They’re good at under-promising, apparently. Which, as an investor, is… reassuring, in a bleak sort of way. It means they’re not going to dazzle you with unrealistic expectations and then disappoint you with slightly less unrealistic ones. It’s the corporate equivalent of a polite but firm rejection. You know where you stand. Units of overly optimistic predictions avoided: 1. Hours spent researching “safe” investments: 7.
And guess what? Ripple is still on its rampage, pushing its institutional agenda like a bull in a china shop, all while the XRP Ledger continues its march forward, like a soldier with a shiny new pair of boots. It’s like watching a slow-motion train crash, except you’re rooting for the train.
Last year was… sluggish. A polite way of saying it was a near-death experience for their adjusted EBITDA. A measly 3.2% growth rate? In the pipeline game, that’s like admitting defeat. They were coasting on fumes, no acquisitions, a handful of expansion projects… it was a ghost town. But NOW… now things are different. They’re promising a 10% jump. TEN PERCENT! They’re throwing money at projects – the $2.7 billion Hugh Brinson Pipeline, the $5.6 billion Transwestern expansion… it’s a full-blown infrastructure orgy. And the affiliated MLPs are finally waking up, adding fuel to the fire. Oh, and oil prices are, predictably, doing their thing. Rising. Of course. It’s all starting to feel… unsettlingly positive.
The recent pronouncements regarding a potential defense budget – a sum exceeding a trillion and seven-tenths – whilst subject to the inevitable vagaries of political discourse, do suggest a continued, and indeed, an augmented, commitment to matters of national security. The increased attention to countering unmanned aerial threats is particularly noteworthy, and those companies positioned to address such concerns are, naturally, attracting considerable attention.
As the momentum wanes with all the predictability of a damp squib, SoSoValue has deigned to provide us with data of the utmost gravity. The spot XRP ETFs, it seems, have endured their most significant withdrawal of the month during their recent trading session on Friday. A day, one might add, that shall henceforth be remembered as a testament to the fickleness of financial fortunes.
Apple used to be the sort of company that demanded a fortune for everything. A premium price, they called it. More like highway robbery, if you ask me. If you wanted a bit more memory, a faster chip, a slightly less dreadful colour, you’d be digging deep into your pockets. But now? Now they’re offering things at prices that don’t quite make your eyes water. The iPhone 17e, for example. A mere $599! It’s almost… generous. Almost. They had a 16e last year, same price, but with half the storage and a chip that wheezed a bit. Clever, really. Make you think you’re getting a bargain, while subtly shrinking what you actually receive.
They speak of “financial health,” these analysts. A sterile term. Better to think of it as a fortress, built not of stone, but of readily convertible promises. Currently, the fifty largest such fortresses hold over $3.1 trillion. A sum that could, one imagines, alleviate a considerable amount of earthly suffering… or simply fuel another round of speculative excess. The bulk of this hoard – three-quarters, to be precise – resides within the financial, consumer discretionary, and technological sectors. Predictable, wouldn’t you say?
Custom dictates that departing chairs relinquish their positions on the Board of Governors upon the conclusion of their term. However, Powell’s tenure on the Board extends through 2028, affording him the option to remain a voting member of the FOMC. This is not unprecedented; historical precedent, notably the case of Marriner Eccles in the late 1940s, demonstrates that a departing chair may choose to remain engaged, particularly when concerns regarding external influence are present.
The author, a gentleman named Van Geelen, posited a “2028 Global Intelligence Crisis,” a rather dramatic title for a speculation on the potential for artificial intelligence to… disrupt things. The theory, as it were, involved a doom loop of job losses, declining wages, and a subsequent curtailment of consumption. A perfectly plausible scenario, of course, though one could equally predict a renaissance of artisanal cheese-making. The market, it seems, prefers to dwell on the negative. A 38% plunge in the S&P 500 was predicted. One wonders if such pronouncements are made for insight or simply to add a touch of theatricality to the daily tedium.
Fortunately, there exists a rather ingenious contraption, the Roundhill Generative AI and Technology ETF (CHAT 1.90%), designed to rectify such lapses in foresight. It’s a fund, you see, dedicated entirely to companies dabbling in the creation of AI infrastructure, software, and platforms. And, rather cleverly, it has a substantial portion of its assets – a good twenty per cent, if you please – invested in the likes of Nvidia, Alphabet, Micron Technology, and Amazon. A decidedly sound arrangement, one might venture to suggest.