qfx

The proliferation of these things has been…remarkable. It used to be you needed a broker with a vaguely unsettling air of confidence to access this level of financial engineering. Now, anyone with a smartphone and a pulse can buy an ETF that promises to triple their returns (or, more likely, triple their losses). ProShares and Direxion, the usual suspects, have been churning these out like limited-edition porcelain dolls, and the assets under management keep climbing. It’s a bit unnerving, honestly.

They revised the January numbers down by 4,000, and December’s by a whopping 65,000! Why, that’s like claimin’ you struck gold, then findin’ out it was just fool’s gold all along. Over the last twelve months, we’ve only added 156,000 jobs. Now, back in 2023, they were churnin’ out that many in a single month! It’s like watchin’ a fine racehorse slow to a limp. A fella ought to be concerned.

Nvidia, a purveyor of silicon baubles, has become the darling of the moment, fuelled by the current obsession with artificial intelligence. One might expect such a favoured child to be priced accordingly, and indeed, a cursory glance reveals a valuation that would once have been considered immodest. However, at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of merely 22, it is, comparatively speaking, less outrageous than many of its peers. The company recently reported revenue growth of 73%, a figure that would impress even the most hardened optimist, and anticipates further acceleration. It is, in short, a beneficiary of the prevailing madness, and therefore, a moderately sensible place to park some capital.

The SEC filing—dated Feb. 17, 2026, as if dates still mean anything—reveals Gallagher scooped up 525,553 shares of VCLT. A significant addition, alright. The quarter-end value swelled by another $39.9 million, a phantom increase fueled by share accumulation and the cruel, capricious whims of the market. It’s all smoke and mirrors, people. A carefully constructed illusion to keep the panic at bay.