TANGENT: Hilarious! On June 30, 2026, Goofy “Riot Bull, To The Sky!” TaTech, Over At SA, Posted Riot Would Hit $50, Before $10 (Again).

Welp. Riot is now down about 18% — at $21 and change, since he belched that pearl of market wisdom nine days ago.

He and I have traded comparisons, of long dated, out of money put strategies (vs. his “buy and hold forever” ones) for more than five years now, on the SA boards. He claims to have bought at under $3, when the crypto world was falling apart, and the Gulf burned in February 2021. R-i-i-i-i-ght.

I have — four separate times — made out like a bandit, by buying long dated but out of money puts, on this intrepid name. In bulk.

I am ready to do so, again.

This was never a $29 stock — and unless Riot announces a $600 million (or better) all new contract for AI / compute in a few weeks, this is about a $15 stock. It will burn nearly a billion in cash this year, with only one AI partner / client to show for it.

And Bitcoin itself is trading at about half the level it was, in October 2025.

See ya’, in the funny papers, old TaTech — my bet is it hits $15 before it ever sees $50 again.

Hilarious.

A Nice Result, For Federal Court Transparency — And A Free Press. Kudos — To Matthew Russell Lee.

Just exactly three years ago, Mr. Russell Lee’s InnerCityPress won an unsealing in the SBF felony prosecution — citing free press law here in the US. He’s been on a win streak ever since. Today, he reports that he has prevailed upon a USDC Judge to create a new “catch-all” docket file, just to disclose the requests — and results — in otherwise sealed cases.

This is excellent, as researchers (like your correspondent) will not have to bounce around searching every USDC Judge in Manhattan’s dockets, individually. Now, 26-cv-4094 will contain all unsealing requests. Excellent!

Here’s all of that, from Mr. Matthew Russell Lee at InnerCityPress:

…Judge Kuntz did not ignore the letter. He did not deny it in a sealed order.

He did something better — and, in Inner City Press’s experience across a dozen districts, close to unique: he opened a new, public miscellaneous case, captioned In re Inner City Press [26-cv-4094], docketed Inner City Press’s letter as Document 1, and put Assistant United States Attorneys on the case to respond. Consider the elegance of it. The underlying case is sealed; even an order about it, entered on its docket, would be invisible.

Rather than let the access request disappear into the same black hole it challenges, Judge Kuntz created a public vehicle in which the question of secrecy will itself be litigated publicly, with the government required to appear and be counted. That is Pellegrino’s principle made procedure: whatever ultimately remains sealed, the public gets to watch the deciding.

Judge Kuntz, appointed in 2011, on senior status since 2022, presumably could have done what some of his colleagues around the country have done with Inner City Press’s requests — nothing, or worse. Instead the docket now shows a case named for the press asking the question.

Inner City Press will report on the government’s response and the Court’s ruling….

As many here know — from time to time, we too fight in dusty West Texas, and Nashville, and New Jersey and Southern Illinois and Miami federal courts, to unseal dockets/filings. This one case number won’t capture those — it is specific to Manhattan. But still, a very good start. Thanks, man.

नमस्ते

[U] Feckless Hinderaker: “We Broke It — But We SHOULDN’T Help Fix It”?!

So tonight, John admits we have been largely frustrated and/or defeated — politically, in Iran. Literally millions of Iranians turned out for the late Ayatollah’s return to the Infinite — earlier this week. Our bombings may have actually strengthened their common man’s resolve. Charming.

Then John admits that “we broke the Strait”, but we won’t fix it, or even try to help our allies “fix it”. This may be the most deplorable thing he’s ever written on foreign relations. [These same allies helped us defeat Hitler and end World War II. What does he think will happen the next time there is a global threat?]

Updated: John has doubled down on his hatred of our European friends, late night — tonight.

Here is his most deplorable quote, in context:

As for the Strait of Hormuz, we can leave that problem to the countries in Europe and Asia who depend on oil from that source. We don’t.

If it turns out that they collectively don’t have the military power to deal with the IRGC, they can learn a lesson from that

Yeah, I guess the lesson is do not ever again trust the United States.

This is a deplorable display of non-statesmanship — but it is in no manner unexpected — from Hinderaker. Or Trump.

And yes, this is officially… a quagmire.

Damnation. Out.

[U: Rigby Reminds — Compare This, To… “Whiskey Pete”!] Insanity: Via John Hinderaker — As Ever.

UPDATED — 07.08.2026: For John, it’s a national emergency when a Democratic candidate (not yet holding any elected office; thus allowing people to vote AGAINST his placement!) shows low character traits/behavior.

But when the GOP or MAGA politicians engage in worse, there’s only stoney silence over at Powerline blog.

Thanks to Rigby McGuire — we must also point out the Whiskey Pete is the (entirely unelected) man IN CHARGE of all our armed forces — and as such, has now repeatedly refused to advance the careers of women and people of color, despite very clear merit-based promotion recommendations of their commanding officers.

He is a pure whyte supremacist — controlling every aspect of the lives of over two million families in the armed forces (and reserves).

This below may be hilarious — as to Hinderaker’s myopia. But not hilarious, at all. Hegseth (a bearer of racist tattoos himself, and also repeatedly credibly accused of sexual violence) is once again pretending that servicemen of color don’t get razor bumps — and he’d rather see infections that sideline soldiers, than have an active fully armed fighting force. All due to… racist tropes. Damn. End, updated portion.

So — today we learn that John Hinderaker is more worked up about what a few tiny placards inside the Smithsonian Institution provide — as contextual copy… than he is that the guy he voted for as leader of the free world has essentially grafted his way to $2.2 billion in under his first two years in office.

Placards containing some mild left leaning (truth-telling, actually) text/copy — versus corrupt, self-benefitting business dealings (some just simple, straight-ahead direct felonious bribes) — to the tune of $2.2 billion.

Wow.

Well, no one ever accused John of having any sort of a mature, balanced sense of proportion — when he was practicing law… so I don’t know why anyone would expect that he would understand any of this, but I’ll put it out here anyway.

This guy is a Trumpian bootlicker of the first order. He is using the office, and the taxpayers money to essentially steal from you, John. Don’t you care about that?

Out.

Just As We Said: Discovery, On Statute Of Limitations Moves Forward, FIRST — In Evanston Reparations Defense.

This is plainly correct, as a matter of federal civil procedural law.

The able Chicago USDC Judge Kness has ruled that the Fitton shills must promptly submit to discovery, about what they knew — and when. This discovery will precede general questions about whether they ever lived in Evanston, or owned property here.

Here’s the latest — just released to the public docket, this afternoon:

. . .MINUTE entry before the Honorable John F. Kness:

Plaintiffs’ [Fitton shills’] motion [53] to stay briefing on Defendant’s motion to bifurcate discovery until the intervention issue is resolved is denied.

To be sure, intervention by the United States might have some effect on the discovery schedule in this case, but that possibility does not warrant staying briefing on Defendant’s motion to bifurcate. Any effect of a favorable intervention ruling, including whether supplemental briefing or modification of any discovery schedule is appropriate, can be addressed if and when the United States becomes a party to the case.

On the Court’s initiative, the due date for Plaintiffs’ response to Defendant’s motion is extended to July 17, 2026. Defendant’s reply, if any, must be filed on or before July 31,
2026.

The August 6, 2026 hearing is reset to 8/25/2026 at 10:00 A.M. . . .

Indeed. Sanity prevails in Chicago’s federal courts — once again.

नमस्ते

MedWatch Reports That Bavarian Nordic Will Create New CEO Position, Of Separate Biz Unit, To Sell Only “Emergency” Vaccines, Like Mpox/Smallpox…

I generally do not pay for subscriptions to EU based med-outlets, so I cannot read the full story (this is a sub- of a Danish media conglomerate). But the needs for large R&D budgets, capital for new plants, and the pressures around pricings — are very different, when a company signs up to provide emergency vaccines, on a “contacts, and contacts of contacts” contract — as opposed to a general, population-wide prophylactic vaccine (like one for influenza, or shingles). These latter vaccines are already well-capitalized and in many cases have stable annual recurring revenue streams in longer-term governmental contracts.

In an emergency setting however [think of Africa — and Ebola, Marburg, Lassa or Mpox, here], the per dose payouts tend to be lower, but an off-setting premium may be paid — for essentially immediate delivery, of say 100,000 to 700,000 jabs. All within weeks. [The EU Health Commission offices or the WHO or Doctors Without Borders may also just flat-out contribute funds — to get the vax to the spots needed.]

And so, without having read a bit of the story [to date, B/N has no posting on its own website, about the split — I looked], I will hazard a guess that this is a pre-cursor to transitioning the “emergency vax” arm / biz unit… to a not-primarily-for-profit structure.

The newly named head of the emergency vax unit was previously much more an HR / “teams coach”, as opposed to a bottom line driven financial type. And while the new biz unit may show a net profit from time to time, that may not be its goal. I will further bet that it will have only a very tiny R&D budget, because this sort of government contracting is awarded only to already approved, on market vaccines. And even then, the vax itself may be sourced from lower cost Indian pharma concerns, by sub-contract. [We have seen that, in the last two years for Mpox deliveries into Africa.]

So to be clear, this entire entry is essentially conjecture — by me. Smile. But I think it reasonable. If your business really depends on any of the above analysis, I urge you to get a copy of the MedWatch story, and read it closely. Until it is on the Wayback Machine, I’m not likely to read it over. Here’s the summary that can be seen for free:

…Bavarian Nordic splits up commercial division — appoints global head of emergency vaccines.

It was just over a month ago that the Danish vaccine company announced it had signed a contract with an unnamed government for the supply of its smallpox and mpox vaccine — known as MVA-BN — worth more than DKK 700 million….

Hitesh Sahni will serve as global head of the new independent business unit….

In this way (should the company go all the way through with it), the nearly-non-existent margins on “emergency” vaccine sales will not drag down the overall R&D driven “futures” vaccines revenue / profits, on a reported basis — under EU accounting rules. Smile.

And the US men have exited the world cup — proving again that Tangerine 2.0 poisons every real athletic / sporting event he puts his tumb on. [The only game the now world champ NY Knicks lost, in their whole playoff run… was the one he attended, at MSG. He made fans wait for hours in the heat until he was ensconced inside the venue.]

And as to soccer, he seems to like cheating more than he hates birthright citizenship. The one he put his thumb on the scale “for”… was, over 20 years ago, what he would call a “birth tourist” delivery — out of London. Damn. Onward, just the same.

नमस्ते

Tangerine 2.0 Lawyers Just Appealed The Minneapolis Federal Mag. J. Order To Comply With Discovery, On Jurisdictional Issues…

Many here will recall that the federal trial level courts have ordered MarkWayne Mullin to explain himself, relative to all the violations (including shooting fatalities) late last year, and into this early Spring by ICE/DHS agents, in and around Minneapolis. [Here is my June 23 prior backgrounder on this exact topic.]

Rather than comply with that clear order (text reset, again in blue below) — the Tangerine 2.0 lawyers today have appealed, essentially saying the actions of ICE/DHS are beyond review by the federal courts. Poppycock. I link that nonsense — for a complete record… but will not quote it.

…The parties are ordered to meet and confer before July 6, 2026 to develop a plan for limited discovery before the Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 174) is resolved….

Early Discovery requests must be tailored to issues that might inform the parties’ positions in the Motion to Dismiss, and information with a high risk of dissipation over time….

The Early Discovery plan should identify, as to each request, a reasonable time scope and a narrowly targeted range of custodians from whom such discovery is sought. . . .

Failure by either party to negotiate Early Discovery in good faith will be construed as a waiver of arguments as to such discovery….

[Here is the full June 23 order, from which the above text was lifted.]

Almost to the last one of them, these Trumpian lawyers think the law is only to be applied to the little people. They think they are above it. Beyond it. That hallucination is coming to and end. Right quick. (Quick, at least in terms of legal proceedings. Heh.)

नमस्ते

[Power Alley Part II:] HSBC ALSO Boosts Gilead’s 12 Month Price Target Significantly. The House Calls It A “Buy”. That Is Correct.

See the immediately prior one, for why you would be wise to trust this very long-standing institution’s financial calls. And know that, having personally dealt with the bank — on mulitple multi-billion dollar deals (representing multi-national life science and pharma concerns), it runs a very tight ship. In this 2020s world of crypo-bros, and morons buying SMELANIA meme-coins… that is a very distinguished mark, and brand.

So… without any additional ado [but do recall that we mentioned in January a $156 target, from Citi] — here is that ’34 Act registered securities pricing/trading update:

…HSBC upgraded Gilead Sciences to Buy from Hold on Monday and raised its price target to $155 from $133.

The firm said the market is too pessimistic on the HIV market following the introduction of dolutegravir generics. HSBC believes long-acting HIV therapies will improve adherence and help offset declines, supporting better-than-consensus HIV forecasts.

The analyst cited potential short-term upside from high-growth PrEP product Yeztugo and oncology catalysts including anito-cel and Trodelvy.

HSBC noted the recent share price correction has made the valuation attractive….

This is where the market is headed: safe, high cash flow names — in bio-science and pharma. Trust that, with chaos the only brand in DC, these next two and a half years.

नमस्ते

HSBC Securities Bumps Up Its “Buy” Rating On Merck — Significantly. Sees $150 A Share Soon, On NYSE… [Power Alley]

This securities house was once known (for about a century and a quarter) as the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Co. (note the half-tone/gray coat of arms/shield in upper right quadrant of my graphic). It is over 160 years in operation, and its securities / research arm is quite well-respected around the globe. With Hong Kong now officially a PRC possession, it is good to see capitalistic (old British) entities doing quite well on the island.

All that said, I think the venerable house is right — about Rahway. Mr. Davis has Merck firing on all cylinders — and will likely have Keytruda as a juggernaut (on patenting tricks) well into the 2030s. Here’s that — (from an autobot / rag) but the graphic at right says it all:

…HSBC analyst Rajesh Kumar maintains Merck & Co., at a buy rating, and adjusts the target price from $120 to $150….

Now you know. Onward, grinning into the cool sunshine….

नमस्ते

Mpox Cases [Clade Unknown] Now Confirmed In Another Country: Guinea-Bissau. USAID Is Missing, As Outbreaks Proliferate…

This bears repeating: the Trump Administration is willfully choosing excess deaths, and levels of illness — by continuing to defund USAID. It is doing so, at the moment, outside the US — but we all know viral vectors enter the US by jey travel, everyday.

And it is a near certainty that within a year or so, we will see excess deaths here stateside, due to his fecklessly unscientific and corrupt administration. Here’s the latest from the WHO — but millions are needed — and missing, in Africa to fight this, and Ebola… in a pair of overlapping outbreaks:

…The Minister of Public Health of Guinea-Bissau officially declared the confirmation of one mpox case in the country during a press conference held in the presence of the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative.

Laboratory confirmation was carried out by the Laboratory of the National Institute of Public Health (INASA) and submitted for external quality control to the Department of Virology of the Institut Pasteur de Dakar, which confirmed the same result. The genotyping process is ongoing….

Following confirmation of the case, the Ministry of Public Health activated the national response mechanisms, in accordance with the International Health Regulations (IHR-2005) and WHO recommendations. The measures include epidemiological investigation, contact tracing, strengthened surveillance, infection prevention and control in health facilities, community awareness-raising, and coordination with technical and financial partners….

Now you know — with more World Cup excitement in the park, on the Jumbotron again tonight.

And as much as I want the US team to win — I do think the straight red card on our guy Balogun was appropriate — and rightly earned a one match suspension. Of course, we might well win out against Belgium without him, but now we will never know. And, of course, Tangerine 2.0’s likely intervention with the FIFA head is… yep, both corrupt and inappropriate.

Damn — if the US wins tonight, the team will live with an asterisk (for something they did not even ask for) in the record books, forever — due to his venality. If they lose it will matter little — but again, Trump embarrasses good Americans, in front of an appalled… and largely united world (against corruption, in sport), in this matter.

नमस्ते