[Market Madness] Edition 0106
Surpass Expectations and Editorial Friday
Payroll push
Well folks, the jobs report is one big name of the game today. In the month of July, the U.S. economy added 1.763 million jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 10.2% These numbers surpassed both Wall Street estimates, which is a good sign regarding the economy despite ongoing challenges with COVID 19 and presented itself as the only piece of good news to report on today.
What is sending the markets down today then? Well, that’s a good question. Donnie is doing what Donnie does best, writing and threatening executive orders here and there. He signed the executive order solidifying his intent to take action against ByteDance and TikTok as well as possible further action that would target WeChat and other Chinese based apps on U.S. application stores. Also, he’s signaled intent on using executive power to enable stimulus if the two sides of Congress cannot reach above their current impasses. So far, it looks like any means to pass stimulus through congressional agreement is going to fall by the wayside as the day ends with a great deal of disconnect remaining.
Markets were down today, and stayed down for the majority of trading today but miraculously, the DJIA and S&P 500 turned green in the last 10 minutes of trading (lot’s of ‘buying the dip’ late in the trading day). Overseas, we saw a same tone as well. Oil and gold are down today and volatility moved down. Let’s just move on to the weekend, shall we?
Did you miss the last edition? No worries! Get it right here and catch up on the madness. Consider subscribing down below so you never miss another edition and read from the comfort of your inbox.
Fundamentals
Friday’s Close:
Dow Jones: +0.17%
S&P 500: +0.06%
NASDAQ: -0.87%
U.S. Dollar Index: 93.40
US 10 YR: 0.558%
Crude OIL: $41.52
Spot Gold: $2030.92
Market Madness Portfolio: -0.45%
COVID 19 Global Cases: 19,176,624
Indices Overseas:
Nikkei 225: -0.39%
Hang Seng: -1.60%
FTSE 100: -0.03%
TEDRATE: 0.16
LIBOR (3 month): 0.24325%
Houston, we’ve lost it (an editorial of sorts)
I love and hate this pastime. We’ve entered a territory where, for me at least, actions are made in the geopolitical/foreign economic policy space that make absolutely no sense AND actually have negative impact on the domestic economy as well. Today we saw both the attacks on Chinese apps as well as the retraction in trade agreement developments with Canada. The post-modern free world should not concern itself with a children’s dancing app, nor an instant messaging service. This all reminds me of the time that Mark Zuckerberg testified before congress. We’ve talked this topic to death, so let this TikTok topic rest in peace.
What is actually more concerning to me is the sudden actions being made towards Canada, our neighbor. We had just recently arranged a replacement to NAFTA (US-Mexico-Canada-Agreement) which Donnie was in favor of. And now this? Total yikes. I’m not an expert on trade and trade policy, but my mind tells me that changing the rules after just having established rules is not allowed on the playground.
And it is not just Donnie either, its the whole Capitol Hill that is systematically disintegrating under the pressure of doing their basic tasks. The leadership of the free world, the promise and stature of the United States in comparison to the world is slowly crumbling away and what is left behind are mass deaths, a deteriorating dollar, the threat of rising inflation and a massive mound of government debt that will act as a hurdle for generations to come.
We’ve talked about this a little bit here as well, but all the strategies to employ Donnie’s “America first” plan has not been met with much success. The big names like Apple and Amazon are still manufacturing overseas, and mainstream U.S. business like Ford and GE are still reeling from years of neglect and no advantage by staying American based. I’m not bashing either side, rather I think that globalization and international trade are the way of the future based on comparative advantage and cost reduction strategies. The only way I see it would be to start over from scratch, erase all trade agreements and collectively determine effective and cost efficient trade routes, agreements, and systems by which all countries are put into a level standing. What becomes a challenge with this idea is the notion that countries employ different economic systems that are not all free-market capitalist societies. And, traditionally speaking, one view of capitalism is that there are winners and losers and that equality among all people costs too much to manage. It’s like when Churchill said that democracy was the worst form of government, except for all the rest. Well, it also can be argued by many that capitalism is the worst form of economic society, except for all the rest.
For what it is worth, the notion of making trade free (or at least dollar-for-dollar equal) would be the equivalent of putting an LED lamp in a cave that has never ever seen light before. It is confusing and scary, and unnatural for someone who is not adjusted to light. The same is true for ideas and rules that bend/break ideas of capitalism.
What actually has become a threat to the U.S. is itself. Becoming so enveloped in foreign affairs that we need no part in has essentially proven for us that we have neglected our own people and our own nation as we continue to be throttled by the COVID 19 pandemic and economic woes. The financial markets don’t always tell the whole truth, and this pandemic has helped many realize that.
Thank you for reading this piece today. Admittedly, it is much different than the traditional posts, and involves more concepts like foreign policy, globalization, and macroeconomics. If you liked it, that’s great, thank you! If you didn’t drop me a note and share your thoughts — I’m always looking to open my perspectives and hear new ideas and feedback!
Quick Takes
U.S. - China tensions continue to rise as Donnie targets more Chinese based apps. (via FT)
Canada retaliates with tariffs after Donnie reignites trade feud. (via CNBC)
More on U.S. China tensions, this time revolving around Hong Kong. (via CNBC)
Should Ford go private? (via WSJ)
Tensions in Beirut heighten. (via FT)
Dr. Fauci weighs in on vaccine effectiveness early in release. (via CNBC)
General Banter
I am banter-less today. I’ll let the headlines speak for themselves — they provide enough banter such that they’re gonna put me out of business. Enjoy the weekend!
Reader’s Corner
The reader’s corner is quiet today - continue as you would and enjoy the weekend!
Do you like what you have read? Consider subscribing so that Market Madness is hand-delivered to your inbox each day! If you know of anyone missing out on Market Madness, save them the trouble and share it with them!
Behind the Madness
You’ve made it through the madness. I’ve worked really hard to ensure that you leave this page having learned something, and I hope that benefits you in your daily adventure. Thank you again for checking in.
Daily Reader Count: 153
Connect with Market Madness
For more Madness, check out the archive.
Some Sign-ups (that are definitely worth your time)
Atom Finance: “Atom’s platform offers an ever-growing arsenal of powerful research and portfolio monitoring tools to anyone…” Sign up for a FREE account here.
Koyfin: Financial websites have basic data and are cluttered with advertisements. Professional tools like Bloomberg are very expensive and difficult to use. Koyfin was created to provide investors with affordable and intuitive analytical tools to research stocks and understand market trends. Our mission is to empower investors with high quality data and analytics to help them make more informed investment decisions. Most of all, we are obsessed with creating a delightful user experience. Read more and join for FREE here.
AK Fallible - Financial Entertainment: AK is here to entertain, inform, and educate you about financial markets so you can make more money! Check out his YouTube page here. Also, consider his free investing tutorial.
DataHub: Check out DataHub, a free (with premium upgrade options) data hub for information across multiple industries (see their available collections here). Check them out here. Also, grab a free account here.
TOGGLE: TOGGLE puts hedge-fund grade analytics within reach of every investor. Sign up for a FREE account here. Also, grab a FREE daily briefing for some tickers here.
Robinhood Sign Up: You get a stock, and you and you and you, and me! Follow my Robinhood link (if you’ve not signed up before) and we both get a randomly picked stock! A great way to get a jump start on investing, especially if you are hesitant to invest your own money at first. Your free stock is waiting for you here.
Dirty Dozen Chart Pack (from Macro Ops): Good intelligence is vital. Great intelligence is priceless… Sign up to receive my weekly chart pack of the 12 most important and actionable charts that’ll make sure you kick your week off right. Sign up here.
Morning Brew: Become smarter in just 5 minutes. Get the daily email that makes reading the news actually enjoyable. Stay informed and entertained, for free. Sign up here. Grab their other, new, newsletters too: Emerging Tech Brew, Retail Brew, and Marketing Brew.
Axios News Sign Up: News worthy of your time. Get newsletters featuring news, scoops & expert analysis by award-winning Axios journalists like Mike Allen, Dan Primack and Ina Fried. View and sign up for their newsletters here.
The Hustle: Bold business and tech news. We cut through the noise with the most impactful headlines. Sign up here.
Wall Street Breakfast: Wall Street Breakfast, Seeking Alpha's flagship daily business news summary, is a one-page summary that gives you a rapid overview of the day's key financial news. Get today’s piece here.
The Water Coolest: The Water Coolest is a daily business news and professional advice email newsletter for young professionals. Biz news. Financial advice. Unfiltered commentary. One daily email. In 5 minutes or less. Sign up here.
DISCLAIMER ON SIGNUPS: I am not sponsored by any of these sites, companies, or individuals.
GENERAL DISCLAIMER: All rights reserved to respective sources where I pull my information. I do not own or have vested interests in the websites where I get my news and information. Links are provided as credit and to provide additional context where reader’s might want more information outside of what is printed here on these sheets.
