68th record close this year
Dec 25, 2021Good morning!
We’re coming to the end of an absolutely monster earnings week and *drum roll please* no surprise, the Fed has decided to leave rates alone and stay on the sidelines.
We all know you can’t kick the can down the road forever and that the markets will react at some point.
Meanwhile …
… It’s our job to make as much money as we can!
Here’s my playbook.
1 – It’s the guidance, stupid.
Political strategist James Carville changed our lexicon forever back in 1992 when he said simply, it’s “the economy, stupid” as he gave guidance to Bill Clinton’s campaign workers that was intended to keep ‘em focused. It worked; Clinton won.
Now, it’s the guidance and WE need to stay focused.
The world is reopening. That’s going to bring a tremendous amount of money off the sidelines.
Not surprisingly, that’ll be great for our money because we’ve stayed “in to win!”
If you’ve got this covered, totally cool! However, if you’d like to know more about the stocks I recommend and why I recommend ‘em, click here.
2 – A dividend stock good enough to “bet the farm”
People get frustrated that prices for stocks we love go “nowhere” for longer than they’d like but often forget that lower prices are exactly when you should be buying. Collecting fat juicy dividends along the way is a bonus to create still more profit potential over time!
Pfizer (PFE), which got a nice pop yesterday is a great example.
I called it my favourite “Virus+” choice early on and that’s still the case today for 33.5 billion reasons.
Betting the farm is optional!
3 – Robinhood could be the biggest self-pump and dump ever
Robinhood Markets priced its IPO and will begin trading using the ticker HOOD with a valuation of $32 billion according to reports I’m seeing this morning. That’s $38 a share and at the lower end of the range.
I’ll stay in Sherwood Forest until I see a quarter or two of public information and executives take the financial trust placed in them by their clients more seriously. Regulators are circling and the company’s roadshow was hardly inspiring, at least to me anyway.
If that means I leave money on the table, I’m good with that because that means I am leaving risk I don’t want on the table, too.
Better hunting and far more secure safety-first profits elsewhere me thinks.
4 – Zucked again?
I’ve steered clear of Facebook for quite some time for two reasons: a) my guts and 40 years of experience in global markets tell me that the company is losing its mojo and b) the privacy trend that is starting to take hold will create significant headwinds.
I am not surprised in the least that CEO Mark Zuckerberg just cautioned investors not to expect the same level of growth for the balance of this year.
5 – The end of an era
Like many people of a certain vintage, I grew up with the hard-charging guitar riffs that ZZ Top made famous. They were the longest running original band line-up in history until yesterday. Bassist Dusty Hill passed away at 72 - RIP, Sir!
Thank you for the music. You drove the “Top” and your positive attitude played a huge role in my formative years … still does, in fact.
Bottom Line
Investing is a funny thing.
Many people tell me they want to “be rich” but very few ever do anything to make that happen.
I don’t get it.
There are two ways forward.
You will find a way to make money in the markets if you want it bad enough. Or, you will find excuses if you don’t.
Simple as that.
Now, as always, let’s MAKE it a great day!
I’m with you every step of the way and “in to win!”
Keith
