Numlock News

By Walt Hickey Demand for specialized teams of divers to remove biofouling from the hulls of shipping vessels has surged on the news that the United States and Iran may have come to terms on the conflict that has snarled trade through the Strait of Hormuz. The fees commanded by crews who go underwater to scrape barnacles from ships have jumped 60 percent, from $5,000 to $8,000 per ship in the Persian Gulf.

By Walt Hickey In 2025, battery energy storage stations cost $78 per megawatt-hour generated, which is down 27 percent year over year. That is also down significantly from $185 per megawatt-hour generated in 2020, as the price of the storage batteries themselves has dropped to $70 per kilowatt-hour thanks to a surge in production by manufacturers based in China.

By Walt Hickey While the United States and Iran are reportedly approaching a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, it will realistically be some time before the number of ships that pass through the Strait daily — currently around 12 to 15 vessels per day — recovers back to the 120 to 140 vessels from before the war began. One reason is mines, which naval forces have placed at some locations in the Strait.

By Walt Hickey Welcome back! Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day made $44 million at the domestic box office and another $48.9 million abroad for a global opening of $92.9 million, beating studio expectations and giving hope for a solid Spielberg-style hold for next week’s numbers.

By Walt Hickey Have a great weekend! In what must come as a shock to absolutely nobody, the oft-traded corporate corpse of music file-sharing service Napster has once again found its way into the legal system, with U.S. authorities accusing a North Carolina man of fraudulently obtaining an ownership stake in Napster by promising to invest $3.6 billion that he absolutely did not have.

By Walt Hickey The United States and its allies have been largely weaned off Chinese exports of the metal tungsten, which is essential for making ultrahard tools as well as used in semiconductors, electronics and weapons. China has an 80 percent market share for the metal, and has begun to cut off countries aligned with the United States; Japan, for instance, has not imported any Chinese tungsten since February.

By Walt Hickey The pineapple business Fresh Del Monte has spent years developing special and limited-edition varieties of the fruit that have been selling at eye-popping price points. Your standard pineapple goes for like $3, but the company’s premium pineapples can sell for hundreds. Their Honeyglow specialty pineapple, which is ultra-sweet, serves as the entry point to the world of pricey pineapples, selling for $5 to $8. The Pinkglow is pink, and goes for $30.

By Walt Hickey The audiobook market is ripping right now, with revenues in 2025 hitting $2.43 billion, up nine percent year over year. There were 750,000 active titles last year, up 43 percent from 2024. Among consumers, those who listened to audiobooks averaged 3.8 audiobooks in the last year. Interestingly, the much-ballyhooed AI future of audiobooks has not really materialized, with AI-narrated audiobooks representing just 0.03 percent of sales in 2025.

By Walt Hickey Welcome back! Scary Movie made $55 million domestically in its opening weekend, beating out fellow newcomer Masters of the Universe, which made $29.3 million and came in at No. 2. This result is perhaps illustrative of what happens when you mistime your nostalgic cash-in, given that Scary Movie is the latest film in a 25-year-old franchise while Masters of the Universe is the latest from a 44-year-old franchise.

By Walt Hickey This week, I spoke to Neil Paine, a Numlock regular and one of the most comprehensive sports writers I know. Neil covers everything, so we talked a little bit about everything. Specifically, it’s a real busy time for certain sports. We covered the NBA finals — exciting stuff for your local Queens resider — The Stanley Cup and the World Cup all in one go. I absolutely love having Neil on, and as always, he’s writing and recording some phenomenal projects.