Three More For My Top 20/ Top 30 List; Political Earthquake Ahead
September 15, 2025
The Nasdaq 100 Technology Sector chart appears positive, with multiple buy signals indicating potential gains ahead.
Meanwhile, the political scene is bubbling. Starmer looks dead in the water as a rudderless government has suffered twin torpedo strikes from the Raynor resignation and the Mandelson affair. I suspect the latter may be right about Epstein. Back in the day, when chauvinism reigned supreme and ladies were secretaries, otherwise known as office wives (a maxim taken literally by my father, who made two of these office wives his actual wife), or herded into harems known as typing pools, there was a man called Hugh Hefner who launched a publication called Playboy.
Hefner had a gaggle of young beauties who took turns servicing the old roue in his bedroom. Everybody knew, nobody cared. There was even another magazine called Penthouse, launched by an equally dissolute character called Bob Guccione. When naked breasts were not enough, both magazines went full frontal in what came to be known as the Pubic Wars.
Max Miller, who flourished in the 1930s, was considered the greatest stand-up comic of his generation. He ended his act by singing a couplet – ‘When roses are red they’re ready for plucking; when girls are sixteen they’re ready for ….., Goodnight Everybody’. Nobody gave a damn, not least because in those more pragmatic times, people may have been influenced by the fact that what he was suggesting was true.
A story about the genuinely infamous Jimmy Savile says that he was with a young girl in his Rolls-Royce when a policeman knocked on the window and asked what he was doing. Savile replied that he was waiting for his companion to become 16. The policeman walked away, no doubt laughing at what an outrageous fellow Saville was. In those days, young girls were considered fair game for DJs, rock stars, and anyone famous.
In line with Mandelson, I think Epstein was not a paedophile in the sense that most people understand it; he was a powerful man who liked young women and paid them well, like Hefner, for their services. He also used them as currency with other powerful men, rather like Hefner with his Playboy Club bunnies, who also knew exactly what game they were playing.
London is a hotspot for escort girls, good-looking young women who are mostly self-employed and expect to be well paid for their services. They are mostly foreign, and nobody seems to care what they do. They are volunteers. As Donna Summer sang so beautifully – “I got what you want; you got what I need,’ an exchange as old as time.
People love to get in a frenzy of righteous indignation, but much of it is hypocrisy. How many wives did Mohammed have? 11! It turns out that most of them were older widows, and he was doing them a favour, perhaps with an eye to the cash they brought with them. I didn’t know that, but even so much of what Epstein was doing was seedy, not outrageously evil like Elizabeth of Bohemia, who kidnapped young women, hung them from cages with spiked floors and drank their blood.
Young women are vulnerable, especially to powerful older men. Dream on, anyone who thinks that is going to change any time soon. Lions wait for the lionesses to make a kill and then step in for the lion’s share. And many young women know exactly what they are doing. In Marquis De Sade’s Justine, the eponymous Justine cannot pay the rent, and her ghastly old woman landlady sends her off to see a man who may be able to help.
He is very ready to, but wants favours in return. A horrified Justine rushes back to her landlady, who points out that they lived in a transactional world, and what else did she have to offer? As my father frequently observed, you must live with the facts, and no amount of hand-wringing will change that. As Robert Burns put it more poetically: ”Tis very true, my sovereign King, My skill may weel be doubted; But facts are chiels that winna ding, An’ downa be disputed.’
My impression is that Starmer & Co. are like the stewards rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic. Labour and the Tories are busted flushes, and we are going to start to see the first tremors of the political earthquake that is coming on 6 May 2026, when Reform and anyone but Labour or the Tories sweep the floor in the local elections.
Voters may not be sure what they want, but I think they are clear on what they don’t want, either of the two parties that have spent much of the 21st century getting us into this mess. And it is not just them. There is a perceived elite embracing MPs, the Civil Service, the police, most quangos, much of the judiciary, the traditional parties, the BBC, The Guardian, actors, intellectuals (at least in much of Europe; American intellectuals tend to be freer-thinking) and all the bien-pensants who view the rest of us as the ‘deplorables’. This elite is increasingly out of step with the zeitgeist and faces being swept aside.
As it happens, I am one of the perceived elite, public school and Oxbridge-educated, with two cars, second homes, beautiful bien-pensant children, muesli for breakfast, all the stuff that goes with being elite. I am also ferociously hostile to wokeness, I believe the state has grown far too big, and I believe in bringing violence and death to the enemies of Western civilisation. If they mess with us, we should mess with them and make sure they know that we will if they step over the line.
I am increasingly coming to believe that the government should focus all its efforts on two things: faster growth and stronger defence. Everything that gets in the way of faster growth (within reason) should be eliminated, starting with bureaucracy and higher taxes. Our models should be Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Switzerland. England is already wonderful in terms of natural assets and a deep-seated belief in a free society. We just need to get the Government off our backs and applaud success. Forget Karl Marx and Clement Attlee; think Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Friedrich Hayek, who pointed out that socialism could only be brought about by force, so it was never going to lead to greater happiness. Forget wealth taxes. Society needs to level up, not down.
It’s so obvious that it is maddening these people don’t get it. But they don’t care because while they are busy levelling down, they make sure that they get the cream. It is the cry of the elite over the ages. We must do this, that and whatever, but it doesn’t apply to me. What moi? No way.
Back to the stock market. I have two, stop press, now three more shares for my Top Table. I don’t like Top Table much, so I am going to revert to Top 20 until there are 30 or more constituents, when it will become Top 30.
Argenx SE is a pioneer in the treatment of autoimmune diseases. What are these?
A healthy immune system defends the body against disease and infection. But if the immune system malfunctions, it mistakenly attacks healthy cells, tissues, and organs. Called autoimmune disease, these attacks can affect any part of the body, weakening bodily function and even turning life-threatening.
Scientists know about more than 80 autoimmune diseases. Some are well known, such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis, while others are rare and difficult to diagnose. With unusual autoimmune diseases, patients may suffer years before getting a proper diagnosis. Most of these diseases have no cure. Some require lifelong treatment to ease symptoms.
Studies indicate these diseases likely result from interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Sex, race, and ethnicity characteristics are linked to a likelihood of developing an autoimmune disease.1 Autoimmune diseases are more common when people are in contact with certain environmental exposures like sunlight, poverty, mercury and the like.
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Argenx is all about using science to treat these diseases, which are not easy to treat. I am not equipped to delve deep into what they do. I have the impression that they are a good business with the potential to become a major pharmaceutical company.
Below is a quote which gives a flavour of why Argenx is such an exciting business.
BIVGAR continues to gain momentum in MG. It has now been fourteen quarters since we launched BIVGAR in MG and fourteen quarters of consistent growth. Even so, we believe we are still at the early stages of unlocking the full opportunity, which we estimate be sixty thousand patients in The US. First priority is to shift the treatment paradigm, moving the goalpost for patients and resetting expectations of what a treatment can do. It’s no longer that being controlled is being out of the hospital or being reliant on high doses of broad immunosuppressants.
It’s about being symptom free and getting back to the activities you love. This shift is already underway, and sixty percent of new patients to Vivint come from oral, reflecting the value Vivint delivered through its consistent safety and efficacy. Second, we know that branded biologics still represent only ten percent of the MG market today. We see this expanding as more innovation enters the market, all of which serves to raise treatment expectations for patients. We’re focused on maintaining our position as the fastest growing biologic in this evolving landscape.
The launch of prefilled syringe will be critical to achieving both of these goals. The PFS is expanding access to new MG patient segments, particularly those we couldn’t reach with HCP administration as the only option. It’s also emerging as a key differentiator to help us reach that additional 25,000 patients as the total biologic adoption grows. Lastly, we’re also advancing registrational trials in seronegative and ocular MG, which together represent 18,000 patients of our total addressable market, and it supports our goal of having the broadest MG label.
Turning to CIC, we continue to see consistent growth across all key patient and prescriber metrics, the sign of a very successful launch. As of June, over twenty five hundred patients have been treated globally with Vibgard Hytrula, most of which are coming from The US. The launch in Japan and Germany are also off to a fast start. This momentum is driven by the clear and unmet need, the meaningful outcomes driven by the safety and efficacy we’ve seen with Vivint High Truro in the real world, and now the added convenience of our prefilled syringe. Importantly, we see significant room to continue to grow within our initial 12,000 patient population, and we believe the strong value proposition of DipGaPitrula will support continued expansion even beyond that over time.
We see tremendous opportunity ahead in MG and CIDP. We’re just getting started. These indications alone give us a strong foundation for continued growth, and we’re applying the same playbook as we expand into new diseases. We’re focusing on what matters most, generating meaningful data for patients, moving rapidly, and staying ahead of competition through innovation.
Bess Del Jocco, Corporate Communications, Argenx SE, Q2 2025, 21 August 2025
I am struggling with this one to make sense of all the jargon. Their big product is called VYVGART for the treatment of generalised myasthenia gravis. A prominent sufferer is tennis star Monica Seles. It is a tough condition to have.
Myasthenia gravis symptoms include fluctuating muscle weakness, eye muscle issues like double vision and drooping eyelids, difficulty speaking, swallowing, and chewing, and weakness in the arms, legs, or neck. Symptoms worsen with activity and improve with rest, and in severe cases, can lead to serious breathing difficulties. Eye muscle problems often appear first, with the weakness spreading to other parts of the body over time.
AI Overview
A variant called VYVGART is used for the treatment of gMG and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). These are super-hard conditions to treat.
CIDP, or Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, is a rare, chronic autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheath—the protective, fatty covering around peripheral nerves. This inflammation damages the nerves, leading to symptoms like progressive muscle weakness, numbness, and tingling, particularly in the arms and legs. While the exact cause is unknown, treatment focuses on slowing the immune system’s attack with therapies such as IVIg (intravenous immunoglobulin), plasma exchange, or steroids.
AI Overview
If Argenx can make real progress treating any of these autoimmune diseases, the opportunities for the company and the benefits to humanity will be massive. And it is making progress. Q2 2025 results were incredibly impressive.
Argenx NV ADR (ARGX), a biotech company with a market capitalization of $40.09 billion, delivered an impressive earnings performance for Q2 2025, significantly surpassing market expectations. The company’s earnings per share (EPS) were reported at $6.32, more than double the forecasted $3.06, marking a 106.54% surprise. Revenue also exceeded expectations, reaching $1.74 billion against a forecast of $876.3 million, representing a 98.56% surprise. Following these results, Argenx’s stock surged by 12.51% in pre-market trading, with the share price rising from $598.89 to $673.80. According to InvestingPro, the company maintains excellent financial health with an overall score of 3.57 out of 5, labeled as “GREAT.”
Key Takeaways
Argenx’s Q2 EPS of $6.32 far exceeded the forecast of $3.06.
The company’s stock rose by 12.51% in pre-market trading.
Strong performance driven by Vyvgart’s growth and product innovation.
Positive outlook with multiple Phase 3 and Phase 2 trials expected.
Investing.com 21 August 2025.
There is so much more to learn about Argenx, but we have enough to persuade me that this is a wonderfully exciting business. The long-term chart is super-strong.
My other choice is more speculative but could be amazing if it comes off well.
Again, this could hardly be a more baffling business. What is quantum computing?
Quantum computers are a new type of machine that harness the principles of quantum mechanics, like superposition and entanglement, to perform calculations. Unlike classical computers that use bits representing 0 or 1, quantum computers use qubits, which can represent 0, 1, or both simultaneously, enabling them to explore many possibilities at once. This allows quantum computers to solve specific complex problems, such as simulating molecules for drug discovery or optimizing supply chains, that are beyond the capability of even the most powerful classical computers.
How They Work
Qubits: The basic unit of information in a quantum computer is a qubit. These are often physical systems like the spin of an electron or the orientation of a photon.
Superposition: Qubits can exist in a superposition, meaning they are in multiple states (0, 1, or both) at the same time.
Entanglement: Qubits can also be entangled, a phenomenon where their states become linked, allowing them to influence each other regardless of distance.
Quantum Phenomena: Quantum computers leverage these phenomena to perform calculations, exploring vast numbers of possibilities simultaneously.
Key Differences from Classical Computers
Information Unit: Classical computers use bits (0 or 1), while quantum computers use qubits (0, 1, or both).
Calculation Method: Classical computers perform calculations sequentially, while quantum computers can explore many calculation paths simultaneously through superposition.
Scalability: The complexity of simulating a quantum system grows exponentially with the number of particles, a hurdle classical computers cannot overcome.
Why They Matter
Revolutionary Potential: Quantum computers promise to solve certain problems exponentially faster than any classical computer, leading to breakthroughs in various fields.
Complex Simulations: They can accurately simulate complex molecular behaviors, which is vital for drug discovery and materials science.
Optimization: Quantum computers can optimize intricate systems, such as supply chains, to improve efficiency.
Cryptography: While still a concern, large-scale quantum computers could eventually break many widely used public-key cryptographic schemes.
Current State and Future
Development: Building quantum computers is a complex engineering challenge requiring mastery of quantum mechanics and control over systems at the atomic scale.
Collaboration: Companies and governments are investing heavily in research and development to advance quantum technology.
Complementary Technology: Quantum computers will not replace classical computers but will instead work alongside them, providing immense computational power for specific tasks that are currently intractable.
AI Overview
What we do know is that it is a field which is starting to attract serious investment.
This is how IonQ describes their business.
Founded on more than 25 years of pioneering academic research, IonQ is developing trapped-ion quantum computers, bringing this powerful technology out of the lab and into commercial, industrial, and academic applications. Ionized atoms are the heart of our quantum systems, and as a result, we believe our computers can perform longer, more sophisticated calculations with fewer errors than any quantum computer yet built.
Poised to be the first mover and a leading player in the quantum revolution, IonQ is deeply committed to expanding quantum access to more people in more places. We lead the market with the first and only quantum hardware integrated with all major cloud platforms, quantum programming languages, and quantum software developer kits, empowering people from all walks of life to solve real-world problems and optimization challenges across chemistry, medicine, finance, logistics, and much more.
With a business model aligned to rapid quantum market growth, an unparalleled technological advantage, and a deep history of quantum innovation and leadership, we believe we are well-positioned to lead the way forward as quantum computing changes the world.
IonQ, website
They expect to make incredible progress, and working quantum computers will have such amazing capabilities that they will be virtually priceless. This is more speculative than the typical Top20/ Top30, but I think they are worth a bet.
What is happening at Tesla?
Elon Musk is weird, borderline autistic, and politically volatile, but nobody can argue with the staggering achievements, and he is still only 54. Is he the greatest businessman/entrepreneur of all time? Maybe!
I guess that at some unspecified future date, we will find out why this chart is so strong. I am adding Tesla to the Top 20 list, which makes 30 shares and turns the TOP 20 into the TOP 30.
