☕ This may be your last chance to get off the sidelines

Good morning! 👋 

The S&P 500 turned in yet another record close yesterday. 

This time at 5,376.98. 

Incredibly, there’s still a lot of upside. 

Media outlets are reporting that traders are waiting on this week’s CPI data but that’s not quite right. What they’re really doing is the same thing I encourage you to do constantly. 

Getting ahead of it. 

Missing opportunity is always more expensive than trying to avoid risks you can’t control. 

Here’s my playbook. 

1 – Lower rates are a lock... almost 

Fed Chair Jerome ‘JPow’ Powell spoke on the hill yesterday noting that holding rates too high for too long could “unduly weaken economic activity and employment.” 

Ya think??!! 

This may be your last chance to get off the sidelines.  

The markets are already betting on a rate reduction but a low CPI reading this Thursday would make that a “lock” - meaning a foregone conclusion. 

As always, it’s better to get your money there one bar ahead of the herd. 

Using the right tactics, of course. 

Btw, if your financial advisor is still blathering on about the next crash or has held you out of many of the great names we talk about frequently including Nvidia, Tesla, Palantir and others because they’re ‘expensive” or the markets are “too narrow” I respectfully submit you may want to rethink that relationship. 

The world’s most successful investors play to win, not not to lose. 

Think about it! 

Speaking of which... 

2 – Suddenly everyone is talking about Tesla’s potential 

Imagine that! 

Tesla is now higher 10 days in a row and has returned nearly 80% off April lows. The SPY, a popular ETF choice, has returned 12.85%. 

You know what to do (and, honestly, I hope that you've done it already). 

3 – Walmart to open 5 automated distribution centers 

Most people will look at this story and think it’s all about Walmart. (Read)

They’re totally missing the bigger picture. 

Yes, it IS about Walmart, but within a much bigger construct. 

Dislocation. 

OBAers will be grinning ear to ear when they read this because they know why that matters and what it means for their money. 

If you don’t know what I am talking about or aren’t an OBAer yet, Dislocation is one of the 5D’s we use to guide our investing dollars in One Bar Ahead®, the monthly investing journal I publish for readers around the world. 

Here’s the skinny. 

Companies like Walmart aren’t just rolling out automation for the heck of it. 

AI is accelerating AND there’s tremendous pressure pushing costs higher, especially from the minimum wage crowd who at this point are very likely to get dislocated right out of a job.  

Robotics and automation are straight from the Department of Be Careful What You Wish For. Robots don’t take breaks, need yoga rooms or roll in late because a 0700 start “doesn’t work for them.” 

OBAers, stick to the plan – you know what to do and, more importantly, why. 😊 

4 – Bill Gross says Tesla is a meme stock 

Who? 

All joshing aside, Gross was a legend when I came into the business and known as the “bond king” for his influence in US bond markets. 

Now, he’s all but an unknown. 

I feel for the guy – this is a very tough business. 

Gross is clearly super smart but he’s out of touch and, respectfully, has been for a while thanks to a series of billion-dollar blunders that date back more than a decade to 2011 when he bet against US Treasuries in a move CNN ultimately lauded as one of the “5 worst market calls” and which led investors to pull nearly $5B from Pimco’s coffers. 

I couldn’t disagree with his assessment more strongly, especially when CNBC is reporting that he’s dabbled in GME and AMC which are, of course, actually meme stocks. (Read) 🤦‍♂️ 

I can’t help but wonder if Gross missed TSLA (which is why he’s now suddenly lashing out about it). 

Food for thought.  

5 – Lilly or Novo? 

Lilly is the better player if you’re into the weight loss investing thingy according to new analysis published in JAMA Internal Medicine and as reported by Reuters. (Read) 

I don’t own Lilly because I prefer a triad of other stocks chasing oncology which has a much larger potential payday, but my hat is off to those who do. 

Well done, everyone!!! 😊 

Bottom Line 

Everything starts with a single decision. 

To make today better than yesterday.  

What are you waiting for? 

As always, let’s MAKE it a great day – you got this! 

Keith 😊