the free lunch

easy reading on technology, markets and economics

Hey Sam, where is Stargate Argentina?
Sam Altman announced Stargate Argentina in partnership with energy company Sur Energy. One slight problem: Sur Energy ain't real.
Published January 13th, 2026
Tickers SPY DIA QQQ
Tags OpenAI Sam Altman Sur Energy
Big Bold Business Predictions for 2026
From artificial intelligence bailouts to market housing crashes, what predictions can we make going into 2026.
Published December 31st, 2025
Tickers VTI SPY SCHD NVDA TSLA INTC
Tags Predictions Business Housing OpenAI
Intel Custom Foundry Was Killed Already, Can the Fabs Rise Again?
Intel operated its custom foundry business for eight years before folding in 2018. What makes Intel think it can succeed a second time with Intel Foundry Services?
Published December 19th, 2025
Tickers INTC DIA
Tags Intel Foundry Custom Chips Services FPGA TSMC
Millions of Americans to Buy Into Carvana Fraud
A family operated grift is to be included in the S&P 500, triggering the automatic buying of millions of shares.
Published December 10th, 2025
Tickers CVNA SPY
Tags Carvana S&P500 DriveTime
Understanding Credit Ratings Agencies all the way from AAA to Default
What does it mean when a company has a credit rating of AAA? Who gets to decide what credit rating a business receives?
Published December 8th, 2025
Tickers MCO SPY DIA
Tags Credit Debt Rating Agency AAA Default
Comparing the Genesis Mission to the Manhattan Project
Yet Another Taxpayer Shakedown as Genesis Mission Funnels Funds into Companies Building Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure.
Published November 27th, 2025
Tickers CRWV ORCL NVDA
Tags WhiteHouse OpenAI CoreWeave Nvidia
In What Universe is Thinking Machines Lab Worth $50 Billion
We take vibe investing to a whole new level with $50 billion valuation for Thinking Machines Lab
Published November 19th, 2025
Tickers NVDA AMD SPY
Tags ThinkingMachinesLab OpenAI Nvidia AMD
Press X to Doubt Elon Musk will get his Trillion Dollar Tesla Pay Package
What's $1 trillion? Breaking down the largest ever CEO pay package and what Tesla shareholders stand to gain ... or lose.
Published November 11th, 2025
Tickers TSLA SPY
Tags Tesla Elon Musk Trillionaire
Sam Altman is Getting Desperate and it is Starting to Show
OpenAI has made commitments of over $1 trillion dollars, and has no plan on how to pay for it. Are you, the tax payer, going to foot the bill?
Published November 8th, 2025
Tickers SPY ORCL NVDA MSFT AMD AVGO
Tags OpenAI Oracle Nvidia Microsoft Sam Altman
Stock Market Crash Exit Strategy
Be prepared, not sorry. What to do in the face of a looming stock market crash with the artificial intelligence hype bubble prime to pop.
Published November 4th, 2025
Tickers NVDA PLTR TSLA
Tags Nvidia Palantir Tesla
When does OpenAI go bankrupt?
OpenAI is a private company, shielding their financials from scrutiny. What can we determine about how much money the company has, and how they are spending it?
Published October 25th, 2025
Tickers NVDA AMD ORCL CRWV
Tags OpenAI Oracle Nvidia AMD CoreWeave
Polymarket as the Future of Polling
Online gambling puts your money where your mouth is. Do platforms like Polymarket have more to say about political elections than professional pollsters?
Published October 15th, 2025
Tickers DKNG
Tags Polymarket DraftKings Politics Elections Trump
Mystery of the Missing YouTube Views
YouTube views crashed in August, and creators are scrambling to figure out why. Some fingers are pointed at Google, but the real culprit may be triggered by users themselves.
Published September 18th, 2025
Tickers GOOG
Tags Google YouTube SocialMedia Content
Is the Magnificent 7 a House of Cards?
Why is the stock market still climbing amid economic uncertainty? The answer lies in the growing dominance of big tech companies. Explore how this market concentration is impacting long-term stability and what investors should know.
Published September 15th, 2025
Tags Nvidia Apple Microsoft Meta Amazon Broadcom Tesla S&P500