$PDD Holdings Inc(PDD)$  it is a little shocking to see that PDD missed estimates and yet made a rally on the market. Maybe there is strong optimism on the market for their future, especially with the Xi and Trum0 summit still to come, which could allow for better business opportunities for chinese companies. Then again, chinese stocks have been making some gains through the Iran war, so on some level, the positivity reflected could be related. I would be skeptical about how the prices spiked, albeit with the opening and closing being reasonably close, because there is nothing absolutely concrete that can be a reason for the wild prices being paid on the day.

Ah didn't make the poll in time, but I would gave expected an increase of less than 3%. And would have been wrong. Interesting how wildly the prices swung, I am surprised by the interest and will read up their earnings, there has to be good prospects ahead and solid fundamentals to attract some wild buys.

There is absolutely no way I would invest in spacex, not with the overly inflated valuation and the dead weight that comes along with the rocket part of the business. Mr. elon does whatever he likes, handing toxic assets back and forth between his businesses to line his own pockets, how investors can see that and be comfortable putting their money on a dishonest operator is bewildering. Also, are we seriously still sprouting the mars line? The guy said it because he knew it be on the headlines, with his ability to splash the cash, if he truly wanted to reach mars and stay there, he could, and it not having happened is testament that it is a load of bull.

My problem has to be bottom fishing, although I have slowly worked to change that, buying when it starts going back up does make sense in some context. But with the donald doing his manipulation, upswings can happen randomly, and the next big crash could just be a couple of days away even with what looks like days of recovery. Buying reliable stocks helps though, I am happy to not gamble on anything that glitters.

Trunp os only out to profit himself (and his cronies). The figures have shown a spike in trading activities for oil and SnP500, done before his "5 days" announcement. Imagine that, TRILLIONS of dollars made! Someone was so sure they would make money because they had insider information. TACO may be a joke for some, and a buying opportunity for others, but the money made is peanuts compared to the trades made by those with privileged knowledge before the various bombs (both literally and figuratively) dropped by the donald.

My next move? Wait for the next big crash and buy. The donald has been pulling this TACO card so many times he probably has a few free burritos. Seriously though, he keep timing his announcements for market close or open to avoid blowbacks or stem losses. (Context: announced a pause on the iranian energy facilities strike before markets opened, thereby allowing a decent opening, but delay will be for 5 days, so markets will close by then.)

I am absolutely certain that the market is in for more pain, and if anyone has any semblance of logic, it is precisely because of TACO that more chaos is coming. Firstly, it has been clear that the us president has been pulling this move to prevent markets from huge crashes. From the beginning of the war, multiple claims ranging from "the war has been won" to "the war will end soon" has been made and still the war chugs on. And it ALWAYS gives a lift to stock prices. Oil prices would have spiked harder if not for all the false dawns. Secondly, as I have seen in reports, people have been placing very well-timed bets on various aspects of the war, whether it was for the old Iran leader's death, to oil prices, etc. If I was a betting man too, I would say it likely is insider trading with some

Buy the dip. Trump has once again claimed that the war will end soon, and if the market has learned, it is that he always speaks first without truly knowing if it will happen, anything to prop up the system. I think this will have big consequences: starting a fight that could not be wrapped up properly, and having to retreat... all while oil prices spiked and huge damage was done to production facilities for natural gas (further adding to energy price woes). The market would logically not be picking up easily and pessimism should rule.

Do one for losses too, Tiger with Diamond Hands [Grin]

I still think it is best to wait and see what the market really wants. Maybe the market is being more cautious now, after a year of bull runs in 2025, everyone is sobering up and understanding that things cannot go up infinitely. I do believe that efficiency has to be the next point to be addressed, but will investors place enough emphasis to signal it. Efficiency both in terms of maximising whatever infrastructure (like how deepseek could do more with less, putting openai to shame) is available, and energy, where consumption has to be clamped down and considerations be made for energy generation (pivoting more into green energy etc.) too.

I think the most important layer is still the chip layer, either the manufacturer or the designer. Simply put, everything else is not important if the chip itself is not designed right or made right. An example is Apple, where they design and produce their own chips for the devices they sell, they are able to optimise it for the best power efficiency, giving them the option to increase battery life or have a smaller battery yet still keep up with competition.

This will only be a temporary bandaid, simply because the Iranian leaders have enjoyed so much of what they took from the people and the resources of the land and will not easily give up the riches that they fought so hard to hold on to. So the war either has to go on until usa/israel gives up, or the iranian leaders believe they can no longer hold on and flee with whatever gold and cash they can grab. Only until then will the pressure on oil fade, and I believe that will be at least a week, if not a couple of months. Just one week is enough for so much more pain, especially when markets keep trying to find hope by grasping at any perceived positive news to make gains, only to continue its descend the next day when the war rages on.

I believe it is a practical usage of AI but that's another huge sinkhole in terms of energy consumption. Then there is the privacy and security concern, in the long run, a big name player will learn to create a rival that users feel is less problematic. We will see if Openclaw is able to maintain its edge.

I think both have good fundamentals and are worth investing in, but the volatility can still drive them lower, especially if trump can't really bring the war to a close even though he declares it will end soon. The market just needs one flashpoint and everything will suffer a big slide.

Maybe consider picking up stocks like $SIA(C6L.SI)$ $Delta Air Lines(DAL)$ expecting things to get back on track if the war really ends soon as Trunp says

If you believe trump, and think the war is about to end, it might be time to slowly back out of energy and fossil fuel. However, I am convinced that defence, aerospace, etc., will still have some room to grow, with the need to replenish stockpiles, sell to allies to update their defenses, and pivot harder into cheap attack drones as the next chapter of military strategy.

$Oracle(ORCL)$   For a company so insistent that it did not bite off more than it could chew, it sure looks like the figurative fire has gone out of control and is burning everything down. Oracle manufactured its own mess by trying to cash in on the AI investment hype by going its own route of being in this highly lucrative market - trying to build huge amounts of data centres now, with the expectations that demand will hit fast and hard, and they will then reap even more profits. It however could not do thing fast enough, nor keep up with the spending required. Larry Ellison (CTO of Oracle) is as slimy as corporate leaders can be, willing to do anything and sacrifice anyone for personal gains. This time it

$Tiger Brokers(TIGR)$ when you are ready to enter the relationship (both investing and love) you should know what you are getting into. You do not step up because someones person tells you it is a good buy, you learn more about the company or the potential partner. I recently saw a stock which had multiple people scammed by whatsapp chats telling them to buy, then ending up victims of a pump and dump. The crash happened on them and they are still trying to convince themselves it will be rocketing upwards, worse yet, someone was even trying to convince others to buy (likely to cover some of their losses?). How do you commit your (assumingly hard earned) money into something you have no real clue about? Look into the data, see what others say about

I am inclined to believe that it is a dead cat bounce, simply because there is more pain to come. Seeing reports, there are strong claims that Ali Khamenei's son is highly likely to become the next supreme leader (Mojtaba). Reports state that he is a hardliner, likely worse than his father, and this fact will instill more discomfort in Israel and Usa. This will push the pair to try to further pummel Iran into compliance with likely with more violence. Why more force? With the fact that Iran's attempt to expand the crisis into wider swathes of the middle east (with missiles and drones), as an attempt to push the other countries to pressure Usa to stop the war. Usa will see that they have to force the issue to prevent the new Khamenei from taking over and yet end the war, they will look to b

What an unfortunate timing for the Iran crisis to break out. Especially with SIA (and scoot) always playing on the safe side when instability breaks out, these issues will affect their operations earlier and longer. But this presents a good opportunity for people who want to enter at a better price.