Good morning.

For the most part, stocks are little changed this morning even though the Dow is up around 300 points … reminding investors of the effect one or two stocks can have on that index which has a limited number of holdings (30).

The government shutdown is continuing, and you would think something this important would dominate headlines but … I don’t know … maybe people are tired of the bickering and reporters (and even AI) decided to move away to other more interesting stories … of which there are many.

The attitude now seems to be “they’ll figure it out when they figure it out” … even as claims are made that this could go on until (gulp) Thanksgiving!

Yesterday, thousands of web sites were “down” as a major outage brought many global websites to a halt and it made us aware of how dependent we have all become (including businesses) on the internet … bringing quite a bit of concern to those starting to ask the questions of what if the outage was broader and what if it was not able to be fixed relatively quickly?  I just can’t imagine not being able to use the internet for days on end … as I don’t think I can go for two days not buying something on Amazon without my fingers starting to twitch.

I had an interesting issue in class yesterday which is somewhat related to a story about Jamie Dimon which is included below.

Jamie Dimon is quick to point out his great displeasure with meeting attendees who spend time during presentations checking their emails or just doing anything other than paying full attention … for it is a sign of disrespect.

I have a student who, shortly after my posting exam results, sent me a note asking how their grades might improve.  While I appreciated the note, we had a guest speaker yesterday … a very experienced and well-known talent talking to finance students about the industry, among other topics.  And as I sat next to the student that I am figuring out how to help, I noticed her constantly checking her emails and not paying attention.  Ok … checking once or twice is fine (barely) but it was obvious, often and … well … there you go.  I now suspect a cause behind their below-average result.

What I am trying to segue into is the last story below which points out that many now use Artificial Intelligence as their “secret weapon” for better communication.  My gosh!  I will admit it does have its uses and advantages, but over the years it seems we have slowly moved away from any focus on literary skills … and have quickly accepted machines to do our writing (and thinking) for us.  I even had one student on the mentioned recent exam write that they couldn’t complete some calculations as their calculator “died.”

Sorry, but we need to get back to being able to function on our own … to a degree … without complete and absolute dependence on machines …

… or else the day may come when we find the internet is completely down for quite a while …

… leaving us to sit, feeling quite powerless … as we realize our own intelligence has voluntary become …

… quite artificial indeed.

Have a great day,

Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA

Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com

A Look At The News | October 21, 2025 As of 11:59 AM today: The shutdown?  Still going on … with no end in sight as both sides (I can’t believe there are “sides”) have dug in (CNN) https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/21/politics/government-shutdown-congress-federal-workers-analysis   Yesterday’s internet outage brought to light a concern … as people are questioning what would happen if it was broader … and lasted a much longer period of time (CNN) https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/21/tech/aws-outage-internet-vulnerable   Meanwhile, tariffs are not only having an effect on prices here at home, but they are crushing some businesses overseas (Forbes) https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenroberts/2025/10/21/eight-of-top-10-us-imports-from-china-in-2018-down-more-than-50-now/   This is important enough to move to the front burner as one study claims that Covid vaccinations given to certain cancer patients greatly increased survival (ScienceDaily) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251019120503.htm   If at a presentation where Jamie Dimon is the speaker, make sure you keep your devices turned off and put away … as he (rightfully) won’t stand for it (CNBC) https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/21/jamie-dimon-checking-phone-tablet-in-meeting-is-disrespectful-mistake.html   Do you want to put AI to good use?  Use it for such tasks as letter-writing and emails as it could help you better express ideas (CNBC) https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/21/learn-how-to-use-ai-to-write-better-speak-clearer-and-more.html The statements above are supplied for educational purposes only. The statements depict the viewpoints and opinion of the author and are not necessarily the views of Emerald Asset Management or its affiliates. The information described herein is taken from sources which are believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed by us. Emerald Asset Management PA, LLC | 717-556-8900 | 3175 Oregon Pike, Leola, PA 17540 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can unsubscribe from this list. ———————————————————————————- The statements above are supplied for educational purposes only. The statements depict the viewpoints and opinion of the author and are not necessarily the views of Emerald Asset Management or its affiliates. The information described herein is taken from sources which are believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed by us.