THE MACRO

MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2026

OIL PRICES ARE STILL ELEVATED.
HERE'S WHAT COULD HAPPEN NEXT.

WTI crude ripped above $105 this morning before pulling back to $101.42.

Brent crossed $100 too. The Hormuz blockade is getting priced in.

Every talking head on TV is telling you the same thing... energy stocks, oil plays, defense names.

That's the obvious trade. We don't do obvious.

Here's the question nobody's asking:

What if oil stays above $100 for months? Not a spike... a new floor. What happens when the entire planet decides it's done depending on one chokepoint for a fifth of its energy?

SPEAKING OF OIL & THE CHOKEPOINT...

Iran Desperately Needs This From America

Trump is about to cut Iran off at the knees. One tiny North Carolina town supplies 80% of the world's most critical semiconductor material. Business Insider calls it "crucial to make chips that power everything from smartphones to data centers." When Trump bans exports, Iran's tech infrastructure crumbles — and every chipmaker on Earth is forced to relocate to U.S. soil. Morgan Stanley estimates the reshoring boom triggers a $10 trillion transformation. A handful of U.S. companies stand to capture most of it.

Full Details Here →

THE NAME NOBODY'S WATCHING

$BE IS POWERING AI WITHOUT THE GRID

BE (Bloom Energy) builds power plants the size of a shipping container.

They use fuel cells to make electricity from natural gas, biogas, or hydrogen, right next to the building that needs it. No oil. No grid. No waiting years for a permit.

AI data centers need A LOT of power.

And the electric grid can't build fast enough.

Bloom signed a deal with Oracle to power their cloud data centers. American Electric Power signed a $2.65 billion deal for up to 1 gigawatt of Bloom's fuel cells. Brookfield committed $5 billion to deploy the tech across AI data centers globally.

The reason everyone's lining up?

Bloom can deliver power in 90 days instead of the 5+ years it takes to permit a new power plant.

The stock is at $170.84 as of mid-morning, up 2.5% while the rest of the market chops around flat.

Record revenue of $2 billion last year. Analysts expect $2.64 billion this year. They're scaling production to 2 gigawatts by year-end, and they've already deployed over 400 megawatts for data centers worldwide.

And Bloom isn't the only name in this space.

There's a whole chain of companies building the replacement for oil-dependent power, and most of them are green this morning while the S&P sits flat.

TICKER WHAT THEY DO TODAY
SEDG Solar inverters +3.8%
FCEL Hydrogen fuel cells (data centers) +3.6%
BE Fuel cells for AI data centers +2.5%
PLUG Hydrogen + electrolyzers +2.2%
ENPH Solar microinverters +1.4%
VST Nuclear + nat gas power for data centers +1.2%
TSLA EVs + energy storage (earnings ~Apr 20) +0.7%

APR 13 INTRADAY

Every single one of those names is green this morning while the S&P is flat.

That's the signal.

When oil-replacement names go up on a day oil spikes, it means the market is starting to price in the idea that expensive oil might stick around... and the companies building alternatives could have a long runway.

IF OIL STAYS HIGH: Every CEO in America starts asking how to cut energy costs. Fuel cells, solar, storage, and nuclear all get more attractive. These names could have legs for months.

IF THE WAR ENDS FAST: Oil dumps back to $70, the urgency for alternatives fades, and these names could give back gains quickly. Always know both sides.

THE $1 BILLION MIDDLE FINGER

THE AI OPTICAL CHAIN IS STILL RUNNING

Quick update on the trade we covered in The $1 Billion Middle Finger.

The AI optical networking chain is ripping again this morning while the broader market sits flat.

CRWV (CoreWeave) is up 9.6% to $111.72 on the Meta and Anthropic deals.

ALAB (Astera Labs) is up 9.1% to $162.57.

NBIS (Nebius) is up 8.1% to $156.70.

Even AAOI flipped green, now up 2.7% to $154.54 after being down 3% earlier this morning.

CONNECTING THE DOTS: War makes oil expensive. Expensive oil makes data center power more costly. Companies like Bloom and the AI optical chain offer ways to build without depending on the price of a barrel of crude. That's why these names keep running while everything else chops.

ON DECK

EARNINGS SEASON JUST STARTED

Goldman Sachs reported this morning. Their CEO said clients are "actively repositioning portfolios."

In plain English: Wall Street is nervous.

THIS WEEK

TUE: JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, J&J, BlackRock + PPI data
WED: Bank of America, Morgan Stanley
THU: Netflix, PepsiCo, Abbott, Schwab

CATALYST DATES WE'RE WATCHING

TSLA ~Apr 20 — first report since they killed the Model S and went all-in on robotics
GOOG ~Apr 22 — Cloud grew 48% last quarter, AI spending plans are the key number
MSFT ~Apr 28, AMZN + META ~Apr 29 — Amazon is planning $200B in capex, Meta $115-135B. If they confirm those numbers, the AI supply chain could get another push higher.

THE NEXT BIG COMMODITY PLAY

The #1 Commodity Trade of 2026

Gold bugs are going to hate this. The #1 commodity trade of 2026 isn't gold, silver, oil, or any rare earth metal. It's something far more valuable — something The New York Times says "powers the world's tech."

And America controls over 80% of the world's supply. When Trump restricts exports, Morgan Stanley estimates it could trigger a $10 trillion boom. And you have the rare opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Continue Reading →

FROM THE VAULT

The $1 Billion Middle Finger

AAOI vs. Citron. The full breakdown.

The April Hit List: 3 Plays On Our Radar

3 catalyst setups with hard dates.

BOTTOM LINE

Oil crossing $100 is the headline.

But the names building the replacement for oil-dependent power might be the better story for the rest of 2026.

Wednesday's Blueprint drops with a featured setup and levels.

Stay Locked In, eat Cookiez.

— The Lead Editor, Main Street Betz

DISCLAIMER

We are a bunch of apes who figured out how to use a Bloomberg Terminal and a group chat at the same time. That combination is either genius or a liability, and we honestly aren't sure which one yet.

Nothing here is financial advice. Seriously. Do your own research. Talk to an actual licensed professional before you YOLO your savings into something you read in a newsletter written by an ape in a hoodie.

Past performance doesn't guarantee future results. The market doesn't care about your feelings, your conviction, or your "diamond hands." It will humble you. It humbles us too. That's the game.

We may hold positions in securities mentioned. Trading and investing is risky. Trade at your own risk. Eat Cookiez responsibly.

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DISCLAIMER

This newsletter is for entertainment and educational purposes only. We are not financial advisors. We are a bunch of apes who figured out how to use a Bloomberg Terminal and a group chat at the same time.

Nothing here is financial advice. We don't know your risk tolerance, your portfolio, or how many times you've panic-sold at the bottom. Do your own research. Talk to an actual licensed professional before you YOLO your savings into anything we mention.

Past performance doesn't guarantee future results. The market doesn't care about your feelings, your conviction, or your "diamond hands." If you can't afford to lose it, don't trade it.

We may hold positions in securities mentioned. Trade at your own risk. Eat Cookiez responsibly. 🍪

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