Where to eat in London now: the best restaurants to book this month, from spectacular hotel breakfasts to tasting menus, tapas and summer courtyards.
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Renewables Are Booming. So Why Aren’t Fossil Fuels Declining?
Solar overtook wind in global electricity generation in 2025 as renewables surged, but rising global energy demand still prevented fossil fuel consumption from declining.
Billionaire investor shorting SpaceX says one possible fix won’t work
The bearish case against SpaceX keeps finding new voices. I’ve now tracked short theses from Doug Kass, warnings from the former Nasdaq CEO, my colleague’s piece on Michael Burry walking away from the trade, and Jim Cramer urging patience before the lockup expiration. Now add Peter Andersen of Boston-based Andersen Capital Management to that list.Andersen has managed money across separate accounts, mutual funds, and world asset classes since 1993. He isn’t just skeptical of SpaceX (SPCX). He’s actively shorting it. And when asked whether a Tesla-SpaceX merger would change his mind, his answer was immediate and unambiguous.I actually think that that’s even a more confusing situation.Andersen continued to say in a recent CNBC interview. “I don’t think that would be a solution.”That’s a pointed rebuttal to one of the most widely discussed potential catalysts for both stocks. And given everything that’s happened since SpaceX’s June IPO, it’s worth understanding exactly why.Also Read: SpaceX Latest News and StoriesWhy Andersen thinks a Tesla-SpaceX merger makes things worse, not betterThe merger speculation has been building since SpaceX’s blockbuster June IPO. On Tesla’s (TSLA) recent earnings call, an analyst asked Elon Musk directly whether combining the companies made sense. “We can’t talk about combining companies on an earnings call,” Musk replied, according to Investopedia, before listing several areas where the businesses already collaborate, including the Terafab chip manufacturing facility and Starlink integration with Cybercabs.More SpaceX:Elon Musk’s startling claim to SpaceX investorsCiti sends powerful sign to SpaceX investorsBeaten-down stock lets you buy SpaceX below market priceAndersen’s objection wasn’t about synergies, but about analytical complexity. SpaceX already operates three distinct segments — Starlink connectivity, rocket launches, and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure — that are genuinely difficult to model and value independently. Adding Tesla’s electric vehicles, energy storage, Optimus robotics, and a massive China manufacturing operation into the same corporate structure doesn’t simplify that picture. We end up with several variables.”It makes it even geometrically more complicated,” Andersen said. “From a conceptual basis and for when you’re looking at the risk.”Related: AMD Stock tumbles because of SpaceXThe regulatory dimension is also another layer to crack. SpaceX is a sensitive U.S. defense contractor. Tesla has deep manufacturing ties to China, including its massive Shanghai facility. I think merging a critical U.S. defense supplier with a company heavily dependent on Chinese manufacturing would face serious national security scrutiny. Musk has publicly downplayed reports of selling the China business, but the speculation hasn’t disappeared.I think Andersen is right that a merger announcement would likely trigger more uncertainty than relief in the near term. Markets tend to punish complexity, not reward it. Especially when the base business hasn’t yet proven itself as a strong public company.What SpaceX’s first earnings report actually revealedSpaceX delivered a revenue beat in its inaugural quarterly report on Aug. 4, posting $7.8 billion in revenue, up 92% year-over-year (YoY) and above Wall Street estimates of roughly $6.8 billion, according to TheStreet.Net loss narrowed dramatically to $541 million from $1 billion in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA jumped 191% YoY to $3.5 billion.Yes. Those are genuinely strong numbers. But the market sold the stock anyway, and Andersen’s short thesis explains why.Related: Bank of America doubles down on SpaceX after earningsCapital expenditure for the second quarter read $18.4 billion, with $15.8 billion directed toward AI-related investments, up from $2.8 billion in the same period a year earlier. Total capital expenditure for the first half of 2026 reached $28.5 billion, according to SpaceX’s earnings report. For a company still generating net losses at the consolidated level, that cash burn rate demands extraordinary confidence in future AI revenue — confidence Andersen doesn’t share at current valuations.”At the IPO, the price-to-sales was very, very high,” Andersen said. “Now it’s come down. It’s still high, but relatively speaking, I think it’s about 50 times; that is a very high valuation for a company like this.”Related: JPMorgan resets SpaceX price target after earningsMy previous coverage at TheStreet showed that SpaceX debuted at $135 on June 12, surged to an all-time high of $225.64 by June 16, then fell more than 50% before recovering slightly after the earnings period. The AI segment did generate $2.6 billion in revenue in Q2, according to SpaceX’s earnings report.But Andersen isn’t convinced the segment is insulated from competition. “The AI segment is competing against many other well-known chatbots,” he said. “I would call it a horse race, frankly.”
SpaceX delivered a revenue beat in its inaugural quarterly report on Aug. 4, posting $7.8 billion in revenue, up 92% year-over-year (YoY).Brendan Hoffman/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The one scenario that could change Andersen’s mind, and when SPCX becomes interestingShort sellers rarely admit the conditions under which they’d cover. Andersen did. When asked what would make him more constructive on SpaceX, he pointed to meaningful valuation compression, Starship progress, and continued Starlink free cash flow generation. He also floated an extreme but analytically logical scenario: that Starlink could eventually be spun off as the only profitable entity within the three-segment structure. On valuation, he suggested a price-to-sales ratio around 25 times (roughly half the current level) would bring more rational institutional attention to the stock.Related: Jim Cramer sees the writing on the wall for SpaceX investorsAs for sub-$100 as a potential buying opportunity for long-term investors? “For those willing to go into it with a very sober view of the risk involved,” he said, it could pass muster for the most aggressive portion of a portfolio.Tesla shares are down 26.94% year-to-date, according to Yahoo Finance data as of this report. The S&P 500 has returned 13.32% over the same period. Both Tesla and SpaceX stocks are carrying the weight of merger speculation, Musk attention risk, and a market still trying to figure out how to price a company that lost $41.3 billion in its first two decades of existence.In a few words, the story is real, yes, but the valuation is not. Until those two things get closer together, Andersen suggests that you should stay short.Related: SpaceX’s own ambitions just became Rocket Lab’s opportunity
Hyperliquid’s RWA perps boom is eating into the revenue that backs HYPE
Revenue has fallen four quarters running while open interest hit a record high. The gap is a fee-sharing program that hands half the platform’s volume to outside builders.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta lands in hot soup again
The tobacco industry didn’t lose in one courtroom. It lost in dozens of them, over decades, until the cumulative weight became impossible to carry. The lawsuits started as fringe legal theories. Then they became precedents. Then they became settlements worth hundreds of billions of dollars that reshaped an entire industry.Social media companies are somewhere in the middle of that same arc right now. On August 6, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a fund set up to repair harm to the state’s children. It is the largest single ruling yet in a legal campaign that has been building for years and is starting to produce verdicts that actually stick.Meta, Instagram and YouTube child safety lawsuits explainedNew Mexico was the first state to take a major technology company to trial over child safety claims and win, according to the New Mexico state Department of Justice. The broader legal campaign started well before August 6. In December 2023, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed suit after his office ran an undercover investigation. Investigators created a fake profile posing as a 13-year-old girl. Torrez told CNBC the account “was simply inundated with images and targeted solicitations” from child abusers.More Meta:Meta sent a warning to its glasses prankstersMeta layoffs take disturbing turn in new lawsuitMeta business model in trouble from $1.4 trillion lawsuitOn March 24, a Santa Fe jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties after finding 37,500 violations of New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act. The following day, March 25, a California jury found both Meta and YouTube negligent for designing apps that harmed children and teens. The jury awarded $6 million in a case designated as a bellwether for thousands of similar lawsuits nationwide. Meta was found 70% responsible and YouTube 30%, with Meta ordered to pay $4.2 million and YouTube $1.8 million. It marked the first time juries found social media platforms liable for deliberately addictive design choices that harmed young users, according to Fortune.In May, Kentucky’s Breathitt County School District secured approximately $27 million in settlements from multiple social media platforms over allegations their apps contributed to student mental health problems. In July, TikTok reached a confidential settlement with a man who said he became addicted to the platform as a child, just weeks before a second bellwether trial in the California social media addiction litigation was set to begin.What the $567 million ruling requires Meta to changeWhen New Mexico First Judicial District Chief Judge Bryan Biedscheid made his $567 million order on August 6 he closed the second phase of the public nuisance case. The bulk of the fund, $420 million, goes toward treatment services. The rest covers prevention programs, screening, and five years of compliance monitoring.The judge’s framing was unusually direct. “The court considers Meta’s platforms to be analogous to the factory, the advertising and other content displayed on those platforms to be what is produced by the factory, and the psychological harm to and sexual exploitation of children to be the pollution that must be abated,” he wrote, according to the Washington Post.Beyond the money, the order requires Meta to improve age assurance tools using AI and to attempt to develop a dedicated under-13 age-prediction model within two years. The company must also make it easier to report suspected underage accounts, including partnering with schools to build a reporting portal for administrators. Meta must report on its progress twice a year.The judge stopped short of ordering algorithm changes, writing that doing so could conflict with Section 230 and First Amendment protections.
Beyond the money, the order requires Meta to improve age assurance tools using AI Joe/Getty Images
Meta’s total child safety legal exposure in 2026Between the two phases of the New Mexico case alone, Meta now faces nearly $942 million in financial exposure from a single state. Meta’s own Q2 financial filing disclosed the broader stakes: “The New Mexico Attorney General has indicated that they intend to seek up to $62.85 billion in penalties in this case.” The same filing acknowledged that “expert testimony supports a causal link between social media and the youth mental health crisis in New Mexico.”Meta is also preparing for a federal trial in Oakland, California, where it will face four states in a multidistrict lawsuit filed in 2023. Combined claims in that case exceed $1 trillion, according to court filings. More than 40 state attorneys general and more than 1,300 school districts have suits pending against social media companies.Meta has been lobbying Congress for liability protections through the Kids Online Safety Act, spending $7.08 million on federal lobbying in the first quarter of 2026 and $5.99 million in Q2.Meta says it plans to appeal the August 6 ruling and “remains confident in our record of protecting teens online.” Wall Street has largely shrugged at each individual verdict, treating the sums as manageable for a company valued near $1.5 trillion. Whether that holds as more states reach verdicts is the question the rest of this year will start answering, as TheStreet reported.Why the number of Meta and social media teen mental health lawsuits keeps growingTorrez called the August 6 decision “a blueprint for other states and countries.” Legal scholar Eric Goldman of Santa Clara University’s High Tech Law Institute said a public-nuisance theory succeeding against an internet company at all marks “a remarkable outcome.” The California bellwether verdict reinforces that framing. Cases designated as bellwethers are meant to signal how thousands of similar lawsuits might resolve.The tobacco parallel is worth taking seriously. That industry’s reckoning didn’t arrive from one state or one verdict. It arrived when enough states had produced enough rulings that the legal costs became impossible to absorb without fundamental changes to how the companies operated. Social media companies are not there yet. But August 6 moved them closer.Related: Mark Zuckerberg sends a strong message to Meta stock investors
Kouvin Secures Playoff Spot As Koepka’s Hopes Fade At Wyndham
Jackson Kouvin secures his first FedEx Cup Playoff appearance at the Wyndham Championship, while Brooks Koepka battles to keep his playoff hopes alive.
Amazon’s portable turbo mini fan that ‘fits easily in a pocket’ is just $5 with 71% off
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 dealAfter primping and preening for a day at the office or a night out with friends, it can all be undone by stepping out into the unbearable heat of summer. Getting stuck in the sweltering outdoor temperatures means getting covered in sweat or having your makeup melt away, and no one wants that. When I lived in NYC, the worst culprit in this scenario was the stuffy subway system, where you’d wait several minutes for your train to arrive without any airflow or breeze.I quickly found that having a portable battery-powered fan in my bag made all the difference between becoming a sweaty tomato or arriving cool and confident at my next location. Compact travel fans are actually quite affordable too, usually ranging from $15 to $25, depending on the device. The bestselling Whatook Portable Handheld Mini Fan is a complete bargain with 71% off at Amazon. Without this limited-time deal, you’d pay $17 to snag this highly rated personal fan, but now you can score it for just $5. It’s not as tall or wide as most smartphones, so you can slip it into your pocket for on-the-go convenience. Whatook Portable Handheld Mini Fan, $5 (was $17) at Amazon
Courtesy of Amazon
Shop at AmazonWhy do shoppers love it?The mini and mighty machine measures 1.8 inches deep, 2.4 inches wide, and 5 inches high, making it the perfect size to throw in your bag and get out the door. Weighing only .3 pounds, you won’t even notice the fan is there, but when you do need it, you’ll be so thankful it is. It has five adjustable speed levels, ranging from a slow, calming breeze to a powerful gust of continuous wind. The high-speed motor reaches up to 18,500 rotations per minute, which produces turbo wind speeds up to 9.9 meters per second — that’s up to three times stronger than traditional handheld fans. “Super powerful and cools hot air,” raved one shopper. They shared their experience, “I use this all the time when I’m golfing.”Related: Walmart’s popular $399 portable air conditioner is on sale for 49% offThe compact device is great for traveling. If you’re taking a scenic hike on a hot day, you can use the complimentary wrist strap lanyard to keep it nearby and secure. The long-lasting battery runs up to 9 hours with continuous use, so it can keep you cool all day. You’ll know when it’s time to charge the fan because it has a smart LED display that shows the battery percentage and speed levels. Once it’s time to recharge, the USB-C fast-charging capabilities will have it ready to go in just two hours. Details to know Size: 1.8 inches deep, 2.4 inches wide, and 5 inches high.Power source: Battery-powered.Colors: Only the purple fan is on sale for $5, but three other colors are available for $10.Average shopper rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars.One reviewer reported, “It puts out a surprisingly cool breeze, charges quickly with the included Type-C charger, and is compact enough to fit easily in a pocket or bag.”Shop more dealsPlayHot Portable Handheld Cooling Fan, $18 (was $20) at AmazonDuludulu Portable Handheld Fan, $11 (was $16) at AmazonGaiatop Portable Handheld Mini Fan, $13 (was $19) at AmazonDon’t let the sweltering heat ruin your outdoor fun this summer with the help of the Whatook Portable Handheld Mini Fan at Amazon. It won’t be on sale for just $5 for long, so don’t wait to snag this one for yourself.
Bitcoin investors pour $853 million into spot ETFs. BlackRock’s IBIT claims the bulk
Bitcoin ETFs recorded $853.54 million in net inflows last week, the strongest since mid-April, with BlackRock’s IBIT taking the bulk.
Ella Langley Blocked From Making History By Her Collaboration Partner
Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” falls from No. 1 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart as Morgan Wallen’s new hit “Been By Now” debuts in first place.
S&P 500 sales growth is at a nearly 5-year high. Here’s what’s behind the surge.
Energy companies in the S&P 500 have put up a 42.5% revenue gain in the second quarter, powering the index’s sales performance.