Oddly, all of this made me think about a number of meetings I have been in over the years. You know, the ones where the issues are important, but the opinions are varied about the best course of action. In addition, you realize going in that tensions exist and the goal is to hopefully moderate and navigate it without too much going sideways. At some point someone says something non productive, which gets a measured response from another.....then surely it draws in another and eventually it just goes off the rails.
Its pretty simple global markets down today over trade war which it is not. Rich people and institutions taking their profit. They'll buy down again. Global markets are down today (Jan 20, 2026) primarily due to President Trump's escalating threats of new tariffs on European nations (like France, Germany, UK) over Greenland, sparking fears of a major trade war, leading investors to sell stocks for safer assets like gold, and causing big tech/luxury stocks to fall, with higher Treasury yields adding pressure on bonds.
Thanks for the replies guys, sometimes I just think "what do we want to teach a young investor" if they ever end up reading our remarks , observations and opinions on this forum. I do have to figure out what to do with my GOOGLE monster , just as WXYZ had stated about NVDA becoming too overweight in his portfolio, I have the same problems with GOOGLE, it has grown to something like 20% of my COMBINED OVERALL portfolio. Also starting last year Washington State started a NEW tax on Capital Gains, you are taxed at 7% of the capital gains above $270,000, so now we all are capped at $270K per year or pay the Government. As far as google stock, my basis is like 8% , or almost nothing. I guess at some time we have to start thinking about paying the PIPER on our gains, and as described above that can turn into a MULTI YEAR PROJECT !! I may live to regret it BUT ,........ I was a buyer today around the closing bell, we'll see if it pays off , or if I just flushed some cash down the hole
It was a GREAT day to be a buyer.....I was gone all day. We cant fix a market that wants to just be STUPID........but...it is a good time to load up for the long term at a nice discount. I ended the day with a BIG loss....of course. A single green stock....COST. As to the SP500 I was basically the same......but it beat my by a tiny....0.03%. All I can say in response to the markets today is.......WHATEVER.
Thanks RG. I'm aware that value tab shows value in €, but I wasn't aware that performance is increasing or decreasing depending on the currency strength.
As to the.....IDIOCY....of the markets yesterday: Markets and the Greenland Gambit Looking through the chatter and volatility. https://www.fisherinvestments.com/en-us/insights/market-commentary/markets-and-the-greenland-gambit ........".....we suggest taking a deep breath and remembering how markets work. As Ben Graham quipped, in the short term, markets behave like voting machines. They register feelings, knee-jerk reactions and worst-case scenarios. As time rolls on, markets behave more like weighing machines, moving more gradually on how reality shapes up relative to those initial expectations. So while volatility could well continue in the near term, we see plenty of room for falling uncertainty and milder-than-feared outcomes to provide relief for stocks to weigh."
AND. Why You Can’t Time the Market (Even When You Know the Future) https://ofdollarsanddata.com/why-you-cant-time-the-market-even-when-you-know-the-future/ "The market is a chaotic system, meaning that even the smallest change in initial conditions can drastically impact how it responds to information (i.e. the butterfly effect). This is why you can’t time the market, even when you know the future."
I had a great day on Monday in the studio with the engineer working on my live recording. I now feel this project has a good chance. Yesterday.....I left at 8:00AM for the Dallas area to deliver a painting for EXHIBITION. Twelve hours later at 8:00PM....I was back home. A good productive couple of days......much better than following along with the markets yesterday......what a JOKE.
Certainly doing well today....a nice big gain so far. I still have two red stocks....MSFT and PLTR. BUT......not enough to make up for yesterday....yet. Baby steps in 2026.
The market so far today. Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq jump after brutal sell-off as Trump rules out force on Greenland https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live...p-rules-out-force-on-greenland-154955543.html
A fascinating little event over the past months....GOLD and SILVER. Spot silver currently at $93.24.....spot gold at $4835.40. Gold breaks new record on Greenland tariff threats — $7,000 level on the cards https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/21/gold-prices-surge-record-4800-safe-haven-demand.html Seven thousand? I dont think so any time soon....seems a little extreme to me. Now....$5000....probably along with $100 silver. My pile of gold and silver is growing bigger and bigger. I am sure the......off-site big safe..... that it sits in is bulging outward as the hoard expands. If this continues I dont know what I will do. It will certainly get tempting....at some point.... to cash some in and put it in the markets if this continues. But so far I am holding off. Is this a......GASP......."new normal"? (sorry I just had to give in to the DRAMA)
WXYZ .......I'm going to guess that upon your arrival at home , YOU TOOK A NAP !! Because I would have had to !! long road days , even fun ones, take a toll on me these days. And yes, my guess turned out good this morning. Those positions are up 1.25% and 1.2% , just like the rest of my portfolio. At 8:30am Pacific Overall I'm up 1.42%, beating the indexes, even the russel 2000. Good Day so far...........
Yeah, I see more and more of those corny little gold investment commercials all of the time now...lol. Always a "gold rush" when there is perceived economic noise, geopolitical noise, other monetary noise....all of the classic boogeyman topics. Not throwing shade to anyone that has it or owns it obviously. It's a mind/safety type of thing for some people to an extent.
Well NO......LOL.....I got caught up on events of the day and put my results up on here. I ended up going to bed about 11:45. Well done on the purchases yesterday....oldmanram.....a nice one day GAIN. Now the easy part....just siting on them for the long term.
Of course this is true with just about any initial market reaction to most news. What's funny is this came from an investment company....which lives off of the drama and short term. They make a lot of money off of emotional responses. Is it Greenland or Iceland now?? Or is it both??
YES....they do. And I have no doubt that AMERICAN companies will continue to dominate the world of business. AND....NO...I have no interest in any outside the USA companies or funds. The last time I owned any "International" was back in the 1990's. For a time I owned some Dodge & Cox International Fund. In the end.....it could not keep up with my AMERICAN portfolio and i ended up selling it. The Winners Write the History Books https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2026/01/the-winners-write-the-history-books-2/ "The United States now makes up roughly: 4% of the world’s population 25% of the world’s GDP 65% of the world’s stock market cap" But lets put this in perspective.....it is not about stocks or markets or investing. This is due to the total dominance of AMERICAN BUSINESS around the world. It is the story of business success....fundamentals. With the direction of the EU over the past 5-10 years.....I see no way this will change any time soon. I am not a fan of SOCIALISTIC BUREAUCRACY.....especially when it comes to business.
You are just to darn driven, you must have had a rush/high from the recording session. Me, I head down to my apartments, slog on through a half day, get out of Ballard by 3pm, get home by 5pm, 5:30 and it's nap time for me. But after a quick 20-30 minutes I'm ready for my next chore...usually out in the garage, working on something that has an internal combustion engine.
Good luck with those SEAHAWKS on Sunday. I hope that our teams....Denver and Seattle....will be facing each other in the SUPER BOWL. Even with Nix injured and out....I am still hoping that Denver can somehow pull it off on Sunday. It will help my speculative play on Nix PSA 10 rookie cards. I need him to become the next Brady. BUT....I am not sure I will live long enough to reap the big rewards.....in 20-40 years. Of course.....I am still sitting on 10 to 12 unopened Tops and Upper Deck boxes of baseball cards from the late 1980's and early 1990's. Not exactly a real good investment so far. My one other speculative card investment...... "Magic the Gathering Lord of the Rings Booster Box" I bought a sealed box for about $400 when they came out......the current price for an unopened box.....about $1100 to $1500. A long term investment. Our kids will probably find it in the closet and open it......not knowing what it is....in about 20 years. OH NO...... AND....NO...I dont collect Magic Cards....this was my one speculative play.
