Monday 8 June 2026

[1] Ireland is implementing a new policy for companies looking to build data centers in the country: B.Y.O.P. or Bring Your Own Power (not to be confused with B.Y.O.B., the Irish have enough Guinness for everyone).

Big tech built so many data centers that around a fifth of the power supply is being consumed by these facilities - more than all the domestic homes combined.

Companies looking to build data centers in the country will now be required to generate the electricity that is required to operate them, mostly from renewable sources. This will further increase the cost of building these assets, which adds to the already pricey AI buildout that tech companies are planning for the next two years. The return on investment remains, to us, doubtful.

There is also a growing public backlash to data centers, with 71% of Americans opposing seeing one built in their own area. Worries are spreading to other parts of the world as well, with India and Mexico noting concerns regarding not only electricity consumption, but water as well.

Ireland will certainly not want to alienate big tech, considering US tech companies accounted for 22% of the government’s tax revenues in 2024. With some of the lowest corporate tax rates in Europe, companies such as Microsoft, Pfizer and Meta all have staked a major presence in the country.

[2] Roland Garros ended in spectacular fashion with 19-year old Mirra Andreeva beating Maja Chwalinska 6-3, 6-2 to grab her first major title. The Russian ended a fairytale run for Maja. The 24 year old southpaw went through qualifying to earn her spot in the tournament, but the Russian youngster was simply too good.

Alexander Zverev (who commentators call Sascha, which is the Russian nickname for the name Alexander. His family is of Russian decent and his dad, who is also his coach, is named Alexander as well, so they call him Sascha to differentiate) beat Flavio Cobolli in the men’s final on Sunday. Court Philippe-Chatrier is adorned with the words “Victory belongs to the most tenacious”, which in this case was not true. Cobolli fought tooth and nail after losing the first set 6-1 and played a stunning game of tennis. In the end, the German was simply too good, with Zverev taking home his first slam.

[3] Brian McClain ran a Ponzi Scheme with imaginary cattle (a Ponzi Scheme is a investment structure that pays existing investors with funds from new investors and is illegal. The biggest Ponzi was ran by Bernie Madoff who, at one time, was Chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, a reminder to question authority).

McClain used a $50 million bank loan and $120 million of funds raised from the public, including friends, to defraud investors through fake transactions and by claiming to have 80,000 animals. When lenders checked in (after four years of extending credit), they counted 8,916. He ran an estimated $2 billion of transactions to build his “ghost herd”. His scheme came apart in April 2023 when a local truck dealer who had invested around $650,000 insisted on repayment. The rancher killed himself before the law could arrive. Now, everyone involved is suing each other. The lender bank, the investors, bankruptcy trustee and the McClain family are all fighting as details of the scheme continues to emerge. Risk-free investment does not exist and money is, generally, made over long periods of time. Also, if something sounds to good to be true, it usually is.

[4] On Friday, markets wobbled. The SP500 slipped 2.64% with the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropping 4.18%. Early Monday morning, the Asian markets followed suit with the KOSPI (essentially the South Korean SP500) down more than 6.5% as of 07:25 Monday morning. With bad news coming from Iran over the weekend, this week will certainly be interesting.

[5] Cuba is best known for cigars and missiles which look like big cigars (see Cuban missile crisis). America continues to deepen sanctions on the island, resulting in international companies pulling out of the country. Most recently, both Visa and Mastercard have suspended transactions for non-American visitors while Spanish hotel giants, Iberostar and Melia, said they are pulling out of managing at least a dozen hotels each. This is another example of the Trump administrations seemingly flippant approach to diplomacy.

[6] America released strong jobs data on Friday, which made a rate hike more likely. Kevin Warsh, the new Fed chair, will have a difficult decision to make.

On the one hand, you have sound economic and financial principals, which dictates a rate hike when the economy is growing to quickly (strong job numbers is an indicator of inflationary pressure, more people with jobs means more people have money to spend on goods). On the other hand, you have Donald Trump, who needs to pay down enormous government debt and who repeatedly called Jerome Powell, the previous Fed Chain, a “moron” for not cutting rates (ironic, Mr. Trump). Higher rates means higher interest payments for the US Government, which spends more money on interest than on any other line item in the budget (more than military spending and healthcare!).

[7] Xi Jinping, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is visiting North Korea. China is worried about North Korea’s ties to Russia. The regime in Pyongyang has sent troops and weapons to support Russia’s war in Ukraine (the North Korean soldiers arrived on the Russian front-lines with limited training and unlimited access to the internet for the first time. You can imagine what a group of military aged men did when they first received unfiltered access to the internet, with various sources reporting a distracted but highly… energetic group of soldier. The US Department of War responded by stating that they were unable to verify “any North Korean internet habits or extracurriculars in Russia”).

In any case, Mr. Xi is unlikely to spoil the North Korean mood regarding their nuclear program. While America is bogged down in the Middle East, it would be prudent to keep an eye on the East.

[8] Investors will be watching the JSE at open, with the market’s previous close on Friday afternoon not yet accounting for the sell-off in the US and Asia. Expected results this week include Omnia, PPC, Sygnia and Spar.

[9] President Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Sunday evening following a spate of xenophobic attacks in the country. Back in 2008, similar protests saw 50,000 people displaced and 60 deaths. The President announced a crackdown on undocumented migrants in the country and reiterated that citizens should not take the law into their own hands. South Africa is not alone in a widening global backlash against immigrants. In Germany, the far-right AfD party has capitalized on voter anxiety and in the UK, immigration has become one of the nation’s most combustible political issues.

[10] Meta is considering raising tens of billions of dollars in a stock offering to fund Zuckerberg’s vast ambitions in AI, following the launch of Google’s record $85 billion share deal this week. Following the FT’s report over its talks of equity fundraising, Meta shares were down 7% at a stage on Friday, closing down 5.5%.

Big tech is scrambling for capital to build out AI infrastructure, adding to the confluence of factors that make the US market look very flimsy to DNF. This will no doubt be a busy and fascinating week on the global financial and political stage, we look forward to covering it.

Have a good Monday!

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