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Today's Topics:
1. The warning signs the AI bubble is about to burst
(Stephen Loosley)
2. Trump says U.S. will not approve solar or wind power projects
(Stephen Loosley)
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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2025 22:11:47 +0930
From: Stephen Loosley <[email protected]>
To: "link" <[email protected]>
Subject: [LINK] The warning signs the AI bubble is about to burst
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
The warning signs the AI bubble is about to burst
Shock sell-off after study warns most investments in artificial intelligence
get zero returns
By Matthew Field Senior Tech Reporter 20 August 2025
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/306a41e3f107c539
?When will the internet bubble burst?? the cover story of Barron?s asked on
March 20 2000. ?That unpleasant popping sound is likely to be heard before the
end of this year.?
In fact, that same day, one of the most high-profile tech businesses of the
moment suffered a share price plunge of 60pc. A flood of other collapses
followed, evaporating trillions of dollars.
Now, some on Wall Street fear that ?unpleasant popping sound? may be imminent
for the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
On Tuesday, tech stocks suffered a shock sell-off after a report from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers warned that the vast
majority of AI investments were yielding ?zero return? for businesses.
?Despite $30-40bn (?22-30bn) in enterprise investment into Gen[erative]AI, this
report uncovers a surprising result in that 95pc of organisations are getting
zero return,? MIT academics wrote.
Shares in Nvidia ? the $4tn company that has powered the AI boom ? dropped by
3.5pc, while data giant Palantir fell by 9pc.
MIT?s findings threaten to be the pin that pops the tech stock market bubble,
which has added trillions of dollars to the value of US stocks.
Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, Silicon Valley has been evangelical that
AI chatbots will transform the economy. Executives have spent billions on tools
for their staff as a result and predicted massive cost-savings.
But the promised AI revolution has stalled, MIT?s report suggested.
After surveying 150 business leaders and 350 employees, MIT found that ?just
5pc of integrated AI pilots are extracting millions in value, while the vast
majority remain stuck with no measurable P&L [profit and loss] impact?.
?Sounds about right for a bubble,? said Marko Kolanovic, former head of
research at JP Morgan.
MIT also found that despite widespread investment in AI software, half of
projects ended in failure. It said 80pc of companies had explored AI technology
but just 40pc deployed it.
It added that ?enterprise grade systems? were being ?quietly rejected? by major
businesses and only ?20pc reached pilot stage and just 5pc reached production?.
The report, from the US university?s Nanda AI project, went on to argue that
many employees in fact want to use AI but are turning to consumer products such
as ChatGPT on their own dime, rather than relying on expensive or unwieldy
corporate AI tools.
The report insisted that ?AI is already transforming work, just not through
official channels? ? but its headline finding that nearly all investment by
businesses is going to waste could not have landed at a more delicate moment.
Despite being one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom ? with investors
reportedly exploring a $500bn valuation for his start-up OpenAI ? Sam Altman
last weekend refused to dismiss concerns that tech stocks are in a bubble.
?Are investors overexcited? My opinion is yes,? the ChatGPT chief executive
told reporters at a private dinner, adding that some people stood to lose a
?phenomenal amount of money?.
Investors fear that one of those losers could be SoftBank, the Japanese tech
giant that has invested billions in OpenAI. Its shares fell by 7pc on Tuesday.
Days earlier, OpenAI underwhelmed observers with the launch of its much-hyped
ChatGPT-5 model. Many users were disappointed and urged the company to bring
back its earlier technology. The gains of the new chatbot have been, in the
opinion of many users, incremental at best.
The stakes in all of this are incredibly high. Morgan Stanley has predicted
that data centre investment will reach $3tn over the next three years, heavily
fuelled by debt. Almost all of that capacity is intended to fuel an expected
surge in AI use.
Another prediction from the bank this week argued that AI would add $16tn to
the S&P 500 thanks to a 40pc saving in salary costs driven by job cuts and
efficiencies. If MIT?s report is correct, such savings may be unrealistic.
In a sign that even true believers think the AI market may be out over its
skis, Meta this week announced a reorganisation of its AI division that will
see it downsize its headcount, the New York Times reported.
Mark Zuckerberg, the company?s founder, has been one of the splashiest spenders
in the market to date, throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at AI engineers
in an effort to lure them to Meta.
Despite the jitters, this week?s sell-off has yet to shift from a market
correction to a market rout. Some believe it is merely a speed bump.
Dan Ives, a technology analyst at Wedbush Securities, said in a note: ?Skeptics
of tech rally will be proven wrong (again).?
Next week, Nvidia ? the world?s largest company by valuation ? will report its
results and could shed light on the state of AI investment by some of the
world?s biggest companies. Its profits and revenues have beat Wall Street
forecasts nearly every quarter over the last two years.
?In our view the tech bull cycle will be well intact at least for another two
to three years,? Ives said.
Still, ears are now straining for the ominous sound of a pop.
--
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2025 22:29:33 +0930
From: Stephen Loosley <[email protected]>
To: "link" <[email protected]>
Subject: [LINK] Trump says U.S. will not approve solar or wind power
projects
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Trump says U.S. will not approve solar or wind power projects
By Spencer Kimball Published Wed, Aug 20 2025
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/20/trump-says-us-will-not-approve-solar-or-wind-power-projects.html
Key Points
* President Donald Trump said the U.S. will not approve wind or solar power
projects.
* Trump has tightened federal permitting for renewables with Interior Secretary
Doug Burgum now having the final say.
* Renewable companies fear that projects will no longer receive permits that
were once normal course of business.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his administration will not approve
solar or wind power projects, even as electricity demand is outpacing the
supply in some parts of the U.S.
?We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar,? Trump, who has
complained in the past that solar takes up too much land, posted on Truth
Social.
?The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!?
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115061417084982814
The president?s comment comes after the administration tightened federal
permitting for renewables last month. The permitting process is now centralized
in Interior Secretary Doug Burgum?s office.
Renewable companies fear that projects will no longer receive permits that were
once normal course of business. The president?s comments Wednesday will likely
heighten those concerns.
Trump blamed renewables for rising electricity prices in the U.S. Prices have
risen on the nation?s largest grid, PJM Interconnection, as rapidly growing
demand from data centers and other industries faces a tight power supply as
resources such as coal plants are retired.
PJM Interconnection saw prices for new power capacity rise 22% compared to last
year in an auction held last month. PJM covers 13 states across the
Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest and South.
But solar and battery storage are the power sources that can ease the
supply-and-demand gap the quickest, as they make up an overwhelming majority of
the projects in line to connect to the grid, according to data from Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory.
Trump has launched a sweeping attack on renewables since taking office. His One
Big Beautiful Bill Act terminates the investment and production tax credits for
wind and solar by the end of 2027. Those credits have played a key role in the
expansion of renewable energy in the U.S...
--
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