Market and Stock notions update .

 

Market Talk

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report did not fall as the federal reserve expected.  The interest rate cuts that the markets have been anticipating are more likely to be forestalled into the summer.  The market reacted harshly with a sharp drop on Monday and rebounded today.

 

As traders and investors watch current events in the country and the world, certain macro-economic trends seem to be playing out. It is possible that such trends could cascade into serious repercussions on the future ways of America.

One is the value of the dollar.  More people are becoming aware of having stores of value that may better inflation.  Stores of value such as Gold, silver and another area becoming quite noticeable to both us retail market watchers and big "whales" and institutions alike. This area is "crypto".  The two most prominent crypto's are Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).  Bitcoin is seen as a store of value by crypto enthusiasts largely because there is finite number of total coins that can be "mined" going forward into the future. The protocol has events called "halving" where it becomes twice as hard for mining computers to solve the crypto puzzles that result in gaining even a fraction of a bitcoin. The more powerful machines the miner has, the bigger the share of bitcoin.

 

Let us proceed to stock talk.

Stock Talk

 

In a short time Bitcoin had risen to cross the $50K threshold and Etherum is up and approaching the $3K .  There are stocks around these crypto coins that are volatile but by the by have been soaring higher.  The frustrating thing is they can be scary and volatile on the downside as well if trying to "trade" these stocks enduring the whipsaws.

 

IBIT - new Ishares spot bitcoin etf, recently approved.  After "the halving"  or as it approaches in April, theoretically bitcoin could move higher. It remains to be seen about theory vs reality.

Crypto Itself : Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).  watch these as April approaches.  some crypto "gurus" are touting ETH as "Crypto 2.0" and "next gen crypto".  Rumors of some big investors accumulating ETH.  These are also volatile and should be treated with risk awareness.  Bitcoin and ETH are not "stocks" but a form of alternative "store of value" as crypto nerds like to say.  But they can be bought and traded like stocks. Just be aware to keep track for tax reporting loss and gains to Uncle Sam. This does not seem to be something to put it all in - but crypto followers dollar cost average here and there in case the fiat suffers too much in true value.  (update: AVAX is another possible up and comer to maybe look into.)

Bitcoin miners are presently very volatile and dangerous to try to "trade".  There are three bitcoin miners on the watch list due to the recent action.  This is not an endorsement, but as they mine bitcoin and save some beyond those used to cover expenses, the market is anticipating value.  The one thing to remember is that after April, it becomes twice as difficult to mine bitcoin. That is why the miners are scurrying to buy more mining rigs or "ASIC's"  which stands for Application-Specific integrated circuit miners that use specialized chips.

 A few "miners" on the  watch list:

 

   MARA   RIOT   CLSK

Also COIN stock as on-line site "coinbase" is a major broker for crypto and the recent ETF's use coinbase .

Other stocks :

RTX - Raytheon, moving higher since last Jones report. Don't underestimate the huge need for defense in a dangerous world full of threatening adversaries, if not enemies.

INTC - watch Intel chip maker in America. With a large workforce being employed remotely at home, the PC is still an essential part of the game.  Intel also has AI chips in process and made in America investments and funding are making INTC seem undervalued as compared to other chip stocks at this juncture.

METC  - Ramaco Resources - on metallurgical coal, essential for the production of high quality steel. Ramaco is  a REAL miner with impressive earnings and regular dividends that have been increasing. Rare earth discoveries in their Wyoming mine is also a wild card factor.

I 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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