Hottest Stock Markets, AI Myths, Terrorist In The Brain, Epic World Cup, Luxury Lounge Wars

Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as the hottest stock markets, AI myths, terrorist in the brain, this epic World Cup, luxury lounge wars, Mag 7 losing, AI not killing jobs, lifelong runners forced to quit, most stunning beaches, the best photography and Thailand links and of course always all of the most important developments in the crazy world of frequent flyer miles and points at the lower half of the post. And much more. Enjoy the weekend.

 

Blog Mission: To Educate. Entertain. Inspire. In That Order!

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This blog started way back in 2012 focusing on my crazy hobby addiction of traveling with frequent flyer miles, hotel and bank points. It has since evolved to curated posts featuring the best web content along with my commentary.

 

BLOG HOUSEKEEPING

This is truly a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it while it lasts.

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

 

“When you feel grateful, you become great, and eventually attract great things.” – Plato

 

MUST READ GEMS 

I really like the posts with a bunch of facts and I usually post several of them in my annual Best Of series each December/January. And then I realized the trend may have morphed into doing semi annual Best Of posts. Each fact has the source linked.

Facts From 1H26

Nearly 40% of years have seen a total return for the S&P 500 above 20%.

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund holds, on average, roughly a 1.5% stake in every publicly listed company in the world.

An estimated $17 billion was stolen in crypto scams and fraud in 2025 (1,400% year-over-year growth). AI-enabled scams were 4.5x more profitable than traditional scams.

In 2017, Americans legally bet $4.9 billion on sports. In 2025, it was over $160 billion.

“Google raised just $26M (~$60M in today’s terms) before becoming profitable, while Meta raised about $480M (~$800M today). OpenAI is projected to burn through a staggering $115B before it even hopes to reach free cash flow profitability in 2030.”

The state of Wyoming only has 2 escalators.

Global suicide rates have declined by 29% from 2000 to 2021.

 

PERSONAL FINANCE

Another good history lesson: The Hottest Stock Markets Lead to the Biggest Losses.

…a relative handful of elite stocks, headed by Apple, Nvidia and Microsoft, churned out spectacular returns that accounted for nearly all the profits for investors over the entire century. At the same time, more than 96 percent of the stock market did virtually nothing for investors. The vast majority of stocks couldn’t even match the 3.3 percent average return of one-month Treasury bills — a return you could get month by month over the 100 years through 2025 without taking any appreciable risk.

It turns out that the combined losses of the 10 companies at the bottom of the list accounted for less than 1 percent of all the wealth destruction in the stock market over the century. By comparison, the top 10 companies — including Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and other heavyweights — accounted for 29 percent of all wealth creation over 100 years.

Wasn’t it just recently that you could do no wrong if you invested all your money into the Mag 7 stocks? Ok, never do that, always diversify! And, amazingly, just like that we have a complete reversal: The Mag 7 is Losing? as “The S&P 493 is destroying the Mag 7 so far in 2026“.

As of July 4, 2026

 

TECH/SCAMS/CRYPTO

I learned a new word this week: Nomophobia. It is the fear of being without your phone. Which is really becoming the phobia of the 21st century.

This…

 

AI

Interesting takes here: 5 Myths About AI’s Economic Impact, and What the Data Actually Shows.

Myth 1: AI Can Never Be Profitable

Myth 2: AI Is Behind the Productivity Boom

Myth 3: AI Isn’t a Major Contributor to the US GDP Growth

Myth 4: If AI Is a Bubble, Then It Will Have No Durable Economic Impact

Myth 5: If AI Succeeds, Then Workers Are Doomed

Actually, on the #5 myth above, is the tide really turning on this? We can finally say AI isn’t killing jobs. For the sake of our children, let’s hope so.

Key Takeaways:
  • Firms that adopt AI grow headcount 10.2% over the two years following adoption, but these gains are entirely driven by high-intensity adopters. Low-intensity adopters see no statistically significant change.
  • Entry-level headcount grew even faster. At the companies making the largest AI investments, entry-level headcount grew 12% over the two years following adoption.
  • AI adoption and the associated gains are unevenly distributed. AI adopters are already larger, more engineering-intensive, more likely to be venture-backed, and faster-growing than non-adopters. These firms then grow faster upon adoption.

 

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4 Comments

  1. Hey Buzz-

    1. That kitchen-Wow! Did you use a designer? The lights and windows really make it so classy!

    2. What exactly is a high-intensity adopter? Does Anchor make them?

    3. Loved the article on why the game is less fun these days. As we had lunch at the Morgan Library last May. I wondered what ol’ JP would think about Chase lounges today. Opiate of the masses indeed.

  2. What a kitchen! WOW! Looks just great.

    Great links today … The story about the white line on the side of the road
    was truly wonderful.

    Having the world cup here was really neat. I think many eyes were openned.

  3. OK, today I decided to just read the new updated version since I get both versions and I will get used to it. I must adapt. It takes me a few days to slowly enjoy all the wonderful links and please always remember that I, and I am sure everyone else, really appreciates the effort you go to in order for us to enjoy your post.

    The kitchen looks great! It’s huge, too! Glad your wife is enjoying her new retired status. It’s been over 18 years for me and I am glad every day I don’t have to go to work!

    Thanks as always! Still trying to dope out my next travels as it seems like every time I start to do so something else crops up, but I press onward.

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