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The divestment occurred in the fourth quarter, a period often marked by year-end portfolio adjustments and a touch of accountant-induced anxiety. The value of the shares shed amounted to $6.96 million, calculated with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker. Simultaneously, the fund’s overall stake in Enpro experienced a paper loss of $8.64 million, a figure that combines the sale with the ebb and flow of market valuations. A sobering reminder that even the most promising ventures are subject to the whims of fortune.

Three names are currently whispered amongst those who still dare to venture into this digital wilderness. They offer, or so it is claimed, the potential for gain, coupled with a degree of protection against the inevitable reckoning. Whether they will truly lead the way, or merely be swept along with the tide, remains to be seen. For the market, like a capricious god, rarely rewards foresight, and even more rarely, wisdom.

Now, DraftKings, that’s a name you hear bandied about. Lost a bit of shine last year, eight percent, they say. Seems folks got spooked that the low-hangin’ fruit had been picked, and that these newfangled prediction markets – Kalshi and Polymarket, fancy names, ain’t they? – were gonna horn in on their territory. Some folks get their britches in a twist over every little thing. But let me tell you somethin’ about brand names. DraftKings wasn’t born yesterday. They were a household name in fantasy sports long before this sports-betting craze took hold. A good name, it sticks in a fella’s head like a burr.

One might venture to suggest that TSMC offers the best value in this increasingly frantic market. It is not, of course, a glamorous proposition. There are no visionary founders promising to disrupt entire industries, merely a relentless competence honed over decades. But then, competence is so often overlooked in the pursuit of novelty.

Look, I get it, companies go up, companies go down. But the way they go down… it’s infuriating. They try to make everything so “user-friendly” and then they bury the important stuff. You click seven times to dispute a charge, but changing your address? One tiny, unlabeled button. One! It’s a conspiracy, I tell you. A conspiracy to make you feel helpless.

They make this “conversational AI” software. Which, as far as I can tell, means it talks to things. Cars, restaurants… It’s supposed to be revolutionary. They’re putting it in fast food drive-thrus. Drive-thrus! Like we need more automation taking perfectly good jobs. And what happens when it doesn’t understand your order? “I said no pickles! No pickles!” And then you’re arguing with a machine. It’s a nightmare. A complete and utter nightmare.

But before surrendering to this seductive vision, a sober reckoning is required. One must examine not merely the promise of XRP, but the reality of its adoption, or rather, its lack thereof. The banks, those venerable institutions, are not driven by the same restless spirit as the market. They move with the deliberation of glaciers, and their affections are rarely won by novelty alone.

They’re touting this partnership with Google, Gemini models, the whole shebang. Like that’s going to magically fix everything. It’s just… more stuff. More features nobody asked for. I remember when a phone made calls. Now it’s a battle to find the basic functions under layers of… what is all this stuff? And don’t even get me started on Siri. That thing is actively unhelpful. It’s like talking to a brick that occasionally misinterprets your commands. And now they want to make it more… approachable? By having it talk at you even more? It’s infuriating.

If one seeks a financial institution with a slightly more grounded trajectory—a vessel less prone to capsizing in the turbulent seas of speculation—SoFi Technologies (SOFI 3.38%) merits a closer look. It’s not about avoiding risk entirely, dear reader, but about calibrating it with a modicum of sense.

The current enthusiasm, it appears, is fueled by this ‘AIP’ – an Artificial Intelligence Platform, as they call it – a device purportedly capable of unlocking the secrets hidden within mountains of data. Customers, eager to appear abreast of the latest marvels, flock to this platform, swelling the coffers of Palantir. Indeed, the demand is such that one wonders if they purchase insight, or merely the appearance thereof. A question for the ages, is it not?