The Amped Journal

The S&P 500 rose 0.65% and is on pace for its best August in more than 40 years, with second-quarter earnings set to grow 29% - outrunning stock price gains. Corporate America has posted its fattest profit margins ever despite a run of shocks in recent years including pandemics, inflation spikes, wars, and rate hikes. Some strategists warn valuations are at historic highs reminiscent of the dot-com era, while others point to companies passing on costs and boosting productivity to justify the rally.

European Central Bank researchers flagged that tech valuations have climbed to levels matching the dot-com peak and warned a sharp correction could hit the euro area hard, noting European households hold €440 billion in US tech exposure. Investor Ray Dalio echoed the concern, pointing to trillion-dollar valuations and markets trading at 41 times earnings as reminiscent of 1929 and 2000. Skeptics note that, unlike past busts, today's AI leaders show real earnings progress and strong balance sheets.

Bloomberg's financial conditions index has eased to 1.29, the most accommodative reading since 1997, driven by record stock markets and corporate bond spreads near 1998 lows. That's happening even as inflation has stayed above the Fed's 2% target for 65 consecutive months, now running at 3.4% annually, while the Fed's balance sheet has grown from $6.536 trillion to $6.76 trillion. Observers say the loose conditions support risk assets short-term but warn of the same bifurcated borrowing costs and rising debt-servicing burden that preceded past corrections.

The Small Business Administration's new SOP 50 10 8.1 raises the required equity injection to 10% for first-time buyers, caps seller debt and minority-investor equity at half that amount, and requires Quality of Earnings reports on deals of $3 million or more. Lenders say the debt-service coverage ratio requirement is climbing to 1.25x, which could cut debt capacity by roughly 8%, and personal guarantors must now put in at least 5% from their own funds.

The rules do extend allowable seller-consulting periods to 24 months, a plus for some deal structures - but advisers are urging buyers with deals already in progress to get SBA approval before September 30 to avoid the new standards.

The Empire State Manufacturing Index, a regional gauge of factory activity from the New York Fed, surged to 20.6 in August, its highest reading since late 2021 and well above economist forecasts. New orders and shipments rose solidly and employment ticked up, though supply chains showed strain with longer delivery times and falling inventories. Growth spread across fifteen industries, from electrical equipment to computer products.

Y Combinator's podcast featured Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and former chief operating officer of Scale AI, an AI data-labeling company. Kratsios discussed shaping America's national strategy on AI, science, and emerging technology after seeing the AI boom from the industry side first.

US Rep. Byron Donalds won the Republican nomination for Florida governor, securing the win with President Trump's endorsement, according to the Associated Press. He would become the state's first Black governor if elected in November, facing Democrat David Jolly.

Florida Democrats nominated David Jolly, a former Republican US congressman, for governor - the second consecutive election in which the party has run a former Republican for the state's highest office. Jolly faces Byron Donalds in November.

Progressive Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon won the Democratic nomination for a special US Senate election, defeating retired Army Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, a former National Security Council official who testified against President Trump in his first impeachment case in 2019, according to the AP.

Minnesota's attorney general filed suit against the governor of Texas seeking to compel the extradition of an ICE agent charged in a nonfatal shooting, according to the AP - a fresh flashpoint in the broader friction between states over immigration enforcement personnel.

US Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz won the Democratic nomination to continue serving in a new district after Republicans redrew Florida's congressional map, the AP reported.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said a new Census Bureau analysis found more than 24,000 noncitizens illegally voted, a claim he posted this week that Elon Musk then shared to his followers. Full methodology and underlying data from the Bureau were not included in the post; further detail should follow as the Commerce Department releases its analysis.

NCDOT released an environmental assessment and announced public hearings next month on replacing the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, built in 1969 and now classified as functionally obsolete. The bridge carries more than 65,000 vehicles daily between New Hanover and Brunswick counties, above its design capacity, with traffic projected to hit 94,900 vehicles a day by 2050. NCDOT has narrowed the options to two: a movable-span bridge with 65 to 135 feet of vertical clearance, or a fixed span with 135 feet of clearance plus interchange improvements. The estimated cost is $1.1 billion; NCDOT has already spent at least $32.8 million on rehabilitation since 2008 plus $15 million in 2024 just to keep the current bridge operational.

Three major health systems are competing for state certificate-of-need approval to add acute care beds in New Hanover County, with a public hearing set for Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Arboretum Education Center on Oleander Drive. Atrium Health has proposed a 42-bed hospital near Porters Neck costing an estimated $395 million, targeting a January 2032 opening; UNC Health has proposed a 150-bed hospital at Shipyard Boulevard and South 17th Street costing an estimated $852 million, targeting July 2031.

Novant Health is seeking state approval to build a freestanding, 24/7 emergency department in Hampstead near the intersection of US 17 and NC 210. The company said the project responds to rapid population growth in eastern Pender County and would complement its existing Scotts Hill and Pender Medical Center facilities; Novant has already committed $50 million to expand care access in Pender County.

Wilmington-based NextBoat, a tech-focused boat marketplace founded by UNCW graduate Jason Ruegg and formerly known as Off the Hook Yachts, reported second-quarter revenue of $59.1 million, up 88% from a year earlier. The company, which went public in November via a $15 million IPO, credited the growth to its acquisitions of Apex Marine and Bellhart Marine Group and to an AI-based marketplace platform it unveiled in March. Gross profit more than doubled to $9.5 million for the quarter.

NCDOT said a different construction-delivery method, allowing earlier design and contracting collaboration, could let Wrightsville Beach's three-bridge replacement finish by 2030 rather than the originally projected 2032. Balfour Beatty Infrastructure holds the $105 million contract to replace the Causeway Drive bridge over Banks Channel and two West Salisbury Street bridges over Lees Cut and Banks Channel, adding wider multimodal lanes with dedicated bike lanes and a protected pedestrian path.

GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy's Wilmington-area facility on Castle Hayne Road will provide engineering, licensing, and safety expertise for a 2.5-gigawatt gas-plus-nuclear power plant planned in Victoria, Texas, under a new agreement with developer Blue Energy, a builder of prefabricated nuclear power plants. The project, aimed at meeting surging electricity demand from AI and advanced manufacturing, would pair GE Vernova's 7HA.02 gas turbines with BWRX-300 small modular reactors, pending a final investment decision in 2027.

Dozens of New Hanover County residents protested to the Board of Commissioners after the county released redacted records showing roughly three million searches of its Flock license-plate reader cameras, according to StarNews. The demonstration, organized under a "DeFlock" banner, reflects growing public scrutiny of surveillance-camera networks and how local law enforcement uses them.

The Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington is holding its second quarterly AI Roundtable on Thursday, August 27, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 7040 Wrightsville Ave. Its fourth annual Investor Buzz In, a coastal investor-pitch event, follows on Thursday, September 10, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Cape Fear Community College's S Building. Registration is open for both.