The Bot Brief

"There is no force on earth more powerful than an idea whose time has come."   

- Victor Hugo

 

 

Bots in the News:

 

Fed Chairman Powell’s comments following the quarter point drop in the Fed Fund rate caused investors to reappraise the 2025 course of interest rates. Mr. Powell indicated the stickiness of inflation and strength of the economy would not be improved by as many future rate cuts as was the market pricing in. Consequently, the bear took hold of the equity markets, dropping the S & P 500 by 2% for the week. The Bot Index was only slightly better with a 1.35% slide.

 

The bots were aided by two components that experienced double digit increases. The Taiwanese chip firm HIWIN Technologies gained 15.12% and the medical supply company Azenta Corp. (formerly Brooks Automation) jumped 12.24%. Azenta’s move followed the news of the company joining the S&P SmallCap 600. Per S&P Dow Jones’ press release, ‘Azenta replaced Envestnet Inc. in the S&P SmallCap 600 effective from November 25. Additionally, the market is also positive surrounding the company’s announcement of fourth quarter fiscal 2024 results. The company reported an earnings surprise of 63.64% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.

 

 

This supplier to semiconductor manufacturers is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.05 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +150%. Revenues are expected to be $146.24 million, down 5.2% from the year-ago quarter.’

 

Perennial volatile components of the Bot Index 3D Systems and iRobot Corp. led the weakest stocks with double digit declines. 3D Systems gave back nearly 15% of the gain it created two weeks ago when it announced the sale of its Geomagic software division. 

 

Lincoln Electric fell 6.89% for the week following a Simply Wall Street report entitled,’ Institutional investors may adopt severe steps after Lincoln Electric Holdings latest 8.5% drop adds to the year’s losses.

 

 

 

Drill Baby Drill:

 

A colleague provided us with a copy of the latest edition of AAPG Explorer magazine. This issue carried an interesting feature regarding the use of AI in oil and gas exploration. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) recently employed the intellectual resources of Enverus Corp. in its quest to become “the world’s most AI-enabled energy company and a key enabler of the global energy transformations.” Using Enverus’ recently introduced ‘Instant Analyst’ technology, ADNOC can directly query a dataset containing multiple types of source documents and information along with proprietary tools. Noting that “Traditional data analysis methods are being augmented by sophisticated AI systems that can process and interpret vast amounts of geophysical and geological data at unprecedented speeds…its advanced pattern-recognition capabilities are particularly valuable in understanding complex subsurface characteristics.” All in all, the ability to recognize potential drilling sites and reservoir reserves will vastly enhance extraction operations and produce significantly superior results and profitability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Member: American Economic Association, Society of Professional Journalists, United States Press Association. Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts, Robotic Industries Association (now A3 Automation), Member IEEE. 

 

 

The Bot Brief is a weekly newsletter designed for economists, investment specialists, journalists, and academicians. It receives no remuneration from any companies that may from time to time be featured in the brief and its commentaries, analysis, opinions, and research represent the subjective view of Balcones Investment Research, LLC. Due to the complex and rapidly changing nature of the subject matter, the company makes no assurances as to the absolute accuracy of the material presented.