Megacap week. Tue (US): Alphabet, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Boeing Wed (US): Meta, T-Mobile Thu (US): Apple, Amazon, Eli Lilly, Uber Fri (US): Chevron US dates. The biggest names in the index, in four days. General info only, not advice.

3 numbers that mattered this week. Number one: zero. Is everybody against data centres now? Lane Cove (a Goodman Group project, the panel pointed out) and Footscray (built, but "they couldn't get the power"). First up on Bulls vs Bears EP142. General info only, not advice.

Gold doesn't need an AI story. IMF: global public debt near 94% of output in 2025, heading to 100% by 2029. Central banks bought an estimated 863t of gold in 2025. The Silver Institute still sees a 46.3m oz silver deficit in 2026. Mark's latest for @livewiremarkets. Article and more in the reply. #Gold #Silver #CriticalMinerals General information only, not personal advice.

Four bears and no bulls. Is that the signal to be nervous, or to get ready? Whole panel bearish on EP142. Mark Gardner: "So I'm back, baby. It's my bears." JT: liquidity leaving Kai: no panic yet Philip: hyperscalers report Mark: Meta beat "and it just got smashed" Which way are you leaning? General info only, not advice.

Everybody hates data centres. So what happens to the AI trade if they don't get built? Texas power bills up to 2.5x, about $130b of projects stopped globally, NEXTDC smashed. We bust the myths and ask why chip makers on tiny PEs still get sold. EP142 Everybody Hates Datacenters is live. General info only, not advice.

A useful business can still be a poor investment at the wrong price. Barrick's June-quarter operating cash flow: US$1.12bn. After capital spending: US$141m. Cheap on a forecast isn't cheap at today's commodity price. Follow the cash. Mark's latest for @livewiremarkets. Article and more in the reply. #ASX #CriticalMinerals #Lithium General information only, not personal advice.

AI needs more electricity. The IEA's 2025 base case has data-centre power use rising from 415 TWh in 2024 to about 945 TWh in 2030. Households have little incentive to fund someone else's data centre. But growing demand doesn't guarantee a quick rise in mineral prices. Mark's latest for @livewiremarkets. Article and more in the reply. #ASX #CriticalMinerals #AI General information only, not personal advice.

Critical minerals were 2026's hottest investment theme. Ten months on, the sector has fallen hard. Mark's new piece for @livewiremarkets: the minerals still matter. What changed is investors' appetite for the producers, and that creates an opportunity in selected miners. Article and more in the reply. #ASX #CriticalMinerals #Lithium General information only, not personal advice.

Tesla reports after the US close on Wednesday, which is Thursday morning here. IBM, Texas Instruments and AT&T share the day. Intel and Mastercard follow Thursday US time. General info only, not advice.

Mark's eyeing lithium and rare earths after the heavy sell-off. He sat down solo with @ausbiztv yesterday for about eight minutes. His lead point: the wave of ASX M&A shows how cheap some listed companies have become. After the falls, lithium and rare earths are looking increasingly attractive to him. Lithium spot is still up around 41% over two years, and some producers are on low forward P/Es. Also covered: Challenger (CGF); BHP a hold after the quarterly, with Mark constructive on copper; whether NAB's 2,500 job cuts are really AI-driven; and value in HUB24 (HUB) after the platform sell-off. Stocks covered: CGF, BHP, NAB, HUB. Episode link in the reply. General information only, not personal advice. #ASX #lithium #rareearths #BHP #MandA