The “All of the Above” Economy
‘Sup, Great Ones? Welcome to Reader Feedback day!
Today, as always, is about you. Your stock market questions. Your investment hopes. Your Wall Street rants. Your deepest options desires.
Um … desires, Mr. Great Stuff?
Don’t worry, I won’t pull any of that Tom Ellis Lucifer mojo on you. Now, there’s a lot of tomfoolery to get to today — oh! One more thing.
If you haven’t written in to Great Stuff yet, now’s your chance. Send Great Stuff your questions, stock ideas, options ideas, rambling diatribes … whatever. We take all kinds here.
Now, let’s get this party started:
Regarding this week’s survey — buying, selling or laughing?
I choose “all of the above”… vehemently, or should I say LOL.
Love your sardonic humor packed with real information.
Tongue in cheek,
— Jen V-P.
Good of you to write in, Jen V-P! Thank you.
It really is an “all of the above” market and economy … vehemently so, as you say. And if we all don’t take a minute here or there to laugh about it, we might just go insane.
Take today’s economic news, for example. In the past 12 hours, we’ve received both reassurances that the U.S. economy is just fine — Seriously, I’m fine. Quit asking! — and dire warnings that it is like, sooo not fine.
For one, the U.S. economy expanded a record 33.1% in the third quarter — roughly double the next-biggest economic expansion recorded in the 1950s.
Additionally, initial weekly jobless claims fell to 751,000 in the previous week. The drop was larger than expected and the lowest such reading since the week of March 14.
On the other hand, September home sales dropped an unexpected 2.2% due to rising home prices. It seems that low mortgage rates and a pandemic is making people flee the cities faster than a zombie apocalypse. And that’s driving prices sky-high. Go figure.
And finally, the pièce de résistance is what Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNBC: “If things do not change, if they continue on the course we’re on, there’s gonna be a whole lot of pain in this country with regard to additional cases and hospitalizations, and deaths.”
My Gen-X addled brain latched on to “whole lot of pain” and wouldn’t let go. So, just for you, Jen V-P., here’s a lyrical Great Stuff B-Side from Led Zeppelin that I didn’t originally include today. I hope this is sardonic enough for you:
The economy’s cooling … baby I’m not fooling.
The market’s gonna send ya … back to schooling
Way down inside, Fauci is warning:
‘Rona give ya some love. ‘Rona give ya some love.
Wooooaaah…
Got a “whole lot of pain.” Got a “whole lot of pain.”
And with that … I’ll see myself out. Now, let’s get to the rest of the Great Stuff inbox. If you haven’t written in yet, drop us a line at GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com. We don’t bite … that costs extra.
Editor’s Note: The blockchain revolution will spawn more millionaires than any event in history … and I want you to be among the few who will have the opportunity to profit from this revolution!
It starts with the one software company that’s at the center of it all. But you need to act fast. It just crossed over from the innovation phase to mainstream acceptance … and 1,223% growth is in the making for this sector.
Click here to learn more — ASAP!
And if you say to me tomorrow, oh what fun it all would be. Then what’s to stop us, Great Ones, but what is and what should never be?
Today, we catch a second wind (see us spin) way up high in the Reader Feedback sky. You really shouldn’t go another week without writing in … and it really goes to show how much the Great Stuff gang can ramble on.
First, a big “thank you!” to each and every one of you who wrote in, even if we can’t get to each and every one of your emails in these here electronic pages. We truly appreciate you writing to our inbox (right here). Painless, right? Do it again!
Now on to the good stuff … or at least a follow-up to when we asked for your thoughts on banking stocks. Dig in and dig it!
Risky Business
To bank or not to bank, was that the question? I like banks, they have money. And well, the bank I use for checking, savings and investing has all of my money.
Banks are necessary but not necessarily for investing in. Risky Business (love that movie) these days with mortgage deferment, student loan deferment, small business loans and people taking out money to pay bills rather than increasing deposits.
Ok, Back to the Future. I feel more comfortable investing in the future. Technology and EV companies all competing for a piece of the huge market share pie. The demand in the two market sectors is ever increasing and there is plenty of room for growth.
Sure, there will be volatility as more companies enter the space, but there will be some solid survivors with what should be tremendous growth and upside for investors.
— Dick K.
Dick, you summed up my whole perspective on banks in one line: “Banks are necessary but not necessarily for investing in.”
Realistically, we’re looking at a revolving door of risk. Banks won’t have lending revenue for the foreseeable future, so why am I betting on one trading department over another? And that’s not even touching your deferment conversation…
Of course, some in the tech community would argue just how necessary banks are to begin with — at least from a personal finance perspective. With the roar of financial technology (fintech) beckoning, everything from your checking account to your bitcoin peddling can be done in an app.
Then, just mention blockchain tech, and everyone in the fintech game loses their minds. This acts as a digital ledger that can record literally everything about a transaction with utmost security — much better than writing your account details down on a Post-it.
Blockchain, people. It’ll replace everything — seriously. And if you don’t believe me, you clearly haven’t been reading your Paul . The shame!
Click here to get caught up on the blockchain conversation.
Anyway, Dick, look what a single ramble can start. Before we go and overthrow the banking system, let us know if you’ve ever invested in fintech stocks, such as PayPal Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: PYPL), Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) and the like.
Big Events, Small Caps
Hi GS,
How do you think Small-Cap stocks will perform after the election? Will fund performance depend on who wins?
As always, thanks!
— Tommy D.
Hey Tommy, wouldn’t you know it?
We recently sat down with our resident small-cap stock expert and asked him same thing — hey, Great Ones think alike. And here’s what we found out from small-cap sleuth Ian King.
Fund wise, it’s still a game of catch-up still between small caps and big-cap stocks. Click here if you want see how Ian King broke down how small caps are trading relative to their bigger-cap brethren.
Spoiler alert: “Small caps are trading at the biggest discount to large caps in nearly two decades!”
What’s more, election day won’t change many of the same themes that you read about in Great Stuff — artificial intelligence, e-commerce, the move to digital workplaces, self-driving and electric vehicles, new energy sources…
You really can’t go wrong being in any of those trends, and with the right magnifying glass, small-cap stocks in these tech shifts are your portfolio gold mine.
That’s where you’re in luck…
Ian King just revealed the strategy he uses to invest in small-cap tech stocks with the potential to make 1,000% gains in as little as 12 months. Keep in mind, Ian has one of the top track records in the industry. His closed trades average a 200% gain, with hold times of just 277 days…
Click here now so you don’t miss out on the small-cap slam!
The Picks Eclipse
Hey Great Stuff. I’ve been selling puts on Plug every month since spring and have not owned the stock yet.
— Lee S.
Yes, I do follow your recommendations. Thanks,
— Asra U.
We love Great Stuff Picks … you love free stocks … everybody wins! Congrats on getting in on the action!
And great timing, Lee. You aren’t the only astute trader I know who’s pumped up their put-selling over the past year. You find a stock you’d like to own and get paid to wait for a better price on it? Sign me up!
If any other Great Ones have sold puts on our picks, let us know! We’d love to chit-chat with you about your trades. Write to GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com. (Don’t forget the “Today” part in that, by the way … can’t leave your words wayward in the virtual wind, you know.)
A Thesis on Travel, Touring and Trailers
My husband and I are over 65, and to us, the idea of driving a few tons around to see the USA is not appealing at all.
We would freely admit we live in fear of a breakdown somewhere in the middle of nowhere while we would dream of putting our heads on a nice clean pillow in a luxury hotel; also, cooking on a little two-burner stove and eating on a tabletop that doubles as a bed in the evening isn’t in any of our vacation playbooks…
We are also convinced that cruising is the way to go, consider: unpack once, open bars and entertainment every evening usually included, and going to the same room every evening while having a lovely room steward to tidy up in the morning and turn down in the evening.
Who doesn’t love that?? We can wake up to coffee in bed via free room service then saunter down to a breakfast served on fine china and a coffee cup that is never allowed to be empty. I could go on and on … because we are sold on cruising and having been to just about every corner of the earth, including both poles, every continent and crossed every ocean twice!
We are not ready to change our minds. Thanks for this opportunity to expound on our favorite travel method, which is NOT travel campers!
— Gayle C.
For all of you out there wondering who would ever go on a cruise after the pandemic … here ya go. I’ve heard Gayle’s exact same easy-cruising reasoning from hundreds of people over my life.
Investing in cruise lines, on the other hand … it’s a matter of burn the least cash, hang on, and really master the art of animal-shape towel folding. Personally, I love cruises, and in a normal summer, you might find the Great Stuff team right up on the lido deck trying to trade at sea via an overpriced data plan…
But for now, I’ll stay in my own homely petri dish, thank you very much.
Great Stuff: Gone Gallivanting
Thanks to everyone who hit us up this week! If you wrote in and we didn’t get to your email, we only have so much room … and so much appetite to venture near politics right now.
We saved a few of your replies for next week, but that doesn’t mean you should let the Reader Feedback ship sail right by you. Write to us now! You might just find your email in next week’s installment.
But in the meantime, keep up with us on social media too: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Until next time, be Great!
Joseph Hargett
Editor, Great Stuff