DHUnplugged #822: Flying and Lying

AI leaves the building. Five days at the podium &#8211; that is it? Tesla finally takes flight&#8230; $500 toothbrush can&#8217;t handle water. LESSON &#8211; DO NOT MIX YOUR POLITICS WITH MARKETS &#160; PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts! Click HERE for Show Notes and Links DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? PayPal.Donation.Button({ env:'production', hosted_button_id:'JJJHP2GDEJC7J', image: { src:'https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donateCC_LG.gif', alt:'Donate with PayPal button', title:'PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!', } }).render('#donate-button'); Follow John S. Dvorak on X Follow Andrew Horowitz on X Warm-Up - AI leaves the building - Five days at the podium - Tesla finally takes flight - $500 toothbrush can't handle water - LESSON - DO NOT MIX YOUR POLITICS WITH MARKETS Markets - AI trade starts to crack - Two trillion deeper in debt - Hot inflation, cooler yields - Earnings face the pressure test DHU MAILING LIST! - Go to DHUnplugged.com Trump Media's fusion fizzles - DJT shares headed toward an all-time low Friday despite its pending merger with nuclear-fusion developer TAE. - TAE shareholders would receive Trump Media stock, leaving them exposed to the declining share price. - Billions in Trump's paper wealth have evaporated since the company went public. DJT Stock INFLATION WON'T LEAVE - September CPI rose 0.6%; annual inflation hit 3.7% versus 3.6% expected. - Core prices rose 0.3% versus 0.2% expected; annual core inflation reached 2.6%. - Producer prices jumped 1.3%, the biggest increase since March 2022; up 6.3% annually. - Wholesale goods prices rose 2.6%; services increased 0.8%. TWO TRILLION SHORT - Fiscal 2026 deficit reached $1.992 trillion, up $217 billion; third-largest on record. - Revenue rose 3% to $5.4 trillion. Spending increased 6% to $7.4 trillion. - Debt-service costs climbed 12% to $1.36 trillion; national debt exceeded $40 trillion. - Tariff refunds totaled $145 billion following the Supreme Court ruling; net tariff revenue fell 11%. BONDS FIND BUYERS - The 10-year Treasury ended the week near 5.10%; the 30-year near 5.44%. - The 30-year yield fell about 16 basis points, its biggest weekly decline since April 2025. - Yields declined for the week despite hotter inflation reports. AI TRADE UNRAVELS - Nasdaq suffered its worst week since June, ending a four-week winning streak. - Semiconductor ETF SOXX posted its longest losing streak in 20 years. - VIX moved above 20 as investors questioned AI spending and investment returns. - Energy, utilities and consumer staples attracted interest during the tech retreat. COREWEAVE CREDIT CRACKS</str