Defense, Auto Loans & Local LLMs

With wars ongoing, the federal government’s weapons purchases haven’t let up during the government shutdown. Investors have been bidding up the stocks of US defense contractors as a result, and the S&P 500 Aerospace and Defense industry has impressively outperformed the broader market. But investors liked what they heard in the earnings reports of just two out of four recently reporting companies. … Also: Jackie shares trends in consumer and auto finance after the recent bankruptcies of two subprime lenders. … And: Will the massive buildouts of AI infrastructure be rendered unnecessary if AI systems reside not in the cloud but locally on users’ equipment?