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Abbott’s recent pronouncements regarding its fourth quarter did not, apparently, meet with the breathless enthusiasm the market demands. Sales of $11.5 billion, a modest increase of 4.4%, were deemed insufficient. Nutrition and diagnostics, it seems, experienced a slight… hesitation. One might say they lacked a certain joie de vivre. The guidance for 2026 was equally underwhelming. The stock responded accordingly. It’s a curious thing, this insistence on immediate gratification. One would think investors had forgotten the virtues of patience.

A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission – a document, naturally, filed with the solemnity of a state funeral – reveals that this acquisition occurred during the fourth quarter. The aforementioned shares, added to the existing pile, increased the quarter-end value of PING’s Vista stake by a further $6.68 million. A figure that, upon closer inspection, appears to be a composite of actual purchases and the capricious dance of market valuation. It’s as if the numbers themselves are engaged in a subtle game of deception.

The numbers themselves are… adequate. Not soaring, not collapsing. Merely existing. A respectable performance, one might say, though respect doesn’t necessarily translate to profit. The shares, predictably, haven’t rushed to celebrate. A quiet reception, suggesting a quiet quarter. It’s a curious thing, this expectation of constant growth. As if a large enterprise could perpetually defy the laws of averages.

OPEC+, that shadowy cabal of oil sheiks and Russian oligarchs, announced last night they’re still holding back on boosting production. Despite the “healthy oil market fundamentals” – a phrase that translates roughly to “we’re squeezing every last drop out of you” – they’re maintaining the status quo. You’d think that’d send prices soaring, right? Supply and demand, basic economics… but this isn’t economics, it’s a goddamn carnival ride. Prices are DOWN. DOWN, I TELL YOU!

One has touched upon Taiwan Semiconductor before, in comparison to the rather plodding Intel, but the company truly warrants a moment’s undivided attention. It controls, as of Q3 2025, a staggering 72% of the pure foundry semiconductor market. Really, it’s almost frightfully dominant, isn’t it? One wonders if they’re not slightly bored with it all.

The idea, as it drifts out of the capital, is simple enough. Gather these metals, hold them close. A shield against the whims of others, against the possibility of a cut-off, a closing of the hand. China, they say, holds most of the cards – sixty percent of the mining, over ninety percent of the refining, nearly all the magnets themselves. A heavy weight to bear, for those who rely on the flow.

Indeed, even the most esteemed amongst us – a Mr. Buffett, for instance – are occasionally misled by their own judgment. A miscalculated venture, or a hasty divestment, serves as a humbling reminder that prudence, though laudable, is no guarantee against error.

According to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission – a body renowned for its fondness for paperwork – AIGH Capital relieved itself of every single share of MaxLinear during the last quarter of 2025. The value of their holdings, therefore, descended to the distinctly unromantic figure of zero. One pictures a clerk, pencil in hand, making a particularly emphatic stroke through the MaxLinear entry in the ledger. A touch dramatic, perhaps, but one must allow for a certain amount of theatrical flair in these financial affairs.

Initially, the visionaries at Plug Power imagined a world powered by hydrogen within the very walls of our homes. A charming notion, certainly, but one swiftly dashed against the rocks of practicality. Infrastructure costs, it transpired, were rather more substantial than anticipated, and the public, alas, displayed a distressing lack of enthusiasm for embracing a future they hadn’t requested. A pivot was necessary. They settled, quite sensibly, on selling fuel cells, electrolyzers, and storage systems – components, one might say, of a future that remains, stubbornly, just over the horizon.