The first, C3.ai (AI 6.63%), is a curious case. Artificial intelligence, they proclaim! The future is now! And yet, the results resemble less a triumphant march toward innovation and more a bewildered retreat. A change in leadership, you see, is often a symptom, not a cure. Stephen Ehikian now holds the reins, succeeding the venerable Thomas Siebel. One wonders if he inherited a stable of thoroughbreds or a collection of particularly stubborn donkeys.
The filing with the SEC – those dry, official documents that rarely tell the whole story – revealed the acquisition of 158,863 shares. A substantial sum, yes, but it’s the why of it that lingers. It wasn’t a gambler’s throw of the dice, but a considered addition, nudging their stake in the fund to 1.77% of their reportable holdings. A small thing, perhaps, but a careful hand adds stones to the foundation, not just to the walls.
The paperwork, filed with the SEC on the 28th of January, shows they unloaded 96,518 shares of this here FTSM. Calculated by the last figures they declared, it amounted to that $5.78 million. Seems a bit like selling off the rocking chair to buy a steam engine, if you ask me, but who am I to judge a man’s spending habits?
Then came the iPhone 17. Or whatever number we’re on now. It’s a phone. It makes calls. It takes pictures of your lunch. But, oh, the demand. The breathless reports. You’d think they’d invented sliced bread, or, you know, something genuinely useful. Frankly, I was bracing for disappointment. I mean, it’s Apple. They’re very good at making us want things we don’t need.
The fund, managed by Mr. Jones, has seen a rather vulgar surge in its gold allocation – nearly half again. The SPDR Gold ETF, a convenient vessel for those seeking refuge from…well, from everything, has blossomed. It ascended by a preposterous 64% last year, and already shows a disturbing eagerness to climb further in 2026. The metal itself has breached the $5,000 mark – a psychological barrier, no doubt, but one built on foundations of…what exactly? Hope? Fear? The dwindling faith in paper promises? It is a question best left to the theologians.
Reports, dashed off by those clever fellows with their noses in the data, suggest that the path to a lasting recovery is as tricky as explaining Aunt Agatha’s latest scheme. It seems improved liquidity is the name of the game, with market watchers pointing to on-chain measures as the real signal to watch. Rather like keeping an eye on Bertie Wooster’s spending habits, if you ask me.
It ain’t just Nvidia and AMD sendin’ their work TSMC’s way, neither. Apple, that purveyor of polished gadgets, relies on ’em too. TSMC’s the unseen hand behind a good many of these modern marvels. The designers get all the glory, naturally – a fella can’t help but admire a shiny new toy – but TSMC’s the silent partner, quietly churnin’ out the goods. It reminds me of a fella who builds a fine stagecoach, but it’s the horses that actually get you to your destination.
The filing, dated January 29th, showed they trimmed their position during the fourth quarter. A ten-million-dollar reduction. The stock still sat at $12.79 million in their portfolio, but that was after the market had its say. A net decrease, naturally. Numbers rarely lie, though they can certainly be dressed up for the occasion.
This entity, known as Alphabet (a name that suggests a collection of interesting things, rather than a monolithic corporation), boasts a market capitalization of approximately $4 trillion. (Which is a lot of money. Enough to buy a small planet. Or a really nice yacht. Possibly both, if you’re careful with the depreciation.) The suggestion is that investing a mere $1,000 in this behemoth is a sensible course of action. Let us examine why. (Or, more accurately, why someone is suggesting you examine why.)
The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) drifted down 0.17% to 6,966. The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) fell a bit further, 0.72% to 23,685. Numbers. They mean something to someone, I suppose. Verizon (VZ +1.01%) managed a small gain, closing at $39.81. T-Mobile (TMUS +1.63%) did slightly better, finishing at $189.28. They’re all just selling us connections, one way or another. Assessing competitive positioning, they call it. Network issues. Always network issues. Like trying to hold water in a sieve.