Silver Tsunami, Google in Kuala Lumpur, Tunisian Telecoms and More News for Investors
Let's scan through the headlines for the stories of the week that speak to our Pro Portfolio holdings.
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While earnings and tariff news continue to make headlines, we've been digging below the main stories for news that speaks to our Pro Portfolio investments. This includes reports on the growing demand for electricity, the decline of cable and satellite TV subscriptions, the boosting of defense spending globally and even deals like Alphabet's GOOGL move into Malaysia.
If you’ve come across a signal we should know about, be sure to drop a link in the Comment section below.
And if you haven’t watched this week’s TheStreet Stocks & Markets podcast, here’s a helpful link so you can.
Aging Population
According to Capgemini’s World P&C Insurance Report 2025, The world population is projected to reach 9.66 billion by 2050, up from 8.16 billion today — effectively adding another China to the planet. But beneath this headline growth lies a deeper disruption: The structure of that population is transforming. The global dependency ratio — the proportion of seniors (aged 65+) compared to working-age individuals — is growing. By 2050, for every 100 working-age people, there will be 26 seniors to support, up from 16 today — a 63% increase. Read more here
Position: Labcorp LH; Bullpen: WellTower WELL
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Artificial Intelligence
Fifty-nine percent of healthcare executives specifically stated they would increase their GenAI investment in the next year, a figure higher than the 52% cross-industry average. Full embedding of GenAI across healthcare businesses is expected to take, on average, 7.4 years, aligning with the cross-industry average. Scaling up these investments is rapidly becoming essential for healthcare organizations to maintain a competitive edge. Read more here
xAI, TWG Global and Palantir Technologies announced a collaboration that commits to redefining how financial service providers of all sizes can successfully adopt AI and scale the technology across the entire enterprise to drive long-term market competitiveness and unlock unprecedented value creation. Read more here
Financial services companies have gotten quite adept at using every advantage they can get to attract and retain customers. Now we are seeing a surge in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies as financial companies try to differentiate their products and services and offer more customized user experiences. AI is the new future of the industry, and it’s heating up quickly. Read more here
Position: Alphabet GOOGL, Amazon AMZN, Elastic ESTC, Meta Platforms META, Microsoft MSFT, Palantir PLTR, ServiceNow NOW
Cybersecurity
Education giant Pearson suffered a cyberattack, allowing threat actors to steal corporate data and customer information, BleepingComputer has learned. Pearson is a UK-based education company and one of the world’s largest providers of academic publishing, digital learning tools, and standardized assessments. The company works with schools, universities, and individuals in over 70 countries through its print and online services. Read more here
Private equity and venture capital company Insight Partners is informing some partners and employees that their information may have been stolen by hackers in the cyberattack discovered in January 2025. Read more here
CISA warned critical infrastructure organizations of "unsophisticated" threat actors actively targeting the U.S. oil and natural gas sectors. While these attacks use very basic tactics to compromise their targets' industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) equipment, CISA also cautioned that they could still lead to significant impact, including physical damage and disruptions. Read more here
Position: Elastic, First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF, Microsoft
Digital Infrastructure
Malaysian infrastructure firm Gamuda has sold a plot of land outside Kuala Lumpur to Google for a data center development. In January, Gamuda acquired 389 acres of land in Port Dickson for a planned data center development. Gamuda DC Infrastructure Sdn Bhd this week entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement & External Infrastructure Contract with Google-affiliate Pearl Computing Malaysia Sdn Bhd for the site. Read more here
Telecoms firm Orange has launched a new data center in Tunisia. Orange Tunisie this week announced it had inaugurated a facility in Kalaa Kebira, Sousse. The Tier III-quality facility spans 1,000 sqm (10,765 sq ft) and will support Orange’s own needs as well as customers. It will offer high-quality hosting solutions, covering services such as cloud computing, backup, and business continuity, in a locally managed environment. Read more here
Tract, a developer of master-planned data center parks, has acquired a large plot of land outside Austin, Texas. The company this week announced the acquisition of a 1,515-acre land parcel in Caldwell County, located south of Austin and northeast of San Antonio. The property, located near the city of Uhland, will reportedly support more than 2GW at full build-out, with “provisions for supplemental on-site generation.” The initial 360MW grid connection will be energized in 2028 in partnership with Blue Bonnet Electric Cooperative. Read more here
South Korean telco LG Uplus has said it will invest 615.6 billion won ($441.7m) in its upcoming data center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. As reported by EToday and ChosunBiz, the data center is set to be completed by 2027 and will eventually be capable of hosting more than 100,000 servers. Plans to build the data center have been in the works since May 2024, when the company announced its intention to purchase real estate, including land and buildings in Paju owned by LG Display. Read more here
Position: Marvell MRVL, Nvidia NVDA
Digital Lifestyle
CNN is betting big on digital subscriptions to reverse its fortunes, with CEO Mark Thompson announcing plans to launch a series of streaming products, starting with one this year and another in 2026, to offset steep declines in cable viewership. Read more here
DISH Network, a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation, saw a continued erosion of its pay-TV subscriber base in the first quarter of 2025, losing a net total of 383,000 customers across its satellite DISH TV service and its streaming platform, Sling TV. The figures indicate the ongoing challenges faced by traditional and virtual pay-TV providers amid fierce competition and shifting consumer preferences. Read more here
Position: Alphabet, Meta Platforms
Energy Pain Point
Electricity demand is growing in the United States due to the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, the reshoring of manufacturing, and increased electrification resulting from Biden’s climate initiatives. To fulfill this need, a report by Deloitte, “Funding the Growth in the U.S. Power Sector,” finds that power sector investments may need to reach $1.4 trillion between 2025 and 2030, driven by a 10% to 17% increase in electricity demand from 2024 levels. Read more here
Our research shows that by 2030, data centers are projected to require $6.7 trillion worldwide to keep pace with the demand for compute power. Data centers equipped to handle AI processing loads are projected to require $5.2 trillion in capital expenditures, while those powering traditional IT applications are projected to require $1.5 trillion in capital expenditures (see sidebar “What about non-AI workloads?”). Overall, that’s nearly $7 trillion in capital outlays needed by 2030—a staggering number by any measure. Read more here
CenterPoint Energy reported a fall in first-quarter profit on Thursday, but the U.S. utility raised its capital expenditure plan to meet expected demand from data centers used for artificial intelligence technologies… the company raised its 10-year capital expenditure plan through 2030 by $1 billion to $48.5 billion, expecting a surge in demand from AI companies. Read more here
Position: Eaton, VanEck Uranium Nuclear Energy ETF NLR
Luxury Buying Boom
Porsche slashed its financial outlook, as the sports-car maker struggled in China and said tariffs are hurting its business in the U.S… Porsche said deliveries tumbled 42% in China, which it blamed on very challenging market conditions, particularly in the luxury segment, as well as high competition. Porsche said the introduction of U.S. tariffs was incorporated into its adjusted forecast but that it hasn’t incorporated any tariff impact yet beyond May. Read more here
Position: None
Safety & Security
The White House unveiled a budget blueprint Friday that would pump more money into defense and homeland security, while taking an ax to programs the Trump administration has already targeted, including education, foreign aid, environment, health and public assistance programs… It would increase defense spending by 13% to $1 trillion. It would also provide a “historic” $175 billion investment to “fully secure the border,” according to an Office of Management and Budget letter sent to Sen. Susan Collins…. Read more here
Spain will have to raise defence spending to 3% of gross domestic product, the European defence commissioner said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday, as European countries bend to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to spend more. Read more here
Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday, May 7, said that Berlin supports relaxing strict EU fiscal rules to let member states ramp up defence spending as he sought to establish his European credentials on his first foreign visits. Read more here
Position: Axon Enterprise, Palantir PLTR
The Strategies Behind Our Thematic Models
Aging of the Population - Capturing the demographic wave of the aging population and the changing demands it brings with it.
Artificial Intelligence – Software, chips, and related companies that facilitate the collection and analysis of large data sets and autonomous generation of solutions given non-machine language prompts.
Cash Strapped Consumer - Companies poised to benefit as consumers stretch the disposable spending dollars they do have.
CHIPs Act – Capturing the reshoring of the US semiconductor industry and the $52.7 billion poised to be spent on semiconductor manufacturing.
Cybersecurity - Companies that focus on protecting against the penetration of digital networks and the theft, ransom, corruption or destruction of data.
Data Privacy & Digital Identity - Companies providing the tools and services that verify authorized users and safeguard personal data privacy.
Digital Infrastructure & Connectivity -The buildout and upgrading of our Networks, Data Storage Facilities, and Equipment.
Digital Lifestyle - The companies behind our increasingly connected lives.
Digital Payments - This model focuses on companies benefitting from the accelerating structural adoption of digital payments and financial technology (FinTech).
Energy Pain Point - Companies poised to prosper from rising power demand.
EV Transition - Capturing the transition to EVs and related infrastructure from combustion engine vehicles.
Guilty Pleasure – Companies that produce/provide food and drink products that consumers tend to enjoy regardless of the economic environment and potential long-term health hazards associated with excessive consumption.
Homebuilding & Materials – Ranging from homebuilders to key building product companies that serve the housing market, this model looks to capture the rising demand for housing, one that should benefit as the Fed returns monetary policy to more normalized levels.
Luxury Buying Boom - Tapping into aspirational buying and affluent buyers amid rising global wealth.
Rebuilding America - Turning the focused spending on rebuilding US infrastructure into revenue and profits.
Safety & Security – Targeted exposure to companies that provide goods and services primarily to the Defense and security sectors of the economy.
