Bitcoin has been groping for a foothold in the murk, a pale pilgrim seeking a base. Today it slipped below $80,000, and from the 2025 zenith above $126,000 it has fallen about 40%. The soul of the thing trembles; the ledger squeaks under the weight of fear, and the crowd pretends not to notice while clutching their coins with a grimace of irony.
Everyone’s bullish on AI. Long term. That’s what they say. But long term doesn’t pay the rent. Here’s where the cracks are starting to show, three warning signs that this isn’t a revolution, it’s a fever dream.
The obsession with backward-looking metrics – these ‘multiples’ so beloved by the financial press – obscures a fundamental truth. A company’s future prospects, not its past performance, dictate its worth. UiPath is, at this juncture, attempting to transition toward profitability, coinciding with its positioning within the emerging field of ‘agentic’ artificial intelligence. This confluence of events warrants attention, though not uncritical acceptance.
This is not a prediction, precisely, but an observation distilled from the archives of the Biblioteca de los Pagos, a hypothetical compendium of all financial flows, past, present, and potential. The text, if it existed, would be infinite, of course, mirroring the endless cycle of commerce.
Archer Aviation (ACHR) currently exhibits a valuation predicated on substantial future revenue generation. While the eVTOL market remains nascent, the company’s recent performance—specifically, the decline following competitor Joby Aviation’s (JOBY) capital raise—raises concerns regarding near-term investor sentiment.
On February 2nd, ADA decided to spice things up with a 6% nosedive in 24 hours, hitting $0.267. Ouch. Then, in a classic “I’m fine, really” move, it bounced back to $0.28. Stability? More like a wobbly table at a fancy restaurant-everyone’s nervous it’ll collapse.
But the winds, as they often do, have begun to shift. Last year, for the first time since the Age of Steam-Powered Calculating Machines (2020, to be precise), Emerging Markets dared to outperform the venerable S&P 500.1 The U.S. market, whilst still reasonably prosperous, showed signs of… well, looking around for other options. A subtle hint, perhaps, that the game was afoot. And 2026? It’s confirmed what the ancient scrolls (and a surprisingly accurate pigeon) have been predicting: international stocks are still leading the charge, and a broader rotation is underway. This is significant because history, that most unreliable of storytellers, suggests these cycles aren’t mere flutters of the market, but rather long, slow shifts in the very foundations of fortune.
Visa (V 3.00%) just reported a 15% revenue bump in the first quarter of 2026. Decent. A respectable showing. Like a mildly enthusiastic tap dancer. And their earnings per share? Up 17%. Okay, fine. They’re not exactly losing money.
Now, one finds oneself pondering the rather vexing question of timing. After such a climb, one naturally wonders when, precisely, to acquire a few shares. Is there a particularly propitious moment lurking just around the corner? Should one, perhaps, leap before looking, and purchase ahead of their earnings report on February 25th? Let’s have a bit of a look at the history, shall we? It might shed a glimmer of light on the proceedings.
The recent decline in Pfizer’s share price, exceeding 50% from 2021 highs, is attributable to multiple factors, most notably the company’s delayed entry into the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist market. While the pursuit of internal candidates proved unsuccessful, the subsequent acquisition strategy and distribution agreement represent a reactive, rather than proactive, approach.