Friday, December 22, 2023

The Fed "pivot" is waking "Elephants in the room" - as the year winds down and related "Stock Talk".

 

Market Talk
The other day, the Federal reserve chairman made a surprising "pivot" on interest rate guidance.  New suggestions that as inflation comes under control, there will likely be coming rate cuts as early as the spring. The market immediately went bonkers higher, only to retreat backward as the ebullience wore down to reality of more circumspect views on soft landing vs hard landing prospects.


Regardless, the market will continue its unpredictable ways, but fundamentals still matter as far as individual stocks.

At the winter solstice, it seems high time to let the elephants in the room air it out. Here is just one elephant, there are many in the room.

In addition to inflation, the strength of US dollar may be waning globally. The BRICS are systematically creating go arounds from using the US dollar as a means of trade.  This post will discuss near term actions that may or may not be prudent. BUT not being aware is not a good strategy.
 
Let us proceed to stock talk.

Stock Talk

With the Federal Reserve pivot, it may indicate to investors that the inflation encountered is just going to become MORE prevalent. Inflation is a hidden tax as well. The need "to get ahead of the bum's rush " maddens to make more money to overcome the high taxes.

There are stores of value that various groups believe will increase .  The millennials are stuck on one area: Crypto and it's mainstay - Bitcoin.

Now one elephant is as a stock watcher that many of us watched from the sidelines here and there as bitcoin waivered.  In a short span of a month, bitcoin has shot higher into the $43,000 range. There is a "halving" planned in April 2024.  This is where it becomes twice as hard for "the miner's" computers to solve the puzzles that create bitcoin ownership.  The notion is that it is a natural way to prevent dilution of bitcoin value.  This is one thing that makes bitcoin valuable in the minds of crypto enthusiasts. Unlike "fiat" or government currency that is backed only on the good faith of the particular nation.

In a short span, bitcoin related stocks, specifically "the miners" have seen surges some tripling.  At the same time, they are not yet near their previous highs during the bitcoin bubble.  With the halving, bitcoin miners costs rise to get the same bitcoin they mine today by double.  But many are taking steps to increase development capacity by buying more equipment, facilities near energy efficient nuclear power plants.

An elephant is the question of did many of us actually miss the run and will bitcoin heat burn off as whales take gains along the way.  One factor driving crypto is government acceptance.  There is a plan for Blackrock, Wisdom tree and others to start spot ETF bitcoin vehicles.  Applications are submitted to the SEC and adjustments are being worked such cash vs margin requirements.

So, the question of the future is there still time get involved? Or is crypto a passing fad like tulips in Holland that could sell off harshly?

Halving will theoretically increase the value of Bitcoin as long as people still want it.  Bitcoin is NOT like a gold coin you can pick up and hold.  It's notional "bits" on a storage device that can be bought and sold in the ether at on-line brokers like coinbase.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-had-a-surprisingly-great-year-it-still-faces-threats-in-2024-100021572.html

Some symbols:

COIN

Some bitcoin miners:

MARA

RIOT

CLSK

The symbols above have ALREADY broken out considerably.  Could they go even further or create new bag holders?  Only the future can say.

This is where the words maybe "watch" and if ready to actually pull the trigger?   Only "some if any" applies based on your own appetite for risk.  Maybe if "trying to trade" the swing, a trade in some like MARA could work.

Stay tuned for other stocks where elephants in the room are moving such as defense and oil stocks. Topics for another day. 

Defense:  RTX,  LMT

and today, we have an update in Vital Resources, highlighted here as a stock to watch.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vital-energy-acquires-additional-working-220000237.html


Vital Energy (VTLE):

Vital reported quarterly eps:  $5.16 with over 200,000 acres of oil rich property in the basins of America. very high eps, very low pe. 

Comparing eps makes VTLE interesting indeed.  They are reported to have hedged oil in the 70's.  VTLE is a takeover candidate as well with recent consolidations happening by big oil. 

Fundamentals on VTLE seem very strong although the recent market variations have not been pleasant to shareholders. It may be time to bottom fish on some VTLE?

... and holding some METC and METCB

This post will close by noting that any view on the market and stocks on any particular day may change in the future days to come. That is why we watch and see how our views match up with the reality of the time.  But trying to look ahead a few months into the future may be a way to do things.  If you think too deep about world events and the recent alliances forming, projecting ahead can be a dicey endeavor. With all the above caveats and attempted prognostications, I will close this post. 

Stay tuned for more opining on the market and stocks to watch.

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ALL in my humble opinion, scroll down and read more.
This site does NOT make Buy / Sell recommendations.
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