The emergence of Artificial Intelligence and the growth of the data centers that support the process point toward robust prospects for the power generation industry, even with the threat of foreign competition. Meantime, de-carbonization is a secular global movement, spurred on by the goal in the Paris Agreement of net zero emissions by 2050. These trends support a bullish outlook for clean sources of power, including solar, wind, hydrogen -- and nuclear. Industry projections call for electricity demand to nearly double from 4.3 trillion terawatt hours in 2020 to 8.1 trillion terawatt hours in 2050 in order to meet the Paris goals. That's growth of about 2.5% per year, up from the historical trend of 1.5% growth. It is our view that the electricity fuel mix will change over time as the power base grows. Currently, the mix is 20% coal, 35% natural gas, 20% nuclear, and 25% renewables. By 2050, we think the mix will be closer to 5% coal, 20% natural gas, 50% renewables, and 25% nuclear. That gives nuclear energy a growth rate of around 3%-4% per year. We note that over the next five to 10 years, natural gas likely will grow as a source as it is a structurally easier conversion option for coal plants. But over the long term, nuclear generation likely will provide cost savings of as much as 20-%30% over other forms of power generation. Current utility companies in Argus coverage that are leaders in nuclear power generation include NextEra Energy (NEE), Dominion Resources (D), Duke Power (DUK), and Southern Co. (SO), which has the newest facility.

Constellation Energy is the nation's largest producer of carbon-free energy and a leading supplier of energy products and services, including sustainable energy solutions to homes, institutional customers, the public sector, community aggregations, and businesses, including three-fourths of Fortune 100 companies. Constellation's mission is to accelerate the transition to a carbon-free future. Constellation provides energy to over 15 million homes and businesses with over 31,600 megawatts of capacity. The company's nuclear fleet is the nation's largest. The company has 14,000 employees. CEG shares are a component of the S&P 500 Index.

The major indices are mixed at midday following a massive selloff yesterday. Wall Street is worried about the economy. Full stop. The data flow continues to help assess the strength of the U.S. economic engine. The next view on inflation is due out tomorrow in the CPI report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note is at 4.21%. Oil is at $67 per barrel. Bitcoin is near $82,000.

Price volatility for the major indices remains very low. The S&P 500 (SPX), Nasdaq, Nasdaq 100, S&P 100, and the Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 (XLG) are starting to feel like short-term markets that just want to crawl quietly higher. But the dispersion of returns within the SPX is mind blowing. For many, this is a great reason to have a well-diversified portfolio made up of major index ETFs, with a smattering of individual stocks that each represent, at most, 5% of your portfolio. A large position in an individual stock can blow up a portfolio and take many years to repair. A 30% loss in a stock requires a 60% gain in that stock or another stock to break even. Finance classes teach the efficient-market hypothesis (EMH), which suggests it's not possible to beat the market consistently. That has some credence, as few investors regularly beat the S&P 500 year after year. However, the EMH goes on to say that you can't beat the market consistently because all available information is reflected in current stock prices. The last point is where we wave a red flag. The dispersion of 2025 returns for the SPX issues (and in many other years) is so wide that you could drive a warship through it. In less than two months, there are 20 issues in the SPX that have risen at least 20%, with seven above 30% and four above 40%. On the flip side, there are eight stocks down at least 20% YTD, and 28 off between 10% and 20%. If the market was efficient, we would not see that type of wild dispersion in less than two months. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)