FRANCE: SOUND BARRIER. @REALCONSTABLE, OCCITANIE @BATCHELORSHOW

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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French soldiers fire their artillery gun March 7, 2019 at the Grafenwoehr Training Area

 U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher Stewart, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

WSJ: How Much Do You Know About the History of Nuclear Power?

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Nuclear power accounts for almost 10% of electricity generation globally and the U.S., with its 94 reactors, is responsible for about 30% of it, making it the largest producer of nuclear-powered electricity in the world.

But how much do you really know about history of nuclear power, beyond, say, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and “The China Syndrome”?

Test yourself with the following quiz.

1 OF 10

1. What was the location of the first nuclear power plant added to an electrical grid?

Read more here.

FOX Business: Sticker shock: Why US cars are frozen out of the European market

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Most people around the world either need or want to buy a car. But when it comes to choosing the model, American vehicles get short shrift. In other words, people outside the U.S. seem to shun buying U.S. vehicles. Instead, they’d rather buy their homegrown version.

Consider these car sales figures. In 2024, the U.S. imported 757,564 new vehicles made in the European Union, whereas the EU imported only 169,152 from America, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. Put in money terms, that’s EU sales to the U.S. of 38.5 billion euros ($43.9 billion) versus €7.8 billion (approximately $8.9 billion) sold to Europe. Read more here.

Jason Lawrence, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

#FRANCE: SEARCHING FOR RARE EARTHS. @REALCONSTABLE @BATCHELORSHOW

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Contributor(s): Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866-1939), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

#FRANCE: PLUNGING COMMODITIES. @REALCONSTABLE @BATCHELORSHOW

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Greenland Expedition. Man with boat and horse by the sea.

National Museum of Science and Technology , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

WSJ FINANCIAL FLASHBACK: 25 YEARS AGO: AT&T Wireless’s IPO

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Just as the dot-com bubble began to burst in the second quarter of 2000, megasize phone company decided to shed its cellphone service known as AT&T Wireless Group. The ensuing sale became the then largest initial public offering on record, raising $10.6 billion. 

 

Despite the epic amount of cash raised, AT&T Wireless’s first-day jump was just 7.4%. Wall Street expectations were for an “unspectacular price performance,” according to The Wall Street Journal. But many individuals had become conditioned to expect a huge first-day rally in the share price, says Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth Management. 

That was likely disappointing for some who bet big on a first-day price surge. The Journal featured one AT&T employee’s borrowing $54,400 on the IPO, an amount far greater than his annual salary. “That was very much the investing mindset which had yet to burst,” Hogan says. But as became apparent shortly thereafter, that attitude evaporated as the tech-heavy Nasdaq index slumped until October 2022.

As often happens on Wall Street, the glow was barely off the giant IPO, when AT&T Wireless was sold to Cingular Wireless. Read more here.

JD Vance's warning on Europe's future shines spotlight on continent's growing list of problems

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Following Vice President JD Vance's warning that Europe was at risk of ‘engaging in civilizational suicide,' the continent has come under the microscope for largely failing to deal with mass migration from mostly Third World countries. Associated with that has been a massive rise in violent crime and a failing economy. 

Freedom of speech is under attack as many complain of a two-tier justice system and, making things even more problematic, Europe's economy is not performing as expected. Read more here.

United States Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons