Winter is half done. If you’ve been having a tough one, it might double confuse you to know that 2024 was the earth’s warmest year on record since 1850.

Is that good news? Nope, and it seems like that was kind of the tone this week.

Key links from today:

• Trump’s trade war

• Villains for hire

• Digital twins

Markets

*Source: CoinGecko.com As of 5:42 PM February 2, 2025

World news

Top news stories of the past week

1) Trump on trade: The United States just enforced tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico (10% for Canadian energy). Why? Trump said it’s because of illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the U.S. from both countries. But in reality, it’s more about trying to make the American economy less reliant on other countries by forcing companies to manufacture in the U.S.. In response, Canada and Mexico will both start levying tariffs on the US. This will get spicy.

2) Plane and helicopter crash: A tragic midair collision happened between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near the Washington airport, killing at least 67 people. The passenger plane, carrying 64 people, crashed into the Potomac River along with the military helicopter, which had three soldiers on board. Officials are still investigating how this happened.

3) “Hey Google, take me to the Gulf of America”: Asked and answered. President Trump issued an executive order requiring the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the "Gulf of America" on all US maps and documents. Google, after initial resistance, has agreed to comply with this order and will update its maps. Mexico pointed out that “If a country wants to change the designation of something in the sea, it would only apply up to 12 nautical miles”. I somehow doubt Trump took that into consideration.

Top WEIRD stories of the past week

1) Punxsutawney Phil, the psychic groundhog (I assume) saw his shadow, so we have six more weeks of winter. You know, as opposed to the usual start of Spring at the beginning of February.

2) Saudi Arabia has asked Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer to create a new national anthem. Get ready for an absolute BANGER.

3) A "villain-for-hire" service is running that allows men to stage fake fights with actors to impress their girlfriends. As a coward, I love this business.

Technology

On the edge - Digital Twins

This might sound like the 2025 version of The Sims, and it kind of is! 

A digital twin is like a super-smart computer copy of something real, such as a machine, building, or even a whole city. Imagine having a perfect digital version of something that can show you exactly how it's working right now and predict what might happen to it in the future.

These digital copies use real information from sensors and data to create an exact replica that can help people make better decisions and solve problems faster.

Why is this different than a simulation? A simulation usually studies one particular process, a digital twin can run any number of useful simulations to study infinite processes. Companies and scientists can use them to test ideas without risking real equipment or spending lots of money.

For example, car makers can see how a new car design might work before actually building it, doctors could practice complex surgeries on a digital patient, and city planners could test how changes might improve traffic or energy use. 

As computers get smarter, digital twins will help us solve big problems in healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, and many other areas by giving us a way to experiment and learn without real-world risks.

Here’s a cool overview:

Chart

You like charts? Graphs? Ya you do

With the trade war kicking off, here’s some context on how much the US imports from Mexico, Canada, and China. HINT: it’s a lot, but it’s been going down.

Investment idea

What are we investing in?

Trade war resilient companies

With rising tariffs between the US, Canada, Mexico, and China, what are the best things to invest in?

1. Industries that are mostly based in and focused on the US

2. Industries that don’t rely on imports

Two sectors of American companies that fit these criteria are software and healthcare companies. 

Software companies don’t need physical goods to create their products, so tariffs don’t affect them as much. US Healthcare companies, especially health insurance companies and healthcare service providers, are largely unaffected by tariffs. This makes them safer investments when tariffs are in place.

On the healthcare side, check out:

iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF (IHF): This ETF tracks companies that provide health insurance, diagnostics, and specialized treatments. 

SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETF (XHS): This ETF focuses on health care distributors, health care facilities, health care services, and managed health care. 

For software companies, consider:

iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV): This ETF tracks software development and interactive media services companies.

SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF (XSW): This ETF tracks companies in application software and data processing.

History

On this day…

…in 1966, the Soviets were the first to “soft-land” on the moon with an unmanned spacecraft. Americans got there three years later in person!

Music

Banger of the week

A long one, but a good one to throw on in the background while working!

Most important thing

Meme? Nah. Art.