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The aggregate return of nearly 6,100,000% achieved under Mr. Buffett’s stewardship is a statistic easily recited, but difficult to grasp. It speaks to a disciplined approach, a resistance to speculative frenzy, and a consistent application of fundamental analysis. These were not accidental successes, but the predictable outcome of a defined methodology. However, even the most rigorously applied system is susceptible to human fallibility, or, in this instance, a perceived shift in geopolitical risk.

The gold fund, one notes, has also eclipsed the broad advance of the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.13%) – by twenty-three percentage points year to date, and a substantial fifty-two over half a year. Two figures, familiar to those who navigate the labyrinthine corridors of high finance – Israel Englander of Millennium Management and Ken Griffin of Citadel Advisors – have, with a prescience that borders on the uncanny, increased their holdings in this ancient refuge. Mr. Englander added 104,900 shares in the third quarter, a modest addition to his portfolio, less than one percent, yet significant in its direction. Mr. Griffin, more decisively, acquired 255,100 shares, and further secured his position with call options – a clear indication of conviction. These are not impulsive men, these two. They have witnessed cycles, endured storms, and learned to read the subtle shifts in the prevailing winds.

I have alighted upon two candidates, somewhat battered and bruised, yet possessing a certain je ne sais quoi: XRP and Sui. Both have experienced a regrettable fall from grace, which, naturally, presents the discerning investor with an opportunity. The truly elegant acquisition is rarely made at the peak of enthusiasm.

Yet, even in this relentless march forward, there are shadows, intermediaries. NextEra Energy, a name that lacks the luster of its Silicon Valley counterparts, quietly assumes a vital, if unglamorous, role. It is the unseen hand providing the current, the very lifeblood, to these digital behemoths. A utility, one might say, in the most literal, and therefore most enduring, sense of the word.

Lisa Su at CES. A woman who understands the geometry of greed. She dropped a number: 1 zettaflop to 100 zettaflops since 2022. ZETTAFLOPS! Try wrapping your brain around THAT one after a triple espresso and a questionable breakfast burrito. It’s exponential, man. Pure, unadulterated exponential growth. And she’s saying it needs to increase another 100-fold in the next five years? That’s not a prediction, that’s a declaration of war on the laws of physics.

Earnings drop next week. A chance to prove something. Or to confirm the obvious. I’m watching. Not with hope, mind you. Just a professional curiosity. Like a doctor examining a patient already on life support.

Both emerged from the shadowy world of digital mining, those cavernous halls where fortunes were won and lost on the fluctuating price of ghosts. Iren, first, a name whispered among those who sought to harness the power of Bitcoin, built its empire on the relentless churn of computation. But Mateo, a man who understood the cyclical nature of things, saw a premonition in their pivot, a recognition that the gold rush of crypto would eventually yield to a different kind of treasure – the boundless potential of artificial intelligence. They retained a curious flexibility, a willingness to dance between the ephemeral world of blockchain and the more grounded demands of AI, like a gambler hedging his bets against the whims of fortune.

Broadcom. Now, they’re not exactly flashy, are they? They’re the unsung heroes, the plumbing of the internet, quietly ensuring everything else functions. Everyone gets excited about the GPUs, the shiny bits that actually do the AI magic. But who builds the stuff that connects it all? Broadcom. They make the networking gear, the switches, the interconnects… the stuff that keeps the whole data center from collapsing into a digital heap. It’s not glamorous, but it’s essential. And, frankly, it’s where the real, consistent money is.

The stock has performed well, increasing by 50% over the last five years. While that growth might not seem as impressive as some fast-growing tech stocks, Coca-Cola provides a level of stability that makes it a good long-term investment. In fact, Warren Buffett has believed in this stability for decades, first buying shares in the late 1980s and continuing to hold them ever since.

Several financial entities, drawn by the siren song of probabilistic valuation, have begun to navigate these nascent waters. Some seek alliances with the established platforms, while others attempt to construct their own predictive architectures. A notable number, however, exhibit a curious aversion to the more volatile, retail-driven markets, such as those centered around athletic competitions, preferring to confine their prognostications to the ostensibly more rational spheres of economics and geopolitics. This selectivity is not, perhaps, a matter of prudence, but a tacit acknowledgement of the inherent irrationality that underlies all human endeavor.