What we’re reading (2/9)
“Software Stocks Jump As Wall Street Pushes Back On ‘Doomsday Scenario’ For Industry” (Yahoo! Finance). “Software stocks mostly rebounded on Monday as Wall Street analysts pushed back against growing investor fears that artificial intelligence could disrupt the sector’s business models.”
“Wall Street’s Hunt For Cheaper Stocks Goes Global” (Wall Street Journal). “Last spring, it was ‘Sell America.’ Now Wall Street’s hot trade is buy everywhere else. After years making outsize bets on the largest U.S. companies, investors are moving more money into international markets, wagering that America’s wide lead on the rest of the world will shrink. For years, money managers say, the U.S. stock market was viewed as the only game in town. Now that perception is starting to shift.”
“Software Not A Macro Problem” (Torsten Slok). “The problems in software will not become a macro problem because the underlying US economy is about to take off. There are three strong tailwinds to growth over the coming quarters: 1. Many financings for data centers have already been committed for 2026. 2. There is strong political support for bringing back production facilities for semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and defense. 3. Fiscal policy is expansionary and will, according to the CBO, lift GDP growth this year by 0.9 percentage points.”
“A.I. Blitzes The Big Game” (DealBook). “The wallet was open for Sunday night’s Super Bowl LX broadcast, too, with a flood of A.I.-related ads that may prove more memorable than the game. The A.I. Bowl, as some are calling it, appeared to overshadow the Seattle Seahawks’ victory. Yes, there were some creative gems among the commercials. But the torrent of spending is reminding some of previous years when tech companies tried to capitalize on the Super Bowl limelight. Those efforts didn’t end well for the advertisers.”
“Google Bops Alongs” (Permanent Equity). “On September 22, 2011, I’d bought a little Google. I wondered why I might have done that, so I googled “Google stock September 22, 2011” and was served this story about the company being investigated for its anti-competitive practices. Then I remembered that I was at an investing conference that day and that Google stock was down because people thought the government might break it up. So I bought…at what has turned out to be a cost basis of $13 per share.”
