extreme-investor-network

[extreme-investor-network]

BTC Wealth Event to Repeat on APRIL 22

Dear Reader, Bitcoin has officially hit a new all-time high. But if you think you’re too late… Think again. According to my research… This bull market is not even halfway over. In fact, it’s just getting started. This video explains everything. In it, I share why I expect Bitcoin to double in price by next year. I also explain why, despite this, I don’t own any Bitcoin. That’s right… In fact, there are at least 10 investments that I like even better. I identified them using a special strategy that already helped me turn $25,000 into $1 million in four years. But the way things are going, I expect some investors will see gains like this by the end of next year. I name all 10 investments in a secret report. You’re not too late. But you absolutely must watch this video before April 22. On that date, a key event that has driven EACH of Bitcoin’s biggest price hikes is set to repeat. When that happens, I’m afraid we’ll never see another opportunity like this again. This could be your last chance. Get the full details here before it’s too late. Regards, James Altucher Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

BTC Wealth Event to Repeat on APRIL 22

Dear Reader, Bitcoin has officially hit a new all-time high. But if you think you’re too late… Think again. According to my research… This bull market is not even halfway over. In fact, it’s just getting started. This video explains everything. In it, I share why I expect Bitcoin to double in price by next year. I also explain why, despite this, I don’t own any Bitcoin. That’s right… In fact, there are at least 10 investments that I like even better. I identified them using a special strategy that already helped me turn $25,000 into $1 million in four years. But the way things are going, I expect some investors will see gains like this by the end of next year. I name all 10 investments in a secret report. You’re not too late. But you absolutely must watch this video before April 22. On that date, a key event that has driven EACH of Bitcoin’s biggest price hikes is set to repeat. When that happens, I’m afraid we’ll never see another opportunity like this again. This could be your last chance. Get the full details here before it’s too late. Regards, James Altucher Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

Gold Could Spike By $500 When This One Event Happens

A lot of gold bugs like myself still think that the precious metal is undervalued here at around $1820/oz., not only based on the Fed’s ridiculous track record of easy money over the last 15 years but also due to the new burgeoning bifurcation of the global economy that looks to be taking place with Russia – and potentially China - looking to back their respective currencies with gold. For many of us, this means that despite the fact that the Fed is hawkish, we still think gold is undervalued. I continue to believe that gold and silver miners represent some of the best and most undervalued equities in a market that is swiftly on its way to redirecting its attention to actual cash flow and dividends, instead of revenue growth and bombastic claims.  And what we’re seeing now in the gold market is a pullback based on the Fed posturing that it is going to continue to raise rates. Even with this “pullback”, gold is resting at levels that formerly used to be its ceiling. On a 30 year gold chart, it’s easy to see that the $1,800 level that formerly served as resistance has now likely turned to support. Gold, non-inflation adjusted, 30 year chart Gold is reacting to the assumption that the Fed is going to hold course and continue to raise rates. With the 10 year already well above 3%, the market is fully baking in the Fed returning to its “neutral rate” - whatever the frig they decide that is this week. 10 Year Treasury Yield I think it’s safe to say at this time that the market has bought the Fed’s posturing hook, line and sinker. Equity markets are certainly diverting their focus from risk in a profound way for the first time in more than a decade as a result of the Fed’s rate hikes and concurrent posturing. On Tuesday, Jerome Powell kept his nerve for the time being, stating during a Wall Street Journal event that “Restoring price stability is a nonnegotiable need. It is something we have to do” and “there could be some pain involved.” He also acknowledged, as I have said many times, that we are in unprecedented territory, stating: “If you look in the history book and find it—no, you can’t. I think we are in a world of firsts.” “I would say there is no disagreement really. It is a challenging task, made more challenging the last couple months because of global events, It is challenging because unemployment is very low already and because inflation is very high,” he continued. “We will go until we feel like we are at a place where we can say, ‘Yes, financial conditions are at an appropriate place. We see inflation coming down. We will go to that point, and there will not be any hesitation about that.” But despite the pullbacks of recent months, especially in the tech-heavy NASDAQ, we are still above where we were prior to Covid striking. From here, the only question that matters is going to be whether or not the Fed can hold its nerve.  I have a long postulated that one of two scenarios will be forthcoming: (1) either the Fed is simply going to destroy equity markets, causing them to plunge likely another 30% to 40% from here or.. Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

White House Says It's 'Watching' The Market

Imagine this: you’re President Biden, you’ve been a career politician, your understanding of economics boils down to believing you can price fix oil prices, being on the political influencer dole, funded by China, through deals liaised by your ne'er-do-well son and clinging to the inane concept that over-taxation can solve all the nation’s problems because they can help fund the country’s most incompetent capital allocator: the government. You wake up on any given Monday to find that the stock market has just casually shaved off 5% from everybody in the nation’s retirement accounts. The culprit today? A cryptocurrency lending firm called Celsius has caused additional market volatility on top of the volatility that the Fed is causing as a result of its fight against inflation. “Damnit, Joe. It’s time to act,” you think to yourself, convinced there is some type of government solution to free markets taking 1 day to start to puke back 20 years of pornographic monetary policy. You pull up a chair in the Oval Office and grab a pen and a fresh legal pad, both bearing the seal of the President of the United States of America. Time to get some work done. You scribble down the word ‘Celsius’ on the pad. You stare at it for about 6 minutes. “Celsius,” you say to yourself. Then, you underline it. Starting to get exhausted, you repeat to yourself again, “Celsius”, while trying to remember metric/standard conversions from 7th-grade science class. “Celsius. What in the world do I do with Celsius. Think, Joe. Think.” It then occurs to you that you don’t actually know what Celsius is. You call in one of your younger interns who might know. They correct you for not using their zee/zir gender pronouns correctly and change the subject to climate change. They’re no help. Friggin kids. You’re on your own with this one. Back to the drawing board. In the background, CNBC is showing the stock market crash in real-time. “These people are financial experts,” you think to yourself. “They’ll know what’s going on.” You turn around to the TV and find this: You study this image. The guitar. The fire. What does it all mean? Unable to ascertain an answer from CNBC, you flip the channel to another financial news network. “There’s no bullshit on other networks, they’ll know what to do,” you think to yourself, feeling satisfied. You turn the channel and find this: Before you can try to digest this savvy analyst’s take on inflation or the markets, your press secretary bursts through the door, urging you to give her a statement so she can fend off the media, who has been asking about the market crash all day. “Tell them we’re keeping an eye on the market,” you tell her boldly, proudly content with your answer. But last month we told reporters "That's not something we keep an eye on every day, so I'm not gonna comment on that from here," she reminds you. You motion to her that it’s all OK now. We’ve got our heads wrapped around the problem: rate hikes are the only way to stop inflation but they’ll also crash the market. And after all, you’re writing things down on your legal pad - figuring shit out; Presidential shit - and you nod approvingly to her before pulling down your aviator shades. She leaves the room to inform “the wolves” of your major decision to make a statement. It hits the wires: WHITE HOUSE WATCHING STOCK MARKET CLOSELY: JEAN-PIERRE Ha. Success. That’ll hold those sons of bitches off for a while. Turning back to your legal pad, you think to yourself that we may need a congressional hearing to figure out what in the hell is really going on here. “This is what happens when Putin has influence and when billionaires don’t pay their fair share,” you think to yourself. You meekly manage to generate a subatomic particle worth of an idea: I wonder if Powell can print enough money to just buy stocks, you think to yourself. Would that help inflation? You glance at the clock. 5 hours have gone by. It’s closing time at the Oval Office and tomorrow is another day. Turning the lights off as you walk out of the room, you stop and glance back at an empty Oval Office and the desk where you’ve produced today’s Presidential achievements. You shake your head in disbelief that the nation could have such a low approval rating for you. You exhale. “Celsius,” you mutter to yourself as you walk out. Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

The government’s “science” behind Monkeypox is hilarious

Through the pandemic, public health officials have taken some ridiculous actions with their “health” powers. In some cases, they barred people from accessing their own property, and in others locked them inside their homes. They threatened to cut off utilities to businesses that didn’t shut down, threatened to separate families, and tried to force parents to be vaccinated to keep custody of their kids. Don’t even get me started on Australia’s COVID concentration camps and walled-off towns. It was all supposedly in pursuit of following “the science”. COVID Warlord Anthony Fauci was the leading cheerleader in the US for mandatory mask policies and draconian lockdowns. But when Texas refused to shut down or mask up, Fauci shrugged and said he was “not really quite sure” why COVID cases in Texas didn’t skyrocket, as he had ominously predicted. Yet despite being a man of science, Fauci wasn’t interested in finding out why he was so wrong. You probably also remember when Fauci tried to con everyone into wearing two masks, instead of just one. Asked about the specific science behind this recommendation, Fauci said, “you put another layer on, it just makes common sense.” Hold on — are we doing science, with the experimental method and rigorous studies, or are we doing what one person considers common sense? Fauci also predicted in December of 2021 that the Omicron variant would cause record COVID hospitalizations and deaths. The Biden Administration warned that we were heading into a “winter of severe illness and death for the unvaccinated – for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm.” Those predictions didn’t pan out either. When courts finally ruled that the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) overstepped its bounds with a mask mandate on airplanes, we found out that these government orders were never about public health or science at all… Fauci admitted that “It’s more a matter of principle of where the authority lies than it is about whether or not there is going to be a mandate on a plane or not.” Now these same public health officials (and their media lapdogs) are responding to the scariest new threat: monkeypox! “The science” shows that the disease is spreading mostly through skin-to-skin contact at places like raves and orgies. Both the CDC and UK Health Security Agency say that the disproportionate majority of cases have thus far been found among gay men. And by the way, according to the Chinese World Health Organization, Monkeypox has a fatality between 3-6%, which is higher than COVID-19. So, given the specific risks to the gay community of this extremely fatal disease, you’d think that the government would have followed their own COVID playbooks and canceled gay pride month. Or at least they would have banned all the pride parties and parades held throughout June, which was the peak of the Monkeypox outbreak. That’s what the “science” said. But of course, they didn’t do that. Canceling PRIDE MONTH would have been extremely un-woke. So instead, the CDC released guidelines on “Social Gatherings, Safer Sex and Monkeypox.” One section is entitled, “How can a person lower the chance of getting Monkeypox at places like raves, parties, clubs, and festivals?” Unlike with COVID where the CDC demanded we all cower in fear at home, with Monkeypox during Pride Month, they had a totally different answer. If people are going to pile into sweaty, steamy mosh pits, “where there is minimal clothing and where there is direct, personal, often skin-to-skin contact” the CDC advises to “avoid any rashes or sores you see on others and consider minimizing skin-to-skin contact when possible.” Naturally, we also want our government bureaucrats to weigh in on other essential questions, like, “How can a person lower their risk during sex?” The CDC advises you to self pleasure with a sexual partner at a distance of six feet, or “consider having sex with your clothes on or covering areas where rash or sores are present.” Also remember not to “share things like towels, fetish gear, sex toys, and toothbrushes.” So, your kids couldn’t go to school during COVID even though their risk was minuscule. But — with Monkeypox, it’s perfectly fine for members of the gay community (who specifically have the highest risk of infection according to the CDC) to attend raves and parties, as long as they don’t share sex toys. Make sense? Not to be outdone by the idiotic priorities of public health bureaucrats in the West, the World Health Organization has made its own priorities clear. You’d think they’d be racing to control the spread of this virus with the same fervor as COVID. But no. With Monkeypox, their priority is making sure that no one is offended. Recently the WHO said it will change the name of Monkeypox after scientists wrote a letter on the “urgent need for a non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing nomenclature for Monkeypox virus.” Yep. This is their priority. It’s like these public health officials are trying to destroy any shred of public confidence they had left. It’s so obvious now that these ‘public health’ decisions have nothing to do with public health. Or science. As Fauci said, it’s about authority. And supporting whatever ridiculous political agenda happens to be popular at the moment. Original Article Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

Look beyond equity markets

Equity futures look to be fading into the night and important levels to have been breached: S&P 4400, QQQ 350, AMD 100. It is important to understand the controlling narrative of the market: Energy/commodities/resources need to peak and China’s supply chain issues need to settle before the bond market can stop free-falling. - Expect more heightened volatility, BUT… - There is a greater chance of the fed becoming incrementally more dovish in 6-9 months rather than incrementally more hawkish. (A positive for equities) - Fundamentals were always just a narrative. Price action matters most. - Fresh relative lows for Microsoft and Nvidia. Most people are panicking. An opportunity there. - Sentiment is at multi-decade lows (way too low), and the AAII bullishness sentiment survey is at the lowest level since 1992 here. This chart has been up since January.   Gold is still strong   GSG is coming back for vengeance   We were bullish GSG last week (+6%) in weak markets AAII survey bullishness declined to the lowest level (15.8%) since 1992. 12m forward returns are typically+++ Return always wants its risk payment. Not Investment Advice. Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

What the Heck is Happening to Silver?!

The dollar rose this week, from 17.87mg gold to 18.24mg (that’s “gold fell from $1,740 to $1,705” in DollarSpeak), a gain of 2.1%. In silver terms, it rose from 1.61g to 1.67g (in DollarSpeak, “silver dropped from $19.24 to $18.64), or 3.7%. As always, we want to look past the market price action. Two explanations are hot today. Let’s look at them first, before moving on to our unique analysis of the basis. JP Morgan and Motte and Bailey JP Morgan’s manipulation of gold and silver prices is the focus of discussion in the gold community again, as another criminal trial is now underway, this time the accused is the former head of precious metals trading at the bank (we have discussed the manipulation conspiracy theory here and here). Central to this trial—and the previous one—is spoofing. Bloomberg describes spoofing as placing “orders that are quickly canceled before they can be executed -- to push precious metals up or down”. Unfortunately, many commentators in the gold community use this at the Motte in a Motte and Bailey Fallacy. A Motte and what?! It’s named after a medieval fortification. The Motte is strongly defensibly, but not a pleasant place to spend a lot of time. The Bailey is a better place, but not so defensible. The Fallacy is like a bait-and-switch. The arguer starts with an uncontroversial statement. In this case, that JP Morgan traders were caught entering orders they intended to cancel. And since one can’t really dispute this, the arguer moves on to the important proposition. The Bailey is not defensible, but by the tactic of having just sold the Motte, the arguer hopes the Bailey will not need to be defended. The Bailey is that the prices of gold and silver would be far higher, but for manipulation. Of course, spoofing has no long-term effect on prices. If it works at all (the whistleblower did not make much money as a trader for JP Morgan), it is because it momentarily distorts the price signal, and the trader can trick other market participants into paying too much or charging too little. N.B. JP Morgan did spoofing in both directions. You can’t get there, from here. You can’t convict the Godfather of murder by proving his grandson stole candy from the store. And you can’t argue gold would have been $50,000 decades ago, by proving JP Morgan traders entered orders they intended to cancel. Silver Price Suppression? The other hot topic du jour is the Commitment of Traders Report. The conspiracy view holds that banks sell futures to suppress the price. According to this view, the greater the number of futures contracts outstanding, the more the price is suppressed. So, in this view, it’s notable that the number of open silver contracts is now near a multiyear low. In the conspiracy theorists’ minds, this means that silver is ready to launch to much higher prices. This is almost right, but for the wrong reason. In reality, open interest responds to the basis. A high and rising basis offers a profit to carry metal. To carry, a bank borrows dollars to buy metal and simultaneously sells a contract. The basis is the profit they can earn in this trade. Basis is (basically) future price – spot price (quoted as an annualized percentage rate). The interest rate factors into this trade. So, in a changing interest rate environment, one can’t just look at the basis. One needs to consider interest as well. Fortunately, we have an indicator which does. The lease rate. Lease rate is (basically) LIBOR – basis. Here’s our graph of the silver lease rate. As we have written in the past, we ignore the period after the economy was slammed with Covid lockdown. Disruption to air travel meant that arbitragers could not reliably move metal between markets such as New York and London, and hence did not want to take the risk of putting on positions such as carry. And the result was that spreads such as the basis blew out (also the bid-ask spread in gold). However, notice the rising trend from around mid-April this year. A rising lease rate is an indicator of rising scarcity. It costs significantly more to lease silver now than in the last several years. Indeed, it costs more now than at any time since the global financial crisis. The lease rate, LIBOR – GOFO, is based on arbitrage in the commercial bullion markets, it has nothing to do with the rate Monetary Metals charges bullion dealers, jewelers, mints, recyclers, and refiners. Understanding Gold and Silver Movements So what does all this mean? Most readers want to know what is likely to happen to the price of gold and silver next. We will address this question. But first, let us indulge in a little more chart fun. Here is the gold continuous basis chart. Since mid-March, we have had a rising price of the dollar (in DollarSpeak, “gold has been falling”). And while this was going on, the basis was rising and cobasis was falling. Basis is our measure of abundance and cobasis is our measure of scarcity. Gold has become more abundant / less scarce while its price has been dropping! What does this mean? There is a global dollar liquidity crisis going on. People are selling the other currencies hand over fist to raise dollar cash. Well, they are buying dollars too (in DollarSpeak, “they are selling gold”). Why are they doing this? Did we mention that the crisis is global? Just ask those who held euros near $1.20 a year ago, and now the euro has been sold down to $1.00 so far! Everyone is facing margin calls, capital calls, loans are being called, etc. Here is the chart for silver. It does not look anything like the gold chart! Granted, the price move has been more dramatic. Whereas the gold price fell from $1,950 to $1,705, -12.6%, the price of silver fell from $25.50 to $18.64, -27%. However, the basis has been falling since late April and cobasis has been rising. Silver has been getting less abundant / more scarce. Gold Cobasis Now let’s look at the high-resolution intraday cobasis and price chart for gold this week. While the dollar rose from 17.85mg gold to 18.25mg, the cobasis chopped around and ended unchanged on the week. You can see that, at times, it correlated with the price. When cobasis moves with the price of the dollar, it means futures traders are positioning and repositioning themselves. No change in the fundamentals. However shortly after noon (GMT) on Thursday, the two lines divorce. Cobasis heads down. At first, price of the dollar is heading down, but then it heads back up, while the cobasis temporarily recovers, then chops sideways, and finally ends back down on Friday. We haven’t seen a chart like this in, well, we don’t recall how long. While buyers of metal could get more aggressive in the future, the current market conditions are not looking bullish for gold. By the way, we do expect them to get more aggressive. This market is characterized by intense selling by those desperate for liquidity and intense buying by those seeking to avoid the ravages of bad policies by governments and their central banks. Eventually, the latter will overpower the former. This was not that week (if we may butcher Aragorn’s classic line). Silver Cobasis Here’s silver. The dollar moved up from 1.6g silver to 1.66. In silver this week, the cobasis more closely tracked the price of the dollar. This may be why, after noon on Thursday, the dollar begins to weaken in silver terms (“silver went up”, in DollarSpeak). However, the cautionary note is that the cobasis depleted all of its energy in that move. It dropped from 2.25% to 0.8%. This means it was buyers of futures—speculators—who bought silver in the expectation that the price will rocket higher after the low on Thursday. Much of the backwardation in the September silver contract dissipated. The Monetary Metals Gold Fundamental Price is $1,820 and the Silver Fundamental Price is $21.89 (we’ve overloaded this article with charts, so omit the fundamental charts, but interested readers can find them on our website). Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust experiences significant growth, CEO Fink optimistic about future of BTC

At Extreme Investor Network, we are constantly on the lookout for groundbreaking developments in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain. Recently, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) caught our attention as it recorded a historic growth of $13.5 billion in just 11 weeks of trading. The surge in interest towards IBIT is not just a mere coincidence but a strong indicator of the growing mainstream acceptance of Bitcoin and its underlying technology. What makes this achievement even more significant is the fact that BlackRock's CEO Larry Fink has expressed his optimism for Bitcoin's long-term viability, signaling a shift in the perception of digital assets within the traditional financial space. IBIT's remarkable performance can be attributed to various factors, including the demand for digital assets as a hedge against inflation and market volatility, as well as the increasing interest from both retail and institutional investors seeking diversified investment options. This success story not only benefits BlackRock but also highlights the potential of Bitcoin as a viable investment asset in today's market. While the success of IBIT is worth celebrating, it is essential to approach the cryptocurrency market with caution due to its inherent volatility and regulatory uncertainties. However, with a financial giant like BlackRock endorsing Bitcoin through initiatives like IBIT, we may see a shift towards more widespread adoption and integration of digital assets within the traditional investment landscape. As we navigate through this evolving narrative of Bitcoin as a legitimate and valuable component of modern investment portfolios, it is evident that the financial community will closely monitor the impact of BlackRock's foray into the crypto ETF space. Stay tuned to Extreme Investor Network for more insights and updates on the latest trends in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain. Source link Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

Gen Z prioritizes soft saving over retirement planning

In today's economy, there is a growing trend towards soft saving, a method that focuses on making small, consistent efforts to build up savings over time. This approach contrasts with the FIRE movement, which stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early, and promotes drastic measures to achieve financial freedom. According to Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate, many younger adults feel discouraged about their financial future due to factors like inflation, high living costs, and student loan debt. A survey from Bank of America found that 53% of Gen Zers see the high cost of living as a barrier to their financial success. Despite facing financial challenges their parents did not encounter, such as lower wages and larger student loan balances, young adults have the advantage of time when it comes to saving for long-term goals. Rossman emphasizes the power of compound interest, highlighting the benefits of starting to save early and letting the money grow over time. It's important for young adults to prioritize building an emergency fund, even if it means sacrificing some immediate wants for long-term financial security. By setting aside at least three to six months' worth of expenses, individuals can protect themselves from unexpected events like car repairs or medical bills. Financial experts also recommend taking advantage of employer matches in retirement accounts and gradually increasing savings through auto-escalation. While there are no shortcuts to financial success, developing healthy saving habits and being patient can lead to long-term wealth accumulation. Ultimately, the key to financial stability lies in consistent efforts to save and invest wisely over time. By prioritizing financial security and being proactive about building savings, young adults can secure a better future for themselves.Source link Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

#businessnews #Neutral

[extreme-investor-network]

Social Token Platform Rally Shuts Down, Crypto Assets at Risk of Becoming Stranded

Social token platform, Rally, has announced that it is ending its operations and discontinuing its Ethereum sidechain. This sudden move has raised concerns among its users, who are creators and fans holding Rally tokens. In an email sent out to its users, Rally warned that the NFTs on its sidechain would not be transferable to mainnet, and once the site shuts down, they would no longer be accessible. The challenging year of 2022, combined with macro headwinds, has been cited as reasons for the shutdown by Rally. Despite raising $57 million from investors in 2021, the startup has not been able to overcome the current environment and continue its operations. The value of Rally's token, RLY, has declined by 93% since January 31, 2022, according to Nansen. It is a sad day for the crypto community, as another platform succumbs to the pressures of the market. The impact of this shutdown will be felt by many, and it is important for crypto enthusiasts to be aware of the risks involved in holding crypto assets on platforms that may not be sustainable in the long run. Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

Can Powell Tame Inflation and Keep the Market Happy?

Jim Caron, head of macro strategies for global fixed income at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, warns of potential volatility in the market due to potential misinterpretations of Powell's comments. Investors will be closely monitoring Powell's outlook on the economy, with economists forecasting a potential recession and the Fed projecting slow growth and a rise in the unemployment rate. No major changes are expected in the Fed's policy statement, as it stated in its last statement that "ongoing increases" in the target rate range are necessary to bring inflation back to 2%. The Fed is making progress against inflation, with core inflation rising by 0.3% in December and standing at 4.4% annually, the slowest increase since October 2021. Strategists believe the Fed will wait until March to make any significant changes, with the possibility of two more quarter-point hikes. The next release of economic projections will come at the March meeting, providing markets with more insight on the intended rate path. Michael Gapen, Bank of America's chief U.S. economist, states that the Fed is unlikely to make any major changes to its statement and will likely maintain its line about "ongoing increases." It will be challenging for Powell to sound too hawkish, according to Gapen, as decelerating the rate hike for a second straight meeting could undermine any hawkish language. Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group, believes that Powell should focus on bringing down inflation and keeping it down, rather than helping the stock market. Boockvar believes that Powell's legacy will not be determined by the stock market, but rather by his success in controlling inflation. Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

Will Easy Credit and Rising Stocks Hinder the Fed's Inflation Fight?

Could Overly Easy Credit and a Soaring Stock Market Threaten the Fed's Fight Against Inflation? As the Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day meeting, stocks continue to rally, with the S&P 500 ending January with a gain of 6.2%. The tech sector performed even better, with a 9.2% increase in the same period. Meanwhile, interest rates have fallen, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield settling at 3.5% after closing December at 3.9%. BlackRock's Chief Investment Officer for Global Fixed Income, Rick Rieder, anticipates Fed Chair Jerome Powell to express his views in a more hawkish manner. Rieder predicts that if Powell's speech is indeed hawkish, the market has already priced it in. However, a non-hawkish outlook could spark another market boom. In the futures market, Fed funds futures indicate a terminal rate of less than 5%. Moreover, these futures suggest that investors anticipate the Fed to change direction and cut rates by 25 basis points by the end of 2023. Jim Caron, Head of Macro Strategies for Global Fixed Income at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, agrees with Rieder's assessment. Caron believes that the Fed's downsizing of its rate hikes alone will be perceived as a dovish move. Before the 50 basis point hike in December, the central bank raised rates by 75 basis points in four consecutive moves. Caron suggests that Powell aims to preserve the validity of the 5% to 5.25% terminal rate forecast, while at the same time, he recognizes the declining trends in housing prices, auto sales, retail sales, and wage inflation. Despite the latter being above comfort levels, it is still coming down. Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

AMD Stock Rises Despite Guided Sales Decline

AMD has released its fourth-quarter earnings and the results have beaten Wall Street's expectations for sales and profit. Despite the positive results, the company has guided analysts to a 10% decline in year-over-year sales in the current quarter. Despite this, the stock rose over 2% in extended trading. In the quarter ending December, AMD's EPS was $0.69, adjusted, versus $0.67 per share expected, and its revenue was $5.6 billion, versus $5.5 billion expected. One of the key reasons for the company's success is the strong growth in its embedded and data center businesses. In the data center segment, sales rose 42% year-over-year to $1.7 billion, and in the embedded segment, growth was 1,868% due to sales from the purchase of Xilinx. However, the company's gaming segment and client group, which includes sales from PC processors, were both down. While the demand environment is mixed, AMD CEO Lisa Su is confident in the company's ability to gain market share in 2023 and deliver long-term growth based on its differentiated product portfolio. Despite slow sales in its PC chips and graphics processors, AMD expects its data center and embedded sales to grow in the current quarter. Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

The Rise and Fall of NFTZ: What Happened to the World's First NFT ETF?

The world's first exchange-traded fund (ETF) for NFTs, NFTZ, is shutting down. Defiance ETFs, the company behind NFTZ, recently announced its decision to "close and liquidate" the fund by February 28th. This news has come as a surprise to many, especially since NFTZ had a highly anticipated launch back in December 2021. NFTZ was a novel investment vehicle that allowed investors to gain exposure to companies involved in the NFT and cryptocurrency space. The ETF tracked firms like toy collectibles company Funko, online marketplace Ebay, and digital asset exchange Coinbase. With shares of the fund listed on the New York Stock Exchange, NFTZ was poised to be a game-changer in the investment world. However, things did not go as planned for NFTZ. Despite the hype surrounding the NFT market in 2021, the ETF struggled to gain traction and fell 11% in its first two days of trading. This price drop, along with a general decline in interest in the crypto world, ultimately led to the downfall of NFTZ. ETFs, such as NFTZ, are popular investment vehicles that offer indirect exposure to underlying assets through shares. In the case of NFTZ, investors could own a stake in several companies related to the NFT space without having to store the assets themselves. This was a novel concept, as other NFT ETFs, like KuCoin's NFT ETF, only allowed users to own proportionally shared ownership of specific NFTs. The rise of NFTs in 2021 was nothing short of spectacular. Celebrities, major companies, and investors flocked to the NFT market, eager to get in on the action. However, with the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies plummeting, interest in the crypto world has waned, and NFTs have not been immune to this trend. The Future of Crypto ETFs Despite the downfall of NFTZ, the SEC has approved a fourth Bitcoin futures ETF. This ETF is different from previous offerings in that it tracks the futures of Bitcoin rather than directly tracking the digital currency itself. Bitcoin spot ETFs, which directly track the largest digital currency, are not yet available in the US. While many major crypto companies have applied to launch one, they have thus far been rejected by the SEC. In conclusion, the story of NFTZ serves as a cautionary tale for those looking to invest in the crypto space. The rapid rise and fall of NFTZ is a reminder of the inherent risks and volatility of the cryptocurrency market. It remains to be seen what the future holds for NFTs and other crypto ETFs, but for now, investors should proceed with caution. Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

Federal Reserve Expected to Raise Interest Rates and Signal Continued Vigilance against Inflation

The Federal Reserve is predicted to increase interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point and also likely indicate that it will continue to remain cautious in its efforts to combat inflation, even as it decreases the magnitude of its hikes. On Wednesday at 2 PM ET, the Fed will announce its latest rate decision and Fed Chair Jerome Powell will address the media at 2:30 PM. The expected quarter-point hike comes after a half-percentage point increase in December and will be the smallest hike in the federal fund's target rate range since the start of the cycle last March. Although the meeting is predicted to be uneventful, strategists believe that it may pose a challenge for the Fed Chair to manage the market's reaction. The markets have been rising as investors anticipate that the central bank will achieve a smooth transition for the economy and also effectively control inflation, allowing it to return to easing policies. "How will he convince people to calm down, take it easy, and not get too excited about the end of the interest rate hikes?" asked Peter Boockvar, the Chief Investment Officer at Bleakley Financial Group. "He will do this by reiterating that the Fed will remain tight for some time. Just because the hikes are finished does not mean there will be an immediate transition to easing policies." The Fed's rate hike on Wednesday will be the eighth since March. It will result in the fed funds target rate range being 4.50% to 4.75%. This is just a half percentage point away from the Fed's estimated final rate range of 5% to 5.25%. "I believe he will push back on financial conditions, which the markets are anticipating," said Rick Rieder, BlackRock's Chief Investment Officer for Global Fixed Income. "People are aware of how much credit spreads, equity markets, and tech stocks have changed this month, which has been extraordinary." Original Article Here: Read the full article

[extreme-investor-network]

Technology Stocks Take a Hit as Microsoft's Earnings Disappoint

The corporate earnings season is in full swing, and investors are feeling the heat as concerns grow about the struggles of some of the largest U.S. companies amidst rising rates and recession fears. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 190 points, or 0.56%, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1%, and the S&P 500 slipped 0.76%. Technology stocks bore the brunt of the losses, with Microsoft plummeting on underwhelming guidance. Alphabet, Nvidia, and Tesla were also down by more than 3% each, while Boeing fell by 3% following a top-and bottom-line miss. Many investors had bought stocks heading into the earnings season, expecting better-than-expected results as companies reset and lowered their expectations. However, the reports so far across sectors have mostly dashed these hopes, with many companies sharing dismal outlooks. This week, investors are bracing for more high-profile corporate earnings, as fears of a recession persist, with companies such as Tesla and IBM set to post their numbers after the bell. So far, more than 19% of S&P 500 companies have reported their fourth-quarter earnings, with 68% of them posting stronger-than-expected results, according to FactSet. This beat rate, however, lags historical trends, with the average beat rate for fourth-quarter earnings being 79%, according to The Earnings Scout CEO Nick Raich. Wednesday’s moves followed a three-day winning streak for the blue-chip Dow, with all three major averages trading flat or slightly lower for the week. Original Article Here: Read the full article