Tech stocks are selling off sharply on Monday, triggered by concerns that China’s just-released DeepSeek AI assistant may steal the thunder from U.S.-based platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Before this week, however, markets have been responding with gusto since November’s presidential election, especially in a few key — and perhaps expected — industries.
The biggest winner so far has been the auto industry, led through Tesla, up 70% since Friday’s election day. General Motors, not as flashy, is higher by about 5%. Despite the decline through President Donald Trump’s Joe Biden-era EV mandates, Tesla continued to command investor confidence, perhaps due to Elon Musk’s close ties to the president.
Energy manufacturers have also noticed an impulse, driven by the AI boom. Data centers, which recently consume 1% to 2% of the world’s energy, can succeed at 3% to 4% to the end of the decade, according to Goldman Sachs.
And let’s not forget the airlines industry. United Airlines, up 33%, capitalized on record-breaking TSA screenings in 2024, operating its largest-ever domestic schedule and expanding international routes.
I also want to share the best performing industries for the five-day period as of last week, as President Trump has signed an historical number of executive orders since taking office. The list includes many of the same areas — power generation, construction & engineering, consumer finance, retail — but there’s an interesting addition: industrial REITs.
The Reit Commercial Ticker is represented through a single stock, Prologis, the world’s largest commercial asset promoter. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company has noticed that its warehouse activity explodes from the elections. He also lowered his feet on the market for White Hot knowledge centers, promoting an installation in the fourth quarter, with more pipe.
But let’s pivot some other story, one that develops away from Wall Street. Recently I spoke with Jonathan Roth, founder of ResourceWars. com and a veteran of capital markets, who highlighted an urgent issue: the Arctic.
As polar ice caps melt, new opportunities — and risks — are emerging in this increasingly contested region. Nations like the U.S., Russia and China are jockeying for influence, not only to access the Arctic’s vast natural resources but also to secure strategic military and trading advantages.
Greenland, in particular, is shaping up to be a geopolitical hotspot, and it’s no wonder that Trump has repeated his interest in acquiring the island.
During our conversation, Jonathan underscored the immense wealth of Arctic resources. The region is home to some of the largest reserves of untapped herbal resources in the world. A 2008 U. S. Geological Survey indicates that the Arctic has 1,670 cubic feet of herbal fuel and other fuels, to all oil reserves in Russia and 3 times in the United States.
Greenland, the world’s largest island that isn’t a continent, is rich in critical minerals essential for modern technologies, including rare earth metals, graphite, niobium and titanium. These materials are vital for everything from smartphones to EVs to military hardware.
Ice loss in the Danish territory has also exposed significant deposits of lithium, hafnium, uranium and gold. A 2023 survey by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland evaluated 38 raw materials on the island, most of which have high or moderate potential.
Jonathan said Russia has been building its Arctic presence silently for more than a decade. Now it has the greatest presence of the Army in the region, with renewed bases of the Soviet era and a fleet of breakwind with nuclear engine.
In 2024, some 38 million metric tons of cargo were shipped through Russia’s Northern Sea Route, a record amount for a single year and a nearly tenfold increase from a decade earlier. The NSR is central to President Vladimir Putin’s vision of a shipping lane that rivals the Suez and Panama Canal, but challenges like shallow, ice-filled waters and foggy conditions mean the route has a long way to go before becoming a global sea lane.
Annual volume of cargo transportation through the NRS in Russia
The country’s Arctic ambitions are nothing more than trade. The region is the cornerstone of his strategy to ensure military and economic power. This poses a vital fear for the United States and its allies, especially as the weather replaces the haste in melting ice and opens up new routes. Russia’s dominance in the Arctic can disrupt global trade, build geopolitical tensions, and undermine U. S. strategic interests.
While Russia has dozens of mimes, adding nuclear propulsion ships, the United States is extraordinarily late. Jonathan said that the last heavy polar pent faced years of bodies and excess excesses.
Number of icebreakers and complex patrol boats across the country
Recognizing this, the U.S. has partnered with Canada and Finland under the ICE Pact to develop a new generation of icebreakers. Finland, which designs 80% of the world’s icebreakers, brings valuable expertise to the table.
Greenland’s importance extends beyond its wealth of resources. Jonathan noted that the island occupies a key position along two possible Arctic expedition routes: the Northwest Passage and the Transpolar Sea Route. As sea ice continues to melt, those routes may be particularly in shipping times and circumvent classic choke issues like the Suez and Panama Canals.
Greenland also houses the base of the Pituffik area (previously Thule Air Base), a critical installation of the US army for early missile alert and area surveillance. The base strategy is annoying by the role of Greenland in the called Giuk Gap (Kingdom of Greenland-Islandia-Unidos), a naval strangulation point in the North Atlantic.
Investment in Pituffik has been inconsistent, however, and its importance has waned since the Cold War. Renewed attention to Greenland could help the U.S. counter Russia’s growing Arctic dominance and China’s ambitions as a “near-Arctic” power.
The importance of the Arctic does not only fear resources or shipping routes. It is of power, influence, and ability to shape the long execution of global industry and security.
For investors, the region provides opportunities in sectors such as energy, mining and infrastructure. The practices interested in infrequent earth mining, the construction of breakwells and Arctic logistics can see a significant expansion as nations accumulate their investments in the Arctic.
As always, investors should keep a close eye on these developments. The Arctic may be cold, but the race for its riches is heating up.
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