Sunday, March 17, 2024

Economic Update: Problematic Inflation, Some Important History Of Our Assessment, And A Quick (important) Stock Chart Update (video)

Attention Clients, while all of today's video analysis is timely, please be sure to watch from the 6:45 mark on, where I chart our assessment alongside the equity market over the past few years... I.e., while we've generated positive returns even as our recession light remains lit, the current macro backdrop, and, not to mention, history, virtually demands that -- while we'll continue to seek out and exploit value where we find it -- we stay broadly diversified, liquid, and hedged against the potential for something swift and meaningful to the downside, at least for the time being. 

But first, a timely quote from an investing great:
“The desire for more, the fear of missing out, the tendency to compare against others, the influence of the crowd and the dream of the sure thing—these factors are near universal. Thus they have a profound collective impact on most investors and most markets. This is especially true at the market extremes. The result is mistakes—frequent, widespread, recurring, expensive mistakes.” —Howard Marks
Thanks so much! Marty

Note that, where (at the 6:12 mark) I say "staples were ramping up" heading into, and during, past recessions, sends an incorrect message. They weren't, per se, ramping up during recessionary periods, they were just substantially outperforming (at times losing significantly less than) discretionary stocks.

Once playing, click the icon in the lower right corner for full screen. Focus should occur after a few seconds; if not, click the wheel to the left of the YouTube icon to adjust:
Attention Non-Client subscribers: Nothing in this video should be construed as investment advice. The examples expressed relate to portfolio management we perform on behalf of our clients, and, again, under no circumstances are they to be considered recommendations to the viewer.

Friday, March 15, 2024

Valuations & Sentiment Paint a Precarious Picture For Stocks (video)

Dear Clients, in today's snapshot I touch on the typical, and historically-dangerous-to-chase, pull-forward nature of parabolic moves.

Once playing, click the icon in the lower right corner for full screen. Focus should occur after a few seconds; if not, click the wheel to the left of the YouTube icon to adjust:


Attention Non-Client subscribers: Nothing in this video should be construed as investment advice. The examples expressed relate to portfolio management we perform on behalf of our clients, and, again, under no circumstances are they to be considered recommendations to the viewer.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Morning Note: Patience, an "absolute must!" --- (a must-read post for clients!)

To be sure,

"if patience is a virtue in life, it is an absolute must in trading and investing."

--Randy Finney (technical analyst and trader)

If you tend to think of stocks and your long-term portfolio synonymously, well, if you're a PWA client, I'd say don't! But recognizing that Wall Street has done such a masterful job of engraining such thinking into investor-psyche, the following is intended for those who do.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Morning Note: Key Highlights

This morning's inflation data, in the aggregate, came in a touch hotter than expected, but not to the point -- at least in pre-market action -- to derail the equity market's expectation of a mid-year rate cut.

Meanwhile, here are a few key highlights from our latest messaging herein:

Monday, March 11, 2024

Economic Update: Amid Mixed Signals, Evidence of Weakness (in labor and credit in particular) Remains Too Much To Ignore (video)

Attention clients, please be sure and take this one in when you have a few minutes.


Once playing, click the icon in the lower right corner for full screen. Focus should occur after a few seconds; if not, click the wheel to the left of the YouTube icon to adjust:


Attention Non-Client subscribers: Nothing in this video should be construed as investment advice. The examples expressed relate to portfolio management we perform on behalf of our clients, and, again, under no circumstances are they to be considered recommendations to the viewer.

Friday, March 8, 2024

Strong bullish sentiment "hints at a top," although..... And a quick stocks, yields, dollar and gold update (video)

Once playing, click the icon in the lower right corner for full screen. Focus should occur after a few seconds; if not, click the wheel to the left of the YouTube icon to adjust:


Attention Non-Client subscribers: Nothing in this video should be construed as investment advice. The examples expressed relate to portfolio management we perform on behalf of our clients, and, again, under no circumstances are they to be considered recommendations to the viewer.

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Morning Note: Manufacturing "Mini Upcycle" -- And -- Beware "The Other Side of the Parabola"

In our latest economic update I entertained the notion that the recent strengthening in manufacturing sector sentiment might prove to be a head fake.

On Monday, BCA suggested that that may indeed be the case: