AI Hype & My Slightly Less Terrible Investments

Micron and Palantir. They’re the darlings right now, aren’t they? The ones everyone’s Instagramming. Micron, with its memory chips, and Palantir, with its…well, whatever it is Palantir does. Honestly, the descriptions always sound like a spy novel synopsis. Both are up, way up. Palantir, nearly 2000% in three years. That’s the kind of number that makes a perfectly reasonable person consider a second mortgage. Micron’s done almost as well. The market values them at astronomical figures. Which, of course, is precisely why I’m suspicious.

This Popular Streaming Service Is Raising Its Prices

Amazon is updating its Prime Video plans about two years after initially adding ads. The new top-tier plan will cost $2 more per month, but comes with several upgrades. Subscribers will now get 4K/UHD streaming, Dolby Atmos audio, and be able to stream on five devices at the same time. They’ll also be able to download 100 titles for offline viewing, up from the previous limit of 25.

Young Actors Who Tragically Died Before Turning 30.

Heath Ledger, an Australian actor, first gained international recognition in the teen comedy ’10 Things I Hate About You’. He proved his versatility by moving into dramatic roles, earning an Academy Award nomination for ‘Brokeback Mountain’. However, he’s best remembered for his unforgettable and unsettling portrayal of the Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’. Tragically, Ledger died at the young age of 28, just before the film won him a posthumous Oscar. He is still considered one of the most talented actors of his generation.

PI DAY DISASTER: COIN PLUMMETS!

Behold, the classic “romantic comedy” of crypto: token surges 30% as traders line up like excited fans at a concert, only to crash harder than a piñata after the party ends. Kraken listing? More like “Kraken’s a Joke” listing. Early buyers, ever the opportunists, took profits faster than a toddler at a candy store.

Splits and Shadows: A Market Fable

They claim it’s about accessibility, about bringing the shares within reach of the common investor. A noble sentiment, perhaps, if one weren’t so familiar with the peculiar logic of the market. It’s as if lowering the price somehow alters the underlying reality of the company, as if a phantom dividend could be conjured from thin air. A magician’s trick, really, diverting attention from the true mysteries at play.

Small Fortunes, Quiet Choices

Both funds gather up these little companies, these hopeful ventures, and offer them to investors. A simple enough proposition. Yet, as with all things, the devil, or perhaps just a slight disappointment, resides in the details. The Vanguard leans towards industries and technology, a belief in gears and circuits. The iShares, it seems, prefers a broader spread, a scattering of bets across various fields. They both seek growth, of course, but their paths diverge, subtly, like two streams flowing from the same mountain.

Oil & Circumstance

Oil, having commenced the year at a comparatively modest $57 per barrel, has now ascended to the vicinity of $88. Predicting the trajectory of this black fluid, particularly in light of geopolitical instability, is an exercise in futility. One might as well consult the entrails of a particularly unfortunate fowl. However, hedging against sustained high prices, particularly when the underlying assets remain reasonably priced even in a downturn, is not entirely unreasonable. These companies, it seems, have at least attempted to prepare for a future where oil might not consistently trade at levels conducive to extravagant displays of wealth.