Wall Street kicked off a high-stakes earnings week with a dash of "Big Short" nostalgia and a side of geopolitical heartburn.
While the indices turned green, the real story is brewing in the sub-currents of meme stocks, chip wars, and a looming 100% tariff threat on our northern neighbors.
The Return of the OG Contrarian
If you thought the GameStop (GME | +5.00%) saga was a relic of 2021, Dr. Michael Burry would like a word with your portfolio.
The man who famously predicted the 2008 crash - and sparked the original meme frenzy - revealed on his "Cassandra Unchained" Substack that he’s back in the GME driver's seat.
I find it poetic that Burry is buying in at what he calls "tangible book value," essentially betting that Ryan Cohen’s $8 billion cash pile is a better play than the actual retail business.
Whether it's a "deep value" play or just a masterclass in market trolling, the stock’s 5% jump shows that when Burry speaks, the retail army still listens.
AI’s Growing Appetite and Intel’s Indigestion
The semiconductor world remains a tale of two cities. In one corner, Nvidia (NVDA | -0.50%) is playing kingmaker, dropping $2 billion into CoreWeave (CRWV | +5.73%) at $87.20 a share to ensure its AI "factories" have the plumbing they need.
Jensen Huang is clearly doubling down on the infrastructure race, while the markets barely blinked at the half-percent dip in NVDA shares.
In the other corner, Intel (INTC | -5.72%) continues to be the industry’s "work in progress." CEO Lip-Bu Tan admitted he’s "disappointed" by production yields, and the stock felt every bit of that honesty. It’s a tough pill to swallow for investors who hoped the 18A chips would be a quick fix.
Meanwhile, Samsung is breathing down everyone's neck with plans to start HBM4 chip production next month, specifically eyeing Nvidia as a suitor.
Gold, Rare Earths, and the Great Northern Wall
If you haven't checked your gold holdings lately, you might want to sit down. For the first time in history, the yellow metal has surged past the $5,000 per ounce mark.
It seems the "flight to safety" isn't just a metaphor anymore; it's a full-on sprint as investors eye the mounting risk of a government shutdown, now pegged at a staggering 80% probability.
But the real "punch in the gut" for the markets might come from the Oval Office. President Trump has threatened a 100% tariff on all Canadian goods if Prime Minister Mark Carney proceeds with a trade deal with China. Given that 85% of Canadian exports head south, it's a potential supply chain lobotomy.
My take?
It’s classic "negotiation by sledgehammer," but for investors in USA Rare Earth (USAR | +7.87%), which is eyeing a $1.6 billion government injection, the volatility is where the money is made.
Keep your eyes on Meta (META | +2.06%) and Microsoft (MSFT | +0.93%) as they report later this week; they’ll need to do more than just "beat expectations" to keep this rally from stalling out against a backdrop of geopolitical fireworks.
Kristoff - ChartMill
Next to read: Breadth Rebounds, But Small-Caps Cool Off at Resistance
