Blackstone boasts a decade of 26.5% annualized returns. Brookfield, a respectable 18.3%. Better than the S&P 500, they say. But what does ‘better’ mean when the game is rigged? These numbers are whispers in the halls of power, while the worker struggles to afford a loaf of bread. Still, the market cares little for bread; it craves growth, even if built on shifting sands.
The share price, currently experiencing a bit of a wobble – down over 41% in the last quarter, my dear – is, of course, alarming. But frankly, these short-term fluctuations are rarely indicative of genuine worth. One must look beneath the surface, assess the fundamentals, and decide if a little risk might yield a rather handsome return. And SoundHound, despite its recent misfortunes, possesses a certain… allure.
But time, as they say, marches on. Or, in the case of blockchain technology, iterates at a frankly alarming rate. Which begs the question: is it time to cast a discerning eye towards the up-and-coming challengers to Ethereum’s throne? If one of these rivals does manage to overtake Ethereum and become the dominant Layer 1 blockchain, well, let’s just say the resulting valuation could be… significant. And by ‘significant’, I mean potentially capable of funding a small nation-state. (Or, more realistically, a moderately comfortable retirement.)
The trouble is, the world changed. It used to be, if you wanted tunes in your car, you had two choices: AM radio, which mostly played polka and emergency broadcasts, or Sirius XM. Now? Now you’ve got more options than there are characters in a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta! And they’re all fighting for your attention…and your subscription dollars.
For some time, the architecture of modern chips has resembled a congested city, with interconnects – those delicate threads of communication – and power delivery systems vying for space. This congestion, once a minor inconvenience, has become a palpable constraint as density increases. It is as if the very arteries of these silicon brains are becoming clogged, hindering their capacity for swift thought. The solution, as Intel has demonstrated, lies in a re-thinking of the layout—a shifting of the power infrastructure to the reverse side of the chip, freeing the front for unimpeded communication.
The thing is, a company doesn’t just start handing out cash like it’s confetti. It has to… stabilize. Get its act together. Which means, ideally, it’s not about to crater. Though, let’s not kid ourselves, ‘stable’ is a relative term. Still, it’s a better bet than throwing your money into the black hole of “disruptive innovation.” So, I’ve been digging. Into the muck. And I’ve found three… specimens. Three potential lifelines in this accelerating freefall.
A quick squint at the short-term chart reveals a scene more chaotic than a classroom of Oompa-Loompas on a sugar high. Not only has Bitcoin plummeted through the bottom of its ascending triangle (fancy talk for “it’s gone south”), but it’s also lost its grip on the $90,000 support. Now, that level has turned into resistance faster than you can say “scrumdiddlyumptious.” A quick wick back to this level confirms it-the bears are having a field day.
Everyone’s gushing about GDP, that supposedly sacred cow of economic health. 4.3% annualized growth in the last quarter? Fine. But numbers are just that – numbers. They don’t tell you about the hollow ache in the gut of the working man, the mounting debt, the creeping sense that everything is about to… unravel. Treasury Secretary Bessent, babbling about a “surprise on the upside” and a 7-8% nominal GDP? Don’t fall for it. Nominal, real… it’s all smoke and mirrors. They’re propping this thing up with tariffs, slapping taxes on everything until the consumer is choking. A temporary high, bought and paid for with your future purchasing power.
The notion is surprisingly straightforward: invest in companies that regularly share their profits with shareholders in the form of dividends. And not just any dividends, mind you. We’re after a respectable yield, a decent return on your investment. After a bit of poking around, three companies struck me as particularly interesting. They’re not glamorous, not exactly the sort to set the world alight, but they seem to reliably churn out cash. And that, my friends, is precisely what we’re after. We’re looking at United Parcel Service (UPS 0.35%), Enbridge (ENB 0.97%), and General Mills (GIS 0.11%). Invest $6,000 in each, and you might find yourself with around $1,000 a year in dividends. Not enough to retire on, certainly, but a pleasant little bonus nonetheless.
Alphabet, the company born of a search for order in the chaos of information, has been quietly doing just that. It hasn’t roared, hasn’t boasted, but has instead been laying down roots, deep and strong. Last year saw a rise, yes, a lifting of the share price by some sixty-five percent, but that number feels less like a sudden windfall and more like a recognition, a slow turning of the tide. The money flowing in now isn’t simply chasing a trend, it’s recognizing something more fundamental, a capacity for enduring growth.