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Over many decades, the belief that the vast majority of Americans have never left the country and do not hold a valid passport has become deeply ingrained into certain stereotypes about the country.

That number was indeed at 17% in 2000 and just 5% in 1990. However, annual data shared by the U.S. State Department shows that it has crept steadily upward as the evolution of airfare costs has significantly democratized international travel.

The latest number is that there are currently 183 million, or between 48% and 53% of the American population, passport holders in the country. With 27.3 million of these passport issued last year, 2025 was also a record year for Americans applying for passports.

Why only 18.5% of Japanese citizens have a valid passport

The countries with the lowest passport ownership rates are generally developing nations where foreign travel is inaccessible for reasons ranging from weak currency to stringent visa requirements. But Japan has long bucked this trend as having the lowest number of citizens with passports out of all developed nations.

According to the latest Henley Index, Japan tied with South Korea and the United Arab Emirates as having the second-most powerful passport in the world.

Related: U.K. and Ireland crack down on some entry rules for travelers

Numbers released every year by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, show that 14.73 million Japanese, or 18.5% of the population, has a valid passport in 2026.

Amid a government initiative to encourage more Japanese citizens to apply for a passport and a lowered application cost, this number rose from 17.5% in 2025. However, it still remains significantly lower than in other Asian nations, such as Taiwan and South Korea, where the number is upwards of a respective 60% and 40%.

The Okinawa Prefecture is introducing a new accommodation tax amid a dramatic spike in international travelers.Shutterstock

Multiple factors keep Japanese citizens from traveling abroad

With the country also welcoming a record 42.7 million international travelers last year, Japan is in the middle of a tourism explosion that is not being reciprocated by Japanese traveling abroad at nearly the same scale.

The reasons for low Japanese travel abroad come down to a combination of a high cost of living that makes foreign travel an out-of-reach luxury for many, a work culture that does not leave much holiday time, and other cultural factors such as low foreign language skills and certain intergenerational traditions around domestic travel.

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“The reason is the same as why Americans don’t travel abroad very often,” one Japanese commenter wrote in a discussion on the subject in a Reddit forum. “Domestic travel is their main focus. Foreign countries involve language barriers, and safety concerns are higher than in Japan. This trend existed even before the yen depreciated.”

The Japanese yen hit a 40-year low earlier this year, according to CNN. Financial concerns hit a significant portion of the population and are increasingly affecting travel decisions.

While over 20 million Japanese traveled abroad in 2019, the numbers are slumping by between 28% and 35% of their pre-pandemic levels.

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When people are worried about their income, their job security, and the cost of everything from rent to food rising, they tend to become careful about spending.

“Consumer sentiment confirmed its early month reading, falling about 6% from last month and landing about 11% below a year ago amid continued worries that inflation will remain elevated for the foreseeable future,” according to University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu.

Consumers are worried, but some people are more worried than others.

“Groups who are typically less-equipped to absorb increases in cost of living also exhibited stronger decreases in sentiment, including older consumers, lower- and middle-income consumers, and those with no stock holdings,” Hsu shared.

That, however, has proven to be good news for discount retailers with dollar in their name including Dollar General and Dollar Tree.

Dollar General and Dollar Tree reported strong results

Dollar General and Dollar Tree both reported strong second-quarter results.

Dollar General’s Q2 net sales jumped 5.2% year over year to $11.3 billion, according to a company press release.

Its 3.5% same-store sales increase reflected a 2% increase in traffic and a 1.5% bump in average transaction amount.

Dollar Tree reported total sales grew 7% year over year to $4.9 billion, according to its second-quarter earnings release.

Same-store sales increased 3.7% due to a 3.3% increase in ticket and a 0.4% rise in traffic.

“Both chains have continued to attract shoppers looking for value, and Dollar General has also been seeing more middle- and higher-income customers,” according to Coresight Analyst Sujeet Naik.

Dollar General sees strength in weakness

Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos noted that his chain keeps growing its customer base.

“This marks the fifth consecutive quarter of growth in customer traffic as we continue to build on the momentum in our business with both new and existing customers,” he shared during Dollar General’s second-quarter earnings call.

He admitted a sales weakness among lower-income customers, but also believes that economic conditions will lead to more shopping by that group.

“Our core customers continue to be financially constrained with a variety of factors impacting their budget,” he said.

He believes gas prices will impact his chain’s customers’ willingness to visit Walmart, Target, Costco, and grocery chains that might be located farther away.

“As customers have continued to reduce trips and shop closer to home, Dollar General is uniquely positioned to meet their needs with more than 21,000 stores located within 5 miles of approximately 75% of the U.S. population,” he added.

GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders also saw Dollar General’s footprint as an advantage.

“The sales lift was driven by both traffic and a slight uplift in basket values,” he told RetailDive. “The former dynamic got a small boost from higher gas prices which, especially in rural areas, make the proximity and shorter drive-times of Dollar General stores a bit more attractive. We have seen this dynamic play out before and, essentially, it acts as a recruiting tool for Dollar General.” 

Dollar Tree’s and Dollar General’s large footprints help drive traffic from nearby shoppers.Shutterstock

Dollar Tree sees wealthier customers

Dollar Tree CEO Michael Creedon saw similar consumer behavior to what Vasos reported, and he talked about it during his company’s second-quarter earnings call.

“The consumer environment remains dynamic. Customers continue managing household budgets carefully, shopping with purpose and prioritizing value and affordability,” he said.

Those economic challenges, he noted, have driven wealthier customers to Dollar Tree.

“Our data shows we grew sales across all income cohorts. Households we serve were up nicely year-over-year with gains skewing to the middle and higher-income households,” he said.

Creedon noted that the challenging economy has hit lower-income customers hardest.

“First, the inflationary backdrop continues to pressure all household budgets, particularly for lower-income consumers. As our customers look for ways to stretch their dollars, they are increasingly turning to Dollar Tree for everyday essentials at compelling opening price points and pack sizes that help them manage their budgets,” he added.

Kroger, Albertsons, and regional grocery chains are the targets

Consumers have reasons to keep going to Walmart, Costco, and other discount chains for larger trips. Those chains are cheaper than traditional grocery stores, according to data from Consumer Reports’ Most and Least Expensive Supermarkets.

“Dollar Tree and Dollar General’s recent sales surge isn’t taking a bite out of Walmart or Costco. They’re going straight after the regional full-priced grocers,” RTM Nexus CEO Dominick Miserandino told TheStreet.

He thinks that traditional grocery chains face a significant problem in the current economy.

“Kroger, Albertsons, Publix, and local supermarkets are getting squeezed from both sides. Low-income shoppers are trading down to dollar stores for quick fill-in trips to manage weekly cash flow, while middle-income consumers are sliding in for basic consumables like milk, cereal, and paper towels,” he added.

Walmart and Costco, he explained, are already cheaper and provide enough value to cash-strapped consumers that it’s worth spending the gas money to get there.

“Walmart already owns the absolute low-price full basket, and Costco has a higher-income demographic locked into bulk unit economics. Neither of them is losing their core weekly trip. The dollar chains are stealing the mid-week fill-in run — the exact three-item trip for bread and detergent that traditional grocers relied on to pad their high-margin center aisles,” he shared.

Miserandino’s analysis is supported by data from Dunnhumby.

“Affordability challenges are reshaping U.S. consumer buying habits for grocery shopping, according to the latest Dunnhumby Consumer Trends Tracker (CTT). Mass-market and value retailers like Walmart, Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar have achieved 79% penetration, matching the reach of traditional supermarkets for the first time,” Retail TouchPoints reported.

ALSO READ: Costco makes bold move into beauty and self-care

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Why we love this deal

While summer offers long, warm days and bright evenings, as we move toward fall, the days get shorter and sunlight wanes. Preparing your outdoor space for shorter, cooler days is important if you want to continue to get the most out of your space, instead of ignoring your outdoor space for half the year. A nice setup with cozy lighting and a warm centerpiece can help liven up the place, making it easier to stay outside for longer.  

If you need an affordable option to light up your patio, the Aodledy 50-Foot Remote-Controlled Patio Lights are a great choice. At 52% off, they’re long enough to cover a good portion of your outdoor space, and affordable enough to buy more if you need it. Shoppers can get this set of lights for just $14 at Amazon.

Aodledy 50-Foot Remote-Controlled Patio Lights, $14 (was $30) at Amazon

Courtesy pf Amazon

Shop at Amazon

Why do shoppers love it?

These lights feature 40 feet of lighting, including 19 lights and a replacement bulb, and a 10-foot plug that can easily reach an outdoor outlet without having to use extension cords. The bulbs are plastic, preventing shattering in any weather, and the whole set is waterproof, so it can be left out even in harsh conditions. They use 24-volt energy-saving lights that can be dimmed if needed, offering any type of lighting for your outdoor activities, whether you’re playing games or just relaxing. 

Related: Walmart’s $75 fire pit can be used as a table and a beverage tub

The lights feature three modes, including steady lighting, breath, and flash for different types of gatherings, and a lighting timer. It can be controlled via the included remote, making it easy to turn on or change without having to get up, allowing you to turn them off whenever you’re done, instead of using solar options that stay on all night and may irritate your sleep if they shine through your window. They are easily installed using tacks to hang them up, or specific light hangers that keep them in place during windy conditions. They can also be sat on the ground to line the patio or steps, or wrapped around your deck bannister for a fun and easy vibe.

Details to know

Length: This set has 40 feet of lights plus a 10-foot cord for convenience.  

Modes: This set can be dimmed and features three visual modes, including steady on, breath, and flash. 

Weatherproof: These lights are waterproof and shatterproof, allowing you to use them in all weather. 

“These lights are perfect,” said one reviewer. “The bulbs are plastic, so you don’t have to worry about them shattering. They light up our camping canopy perfectly. They’re bright enough to sit and play cards at night, and they dim as well. It’s a great product with great value. I would definitely recommend them.”

Another shopper said, “These are great quality and look great. I love the quality, appearance, and ambiance it creates on my patio.”

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Jmexsuss 50-Piece Hanging Light Hooks, $10 at Amazon

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Joomer 65-Foot Solar Outdoor String Globe Lights, $14 (was $24) at Amazon

Whether you need bright light for outdoor games after dark, or want a cozy vibe to relax to, the Aodledy 50-Foot Remote-Controlled Patio Lights offer dimmable, remote-controlled lights that allow you to use your deck whenever you want. They’re easy, affordable, and offer different settings for any occasion. At just $14, this is a great set to stock up on for the whole house, whether you want more light by the front door, garage, or backyard. 

For many companies, timing their biggest product launches right before earnings is no accident. Two days ahead of its fiscal third report, Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) used a conference in Las Vegas, an event most investors ignore, to unveil a sweeping AI governance platform.

The timing matters less than what the announcement reveals about a bet Broadcom has already made with its balance sheet.

That conference was VMware Explore 2026 in Las Vegas. Broadcom has run the VMware business since its $69 billion acquisition closed in 2023, and it has mostly used the platform to sell software bundles to existing enterprise customers. This week, the pitch changed.

Broadcom introduced VMware Private AI Cloud, a platform meant to let companies run AI inference and autonomous software agents inside their own data centers instead of renting capacity from a public cloud provider, according to a Broadcom press release.

That distinction is important. Most of the AI infrastructure story so far has centered on hyperscalers building bigger data centers and chip suppliers financing that buildout.

Broadcom just told the market that a larger share of AI demand may never touch hyperscalers at all.

Broadcom estimates that 56% of enterprises are already running or planning to run production AI inference on a private cloud, according to the company’s announcement.

That figure is the real thesis behind this week’s reveal. A majority of large companies want AI running on infrastructure they control, not infrastructure they rent from someone else.

Broadcom’s AgentMinder governs autonomous AI agents

Broadcom paired the private cloud pitch with tools built to police AI agents, not just run them. VMware AI Factory can run more than 150 open-source and commercial models, and it works with accelerator hardware from Nvidia and AMD, the company said.

Broadcom also introduced AgentMinder, a system built to track and restrain what autonomous AI agents can do inside a company’s systems. It’s a feature most enterprises would be interested in.

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According to Broadcom CIO Alan Davidson, the tool provides “chain of custody capabilities between developers and multiple agents” across the company’s own operations.

Dell, HPE, and Nvidia’s own enterprise reference architecture have pitched similar on-premises AI stacks for two years, with limited uptake.

So what does Broadcom have that they don’t? VMware’s installed base: Tens of thousands of enterprises already running vSphere and vSAN won’t need to rip out infrastructure to adopt a new platform.

Broadcom unveiled VMware Private AI Cloud two days before its Q3 earnings.SOPA Images / Getty Images

Broadcom stock heads into earnings already moving

Broadcom shares closed at $370.34 on Aug. 31, up 0.42% for the day. The stock trades well below its all-time closing high of $480.77, set in June, reflecting a broader pullback in AI infrastructure names since early summer.

The bigger event lands Wednesday, Sept. 2. Broadcom reports fiscal third-quarter results after market close that day, and analysts expect adjusted earnings of $3.24 per share on revenue near $29.4 billion, up from $15.95 billion a year earlier, according to a consensus estimate reported by Seeking Alpha.

Investors are also watching a separate story. Broadcom is negotiating with lenders to raise up to $80 billion in debt to help finance AI chip deployments for companies including Anthropic, according to CNBC.

Broadcom’s strategy at a glance:

More than 150 open source and commercial AI models can run on VMware AI Factory, giving enterprises flexibility to switch providers without rebuilding infrastructure.

Certification with servers from Cisco, Dell, Supermicro, and Lenovo means companies can deploy the platform without replacing existing hardware vendors.

A financing arrangement worth up to $80 billion in debt, reported by CNBC, would fund AI chip deployment for external customers such as Anthropic, separate from the enterprise software push.

Broadcom deal finances custom AI chips

Most of the market’s attention on Broadcom sits with the debt financing story, because the numbers are enormous and the structure is unusual. That deal, routed through a special purpose vehicle, finances custom chips for a handful of AI labs racing to build frontier models.

This concentration risk is precisely why the enterprise push matters. It gives Broadcom a second, more diversified AI revenue stream that doesn’t depend on a handful of frontier labs remaining solvent.

The VMware announcement is a different bet aimed at a different customer. It targets the much larger and more conservative pool of enterprises that run payroll and manage customer data, not frontier models, and that have spent decades worrying about compliance and control.

The AI infrastructure story has mostly been told as a conversation between chimakers and hyperscalers.

Broadcom’s VMware push is a bet that a third group, the ordinary enterprise, ends up mattering just as much to how AI actually gets deployed.

If that bet pays off, the winners in AI won’t only be the companies with the biggest data centers. They will be the ones that gain access to normal sectors by making private AI infrastructure boring enough for a bank, hospital, or insurer to trust.

Related: BMO sees writing on the wall for Broadcom stock after earnings

MongoDB Inc. will report its Q2 2027 earnings after the market close on Sept. 1, 2026, offering clues into how this database giant is holding up in the face of market-wide malaise with software names.

Here are the numbers that analysts are looking for after the market closes:

Revenue: $733.68 million

Earnings per share: $1.61

Live updates will be published here as they come available. This page will update automatically with the latest updates.

Credo Technology Group will report earnings after the market close on Sept. 1, 2026, offering fresh insights into how the producer of high-speed connectivity products is benefiting from the boom in AI infrastructure spending.

Here are the mean results that analysts are looking for, per LSEG:

Revenue: $471.77 million

Earnings per share: $1.17

Live updates will be published here as results come available. This page will update automatically with updates.

Tesla has had a rough year by its own standards. Profits are shrinking, cash flow has turned negative, and the stock has trailed nearly every one of its Magnificent 7 peers.

A new policy out of Washington has nothing to do with cars, robots, or chips, yet it could still hand Tesla’s energy business a real opening.

President’s power grid order could benefit Tesla energy storage

On Aug. 26, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency and signed an executive order aimed at keeping foreign-made equipment off the U.S. power grid, Utility Dive reported.

The order covers transformers, inverters, battery storage systems, circuit breakers, generators, turbines, and the software that runs them. Cybersecurity and sabotage risks were cited as the rationale.

Any transaction involving equipment from a “Covered Foreign Entity” after Aug. 26 falls under the restrictions. The Department of Energy now has up to 180 days to spell out exactly which countries, companies, and products are covered, according to the White House.

Until that rule lands, utilities are left guessing about the order’s full scope.

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The order also reaches equipment already installed across the grid. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been directed to identify existing foreign-made equipment that poses risks. He must also recommend remedies, which could range from additional monitoring to outright removal, giving utilities an incentive to start lining up domestic alternatives now rather than later, Utility Dive reported.

China’s dominance in key underlying supply chains makes the stakes clearer. The country accounts for roughly 80% of global lithium-ion battery production capacity and 85% of solar manufacturing capacity.

This means that any serious push toward domestic sourcing could have significant implications for energy developers and the utilities powering the U.S. grid, Quartz reported.

Why Tesla’s energy business could be a winner

Tesla is one of a handful of U.S. companies with an existing, at-scale grid battery storage product, which is why analysts see it as a potential beneficiary of the policy shift. The company’s Energy Generation and Storage business has become its fastest-growing major segment, and Wall Street has increasingly built that growth into its valuation models, Fox Business reported.

RBC’s own sum-of-the-parts model for Tesla assigned 15% of the company’s valuation to Megapack energy storage, alongside 52% for Robotaxis and 27% for full self-driving software, with the traditional car business making up just 6%, TheStreet reported.

That weighting shows how far Tesla’s own investor base has already shifted away from thinking of it purely as an automaker.

Demand for that storage capacity has been climbing independent of any policy change. UBS analyst Joseph Spak projected 15.1 gigawatt-hours of energy storage deployment in the first quarter alone at the time, up 45% year over year, driven by grid upgrades and AI data center demand, even as the same analyst kept a Sell rating on the stock overall, according to TheStreet.

A separate 25-gigawatt-hour Megapack supply deal with NatPower, announced ahead of Tesla’s second-quarter earnings, further reinforced energy storage as one of the company’s more established growth engines.

Tesla’s supply chain complicates the clean domestic-winner narrative. The company has reportedly committed to sourcing at least 20 gigawatt-hours of battery cells from China’s CATL for stationary storage between 2026 and 2028, representing roughly 30% of Tesla Energy’s projected cell needs.

This shows that Tesla is not entirely insulated from the same foreign-sourcing questions the executive order is meant to address.

Whatever tailwind the grid order provides will need to work against a genuinely difficult year for Tesla stock.Xiaolu/Getty Images

Tesla’s stock still has a rough 2026 to explain

Tesla shares were up roughly 12% over the past 12 months but have fallen nearly 18% so far in 2026, while badly trailing the S&P 500’s roughly 12% year to date. Shares have remained roughly 26% below their all-time high of $498.83, set in December 2025, according to Barchart.

Tesla’s second-quarter 2026 earnings, released July 22, explain why. Revenue climbed 26% year over year to a record $28.24 billion, beating Wall Street estimates, yet the stock still fell roughly 5% the next session as profitability came in far weaker than expected, Barchart noted.

Free cash flow went negative $1.09 billion for the quarter. A year earlier it was positive $146 million. The first quarter of 2026 had come in at positive $1.44 billion. That reversal in three quarters, not the revenue beat, is the number that spooked investors, according to Barchart.

Some of Tesla’s reported net income also reflects unrealized SpaceX equity gains, rather than cash the business actually generated.

Capital expenditures told the same story from a different angle. Spending jumped 142% year over year to $5.79 billion, up from $2.39 billion in the prior-year quarter. This reflects the scale of Tesla’s simultaneous bets on Robotaxis, humanoid robots, and semiconductor manufacturing, Utility Dive reported.

What Tesla investors should watch next

The executive order is best treated as a potential long-term tailwind rather than an immediate catalyst. The Department of Energy’s rulemaking process will not conclude for months, and any resulting shift in utility purchasing habits toward domestic suppliers will take additional time to translate to Tesla’s actual order backlog.

The more immediate signal to track is whether Megapack deployment growth continues to outpace the rest of Tesla’s business in upcoming quarterly reports, since that is the segment most directly positioned to benefit if utilities start favoring U.S.-linked suppliers.

Investors should also watch how quickly the Department of Energy names specific covered entities, since a narrow list would blunt the policy’s practical impact on Tesla’s addressable market.

Tesla’s next earnings report, expected in October, will be the first real opportunity to see whether energy storage bookings show any measurable shift tied to the new rules, or whether the order remains mostly a headline-level opportunity layered on top of a business still working through a difficult year on the car side.

Related: Morgan Stanley sends a blunt Tesla message to investors

Henry Price Hodges never made it to Boston.

Hodges, 50, a musical instrument dealer from Southampton, England, paid £13, or about $63 at the time, for a second-class ticket to America, where he planned to visit family.

While onboard the doomed ship, Hodges wrote what would become his final letter to his friend, Hector Young of the Newtown Conservative Association in Southampton.

He mailed it from Queenstown, now known as Cobh, Ireland, the Titanic’s final port of call before heading into the North Atlantic.

“We have had a fine time up to now,” Hodges wrote. “You do not notice anything of the movement of the ship, but the weather is very fine. On the top deck there are about 200 boys (from 20 upwards) marching round & singing, others are playing dominoes & cards in the saloons, some reading, some writing, everything is quite different to what you would expect to see at sea.”

Hodges ended the letter, written on official Titanic letterhead: “I feel as tired as a dead dog.”

Five days later, the Titanic struck an iceberg shortly before midnight and sank in the early hours of April 15. Roughly 1,500 people died, including Hodges, whose body was later found and buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

More than a century later, Hodges’ letter sold for a record £60,000 ($82,000) at an auction held July 26 by Henry Aldridge & Son, exceeding its initial estimate of £35,000.

‘A historically priceless snapshot’

“The letter itself was written by a second-class passenger so very rare indeed,” Andrew Aldridge, managing director and auctioneer, told The Telegraph. “But it is a record price for an onboard letter written by a second-class passenger.” 

“This letter gives us a historically priceless snapshot into what life was like on board the most famous ship ever to take to the seas, for a second-class passenger.” 

UK: RMS Titanic being fitted out at Harland and Wolf Shipyard, Belfast, 1911-1912. (Photo by: Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)Pictures from History/Getty Images

Hodges describes the ship and fellow passengers and how they passed the time, Aldridge added, noting that “a little over four days, later the Titanic was lying at the bottom of the North Atlantic.”

The sale is the latest example of the extraordinary prices Titanic memorabilia can command more than 114 years after the ship sank, as time and tragedy turn common items into treasures.

In April, a Patek Philippe pocket watch belonging to John Jacob Astor IV, the richest passenger on the vessel, sold for $1.024 million, while a gold pencil case belonging to Astor sold for $204,800.

A separate Waltham gold pocket watch recovered from Astor’s body sold for nearly $1.5 million in April 2024.

And on Nov. 22, 2025, an 18-karat gold pocket watch belonging to Isidor Straus, the co-owner of Macy’s department store who perished with his wife, Ida, became the most valuable Titanic artifact ever sold at auction, fetching £1.78 million, or about $2.3 million.

James Cameron’s 1997 film became the first movie to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide, introducing the Titanic story to a new generation. But interest in the disaster started almost immediately after the ship sank. 

“The continuing appeal of the Titanic is best explained by the way in which the story has passed from history into myth,” said Richard Howells, Emeritus Professor of Cultural Sociology at King’s College London, and author of The Myth of the Titanic. 

‘An incredible story’

“Its mythical significance transcends its historical importance. By obtaining a Titanic artifact, you are buying a physical connection with a myth.”

Interest in the Titanic became a commercial reality within days of the sinking, Howells said, noting that “it was a myth transmitted by popular culture stretching back to 1912.”

“There was money to be made from the start,” he said. 

Howells said that genuine artifacts are harder to obtain — for obvious reasons — “and therefore hugely expensive.” 

“There is a vigorous ethical debate about artifact retrieval from the wreck site,” he said.

Over the past century, Titanic memorabilia, including letters, personal possessions and survivor items, has passed through public auctions.

“It’s such an incredible story — if it weren’t true, we would not believe it,” said Stephanie Barczewski, chair of the Department of History and Geography at Clemson University. “The world’s largest and most luxurious ship hits an iceberg and sinks on its maiden voyage? Really?”

Barczewski, author of Titanic: A Night Remembered, said the disaster “reminds human beings of our limitations, despite all of our technological advancements” and “that aspect of it gets more relevant all the time.”

“Most of all, that 2 hours and 40 minutes that elapses between the collision and the final disappearance of the stern beneath the waves allows many, many things to happen, involving all facets — from noble to craven — of human behavior,” she said. “That’s very unusual for a shipwreck. The Lusitania, for example, takes only 18 minutes to sink.”

“Most of the famous episodes from the Titanic story occur in that time frame. It’s what makes the story really distinctive.”

The wreck of the Titanic was found on Sept. 1, 1985, on the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean, about 370 miles southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.

RMS Titanic Inc., which was granted salvor-in-possession rights to the wreck site in 1994, has conducted multiple research and recovery expeditions and says more than 5,500 artifacts have been recovered from the official wreck site.

However, the company ran into a legal obstacle recently when a federal judge blocked a plan to auction off artifacts after the U.S. government and preservationists raised concerns about the sale and the company’s care of the items, according to The Washington Post.

The company proposed auctioning more than 100 items, including gem-studded jewelry, tableware and a bronze cherub that once adorned the vessel’s grand staircase.

‘The Titanic is always news’

RMS Titanic Inc. argued that the artifacts were not subject to the court’s jurisdiction, but U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith rejected that argument and ruled that any sale would require court approval.

She also raised concerns about the condition of RMS Titanic’s collection, citing the company’s “financial difficulties,” and ordered that an inventory of the artifacts and their condition be filed with the court.

RMS Titanic Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Henry Aldridge & Son has scheduled an upcoming sale in November featuring an artifact known as “The Titanic Ring,” which belonged to first-class passenger and fashion designer Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon.

She survived the disaster with her husband, Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, aboard Lifeboat 1, which carried only 12 people despite a capacity of 40. Newspapers subsequently dubbed it the “Money Boat.”

Barczewski said that the enduring fascination with the Titanic story, which shows no sign of abating, “means that there will be a continuing appetite for artifacts related to the ship and the sinking.”

“Some people will view these sales as the desecration of a gravesite, but the desire to own a piece of the world’s most famous shipwreck means that there will continue to be plenty of buyers and sellers,” she said.

Howells shares that opinion.

“I don’t see interest in the Titanic fading,” he said.  “The Titanic is always news.”

SpaceX (SPCX) has hogged the spotlight since its blockbuster June IPO.

Its stock was priced at $135, opened at $150, and closed day one at $160.95 before skyrocketing to a record $225.64 four days later, according to CNBC. After sliding to $143.69, the stock remains around 6% higher than its offer price and surged 33% in August, while its moves pulled smaller space stocks into sector-wide swings.

That said, Bank of America analysts have now identified two alternatives that might offer investors a different route into the boom.

BofA analysts led by Ronald Epstein argue that the space economy is no longer functioning purely as a launch story. Acquisitions are effectively turning specialized contractors into vertically integrated platforms covering rockets, satellites, communications, and defense technology.

The diversity in sales smooths out the long gaps between launches and government awards.

National security spending also has a critical demand engine. Space Force constellations and Golden Dome contracts are creating larger backlogs, while NASA’s renewed lunar push is creating fresh openings for landers, satellite buses, and commercial stations. 

Nevertheless, that backlog alone isn’t enough. Solid execution, program profitability, and the ability to integrate acquisitions separate the potential winners from the rest. 

That leaves a couple of Buy-rated names with major upside potential as investors look for less-expensive SpaceX alternatives. 

Rocket Lab (RKLB) and Voyager Technologies (VOYG) are two of the stocks BofA sees as remarkably diversified platforms, but the numbers behind its calls tell two different stories.

Rocket Lab: BofA sees an end-to-end platform taking shape

Rocket Lab headlines the list of SpaceX stock alternatives in BofA’s pair. The company operates an end-to-end model, launching Electron, a larger Neutron rocket, and satellites through its Space Systems division. 

For that reason, BofA analysts slapped a Buy rating on the stock, with a $110 price target, trimmed from $115. Based on its price in the report of $64.39, the target indicates a 71% upside.

SpaceX:

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JPMorgan resets SpaceX price target after earnings

Visibility is at the core of the bull case.

National security and Space Systems awards drove the company’s backlog to a record $2.36 billion, up a remarkable 28% year to date as of Q3 2026. Moreover, Rocket Lab won a $397 million Space Force satellite award, $160 million in geostationary contracts, and a $266 million launch contract for up to 18 missions. These wins lower its dependence on a single launch cadence.

On top of that, the planned Iridium acquisition further bolsters the bull case. Iridium is expected to add services in secure communications and in positioning, navigation, and timing, while its constellation creates internal demand for Neutron launches.

From a strategic standpoint, Rocket Lab is looking to own more of the value chain, from components and spacecraft to launch and applications.

At the same time, BofA’s valuation captures the opportunity and uncertainty. The $110 target uses a long-term DCF through 2045, a 12% discount rate, and equal weightings for the bull, base, and bear cases. The bank also bumped its 2026 through 2028 revenue estimates to $977 million, $1.54 billion, and $2.25 billion.

It’s important to note that Neutron’s potential Q4 2026 demonstration, according to SpaceFlightNow, is on a tight timetable. The upside assumes Rocket Lab converts vertical integration into cash flow before dilution and development chips away at the benefit.

BofA recommends Rocket Lab and Voyager as two alternatives to SpaceX stock.Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images

Voyager: BofA sees acquisitions turning ambition into scale

Voyager Technologies is less of a launch competitor and more of a space-infrastructure player and a defense platform.

It supplies critical propulsion and space technologies, participates in human spaceflight through Starlab, and has added lunar spacecraft and infrastructure through its recent acquisition of Astrobotic.

BofA reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and raised its price target to $45 from $39. Against the report’s $34.29 price, that points to a remarkable 31% upside.

BofA’s bull case for the stock rests on accelerating defense demand and portfolio diversification. Q2 bookings surged to $113 million, up 150% sequentially, resulting in a 2.1x book-to-bill ratio.

Voyager secured $84.3 million of Golden Dome awards, finishing with an eye-popping $335 million backlog. Also, its RTX contract for SM-3 missile technology solidifies its position in the expansion of defense programs.

Astrobotic switches up its growth profile. BofA expects the acquisition to contribute $45 million of sales in the second half of 2026 and nearly $200 million in 2027, layering in lunar exposure alongside Starlab and defense technology. The bank is now forecasting sales of $291 million in 2026, $581 million in 2027, and $1.13 billion in 2028, all above its previous estimates.

In addition, BofA’s target applies a five-times 2027 enterprise-value-to-sales multiple, excluding Starlab, which is down considerably from the previous seven times, but is applied to a larger business that includes Astrobotic. 

However, the catch remains profitability. 

BofA expects losses of $2.75, $1.35, and $0.90 per share through 2028, which means Voyager still offers multiple growth options, but investors are underwriting sales well before margin proof.

What BofA’s space picks mean for SpaceX investors 

BofA’s endorsement of Rocket Lab and Voyager doesn’t exactly weaken the SpaceX thesis, but it does change the benchmark somewhat.

Both stocks identified by BofA show that capital might no longer be concentrated in the launcher, and contracts and investor dollars can continue to reward specialized platforms, which creates alternatives. 

One of the big issues for SpaceX investors is valuation. 

SPCX stock trades at 1,631.91 times forward non-GAAP earnings compared to 13.70 for the sector, an 11,814% premium, according to Seeking Alpha. Its 1,162.54 forward GAAP multiple compares with just 15. These ratios underscore tiny near-term earnings relative to our incredibly lofty ambitions.

Competitor expansion can help. 

An ecosystem that broadens out government and commercial spending validates a relatively speculative space as an investable asset class, thereby lifting valuations.

However, it also creates benchmark risk.

According to BofA, Rocket Lab and Voyager both offer 31% to 71% target upside while being pitted against backlogs, sales multiples, and cash-flow paths. If acquisitions translate into faster revenue growth, investors might want to rotate toward cheaper, more measurable growth.

SpaceX is still the scale leader, but the sector is entering a phase of comparison. At four-digit forward multiples, narrative dominance is insufficient.

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America’s largest airline just made an announcement that has nothing to do with flights, upgrades, or loyalty points.

It is about money. Specifically, free money for the children of its workers.

American Airlines said on Aug. 31 that it will match the federal government’s $1,000 Trump Accounts contribution with an additional $1,000 of its own for eligible employees’ children.

The commitment, shared exclusively with CNBC, makes American Airlines the latest major employer to join a growing list of companies backing the savings program.

What American Airlines just committed to Trump Accounts

American Airlines employs nearly 140,000 people globally. The company said thousands of its employees’ children could qualify for the employer match.

“At American Airlines, our purpose is to care for people on life’s journey, and that includes helping our team members build a strong financial future for themselves and their families,” CEO Robert Isom told CNBC.

The move puts American Airlines alongside Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which have also committed to matching the government’s $1,000 seed contribution in full. More than 50 companies have now committed to Trump Account contributions for their workers, according to the Treasury Department.

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“It is encouraging to see our nation’s leading companies, including American Airlines, supporting this effort by offering matching contributions for their employees,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC.

American Airlines also plans to let eligible workers make pretax payroll contributions to their children’s accounts beginning in 2027, once Treasury finalizes the applicable rules. About one-third of the airline’s workforce is expected to have access to that option. The annual pretax contribution limit would be $2,500.

How Trump Accounts work and who qualifies

Trump Accounts, formally known as 530A accounts, are tax-deferred investment accounts for children under age 18. Parents, grandparents, and other contributors can add up to $5,000 per year until the year before a child turns 18.

The federal $1,000 seed contribution is available to children born between 2025 and 2028. About 1.4 million children already enrolled in Trump Accounts qualify for that federal deposit, according to the Treasury Department.

The American Airlines employer match is separate from the federal contribution. An eligible employee with a qualifying child could start with a $2,000 balance: $1,000 from the government and $1,000 from the company, before making any personal contributions.

The benefit has moving parts. A child has to fall within the federal birth-year window. The employer match may come with its own conditions the airline has not yet spelled out. The pretax payroll option is only for certain workers. Final Treasury rules will fill in the details that are still missing.

The American Airlines employer match is separate from the federal contribution. Momo/Getty Images

What the employer match could mean for your money

A $2,000 starting balance is not a large number on its own. Left alone over time, it becomes more interesting.

At a hypothetical 6% average annual return, $2,000 invested at birth grows to roughly $5,700 by age 18. Actual returns are never guaranteed, and account values can rise or fall depending on what the account holds.

The bigger opportunity is what happens when a family contributes regularly on top of the initial balance. A household that starts with $2,000 and adds $2,500 per year for 18 years could accumulate more than $80,000 at a hypothetical 6% annual return. That calculation depends on sustained contributions and investment performance, neither of which are guaranteed.

Financial advisers generally recommend enrolling in an account when an employer or government match is on the table, even if a family cannot contribute much beyond that. The match is free money. Leaving it unclaimed is a straightforward loss.

What American Airlines employees should do next

The pretax payroll contribution option is not available yet. American Airlines expects that part of the benefit will roll out in 2027 after Treasury rules are finalized. The employer match timing has not been specified beyond the company’s announcement.

The pretax payroll option is not live yet. Watch for official benefit communications from American Airlines and guidance from the Treasury as 2027 approaches. Check whether your child qualifies under the federal birth-year rules. Determine whether the employer match applies to your role. And look at how the account invests before you put money in.

Trump Accounts are not the only child savings option. A 529 plan is generally focused on education expenses. A custodial investment account has no contribution limits or restrictions on use.

Trump Accounts are designed as long-term investment vehicles with broader potential uses than a 529, but the final rules governing withdrawals are still being written.

For American Airlines employees with young children, the immediate priority is straightforward: Understand the benefit, confirm eligibility, and don’t leave the employer match sitting on the table.

Related: New proposal could limit your child’s Trump Account options