Episode 808 of DHUnplugged, titled 'Bulls in a Bubble Shop' and published June 30, 2026, closes out the first half of 2026 with the S&P 500 up roughly 7.5%, the Dow above 52,000, and AI hardware names running like the bulls at San Fermin. Hosts John C. Dvorak and Andrew Horowitz tally winners, losers, and warning signs flashing under the surface of the rally, with particular focus on an alleged 'ram job' in the memory chip industry.
The deepest dive centers on memory. SanDisk finished the half up 780%, Micron up 300%, Western Digital up 240%, and Seagate up 226%, while South Korea's KOSPI surged 125% behind Samsung and SK Hynix. Yet the hosts revisit the 2005 DRAM price-fixing case in which Hynix paid $180 million, Samsung $300 million, and Infineon $160 million, noting the plaintiffs now allege the same three companies control 90% of DRAM and coordinated supply cuts as conventional DRAM prices jumped roughly 700% over four years. A new U.S. antitrust class action has been filed against Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, echoing past abuses.
Horowitz reserves particular scorn for the Trump Accounts program, a $1,000 Treasury-funded seed for newborns launched on July 4. He calls it a contradiction: 'It's a forced financial literacy experiment wrapped in a political brand name with a socialist starter check to teach capitalism.' The program was pitched as a lesson in capitalism and compounding, but Horowitz questions its design.
Dvorak, meanwhile, needles the AI infrastructure narrative, arguing compute is heading back to the desktop via Nvidia Blackwell-powered mini machines, which could leave server farms underutilized and memory prices vulnerable to collapse. This skepticism comes as the Bank for International Settlements flags AI-boom financial-stability risks, and PCE inflation climbs to 4.1%.
The episode also covers SpaceX's newly issued investment-grade bonds already underwater, with the stock joining the Nasdaq 100. Japan's yen at 162 to the dollar prompts hints of Bank of Japan 'yentervention,' and the hosts discuss the widowmaker trade. Other segments include Chevron's 20-year Project Kilby data-center power deal with Microsoft, Comcast splitting off NBCUniversal and Sky, the Interior Department slashing federal drilling bonds 95% to $25,000, Wendy's brief meme-stock spike after CFO Steve Cyrilus arrived from Potbelly, and gold slipping below $4,000 as Bitcoin sinks to $58,600.
Horowitz also previews an upcoming Peter Schiff interview on The Disciplined Investor. The episode is available at DHUnplugged.com and via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and RSS.
