AND... Consumer prices rose 2.4% annually in January, less than expected https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/13/cpi-inflation-report-january-2026.html
YES....I know. Nvidia Shares Go Cold Even as Big Tech Spending on AI Balloons https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nvidia-shares-cold-even-big-113233282.html
SITING in the airport doing some SKIMPY posting. COST....up big today and pushing back toward a 52 week high.....in about $50. Up by 20%....YTD.
At least COST has been doing well lately. Our little CORRECTION continues....especially for the largest, most dominant, and most successful, companies in the world. At this moment I have a LOSS for the year after about 1.5 months.....(-4.62%). Of course this is the EXTREME short term. I consider LONG TERM as.....3 years minimum.....but more like 5-7 years. So do I care.....NO. This little blip will be NOTHING on a 5 year chart of the SP500....practically invisible. So I sit and wait for the next wave. HERE I sit...... fully invested for the long term as usual.....nursing my little short term loss. The good news.....I missed the entire week last week.
I am NOT a retirement investor......and.....I do NOT chase returns. I have ZERO plans to change my 50+ year BIG CAP AMERICAN strategy. Retirement investors go global https://finance.yahoo.com/news/retirement-investors-go-global-181205806.html
I guess this is what I missed......not much. S&P 500 closes little changed after soft inflation report, index notches losing week https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/12/stock-market-today-live-updates.html It was another week of IDIOCY based on the......GASP......AI DISRUPTION....media theme. As long as there are clicks to be had and short term trading money to be made this will continue. We got good news in the JOBS REPORT and especially the INFLATION REPORT......and the markets simply did not care.
Are we in yet another government shutdown? I guess we are....at least a very partial one. Do I care......NO. Have I ever seen any actual impact from any of the prior shutdowns.....NOPE.
I might consider adding Vertiv(VRT) to my portfolio in the future. They've been performing well over the last year(almost +100%) and had a blast during the last earnings report. The company's subsidiary in my vicinity, they design and produce critical infrastructure and services for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments. Altough I applied many times for an engineer job there, I never had a look at their financials and how the stock is actually performing.
Well....I knocked out my tax return in about an hour last night. I will print it about a week before April 15.....to make sure I dont get any last minute information that needs to be added. Now....I need to do my siblings tax return. I will be paying an abnormal amount for 2025 due to the profit taking that I did in NVDA for an art purchase in 2025. In hindsight that profit taking saved me a bunch of money.....on paper....considering the current price of NVVDA. BUT....I really hate that the sale will probably kick me out of the minimum Medicare premium category next year. The good news is that the amount that I owe is in the range that I estimated when I was deciding to do the sale of the shares.....and planing for what I will owe in April. I will NOT take any profits or sell anything this year.....I am already looking forward to getting back to owing my usual LOW taxes next year.
Looks like MORE total BS in the short term markets next week if this fear-mongering headline is accurate. But the term....."SCARE TRADING"....is about right with what we are seeing in the markets lately. I prefer the older term.....PANIC. AND.....I am not sure this "global" stuff in India is going to have impact here in the USA markets. It is also interesting that the negative....AI BS......has now spread to companies in Europe. Global week ahead: Markets brace for more AI noise and ‘scare trading’ https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/15/glo...race-for-more-ai-noise-and-scare-trading.html
Not much on any of the financial sites today since the USA markets will be closed for Presidents day on Monday. So...it will be a short week....and a chance for the fear driven....fear-mongered short term markets.....to take a rest. The markets need to....GET A GRIP. But I am afraid what we are now seeing is pretty much the new normal in terms of market behavior now....there is way too much daily FLACK and NOISE and I dont see that ever changing going forward.
I have a busy week ahead of me. Into the studio this afternoon and into this evening. A couple of events on Monday and Thursday. On Wednesday I will spend somewhere between 5-10 hours working with the engineer on a live CD that I am producing. I head to Houston to play on Friday and return on Saturday.
AND....here is a bit on the investing week ahead. Walmart earnings, spending data, and more AI disruptions: What to watch this week https://finance.yahoo.com/news/walm...ptions-what-to-watch-this-week-125712762.html I am sure this will continue: "The glaring theme underneath the surface for not just Tech, but for every corner of the market right now is an aggressive shoot [first] ask questions later for any area of the market that has an AI headline," Jefferies analyst Jeff Favuzza wrote to clients on Feb. 12. Bottom line that the markets are drastically IGNORING....is the massive gains in company PRODUCTIVITY that will sweep through the business world over the next 5-15 years. Of course much of this productivity will come from lay-offs and employee cuts. BUMMER for employees....but..... the HUGE productivity gains will be a massive positive for big business when ti comes to fundamental business results.
Some nice charts here dealing with the markets in general.....big tech......the SP500.......drops after earnings...etc, etc. Mostly verification of what we have seen recently. Here are 7 charts guaranteed to stress you out about the stock market The ‘Magnificent Seven’ are breaking down, defensive consumer staples are on a tear — and then there’s the midterm-election curse https://www.marketwatch.com/story/h...out-about-the-stock-market-085b23c1?st=qNqgWy
Some food for thought here regarding active versus passive investing....concentrated portfolios.....and the impact of AI on the markets and investors....especially shorter term investors. How Might AI Disruption Change Investor Behaviour? https://behaviouralinvestment.com/2026/02/10/how-might-ai-disruption-change-investor-behaviour/ "This doesn’t just mean nervous times for some growth investors, but maybe changes how all investors think about risk."
No markets today.....it is Presidents Day here in the USA. BUT.... Walmart earnings, spending data, and more AI disruptions: What to watch this week https://finance.yahoo.com/news/walm...ptions-what-to-watch-this-week-125712762.html
Bottom line.....where we are headed with AI is a.....TOTAL UNKNOWN. And being human....we will bring the entire range of negative human emotion driven behavior to the forefront. We will know the answer to the impact of AI......in hindsight....in about 5-10 years. Even if it is NOT a bumpy ride for actual business....it will definately be an EXTREMELY bumpy ride for investors as EMOTION and FEAR dominate investor behavior. 3 conclusions from a week of AI disruption https://finance.yahoo.com/news/3-conclusions-from-a-week-of-ai-disruption-110011500.html
To continue the above. 'The dark side of AI': Wall Street weighs recent stock sell-off over disruption fears https://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-...sell-off-over-disruption-fears-160054016.html "The stock market just got a look at how disruptive investor concerns over AI could become across multiple industries. What began as a shake-up in software stocks spread to the wealth management, transportation, and logistics industries last week, raising questions about just how deeply AI could transform not only tech but also high-fee service businesses.".......
The....."COLLECTABLE"....story of the day. Logan Paul sells Pikachu Illustrator trading card for more than $16.4M It's the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction https://www.foxbusiness.com/sports/logan-paul-sells-pikachu-illustrator-trading-card-more-than-16-4m And......NO.....I dont own any Pokemon cards.......although they are a very popular collectable. I do own an unopened box of Magic cards......the......"MAGIC THE GATHERING LORD OF THE RINGS COLLECTOR BOOSTER BOX". Just a random, shot in the dark, uneducated, little FLING. I bought a box when it was first released for about $500.....they now seem to sell in the $1100 to $1400 range. I really know nothing about Magic Cards...although they are also highly collectable and some very rare cards sell for well over $100,000.
A note of concern for LONG TERM INVESTORS. With all the CRAZY market action up and down lately and all the constant media NOISE........ combined with the total emphasis and focus in the media on short term trading...... and.......the obsessive day to day MANIC/DEPRESSIVE markets we witness.....it is very difficult for LONG TERM INVESTORS to maintain sanity. It is very easy to get SUCKED INTO the short term.....and let it impact your investor behavior. It is easy to get SUCKED INTO risk tolerance creep. Most of us on here see ourselves as LONG TERM investors. BUT....at the same time much of the content on this thread is short term oriented. It takes extreme....CLINICAL FOCUS.....to avoid short term thinking and behavior creeping into your brain and INFECTING your investor behavior. Add in the daily MEDIA INSANITY......the POLITICS.....the trader and speculator daily MANIPULATION.....and simple human emotion....... and...... it is very difficult to not be impacted in your thinking. REMEMBER....LONG TERM in investing does NOT mean a few months. It does not mean a year or two. It means at least 3 years and more accurately 4-7 years or more. It is ALL about the power of COMPOUNDING the returns......over many years..... that come from owning great fundamental companies......for the LONG TERM. This can be achieved by passively owning an index like the SP500. Or...it can come from owning a portfolio of stocks, funds, and other investments. Whatever works for ......"YOU". In fact the ENTIRE retirement future of ALL people here in the USA that do not work for the government is based on this concept through investing in the IRA and 401K vehicles over a lifetime of work. Be smart.....be clinical....ENDURE..... the short term for the benefit and safety of the long term. In spite of all the short term emphasis on IDIOCY like "Prediction Markets" and illusory products that are called "investing" in the media.....what counts is QUALITY.....HIGH PROBABILITY.....investments.
