More data, faster analysis and greater computing power have transformed investing over the decades. Yet investors remain susceptible to herding, panic and euphoria. Simon Skinner asks: Will AI finally make markets rational or amplify old habits?
In 2020, Zoom was briefly worth more than ExxonMobil. Amid lockdowns and empty offices, Zoom's video-calling technology was exactly what a suddenly remote world needed. Demand for oil collapsed, at one point trading at negative $37 a barrel. The prevailing narrative was irresistible, but it would have been a terrible investment thesis. Shares of Zoom lost 90% of their value in the years that followed, while ExxonMobil surged more than five-fold. Zoom's technology was critical, and the dislocation in the oil market was severe. Investors who were willing to pay more for Zoom th...
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