Can You Afford a Made-in-USA iPhone?

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Hello everyone! Here’s your Sunday breakdown of the week’s most compelling global, tech, and market stories:

• Death Penalty’s Global Retreat: 110 countries have abolished capital punishment, but Asia and parts of Africa and the Middle East still hold firm.

• Delta Warns of Recession, Investors Shrug: Despite warning of slowed growth, Delta’s solid earnings lifted its stock more than 6% last week.

• Apple’s U.S.-Made iPhone Could Be 90% Pricier: A full shift to U.S. production could raise iPhone 16 Pro Max production costs to over $1,240, says Bank of America.

• Broadcom Authorizes $10B Buyback: The chipmaker is betting on itself with a major share repurchase plan, even after a rough year-to-date.

• Super Micro’s Comeback Attracts Bargain Hunters: Once left for dead, the AI-aligned tech firm is now seen as an undervalued play amid ongoing tariff fears.

Death Penalty Declines Globally but Persists in Key Regions

As of 2025, the death penalty remains widespread in Asia and parts of Africa and the Middle East. Countries like China, India, Singapore, and Indonesia continue to enforce it. In contrast, it's rare in Europe and the Americas, with notable holdouts including the U.S., Cuba, Guyana, and Belarus. Globally, 110 countries have fully abolished the death penalty, with recent additions like the Central African Republic and Papua New Guinea. Amnesty International notes that 77 nations still retain it, although 23 of those are considered abolitionist in practice, having not carried out executions in at least a decade.

Delta Warns of Recession, But Investors Buy In Anyway

Delta CEO Ed Bastian warned that prolonged trade policy uncertainty under the Trump administration could tip the U.S. into a recession. The airline withdrew its full-year guidance and forecast no capacity growth in the latter half of 2025. 🚨 ✈️ First-quarter revenue rose 2% to $14B, missing earlier growth projections. Still, Delta beat earnings expectations and reassured investors it won't pay tariffs on incoming Airbus planes. That optimism helped push Delta’s stock up more than 6% on Wednesday.

Apple’s Made-in-USA iPhone Could Cost 90% More, Says BofA

Bank of America estimates that assembling an iPhone in the U.S. would raise production costs by over 90%, pushing the production cost of an iPhone 16 Pro Max to $1,242. 📱 💰 For context, the iPhone 16 Pro Max currently has a starting price of $1,199. Even with final assembly stateside, Apple would still rely heavily on imported sub-assemblies — subject to tariffs — making a full supply chain shift extremely difficult and time-consuming. Labor alone would add 25% to the cost. Despite this, the White House remains confident U.S. manufacturing is viable, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt asserting the country has the labor and resources to make it happen.

Broadcom Bets on Itself With $10 Billion Buyback Plan

Broadcom announced a $10 billion stock buyback plan last week, sending its shares up over 20%. 🤩 💸The company says the move reflects strong cash flow and a focus on shareholder value. Despite being down 21% year to date, Broadcom has a history of buybacks, having repurchased over $26 billion in shares since going public. While similar buyback plans were previously authorized, they’ve rarely been fully used — largely because the stock has historically performed well.

Super Micro Emerges as Rare Cheap Tech Play Amid Tariff Turmoil

Super Micro Computer stock rose 11% last week as investors sought out undervalued tech stocks. 🔍 📈 Despite past struggles with short sellers and near-delisting due to accounting issues, the company now trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of just 0.6x—far below the S&P 500 average of 2.52x. Analysts expect $31B in sales over the next year, with management targeting $40B in fiscal 2026, thanks in part to alignment with Nvidia's AI-driven Blackwell chips.