Market Minute ⏱️ 11/17/25: Berkshire Buys Alphabet, CDR Buys Bubble Wrap

Mike Larson | Editor-in-Chief

Markets are fairly quiet in the early going, with stocks, crude oil, Treasuries, and the dollar all not moving much. The same goes for gold and silver.

Some investors are worried about big spending by tech hyperscalers...but Warren Buffett doesn’t appear to be. His investment vehicle Berskshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) just disclosed a $4.9 billion stake in Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), one of Buffett’s rare forays into the tech sector. The “Oracle of Omaha” is stepping down this year due to age and handing the reins over to his deputy Greg Abel.

BRK.A, GOOGL (YTD % Change)

Data by YCharts

Meanwhile, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos is reportedly launching a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) startup called Project Prometheus. The company is in the process of staffing up, with 100 hires and $6.2 billion in funding so far. The firm will focus on AI applications in industries like engineering and computer manufacturing.

In other news, the private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice sealed a deal to buy Sealed Air Corp. (SEE) for $6.2 billion. The company makes Bubble Wrap, as well as other packaging products like Cryovac bags and Instapak foam. The stock already surged last week amid rumors of the takeover, so it actually eased back a bit today when the buyout price of $42.15 was revealed.

Lastly, the digital asset selloff has driven smaller “altcoins” to levels not seen since the pandemic days. The MarketVector Digital Assets 100 Small-Cap Index tracks 50  smaller assets, and it just slid to its lowest since November 2020. For its part, Bitcoin has given up almost all of its 2025 gains, while Ethereum is now down about 5% year-to-date.

Behind the Scenes: The Real Drivers of the GOLD Market Surge

Final Day for “Early Bird” Sarasota Pricing — Claim Your Pass Today!

Our 2025 MoneyShow Masters Symposium Sarasota is fast approaching — and today is the FINAL day you can claim “Early Bird” pricing. A Standard Pass will go up $50 starting tomorrow, so don’t wait. Claim your pass to the Dec. 1-3 conference at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota today!

• NVDA: Forget the SoftBank Sale. GPU Demand is Off the Charts!
  👉️ TICKERS: AMZN, MSFT, SFTBY, NVDA
  Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) will benefit as the Artificial Intelligence (AI) buildout continues. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) announced a $38 billion deal to provide OpenAI access to hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs to be deployed by Amazon Web Services. Note that the much-vaunted Amazon custom processor is not part of this deal, highlights Michael Murphy, editor of New World Investor.

• ET: A High-Yielding Energy Play to Target
  👉️ TICKERS: META, ET
  Volatility is back, and it's keeping investors on their toes – with many looking for safe havens and stability. Dividend stocks are usually a good place to start. Let’s go over the highest-yielding dividend stock from my recent screening process, Energy Transfer (ET), writes Rick Orford, author at Barchart.

☀️ 📈 Discover promising investment opportunities and cutting-edge trading strategies at the 2025 MoneyShow Masters Symposium Sarasota (Dec. 1-3). Click HERE to register today!