Friday links: what happens next

Quote of the Day "Writers and playwrights craft their own stories from start to finish, whereas investors don't get to choose what happens next." (Rubin Miller) Chart of the Day “Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, & Oracle will spend 90% of their operating cash flow on AI data centers in 2026, up from a historical average of 40%.” Strategy - Sometimes an investment works out, even when it shouldn't. (morningstar.com) - Don't discount the impact of skew on investment returns. (fortunesandfrictions.com) Bonds Finance - What a SpaceX IPO could look like. (reuters.com) - Intercontinental Exchange ($ICE) is putting another $600 million into Polymarket. (theblock.co) Big Tech - How Amazon ($AMZN) is building out fast rural delivery. (wsj.com) - Apple ($AAPL) actually cares about making great computers. (spyglass.org) - Google ($GOOGL) is getting out of the fiber business. (om.co) Food - NotCo is helping big food create 'plant-based alternatives for products typically made from dairy and meat.' (forbes.com) - Danone is buying protein shake maker Huel. (sherwood.news) - Vertical farming hasn't lived up to its promise. (nytimes.com) - How to get Americans to eat more seafood. (apnews.com) AI - Derek Thompson talks AI with Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark. (derekthompson.org) - Companies don't need to pay taxes on agents. (tomtunguz.com) - AI needs the open web. (techdirt.com) - AI has a PR problem. (yahoo.com) Drones - In the age of drones are tanks and artillery outdated? (theatlantic.com) - The U.S. military is not prepared for a full-on drone war. (wsj.com) - A Russian drone put a hole in the containment dome at Chernobyl. (ft.com) Economy - Diesel price increases are outpacing gasoline. (nytimes.com) - The helium shortage is real. (ft.com) - The war isn't helping consumer confidence. (econbrowser.com) - There are now more women employed in the U.S. than men. (axios.com) - Jerome Powell didn't ask to be a part of the resistance. (thebulwark.com) Earlier on Abnormal Returns - What you missed in our Thursday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com) - Longform links: a policeman on the take. (abnormalreturns.com) - Don't miss a thing! Sign up for our daily e-mail newsletter. (abnormalreturns.com)