What's All This Hooliganism?

Hooligan, as we all know, is a strong-smelling, stinky cheese made by Mark Gillman of Cato Corner Farm in Connecticut. The cheese's grassy, savory, and vegetal flavors tend to become more assertive with maturity. At their optimum, they're only for acquired tastes. In other words, it's just like this reasonably high quality newsletter.

Meanwhile, we interviewed the U.S. Energy Secretary about how Donald Trump's plan to overhaul clean energy investments amount to, if not "hooliganism," then (at the very least) shooting ourselves in the foot. There are plenty more cheddlines this morning that are far from sedate:

We've also got video of Tesla's new "ASS" feature (that's "actually smart summon," of course, and I don't know why you could be thinking it meant anything else!), which allows cars to move in and out of parking spaces to come find their owners. Hooliganism!

—Matt Davis, N2K Chedditor

Quote of the Day

"Mergers and acquisitions are all funded with debt, so as debt becomes less expensive and easier to obtain, the more you're going to have deals being done." — Dana Jalbert

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1. U.S. Energy Secretary Says Trump Would Commit "Political Malpractice" By Undoing The Inflation Reduction Act

We spoke with the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, who is clearly concerned she might be out of a job if Donald Trump gets elected and seems to be doing her best to warn people off, albeit without actively campaigning for President Joe Biden. You know.

"I want people to know how much progress has been made as a result of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law just in this clean energy space alone," she said. "We've had $500 billion invested in the United States in clean energy since the passage of that. That's a huge amount of money."

She said six private sector dollars have been spent for every public dollar and that 400,000 people are now employed in the clean energy space.

"This really means for those communities that have been left behind, they're now seeing future-facing jobs in this clean energy space," she said. "It has been an astonishing success."

But Trump's plan to scrap the IRA and its clean tech subsidies if he was elected president in November would threaten progress, she said. America's energy independence and our ability to compete with China would be under threat.

Granholm highlighted that 18 Republicans sent a letter this past week saying "we don't want to go backwards" on the Inflation Reduction Act. She told Cheddar that it would be "political malpractice" to "pull up factories that are hiring people in Republican districts to be able to satisfy what the Trump plan is."

Polls show that "vast bipartisan majorities support the Inflation Reduction Act," she said. "They want to see these manufacturing jobs in the United States. They want to see clean energy produced in the United States. Why would we deny ourselves the opportunity to compete with China and bring that manufacturing and the ability for energy security to be here? It would be foolish to undo it."

So: You know who to vote for, now. Right? The hooligan! Right?! Read More

2. Beyoncé Is Apparently Into Levi$ Now

Levi's is causing a buzz with a tease on Instagram hinting at a collaboration with none other than Beyoncé. The cryptic post features a cowboy-hatted figure on horseback and a caption that says, "new chapter." It also nods to Bey's country album "Cowboy Carter" and its track "LEVII'S JEANS." 🤠👖

The tease set the Beyhive abuzz and sent Levi's stock up one percent. Denim is also back in fashion with brands like American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch riding the wave with sales upticks. Levi's missed their earnings goal last quarter, and their stock is flat compared to American Eagle's, which is up 30% over the last five years, suggesting it might well be time for them to make some Lemonade. And who better to make it with? One could even say it's destiny, child. Read More

From @cheddar

Ever imagined your car could find YOU in a parking lot? 🚗 👀

Elon Musk announced on X that Tesla's new feature, dubbed ASS (Actually Smart Summon), enables vehicles to autonomously navigate through complex parking lots to locate their owners.

This feature allows Teslas to move in and out of parking spaces up to 12 meters (39 feet) away, specifically designed for use in familiar environments like private driveways and parking lots.

Follow @cheddar on Instagram!

3. Las Vegas Tourism Boss Says Las Vegas Is a Cool Place to Visit

We chatted with Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, about the city's new slogan, "What Happens Here Only Happens Here."

I sense it's not a reference to the recent strikes by hotel staff seeking better pay and benefits because those have been happening all over the country. Nope.

"There's always something to do in Las Vegas, and there's always a big selection of things to do in Las Vegas, whether that's residences, sporting events, shopping, dining, or gambling," he said. "It's just a fantastic place to be every day."

Indeed! We also talked about the new Sphere.

"It is an amazing venue," he said. "The visuals you've never experienced before. The sound quality is like a symphony hall. It is remarkable. It just elevates whatever is in it, whether it was U2 or UFC last weekend. It is an experience like you can't get any place else."

It's almost like Steve runs the organization that tries to get people to go to Las Vegas!

There's also Brightline West, the first high speed rail system that will connect Las Vegas and southern California. About 30% of visitors make that drive, and it can be a pain. The rail line should break ground next year, Steve said, not to mention the Formula One Race coming the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Just…go to Vegas already, will ya? I get the feeling it would mean a lot to Steve. Read More

Is Virtual Reality Without Headsets Really Possible?

There's one company breaking ground in the $2 trillion entertainment, licensing, and gaming industry—and you don't want to miss your chance to be a part of it. Elf Labs is revolutionizing the future of digital entertainment with technology that creates hyper-realistic 3D experiences without the need for a headset. By combining over 10 patents, they've figured out how to seamlessly bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds.

But here's where it gets even better: Right now, you can secure your share of this revolutionary company—and receive a 5% bonus on your investment if you act by September 27th. That's right—Elf Labs is offering this limited-time opportunity to early investors who see the potential in bringing multi-billion-dollar characters like Cinderella, Snow White, and others to life with nothing more than a smartphone.

Elf Labs is leading the way into the future of immersive entertainment, and the window to get in with bonus shares is closing fast. Don't wait—claim your 5% bonus before September 27th and become part of the next big leap in the entertainment industry!

Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for Elf Lab's Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at elflabs.com.

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4. Why We'll See a Boom in Mergers and Acquisitions After the Fed's Interest Rate Cuts

We spoke with Founder & CEO at Align Business Advisory Dena Jalbert about the future of mergers and acquisitions. She thinks the end of this year is going to outpace last year and next year for takeovers.

"Mergers and acquisitions are all funded with debt, so as debt becomes less expensive and easier to obtain, the more you're going to have deals being done," she said, referencing the Federal Reserve's recent interest rate cuts. "And especially corporate buyers will use cash that's on their balance sheets. They're also going to look to their lending relationships to fuel growth."

She sees pent-up demand in the industrials sector and in infrastructure spending. KPMG research said 60% of firms are going to buy new AI technology through acquisitions, too.

"We're seeing it in a lot of service-based businesses," she said. "The fastest way to adopt AI, especially because most companies don't have in-house AI talent, is through M&A." Read More

5. How AI is Revolution-AI-zing Credit Scores

My credit score went up 18 points this month because I'm carrying a huge balance on my credit card, and this is America. They want you in debt, people! They want you to stretch the boundaries!

Still, credit scores can also be a good thing, I suppose. We spoke with Scott Zoldi of FICO about how AI is revolutionizing credit scoring by analyzing diverse data sources, enhancing accuracy, and financial inclusion for those lacking traditional credit histories.

"Machine learning is a really incredible tool for finding new patterns in financial data," he said. "One of the ways that we use it when you look at our credit score is to look at new types of features that can be incorporated."

New FICO scores include ones that incorporate banking data and data from the business bureau.

"One of the biggest topics today is customer-consented data, or open finance data," he said. "This is where you can have a relationship where you say, 'I want to consent to provide more data than I would typically provide to make a better decision about credit worthiness.' Where AI comes in is it takes all that transaction data, maybe thousands of different transactions about you as a consumer, and then folds that into a set of features or another score that can be used in conjunction with existing scores like the FICO score to make that better decision."

AI can also help reduce bias and broaden financial inclusion, he said. And it's also helpful for fraud detection. It's almost as if it's not just here to take over the world. The revolution will not be telev-AI-zed! (You're f-AI-red — Ed.) Watch Now