A Modest Proposal for 2026

Celebration

I propose, with a degree of detached curiosity, a consideration of The Trade Desk (TTD 6.49%). It is, at first glance, a thoroughly unremarkable concern, dealing as it does in the placement of advertisements – a trade generally associated with the shadier corners of commerce. Yet, it possesses a peculiar combination of growth and, dare one say, value, that warrants a closer inspection. Whether it will, in fact, double your money by the end of 2026 is, of course, a matter for the gods of speculation to decide. But the conditions, as they stand, are not entirely unfavourable.

Palantir: Still Not Entirely Sure What It Does

But Palantir just dropped its quarterly numbers, and… well, let’s just say it wasn’t a polite cough. It was more of a full-throated roar. They beat expectations on pretty much everything, and are now predicting revenue growth that would make even the most optimistic venture capitalist raise an eyebrow. It’s like they’re actively trying to disprove the laws of financial gravity.

Ether’s Fade: A Portfolio Pruning

The filing dates back to February 2nd. Pilgrim Partners Asia trimmed its ETHA holdings during the fourth quarter. Sixteen point two million vanished into the ether, if you’ll pardon the expression. The ETF itself took a hit too – almost twenty million off the books, combining sales and the usual market dance. Numbers don’t lie, but they rarely tell the whole story. This one whispers of portfolio discipline.

Wood’s Bargains: A Collector’s Eye

One observes that Ms. Wood doesn’t merely invest; she rescues. She’s a modern-day Pygmalion, attempting to breathe life into ventures that have, shall we say, experienced a slight…cooling of enthusiasm. The market, that capricious mistress, has cast them aside, and our heroine gathers them up, convinced she can polish them to a shine. It’s a charming delusion, though one rarely rewarded by the cold logic of quarterly reports.

Kratos and the Weight of Contracts

The cause, as reported, was the securing of contracts – a sum of $65 million, to be precise – for the design and delivery of simulators and training solutions. These are to be employed in the preparation of those who pilot and maintain the machines of war – the Chinooks, Blackhawks, and Hueys – and for the benefit, it is said, of both our nation and unnamed allied powers. One cannot help but reflect on the irony: we create instruments of destruction, then dedicate resources to preparing those who will wield them, and further resources to those who will repair them when they inevitably break. It is a cycle as old as humanity itself.

First Majestic: A Silvered Reckoning

That decision, viewed in retrospect, possesses the clarity of a preordained outcome. The subsequent surge in silver valuations has, predictably, benefited the company, establishing it as a focal point for those seeking refuge in tangible assets. But let us not mistake correlation for foresight. It was not brilliance, but a simple alignment with the currents of economic reality.

Bloom Energy: A Current of Progress

The cause? A frantic, almost feverish, construction of data centers, driven by the insistent demands of artificial intelligence. And Bloom Energy, it seems, offers a solution to the most pressing of challenges – a reliable, uninterrupted current in a world increasingly dependent on the ephemeral.

Leverage & Regret

These things—the Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3X Shares and the ProShares Ultra QQQ—are, essentially, a way to amplify both gains and losses. It’s like taking a perfectly good recipe and adding three times the amount of chili powder. Sometimes it’s brilliant. More often, it’s a desperate scramble for milk. The SPXL promises three times the daily return of the S&P 500, while the QQQ—a slightly more tech-obsessed cousin—aims for double the daily performance of the Nasdaq-100. Which, let’s be honest, feels less like investing and more like a high-stakes game of chance.

CarMax: A Calculated Risk, or Mere Sentiment?

The filing with the SEC reveals a new position, a rather substantial one, comprising 5.18% of BML’s reported assets. To devote such a portion to a retailer of pre-owned automobiles is… unexpected. One typically expects such funds to chase the ephemeral dreams of biotech startups, not the solid, if somewhat dusty, reality of used car lots. It suggests a conviction, a belief that the market has miscalculated, that CarMax, despite its recent misfortunes, is not destined for the scrap heap.

AI Stocks: A (Slightly Anxious) Investor’s Log

Nvidia. Okay, everyone’s talking about Nvidia. It’s the obvious one, isn’t it? Which immediately makes me suspicious. But the numbers…they’re actually quite compelling. A forward P/E of around 25 times, and a PEG under 0.7? That’s…reasonable. Dare I say, attractive? It’s like finding a reasonably priced avocado. A miracle. They’ve basically cornered the market on the chips that power all this AI stuff, and their CUDA platform is apparently a big deal. It’s all very technical. I mostly nodded politely when the analyst explained it. Data center spending is expected to go up, which is good. It’s all about infrastructure, apparently. I’m starting to feel slightly less panicked. Slightly.