The wheelbarrow full of uncertainties we all faced at the start of this week has lightened considerably. The penultimate FOMC is out of the way, and three of the five mega-earnings are also done. The biggest news of all is that the risible China/U.S. trade “war” has been set aside – – yet again!! – – but this time, a full year instead of 90 days. What a triumph! And China better mind its Ps and Qs. After all, we’ve got soybeans and sorghum………..
………whereas all they have is a bunch of rocks and stuff. What a buncha dopes, amiright?
Suffice it to say, Trump’s negotiating acumen has proved to China that American has unbuckled its belt, dropped its trousers, and has draped itself over the nearest barrel, and China can do whatever strikes its fancy. They can get goddamned soybeans from anywhere on earth, whereas we have one and only one source for rare earths. So, yeah, YOU figure out the stratagem. Daddy issues……….UNITE!
With that in mind, markets are starting to realize that maybe some selling is in order.
Just yesterday I did a post about shorting the emerging markets, and I entered my largest position accordingly. So far, so good, and this is definitely something I’m keeping.
Powell’s reticence to promise another rate cut has soured bonds.
In turn, as interest rates creep higher, the dollar is strengthening (spraying more cold water on gold and palladium, which I deeply appreciate).
As for tech, GOOGL is up (precisely as I predicted on my show yesterday) whereas Meta’s foolhardy overspending on AI is starting to bite it in the ass. Trust me – – and believe me, I know personally – – handing $270 million to a high school dropout just for the hell of it isn’t a business model. One day THE TALE shall be told.
I shorted the QQQ late yesterday, and this looks like it’s starting to shake out nicely as well.
I am still only medium-committed in my portfolio, but I plan to push things more aggressive over the course of the trading day, as I’m not really concerned about AAPL and its plans to introduce versions 18 through 666 of its iPhone line.
