Everyone was also betting on the Fed to keep slicing interest rates. Lower rates mean businesses borrow more, hire more, spend more… it’s the economic equivalent of giving everyone a free latte. But here’s the thing: the Fed is starting to look less like a stabilizing force and more like a reality TV show. And not a good one. Think “Real Housewives,” but with economic policy.
The AI market, we are told, will bloom into a multi-trillion-dollar spectacle by the decade’s end. A comforting thought, perhaps, for Nebius. Yet, one learns, after observing the vagaries of the market for a sufficient period, that not every bloom is destined to be a rose. Indeed, some are merely fleeting illusions. After Nebius’s rather precipitous ascent, one is compelled to ask: could this gilded cage, so brilliantly adorned, yet stumble? Perhaps even…fall to nothing? Let us, with a touch of detached curiosity, investigate.
They call it digital gold. A hedge against chaos. But chaos doesn’t seem to notice. Bitcoin wobbles like a newborn giraffe, and its friends in the tech stock world wobble right along with it. And the electricity. Good Lord, the electricity. Now they’re using those machines to think about thinking, building data centers for artificial intelligence. It’s a bit much, isn’t it? Like using a cathedral to run a lemonade stand.
Everyone’s chasing the next big thing. Right now, that thing is generative AI. It’s the digital equivalent of a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, except the rabbit is a slightly unsettling image generated from a text prompt. And the investors? They’re the audience, desperately hoping the magician doesn’t accidentally saw them in half.
Buffett, of course, had long ago become a legend, a figure woven into the very fabric of American capitalism. Even as the reins of daily management passed to Greg Abel – a capable man, no doubt, though lacking the Oracle’s particular scent of aged bourbon and shrewd observation – the echo of Buffett’s decisions still resonated through the portfolio. Thirty-five percent of the $309 billion under Berkshire’s stewardship was allocated to these five pillars of finance, a testament to a vision that spanned decades, and a patience that bordered on the mythical. These weren’t merely stocks, they were living entities, each with its own history, its own vulnerabilities, and its own peculiar destiny.
The stock has, apparently, soared. 591% in three years. Which is…a lot. It makes you wonder if everyone else knows something you don’t. Or if it’s just…a bubble. I’m leaning towards the bubble. I’m always leaning towards the bubble. It feels safer. Anyway, despite the impressive numbers, I’m not touching it. Not with a ten-foot pole. Or even a very long selfie stick. Here’s why. It’s a list, because lists are helpful when you’re on the verge of a financial breakdown.
The acquisition of Rhode, a skincare brand with a certain fashionable appeal, suggests a strategic attempt to broaden its reach. Whether this proves a sound investment remains to be seen, but it is a move that deserves scrutiny.
However, the turning of the year – 2025, to be precise – witnessed a subtle shift in the currents. A changing of the guard, if you will. Broadcom (AVGO 1.61%) stock, with a quiet efficiency that would make a dwarven accountant proud, began to outpace Nvidia, rising 49% compared to Nvidia’s 39%. One might assume this was mere market fluctuation, a whimsical dance of numbers. But, as any seasoned macro strategist (and, indeed, any moderately observant troll) knows, such movements rarely occur in a vacuum. Let us delve into the reasons why Broadcom is gaining ground, and why I suspect this trend will not only continue but accelerate in 2026.
Lo, the short-term structure improved, and the bears, those pitiful villains, found themselves outmatched! Their feeble attempts to drag prices lower were thwarted by dip buyers, who swooped in like gallant heroes, fueling the grand momentum upward.
I’ve been staring at the numbers for VWO and ACWX, and it’s all remarkably…beige. Both are, essentially, ways to avoid having to actually think about where your money is. VWO, the more focused of the two, dives headfirst into what they call “emerging markets.” Think China, Brazil, places where the economic forecast involves a lot of exclamation points and question marks. ACWX is the broader option, a sort of global buffet of non-U.S. stocks. It’s like ordering everything on the menu, hoping something will taste good. The expense ratio on VWO (0.07%) is almost suspiciously low, like they’re giving it away just to watch us worry. ACWX, at 0.32%, feels more honest – they’re admitting they’re taking a cut. The one-year returns? Both did pretty well, but honestly, everything did well last year. It feels like celebrating a good hair day during a hurricane.