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Dutch Bros, a purveyor of caffeinated beverages, is expanding with the relentless efficiency of a particularly determined weed. A thousand stores, they boast, and double that number in prospect. The ambition is, one gathers, to saturate the nation with their offerings. Whether this constitutes progress is, of course, debatable. Still, the appetite for novelty, even in matters of coffee, appears insatiable. Sales are up, naturally, and a mobile ordering system has been introduced, a concession to the modern obsession with convenience. One suspects the drinks themselves are largely irrelevant; it is the experience that is being sold, a fleeting illusion of sophistication.

Artificial intelligence, mostly, is to blame. Or credit. It depends on how you look at things. A handful of companies, the so-called Magnificent Seven, did the heavy lifting. Without them, the S&P 500 would be…smaller. About half as impressive, actually. So it goes.

Ford, bless their hearts, had to contend with new taxes on everything comin’ and goin’, and then that business with the electric vehicle tax credit disappearin’ – a blow to demand, that was. But they managed to finish the year with a bit of a flourish, sales pickin’ up steam, and a couple of things worth ponderin’.

The recent surge – a 144% ascent in the last cyclical year – was, predictably, fueled by a confluence of anxieties. Fears of supply constriction emanating from China, that vast and enigmatic workshop of the world, provided the initial impetus. But lurking beneath this immediate concern was the ever-present specter of economic and political instability—a rather tiresome refrain these days, wouldn’t you agree? Elevated inflation, profligate government spending, and a national debt that yawns like a geological fault line—these are not merely numbers on a spreadsheet, dear reader, but symptoms of a deeper malaise.

This obscurity, however, is unlikely to endure. Clearway finds itself in a position most favorable to exploit the burgeoning demand for clean power, a demand fueled by such novelties as these “AI data centers” – prodigious establishments, I am told, that consume energy with the voracity of a thousand suns. Let us examine, then, why this purveyor of renewable dividends might well hold dominion over the coming decade, a reign built not upon conquest, but upon the gentle turning of turbines.

Our current administration, ever resourceful, has been applying pressure to the Federal Reserve – a rather obvious tactic, really – and now proposes a new approach. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are to purchase a substantial quantity of mortgage bonds – a cool $200 billion, if you please. The logic, naturally, is that increased demand will nudge prices upward and yields downward. A perfectly reasonable assumption, though one wonders why it hasn’t been considered before. The 30-year mortgage rate last week dipped to 6.06% – the lowest in three years. A minor victory, perhaps, but a victory nonetheless. And where there are minor victories, there are, naturally, opportunities. Let us examine a couple of stocks that might benefit from this… easing.

Over the preceding three years, the company’s equity has experienced a decline of thirty-five percent. A statistic, of course, devoid of inherent meaning until one contrasts it with the trajectories of its competitors. Ford Motor Company, burdened with the predictable complications of warranty claims and quality control, managed a modest gain of nine percent. General Motors, however, has ascended with a disconcerting velocity, achieving a 122 percent increase – a performance that suggests a momentum entirely absent in the Stellantis portfolio. The question, then, is not merely one of financial performance, but of systemic divergence.

They’re building this… “Dex.” A humanoid robot. Powered by Nvidia chips. Which, fine. Robots. But the whole thing just feels… unnecessary. And now everyone’s getting excited? Jumping on the bandwagon? It’s absurd. The stock went up 4.1% today. 4.1%! Based on what? A late filing and a vague promise of robotic assistance? Give me a break.

The current predicament is simple: Polkadot sought to differentiate itself, but failed to establish a truly unassailable position. It aimed for complexity where simplicity might have served it better. It is a familiar pattern. The market, after all, tends to reward those who solve genuine problems, not those who create elaborate solutions in search of them.

Yet, within this constellation of overvaluation, a single point of relative clarity emerges. One of these behemoths, Meta Platforms, parent of Facebook, appears—and the term is used cautiously—undervalued. Not by grand measure, but enough to warrant a closer, more critical examination. A flicker of reason in a landscape consumed by irrational exuberance.