This week my inner critic had a lot to say about my questionable market mindset. Why would I ever wish for a stock to go down?  Maybe it was the full moon. More likely, it was Michael Burry’s $1.1 billion short.

Burry was the guy who famously bet against subprime mortgages before the 2008 financial crisis—and won big. Now he’s at it again, this time placing a $1.1 billion bet that Nvidia and Palantir will fall. If he’s right, he cashes in. If not, well… cue in the popcorn and a big red pen.

Palantir’s CEO, Alex Karp, had a few words to say about Burry:

“The two companies he’s shorting are the ones making all the money, which is super weird…The short is bat **** crazy. I’ll be dancing when it’s proven wrong.”

And here’s where my personal dysfunction kicks in.

I have a healthy dislike for Palantir and their role in mass surveillance and privacy invasion. I’d be fine seeing the stock tank and stay there. Heck – I’ll be doing that happy dance if it does.

But this isn’t a playground grudge – it’s the stock market!

When news of Burry’s short hit, the Nasdaq logged its worst week since April. Tech stocks dropped 3% and the S&P 500 was off nearly 2%. Was it all because of Burry? It’s hard to say—but that’s the theory this week.

And maybe it tracks. The so-called “Magnificent Seven” tech giants have been doing most of the heavy lifting this year. Bank of America reports that the tech stocks they track powered over 90% of the S&P 500’s gains last month. Take them away, and the rest of the market looks kind of meh.

So when a guy like Burry bets big against two of the golden children, the market gets spooked. I don’t like seeing our balances drop — just the socially unacceptable stocks.

For now, I’m following my favorite Warren Buffett advice: buy good companies, hold them, and try not to lose sleep over the noise.

Stay the course.
Barbara

November 9, 2025

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