How to defend yourself against a clueless Fed

The only people who don’t understand what’s happening apparently work at the Federal Reserve where they’ve decided to destroy our economy, and Team Powell wants people to lose jobs as a way of destroying demand to reduce inflation.

Newsflash, Mr. Chairman… you can raise rates until the cows come home, and it won’t do any good unless the government stops spending money. So why not pause and give millions of hard-working people a breather?

What do YOU have to lose?

I ask because the people you’re crushing risk losing everything.

• Retirees, in particular, lost an average of 23% of their 401(k)s last year alone, according to Fidelity. (Read)

• Emergency savings have dropped off a cliff, and credit card debt is rising at an astounding rate. (Read)

I’ve been talking about the dangers of both for over a year, so there’s no need to beat that drum again today. The most important consideration is...

What to do with your money. Big, liquid stocks with dividends are going to be your best friend at the moment—for the simple reason that they’re the ones still putting up numbers. Reinvesting will not only help boost your profit potential but helps mitigate risk while increasing compounding over time.

Not all of ‘em are the same, though.

If you’ve got this covered, cool beans. If not, or you’d like access to my latest research including a super-stable dividend choice, the March Issue comes out next Friday. Upgrade to Paid

The 1 growth stock you’ll kick yourself for not buying on the dip

Many investors are worried that the stock markets will fall further.

What they should be worried about is missing opportunity.

Digitalization is one of the largest investing trends in human history, and our world is going that way, whether we like it or not. Everything from your toaster to your car is getting smarter.

There are only a handful of companies making the chips needed to drive it all.

Like NVDA.

It’s now up 113.6% off its 52-week lows in the premarket action as I type. Hopefully, you’ve been buying all along because, well, heck knows I’ve talked about it enough!

OBAers: If you are following along as directed, chances are that you’ve got at least a few shares north of 100%... so please check your email later this morning for my latest thinking and what to do next. If not, the game ain’t over by a long shot!

Warner Brothers = a dumpster fire

Ace reporter Lucas Manfredi kindly asked for my take on Warner Bros. Discovery ahead of earnings and included my perspective in this article. (Read)

Long story short, things played out as I expected.

What most investors are missing when it comes to streaming is deceptively simple.

1. Customers just don’t want the bullsh!t, so operators—like Warner Bros—would be wise to pull back on content that doesn’t offer value; and,

2. Investors want (gasp!) profitability.

Warner Bros doesn’t have either.

I’ll pass.

Pass the tacos, ditch the pizza

Domino’s missed sales estimates, sending shares spiraling down over 11% yesterday. The selling continues, with ‘em down another 1.6% in pre-market hours as I type. (Read)

People are tempted to say that it’s just temporary, but I don’t think so.

Post-COVID consumer behaviour is changing rapidly. It’s logical that pizza stocks cool off and consumers pour through the doors of places where they can hang out with their friends.

Funny enough, I bet old-style Pizza Hut restaurants would do pretty well if they still existed; I haven’t seen one in years, so I don’t know for sure, but I always loved eating there.

The stock market has mirrored this relationship for some time now.

Domino’s is now trading just 2.8% off 52-week lows while Taco Bell (YUM) and McDonald’s (MCD) are trading 23.8% and 22.6% off their 52-week lows, respectively.

Pairs Trade Idea: Long YUM or MCD / short Domino’s or Papa Johns.

Sports Illustrated hires AI reporter 🤦♂️

Mention AI, and most people immediately default to one of two dystopic mental images: Skynet (of Terminator movie fame) or losing their jobs (to the machines). With good reason.

Europol estimates that as much as 90% of all online content may be synthetically generated by 2026. (Read)

It’s a trend we’ve been following for a while now in One Bar Ahead®, my premium research journal, but even this caught me by surprise.

Sports Illustrated just laid off a slew of staff, including journalists, then announced almost immediately that it’ll “employ” AI to write some of its articles. (Read)

No word on synthetic cover models so far, but I guarantee you that’s on the way.

What this means for your money. Everybody’s focused on the data itself—jobs, usage, content, theft, etc.—but I think the real issue will be accuracy. That’s because ChatGPT and other early AI engines are regularly spewing up false information, sources, and more. The legal system isn’t prepared for computers/AI to simply “make sh!t up,” but that’s where this is apparently going… already.

Sigh.

Bottom Line

If you can’t see the forest for the trees, get your eyes checked!

As always, make it a GREAT day and an even GREATER weekend!

Keith 😊

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