Well, I have been MIA for a couple of weeks. I checked the markets a few times, but mostly the market averages. I missed most of the media entertainment it appears.
You are lucky to have missed it all....SMOKIE. A horribly negative short term time for the markets and many investors.
It looks like the short term is doing what the short term always does. Little fits and bits of emotional reaction. This should not surprise anyone that is in it long term. I see the media is still obsessed with anything that contains the "AI" word in it. I find the further this goes along; I could not care less about it. Not to dismiss the possibilities or impacts, but it has really turned into a circus of sorts. Media wise, it is the darling and the devil all at once.
Yes, it appears so. As time goes on, I seem to drift further and further away from following any of it.
Probably a very good thing. And....some day when I give up this thread I will be HAPPY to join you in distancing myself from the day to day market BS.
The media is going to....BEAT ON....this topic for as long as possible. Massive click-bait. Amazing that this market reaction is actually based on.....NOTHING.....and some really good earnings BEATS. That is the reality of the media and social media driven short term action. '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 "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."
My son starts his new VP job at a very big insurance company this week. Even I was skeptical about the job offer he got through LinkedIn....knowing about all the job offer fraud on that and other sites. I did a lot of nervous research into it....without telling him. But....it is LEGIT.
A nice little article....covering all the time I have been investing. I would agree.....with much if not all of what he says....since we both lived and invested through the same HUGE events. He worked on Wall Street for nearly 50 years. Here’s what he learned about your finances https://finance.yahoo.com/news/worked-wall-street-nearly-50-113047323.html
i have been totally IGNORING the markets so far today. The red NASDAQ is now DOWN for five weeks in a row. Certainly a CORRECTION.....whether over 10% losses or not. ALL the big averages are strongly RED at this moment today. Of course the MEDIA and talking heads are totally obsessed with the AI BS again today. The current AI topics of coverage are strongly NEGATIVE for the markets and business. Some day we will break on through....and come out the other side into REALITY again.
I like this little article. Have the Latest ‘AI Trades’ Jumped the Shark? AI panic is telling, but not in the way you might think. https://www.fisherinvestments.com/e...ry/have-the-latest-ai-trades-jumped-the-shark The conclusion: "These last couple weeks seem like a classic sentiment freak-out. Impossible to predict and time with precision at both ends, so we strongly suggest not trying. Instead, grit your teeth, remember to be and remain diversified, take a deep breath, focus on your goals and the broad market’s ability to get you there, and try to have a laugh at the madness. We find it very therapeutic."
I tend to agree with this view of AI job displacement......although it is contrary to the immediate media driven AI displacement story-line. The AI Jobs Non-Apocalypse: An Update https://www.aei.org/economics/the-ai-jobs-non-apocalypse-an-update/ "Put it all together and the state of play seems clear here in mid-February 2026. AI’s early job-market effects look like a shift at the entry level, at worst, not mass displacement."
Of course....here is the market today. Nasdaq, S&P 500 slide to kick off shortened week with AI fears in focus https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live...ed-week-with-ai-fears-in-focus-143417547.html
Here is some of the NEGATIVE view today......for balance. Software stock bulls are still making a lethal assumption https://finance.yahoo.com/news/soft...ill-making-a-lethal-assumption-135728557.html
GOLD and SILVER have also been feeling the pain today.....big time. Silver miners fall in premarket trading as the metal drops 2% https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/17/silver-prices-hecla-mining-endeavour-silver.html
At this moment in history....I have two green stocks....COST (slightly) and AAPL. Better than NOTHING....so I will take it and be happy....it is not like I have a choice.
YES......I remain fully invested for the long term as usual. I have ZERO plans to sell anything or do anything in the middle of this correction.....or beyond. I have to stick with what has done well for me over the last 55+ years......I will continue to..... "dance wit the one that brung me". Anything else would be INSANITY. I have sat out worse...over my investing years....including many multi year BEAR MARKETS. AND....I am sure I will do so in the future. SO....IGNORE, IGNORE, IGNORE....it all and....TRUST, TRUST, TRUST....in the business prospects and management of the companies that I own.
SO......ANYONE ELSE.....planing to cut back on some holdings? Planing to sell something? Starting to feel a twinge of panic or fear? getting a little nervous?
I have plenty to keep me busy outside the markets this week. I now have a Board Meeting today at 4:00 which will cause me to miss the close of the markets. Into the studio to do LIVE CD production all day tomorrow. I am off to Houston on Friday and will miss the day.
One take on PLTR. Palantir Obliterated Expectations And The Stock Sold Off: Mispricing At Its Finest https://seekingalpha.com/article/48...d-the-stock-sold-off-mispricing-at-its-finest
