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With the major averages near record highs, many stocks look untouchable.

But a few lesser-known names that are trading at attractive valuations are on track to finish the second half with a rally, two traders told CNBC on Friday.

“I think in the second half, what you’ve really got to be looking for is those value or cyclical stocks,” Blue Line Capital founder and CEO Bill Baruch said on CNBC’s “Trading Nation.”

His under-the-radar pick was Cheniere Energy, a liquefied natural gas producer with a big presence in Texas and Louisiana.

“It’s held up really well even though energy itself has sort of taken a little breather over the past couple months,” Baruch said, adding that natural gas tends to be a “sticky” space in terms of investment.

Better yet, Cheniere’s stock is “holding really well out above that 2014 high and it’s … building a base,” typically a sign of more upside ahead, he said, pointing to the chart.

Baruch also liked Wells Fargo, saying it could be an under-the-radar winner in the intermediate term.

“They’re really getting the scandal of the account openings in the rearview mirror,” he said. “If you’re looking three to five years out, I think Wells Fargo is going to outperform. They were one of the best performers prior to all that.”

Wells Fargo has not yet recaptured its 2019 highs, though other bank stocks such as JPMorgan and Bank of America have, Baruch noted — but the right catalyst could kick-start a sustained move higher, he said.

“You are breaking a trend line … really decisively out above there now, going back to the 2018 high,” he said.

“I think we’re going to see a tail wind that moves this to ballpark $55 and then we could see maybe $60 from there,” Baruch said.

Wells Fargo shares fell by less than half of 1% to $48.68 on Monday afternoon after hitting highs not seen since January 2020. A move to $55 or $60 would be about a 13%-23% gain.

Another quiet winner could benefit from pent-up consumer demand in the second half, Chantico Global founder and CEO Gina Sanchez said in the same interview.

“The recovery has been a huge boon” for Discover Financial Services, which has managed to grow its offerings and expand to new regions while the economy came back, said Sanchez, also chief market strategist at Lido Advisors.

“We think that given what the outlook is, that they’re actually very attractively priced right now,” she said.

“Excess savings that have been burning holes in some Americans’ pockets are being unleashed in terms of consumption demand and that goes right to the credit cards. And Discover is one that is still picking up market share and is benefiting and growing,” she said.

Discover Financial Services shares fell by half of 1% to $129.40 in Monday afternoon trading.

Disclosure: Lido Advisors owns shares of Discover Financial Services.

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Kia’s new PV5 ‘Spielraum’ is the ultimate electric camping van and it’s coming soon

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Kia's new PV5 'Spielraum' is the ultimate electric camping van and it's coming soon

Your next camping trip is about to get an upgrade. Kia just dropped two new electric van concepts based on the PV5. With AI-powered home appliances like a refrigerator and microwave, and even a wine cellar, Kia’s new PV5 “Speilraum” is an electric van built for camping and more.

Meet the Kia PV5 Spielraum: An electric van for camping

Kia wasn’t lying when it said its first electric van would offer something for everyone. At the 2025 Seoul Mobility Show on Thursday, Kia and LG Electronics unveiled two new electric van concepts based on the PV5.

The Spielraum electric vans are built for more than just getting you from one place to another. With LG’s AI-powered home appliances, custom interiors, and a wine cellar, the Speilraum models take the PV5 to the next level.

Kia unveiled two new concept vans, the Spielraum Studio and Spielraum Glow cabin. For those wondering, the term Spielraum is German for “Play Space” or leeway. In other words, Kia is giving you more freedom to move.

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The Studio version is designed as a mobile workspace with LG appliances like smart mirrors and a coffee pot. Using AI, the system can actually determine how long your trip will take and will recommend when to use the appliances.

Even more exciting (at least for the vanlifers out there), the Glow cabin converts the PV5 into a mobile camper van.

With a refrigerator, microwave oven, and added wine cellar (you know, for those long trips), Kia’s electric van is sure to upgrade your next camping trip.

Kia-PV5-camping-van
Kia PV5 Spielraum Glow cabin electric camping van concept (Source: Kia)

Kia and LG signed an MOU and plan to launch production versions of the Spielraum electric vans in the second half of 2026. The South Korean companies are also developing a new series of advanced home appliances and other AI solutions that could be included in the vans when they arrive.

The PV5 will initially be available in Passenger, Cargo, and Chassis Cab setups. However, Kia plans to introduce several new versions, including a Light Camper model.

Kia-PV5-Spielraum-electric-van
Kia and LG Electronics unveil two new PV5 Spielraum concepts (Source: Kia)

At 4,695 mm long, 1,895 mm wide, and 1,899 mm tall, the Kia PV5 passenger electric van is slightly smaller than the European-spec Volkswagen ID.Buzz (4,712 mm long, 1,985 mm wide, 1,937 mm tall).

With the larger 71.2 kWh battery pack, Kia’s electric van offers up to 400 km (249 miles) of WLTP driving range. It can also fast charge (10% to 80%) in about 30 mins to get you back on the road.

Kia will launch the PV5 in Europe and Korea later this year, with a global rollout scheduled for 2026. Ahead of its official debut, we got a closer look at the PV5 on public roads last month (check it out here).

Would you take the PV5 Spielraum Glow cabin for camping? Or are you going with the Studio version? Let us know in the comments.

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Tesla Cybertruck’s recall fix is a joke that leaves burn mark and gap

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Tesla Cybertruck's recall fix is a joke that leaves burn mark and gap

Tesla Cybertruck owners are starting to get the fix for the truck’s recent recall related to a falling trim. The fix is ridiculous for a $80,000-$100,000 vehicle as it leaves a weld burn and a panel gap.

Last month, Electrek reported that Tesla had quietly put a containment hold on Cybertruck deliveries.

While the reason was not confirmed at the time, we reported that we suspected that it was a problem with the cantrail, a decorative trim that covers the roof ledge of a vehicle. For the Cybertruck, it consists of the highlighted section below:

A week later, Tesla announced that it recalled all Cybertrucks ever made over an issue with the cantrail: it is falling off the Cybertruck.

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Now, some Tesla Cybertruck owners are starting to receive the “fix” for the recall, but it is quite disappointing for what is a $80,000 to $100,000 vehicle.

A Cybertruck owner in New Jersey was already having issues with his cantrail and had to have his tent system installed, so his truck was already at the service center when the recall happened. He was given back his truck with the fix, but he was disappointed with the results, which left a mark on the cantrail and a significant panel gap. He shared pictures via the Cybertruck Owners Club:

According to the recall notice, the fix is as simple as removing the trim, applying some butyl patches, and reapplying the trim with two new nuts to secure it.

In the case of this Cybertruck, the new nut is leaving a significant gap on the chassis that Tesla should never have felt acceptable to deliver to a customer.

As for the burn or rust mark, the owner speculated that it was a weld mark as they weld the new nut, but there’s no welding required in the fix. Therefore, it’s not clear what happened, but there’s clearly a mark where the new nut is located.

Here’s a video of the process:

Electrek’s Take

Tesla is lucky. Many of its owners, especially with newer vehicle programs, like the Cybertruck, are early adopters who don’t mind dealing with issues like this.

However, this is a $80,000 to $100,000 vehicle, and most people expect a certain level of service with those vehicles.

You can’t have a remedy for a manufacturing defect that results in panel gaps and marks like this. It shouldn’t be acceptable, and Tesla shouldn’t feel good about giving back a vehicle like that to a customer.

On top of all of this, this is a pain for Cybertruck owners with wraps. They are going to have to rewrap the trim and it doesn’t look like Tesla is going to cover that.

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Bitcoin-related startup deals soared in 2024 alongside crypto prices, research shows

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Bitcoin-related startup deals soared in 2024 alongside crypto prices, research shows

Romain Costaseca | Afp | Getty Images

As crypto prices rallied to record highs last year, venture investors piled into new bitcoin-related startups.

The number of pre-seed transactions in the market climbed 50% in 2024, according to a report published Thursday from Trammell Venture Partners. The data indicates that more entrepreneurs entered the bitcoin arena despite a cautious funding environment for the broader tech startup universe.

Bitcoin more than doubled in value last year, while ethereum rose by more than 40%. Early in the year, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved exchange-traded funds that invest directly in bitcoin and then extended the rule to ethereum, moves that brought a wider swath of investors into the market. The rally picked up steam in late 2024 after Donald Trump’s election victory, which was heavily funded by the crypto industry.

The early-stage startup boom dates back several years. According to the Trammell report, the number of pre-seed deals in the bitcoin-native category soared 767% from 2021 to 2024. Across all early-stage funding rounds, nearly $1.2 billion was invested during the four-year period.

“With four consecutive years of growth at the earliest stage of bitcoin startup formation, the data now confirm a sustained, long-term venture category trend,” said Christopher Calicott, managing director at Trammell, in an interview.

Venture capital broadly has been slow to rebound from a steep drop that followed a record 2021. Late that year, inflation started to jump, which led to increased interest rates and pushed investors out of risky assets. The market bounced back some in 2024, with U.S. venture investment climbing 30% to more than $215 billion from $165 billion in 2023, according to the National Venture Capital Association. The market peaked at $356 billion in 2021.

Trammell’s research focuses on companies that build with the assumption that bitcoin is the monetary asset of the future and use the bitcoin protocol stack to develop their products.

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The numbers weren’t universally positive for the industry. Across all rounds as high as Series B, the total capital raised declined 22% in 2024.

But Calicott said he’s looking at the longer-term trend and the increase in the number of pre-seed deals. He said the renewed interest in building on blockchain is largely due to technical upgrades and increased confidence in bitcoin’s long-term resilience.

“Serious people no longer question whether bitcoin will remain 15 or 20 years into the future,” he said. “So the next question becomes: Is it possible to build what the founder is trying to achieve on bitcoin? Increasingly, the answer is yes.”

Trammell has been investing in bitcoin startups since 2014 and launched a dedicated bitcoin-native VC fund series in 2020. Its portfolio includes companies like Kraken, Unchained, Voltage and Vida Global.

Recent reports show momentum in crypto startup funding more widely. In February, crypto VC deals topped $1.1 billion, according to data and analytics firm The Tie.

PitchBook forecasts that crypto VC funding will surpass $18 billion in 2025, nearly doubling the $9.9 billion annual average from the 2023 to 2024 cycle. The firm expects greater institutional engagement from firms like BlackRock and Goldman Sachs to deepen investor trust and catalyze further capital inflows.

Joe McCann, a former software developer, is launching his third venture fund, and said this one will be “exclusively focused on consumer apps in crypto.”

He draws a direct parallel to the internet’s early days.

“In the 1990s, VCs were investing in physical infrastructure,” said McCann, who runs Asymmetric, a digital asset investment firm managing two hedge funds and two early-stage venture capital funds, with $250 million under management. “Ten years later, it was Groupon, Instagram, Facebook — apps built on top. That’s where we are with Web3 right now.”

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