qfx

In a manner reminiscent of vibrant spring blossoms unfurling towards the sun, Robinhood is acquiring customers and assets with an impressive flourish. With continuous improvements to its platform and a diversified portfolio of investment opportunities, it has even ventured into the realm of company tokens and the intriguing waters of prediction markets.

But what casts such shadows upon Rivian? The answer is deceptively simple, yet profoundly unsettling.

Now, one might have expected some grand announcement from the company—a new line of bespoke hosiery, perhaps, or a strategic alliance with a certain Mr. Wodehouse himself—to account for this peculiar vigor. Alas, no such epistle arrived. Instead, the stock became the darling of a peculiar set of investors who, with the enthusiasm of a man ordering a third helping of trifle at a garden party, decided to rally behind it. Short sellers, those uninvited guests at the feast, found themselves in a rather awkward pickle, for the sudden demand for Kohl’s shares forced them to buy back their borrowed securities at a most inconvenient pace. Bingo! A short squeeze, as neat as a bow on a Christmas present.

Last week, Rigetti unveiled its Ankaa-3 system, a feat that sent shares into a crescendo of euphoria. One might say the company has struck gold, though the true value of this discovery remains as elusive as a qubit’s state. After all, what is a 99.5% two-qubit gate fidelity but a whisper in the vast cathedral of computational ambition?

From the beginning, Ripple harbored a grand ambition: to displace SWIFT, that venerable, if somewhat sluggish, institution which handles the world’s financial correspondence. Faster, cheaper, more secure – a familiar litany. A beautiful dream, certainly. But dreams rarely account for the inertia of established power, the comfortable routines of banking halls, or the simple human reluctance to dismantle a system that, while imperfect, *works*.

The basic stock market stew starts with capital (money you’d actually miss if lost), time (the suspense), and an asset sturdy enough to withstand the weekly news cycle. My recipe du jour relies on that most forgiving culinary tool: the ETF. Specifically, Vanguard’s—because I’ve noticed, at family gatherings, the people who bring up Vanguard the most tend to have working dishwashers and fewer visible stress rashes.

These stocks flaunt price tags that are rather lower than you might expect for entities involved in something as nebulous as AI—equal parts sorcery and mathematics. If discernment in value is your quest, then this triumvirate is certainly a fabulous starting point.

Let’s take a cold, hard look at the semiconductor game. Right now, semiconductors are enjoying a fleeting moment of peace, blissfully exempt from the tariffs roiling the rest of the economy—floating free in a tariffic sea. This current state of affairs is crucial: as August 1 approaches, uncertainty looms like a shadow, ready to snatch that exemption away.

To chase the hottest stock on the street is to embrace a paradox: it works until it doesn’t. The valuation of Palantir now floats precariously, like an autumn leaf caught in an updraft, defying descent but bound inevitably to earth. For investors seeking new pastures, there are other blossoms amid this garden of artificial intelligence—stocks rooted more firmly in soil than clouds.

Indeed, one need only consider the venerable S&P 500—a benchmark index whose performance has, over the decades, proven itself an unwavering beacon of prosperity. Since its expansion in the year of our Lord 1957 to comprise five hundred distinguished companies, it has burgeoned with an astonishing vigour, increasing by nearly 14,000 percent. This prodigious expansion, corresponding to a compound annual growth rate of 7.5 percent—even before one takes into account the dividends that have sweetened the yields of the patient investor—is nothing short of remarkable.