More and More Hurricanes
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted that this year’s hurricane season, which will last from June 1 to November 30, will most likely be an “above-normal season.” NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad said the number of storms was the highest NOAA had ever predicted with 8 to 13 storms reaching hurricane status and 4 to 7 being major hurricanes (category 3 and higher, with winds more than 111 mph). NOAA cited the Pacific La Nina and near-record ocean temperatures in the Atlantic in their forecast.
What Makes Hurricanes So Dangerous?
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When Are Hurricane Names Retired?
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Chips Ahoy!
NVIDIA makes the chips that power the AI revolution—that message rang loud and clear last week, as the company reported record earnings and announced a 10-for-1 stock split, effective June 10. Here’s a breakdown from Britannica Money.
Market cap surge
Market capitalization (“market cap”) is the value of a publicly held company based on the number of outstanding shares times its current price. Last week’s earnings boost sent NVIDIA shares to an all-time high above $1,050 per share and its market cap to over $2.5 trillion, good enough for third place, behind Microsoft and Apple. In the past month, NVIDIA’s market cap has risen more than half a trillion dollars, or roughly the market cap of Walmart ($526 billion) or ExxonMobil ($514 billion). It’s also interesting to see its rise relative to market mainstay Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company for Warren Buffett’s portfolio of companies, which has a market cap of $877 billion.
Split time
NVIDIA’s stock now trades at over $1,000 a share, making it too expensive for many investors to buy. To reduce the price, NVIDIA plans to conduct a 10-for-1 stock split. Since 10 shares will now trade for the cost of one, NVIDIA’s shares will be priced at about $100 a share (if the current value holds), making them much more affordable for retail investors.
AI revolution
At the heart of NVDIA’s success are its graphical processing units (GPUs), chips dedicated to creating video and images, capable of performing tasks usually reserved for human beings—or artificial intelligence (AI). NVIDIA’s success in AI has been driven by its focus on combining hardware and software in its chip design, outsmarting the competition.
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