This Week in Barrons: 06.28.2026

In partnership with

• Meta's AI Glasses ... hold ~80% of the smart glasses market and is launching a new Kylie variant.  It features an embedded gem, a custom chime, and Kylie Jenner’s voice for Meta AI. This stylish release bridges fashion and tech, widening Meta's lead over competitors like Google.

• Focus on Hard Work, not Gear:  Seth Godin notes that once basic tools are good enough, success comes down to hard work and technique.  Upgrading your camera isn't as effective as fixing your lighting, just as winter tires beat horsepower in the snow.  To improve, sharpen your skills and build a thicker skin – rather than buying new gear.

• A Tip-of-the-Cap to Moms and Dads ... as the geopolitical news moved incredibly fast this week.  We shifted rapidly through a peace deal, attacks in Lebanon, a failed ceasefire, a Hormuz reopening, a Hormuz closing, and a new ceasefire – all before last Monday's opening bell and without any screaming! Well done to the parents of those involved - who taught them manners.

• OpenAI’s cost of a USG partnership = Freedom + $1T ... as the Trump Admin. ordered OpenAI to distribute its newest GPT model only to a select group of government-approved partners, with future public access requiring U.S. approval.  This heavy government control will slow growth and significantly delay OpenAI's $1T IPO.

• China's Gold Rush:  China's physical gold imports climbed to their highest level in over two years, jumping 76% YoY.  Per H. Thompson: Strong physical demand signals a long-term buy-and-hold strategy despite recent pressure on bullion prices.

• Nvidia's Zero-Water Factories ... were built to counter heavy pushback over AI data center energy and water consumption.  Nvidia's factory architecture uses a closed-loop system to achieve near-zero water consumption in favorable climates.. 

7 Stocks to Buy Before the Robots Take Over

The next AI trade may not be another chatbot.

It may be surgical robots, automated warehouses, smart factories, and machine vision systems already reshaping how companies operate.

MarketBeat’s new 7 Stocks to Buy Before the Robotics Revolution report reveals seven companies positioned across the automation boom, from robot builders and AI chip leaders to machine vision providers and factory automation giants.

This is where AI gets a body.

And as labor shortages, wage pressure, and supply chain stress push more companies toward automation, these stocks could move before the robotics story becomes impossible to ignore.

The report normally sells for $29.97, but it is free for a limited time.

Send My Free Report

• An Autonomous Trucking showdown is coming ... as Humble Robotics plans to deploy fully driverless freight trucks with no cabs or steering wheels on California highways. This sets up a high-stakes battle against California's 130,000 truck drivers, creating a labor template for the rest of the country.

• GM's Robot Invasion: GM replaced over 1,000 workers with 50 robots at its Detroit EV plant.  Balancing automation gains against intense union pressure and political scrutiny will shape the future of software-defined auto factories.

• AI hits consulting hard ... as Accenture shares plunged 18% last week to their lowest level since 2017.  The drop reflects a broader trend of companies using AI tools to handle tasks they previously outsourced to high-priced consultants.

• A PE Bottleneck of 30,000 unsold portfolio companies ... is an unprecedented backlog.  With the decade of zero-percent interest rates over, buyers willing to pay those old, inflated valuation multiples have vanished.

•  Apple's "RAMageddon" ... caused shares to drop 6% in a single day after the company raised Mac and iPad prices by 15% to 25%. The hikes stem directly from skyrocketing global costs for memory and storage chips, signaling clear Stagflation pressures.

• Working around US sanctions ... as ~90% of trade between Russia and China is now settled directly in yuan and rubles – up from just 2% four years ago.  The rapid shift demonstrates how easily global trade can bypass the plumbing of U.S. financial sanctions.

• Google's stock is cheaper since their talent exodus ... as more top AI talent departs for competitors.  Key Gemini contributors Jonas Adler and Alexander Pritzel, alongside Nobel laureate John Jumper, are moving to Anthropic, while prominent researcher Noam Shazeer has joined OpenAI.

• Claude gains market share ... with its paying consumer user base climbing 75% YTD.  Additionally, purchases for specialized Claude courses have surged 18x over the past 30 days.

• AI leaders fund Healthcare technology ... Stripe, Anthropic, and OpenAI launched a $500m nonprofit called Intercept.  It will fund respiratory-virus prevention tools and cleaner indoor-air technologies to target routine sicknesses like cold-and-flue – that big pharma continues to ignore.

Learn AI in 5 minutes a day

You don't have to scroll every AI thread, track every new tool, or watch every demo. 

The Rundown AI breaks it all down for you — the latest AI news, tools, and tutorials in one free 5-minute email every morning. 

Trusted by 2M+ professionals at Apple, Google, and NASA.

Sign up to start learning.

• Slate Auto's budget EV truck ... is opening its pre-orders for the sub-$25,000 EV pickup truck.  Designed with hand-crank windows and no infotainment screen, it aims to dramatically expand the entry-level EV market when manufactured at scale. (See video here...)

• Amazon's Zoox Robotaxi ... unveiled their upgraded bidirectional robotaxi featuring a familiar boxy frame alongside enhanced passenger comfort features. Operating entirely without a steering wheel or pedals, production is scaling to 100 units per week. (See video here...)

• Hyundai finalizes Boston Dynamics consolidation ... as it acquires SoftBank's remaining 9.65% stake for $325m to take full ownership.  The consolidation comes as Hyundai expands real-world deployments, utilizing Spot robots at the World Cup and integrating Atlas into car manufacturing lines.

• Last Week’s Top 5:

1.  OpenAI said the Buyer Pool Closed ... before it even opened.  OpenAI appears to be pushing its IPO to 2027.  Advisers gave CEO Altman two choices: (a) Wait for 2027 for $1T valuation, or (b) List in 2026 at a lower mark.  Altman called any cut below $1T a non-starter.

2.   The SEC has initiated Private Credit Enforcement ... as Chair Paul Atkins said the agency is investigating fraud in private credit.  Enforcement chief David Woodcock flagged: liquidity, fees, valuations, and conflicts of interest. 

3.   Sanctions evaders have chosen the Yuan ... as their settlement currency. Along with the Russia-China trade = 90% paid in yuan, Iran earned ~$43B in 2024 oil revenues = 90% paid in yuan.  UAE officials recently told the USG that they may use yuan for oil sales – if their dollar reserves run low. 

4.   Apple pushed their memory pricing onto consumers ... as it raised prices ~20%.  The AI buildout has become a measurable input to the inflation number that FED Chair Warsh is committed to bringing down.

5. How can Banks cap Private Credit redemptions ... but buyback their own stock instead?  Morgan Stanley capped its Private Credit fund redemptions on Tuesday and announced a $20B stock buyback on Wednesday.  They honored less than half of their Private Credit redemption requests.

• This Week’s Top 3 ... per PMD:

1. What will Dallas, Chicago PMI, and ISM Mfg. tell us?  The Dallas FED Mfg. Index lands on Monday, Chicago PMI hits on Tuesday, and the ISM Manufacturing Index lands on Wednesday morning.  Together they tell us whether the manufacturing economy is expanding or contracting.  Read the prices paid component first.  If it’s +60, then PCE inflation is hitting mfg. input costs = Stagflation.

2. Will the consumer confirm the affordability squeeze? Consumer Confidence lands on Tuesday alongside the Case-Shiller Home Price Index.  Mortgage applications and the 30-year mortgage rate hit on Wednesday.  Read Case-Shiller's MoM change against the YoY figure.  A monthly decline against a positive yearly print confirms that home prices rolled over during the spring selling season.

3. Does Labor confirm or soften a Sept. rate hike? ADP's weekly employment change drops Wednesday morning, while Initial Jobless Claims land Thursday alongside Nonfarm Payrolls.  Read payrolls against ADP's Wednesday print first.  If both land +175,000, then labor strength supports a Sept. hike.  If ADP comes in soft and the Jobs Report strong – then neither can be trusted.

• Factually: (a) The Mag-7 have become the Lag-7 with an almost -20% performance gap YTD.  (b) Across various indicators valuations look expensive. (c) Strong earnings expectations are supporting high valuations.  (d) Tech stocks have become the dominant sector in many portfolios / metrics.  And (e) after a long period of trending higher, I’m expecting a period of range-bound-trading.  Overall, per Callum Thomas:  The bullish rotation theme remains in play as the Mag-7 decline and the S&P493 win.  But there is a definite bearish vibe where the Lag-7 may foreshadow an extended Bear Market – even if we manage a short-term rebound rally.

• Last Week I BOT:  

  o  BOT: more OSCR – sold July C-Calls,

  o BOT: more AIP – sold July C-Calls,

  o BOT: more GLD & SLV,

  o BOT: more gold & silver miners Dec. Calls, and

  o BOT: more Bonds == capital preservation.

• HODLs: (Hold-On for Dear Life):

  - Hold / Reduce:

  - (-) Ethereum (ETH = $1,587 / in @ $310)

  - (-) Bitcoin (BTC = $60,655 / in @ $4,310)

   

  - Hold / Increase:

  - (+) Physical Commodities = Gold @ $4,103/ox & Silver @ $59.6/oz.

  - (+) SLV (silver ETF) == ($53.25 / in at $27)

  - (+) GLD – Gold ETF ($373.6 / in at $212)

  - (+) QQQI (QQQ mo. dividends @ 13%/yr.)’

  - (+) SPYI (SPY mo. dividends @ 10%/yr.)’

  - (+) DJIA (DIA mo. dividends @ 9%/yr.)

  - (+) HYBI (Bonds mo. dividends @ 8%/yr.)

  - (++) OSCR (Oscar Health) == ($29.7 / in at $11.92) – sold July $34 C-Calls

  - (++) AIP (Arteris) == ($42.1 / in at $33) – sold July $50 C-Calls

  - (o) HYPE (HyperLiquid) == ($64 / in at $32)

   

  - Please be safe out there!

• _{Expressed thoughts offered within the BARRONS REPORT, a Private and free weekly economic newsletter, are those of noted entrepreneur, professor and author, R.F. Culbertson, contributing sources and those he interviews.  You can subscribe by visiting: https://rfsfinanicalnews.beehiiv.com/subscribe.}

• _{Please write to Mr. Culbertson at: <[email protected]> to inform him of any reproductions, including when and where copy will be reproduced. You may use in complete form or, if quoting in brief, reference <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/> and/or https://rfsfinanicalnews.beehiiv.com}

• If you'd like to see R.F. in action - please feel free to view the TED talk that he gave on Fearless Investing.

• Creativity = https://youtu.be/n2QiPSe_dKk 

• Sales = https://youtu.be/blKw0zb6SZk

• Startup Incinerator = https://youtu.be/ieR6vzCFldI

• To unsubscribe please refer to the bottom of the email.

• Views expressed are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an offer, an endorsement, or inducement to invest and is not in any way a testimony of, or associated with Mr. Culbertson's other firms or associations. Mr. Culbertson and related parties are not registered and licensed brokers. This message may contain information that is confidential or privileged and is intended only for the individual or entity named above and does not constitute an offer for or advice about any alternative investment product. Such advice can only be made when accompanied by a prospectus or similar offering document. Please make sure to review important disclosures at the end of each article.

• Note: Joining BARRONS REPORT is not an offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of RF Culbertson and Associates.

• PAST RESULTS ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. THERE IS RISK OF LOSS AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GAIN WHEN INVESTING. WHEN CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS (INCLUDING HEDGE FUNDS) AN INVESTOR SHOULD CONSIDER VARIOUS RISKS INCLUDING THE FACT THAT SOME PRODUCTS AND OTHER SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT PRACTICES MAY INCREASE RISK OF INVESTMENT LOSS; MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AS MUTUAL FUNDS, OFTEN CHARGE HIGH FEES, AND IN MANY CASES THE UNDERLYING INVESTMENTS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT AND ARE KNOWN ONLY TO THE INVESTMENT MANAGER.

• Alternative investment performance can be volatile. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his or her investment. Often, alternative investment fund and account managers have total trading authority over their funds or accounts; the use of a single advisor applying generally similar trading programs could mean lack of diversification and, consequently, higher risk. There is often no secondary market for an investor's interest in alternative investments, and none is expected to develop.

• All material presented herein is believed to be reliable but we cannot attest to its accuracy. Opinions expressed in these reports may change without prior notice. Culbertson and/or the staff may or may not have investments in any funds cited above.

To Subscribe: https://rfsfinanicalnews.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Remember the Blog: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/>  and/or
https://rfsfinanicalnews.beehiiv.com.

Until next week – be safe.

R.F. Culbertson

<mailto:[email protected]>

http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com

https://rfsfinanicalnews.beehiiv.com