đ° Earning Premium and Setting Your Price: The Power of Selling Put Options
Selling (or "writing") put options is a popular strategy used by investors who seek to earn premium income while simultaneously being willing to buy a stock at a lower, predetermined price. This approach can be a powerful tool for conservative, value-oriented investors. What is a Put Option? A put option contract gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to sell 100 shares of the underlying stock to the seller (writer) of the option at a specific price (strike price) on or before a specific date (expiration date). As the seller of the put option, you take on the obligation to buy those 100 shares if the buyer chooses to exercise their right. The Mechanism of Earning Premium When you sell a put option, you immediately receive a payment from the buyer. This payment is called t
While Ives includes Palantir in his "AI 30," my top individual pick, prioritizing pure-play enterprise monetization and untapped government market leverage, would be Palantir Technologies (PLTR).Palantir has the highest potential growth curve tied to the moment enterprises actually integrate AI into their core operations. It is the specialist designed for this exact inflection point.
The MicroStrategy Thesis: A Leveraged Bet on Bitcoinâs Future MicroStrategy (MSTR) has successfully recast its identity under Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, shifting its primary business from enterprise analytics software to becoming the world's largest publicly-traded corporate holder of Bitcoin. This strategic move, beginning in 2020, has fundamentally changed the company's risk profile and its potential for growth, tying its fate almost entirely to the volatile price of Bitcoin. 1. The Strategy: Bitcoin as the Treasury Reserve MSTR's investment thesis is straightforward but aggressive: to acquire and hold Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset, believing its long-term appreciation will significantly outperform holding traditional fiat currency or other assets. Massive Holding
Yes, a strong case can be made that gold and silver have more room to grow despite reaching all-time highs. While the metals are experiencing a period of volatility following their record runs, many analysts and major financial institutions anticipate continued upside driven by structural economic and geopolitical factors. The Bullish Case for Precious Metals The recent surge in gold and silver prices has been fueled by a mix of traditional and modern market dynamics. The outlook remains positive due to persistent safe-haven demand, supportive monetary policy shifts, and silver's growing role in industrial technology. 1. The Power of Safe-Haven Demand The primary driver for gold's and, to an extent, silver's rally is their safe-haven status during periods of global uncertainty. * Geo
Michael Burry's Big Bets Against the AI Titans: Will Tesla, Nvidia, and Palantir Bounce Backâor Face a Dot-Com-Style Reckoning?
Michael Burry, the legendary contrarian immortalized in The Big Short, is at it again. This time heâs targeting three of the marketâs most celebrated names: Tesla, Nvidia, and Palantir. Recent filings show massive bearish put positions on Nvidia and Palantir, while Burry has publicly called Tesla âridiculously overvaluedâ and taken aim at its relentless shareholder dilution.The question now splitting Wall Street: Is this the beginning of a painful unwind in the AI trade, or just another head-fake from a famously early (and sometimes wrong) bear? Burryâs Core ArgumentsTesla: Trades on âfantasy,â with annual dilution around 3.6% from stock-based compensation and no meaningful buybacks. Any new mega-compensation package for Elon Musk would only make it worse. Nvidia & Palantir: Sky-high m
Historical Performance: More Gift Than GrinchSince 1950, the S&P 500 has posted positive returns during this seven-day window about 79% of the time, with an average gain of 1.3%. That's significantly better than the typical seven-day return of 0.3% (positive 58% of the time). However, it's not foolproofâ2024 bucked the trend with a -2.4% drop in December overall, marking a rare "reverse Santa" where the index fell every trading day from Christmas to New Year's.For broader context:Full December: Historically the strongest month for stocks, averaging +1.5% since 1950. Post-Rally Indicator: A failed Santa rally often signals a weak January (and sometimes the full year), as per Hirsch's adage: "If Santa should fail to call, bears may come to Broad and Wall." Conversely, a strong one has p
The AI Revolution: A Closer Look at the 10 Companies Poised to Win the Decade
The buzz around Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn't just hype; it's a paradigm shift. We're past the early-adopter phase and deep into the infrastructure and application build-out phase. For investors, the question isn't whether to participate, but how. The real winners are those who are either providing the foundational backbone (the enablers) or those integrating AI at scale to fundamentally transform their profitability and customer experience (the hyperscalers and application leaders). Here is a dive into the top 10 companies positioned to capitalize most effectively on this technology wave, complete with a snapshot of how AI is impacting their recent financial results. Part I: The Enablers (The Picks and Shovels) These companies sell the essential hardware and infrastructure that makes
Google's Ironwood TPU: Is This the AI Goldmine That Finally Makes Alphabet Unstoppable?
I've been watching AlphabetâGoogle's parent companyâfor years, ever since those early days when it seemed like the search giant was coasting on ad revenue while the rest of tech chased shiny new toys like EVs and crypto. But man, has that narrative flipped. With AI exploding into every corner of our lives, Google's quiet bet on custom silicon is starting to look like the kind of long-game masterstroke that separates the survivors from the also-rans. Enter Ironwood, the seventh-generation Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), which Google just rolled out in general availability. It's not just another chip; it's a direct shot across Nvidia's bow, and if the early signals hold, it could turn Google Cloud into a revenue rocket. But is it really a goldmine for investors, or just another hype cycle? Let
đ The AI Pivot: Analyzing Alibaba's Bold Bet on Qwen and the Global AI Race
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) is navigating a critical strategic shift, moving beyond its e-commerce roots to become a technology-driven powerhouse anchored in Cloud and Artificial Intelligence. Facing headwinds from intense domestic competition and China's deflationary pressures, the company's aggressive, multi-billion-dollar commitment to AIâspecifically through its Qwen Large Language Model (LLM)âis becoming the central pillar of its investment thesis. đ° Investment Outlook: Pressures and Potential Alibaba's near-term financials reflect the cost of this transition. While the company's shares have shown impressive gains year-to-date (surging over 80% as of late November 2025), significant investments in AI infrastructure and e-commerce subsidies are compressing margins. * Financ
Nvidia has demonstrated significant and often volatile earnings growth over the past decade, characterized by a dramatic acceleration in recent years, primarily driven by the Data Center segment and the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The annual Net Income and the corresponding year-over-year (YOY) growth percentages for Nvidia (for fiscal years ending around January) from FY 2016 to FY 2025 are summarized in the table below. Note that the fiscal year (FY) is generally reported for the calendar year it ends in. Fiscal Year End (Approx. Jan.) Net Income (in Billions USD) YOY Net Income Growth (%) 2025 $72.88B 144.89% 2024 $29.76B 581.32% 2023 $4.368B -55.21% 2022 $9.752B 125.12% 2021 $4.332B 54.94% 2020 $2.796B -32.48% 2019 $4.141B 35.90% 2018 $3.047B 82.89% 2017 $1.666B 1
Bitcoin Breaches $90K: A Crypto Downturn or the Ultimate Accumulation Play?
In the volatile world of cryptocurrencies, few events send shockwaves like Bitcoin (BTC) shattering a key psychological barrier. Today, November 18, 2025, the world's largest digital asset plunged below $90,000 for the first time since April, dipping as low as $89,426 before clawing back to hover just above the mark. This marks a staggering 30% wipeout from its October peak above $126,000, effectively erasing all gains for the year. The crypto market, already reeling from weeks of relentless selling, has lost over $500 billion in total capitalization since the highs. Altcoins like Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Binance Coin (BNB) are down 5-10% in the last 24 hours alone, amplifying the pain.For investors, the million-dollar question is stark: Is this the onset of a prolonged cryp
The most recent reported earnings analyzed were for the First Half of Financial Year 2026 (1HFY2026), which ended on September 30, 2025. The results showed a strong performance and recovery: * Net Profit saw a significant increase of 23.2% year-over-year (y-o-y), reaching $75.7 million. This indicates a strong rebound in profit growth for the half-year. * Revenue continued its growth trend, rising by 13.9% to $615.4 million, demonstrating continued strength in top-line sales. * The Gross Margin was maintained or slightly improved to 30.8% (from 30.7%), showing stable profitability on sales. * Operating expenses did increase, primarily driven by higher depreciation of property, plant, and equipment. * The company declared an Interim Dividend of $0.02 per
Berkshireâs Q3 2025 Moves: An Investment Article
The Oracleâs Pivot: Berkshire Hathaway Bets Big on Tech and Insurance, But Holds its Cash The latest 13F filing from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has revealed a nuanced and significant shift in capital allocation, signaling a tactical move away from some of its most established holdings while initiating a multi-billion dollar bet on a major technology company. The overarching theme of Q3 2025 is selective equity sales coupled with high-conviction, targeted purchases, all while allowing the firm's legendary cash stockpile to swell further. Key Insides from the Q3 2025 13F Filing 1. The New Tech Titan: Alphabet (GOOGL) The most attention-grabbing move was the opening of a brand-new, multi-billion-dollar position in Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), the parent company of Google. * The Purch
having a single stock is difficult as any trouble the company face can sink your retirement plan. a diversified portfolio is the way to go. however, if I have to choose it would be DBS a proven compounder over the years with growing dividend plus it is a temasek back company what's not to like
The Index Concentration Challenge: Diversifying Beyond the AI Giants
The current market is defined by the massive performance of a handful of companies, largely driven by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution. Stocks like Nvidia, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, and other "Magnificent Seven" members have achieved such high valuations that they now represent an unprecedented concentration within major market indices like the S&P 500. This concentration presents a critical paradox for investors: while AI stocks have delivered exceptional returns, their heavy weighting means that even a "diversified" index fund is now highly dependent on the continued success of a few tech giants. This article outlines the risks of this concentration and provides actionable strategies, including specific ETF examples, for investors seeking true portfolio diversification
Apple Intelligence: A Faltering Start and the Threat of Losing Ground
Apple's much-anticipated entry into the generative AI race with Apple Intelligence has been marred by initial stumbles and underwhelming execution, raising serious investment concerns. While the company's commitment to user privacy is admirable, its cautious, late, and, at times, technically limited approach risks ceding the future of the user experience to more aggressive and capable rivals like Google and Microsoft. The Missteps and Execution Problems The core issues with the initial rollout and subsequent performance of Apple Intelligence revolve around delays, incomplete features, and a lack of comparative capability: * Delayed and Incomplete Rollout: Apple was a late entrant to the generative AI space, and even its initial features have been plagued by delays and fragmented avai