HBO's "Industry" has been criticized for its vacuous portrayal of modern life, with the show focusing on the horrors of late-stage capitalism and its tendency to consume everything in its path. The show, which follows a group of graduates at a fictional bank based in London, Pierpoint & Co., focuses on the fictional Tender, a financial investing and banking app targeted at Gen Z. Despite the company's grandstanding about being the future of banking, it is revealed that Tender's cofounder, Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella), is a Russian puppet helping the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation access more data through a merger with Pierpoint. This portrayal reflects the real-life happenings of Wirecard, a German payment processor and financial services provider that faced an international investigation after accounting malpractices were uncovered. Apple has announced $500 billion in U.S. investments in 2025, including a giant AI server factory in Texas and adding about 20,000 research and development jobs across the country in the next four years.