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Excess Returns · Friday, July 31, 2026

Hunt: 'Crowding Out Effect' Driven by AI CapEx Leading to Capital Dearth

Ben Hunt describes a significant 'crowding out effect' due to the massive investment in AI CapEx, leading to a dearth of capital across various sectors. He notes that this has resulted in underinvestment in other parts of the market and economy, and is reflected in rising interest rates and the cost of capital.

The tape

3 quotes
We've seen all these dollars chasing into this, under investment in serial under investment in all these other parts of the market and the economy.
So the cost of capital, let's interest rates. And it's what companies have to borrow to finance. It's what consumers have to pay.
We've gone from a world awash in liquidity, I.E., capital looking for a home, to having a real dearth of capital.
Heard on Excess Returns — “The Government Will Own It | Ben Hunt on World War AI, published Friday, July 31, 2026. Heardvine summarizes and quotes with attribution and timestamps, and links to the original everywhere.
Transcribed via Gemini audio transcription · $0.05