In a sure sign that a stable hand is at the wheel, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is tweeting out inspirational Bible verses. Intel’s stock plummeted at the end of last week, but it was in good company as the rest of the market raced after it in a chaotic start to trading for the week. Trading platforms added to the chaos after three of them went down during a panicked sell-off during the early hours of trading.
Sunday afternoon, Gelsinger quoted Proverbs—the New International Version translation. The bit of poetry came amidst a collapsing stock price at Intel following the news that the company had missed quarterly targets and would cut thousands of jobs.
“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways” Proverbs 4:25-26
— Pat Gelsinger (@PGelsinger) August 4, 2024
“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways,” Gelsinger posted, quoting Proverbs verse 4, lines 25 and 26.
Verse 4 is a bit from King Solomon where he gives out fatherly advice to his sons. The whole thing is an entreaty to the reader to stay on the straight and narrow, and avoid wicked thoughts and corrupt speech. Basically, keep your mouth shut and your eye on the prize.
Tweeting out Bible verses isn’t a good way to calm investor panic. Amid a consumer scandal and a changing chip market, news broke last week that Intel would cut thousands of jobs. When the chip manufacturer finally reported its quarterly earnings to investors on Thursday, the fallout was worse than expected.
Following the news that Intel would fall short of its projected earnings, the stock price took a tumble settling down 26% on Friday. It was Intel’s largest stock loss in 50 years. Intel said it would restructure its business and is looking to cut billions in costs, including 15% of its workforce.
Intel’s stock fell further on Monday morning, but so did the rest of the market. Japanese markets dove due to speculation around the yen. Ever-present recession fears and the eastern markets combined to drive down both the Dow and Nasdaq as trading opened in the U.S. on Monday morning.
Basically, investors saw a 12% plunge in Japan’s Nikkei 225 and started selling assets. The sell-off, as of this writing, has plunged the Dow more than 800 points. The S&P 600 and Nasdaq Composite were down as well. But all the markets are fluctuating and the trading day isn’t over so it’s impossible to say where things will end up.
The online brokerage sites for Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, Vanguard, and TD Ameritrade all temporarily went down during the sell-off. “Please accept our apologies as our teams work to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” Charles Schwab said on X. “Hold times may be longer than usual.”
It’s good to hold, but not so long you’re left with the bag. In these dark times, I suggest investors take a page out of Gelsinger’s book and reflect on Proverbs verse 4—the King James Version, of course.
“Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men…For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.”
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