The Bot Brief

"There is no force on earth more powerful than an idea whose time has come."      - Victor Hugo

Bots in the News:

This week again the markets all performed pretty well based upon some good economic news and less concerns about tariffs. Good news on the employment front as the economy added 139,000 jobs in May, with average hourly earnings gaining .42%, vastly exceeding consensus of .3% and well above the prior period’s .17% increase. Unemployment remained steady at 4.2%.

The Bot Index gained just 75 basis points while the S & P 500 jumped 1.50%. Weakness in the Japanese holdings and the near 15% slide by Tesla contributed to the underperformance to the broad market.

Drones Remain in the Forefront:

The hugely successful surprise attack by Ukrainian drones on Russian air forces has become a seminal moment in the use of drones on the battlefield. The complete destruction of multimillion dollar (in this case…Rubles) aircraft by the power and stealth of drone warfare only points to the future replacement of archaic artillery and even possibly manned aircraft in the control over the sky.

But it’s not just warfare that is seeing drone replacement of traditional concepts. While the Ukrainian drones are delivering ordinance, Wall Mart and other retailers are delivering goods to the homes of consumers. This week Walmart announced it was expanding its drone delivery service to three more states and 100 stores in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando and Tampa. The drones extend delivery in under 30 minutes beyond line of sight. The company is in partnership with Google Wing and is in direct competition with Amazon in this rapid delivery alternative for consumers.