Despite tumbling stock prices, options traders don't appear eager to step in to buy the dip. Reuters reports: Even as stocks tumbled, however, there were few signs in the options market that traders were expecting the sell-off to abate soon. "I am not seeing much along the line of 'quick end to the sell-off'," said Chris Murphy, co-head of derivatives strategy at Susquehanna International Group. "It still looks pretty fearful," Murphy said. On Monday, overall trading in put options, typically used to place defensive or bearish bets on stock and index prices, outnumbered trading in … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2022
Why You AWLAYS Need This in Your Portfolio
Your Survival Guy wants you to understand that you own bonds so you can invest in stocks. As the late, great, Ben Graham explained about portfolio allocation, investors need to fall within a 70-30 mix of stocks and bonds, or vice versa. In other words, even the most aggressive stock jocks need to have some bonds as an anchor to windward. You might be shocked at how much of a cushion having just 30% in bonds can provide for a portfolio in a market decline. But check out Your Survival Guy's Deadliest Markets This Century for proof. And for the most conservative, or wealthy among us, … [Read more...]
Intel Responds to Chip Shortage with Major Announcement
Intel has made a major announcement regarding its plan to respond to the global chip shortage. Rather than wait around for the dust to settle, the company is putting its money where its mouth is and investing $20 billion in two new chip manufacturing facilities in Ohio. Intel will also work with educational institutions to develop talent for the plants that are projected to come online in 2025. The Wall Street Journal's Meghan Brobowsky reports: Intel Corp. INTC +0.94%said it plans to invest at least $20 billion in new chip-making capacity in Ohio, bolstering the company’s … [Read more...]
Serbia Returns Australia’s Backhand, Cancels Rio Tinto Lithium Mining Licenses
Shortly after Australia decided to kick Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic out of the country for being unvaccinated, Serbia has announced that it is cancelling the lithium mining licenses of Australian mining company Rio Tinto. Reuters reports: Serbia revoked Rio Tinto's (RIO.L) lithium exploration licences on Thursday, bowing to protesters who opposed the development of the project by the Anglo-Australian mining giant on environmental grounds. Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said the government's decision came after requests by various green groups to halt the$2.4 billion Jadar … [Read more...]
January RAGE Gauge: MEET the Scorched Earth Economy
Your Survival Guy's latest RAGE Gauge is in, and it's not pretty. What did you expect me to say? The coast is clear, the supply chain isn't rusty? I'm Your Survival Guy, not the president. But here's the deal. With Covid soon to be a distant memory and Biden's presidency cooked, that should be good news, right? Not so fast. Because if there's no "excuse" to pump trillions of dollars of "free" money into the economy because of some political virus and Biden can only get a pared down "spending" package passed, we're left with what Your Survival Guy calls a scorched earth economy. Trillions … [Read more...]
Has Grantham’s “Super-Bubble” Sell Off Begun?
Has the sell off of a "Super Bubble" already begun? That's what investor Jeremy Grantham, cofounder of GMO, believes today. Bloomberg's Erik Schatzker reports: Jeremy Grantham, the famed investor who for decades has been calling market bubbles, said the historic collapse in stocks he predicted a year ago is underway and even intervention by the Federal Reserve can’t prevent an eventual plunge of almost 50%. In a note posted Thursday, Grantham, the co-founder of Boston asset manager GMO, describes U.S. stocks as being in a “super bubble,” only the fourth of the past century. And just as … [Read more...]
Can Drone Forklifts Save the Supply Chain?
Sitting in his chair in an air-conditioned warehouse in the desert, the pilot gently pushes forward on the controls. Despite the high stress, he stays calm. He sees the target and delivers his payload with precision. But this isn't Creech Airforce Base, and he's not maneuvering an MQ-9 Reaper through the skies behind enemy lines. No, instead he's navigating a forklift on the back of a truck in a small American city miles away, dropping off a delivery. At least that's the vision being pursued by Phantom Auto Inc. Jennifer Smith reports in The Wall Street Journal: Two big freight operators are … [Read more...]
When Bigger Is Better
Originally posted October 22, 2021. Supply chain disruptions and rising raw materials costs are eating into profitability and resulting in shortages of products for many firms. Procter and Gamble is not immune to rising prices and supply chain disruptions, but strong brand value and impressive scale have enabled the company to navigate the environment better than some. Price hikes are being passed onto consumers and P&G is finding a way to keep its products in stock by leveraging its scale. Sharon Terlep writes in The Wall Street Journal: Procter & Gamble Co. said that it expects … [Read more...]
What a Way to Make a Living: New Hampshire #1
When you think about what makes New Hampshire Your Survival Guy's #1 state, a good place to start is by asking: Will I be represented by my government? Will it work for me? Protect my interests? Well, with 400 state reps, one per 3,000 residents, New Hampshire is the MOST representative state in the country. That's always a great place to start. But what will keep you there? When I visit our log cabin in the White Mountains, I feel like I'm a part of the ski community in the winter and of the vacationing families in the summer. You just see families everywhere. It's nice. And if you're … [Read more...]
OMICRONOMY: Could Surging Omicron Revive the Economy By April?
Could the economy be heading back toward normal by April thanks to the Omicron variant's rapid spread? That's the suggestion by the IEA, as they estimate the rapid spread of the virus could lead to herd immunity by the end of the first quarter, leading to a relatively normal second half of 2022. The Wall Street Journal's William Horner reports: Global oil demand will exceed pre-pandemic levels this year thanks to growing Covid-19 immunization rates and as recent virus waves haven’t proved severe enough to warrant a return to strict lockdown measures, the International Energy Agency said … [Read more...]