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Greg Abel took over as Berkshire Hathaway’s chief executive on January 1, and he wasted very little time in rewriting the conglomerate’s investment playbook. In the first quarter alone, he exited 16 positions entirely, shrinking the portfolio from 42 holdings to 29, according to Berkshire’s first quarter 2026 13F-HR filing with the SEC on May 15, 2026.Abel concentrated the bulk of that capital in a single stock, Alphabet, the parent of Google, offering an early read on his approach.Inside Abel’s multibillion-dollar Alphabet bet at Berkshire HathawayAbel’s Alphabet accumulation unfolded in two phases, each one escalating Berkshire’s commitment to a level that Buffett’s era never approached with a single technology company.During the first quarter, Berkshire more than tripled its stake in Alphabet’s Class A shares and opened a new position in its Class C shares, bringing the combined holding to nearly 58 million shares, valued at approximately $17 billion by the end of March, according to the same Q1 2026 13F filing.Then, on June 1, Alphabet announced an $80 billion equity capital raise to fund its artificial intelligence infrastructure, and Berkshire stepped in as anchor investor with a $10 billion private placement, Alphabet’s SEC filing showed. That deal split evenly between $5 billion in Class A stock at $351.81 per share and $5 billion in Class C stock at $348.20 per share, a roughly 6.5% discount to Alphabet’s closing price that day.Combined with the open-market purchases, Berkshire’s total Alphabet position now exceeds $29 billion, making it among the portfolio’s five largest holdings, alongside Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Bank of America, and displacing Chevron from the top five.Abel’s selling spree ran parallel to the Alphabet buildupThe Alphabet buildup came alongside one of the most aggressive spates of selling in Berkshire’s modern history. Abel fully exited Domino’s, Amazon, Visa, Mastercard, UnitedHealth Group, and 11 other positions in the first quarter, Fortune reported.Several of those exits trace back to the departure of portfolio manager Todd Combs, who left Berkshire for JPMorgan. Abel told the Wall Street Journal in April that he sold the stocks Combs had managed, which explains the breadth of the first-quarter selling spree.The Domino’s exit stands out because Buffett himself built that 3.35-million-share position over six consecutive quarters, with no prior signal that the stake was temporary. In total, Berkshire was a net seller of roughly $8 billion in equities during the quarter, purchasing about $16 billion while offloading approximately $24 billion, Yahoo Finance reported.

Berkshire’s massive stock selloff coincided with its Alphabet accumulation as Greg Abel reshaped the portfolio following Todd Combs’ departure.Bloomberg/Getty Images

Buffett and Munger’s two-decade Google regret fuels Abel’s convictionAbel’s aggressive positioning has a backstory that stretches to Google’s 2004 initial public offering, which was priced at $85 per share. Alphabet stock has gained more than 13,300% since its debut, and for most of that run, Berkshire owned none of it.Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman, called missing Google one of Berkshire’s most shameful investing misses.But I feel like a horse’s ass for not identifying Google [now part of Alphabet] better. I think Warren feels the same way. … We could see in our own operations how well that Google advertising was working. And we just sat there sucking our thumbs…,Buffett publicly acknowledged the missed opportunity at the 2017 annual shareholder meeting. He explained that Berkshire’s subsidiary GEICO had been paying Google $10 to $11 per click for advertising, which gave him firsthand visibility into the business model’s strength.Alphabet’s AI-powered earnings growth supports the Berkshire thesisThe timing of Abel’s bet aligns with financial results that would appeal to any value-oriented investor. Alphabet reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $109.9 billion, a 22% year-over-year increase, with earnings per share surging 82% to $5.11, the company’s earnings release showed.Google Cloud, the division most directly tied to Alphabet’s artificial intelligence push, delivered $20 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, a 63% year-over-year jump. Cloud backlog nearly doubled to more than $460 billion, signaling sustained enterprise demand for AI infrastructure.More Warren Buffett:Buffett’s $400 billion war chest stays on the sidelinesWarren Buffett has a message on energy prices for all AmericansWarren Buffett’s Berkshire sends jarring signal to stock buyers”2026 is off to a terrific start. Our AI investments and full-stack approach are lighting up every part of the business,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said in the earnings release, as search revenue grew 19%, with queries hitting an all-time high.Google’s search engine commands approximately 90% of global internet search traffic, a dominance that gives Alphabet extraordinary advertising pricing power. Combined with YouTube, that moat fits the profile of durable competitive advantages that both Buffett and Abel have historically favored.What Abel’s Alphabet investment signals for Berkshire’s future directionAbel appears willing to concentrate Berkshire’s portfolio in fewer higher conviction positions, and he is not avoiding technology the way his predecessor did for decades.CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert has suggested that Abel’s background as an operator may lead him to consolidate Berkshire’s units to achieve greater scale and efficiency. Steven Check, president of Check Capital Management, has echoed that view, expecting more consolidation under Abel than under Buffett.Buffett himself has publicly endorsed the new pace. He told CNBC in early June that Abel had executed the $6.8 billion Taylor Morrison acquisition faster and more smoothly than Buffett himself could have, and without any input from Buffett, a public endorsement of Abel’s early tempo as CEO.Alphabet shares traded at approximately $357 as of July 1, and the stock has risen nearly 89% over the past 12 months, according to Robinhood.  With Berkshire still holding nearly $400 billion in cash, Abel’s spending spree may only be getting started.Related: Warren Buffett’s successor Greg Abel makes another $10 billion bet

Think about the one account you would never gamble with. Not your checking balance, but the money that, if it vanished, would ruin you. You keep it somewhere boring and safe, somewhere it can’t be quietly drained while you sleep.Countries run on the same instinct, except their safes hold trillions. For roughly 80 years, the answer to where the world parks that money has been almost automatic. You buy U.S. dollars. You buy U.S. government debt. You trust that the largest economy on earth will always be good for it.That trust is why Washington can borrow enormous sums cheaply, and why the dollar in your wallet still carries weight in nearly every airport on the planet. The arrangement has survived wars, recessions, and three generations of doubters who kept predicting its end.This week the people who actually manage those reserves said something they have never said before. For the first time, more of the world’s central banks plan to cut their dollar holdings over the next decade than add to them, an annual survey found, according to the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF).

Gold is quietly beating the dollar in the world’s vaults.OsakaWayne Studios / Getty Images

What the central bank survey actually foundThe survey covered 90 central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and public pension funds that together manage about $10 trillion, the report found, according to OMFIF. Across 12 earlier editions, the dollar had always come out on top. More managers wanted to add it than drop it. This year that balance flipped.The reason they gave was not a stronger rival currency. It was risk. Respondents pointed to political uncertainty in the United States and rising geopolitical tension as reasons to spread their bets, the survey found. Nearly four in five expect the global financial system to keep splintering into a more multipolar shape, with no single currency calling every shot.More Economic Analysis:JPMorgan doubles down on economy, inflation outlookBessent drops a bombshell on Iran oil, dollarAnalysts warn Hormuz relief falls short of what economy needsWhen I lined the OMFIF results up against the latest reserve data, the shift looked less like a stampede and more like a slow, deliberate turn. The dollar still makes up 56.77% of the world’s allocated reserves, down from a peak above 70% in the late 1990s, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Nobody is running for the exits. They are quietly trimming.The trim is broad, too, not the work of one or two rebels. The same survey found central banks racing to adopt artificial intelligence (AI), with more than two-thirds planning to expand its use and not a single advanced-economy central bank satisfied with what it has now. The dollar question is the headline, but the mood beneath it is a whole profession bracing for a different world.The oddest part is that the dollar is not even weak right now. It has gained roughly 3% in 2026 even as managers map out their exit, the survey found. This is not a market reacting to a crash. It is a plan being written for the next 10 years.Related: Kiyosaki escalates urgent warning about value of dollarWhy central banks are walking away from the dollarThe motive traces back to a single decision. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Western governments froze roughly $300 billion of Russian reserves held abroad. Every other central bank absorbed the same lesson at the same moment. Money held in dollars can be switched off by the country that prints it.Gold cannot be switched off, which is why it has become the off-ramp of choice. The metal now makes up 27% of official reserves against 22% for U.S. Treasuries, the first time gold has held the larger share since 1996, the European Central Bank found. The numbers behind the turn are worth seeing in one place.The dollar held 56.77% of allocated reserves at the end of 2025, down from above 70% in the late 1990s, according to the IMF.Gold reached 27% of official reserves versus 22% for U.S. Treasuries, its first lead since 1996, the European Central Bank reported.74% of central banks expect the dollar’s reserve share to shrink within five years, the World Gold Council found.A net 30% of reserve managers plan to add gold over the next one to two years, according to OMFIF. Where the money goes next is messier. Managers still want more euros and Chinese renminbi, but they flagged structural problems in both that keep either from replacing the dollar wholesale, the survey found. So the cash is scattering into smaller corners instead, with fresh interest in the British pound, the Norwegian krone, and the New Zealand dollar.What a weaker dollar means for your moneyHere is where a reserve manager’s spreadsheet reaches your kitchen table. Washington funds its deficits by selling Treasuries, and for decades foreign central banks were among the steadiest buyers in the room. When that appetite cools, the government has to win over other buyers, usually by paying higher interest.Higher Treasury yields do not stay in Washington. Mortgage rates, auto loans, and credit card rates are all priced off government debt, so a world cooler on Treasuries can quietly lift the cost of your next loan. A softer dollar also buys fewer imported goods over time, which feeds the inflation that eats your raise before you feel it.To see the scale, run the share against the pile. The world holds about $13.14 trillion in allocated reserves, and the dollar’s 56.77% slice works out to roughly $7.5 trillion sitting in greenbacks, by my math on the IMF’s figures. A shift of even a few percentage points moves hundreds of billions of dollars, and it moves them out of the assets that quietly fund your government.In my analysis, the figure worth watching is not the dollar’s headline share but the direction the managers are pointing. They are not just buying gold abroad. A growing number are hauling the metal back inside their own borders, into vaults a foreign government cannot reach, betting on a future where trust is something you store at home.Ordinary savers have followed them, crowding into funds like SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) to get exposure without storing bars in a closet. That is not a recommendation. Plenty of sharp investors think gold’s run is stretched, and a calmer world could cool it fast. The point is not to copy the central banks. It is to notice what they are doing with the money they cannot afford to lose.Where the dollar goes from hereThe dollar has not been dethroned, and the survey does not claim it has. Counting every dollar asset and not just Treasuries, the greenback still anchors about 42% of global reserves, the European Central Bank found, and it remains the world’s primary reserve currency with no rival close enough to take the crown.But reserve managers move in years, not headlines, and they have stopped betting that the old normal is coming back. That wait-and-see posture, OMFIF senior economist Yara Aziz wrote in the report, “looks increasingly unrealistic.”The institutions with the most reason to defend the dollar are the ones quietly buying the alternative and locking it where no one can freeze it. They have read the warning early. The only open question is whether the rest of us move our own money before the slow turn becomes a fast one.Related: U.S. dollar gets surprising jolt from housing slump

While advances in screening technology have significantly improved the odds that any illegal item travelers try to smuggle aboard gets caught early in the process, that hasn’t stopped some from continuing to try to hide banned items in all kinds of seemingly ordinary and unusual items.Incidents highlighted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) over the years include several types of drugs sewn inside a hair scrunchie confiscated at Boise International Airport and 17 bullets “artfully concealed inside the otherwise clean disposable baby diaper” at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.In the latest incident at Indianapolis International Airport, agents for the government agency in charge of airport safety caught a passenger who tried to hide a live smoke grenade inside a jar of peanut butter.2 live smoke grenades in a jar of peanut butter”The traveler’s checked bag alarmed and was marked for additional screening,” the TSA said in a news release. “When a supervisory TSA officer and explosives specialist arrived on the scene, they found a little surprise that could have created quite the sticky situation at the airport and for the traveling public — two live smoke grenades, one of which the passenger jammed into a full jar of peanut butter.”TSA said that the passenger was called in to the ticket counter where he was met by police and an airline station manager.Related: TSA issues strict warning about ranch dressingThe traveler told the agents that “a friend told him he could get the smoke grenades through TSA by placing them in a jar of peanut butter”; the agency has in turn not elaborated on whether he was allowed to board his flight or will face any additional charges.TSA used the slightly ludicrous nature of the situation to draw attention to its transportation rules: While peanut butter is considered a cream subject to the three-one-one liquid rule, it should never be used as a vessel to transport weapons, ammunition or other banned items.

TSA has had to clarify its rules regarding traveling with peanut butter.Getty

TSA restrictions for peanut butter, ranch dressing, and moreIn June, TSA issued a separate warning about ranch dressing after several incidents in which Europeans who came to the U.S. for the World Cup purchased bottles of the condiment to take home only to discover that it would not pass airport security in a carry-on bag.Given the popularity of ranch dressing, these social media posts ended up going viral.More Travel News:Airline to launch unusual new flight to Cayman Islands from the U.S.There is a very cool Irish version of swimming pigs in the BahamasUnexpected country is most luxurious travel destination for 2026Low-cost airline launches easier way to get to Sri LankaWhile there were no incidents of someone trying to smuggle something through ranch dressing, the TSA periodically puts out reminders both of its regular rules and in response to what it sees take place at different airports across the country.”Although you may not have intentions for something to occur, carrying prohibited items always has the potential for unintentionally causing harm,” Indiana TSA Federal Security Director Aaron Batt said in a statement on the grenade in the peanut butter. “Imagine in this case had the pressurization caused the device to accidentally release smoke filling the cabin and aircraft while in flight.”Related: Popular cruise, tourist destination will triple entry tax

The AI boom created a ton of winners on Wall Street. However, it also created an incredibly unforgettable story for workers. Tech behemoth Microsoft (MSFT) is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, according to Business Insider, in a move that could be announced as early as next week. In reporting the news, Reuters said it could not immediately verify the details, but GeekWire said it confirmed the plan with a person familiar with the matter.Nonetheless, the reported cuts land in the middle of a darker Big Tech narrative.Companies continue spending heavily on AI while asking whether they still need the headcount to grow. According to Reuters, citing Morgan Stanley, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta are expected to spend about $700 billion in outlays in 2026 as hyperscaler AI capex grows at a relentless pace. Hence, Microsoft is no exception, with major bets on cloud, data centers, and AI tools reshaping its cost structure, while reported layoffs have become another sign of how expensive the AI era is becoming. 

Microsoft reportedly plans layoffs as it shifts spending toward artificial intelligence investmentsGeorge Chan/Getty Images

What the Microsoft layoff reports say According to a Business Insider report, Microsoft is planning to cut thousands of jobs, impacting less than 2.5% of its workforce, with roles across sales, consulting and Xbox. More AI:Goldman Sachs has blunt message for AI stock investorsMicrosoft CEO sends a blunt warning on AI and the tech ecosystemThe next AI infrastructure race has nothing to do with chipsInterestingly, the cuts came just after Microsoft’s June 30 fiscal-year close, a period when it typically makes organizational changes. With 228,000 full-time employees as of June 30, 2025, a sub-2.5% reduction still means thousands of workers.Recently, Meta Platforms also gave the AI-led tech layoff theme more weight.According to Reuters, Meta carried out a massive restructuring on May 20, laying off 10% of its global workforce while transferring 7,000 employees to new AI-related workflows. Similarly, Microsoft is also looking to exercise that same cost discipline, despite posting strong top-and-bottom-line growth over the past several quarters. In fiscal Q3, according to Yahoo Finance, Microsoft revenue rose 18%, operating income increased 20%, Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $54.5 billion, and Azure and other cloud services revenue jumped 40%.However, AI growth doesn’t come cheap. Microsoft said cloud gross margin dropped to 66% because of AI infrastructure investments and higher AI usage. GeekWire also reported the company was on pace to spend more than $100 billion on AI and cloud infrastructure in the fiscal year that just ended.Additionally, Xbox adds another pressure point. Reported cuts could reach gaming after Microsoft said Xbox content and services revenue fell 5% in fiscal Q3.Big Tech layoffs show AI’s growing workforce costMicrosoft’s reported cuts aren’t happening in isolation. Across Big Tech, companies continue trimming headcount while redirecting capex toward AI infrastructure, automation and leaner operating structures.Amazon: On Jan. 28, 2026, Reuters said Amazon confirmed 16,000 corporate cuts, following 14,000 October layoffs partly tied to AI adoption and bureaucracy reduction.Oracle: On June 22, 2026, Reuters reported Oracle’s workforce fell by 21,000, or 13%, in fiscal 2026, partly driven by AI adoption.Meta Platforms: On May 18, 2026, Reuters reported Meta’s May 20 restructuring included 10% layoffs, 7,000 staff shifted to AI initiatives, and 6,000 open roles closed.Microsoft: On July 2, 2025, Microsoft said it would cut nearly 4% of staff while continuing heavy AI infrastructure spending, according to Yahoo Finance.Salesforce: On Feb. 10, 2026, Reuters reported Salesforce cut fewer than 1,000 jobs, including roles linked to its Agentforce AI push.How Satya Nadella and Big Tech CEOs view AI’s impact on jobsMicrosoft CEO Satya Nadella frames Microsoft’s layoffs as the uncomfortable side of a company doing well while remaking itself for AI. For context, according to CNBC, in a July 2025 employee memo published by Microsoft, he wrote that recent job eliminations had been “weighing heavily on me” and called them “among the most difficult” decisions the company makes.In doing so, he also acknowledged the contradiction, saying Microsoft was thriving by market and strategic measures while still undergoing layoffs.He argued that progress in tech is “dynamic, sometimes dissonant, and always demanding” and said Microsoft needs to scale its current business and create new AI categories. Nadella’s AI vision is expansive. For him Microsoft needs to evolve from being a “software factory” to an “intelligence engine”, which is why it continues shelling out billions on AI infrastructure even while reducing headcount in other areas.Putting things in perspective, Microsoft’s capex has exploded with the AI buildout. In fiscal 2022, Microsoft reported $23.9 billion in additions to property and equipment; through the first 9 months of fiscal 2026 alone, that figure had reached $80.1 billion, up about 236% from the full-year 2022 level. Other tech leaders are drawing with the same map.Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees that generative AI would change how work gets done and said the company expected it to “reduce our total corporate workforce” as AI drives efficiency. Reuters reported Jassy saying some roles would become obsolete while new ones would emerge.OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has sounded less alarmist recently. Reuters reported in May 2026 that Altman said AI had not created the white-collar job losses he once feared and was unlikely to trigger a global “jobs apocalypse”. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei remains more cautious, warning through Axios that AI could push unemployment sharply higher in the next 1 to 5 years.Related: Microsoft may be done making Xbox cheap

Palantir invented the forward-deployed engineer model more than a decade ago. The firm’s engineers became known for living inside government agencies and Fortune 500 companies for months at a time, not to train employees on software, but to build systems alongside them from the inside. On June 30, Amazon decided to take that model and run it at cloud scale.AWS announced a $1 billion investment in a new Forward Deployed Engineering organization, seeded with thousands of engineers who will embed in small pods directly inside client companies for intensive engagements designed to get AI into production fast.What AWS’s $1B FDE unit actually involvesFrancessca Vasquez, AWS VP of Frontier AI Engineering and Services, announced the new unit and walked through how it works. Engineers go into a client company in pods of five or six people. They stay for roughly 45 days, working inside the client’s own environment on the client’s own data, alongside the client’s business, engineering, and security teams. Vasquez said the unit is not trying to create ongoing dependency. When the team leaves, the customer owns everything: the code, the AI agents, the workflows, and the internal knowledge to keep running without AWS staff on-site.Related: Amazon challenges Costco with July 4 gas savings deal”The currency that the customers are always talking about right now is speed. We do see FDE being a choice for customers who are looking for accelerated value back to their stakeholders, their customers, their executive teams,” Vasquez told CNBC.The method AWS is using is called the AI-Driven Development Lifecycle. Human engineers oversee AI agents that handle the software writing and system deployment work. The idea is to shrink what normally takes a company months to do down to a matter of days. The six organizations already working with FDE teams include the Allen Institute, Cox Automotive, the NBA, the NFL, Ricoh, and Southwest Airlines.Why the FDE model is spreading across enterprise AI right nowThe FDE idea has existed in tech for years but it is having a particular moment in 2026 because of where the AI market stands. Companies spent 2023 and 2024 running pilots and proof-of-concept projects. Most of those experiments sat on servers and never touched real operations. The gap between “AI project” and “AI in production” turned out to be much wider than most executive teams expected.What FDE teams address is precisely that gap. A dedicated external engineering team, working inside the client’s actual infrastructure with access to real data and real constraints, can get things moving in ways that consulting decks and software demos cannot. The model has shown up at software firms of all sizes looking to drive faster adoption of their tools, and the race to deploy enterprise AI has made it the dominant go-to-market strategy of the moment.

The FDE idea has existed in tech for years but it is having a particular moment in 2026 because of where the AI market stands.Berger/Getty Images

How AWS’s approach differs from OpenAI and AnthropicAWS is not the first AI company to move in this direction. OpenAI and Anthropic both launched FDE offerings earlier in 2026. OpenAI structured its venture with TPG, Advent International, Bain Capital, and Brookfield, and it was valued at $4 billion. Anthropic built its deployment company in May 2026 with Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and Goldman Sachs, valued at $1.5 billion. Both are joint ventures with outside investors and consulting partners attached.Amazon is writing this one itself. The $1 billion comes from its own balance sheet, with no co-investors and no outside consulting firms. Vasquez said it is also the first time AWS has pulled its various engineering capabilities into a single unit with a shared deployment framework. “We’ve had capabilities over the years, but structurally this is like getting everybody together in one business unit with a common rubric of deployment,” she said. “It’s the first time we’re doing it in that way.”More Amazon:Amazon Prime Day gives Wall Street a $22B reason to take noticeAmazon quietly building a moat to outlast the AI boomBank of America resets Amazon stock forecast on key service launchAWS is also the first major hyperscaler to announce this kind of initiative, according to TechCrunch. Google has made its own move in enterprise AI deployment, but through a $750 million partner fund aimed at agentic AI rather than an internal engineering corps.”Customers leave AWS FDE deployments with both new solutions and new engineering capabilities. Along with agentic systems running in their own AWS environment, they gain lasting AI skills, workflows, and patterns they can use to innovate independently,” Vasquez wrote in the AWS announcement.What this deal means for customers, investors, and cloud competitionThe problem AWS is trying to solve is one most large companies know well. They have access to AI models. They have budgets approved for AI projects. What they do not have is the internal engineering depth to take any of that from a proof of concept into something their operations can actually run. An external team embedded inside their environment for six weeks, working on their actual systems with their actual data, is a faster fix than hiring and training.What happens when the AWS team leaves is the part that makes the model interesting. The engineers hand over the code and the agents they built, but they also leave behind the internal knowledge, the documented patterns, and the skills transfer that let the client keep building on their own. Clients own everything.For AWS’s cloud market position, six weeks inside a client’s environment building production systems alongside their teams does something that selling compute and storage never quite does. It makes switching providers harder, in a way that the client probably does not fully appreciate until they try. The agent architecture, the integration patterns, the deployment setup — all of it is built to run on AWS. Moving it somewhere else means rebuilding from scratch.Amazon holds financial stakes in both Anthropic and OpenAI. It now has a unit competing with both of them for the same enterprise deployment contracts. For investors tracking AWS, the questions worth watching are whether the FDE model accelerates enterprise contract sizes, how quickly AWS can scale thousands of engineers without quality dropping, and whether the self-sufficiency promise holds up when customers try to operate independently after the 45-day window closes. The company’s reading is that selling access to an AI model is only the first part of the opportunity. Getting that model running inside a customer’s actual business is where durable revenue gets built.Related: Bank of America spots Prime Day signal for Amazon investors

T-Mobile has quietly expanded access to a service it launched roughly a year ago amid increased pressure in the wireless industry. Currently, T-Mobile and other wireless carriers are facing the growing threat of SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile, which is rapidly expanding. Starlink Mobile currently partners with T-Mobile and other wireless carriers to provide satellite cellular service to U.S. consumers. Its service has gained over 10 million subscribers after launching under its previous name, Direct to Cell, in 2024, according to a report from SDX Central. However, Starlink Mobile is planning to develop its own terrestrial U.S. mobile network and roll out retail mobile plans for ​consumers that rival Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T, according to a recent report from The Financial Times. T-Mobile expands T-Satellite serviceAmid this threat, T-Mobile has recently expanded T-Satellite, a direct-to-cell satellite messaging service it developed in partnership with Starlink.T-Satellite was launched in July 2025 and is powered by 650 Starlink satellites to provide extended coverage to more than 500,000 square miles of U.S. territory that traditional cell towers can’t reach.When T-Satellite first rolled out, it only supported a small handful of apps that mainly involve navigation and communication, such as Apple Weather, Google Maps, WhatsApp, etc.Related: T-Mobile warns customers that a key service will double in priceHowever, that list has quietly expanded to include Discord, Signal, and LINE, according to a recent report from The Mobile Report. The Signal app, which is used for messaging, has reportedly been compatible with T-Satellite since January. T-Mobile customers also found that the messaging apps Discord and LINE seem to work on T-Satellite, and have been for about a month, while apps such as Telegram, Waze, Kik, WeChat, and Snapchat were tested and remain incompatible. Despite this discovery, T-Mobile hasn’t yet added Discord, Signal, or LINE to its official list of T-Satellite-supported apps on its website. The list currently mentions only 27 apps. The move from T-Mobile comes after the company’s CEO, Srini Gopalan, said at a JPMorgan conference in May that T-Satellite, which costs $10 per line per month, is struggling with weak consumer demand. “Just to give you an example, we look at our data in May, and satellite usage is 0.0002% of our total network usage,” Gopalan said during the conference, according to a PCMag report. “That’s three zeros.” While T-Mobile offers T-Satellite as an add-on, it also offers it as a perk on a few of its plans. Gopalan said that customers prefer the latter option. “Pretty much no one buys satellite standalone; they buy it as part of the premium package, which gives you a bunch of other benefits, global roaming, ad-free Netflix, etc.,” he added.  

T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service now supports three more apps. Shutterstock

T-Mobile leans further into consumer demand for satellite servicesT-Mobile isn’t the only large U.S. carrier working to gain ground in the satellite cellular market. In March last year, Verizon rolled out its free satellite messaging service; however, it is only compatible with select Android devices. AT&T is also currently partnering with AST SpaceMobile to develop a satellite cellular service that provides connectivity for texting, calls and data in remote, off-grid locations. The carrier plans to introduce this service commercially after launching the beta program this year. More T-Mobile News:T-Mobile rolls back 2 customer discount changes after backlashT-Mobile drops new free perks for customers as pressure buildsT-Mobile lifts a frustrating perk restriction for Costco membersIn addition to providing their own satellite cellular services, T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon are currently working on a joint venture that addresses coverage gaps in underserved communities in the U.S. using satellite-based technologies, a move that was announced in May. All three carriers claim that the joint venture will provide customers with simpler, more consistent access to satellite services across providers, while also giving them quicker access to feature updates. T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon’s recent moves to boost their satellite cellular service offerings come as consumers worldwide are willing to pay extra to access these services, according to a recent survey from Viasat.Consumer interest in satellite-enabled mobile services:Around 80% of consumers said they are interested in having satellite connectivity available on their smartphones. Roughly 67% said they are interested in using satellite cellular service for messaging and emergency/SOS capabilities, while 65% want to use it for web browsing, data, and video calls, and 63% said they want to use it for voice calls. More than 6 in 10 said they would be willing to pay extra for satellite-enabled mobile service. Nearly half said they would even switch to a wireless carrier that offers satellite connectivity in its mobile plans.
Source: Viasat
Andy Kessler, vice president at Viasat Enterprise, said in a press release that consumers are frustrated by gaps in mobile coverage, which presents a major economic opportunity for mobile network operators (MNOs). “This means the industry is reaching an inflection point – MNOs need to move fast to harness the excitement over satellite services to secure loyalty and generate revenue,” said Kessler. “This is about more than providing a feature upgrade – it can be an essential tool for digital inclusion, safety, and economic growth.”Amid this spike in consumer demand, Juniper Research predicted last year that revenue from direct-to-cell satellite services would surge from $100 million in 2025 to more than $370 million this year, reflecting a 260% year-over-year increase.Alex Webb, senior research analyst at Juniper Research, said in a December press release that satellite mobile operators will be most successful by partnering with MNOs to deliver their services.“A satellite-first MNO will struggle to provide connectivity services to consumers that are comparable to terrestrial MNOs,” said Webb. “Satellite signals will be obstructed indoors, leaving subscribers with a disjointed connectivity service; reducing a service’s value.”“We do not expect satellite operators to compete with MNOs in the consumer sector,” he added. “We believe their best path to securing a return on investment in their satellite constellations lies with partnerships with incumbent MNOs.”​Related: T-Mobile drops new free perks for customers as pressure builds

Kraft Heinz (KHC) walked away from a planned corporate breakup in February and redirected that energy into a $600 million investment in its own brands.That decision rests on one specific assumption: that the worst of commodity inflation was already behind the company. Data published this week by the American Farm Bureau Federation challenges it directly.According to the AFBF’s 2026 Summer Cookout Cost Survey, a July 4 cookout for 10 people will cost $73.82 this year, the highest total since the survey launched in 2016.Two pounds of ground beef now cost $14.06, up 5.5% from last year and the highest price the survey has ever recorded.The drivers behind that record are not incidental. Ground beef prices reflect a cattle herd trending toward a 70-year low after years of severe drought, according to the AFBF, with full recovery still years away.Pork and beans saw the basket’s steepest jump, up 13.8% to $3.06 for 32 ounces, because a sharp rise in aluminum costs drove up production prices for canned goods broadly.Strawberries climbed 12.4% to $5.27 for two pints after a spring frost in Florida damaged young plants, with elevated fuel and labor costs adding to the pressure.Not everything cost more: Potato salad fell 17.8% to $2.91 as egg prices eased following flock recovery from avian influenza, and chips edged down four cents to $4.76. Still, 10 of the 12 items in the AFBF basket came in above last year.That is not a routine seasonal figure for Kraft Heinz investors. Beef is central to the company’s meats portfolio, which management described as a “leaky bucket” of share loss on its Q1 2026 earnings call.Management called the peak, but cattle market did not cooperateOn May 6, CFO Andre Maciel told analysts that Kraft Heinz had seen “the peak in inflation” for coffee and meats. Per the Q1 earnings transcript, the company was also projecting roughly 4% commodity inflation for the full year, with hedges on resin costs covering only through mid-third quarter.That structural reality sits uncomfortably next to Maciel’s May 6 guidance. A cattle herd trending toward a 70-year low does not rebuild on a CFO’s timeline, and the AFBF data suggests the cost relief the company is counting on in the back half of 2026 is not arriving on schedule.Kraft Heinz has already lived through one version of this story. According to the company’s full year 2025 results, adjusted operating income fell 15.9% to $1.2 billion because commodity and manufacturing inflation outpaced efficiency gains.A repeat in 2026 would undercut the turnaround thesis before it can build momentum.

Ground beef hit its highest price in survey history as Kraft Heinz’s $600 million turnaround bet faces its first real test on commodity timing and private-label pressure.Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

The $600M bet needs more than a strong Q1When CEO Steve Cahillane halted the split in February, he told investors the company’s challenges were “fixable and within our control” and outlined a $600 million plan covering marketing, R&D, and brand renovation. Most of that spending is backloaded into the second half of 2026.Kraft Heinz beat adjusted EPS estimates by 16% in the first quarter, posting $0.58 per share, according to earnings data tracked by Public.com, which gave the turnaround narrative early credibility.But management’s full year guidance paints a more constrained picture: according to the company’s Q1 press release, organic net sales are expected to fall between 1.5% and 3.5%, with adjusted EPS between $1.98 and $2.10.Related: Shoppers deliver Macy’s and Kohl’s bad retail newsWall Street is not waiting for August to form a view. According to SeekingAlpha, Bernstein downgraded KHC alongside Campbell’s, Conagra Brands, and General Mills to Underperform in early June, setting a $21 price target on KHC against a stock trading near $23.70.Bernstein said “times remain troubled for the traditional, center-of-store packaged food companies,” per TipRanks, and cited sustained oil inflation, SNAP benefit cuts, and GLP-1 health trends as compounding headwinds.Kroger’s numbers show where consumers are headedWhen consumers are trying to trim a $73.82 cookout bill, Heinz ketchup and Kraft Mac & Cheese are obvious targets for a store-brand swap.The consumer response to persistent food inflation shows up in Kroger’s (KR) Q1 2026 results. The nation’s largest supermarket chain reported its private-label portfolio outpaced national brands by 175 basis points in the quarter.When store brands gain that kind of ground, volume moves away from packaged goods on the shelf next to them.More Retail:Closed Rite Aid stores get surprising retail replacementOutdoor retail giant closes 59 stores in Chapter 11 bankruptcyLuxury retail chain wins court approval, exits bankruptcyAccording to Zachs Investment Research analysis of Kroger’s Q1 results, the “Our Brands” portfolio is roughly a $39 billion business that kept gaining share even as total identical store sales grew just 1%.That private-label momentum is typically sticky: once consumers switch to store brands, they rarely come back to the national brand equivalent.The real test arrives in AugustKraft Heinz reports Q2 earnings in early August. Those results will be the first hard test of whether the company’s inflation-peak assumption held, and whether Cahillane’s investment strategy is gaining traction.The cattle herd is not rebuilding on any schedule Kraft Heinz controls, and Kroger’s data shows consumers have already found cheaper alternatives in the meantime.Whether the $600 million bet can overcome structural cost pressure and a shopper who has already moved on will be the defining question for KHC into the back half of 2026.Related: Costco’s July 4 decision may surprise some members

TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.Why we love this dealWireless earbuds are just what you need to listen to music without feeling like you’re overheating in the summer or during a workout. While the benefit of over-the-ear headphones is that they can have excellent noise cancellation benefits, the seal they create over your ears makes it easy to trap heat and get sweaty. Wireless earbuds are a fantastic alternative, as they allow for more airflow than over-ear headphones.If you’re looking for affordable earbuds, the Fhumsh Noise-Canceling Wireless Earbuds at Amazon are a great choice. Thanks to a Prime member-exclusive deal, you can get the $250 earbuds for only $20. With a whopping 92% off, it’s a deal you don’t want to miss.Fhumsh Noise-Canceling Wireless Earbuds, $20 (was $250) at Amazon

Courtesy of Amazon

Shop at AmazonWhy do shoppers love it?These wireless earbuds feature 13-millimeter drivers that deliver “great sound quality,” according to reviewers. One shopper said the sound is “clear, rich, and well-balanced, making music, movies, and calls sound amazing.” They also feature Environmental Noise Cancellation, which helps reduce background noise, which is especially helpful when you’re taking a phone call in a busy area. According to the manufacturer, they offer clear sound even in 25-mileper-hour winds. The earbuds are designed to be workout-ready, with waterproof mesh and coating that keeps sweat out. The charging case also has an IPX7 waterproof rating, making it durable as well. Speaking of the case, which features an LED screen to show you how much battery life is left, it boosts the earbuds’ playback time to up to 50 hours. And they’re fast-charging, too, with the ability to fully charge in just 1.5 hours. The charging case is also incredibly lightweight at only 0.09 pounds, while each earbud weighs .008 pounds.Related: Amazon has a 2-in-1 laptop and tablet for just $60 that comes in 3 colorsPros and consProsNoise cancellation: They feature noise-canceling technology that can drown out external sound when you’re listening to music or taking a phone call.Long battery life: With up to 50 hours of playback time with the charging case, you’ll get plenty of usage before your next recharge.Lightweight design: The charging case is only 0.09 pounds, and each earbud is .008 pounds, so they won’t weigh down your bag when you carry them around. ConsTouch controls: A shopper noted that the touch controls are sensitive.Might fall out: Earbuds are notorious for falling out, so make sure you try each earbud tip to get the most secure fit.For added comfort and convenience, the earbuds come with three gel tips in sizes small, medium, and large, so you can customize the fit to your preference. They also have earhooks with vibration resistance, intended to make them more secure. Some shoppers said they’ve had difficulty with the earbuds falling out, but ensuring you have the correct earbud tip size might help.The earbuds are available in three colors, including black, white, and pink.Shop more dealsBtootos Noise-Canceling Wireless Earbuds, $23 (was $33) at AmazonBucephalus Noise-Canceling Wireless Earbuds, $17 (was $160) at AmazonLeemc Noise-Canceling Wireless Earbuds, $16 (was $160) at AmazonThe Fhumsh Noise-Canceling Wireless Earbuds are only $20, thanks to a 92% Prime member-exclusive discount. They’re a great option that’s sweatproof and affordable.

The proliferation of consumer “cord-cutters” has caused economic distress for the satellite television services, such as Dish Wireless, forcing restructurings and bankruptcies as the percentage of households subscribing to satellite TV services continues to decline as they switch to streaming services.EchoStar Corporation, which owns Dish Wireless satellite TV service, reported a net loss of 366,000 paid subscribers in the quarter ended March 31, 2026, with a total of 6.63 million subscribers, Cord Cutters News reported. The company had lost 381,000 subscribers in the same quarter in 2025.The loss of hundreds of thousands of subscribers has contributed to financial distress, which has led EchoStar’s affiliate Dish Wireless to seek bankruptcy protection.

Dish Wireless files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize as it anticipates a sale to AT&T.Bloomberg / Getty Images

Dish Wireless files for bankruptcySatellite TV provider Dish Wireless LLC and 17 affiliates, including Sling TV LLC, filed for a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy which includes a restructuring support agreement that will reorganize the company and facilitate the $23 billion sale of parent EchoStar’s wireless spectrum licenses to AT&T.AT&T and EchoStar unveiled the wireless spectrum licenses sale on Aug. 26, 2025, which covered over 400 markets across the U.S., or virtually every market nationwide. Under the deal, EchoStar would operate as a hybrid mobile network operator providing wireless service under its Boost Mobile brandAT&T would be the primary network services partner to EchoStar as it serves wireless customers.Debtor awaits closing of sale to AT&TEchoStar and Dish Wireless will receive a $20.25 billion net payment when the AT&T transaction closes that will allow the debtor to pay off billions in debts. Among the debts is $2 billion of 7.75% senior secured notes due July 1, 2026, which was one of the reasons for filing for bankruptcy protection on June 30.Dish Wireless did not have sufficient funds to pay off the senior secured notes on the due date, but the notes will be paid in full in cash as soon as possible once the AT&T transaction closes or on the effective date of the plan, according to a company statement.EchoStar sells to SpaceXEchoStar also in September 2025 agreed to sell its AWS-4 and H-Block spectrum licenses to Elon Musk’s SpaceX for $17 billion, consisting of up to $8.5 billion in cash and $8.5 billion in SpaceX stock. The parties will enter into a long-term commercial agreement, which will enable EchoStar’s Boost Mobile subscribers to access SpaceX’s next generation Starlink Direct to Cell service.”This transaction with SpaceX continues our legacy of putting the customer first as it allows for the combination of AWS-4 and H-block spectrum from EchoStar with the rocket launch and satellite capabilities from SpaceX to realize the direct-to-cell vision in a more innovative, economical and faster way for consumers worldwide,” EchoStar CEO Hamid Akhavan said in a statement at the time.”We’re so pleased to be doing this transaction with EchoStar as it will advance our mission to end mobile dead zones around the world,” SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said in a statement.Under the restructuring support agreement, the debtor will be able to pay off billions of debts early to avoid penalties. EchoStar’s brands, employees, and customers will not be affected by the case.Bankruptcy case to end in third quarterThe Englewood, Colo.-based debtor expects to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of the third quarter of 2026.Dish Wireless listed $1 billion to $10 billion in assets and $10 billion to $50 billion in debts in its petition filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.The debtor’s largest unsecured creditors include US Bank Trust Company NA, owed $2.5 million; Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB, owed $2 billion; ESPN, owed over $69 million; Turner Network Sales Inc., owed over $42 million; Nexstar, owed over $40 million; Fox Corporation, owed over $38 million USA Network, owed over $34 million; Sinclaire Television Group, owed over $30 million; and MTV Networks, owed over $30 million.EchoStar’s pending sales:Wireless spectrum licenses sale to AT&T: $23 billion. Source: EchoStar.AWS-4 and H-Block spectrum licenses sale to SpaceX: $17 billion. Source: EchoStar.Related: Shoppers deliver Macy’s and Kohl’s bad retail news

Feeling rich has always been a moving target. The number that meant “made it” for your parents barely covers a down payment now, and the seven-figure milestone that once sounded like a finish line keeps sliding further down the road.Most American wealth isn’t built in a vault. It’s built in a brokerage account, a 401(k), and a house, which means it rises and falls with the stock market whether you’re paying attention or not.For the past few years, that market has been kind. Strong equities lifted the value of every portfolio they touched, and the people who already owned the most stock saw the biggest gains in raw dollars.So when a year ends with millions of people suddenly worth more on paper, it’s tempting to assume everyone moved up together. They didn’t.That gap between the average American and the typical one is the quiet story inside the latest Global Wealth Report from Swiss banking giant UBS (UBS), which landed Tuesday, June 30, and counted nearly one million new dollar millionaires created around the world in 2025.

UBS says nearly one million people became dollar millionaires worldwide in 2025.Ole_CNX / Getty Images

How a strong stock market quietly mints millionairesWealth in America is mostly a bet on the stock market, even for people who would never call themselves investors.Nearly 79% of U.S. personal wealth sits in financial assets like stocks, retirement accounts, and brokerage portfolios, the fourth-highest share of any country measured, according to Fortune.When equities have a strong year, that money grows in direct proportion to how much you already own.More Wall Street:J.P. Morgan unleashes $50 billion buyback after stress testMichael Burry just made a rare bullish bet on MicrosoftPrivate credit default fears spook BDC investorsA good year for the market, then, is not a raise for the average worker. It is a windfall for whoever holds the most shares.The feel-good version of this is the “everyday millionaire,” the patient saver who crosses seven figures through index funds and a paid-off house.UBS even coined a label for them, EMILLIs, short for Everyday Millionaires, households with $1 million to $5 million in assets.When I lined up the report’s tiers, though, that everyday millionaire turned out to be the slowest-moving piece of the whole story.Related: UBS flags costly tax shift retirees may not see comingWhat the UBS wealth report actually countedStart with the top line.Global personal wealth grew 10.8% in 2025, its fastest pace since 2017 and more than double the rate of either of the two prior years, UBS found in its Global Wealth Report 2026.The headcount kept up. The world added close to one million new dollar millionaires, more than 2,600 of them every day, the bank reported.Americans drove almost half of that. The U.S. created more than 440,000 new millionaires in a single year, better than 1,200 a day.That pushed the country’s millionaire population past 23.6 million, more than 40% of every dollar millionaire UBS counts worldwide.There were “more millionaires than ever, everywhere” in 2025, according to Reuters. For the first time on record, not a single one of the 56 markets the bank tracks ended the year with fewer millionaires than it started.The surge was not only American, either. Europe and the Middle East led every region, with wealth there climbing almost 18%, helped along by a weaker dollar, UBS reported.The numbers behind the boomThe U.S. added 441,078 new millionaires in 2025, more than 1,200 a day, according to Fortune.Roughly 23.6 million dollar millionaires now live in the U.S., over 40% of the global total, per UBS.Median wealth fell in most of the 56 markets UBS tracks, the bank reported via Reuters.The $5 million to $100 million cohort has compounded wealth at 8.7% a year since 2000, against 4% for everyday millionaires, according to Fortune.Just 56,000 people, the top 0.001%, hold more wealth than the poorest 4 billion combined, per the World Inequality Report 2026 cited by Fortune.Why the typical American wallet still shrankHere is the part that does not fit the celebration.While average wealth climbed, median wealth, the net worth of the person sitting exactly in the middle, fell in most of the 56 markets UBS measured.Average and median only match when gains are shared evenly. When they split this far apart, the money piled up at the top while the middle treaded water or slipped backward.The report calls this its one “fly in the ointment,” Fortune noted.In my read of the tiers, the real action sat above the everyday millionaire, in what UBS nicknames the “elder siblings,” households worth $5 million to $100 million.That group has compounded its wealth at 8.7% a year since 2000, more than double the 4% rate for everyday millionaires, according to Fortune.The reason is access. Everyday millionaires mostly own the same index funds and 401(k) holdings that built them. The tier above can buy into private equity, private credit, and deals that ordinary investors never see.So the global wealth pyramid is “undergoing a transformation,” UBS said, with the bottom band shrinking and more people climbing into the middle.That sounds like progress, and in part it is. The catch is that the very top is pulling away faster than the middle can climb.There is also a psychological tax. People tend to size up their wealth “relative to the wealth of others,” not in absolute terms, UBS chief economist Paul Donovan said, in remarks reported by finews.Which is why a record number of millionaires can coincide with a lot of people feeling further behind.What the wealth boom means for your moneySo what does a banner year for millionaires actually do for you?If you own stocks through a 401(k), an IRA, or a brokerage account, 2025 very likely moved your number up, even if you never traded once.If most of your net worth is your paycheck and your home equity, the boom mostly happened on someone else’s balance sheet.That is the uncomfortable lesson buried in a cheerful headline. The fastest way to ride a market-driven wealth boom is to already own a slice of the market before it runs.Here’s the reality. The everyday millionaire path still works. A seven-figure household built on index funds and patience is a real achievement, and the data shows more people reaching it than ever.But the destination keeps moving. Surveys now put the number Americans say they need to feel wealthy at around $5.3 million, Fortune noted, far past the million-dollar mark that used to define it. What used to feel like arrival increasingly looks like a better starting line, with another tier visible just ahead.The thing to watch now is whether 2026 keeps rewarding people for owning assets, or whether a market wobble resets the math. A wealth boom built on rising stock prices can run in reverse just as quickly.Either way, the report’s quiet message is worth keeping. In a market like this one, what you own matters more than what you earn.Related: UBS offers glimmer of hope on oil prices, Hormuz, with one caveat