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But amidst this general delirium, a certain… anomaly presents itself. A company, seemingly content to build warehouses and deliver parcels, has somehow become entangled in this digital web. It is not a pure play, mind you, not a sleek, dedicated machine built solely for the pursuit of algorithmic perfection. No, this creature, Amazon (AMZN +2.12%), is something… older. A sprawling, ungainly beast, rooted in the mundane realities of commerce, yet somehow capable of adapting to this new, ethereal landscape.

While many such funds dutifully track the broad American market – the S&P 500 being the most prominent example – opportunities exist beyond these well-trodden paths. The search for value, however, demands a willingness to look beyond the familiar. Recent performance of the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (NYSEMKT: EWY) warrants, if not celebration, at least a dispassionate examination.

“Infrastructure expands what we can deliver. Innovation expands what intelligence can do. Adoption expands who can use it. Revenue funds the next leap.” A circular logic, perhaps, but one that resonates with the fundamental principles of value creation. The algorithm demands its treasury, and the treasury, in turn, fuels the algorithm. A delicate balance, and one that will determine the fate of this curious enterprise.

Some are saying it’s too late to get in. They always say that. I say, don’t let the recent climb scare you. There’s a reason for it, and it’s not just luck. It’s a shift, a change in the air, and Micron is right in the thick of it.

One might ask, what dark portents does this signify? Is it a premonition of Tesla’s inevitable descent from its lofty perch? Or simply a man, weary of chasing phantom valuations, seeking the comforting solidity of a company that, at least, knows how to make something tangible? The answer, as always, is likely a blend of both, seasoned with a dash of pure, unadulterated human folly.

It is not simply a company, this Meta. It is a landscape, populated by billions. Three and a half billion, to be precise, daily active people—a vast constellation of lives intersecting through the digital ether. They call it DAP—a clinical term for such a human phenomenon. I prefer to think of it as a gathering, a modern village square where stories are exchanged, and connections forged. This is the soil from which its prosperity springs.

One might expect, in such circumstances, a corresponding decline in the market’s estimation. Yet, observe the paradox! The share price, contrary to all logical expectation, has ascended since the dawn of this year. A most curious spectacle, indeed! The stock, valued at a modest price-to-earnings ratio of twelve, prompts a question: is this a treasure overlooked, or merely a gilded cage?

It seems the supply of these little silicon slivers – these ‘chips,’ as they’re commonly called – ain’t keepin’ pace with the demand. A right pickle, that. Folks want their computin’ gadgets, their doohickeys and whatsits, and Intel, bless their hearts, is findin’ it a bit of a struggle to provide ’em. Their revenue dipped a wee four percent in the last quarter, to $13.7 billion. The PC chip business, it seems, is a bit sluggish, though their data center and AI division is holdin’ steady. A bit like a one-legged man in a kickin’ contest, I reckon – doin’ alright, but not exactly sweepin’ the field.

Launched in 2012, Ripple‘s XRP Ledger – a blockchain network possessing a certain architectural elegance – and its accompanying cryptocurrency were conceived as a solution to the sluggish, Byzantine complexities of cross-border payments. Transactions, we are told, settle in a mere three to five seconds, and fees are, comparatively, negligible – fractions of a penny. A stark contrast, naturally, to the ponderous, almost geological, pace of Bitcoin. The network, Ripple Payments, boasts over three hundred banking partners across six continents – a network of connections that, while impressive, feels less like a revolutionary disruption and more like a particularly elaborate game of global telephone.