Why the Market’s Still Obsessed With AI

May 16, 2025 • 1 minute, 3 second read

Make no mistake: The stock market peaked in February, following the news that China had released a new AI program.

DeepSeek isn’t just a ChatGPT clone. According to China, it was able to train the AI with substantially fewer resources.

That’s a huge breakthrough. And a sign of a global “Cold War” in AI development.

That potential escalation still looks some time off. For now, investors love AI because it’s a pure growth story, by any metric.

For instance, ChatGPT’s total users now exceed those of Wikipedia:

Turn Your Images On

I remember when Wikipedia first launched. Several of my college professors said it shouldn’t be used as it wasn’t reliable. I also remember going on Wikipedia, ignoring the article, and going straight to the footnotes that could be used and were reliable.

Today, AI models are best used similarly: to get the creative juices flowing and to run through some ideas, not do all the work and turn down the human capacity to think.

Be mindful, though. As the saying goes, today is the worst AI will ever be.

Times and technology change, and ChatGPT’s rise shows that its fast growth comes at the cost of disrupting other industries – and that there’s more growth ahead.

-Andrew

Ripple Effect

Why the Market’s Still Obsessed With AI

Andrew Packer

May 16, 2025 • 1 minute, 3 second read

Make no mistake: The stock market peaked in February, following the news that China had released a new AI program.

DeepSeek isn’t just a ChatGPT clone. According to China, it was able to train the AI with substantially fewer resources.

That’s a huge breakthrough. And a sign of a global “Cold War” in AI development.

That potential escalation still looks some time off. For now, investors love AI because it’s a pure growth story, by any metric.

For instance, ChatGPT’s total users now exceed those of Wikipedia:

Turn Your Images On

Today, AI models are best used similarly: to get the creative juices flowing and to run through some ideas, not do all the work and turn down the human capacity to think.

Be mindful, though. As the saying goes, today is the worst AI will ever be.

Times and technology change, and ChatGPT’s rise shows that its fast growth comes at the cost of disrupting other industries – and that there’s more growth ahead.

-Andrew

The Debasement Trade, A Legacy

November 7, 2025 • James Hickman

Real assets in general tend to hold their value during inflationary periods — because they’re not just paper promises. They’re tangible. They’re productive. They’re the raw inputs the economy is actually built on.

One of the most obvious opportunities right now — possibly the most mispriced sector in the entire market — is energy.

The world does not exist without energy. Full stop. People have been fed a ridiculous lie that oil is going to disappear and we’re all going to drive solar-powered EVs and Exxon is going to go out of business.

Forward March, Dollar 2.0

November 7, 2025 • Addison Wiggin

In the U.S., stablecoin rules remain tangled between crypto exchanges eager for new customers and small banks afraid of losing deposits.

China’s Ant Group is filing trademarks for “Antcoin” while the Party debates whether digital dollars threaten national sovereignty. And in Singapore, StraitsX cofounder Samson Leo frets about regulatory fragmentation: “If every jurisdiction requires us to split reserves across their banking systems, customer protection will diminish.”

Stablecoins today are where email was when businesses still faxed each other printouts of their inbox goes an apt analogy suggested by Bloomberg’s Andy Mukherjee.

The rails are there — the habits aren’t. But the shift is coming. And when it does, it won’t just change how we pay — it’ll change who gets paid.

The Engels’ Pause Is Here

November 7, 2025 • Addison Wiggin

Anticipating a sluggish labor market, the Fed has cut rates twice this fall.

Unfortunately, you can’t fix a reorganization with cheaper money. AI will eat the easy tasks first, so the pain you see — pink slips — is only half the story. Those jobs will likely never return.

A Masterclass In Absurdity

November 6, 2025 • Lau Vegys

If you’re from New York—or know anyone there—you’ll probably agree: most New Yorkers are fed up with crime, the outrageous cost of living, government incompetence and corruption—and, yes, the rats.

But the fact that a hard-core socialist like Mamdani is their favorite pick to solve those problems tells you that most voters have no idea why any of it is happening.

Their hatred of Donald Trump—and a steady diet of MSNBC—has made them blind to the obvious: it’s the Left’s policies creating these problems. You have rent control shrinking supply by forcing landlords to pull units from the market, union giveaways jacking up the cost of transportation, zero-bail laws putting criminals back on the streets, and so on and so forth.

The Debasement Trade, A Legacy

November 7, 2025 • James Hickman

One of the most obvious opportunities right now — possibly the most mispriced sector in the entire market — is energy.

Forward March, Dollar 2.0

November 7, 2025 • Addison Wiggin

In the U.S., stablecoin rules remain tangled between crypto exchanges eager for new customers and small banks afraid of losing deposits.

Stablecoins today are where email was when businesses still faxed each other printouts of their inbox goes an apt analogy suggested by Bloomberg’s Andy Mukherjee.

The rails are there — the habits aren’t. But the shift is coming. And when it does, it won’t just change how we pay — it’ll change who gets paid.

The Engels’ Pause Is Here

November 7, 2025 • Addison Wiggin

Anticipating a sluggish labor market, the Fed has cut rates twice this fall.

A Masterclass In Absurdity

November 6, 2025 • Lau Vegys

But the fact that a hard-core socialist like Mamdani is their favorite pick to solve those problems tells you that most voters have no idea why any of it is happening.