 17 percent more likely to hit their exercise goals compared with those who drink less than one cup.
That reminds me, I gotta get my third cup of coffee after sending this off to my editor. Happy drinking!
Research Shows Coffee Has 3 Health Benefits That Will Make You Want to Drink More