My picks? Alphabet (GOOG 0.80%) (GOOGL 0.80%), Microsoft (MSFT +0.77%), and Nvidia (NVDA 0.29%). These aren’t pure-play quantum stocks, which, let’s be real, are mostly vaporware at this point. These are companies that are actually making money while simultaneously poking around in the quantum realm. It’s like having a sensible minivan and a jetpack. You know, just in case.
The matter, for investors, is not one of grand opportunity, but of subtle accounting. The narrative of ‘high-value consumers’ being transferred is, predictably, being emphasized. It is worth remembering that a debt is merely a debt, regardless of who holds it or the presumed status of the debtor.
The company’s foundry business, alas, has proven less a golden goose and more a perpetually peckish hen. Investments have been substantial, returns… less so. One begins to suspect that forecasting in the realm of fabrication is an exercise in optimistic delusion. Still, the market, ever the fickle mistress, has rewarded their efforts with a most gratifying surge in valuation. A hundred and fifty percent, you say? Clearly, hope springs eternal – and often from the most improbable of foundations.
The modern investor, alas, often confuses motion with progress. They seek the spectacular, the immediate gratification. But true wealth, like a perfectly aged brandy, requires patience, a touch of skepticism, and a profound understanding that durability is infinitely more desirable than fleeting brilliance. This brings us to a rather interesting contest between two exchange-traded funds: the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG +0.22%) and the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD 0.45%). A choice, if you will, between the predictably opulent and the quietly substantial.
Everybody’s fixated on the code, the chips, the algorithms. I’m telling you, the real bottleneck isn’t processing power; it’s the goddamn POWER itself. It’s the raw, untamed energy that’s going to make or break this whole AI revolution. And like the good ol’ US of A, Europe is about to discover they need a whole lot more of it. Fortunately, there’s this… company. Rolls-Royce. Not the cars. Forget the chrome and the leather. We’re talking about the engine builders. The guys who’ve been shoving thrust into the skies since before your grandfather was born. And they’ve figured out a way to build a nuclear power plant… in a FACTORY. I repeat, a FACTORY.
Both AGG and IEI are, of course, managed by the reputable house of iShares, yet they pursue distinct objectives. AGG endeavors to encompass the entirety of the U.S. investment-grade bond market – a considerable undertaking, one might observe – while IEI confines its attentions to intermediate-term U.S. Treasury bonds. This comparison, therefore, shall consider not merely cost and performance, but also the inherent risks and the composition of each fund, that a prudent judgment may be formed.
Let’s all pause to admire the irony of a San Francisco-based blockchain company conquering Europe while most Americans struggle to open a savings account without being asked if they’ve ever met a llama. Meanwhile, Luxembourg, a place where the financial regulator probably has the same budget as my grocery list, just handed Ripple the keys to the Eurozone. Passporting! Because why let pesky things like oversight ruin the party? 🎉
Both, it’s whispered, could potentially be IPOs of positively colossal proportions. The question, then, isn’t if one will be a bit of a winner, but which one will be the absolute, unadulterated champion. Let’s have a bit of a look-see, shall we?
To suggest that Medtronic has ‘peaked’ would be premature. Yet, a more accurate assessment reveals a corporation undergoing a necessary, if painful, restructuring. The prospect of continued growth remains, but it is no longer the unrestrained ascent of prior years. For the discerning investor, particularly those seeking a durable income stream, a careful examination of Medtronic’s current trajectory is warranted.
Now, Bloom’s been fiddlin’ with these boxes for two decades, but the stock? Whew. It’s gone positively ballistic lately. Up 550% in the last year? That’s not a growth stock, that’s a rocket ship piloted by a caffeinated squirrel. And as of January 16th? Up 72% year-to-date. Folks, that’s enough to make a seasoned investor question reality. Which, naturally, is what I do for a livin’.