Well, it would appear we are taking a spanking today at the moment. MSFT is getting taken to the woodshed. I guess some of the "software" stocks are also getting drilled as well. META appears to have escaped the wrath somehow up 7%.
Who knows, maybe it will settle down and moderate a bit as the day goes on. Of course, the opposite is also possible. As mentioned upthread, AAPL will take its turn after the close.
I will not be around much today.....a waste of time. BUT....an interesting little view of human behavior and the modern short term oriented markets. I say this from a position of.....CLINICAL CLARITY....not emotion.....we are seeing the full impact of modern media BS and market manipulation today. The short term markets are a cesspool of corruption and manipulation. This will only get worse as "prediction products" and additional gambling are allowed to be marketed as "investing" and "trading". Imagine if you were a HUGE AI TRADING PLATFORM......and you had either advance information about the daily media take on things....or worse....had the ability to manipulate media content. We have now allowed the media reaction.....citing unknown "investor concerns" about MSFT....to tank the entire market today.....and MOST of tech. The traders LOVE it. Well actually they are creating it. There is nothing for me as a long term investor in what is happening today. All I can do is IGNORE it and wait for....hopefully....longer term reality to take hold. I do not discount the ability of the short term markets and traders to push us into a general correction....when I see this sort of IDIOCY happening. BUT....I continue to be fully invested for the long term as usual. Unfortunately we are now in a short term environment where the AAPL earnings will have a very difficult time breaking through today at the close no matter how good they are. No one will care. YES.....as usual we have now made earnings time irrelevant to market direction.....something we have been doing for many quarters now. AND....unfortunately....we are all set up to the negative for PLTR, AMZN, and GOOGL earnings to be used to fear-monger the markets next week...no matter how good they are. We are seeing a perfect partnership between the short term traders....especially AI.....and the click hungry media......and a high probability of another round of wasted good earnings. This sort of BS is what drives people out of the markets and away from investing. Even though us....little people....the retail investors....are NO DOUBT NOT selling today.....and are the GUTS of the markets.....we are just as disrespected as the earnings are. I see today as yet again....another NEW LOW....for short term market behavior. It is a SHAME...but there is nothing I can do about it. So I will do nothing and NOT click on any content....since that is what they all want. The market SELF-FLAGELLATION continues in full force. Interesting to watch and observe.
To continue: I am very LUCKY to be immune from this sort of action. My retirement is NOT dependent on, or connected to, the markets. It is not going to happen...but...I could lose every invested penny.....and it would have no impact on my retirement. Can you imagine being a Baby Boomer....that is not a government worker.... and having all your retirement linked to the current markets because of the elimination of pensions and the dominance of the 401K? On the other hand corrections and bear markets....are a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY...... for younger long term investors. Of course...you have to have the nerve to hold on. Even on a day like today...... and possibly for a few weeks like we might see going forward.....I am RIDING THE WAVE. I might be battered and driven around by the storms....but I am ok as long as I stay on the board. BACK to the word game.....IGNORE, and ENDURE....are the words of the day.
Seeing a bit of moderation, at least in the general markets. Actually, there are several green sectors out there in the broad market. Industrials, consumer staples, financials, energy, communication services, and real estate to name a few. So, definitely not a fire sale going market wide and that is the silver lining.
I wish I was an investor throughout old school times before all the social media, AI, electronic trading etc., to see how the good earnings were appreciated by the markets. I remember when you told us about MSFT stock through 90's, the stock just kept going up, earnings after earnings, stock split after stock split. I'm not very optimistic on this matter. Probably in a decade or two, the stock markets as we know them, will cease to exist.
There are many that do and will have well into the future as well. It is a good point to make though. This is why it is so important to evaluate one's plan and portfolio for your own circumstances. There is no avoiding risk. We cannot participate in the market and get the return without it. It is always present. There are and will be millions who rely on their portfolio for retirement purposes. Everyone needs to know their risk tolerance. Sometimes this will change as you go through the investment journey. Young accumulators vs near retirement is a whole different ball game for many. The great thing is, it can be done. You just have to know yourself and have a plan that takes these things into consideration. This is nothing new. Investors (long term) have been doing it for eons. Taking the time to educate yourself as an investor and evaluate what you are doing and what you can handle....financially and psychologically. These are good reminders to think about. Not because today is/will/might end up red today. Today is nothing in the longer view/big picture. However, as we all know, those days will come at some point and stretch over a longer period of time. There will also be times of complete jubilation and great gains. Find a balance that allows you to stay on course. It is different for each individual, but it is vital to know yours. Is your plan built for it? Will you be able to avoid making rash/panic decisions? Is it going to keep you up at night? Are your goals still intact, if there is a period of negative returns? Many questions/thoughts to examine on a personal level.
Hang in there, Strathmore. Yes, the distractions are plentiful in this day and age. The everyday gyrations are just part of it at this point. The markets will remain investable for the foreseeable future in my opinion. The noise will always be there. The markets and people will often do irrational things. The big institutions, predictors, and the like are always doing something. They hope investors will react emotionally to these things with great frequency. They make a lot of money off of it over time. Now, all of that does not make it easy. One of the greatest enemies to an investor is....staring at them in the mirror. Sorry, I see you were speaking to W....I didn't mean to deflect your commentary.
No worries Smokie, I appreciate and always read your comments. There is a lot of wisdom in your posts.
Yes those old days were pretty awesome.......Strathmore I bought $80,000 of MSFT just after the April split.......shown in the list below......and here is what I got to ride till I sold out about 2001 or 2002. Those were the GLORY DAYS for investors. Companies were not afraid to do splits and it was considered that when a stock got to about $100 it was time to do a split. There were no BS stock buybacks either....investors got paid actual dividends. Of course....there was NONE of the constant media BS that we see now. There was basically TWO news sources for investors each day.....in newspaper form....The Wall Street Journal and Investors Business Daily. I got the Investors Business Daily every morning at my business. I preferred it because it had all the bond quotes which the WSJ did not. Compared to those days....the NOISE now is..... DEAFENING. It is OBSCENE how badly NVDA is treated now compared to how it would have done back than. I am glad that I lived and invested through those old days.....but....it makes it very frustrating seeing how IDIOTIC the markets, company management, and investors have become. I just keep my sanity by.....NOT CARING.....how anyone else does or why. BUT back than.....the number of people that owned a stock or fund was TINY compared to now. Those of us that did were definately the MINORITY. It all changed with the late 1990's Dot-Com era and the Day Trading Frenzy of the late 1990's. NO....it will never be the same again....and we can not go back in time. So we have to play the current cards that we are handed. That MSFT purchase was a life changing event for me and my family.....along with being an investor since the 1970's. (I had a little bit of investing before 1970, thanks to my mom helping me) Although I was doing very well in my business before that purchase. We were able to afford a $720,000 home in Redmond in early summer of 1990...before that purchase. That was a HUGE amount of money back than. A CEO and PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE neighborhood of about 50-75 homes. As I have mentioned previously the President of MSFT a few years later lived about 5 houses down from us. At this point in my life...that is the distant past and a simply a distant.... DREAM. At times I think back at what we did and how poor we were to start.....and I think.....how did we do that? It all came down to many CRITICAL turning points that went the right way for us. Mar 29, 1999: 2-for-1 Feb 23, 1998: 2-for-1 Dec 09, 1996: 2-for-1 May 23, 1994: 2-for-1 Jun 15, 1992: 3-for-2 Jun 27, 1991: 3-for-2 Apr 16, 1990: 2-for-1
You can not look at the internet for MSFT prices back than because most data is split adjusted. When I bought the NON-SPLIT-ADJUSTED price was about $57 per share.....on May 1, 1990. By June 1, 1990 it was $75. I am guessing that I bought some time between about June 1990 and September 1990...since we moved to Redmond Wa some time that summer. I had somewhere in the neighborhood of about 1000 to 1100 shares to start. If I had held onto those 1100 shares the calculator tells me I would now have: About $34MILLION.
I came back a long way today to end with a small.....big loss. But I am still positive for the year. Earlier in the day I had lost ALL my gains for 2026 and was negative. I also lost out to the SP500 today by 0.95%. I actually ended with three green stocks....NVDA, AAPL, and GOOGL.
The IDIOTIC markets today. S&P 500 closes lower as Microsoft tanks, software shares slide https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/28/stock-market-today-live-updates.html
While waiting for AAPL earnings...I may as well bask in the PAIN of MSFT today. Microsoft lost $357 billion in market cap as stock plunged most since 2020 https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/29/microsoft-market-cap-earnings.html REALLY.....does anyone think this was justified today....with those earnings?
NOW...in the present.....this will be perhaps the GREATEST IPO in history...especially if this happens. Musk's SpaceX in merger talks with xAI ahead of planned IPO, source says https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-musks-spacex-merger-talks-184045612.html "Elon Musk's SpaceX and xAI are in discussions to merge ahead of a blockbuster public offering planned for later this year. The combination would bring Musk’s rockets, Starlink satellites, the X social media platform and Grok AI chatbot under one roof."
If the above happens....I will have to give this IPO some thought. If I have any money and can afford the shares.
LOL. Today was simply hand wringing over.....nothing market wise. Of course, MSFT as mentioned in the thread, stayed pretty much in the woodshed taking its beating. A lot of this "AI" stuff is "beauty in the eye of the beholder" opinion.
APPLE BEATS....big time. Apple sales surge 16% on ‘staggering’ iPhone demand https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/29/apple-aapl-earnings-report-q1-2026.html "Key Points Apple reported fiscal first-quarter earnings on Thursday that surpassed expectations, with revenue soaring 16% on an annual basis. The company reported $42.10 billion in net income, or $2.84 per diluted share, versus $36.33 billion, or $2.40 per diluted share, in the year-ago period. Apple saw particularly strong results in China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong. Sales in the region surged 38% during the quarter to $25.53 billion. " LOL....I missed the report release.....since I was in the kitchen fine-tuning some Beef Stroganoff. NOT moving much in the after hours markets....but thankfully....NOT plummeting into the depths. Dont worry.....there is still a good chance that the company will snatch DEFEAT from the jaws of VICTORY....in the earnings call later today. They should just....STFU.
Another take. Apple tops Q1 earnings estimates on record-breaking iPhone sales https://finance.yahoo.com/news/appl...n-record-breaking-iphone-sales-213019517.html
