Kim Kahn

TAE is among the earliest privately funded fusion companies and has spent more than two decades pursuing nuclear fusion designed to deliver abundant, carbon-free power.

The company is backed by Alphabet, Chevron, Goldman Sachs, and several family offices.

Unlike conventional nuclear fission, fusion generates energy by forcing hydrogen atoms to combine under extreme heat and pressure.

releasing vast amounts of energy without long-lived radioactive waste.

TAE says years of research have enabled it to shrink reactor designs while lowering costs and simplifying system complexity, advances that it argues are essential for commercial viability.

Longer term, TAE envisions deploying fusion plants capable of producing between 350 and 500 megawatts each.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called the deal a major bet on nuclear fusion power, with the AI arms race underway, adding this will be the U.S.

key play on nuclear fusion.

In today's trading, stocks are higher but very choppy.

Micron's strong guidance is helping the AI trade, and a delayed November CPI report showed a much cooler retail inflation picture at face value.

The numbers.

Annual headline CPI fell to 2.7%, well below the 3.1% consensus.

Core CPI fell to 2.6% versus the 3% forecast.

The caveat, the BLS didn't collect October data and had to make assumptions and adjustments.

The biggest issue raised by Omer Sharif of Inflation Insights, the BLS just assumed rent and owner equivalent rents were zero for October, which will artificially lower year-over-year rates until April.

Wells Fargo says take the numbers with the entire salt shaker.

Inflation pressures are softening, but not to this degree, they say.

Pantheon Macro notes that the November data collection only began on the 14th after the shutdown ended, so many price quotes would reflect Black Friday sales skewing lower.

Fed rate cut odds rose only slightly.

Skyler Winand of Reagan Capital says the dovish numbers may actually keep the Fed on hold as it assesses whether inflation continues to improve and employment continues to weaken.