Numlock News: April 23, 2026 • Isotopes, Maple Leafs, World Cup

Apr 23, 2026

By Walt Hickey

Anyone?

High ticket prices and new levels of inhospitable hosting has put a pall over the expected tourism surge for the World Cup games in the United States, and has sent prices dropping sharply in the major metropolitan areas that had been gearing up for the games and the guests. Following the reveal of the schedule in December, prices across 96 hotels in the 16 markets that will host games were charging $1,013 per night around the opening match in their city, well above the $293 average for the equivalent stay three weeks earlier in May and an average price gouge of 328 percent. Well, four months on, prices for those dates have dropped sharply. While still much higher than normal, the average rate was down 40 percent to $579 per night across the hotels in the sample, which aligns with reports that hotels have actually not logged the expected surge in visitors.

Henry Bushnell, The Athletic

Solar

The Iran War and resulting oil shock has sent countries all over the world scrambling for solar panels, and the largest producer of the commodity, China, saw huge demand increases in March. China exported 68 gigawatts worth of solar panels, cells and wafers in March, which was double the capacity shipped in February. For perspective, 68 gigawatts is roughly equivalent to the entire solar capacity of Spain. A total of 50 different countries set a record for Chinese solar imports in March of 2026, and an additional 60 saw the highest imports in at least six months. China’s solar industry is currently built to overcapacity, so they can scale up rather quickly as demand persists; the capacity utilization rate for solar was as low as 40 percent, which means that a lot of idle production lines can get to work very quickly to satisfy this newfound demand.

Shotaro Tani and Wataru Suzuki, Nikkei Asia

Kratom

A new study published in the journal Addiction found that the number of kratom exposures reported to United States Poison Centers has increased 65-fold from 2010 to 2023, hitting 1,242 cases that year. Kratom is a plant with psychoactive qualities that, when consumed in high doses, can resemble the effects of opioids, and it’s usually sold at the bad gas station in town. The number of kratom exposure events associated with a severe outcome (life-threatening effects, significant residual disability or death) reached 158 cases as of 2023.

Jean O'Reilly, Society for the Study of Addiction

Leafs

Rogers Communications brought its stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to 75 percent last year after buying the 37.5 percent stake held by BCE, and Rogers has indicated it would purchase the remaining 25 percent in the second half of this year. MLSE owns three Toronto-based teams: the NHL’s Maple Leafs, the NBA’s Raptors and the MLS’ Toronto FC, and given that Rogers already owns the MLB’s Blue Jays, this will put Rogers in a rare class of sports ownership only comparable to Kroenke Sports & Entertainment — the only other conglomerate that can claim to own three or more major sports teams. Rogers has plans to consolidate the sports holdings and then bring in minority investors that will value the whole kit-and-caboodle at C$25 billion (US$18.25 billion). Owning a chunk of the four teams can be pretty attractive for an investor; this effectively locks up the entire sports scene of the fourth-largest city in North America under one roof, and given that you’d own the Leafs, you know you’re going to be free every June.

Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico

Supermarket Sweep

A new study found that the excessive use of additional product displays in supermarket aisles can actually reduce the overall sales in a supermarket, even though those secondary placements are designed to encourage impulse buying of the products they feature. In a field experiment, sales increased by 11.5 percent after removing displays from a congested aisle, even if that meant fewer products were on display overall.

University of Innsbruck

Radioactive

A number of exciting radiotherapies have hit the market, with several radioactive drugs demonstrating promise in treating cancer. If they do take off, an interesting supply chain issue would emerge, as the current supply of radioisotopes would not be enough to keep up with demand. In order to source the relevant isotopes, the pharmaceutical industry has people scouring nuclear waste stockpiles and discarded medical devices. The radiotherapy field was kick started in 2017 when Novartis launched Lutathera, which uses lutetium-177 to treat gastrointestinal cancer. It then released a second drug, Pluvicto, which uses the same isotope to treat prostate cancer, and together, the two drugs generate $2.8 billion a year. The broader radiopharmaceutical market is projected to grow to $39 billion in annual sales by 2032, and the industry is already trying to develop new ways to produce the alpha emitters that many think will serve as the backbone of the business.

Mark Peplow, New Scientist

New York

A new analysis from Karen Clark & Co. looks at the possible ramifications of powerful storms hitting New York City, estimating that a 1-in-100 year hurricane event in New York City would cost insurers more than $100 billion. New York has $9 trillion in insured property exposure, and while it’s considerably safer than places like Florida, 11 hurricanes have impacted New York since 1850. If the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 were to strike today, it would cause $20.9 billion in insured losses alone; if that hurricane were to make landfall in the Rockaways rather than out on Long Island, insured losses would be over $100 billion in the city.

Carrier Management

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