Take a hard look if you don’t already own shares of this company
Aug 11, 2021Good morning!
The markets are fighting back after a “softer than expected inflation reading” which is basic gov-speak for the numbers were not as high as expected.
What a racket!
The personal consumption index the Fed uses came in at 3.5% versus an expected “print” of 3.6%. No wonder the Fed likes cooked numbers. But I digress … that’s a story for another time.
Let’s figure out how to make some money!
Here’s my playbook.
1 - Fed wraps monetary policy meeting and keeps rates unchanged
We all know this is a problem because of what we feel in our wallets. We also know it will end badly at some point.
Meanwhile, it’s our job to make as much money as possible.
I can’t resist having a little fun with the absurdity of it all. Imagine if the Fed were a country music band.
In my best emcee voice ….
… Let’s give a big round of applause for J. Powell and the Beltway Boys!!!
My new line of sartorial 2021 World Tour shirts is now available!
2 – Amazon reports a miss, shares tank – my POV
Shares are down hard in pre-market after Amazon reported its first quarterly revenue miss in 3 years and gave weaker guidance. Doesn’t bother me one iota.
Amazon has only scratched the surface in two key markets but will dominate: personal finance and health. Angry legislators want to break it up which would likely unlock value, not destroy it. And finally, I have to believe newly seated CEO Andy Jassy is thinking about a stock split.
I think we’ve got to take a hard look at these levels if you don’t already own shares. This is the kind of moment where you put some mad money to work and tuck shares away as a present to yourself a few years from now.
Incidentally, I will be talking about Amazon (and more) with the fabulous folks at Yahoo! Finance at 1pm EST and I’d love for you to join the conversation if you can.
3 – Chevron reports a double (beat)
Call me crazy, but traditional energy is not going away any time soon despite what many think. Shares rose overnight but what really attracts me is the notion that it could take 20-30 years to shift away from traditional petroleum-based products used in more than 30,000 industrial processes. The company also reinstituted its buyback program, which implies confidence in future earnings, and I like that … a lot!
4 – Robinhood: a bug in search of a windshield
What a train wreck of an IPO. I cannot remember a worse rollout. Execs seem to demonstrate a callous disregard for their customers who are, in turn, livid about the treatment they’ve received, outages, and more. Payment for order flow remains an issue. According to Yahoo! Finance, it’s the worst debut on record amongst 51 firms that raised that much cash or more as reflected by Bloomberg data.
Yeesh.
5 – Nikola, all downhill from here?
The Nikola situation is simply astounding. Federal prosecutors say that the prototype vehicles were powered by hidden sockets, towed into position and rolled down hills. There’s apparently a parallel civil complaint underway as well from the SEC related to improper disclosure.
Makes Theranos look positively tame by comparison.
Bottom Line
Many aspiring investors and traders want to be right and spend inordinate amounts of time trying to make their case. That’s excellent but not exactly on point.
The most successful money mavericks concentrate on being profitable, even when they’re wrong and even when stocks they’ve purchased are going against 'em.
It’s a nuance, but one that can make a huge difference.
Let’s finish the week strong!!
You got this – I promise!
Keith
