Fat Tail Daily &#8211; ASX Updates | Small caps | Commodities

Orwell worried about what machines would take from us. Investors are betting on what they will deliver. Between those two questions sits a gap that prior tech revolutions struggled to cross.

113 kilometres of dirt between two WA gold towns

Brian Chu

A chance encounter on a trip to Meekatharra revealed to me what a company’s production cost doesn’t show you. It also showed me a lot about the country’s bureaucracy.

Magnets on the Menu

Elon Musk dines with Xi this week, and a Chinese firm reportedly makes all his robots’ muscles. I think the biggest winners from this boom missed the guest list.

Copper: A One-Trick AI Pony

Today, we’ll unpack whether there’s more to the copper bull market story than simply an AI Buildout.

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113 kilometres of dirt between two WA gold towns

Brian Chu

A chance encounter on a trip to Meekatharra revealed to me what a company’s production cost doesn’t show you. It also showed me a lot about the country’s bureaucracy.

Copper: A One-Trick AI Pony

Today, we’ll unpack whether there’s more to the copper bull market story than simply an AI Buildout.

Why $100-plus Oil Won’t Kill the Resources Bull Market

Oil’s above $100, bond yields sit at multi-decade highs and war keeps widening. Here’s why the resources bull market has longer to run.

History repeats; don’t get caught on the Wrong Side

European and Canadian defence spending jumped almost 20% in 2025 alone. This is where the next commodity boom is quietly being built.

Why the oil spike has not crashed the markets: Comparing 2026 with 2022

Brian Chu

As the conflict in the Middle East takes another alarming turn, concerns are rising over whether this could drive the global economy into a 1970s market shock. Before we go back 50 years, let’s compare today with four years ago…

Investment ideas from the Edge of the Bell Curve to your inbox

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Technology

Mind the Gap — Part 1.

Orwell worried about what machines would take from us. Investors are betting on what they will deliver. Between those two questions sits a gap that prior tech revolutions struggled to cross.

Maybe Apple is Right

AI is becoming more capable. But that doesn’t guarantee returns for those building ever-taller towers. New research points to a future where intelligence runs locally — and Apple could be well placed.

The Black Box Problem

The AI labs have asked to be slowed down. Critics call it regulatory capture. The truth is somewhere in between. A black box forming inside the newest models is why this matters now.

‘Something Has Gone Completely Wrong’ Pt. 2

Part two of Charlie’s exploration of privacy and security in the AI era. This time, OpenAI is in the crosshairs.

‘Something has Gone Completely Wrong’ Pt.1

In this two-part article, Charlie explores the implications of privacy and security in the AI era and a central company controlling that future.

Small Caps

Magnets on the Menu

Elon Musk dines with Xi this week, and a Chinese firm reportedly makes all his robots’ muscles. I think the biggest winners from this boom missed the guest list.

Always have an army

I’d prefer we live in a utopia that doesn’t need 10 million Optimus robots a year to ensure my physical safety and wellbeing. Well, at least there’s still a small window to invest.

China’s New Rare Earths Move

Trump and Xi meet Thursday. The market’s eyes are on bonds, oil and rates. Meanwhile a Chinese state group is circling a shareholder sitting on the register of America’s own rare earths champion.

Gina and Elon = Robot magnet rock

In November 1952, one man flew low through a Pilbara gorge and noticed the walls were the wrong colour. His daughter is doing it again, with magnets.

Can the robot STILL pour my beer?

In 1961 a two tonne arm took the worst job in a New Jersey car plant. The money never went to the carmaker, and it won’t this time either.

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Market Analysis

Is It Time to Go Fishing?

With US bond yields rising and the 10-year yield reaching a level last seen in 2007, Charlie and I step back to examine the 40-year cycle in interest rates and what bear flattening of the yield curve has meant for stocks.

Rising Yields and Roaring Commodities Rattle Markets

In this week’s The Closing Bell, Murray examines how the Iran war, rising Japanese interest rates and the threat of a powerful El Niño could be feeding a perfect storm for markets.

Rising Yields, Hot Uranium Stocks and Your Picks

Four viewer picks: a speculative data centre technology play, a vertically integrated water services provider, a brownfields gold miner and a uranium miner.

The Yellow BRIC Road Pt.2

Part 2 in my look at why BRICS looks to be embracing gold as its reserve of choice.

Nvidia Keeps the Party Going

Nvidia has done it again, delivering another blockbuster result and keeping animal spirits alive. But the strength is spreading well beyond AI. Beaten-up SaaS stocks are bouncing back from the SaaSpocalypse, while uranium, zinc, copper, gold and silver are all attracting serious buying.

Macro

Beijing Puts Away the Bazooka

Expectations of a stimulus bazooka from China have again been pushed back. But their latest plan does point to a list of metals that should be in your portfolio.

Let Her Rip

Two years ago, Trump’s economic whisperer co-wrote a paper accusing party politics of running stimulus into an election. This week, Treasury reached for the exact tool he described. The same paper warns what’s next.

Worst. Budget. Ever

Greg Canavan

Worst. Budget. Ever. I really don’t know where to start with this one. It is so bad for this country that it’s hard to fathom. So let me start with the positives…

The Walls are Closing in on Trump

The pressure is mounting on Trump ahead of a key meeting with Xi next week. What could this mean for our markets.

What Does China Know That We Don’t?