London Irvine Report: Special Update 28/02/2026 AI At Work Profitably For Criminals. US Inflation.

Baltic Dry Index. 2140 +23 Brent Crude 72.87

Spot Gold 5279 Spot Silver 93.29

U S 2 Year Yield 3.38 -0. 04

US Federal Debt. 38.742 trillion

US GDP 31.193 trillion

“Imagine a world where AI can diagnose diseases earlier, personalize education, and create a more sustainable future. That’s the potential of AI.”

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google

Update 7AM. Israel starts a new war. USA joins in.

For more on AI at work profitably, scroll down to the ~~scandal~~ next section.

Great news, for me at least, on Thursday I was able, after a week of walking, to get my repaired 2012 Ford Focus back after a notorious Ford Focus oil circulation failure, due to known problems with timing belt disintegration blocking the oil filter.

After paying a King’s ransom, Graeme is back to his great relaxation of driving again. I once drove 8,000 miles in 10 days in a Hertz rental, around the wonderful USA and a small part of great Canada, to see Niagara Falls in winter, among other forgotten reasons. If you can, try to see the GREAT Niagara Falls in winter’s depth, as well as in summer.

Two very rainy, but delightful days of that, were spent, with distant, in every sense or the word, relatives in Seattle. The good old days of being a young Anglo-Scot and invincible. Now I have to remember where I left the car and how to get back to it.

But, back to more important things, like trying to stay reasonably healthy and solvent in the 21^st century's, increasingly absurd world fiat dollar reserve standard.

Worryingly, is US inflation back?

Dow closes more than 500 points lower after hot inflation report, mounting concerns about AI impact

Updated Fri, Feb 27 2026 4:22 PM EST

Stocks dropped on Friday after the latest producer price index data came in much hotter than expected, adding sticky inflation to a list of concerns that has caused market turbulence this month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 521.28 points, or 1.05%, to close at 48,977.92. The S&P 500 closed down 0.43% at 6,878.88, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.92% to settle at 22,668.21.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished in the red for February amid growing fears about the impact of artificial intelligence on specific industries and the overall economy. Those fears were exacerbated after Jack Dorsey’s fintech company Block said it’s laying off more than 4,000 employees — nearly half of its workforce. Stocks in the financial sector and other areas of the market tied to the economic cycle pulled back Friday.

Stocks linked to private credit were under pressure again as investors anticipated that they could be potentially suffer as a result of UK mortgage provider Market Financial Solutions’ collapse. Apollo and Jefferies were among the laggards, dropping more than 8% and 9%, respectively. Shares of Blue Owl, which has been hit recently in the wake of its liquidity curbs and asset sale, fell about 6%.

Notable software names suffered losses as well Friday as they close out a terrible month. Salesforce tumbled more than 2%, as did Microsoft, which weighed on the Dow. Cybersecurity company Zscaler shed 12% after deferred revenue and billings in the fiscal second quarter missed expectations. CoreWeave fell 18% on disappointing guidance.

Nvidia extended its post-earnings slide with a 4% fall Friday. The stock shed more than 5% on Thursday, a surprise to many investors who remain bullish on the chipmaker given its blowout fourth-quarter results and upcoming product cycle. Market participants attributed the decline in shares to doubts around Nvidia’s deal with OpenAI, weak sentiment over the AI trade and skepticism about whether hyperscalers’ lofty AI capital expenditures are sustainable.

Fueling the downbeat sentiment, January’s producer price index — a measure of wholesale inflation — showed a 0.5% increase for the month. Economists polled by Dow Jones saw the headline reading coming in at 0.3%. Perhaps more concerning is that the core PPI reading, which excludes food and energy prices, recorded a 0.8% gain, much more than the 0.3% rise economists anticipated.

Stephen Kolano, chief investment officer at Integrated Partners, views the PPI report as an additional complication for investors on top of the already-existing anxieties surrounding not just AI capex and the risk of its disruption to industries but also other factors such as stress in the private credit market. Noting that the inflation reading seems to be more services driven, he thinks it’s a sign companies are possibly starting to pass through the cost of tariffs to the end consumer in order to maintain their margins.

“Inflation isn’t solved yet,” he said, adding that it creates this conundrum for the Federal Reserve of deciding whether to cut interest rates to spur growth or to hold steady to continue to fight inflation. “It just creates this uncertainty around which way is policy going to go in the remainder of the year.”

That’s not to mention the state of the labor market as another worry, Kolano said. Even though job growth last month was much better than expected, the investment chief said he isn’t sure that the labor market is stabilizing given that layoffs have been picking up. In fact, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported earlier this month that layoffs in January hit their highest total for that month since the global financial crisis.

“I don’t see a clear sign that unemployment is not going to move higher just yet,” he said.

The Nasdaq posted a decline of more than 3% in February, seeing its worst monthly performance since last March. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF (IGV) is down nearly 10% for the month, bringing its year-to-date losses to almost 23%. The S&P 500, meanwhile, recorded a loss of close to 1% in February, while the Dow climbed about 0.2%.

Stock market news for Feb. 27, 2026

UBS downgrades the U.S. stock market. Here’s what has the investment bank worried

Published Fri, Feb 27 2026 9:37 AM EST Updated Fri, Feb 27 2026 11:59 AM EST

Andrew Garthwaite, head of global equity strategy at the investment bank, downgraded American equities to “benchmark” in a fully invested global equity portfolio, arguing that the factors that powered years of outperformance are starting to fade.

The dollar risk is a central concern, Garthwaite wrote. UBS forecasts the euro climbing to $1.22 by the end of the first quarter and sees “asymmetric structural downside risks” to the greenback. Historically, when the dollar’s trade-weighted index falls 10%, U.S. equities underperform by roughly 4% in unhedged terms, according to the bank.

Foreign markets are trouncing the U.S. this year as a weaker dollar and cheaper valuations draw capital overseas. The MSCI World ex-US index has gained about 8% in 2026, compared with the little changed performance for the S&P 500. Japan’s Nikkei 225 has rallied 17% year to date, while the Stoxx Europe 600 is up 7%, underscoring a sharp rotation away from American equities. U.S. stocks struggled again Friday as investors fretted over the potential downsides of the artificial intelligence build-out and persistent inflation at home.

Another pillar of U.S. stock strength — corporate buybacks — is also losing its edge, the bank said. The buyback yield in the U.S. is now only roughly on par with global peers, eroding what had been a key support for earnings per share growth and investor flows, UBS said. The combined shareholder yield from dividends and buybacks in the U.S. is now about half that of Europe, the bank said.

“The buybacks yield is no longer exceptional and this had been an important driver of funds flow, EPS and valuation,” Garthwaite wrote.

Valuations add to the unease. UBS calculates that the sector-adjusted price-earnings ratio for U.S. stocks is 35% above international peers, versus an average premium of about 4% since 2010. Roughly 60% of sectors trade not only at higher multiples than their global counterparts but also above their own historical premium, the strategist wrote.

Policy volatility under President Donald Trump is another headwind. This year has brought shifts in tariff policy, proposals to cap credit card interest rates, potential limits on private equity investment in housing, renewed scrutiny of drug pricing, and suggestions to curb dividends and buybacks for defense companies, UBS said.

Still, the noted strategist stopped short of turning outright bearish.

UBS downgrades the U.S. stock market. Here's what has the investment bank worried

Core wholesale prices rose 0.8% in January, much more than expected

Published Fri, Feb 27 2026 8:33 AM EST

Wholesale prices rose at a faster-than-expected pace in January, countering hopes that inflation was easing, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

The core producer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.8%, more than the 0.6% gain in December and well ahead of the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 0.3%.

On an all-items basis, headline PPI rose 0.5%, also above the forecast for 0.3% and 0.1 percentage point more than the prior month.

For the full year, core wholesale prices accelerated 3.6%, while the headline index posted a 2.9% gain. Both figures are well ahead of the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation goal and suggest that rising prices are still a factor for the U.S. economy.

Services prices primarily drove the increase, with a 0.8% month increase that was the highest since July 2025. By contrast, goods prices actually fell 0.3%, though core goods prices rose 0.7%.

More than 20% of the increase in services came from margins for professional and commercial equipment wholesaling. On the goods side, energy and food prices both fell while metals prices increased 4.8%.

Trade services prices surged 2.5%, helping boost pressures on wholesale inflation.

The report comes as President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that inflation has been tamed. Pipeline pressures as indicated by the PPI figures could keep the Fed cautious as it weighs its next moves on interest rates. Markets largely expect the Fed to stay on the sidelines until the summer, though Trump and other White House officials have pushed for lower rates.

PPI January 2026:

Why prices are spiking and what it signals for inflation ahead

27 February, 2026

U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in January, likely as businesses passed on higher costs from import tariffs, suggesting inflation could pick up in the months ahead.

The Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.5% last month after advancing by a downwardly revised 0.4% in December, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI gaining 0.3% after a previously reported 0.5% increase in December.

A 0.8% jump in services accounted for the rise in the PPI. That reflected a 2.5% increase in trade services, which measure changes in margins received by wholesalers and retailers. There was a 14.4% surge in margins for professional and commercial equipment wholesaling, suggesting businesses were passing on tariffs.

Prices also increased for apparel, footwear and accessories retailing, as well as chemicals and allied products wholesaling, bundled wired telecommunications access services, health, beauty and optical goods retailing, and food and alcohol retailing.

In the 12 months through January, the PPI increased 2.9% after rising 3.0% in December. The moderation in the year-on-year producer inflation rate reflected last year's high readings dropping out of the calculation.

The report was delayed by the brief shutdown of the federal government early this month. Producer goods prices fell 0.3%, with the cost of energy declining 2.7% and food decreasing 1.5%. Excluding food and energy, goods prices soared 0.7%.

Some of the components in the PPI report go into the calculation of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Indexes, the inflation measures tracked by the Federal Reserve for its 2% target.

Prior to the PPI data, economists estimated that core PCE inflation increased by as much as 0.5% in January, which would translate to a year-on-year advance of 3.1%.

Core PCE inflation rose 0.4% in December and increased 3.0% year-on-year. The government will publish the delayed PCE inflation report on March 13.

Price spikes hint that inflation may rise in coming months

In other news, who invented the zip, when and why.

The History of the Zipper

By Mary Bellis Updated on May 11, 2025

It was a long way up for the humble zipper, the mechanical wonder that has kept our lives "together" in many ways. The zipper was invented with the work of several dedicated inventors, though none convinced the general public to accept the zipper as part of everyday life. It was the magazine and fashion industry that made the novel zipper the popular item it is today.

The story begins when Elias Howe, Jr. (1819–1867), inventor of the sewing machine, who received a patent in 1851 for an "Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure." It didn't go much further beyond that, though. Perhaps it was the success of the sewing machine, that caused Elias not to pursue marketing his clothing closure system. As a result, Howe missed his chance to become the recognized "Father of the Zip."

Forty-four years later, inventor Whitcomb Judson (1846–1909) marketed a "Clasp Locker" device similar to system described in the 1851 Howe patent. Being first to market, Whitcomb got credit for being the "inventor of the zipper." However, his 1893 patent did not use the word zipper.

The Chicago inventor's "Clasp Locker" was a complicated hook-and-eye shoe fastener. Together with businessman Colonel Lewis Walker, Whitcomb launched the Universal Fastener Company to manufacture the new device. The clasp locker debuted at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and was met with little commercial success.

It was a Swedish-born electrical engineer named Gideon Sundback (1880–1954) whose work helped make the zipper the hit it is today. Originally hired to work for the Universal Fastener Company, his design skills and a marriage to the plant-manager's daughter Elvira Aronson led to a position as head designer at Universal. In his position, he improved the far from perfect "Judson C-curity Fastener." When Sundback's wife died in 1911, the grieving husband busied himself at the design table. By December of 1913, he came up with what would become the modern zipper.

Gideon Sundback's new-and-improved system increased the number of fastening elements from four per inch to 10 or 11, had two facing-rows of teeth that pulled into a single piece by the slider and increased the opening for the teeth guided by the slider. His patent for the "Separable Fastener" was issued in 1917.

Sundback also created the manufacturing machine for the new zipper. The "S-L" or scrapless machine took a special Y-shaped wire and cut scoops from it, then punched the scoop dimple and nib and clamped each scoop on a cloth tape to produce a continuous zipper chain. Within the first year of operation, Sundback's zipper-making machine was producing a few hundred feet of fastener per day.

Naming the Zipper

The popular "zipper" name came from the B. F. Goodrich Company, which decided to use Sundback's fastener on a new type of rubber boots or galoshes. Boots and tobacco pouches with a zippered closure were the two chief uses of the zipper during its early years. It took 20 more years to convince the fashion industry to seriously promote the novel closure on garments.

In the 1930s, a sales campaign began for children's clothing featuring zippers. The campaign advocated zippers as a way to promote self-reliance in young children as the devices made it possible for them to dress in self-help clothing.

The History of the Zipper and How It Became Mainstream

Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession Watch.

Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians, inflation now needs an entire section of its own.

Today, AI at work profitably. Unfortunately it’s for crooks and fraudsters. Is an AI scandal about to unfold? (Don’t worry, it’s only Australian dollars, not real money dollars, like US dollars. Oh wait…)

Commonwealth Bank urgently calls in the police after $1 billion fraud

27 February 2026

Commonwealth Bank has uncovered what could be the largest fraud ever committed against an Australian bank after an internal investigation into its home loan portfolio - prompting the bank to refer the matter to police. The review was prompted by the so-called Penthouse Syndicate scandal, which allegedly saw NAB defrauded of about $150 million through property purchases. Police are investigating NAB employees accused of facilitating home and business loans as part of an alleged money-laundering scheme. The Penthouse Syndicate is accused of building a Sydney property empire worth tens of millions of dollars using corrupt solicitors, real estate agents and mortgage brokers.

In response, CBA began scrutinising its own lending practices, and uncovered about $1 billion worth of home loans that were allegedly approved using fraudulent documents. Some of those documents are suspected to have been generated using artificial intelligence. Mortgage fraud often originates in broker and referral channels, where third parties gather documents and submit applications on behalf of borrowers. In some cases, dishonest brokers or applicants allegedly inflate incomes, falsify employment details, or alter payslips and tax returns to make borrowers appear more creditworthy than they are. Because banks process thousands of applications each month and rely heavily on electronically submitted documents, falsified paperwork can slip through if verification systems fail to detect inconsistencies.

Once approved, loans provide access to funds that may otherwise have been denied. In more serious cases, criminal groups can use shell companies or fabricated financial records to obtain legitimate mortgages, then use repayments to 'clean' illicit funds. The property may later be sold, allowing money derived from criminal activity to re-enter the financial system appearing legitimate. Penny Dunn, a forensics and financial crime partner at PwC, told The Australian Financial Review that artificial intelligence is making document forgery increasingly sophisticated. 'It's very difficult for the human eye to see,' Ms Dunn said. A CBA spokesperson said: 'This is an industry-wide challenge, with fraud being attempted through mortgage broking and referral channels.'

While AI is helping criminals commit fraud against financial institutions, it's also being used by banks to rake in more profits. Just this week, CBA laid off hundreds of workers in Australia and launched a hiring spree in India after recording a $5billion profit. The Finance Sector Union said it will affect teams across retail, business and institutional banking, and human resources, with the majority of roles impacted in technology. Union national secretary Julia Angrisano said cutting 300 workers was 'totally unacceptable'.

'For years we have seen CBA continue to axe hundreds upon hundreds of jobs while raking in billions in profits,' she said. 'We've heard countless stories of CBA workers being tossed onto the redundancy pile and having to fend for themselves at the whim of the bank. 'These are the very workers who helped generate CBA's massive profits. The least the bank can do is retrain and reskill workers, and provide opportunities for them to remain at CBA.' The bank increased its India-based workforce by 21 per cent to 6,788 in the year to June 2025, a 138 per cent increase since 2022.

Commonwealth Bank urgently calls in the police after $1 billion fraud

Next, how AI is polluting YouTube. Caveat Emptor if trading off YouTube. Approx. 19 minutes.

Who is the "AI Asian Guy" and Why is he Manipulating Silver Markets?

Who is the "AI Asian Guy" and Why is he Manipulating Silver Markets?

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section.

Lamborghini kills its electric supercar that nobody wanted

By Abhimanyu Ghoshal February 23, 2026

Lamborghini seemed awfully keen to make an all-electric supercar a few years ago when it revealed the gorgeous Lanzador concept. But as it turns out, that dream was short-lived. After showing off the EV concept in 2023, the celebrated Italian marque secretly axed the project late last year, apparently to no one's dismay.

That's from The Sunday Times, which reported over the weekend that Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said interest in all-electric cars in its target market was "close to zero." He added that he was mulling over what to do with the Lanzador before ultimately deciding to kill it off "after over a year of continuous internal discussion, engaging with customers, dealers, market analysis and global data.”

Buyers in this segment want something that looks, sounds, and feels like a supercar. “EVs, in their current form, struggle to deliver this specific emotional connection,” said Winkelmann. He emphasized that the noise coming from the engine is a prominent selling point when it comes to luxury vehicles – and you simply don't get that from electric motors.

The Lanzador was a 2+2 seater grand tourer with Lamborghini's signature aggressive styling, and high ground clearance to allow for versatility as a daily driver. The company intended to drop in dual electric motors, a new driving dynamics control system for precise handling, active aerodynamics for increased range and performance, and sustainable materials throughout the interior. It had been slated to go into production in 2028.

----At the same time, from a business perspective, major automakers are moving cautiously when it comes to investing heavily in EVs. For its part, manufacturing the all-new Lanzador would've required Lamborghini to expand its Sant'Agata Bolognese factory and grow its team. “Investing heavily in full-EV development when the market and customer base are not ready would be an expensive hobby, and financially irresponsible towards shareholders, customers [and] to our employees and their families," said Winkelmann.

At this point, Audi-owned Lamborghini is currently all-in on plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), which combine electric motors to boost acceleration with gas-powered engines for visceral performance. Its current line-up includes the Urus SUV, the Temerario, and the Revuelto, which are all PHEVs. Winkelmann says the company will stick to that lane until the time is right to go fully electric.

Source: The Sunday Times

Lamborghini axes electric supercar Lanzador concept project

Next, the world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.

World Debt Clocks (usdebtclock.org)

Exponent Calculator

Enter values into any two of the input fields to solve for the third.

Exponent Calculator

This weekend’s music diversion. Another largely forgotten maestro. Approx. 14 minutes.

Giovanni Punto - Horn Concerto No.11 in E-major

Giovanni Punto - Horn Concerto No.11 in E-major - YouTube

Next, more fun with numbers. Approx.11 minutes.

The Map of Mathematics