Business Angels funding & Venture Capital Provider, Business Management Support & Consultancy UK.

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 23:25:00 +0000

Nuclear Heavyweight Holtec Files For IPO

Nuclear Heavyweight Holtec Files For IPO

Submitted by Steffan Szumowski from The Nuclear Review

Holtec International Read more.....

Nuclear Heavyweight Holtec Files For IPO

Submitted by Steffan Szumowski from The Nuclear Review

Holtec International filed confidentially for an IPO recently with the SEC. The company alluded to the possibility of going public in 2026 earlier last year, as the nuclear renaissance has reignited investor interest in the almost forgotten nuclear industry. While the public market has only seen junior companies so far, Holtec is coming to market after being in the game for decades.

A Barron's article from June of last year estimates Holtec could be worth more than $10 billion on over $500 million of annual revenue, as the company attempts to pull off the first reactor restart in American history at the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan. The reactor restart, which has inspired multiple other restarts across the country, is one of the few things the company is known for. Yet, after decades of industry involvement, Holtec is involved in a lot more than just resurrecting nuclear reactors:

Nuclear plant decommissioning
Reactor restart
Small modular reactor development
Used nuclear fuel management
Heat transfer equipment manufacturing
Non-nuclear technologies

Nuclear plant decommissioning

Holtec Decommissioning International (HDI), a subsidiary of Holtec International, is responsible for taking a reactor plant with single or multiple reactor units on site from shutdown to as close to greenfield as possible. This involves handling the used nuclear fuel and dismantlement of radioactive systems and facilities.

HDI currently has three projects: Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey, Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts, and Indian Point Energy Center in New York. Decommissioning is further along and well past the point of no return at Oyster Creek and Pilgrim, but Indian Point was noted as a potential restart candidate by Holtec last year. Governor Hochul, even with her 5 GW new nuclear capacity target, has already come out as being against the idea of restarting Indian Point in favor of new construction projects in upstate instead.

Reactor restart

Initially announced in September of 2022, the Palisades are the first of many reactor restart efforts in the United States. Holtec purchased Palisades from Entergy in June of 2022. The DOE issued a $1.5 billion loan commitment in 2024 to support the effort and has already issued several tranches of the loan through 2025. The NRC has also created multiple novel regulatory pathways to enable the reissuance of an operator's license for the plant, along with multiple exceptions for system restorations.

Originally targeted for the end of 2025, multiple material issues, most notably with the steam generators, have pushed the restart completion out several months. Completion is now anticipated in the middle of 2026. After the plant is restored to operations, there is no indication of Holtec looking to sell the plant to a utility, so the company will own and operate the plant through its subsidiary, Holtec Palisades.�

Small modular reactor development

Holtec has been developing a small modular reactor for over ten years, initially called the SMR-160 and rated to about 160 MWe. Since then, the design was upgraded in 2023 to the SMR-300, now with a capacity of 320 MWe. The reactor is a pressurized water reactor (PWR) designed to operate with commercially available low enriched uranium (LEU). The development of their small reactor program is controlled by their wholly-owned subsidiary SMR LLC.

SMR LLC is actively pursuing deployment of their first two SMR-300s at the Palisades in Michigan, co-located with the reactor being restarted by HDI. The company has submitted a construction application to the NRC for what they call Pioneer Units 1 and 2. In addition to asking for permission to construct the new small reactors, Holtec is also requesting permission to begin construction on some non-nuclear systems at the site through a Limited Work Authorization. The initial deployment of the first two reactors in Michigan has also received government support in the form of a $400 million from the Department of Energy.�

SMR LLC has additionally led the charge for America's expansion in India. In early 2025, Holtec received permission from the US government to export the SMR-300 design to one of the biggest potential nuclear power markets outside of China. Holtec�s CEO has been quoted multiple times citing India as a major potential opportunity for them in the years ahead.

Used nuclear fuel management

Holtec is the international leader in the safe transportation and storage of used nuclear fuel. They utilize their HI-STORM and HI-STAR dry cask systems throughout the world with the highest market share compared to their competitors. As good as they are though, there are still those in politics that use baseless fear-mongering to push back against the safe handling and storage of used nuclear fuel.

New Mexico lawmakers and executives, along with the support of the oil and gas industries, threw every wrench in their toolbox at Holtec in an effort to prevent the company from establishing the HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF). The CISF was an attempt by Holtec to consolidate some of the nation's more temporary dry cask storage facilities into one location. Regardless of how safe the science proves these casks are, New Mexico locals and activists acted as if they were fighting against a company dumping scary green nuclear waste all over their backyards. Even after arguing one of the wrenches from New Mexico all the way up to the Supreme Court, which ruled in Holtec's favor, the company ended up canceling the entire project in 2025 due to exhaustion and lack of will to continue what would likely be another several years of absurd lawfare.

Heat transfer equipment manufacturing

If you have energy in one system and need to get it to another system without the two energy carriers touching each other, Holtec is there to help. Unlike a lot of their competitors that make components for just the primary system or just the secondary system, Holtec works on both sides of the radiation boundary. The company designs and fabricates water-cooled condensers, feedwater heaters, steam generators, and a variety of auxiliary plant heat exchangers.

Non-nuclear technologies

Holtec is also involved in non-nuclear systems such as solar, geothermal, and fossil fuels. Their Green Boiler is designed to replace coal plants that are being phased out. The Green Boiler is essentially a giant tank of engineered salts that are used to store energy from other production facilities such as solar farms or SMR-300 plants. The energy stored within the engineered salts can then be dispatched to the grid or other industrial processes on demand.

In summary�

Holtec is not just some brand new reactor developer walking in with a PowerPoint and a dream. The company has been around for over 40 years and is well diversified throughout the nuclear industry. One of their best features is that an extremely small amount of their business depends on the success of the nuclear renaissance.

Most of their work will remain relatively constant as the world's existing fleet of over 400 reactors continues to operate and age. These facilities will require constant attention, upgrades, and refits as the years go on. In particular, used nuclear fuel transportation, handling, and storage services will be in demand for at least the next century.

Tyler Durden Tue, 02/10/2026 - 18:25
Close

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 23:00:00 +0000

"Botched Surgeries And Misidentified Body Parts": AI Is Off To An Ugly Start In The Operating Room

"Botched Surgeries And Misidentified Body Parts": AI Is Off To An Ugly Start In The Operating Room

Artificial intelligence is spreading quickly through modern healthcare, promising to make medical tre Read more.....

"Botched Surgeries And Misidentified Body Parts": AI Is Off To An Ugly Start In The Operating Room

Artificial intelligence is spreading quickly through modern healthcare, promising to make medical treatment faster, more accurate, and more personalized. But as hospitals and manufacturers adopt the technology, safety records, lawsuits, and regulatory struggles suggest that the transition has not been smooth, a new investigation by Reuters shows.

One example involves Acclarent, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, which added machine-learning software to its TruDi Navigation System in 2021. The company described the update as �a leap forward,� saying it would help ear, nose, and throat surgeons better guide their instruments during sinus procedures.

Before the AI upgrade, the device had generated only a handful of malfunction reports. In the years that followed, however, federal regulators received more than 100 reports involving technical failures or patient injuries. At least 10 patients were reported harmed between late 2021 and 2025, many in cases where the system allegedly gave incorrect information about where surgical tools were located inside the skull.

Some of these incidents were severe. Reports described leaking spinal fluid, punctured skull bases, and strokes caused by damaged arteries. Several patients filed lawsuits, arguing that the device �was arguably safer before integrating� artificial intelligence. Manufacturers and distributors rejected those claims, insisting there is �no credible evidence� linking the AI software to the injuries.

Two Texas cases illustrate how these disputes have played out. In 2022, Erin Ralph suffered a stroke after sinus surgery in which her surgeon relied on TruDi. Her lawsuit claims the system �misled and misdirected� the doctor, who �had no idea he was anywhere near the carotid artery.� A year later, another patient, Donna Fernihough, experienced a similar injury. Her complaint alleges that Acclarent rushed the technology to market and accepted �only 80% accuracy� for some features.

Both cases remain in court, and the company has denied wrongdoing. Court records also show that one surgeon involved had financial ties to Acclarent, though the firm and the doctor�s representatives say those payments were unrelated to patient outcomes.

The Reuters piece notes that concerns about TruDi are part of a broader pattern. By 2025, the FDA had authorized more than 1,300 medical devices that use artificial intelligence, roughly twice as many as just a few years earlier. A review by researchers found that many of these products were later recalled, often within a year of approval. The recall rate for AI-based devices was about double that of similar technologies without machine learning.

Federal safety databases contain hundreds of reports involving these products. Some describe prenatal ultrasound software that �wrongly labels fetal structures,� while others involve heart monitors that allegedly failed to detect abnormal rhythms. Manufacturers have said most of these incidents did not lead to patient harm and were sometimes caused by user error or data-display problems.

Regulators warn that such reports are incomplete and cannot prove that a device caused an injury. Still, former FDA employees say the volume of AI products has strained the agency�s ability to monitor risks. Staffing cuts and recruitment difficulties have reduced the number of specialists available to evaluate complex algorithms. As one former reviewer put it, �If you don�t have the resources, things are more likely to be missed.�

Unlike pharmaceutical drugs, most medical devices are not required to undergo large clinical trials before reaching patients. Companies can often secure approval by showing that a new product resembles an older one, even if the update includes artificial intelligence. Critics argue that this system was designed for simpler technologies and may not adequately address the uncertainties introduced by machine learning.

�I think the FDA�s traditional approach to regulating medical devices is not up to the task,� said Dr. Alexander Everhart. �We�re relying on manufacturers to do a good job� I don�t know what�s in place at the FDA represents meaningful guardrails.�

At the same time, AI is moving beyond hardware into everyday medical practice. Doctors increasingly use automated tools to draft notes and manage records, while patients turn to chatbots for health advice. Physicians say these systems can save time, but they also create new risks when people rely on them instead of professional guidance.

Supporters of medical AI argue that the technology will eventually lead to better diagnoses, safer surgeries, and faster drug discovery. Critics counter that the pace of adoption has outstripped oversight.

Taken together, safety reports, legal disputes, and regulatory challenges suggest that artificial intelligence is reshaping medicine faster than institutions can adapt. While the technology offers significant potential benefits, recent experience shows that errors, oversight gaps, and unanswered questions remain part of its rapid expansion.

You can read the full piece by Reuters here.

Tyler Durden Tue, 02/10/2026 - 18:00
Close

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 22:40:00 +0000

The College Calculation Has Flipped

The College Calculation Has Flipped

Authored by Jeffrey A. Tucker via The Epoch Times (emp Read more.....

The College Calculation Has Flipped
Authored by Jeffrey A. Tucker via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Buried in new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a bearish sign for a college education, the first time we�ve seen this in 50 years. Trade workers without a college education are gaining new advantages in employment stability and even in earnings. On paper, a college degree still earns more but that edge is slipping too.

W. Scott McGill/Shutterstock

The Cleveland Fed explains: �For decades, college graduates have typically faced lower unemployment rates, found jobs faster, and experienced more stable employment than high school graduates without college experience. Combined with higher expected wages, these advantages reinforced higher education as a pathway to economic security. However, some of the long-standing job market advantages offered by having a college degree may be eroding.�

The BLS data is extremely revealing. The unemployment rate for people with no college education has dropped dramatically to 4.0 percent, while those with some college rose just as dramatically to 3.8 percent.

The trend line here is what is instructive. The obvious edge from holding a college degree seems to be slipping while those without such a degree are gaining steam. This is the first time we�ve seen this trend in half a century.

The income advantages are still there for a college education but even here, we are seeing a generational shift. The pace at which income is rising for those who choose trades has more upward energy than those without. The gap is there but narrowing.

The Washington Post explains: �The unemployment gap between workers with bachelor�s degrees and those with occupational associate�s degrees�such as plumbers, electricians and pipe fitters�flipped in 2025, leaving trade workers with a slight edge for six months out of the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It�s the first time trade workers have had a leg up since the BLS started tracking this data in the 1990s.�

It�s a bit ironic that this story was posted just days before the Post itself laid off fully one-third of its workers, a gutting of the staff of a major paper that we�ve never seen before. No question that Artificial Intelligence has something to do with it, but, then again, AI is a convenient excuse for what these institutions knew they had to do to regain something approaching profitability.

There are two additional factors at play here.

First, everyone employed in a high-end professional setting knows with absolute certainty that all major corporations are wildly overstaffed and have been for many years, even decades dating back to the advent of artificially cheap credit in 2000. After that point, the banking system subsidized leverage over real capital and earnings. The consequence was a professional hiring boom like we�ve never seen.

Over several days, I spoke to many friends who are employed in these large institutions and asked for their estimates of how much in the way of overstaffing they face. I got estimates that range from 50 to 90 percent. In other words, in their own experience, at least half the workers in large institutions do not actually add value, if they do anything at all.

This is a remarkable testimony. Recall that the �Dilbert� cartoonist Scott Adams recently died. The main import of his column was all about satirizing the sheer waste in corporate America. The amount of bureaucracy is appalling as are the endless demands for meetings, committees, compliance teams, training, and absolute make-work programs that do nothing for the consumer or the profitability of the company.

We�ve seen what has happened to high-end management over the last three years. Most corporations are laying off workers�not those who face the customer but the managerial layers. The lockdown pandemic period essentially proved that these companies might actually perform better if this layer of worker stays home and goofs off. That period essentially convinced owners (stockholders) that vast numbers of people needed to be permanently terminated.

Recall that when Elon Musk took over Twitter, his first actions concerned personnel. He ended up firing an astonishing four-fifths of the legacy employees. He just did not see the need for them. Almost immediately, the platform became better. It is a private company so we don�t have a fix on profitability metrics today but it is easily the number one news app for the world today.

That example sent a signal to the whole of the corporate world. Layoffs were just a matter of time.

The second factor concerns earnings potential of college vs. no college. There has always been a basic fallacy at work in interpreting the data. The fallacy is called Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc, Latin for: after this therefore because of this.

To be sure, a college degree is associated with higher earnings, but is that because of the degree or because of the kind of person who hangs around long enough to earn a degree, can afford a degree, or is in a profession that requires a degree? Once you correct for all these confounding issues, it is not at all clear that the data are telling the truth. Certainly it is far from the case that a degree causes one to make a high income.

Consider the costs of college beyond the outrageous financial expense. We are taking people who are at the height of their learning potential, the very time of life when becoming an adult and a great worker is at a premium, and sticking them in childish environments. College encourages terrible lifestyle choices, finding shortcuts, drugs, drinking too much, and otherwise experimenting with dangerous choices.

And the student does this for fully four years, during the most impressionable early years of adulthood, leaving graduates with no work ethic and a wildly distorted view of what life is all about. It seems nearly unfair to throw such people into professional life. They are ill-equipped.

Compare this reality with someone who leaves high school to learn a trade, whether that is welding, construction, or coding. After four years, such people already have a gigantic advantage over their peers in college. They know what it is to get to work on time, do what the boss says, achieve things, manage money, and so on, essentially skills that kids matriculating in college do not have.

Hence the real cost of college is not even the out-of-pocket expense or the debt. The actual cost is four years lost during the most important years of one�s life. And as for the actual education one receives, times have dramatically changed. You have free access to all the professors and teaching you want. With some discipline, a person with a job can obtain a PhD-level education in any field on nights and weekends with zero financial expenditure.

Looked at this way, it was only a matter of time before the advantages of declining college would become obvious. Believe me, parents are paying close attention. The main reason they spend a quarter of a million to send kids to college is to guarantee a better income in the future.

When that promise is revealed to be a false one, everything changes. Then we are only left with the social and marital advantages of college�which might be enough to keep them open for another 10 years or longer. But the shine is fading fast and the edge is getting ever more dull. The trendline in the data these days is favoring the trades over the dorm room.

Tyler Durden Tue, 02/10/2026 - 17:40
Close

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 22:20:00 +0000

"Largest Act Of Deregulation In US History": Trump Admin To Repeal Obama-Era Greenhouse Gas Finding

"Largest Act Of Deregulation In US History": Trump Admin To Repeal Obama-Era Greenhouse Gas Finding

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is about to pull the rug from underneath climate regulation...

"Largest Act Of Deregulation In US History": Trump Admin To Repeal Obama-Era Greenhouse Gas Finding

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is about to pull the rug from underneath climate regulation...

The EPA, under Lee Zeldin, plans to revoke the 2009 "endangerment finding", an Obama-era determination that six greenhouse gases �threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations� and that has anchored federal climate regulation under the Clean Air Act, according to a new Wall Street Journal report.

Bloomberg reported that the repeal could be announced as soon as Wednesday, citing an unnamed source.

Repealing the Obama-era climate finding would strip away the legal foundation�for federal greenhouse gas regulation, which has been nothing more than toxic and degrowth for the economy, while China and India expanded coal-fired generation to power manufacturing hubs.

"This amounts to the largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States," EPA head Zeldin said in an interview.

Officials say it does not directly apply to emissions rules for oil-and-gas power plants and other stationary sources, but repealing the finding could make it easier to challenge or roll back those regulations at a later date.

The rollback would be a major win for the economy, which has been burdened by years of Democrats' "climate crisis" policies, which have epically backfired as electricity rates have soared amid terrible bets on unreliable solar and wind generation and the retirement of fossil-fuel plants.

This has all collided with grid strain in the data center era, triggering a power bill crisis across Maryland and other Mid-Atlantic states.

Also, this brutally cold winter has only underscored one very important point for 'team fossil fuels': coal and natural gas have helped keep the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast power grids from collapsing in recent weeks.

"Sleep Tight, America. We Got This": NatGas And Coal Power Plants Prevented Grid Collapse During Historic Winter Blast

Since taking office, President Trump has pursued deregulation and pushed for reliable fossil fuels, telling supporters during the campaign trail, "drill, baby, drill." The goal, the president has stated over and over, is to reverse the worst inflation storm in a generation, which he blames on Democrats and their nation-killing green agenda.

On President Trump's first day of office last year, he signed an executive order directing the EPA to submit an assessment on the endangerment finding. Then by July, he received the proposal to rescind the finding.

Now, the rollback that would equal upwards of $1 trillion in cuts is set to be announced this week, along with several other energy- and climate-related announcements that will help drive down the cost of living.

"More energy drives human flourishing," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in an interview. "Energy abundance is the thing that we have to focus on, not regulating certain forms of energy out."

The U.S. economy has spent two decades under "climate crisis" regulations, and it has backfired spectacularly. Time to get back to basics.�

Tyler Durden Tue, 02/10/2026 - 17:20
Close

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Obamacare Fraud Targeted By New Federal Rule

Obamacare Fraud Targeted By New Federal Rule

Authored by Lawrence Wilson via The Epoch Tim Read more.....

Obamacare Fraud Targeted By New Federal Rule
Authored by Lawrence Wilson via The Epoch Times,

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has unveiled new regulations to strengthen the integrity of the Obamacare insurance exchanges and promote innovation.

The new federal rule, released for comment on Feb. 9, will lower the cost of health care, according to Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

�At President [Donald] Trump�s direction, [this agency] is driving down costs and rooting out fraud across our health insurance programs,� Kennedy said in a statement, predicting that the policy changes overall will reduce premiums and increase consumer choice.

Eligibility Verification

New anti-fraud regulations will require stronger enforcement of eligibility and income verification, correcting a situation that some observers say allowed unscrupulous insurance brokers to sign up millions of people for the program without their knowledge, particularly in plans with no premiums.

America�s Health Insurance Plans, the trade association for health insurance companies, has disputed that claim. However, 24 had more enrollees in Obamacare zero-premium plans in 2024 than they had qualifying residents, according to data from the think tank Paragon Health Institute.

The new regulations, once finalized, will require agents and brokers to use federally-approved forms for verifying enrollee eligibility and to obtain their consent for enrollment.

The regulations also make it clear what action a consumer must take to review and affirm their personal and eligibility information, and to signify their consent.

The rule would clarify which individuals qualify for Obamacare subsidies as �eligible noncitizens,� and would deny subsidies to those who are ineligible for Medicaid due to their immigration status.

Marketing Practices

A second program change prohibits certain marketing practices for agents and brokers who help customers sign up for Obamacare through the federal and state marketplaces.

Providing cash, cash equivalents, or monetary rebates to influence customers to enroll would be prohibited.

Also prohibited are falsely suggesting that customers would qualify for a zero-premium plan and misleading customers about enrollment deadlines.

�This proposal would ensure consumers are provided accurate information about the Exchange prior to enrollment, maintain the integrity of the exchanges, and foster trust between consumers and agents, brokers, and web-brokers,� according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Payment Tracking

The new rule seeks to create an information security protocol for enrollees of the program as of 2024 to measure improper payments in the state-based exchanges.

Fraud, waste, and abuse costs the program up to $27 billion annually by some estimates, said Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.).

�This fraud can directly impact the legitimate needs of patients, who may face denied claims or delayed care when their providers struggle to verify which insurance is valid due to the chaos created by schemes like people using stolen identities to sign up for multiple plans,� Smith said in November.

Consumer Choice

Other provisions of the rule aim to expand consumer choice and bring down prices.

The draft of the policy permits insurance companies to offer catastrophic plans with terms from one to 10 years. Currently, customers must be either under 30 years old, ineligible for a subsidy for a marketplace plan, or have a hardship or affordability exemption.

The rule would expand hardship exemptions for people aged 30 and above to make catastrophic plans more accessible.

Also, insurers would be allowed to offer Obamacare plans that do not meet the standard plan requirements. Standardized plans have the same deductibles and cost-sharing, which makes it easier to compare various plans based on price and other factors.

The change aims to give issuers more flexibility to tailor plan options to their marketplaces.

�The goal is simple: lower costs, more choice, and exchanges that work as intended,� Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a Feb. 9 statement.

The proposed regulations will be published in the Federal Register on Feb. 11 and open for comment for 30 days.

Tyler Durden Tue, 02/10/2026 - 17:00
Close

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 21:40:00 +0000

Trump Threatens To Send Second Carrier Near Iran

Trump Threatens To Send Second Carrier Near Iran

For the past week, the Pentagon's ongoing military build-up in the Middle East has grabbed world headlines amid fears President Trump is ready to do another Venezuela - but this time Read more.....

Trump Threatens To Send Second Carrier Near Iran

For the past week, the Pentagon's ongoing military build-up in the Middle East has grabbed world headlines amid fears President Trump is ready to do another Venezuela - but this time targeting a much bigger and more formidable country and its army - the Islamic Republic of Iran.

US officials have lately made clear that Trump favors a negotiated solution where the Iranians would give up their nuclear program, dilute enrichment, as well as significantly curb their long and medium-range ballistic missile arsenal.�

But already by Tuesday, Trump himself is waving the big stick again, threatening to deploy a second aircraft carrier near Iran if Oman talks don't bear fruit.

The president told Axios in a newly published interview:

"We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going," Trump said, adding that he's "thinking" about sending another aircraft carrier strike group.

Two carriers would definitely signal 'game on' for conflict with Iran.

The USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group is already poised for action in regional waters just south of Iran, and this involves dozens of fighter jets, Tomahawk missiles, along with several support warships.�

Trump took the opportunity to repeat a US ultimatum to Tehran: "Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time," he told Axios. The Iranians will no doubt have this ringing in their ears headed into a planned second round of talks next week.

But Trump still claimed that Iran "wants to make a deal very badly" and is engaging much more seriously than in the past. There are signs that this is accurate, given the latest offer to dilute its enriched uranium in exchange for the lifting of all sanctions.

The US president articulated his view that the June war taught the Iranians a huge lesson: "Last time they didn't believe I would do it," Trump said. "They overplayed their hand."

But of course, at that very moment just before Israel attacked (followed by the US bombing three nuclear sites by the close of the 12-day conflict), Iran thought it was engaged in good faith talks. Trump is still holding out hope that "We can make a great deal with Iran."

Trump reportedly said he is considering sending a second aircraft carrier near Iran.

*It would take 15-20 days for a second aircraft carrier to get ready to deploy and arrive in the region. https://t.co/gKuuPWN53C pic.twitter.com/A0xP56c9gH
� MenchOsint (@MenchOsint) February 10, 2026

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu is due in Washington Wednesday. It's something like Bibi's seventh visit, and without doubt he will push Trump for maximum force and threats against the Ayatollah. Some pundits have warned that Israel is leading the way on Iran policy, but Trump has at times shown willingness to put Netanyahu in his place - so the Israeli prime minister will have to tread carefully.

Meanwhile all the obvious things remain in Washington's max etc tool kit: the WSJ reports Tuesday the US is weighing seizing tankers (again) carrying Iranian oil in order to pressure Tehran.

Tyler Durden Tue, 02/10/2026 - 16:40
Close

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 21:20:00 +0000

Joe Rogan Reveals Details Of His Invite To Epstein Island

Joe Rogan Reveals Details Of His Invite To Epstein Island

Authored by Steve Watson via modernity.news,

Joe Rogan Reveals Details Of His Invite To Epstein Island

Authored by Steve Watson via modernity.news,

Joe Rogan has come forward to explain his appearance in the latest Jeffrey Epstein file dump, emphasizing that he�s mentioned solely because he refused to meet the convicted sex offender.

Rogan�s rejection stands in stark contrast to the ongoing associations maintained by powerful figures like Reid Hoffman and Bill Gates, fueling demands for accountability amid congressional scrutiny.

The Department of Justice released over three million pages of Epstein-related documents on January 30, more than a month after a congressionally mandated December 2025 deadline. This massive dump stems from bipartisan pressure in Congress to uncover the full extent of Epstein�s elite network, including potential blackmail and influence operations.

Central to this is the House Oversight Committee�s investigation, led by Chairman James Comer. The probe aims to question high-profile individuals tied to Epstein, with depositions and potential public testimonies designed to expose any wrongdoing or cover-ups.�

Comer has already secured agreements from Bill and Hillary Clinton to testify, and signaled that Gates is likely next, amid allegations of affairs, STDs, and deeper entanglements detailed in the files.

Epstein emailed Krauss: �I saw you did the Joe Rogan show, can you introduce me, I think he�s funny.�

Krauss responded: �I will reach out to Rogan. I think I have his email, or at least his producer�s email. He lives and works in L.A.�

But Rogan, after Googling Epstein, rejected the idea outright.

On his podcast, Rogan recounted: �I�m in the [Epstein] files for not going. One of my guests was trying to get me to meet him. I was like, �B*tch, are you high?!��

He added that upon the approach, his response was: �What the f*ck are you talking about?�

Krauss then apologized to Epstein in an email: �Sorry about Rogan so far. He seems MORE TIMID than I would have thought.�

Rogan�s decision came years after Epstein�s 2008 plea deal for sex crimes, but before his 2019 arrest. A basic search revealed the red flags that apparently escaped�or were ignored by�many in Silicon Valley and beyond.

This integrity contrasts sharply with Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn co-founder and major Democrat donor. As we previously reported in our coverage of David Sacks� expos�, Hoffman is mentioned over 2,600 times in the Epstein files.�

The records show a multiyear relationship, with Hoffman visiting Epstein�s infamous island, New York townhouse, and New Mexico ranch. They conducted deals together and referred to each other as �very good friends.�

Sacks slammed The New York Times for downplaying Hoffman�s ties while targeting right-leaning tech figures like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.

Similarly, Bill Gates faces mounting pressure. Comer confirmed Gates will likely be subpoenaed for questioning under oath, following revelations of emails alleging an affair and STD contracted via Epstein�s network. Gates� spokesperson denies the claims, but the probe presses on.

Rogan�s story highlights how everyday diligence could have derailed Epstein�s web, yet partisan protections seemingly shielded left-leaning elites.�

As the Oversight Committee�s work continues, these disclosures chip away at institutional rot, demanding equal justice regardless of political allegiance.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via�Locals�or check out our unique�merch. Follow us on X�@ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Tue, 02/10/2026 - 16:20
Close

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 20:45:01 +0000

US Consumer Debt Delinquencies Soar To Highest Since 2017 While Office Delinquencies Hit Record High

US Consumer Debt Delinquencies Soar To Highest Since 2017 While Office Delinquencies Hit Record High

It will come as a surprise to exactly nobody that the Fed's latest quarterly Household Debt and Credit report (for Q4 2025) reporte Read more.....

US Consumer Debt Delinquencies Soar To Highest Since 2017 While Office Delinquencies Hit Record High

It will come as a surprise to exactly nobody that the Fed's latest quarterly Household Debt and Credit report (for Q4 2025) reported total�household debt balances increased by $191 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, a 1% rise from 2025 Q3, to a new all-time high. Balances now stand at $18.8 trillion and have increased by $4.6 trillion since the end of 2019, just before the pandemic recession.�

This is how various debt balances changed through the quarter:�

Mortgage balances shown on consumer credit reports grew by $98 billion during the fourth quarter of 2025 and totaled $13.17 trillion at the end of December.
Balances on home equity lines of credit (HELOC) rose by $12 billion, the 15th consecutive quarterly increase.There is now $433 billion in outstanding HELOC balances, $116 billion above the low reached in 2022Q1. In total, non-housing balances increased by $81 billion, a 1.6% increase from 2025Q3.
Credit card balances rose by $44 billion during the fourth quarter and now total $1.28 trillion outstanding, up 5.5% since last year.
Student loan balances increased by $11 billion and now stand at $1.66 trillion.
Auto loan balances edged up by $12 billion to $1.66 trillion.
Other balances, which include retail cards and consumer finance loans, rose by $14 billion and now total $564 billion.

New debt originations were also solid in the quarter:

The volume of mortgage originations, which includes both refinance and purchase originations, increased with $524 billion newly originated in 2025 Q4, an uptick from the $512 billion seen in the previous quarter. It was the highest since 2022 when rates were far lower.�

There were $181 billion in new auto loans and leases appearing on credit reports during the fourth quarter, a small dip from the $184 billion observed in 2025 Q3.

Aggregate limits on credit cards continued to rise, with a $95 billion (1.6%) uptick in the fourth quarter.
Home equity lines of credit (HELOC) limits rose by $25 billion (2.5%), continuing an expansion in HELOC limits that began in 2022.

Credit quality of newly originated mortgages held steady, while auto loans loosened slightly. The median credit score for new mortgage originations was 775 in 2025Q4, unchanged from 2025 Q3�while the tenth percentile declined from 660 to 650. For auto loans, the median credit score edged down, from 724 to 716.�

Taking a closer look at some of the negative changes below the surface, delinquency rates on loans ranging from mortgages to credit cards rose to 4.8% of all outstanding US household debt in the fourth quarter, up 0.3% sine Q3 2025 and the highest level since 2017, driven by higher defaults among low-income and young borrowers.

As Bloomberg notes, while the overall share of loans in some stage of default is near pre-pandemic averages, the rise in delinquencies among the lowest earners adds to evidence of an increasingly K-shaped economy, and nowhere was it more obvious than in the case of student loans - where with the Biden repayment moratorium has been over for the past year - we have seen a tsunami of both early delinquencies, with�16.3% of student-loan debt became delinquent in Q4 the biggest increase on record in data going back to 2004...

... and serious delinquencies (effectively defaults)...

... led by 50+ year-old "students" (almost certainly of the liberal major,�blue-haired anti-ICE, variety).

The rise in defaults was also driven by delinquencies in mortgage payments, and New York Fed researchers found that they were particularly high in lower income zip codes.

�As household debt levels grow modestly, mortgage delinquencies continue to increase,� said Wilbert van der Klaauw, an economic research advisor at the New York Fed, said in a press release accompanying the figures. �Delinquency rates for mortgages are near historically normal levels, but the deterioration is concentrated in lower-income areas and in areas with declining home prices.�

The increased struggle in low-income and young borrowers� ability to pay their loans is consistent with elevated unemployment rates among some parts of the population, the NY Fed researchers added. The jobless rate for workers 16 to 24 years old stood at 10.4% in December, near the highest levels since the depths of the pandemic in 2021, and largely the result of AI disruption.�

But if the Fed is concerned about the soaring debt delinquencies now, just wait� a few years until a third of all jobs are replaced by hallucinating chat bots, and the overall unemployment rate is 15%, something we discussed earlier. At that point the question will not be whether Kevin Warsh will shrink the balance sheet - he never will - but whether the coming Universal Basic Income money printing will be measured in the trillions or quadrillions.�

But wait, there's more: because chatbot algos do not need an office - and the workers they displace no longer need an office - the spiked in post-covid office defaults is back, and according to commercial real estate specialist Trepp, the CMBS delinquency rate increased again in
January 2026, climbing 17 basis points to a record 7.47%.

The increase was driven by a net increase in delinquent loans of almost $1.6 billion, primarily driven by the office sector.� For the second straight month, three of the five major property types saw increases to their delinquency rates, while two pulled back, although the mix was different in January.

The largest rate increase was in office, which rose 103 basis points to an all-time high of 12.34%. The previous high was 11.76% back in October last year. The second largest rate increase was multifamily�s, which seesawed back up by 30 basis points in January to 6.94%,�following a decrease of similar magnitude of 34 basis points the month prior.

January�s balance of newly delinquent loans totaled just under $5.4 billion, while over $2.6 billion of delinquent loans cured over the same period, and $1.1 billion of delinquent loans�paid off, resulting in a net delinquency increase of about $1.6 billion.

The office sector was the largest net contributor to the increase in the delinquency rate,�while a large lodging loan that cured in January helped to offset some of the increase in the�headline delinquency rate.

It gets worse: if we were to include loans that are beyond their maturity date but current on interest (delinquency status of performing matured balloon), the delinquency rate would be 9.14%, up 39 basis points from December. That is also 167 basis points higher than the headline�rate of 7.47%, highlighting ongoing maturity-related stress.

Bottom line: at some point the AI revolution may well lead to a productivity revolution, but to get there the US will first go through a mass layoff wave, resulting in tens if not hundreds of millions of layoffs (a 15% unemployment rate to go with the 15% growth rate), coupled with a historic debt crisis and a collapse in virtually every commercial real estate sector while Blackstone buys up all the residential real estate it has had its eyes on for the past decade.�

Tyler Durden Tue, 02/10/2026 - 15:45
Close

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 20:25:00 +0000

Vitalik Buterin Calls For Ethereum-Led Alternative To The 'Race For AGI'

Vitalik Buterin Calls For Ethereum-Led Alternative To The 'Race For AGI'

Authored by Vismaya V via Decrypt.co,

Read more.....

Vitalik Buterin Calls For Ethereum-Led Alternative To The 'Race For AGI'
Authored by Vismaya V via Decrypt.co,

The Ethereum co-founder has outlined a four-quadrant Ethereum-AI buildout spanning private AI use, agent markets, and governance.

In brief

Vitalik Buterin said Monday the very frame of �work on AGI� is flawed and called for AI development guided by decentralization, privacy, verification, and human empowerment.

He outlined an Ethereum-linked roadmap focused on local LLMs, zero-knowledge payments for private AI API usage, and cryptographic privacy, among other key areas.

Buterin�s approach contrasts with the AGI acceleration narratives from major AI labs, focusing on safer, Ethereum-based AI coordination.

Vitalik Buterin is calling for a different path in artificial intelligence�one that rejects a blind �race to AGI� and instead relies on Ethereum-style decentralization, verification, and privacy as guardrails for the AI era.

�The frame of �work on AGI� itself contains an error,� Ethereum co-founder Buterin�wrote in a post on X�Monday, noting that the goal is often treated as an undifferentiated race where the main distinction is simply �that you get to be the one at the top.��

He compared the phrase to vaguely describing�Ethereum�as just �working in finance� or �working on computing,� saying it obscures more important questions about direction and values.

Buterin said AI and crypto are too often approached from �completely separate philosophical perspectives,� and urged builders to integrate them.�

Instead of raw acceleration, AI development should focus on systems that �foster human freedom and empowerment� and ensure �the world does not blow up,� Buterin wrote, echoing his defensive-acceleration, or d/acc, framework.

Joni Pirovich, founder and CEO of Crystal aOS, told�Decrypt, �Ethereum becoming the default settlement layer for AI-to-AI interactions is realistic.

It's less about 'accelerating AGI' and more about providing the necessary rails and guardrails for agentic commerce, trade, and investing.�

Trust and coordination, especially at the technology infrastructure and compliance infrastructure levels, are even more important now than ever.�

The comments land as major AI firms continue to publicly�push toward AGI�and superintelligence, with leading labs�describing rapid progress�in autonomous agents and advanced models.�

Buterin claims his alternative centers on safer, more verifiable infrastructure rather than larger models, outlining a practical roadmap in which Ethereum plays a central, though not exclusive, role.�

That includes local LLM tooling, zero-knowledge payments that let users call AI APIs without linking identity across requests, stronger cryptographic privacy, and client-side verification of AI services and attestations.

�Using Ethereum as an economic layer for AI-to-AI interaction is also directionally correct, but it will live mostly on rollups and app-specific L2s,� Midhun Krishna M, co-founder and CEO of LLM cost tracker�TknOps.io, told�Decrypt.�

Decentralized agent economies need programmable deposits, usage-based payments, and on-chain dispute resolution, Krishna said, adding that AI-augmented governance will require �identity, reputation, and stake-weighted accountability, not just better interfaces.�

Breaking it down

Vitalik grouped the Ethereum�AI design space into a four-part framework, illustrated as a 2x2 chart, spanning infrastructure vs. impact and survive vs. thrive outcomes.�

One quadrant centers on tooling for trustless and private AI interaction, including local LLMs, zero-knowledge payments for anonymous API calls, cryptographic privacy upgrades, and client-side verification of AI services, TEE attestations, and proofs.

Another quadrant positions Ethereum as an economic layer for AI activity, supporting API payments, bot-to-bot hiring, security deposits, on-chain dispute resolution, and AI reputation standards, such as proposed ERC-based models, aimed at enabling decentralized agent coordination rather than in-house platform control.

A third focus revives the cypherpunk �don�t trust, verify� vision through local LLM assistants that can propose transactions, audit smart contracts, interpret formal verification proofs, and interact with apps without relying on centralized interfaces.�

A fourth targets upgraded prediction markets, quadratic voting, and governance systems.

The comments echo a split that surfaced last year between Buterin and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who said his company was confident it knew how to build AGI and that AI agents could soon �join the workforce,� while�Buterin promoted crypto-based safety rails�and coordinated control mechanisms.

Tyler Durden Tue, 02/10/2026 - 15:25
Close