I touched upon the initial market reaction a few days ago, and it wasn’t a cheerful gathering. Monday continued the downward trend. But let’s not dwell on the gloom. Let’s consider why the market, a creature normally as optimistic as a tax collector, might be entertaining a sliver of hope. It’s a bit like hoping a troll will develop a fondness for poetry.
Today, the markets stirred, a collective sigh escaping from the bellies of brokers and the blinking screens of high-frequency traders. It was a fragile recovery, a tentative dance after Monday’s sudden panic, a day when fear blossomed like a poisonous flower. The S&P 500, a restless spirit, rose by 0.8%, mirroring the cautious optimism of the Dow Jones Industrial Average which gained 0.98%. Even the volatile Nasdaq Composite, ever prone to fits of exuberance and despair, managed a steeper ascent of 1.1%, a fleeting illusion of control in a world increasingly governed by the unpredictable.
Shares are up a respectable 5.2% as of midday. Not enough to buy a small island, obviously, but enough to make me momentarily forget I haven’t checked my other holdings. Don’t judge.
The rationale, as always, is accessibility. To lure in the smaller investor, the one who dreams of a share in the grand enterprise. A noble intention, perhaps, but one suspects the true beneficiaries are those already holding the bread, now able to claim a larger slice of the crumbs. The charts, those relentless trackers of hope and disappointment, will show a brief flurry of activity, a momentary lifting of spirits. Then, the quiet settling back into the familiar pattern.
Citizens, ever optimistic, maintains a ‘market outperform’ rating, projecting a price of $38 per share within the year. A handsome sum, of course, representing a potential 72% upside. One wonders if this projection accounts for the inherent unpredictability of human enthusiasm, the very fuel that drives this particular enterprise. Still, a target is a target, and in the world of finance, a well-placed target is often mistaken for accuracy.
Apple, a name resonant with the myth of the bitten fruit, finds itself in a peculiar position. It is not threatened by the raw cost of computation, but by a more subtle failing: the perfection of mimicry. While others chase the brute force of processing, Apple’s vulnerability lies in the realm of the conversational – specifically, in the persistent imperfection of Siri. One might posit that Siri is not merely a virtual assistant, but a mirror reflecting the limitations of current artificial intelligence – a digital Golem, perpetually on the verge of coherence.
By lunchtime, the shares were up 9.2%. Not bad for a company that yesterday was feeling rather glum.
Citrini Research, founded by James Van Geelen, is an independent macro research firm known for long-form thematic analysis that explores second-order economic effects. Its essays, distributed primarily through Substack, often blend financial history with speculative scenario-building aimed at stress-testing prevailing narratives.
Micron, bless their industrious little hearts, are doing rather well. Record revenues, expanding margins… it’s almost vulgar. The stock’s had a jolly good run, up over 300% in the last twelve months, and while some analysts are predicting a peak, one suspects they simply haven’t grasped the sheer demand. This AI business requires memory, you see, and Micron happens to be one of the few who can provide it. A multi-billion dollar backlog is always a comforting sight, and frankly, they appear to have a stranglehold on the market. Dominance, my dear, is such a lovely thing.
They dumped The Trade Desk. Completely. TTD. Once the golden child of programmatic advertising. Now? A smoking crater. And then, they went ALL IN on Netflix. Seventeen times the position. Seventeen! That’s not a bet, that’s a declaration of war. A frantic scramble for position in the streaming bloodbath. It’s enough to make a man reach for the ether, honestly.