The United States signed a nuclear power agreement with Saudi Arabia. The Department of Energy confirmed U.S. companies now get access to the kingdom's nuclear energy program. Retail traders immediately began googling "uranium stocks" and "how does nuclear work."
Saudi Arabia wants nuclear power plants. The country sits on enough oil to fuel the planet for decades but decided fossil fuels are for chumps. Makes perfect sense. Why burn the thing you sell when you can build reactors in 120-degree heat and hope nothing goes wrong?
U.S. companies will provide the expertise. These are the same firms that haven't built a new reactor in America since the Clinton administration because the economics make absolutely no sense and the regulatory process takes longer than a congressional career. But sure, let's export that winning formula to the Middle East. What could go wrong? The region is known for its stability and long-term planning.
The agreement unlocks opportunities for American business. That's the official line. The unofficial line is that China was going to do it anyway, so we might as well get paid. Geopolitics is just capitalism with more flags and worse disclosure requirements.
Somewhere right now a day trader is loading up on shares of a uranium mining company that doesn't even have Saudi Arabia as a customer. He's texting his cousin about generational wealth. He's calculating retirement based on a 400% return by September. He's doing all of this on margin.
The Department of Energy called this a milestone. They used words like partnership and collaboration and clean energy future. They did not mention that Saudi Arabia has also expressed interest in uranium enrichment, which is one small step away from building things that glow in ways the Department of Energy would prefer they didn't.
But hey, at least your portfolio is diversified into geopolitical catastrophe now.
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