Thinking about HIDING OUT in gold. Forget about it. Gold has dropped roughly 15% since the Iran war began, nearly wiping out its year-to-date gains.
A REALLY nasty day in the markets today. For my stocks...they got worse and worse as the day progressed. I ended with a really BIG loss today in my 7 stocks. I also got beat by the SP500 by 0.94%. One of the worst days I have had this year....perhaps....THE worst...for the amount of the loss. BUMMER.
A RED open as usual.....what else is new. S&P 500 falls, heads for 5th losing week in a row even as Trump extends Iran negotiations deadline https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/26/stock-market-today-live-updates.html
I like this little article. Six Years On, Lessons From the COVID-Lockdown Low Endure Parallels for investors to consider from six years ago. https://www.fisherinvestments.com/e...mentary/covid-panics-lockdown-low-anniversary "History is replete with events, one after another. But there is precious little genuinely new under the sun. Markets have encountered similar circumstances before and studying them strongly suggests: This too shall pass." ALTHOUGH....I will say that media INTERFERENCE and MANIPULATION in the markets has grown MASSIVELY since six years ago......so much of the past is no longer relevant.
A WARNING about the influx of machines.....AI...into the markets and our inability to control or even know what the structure of the market is anymore. He Did Not Intend to Lose $50 Million. No One Does https://www.realclearmarkets.com/ar...d_to_lose_50_million_no_one_does_1172700.html ".......There was no failure in the code. No breach. No theft. The system performed its function with precision. It honored the instruction completely. What failed was the assumption that there was something behind the system that would stop him. In older markets, there often is........"
To continue my theme today......the markets are out of control. Market functions and mechanisms are broken. In fact.....a lot of what we are calling investing...is simply GAMBLING. We Haven’t Seen the Worst of What Gambling and Prediction Markets Will Do to America I don’t think people have thought hard enough about how bad this could get https://www.derekthompson.org/p/we-havent-seen-the-worst-of-what
I do believe in the MODERN investing world that QUALITY, VALUE, and MOMENTUM do belong together....as drivers of gains for long term investing. In fact....we are seeing some really good "VALUE" right now in the BIG CAP TECH world. Why Value, Quality, and Momentum Belong Together https://www.researchaffiliates.com/...alue-quality-and-momentum-belong-together.pdf
YES.....demographics are destiny. Here is a snapshot of where we are right now. BUT...being a government report with government data.....I have strong doubts as to the accuracy of this information or the conclusions and discussion. The government is too corrupt and riddled with politics and "agendas". The Demographic Outlook: 2026 to 2056 https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2026-01/61879-Demographic-Outlook.pdf
YEA.....the latest political circus....is over. Senate votes to end shutdown that has snarled airports and left TSA workers unpaid https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sena...ts-and-left-tsa-workers-unpaid-135719021.html
AND....will continue for at least 20 more years. Amazon’s big bet in AI has been 20 years in the making https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/technology/articles/amazon-big-bet-ai-20-090055846.html
NO....this is NOT an AI issue....it is an issue with company messaging and management. Microsoft Set for Worst Quarter Since 2008 as AI Takes Two Bites https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-set-worst-quarter-since-103556906.html
YES....they are. Wall Street Says Stocks Are Too Cheap to Ignore as War Rages On https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/wall-street-says-stocks-too-113200464.html
Oh yes the markets.....simply a waste of time to talk about the markets today. So I will take my grandmother's advice.....if you have nothing good to say....dont say anything.
I wonder....since I dont see or feel it. Is the panic starting to build? Is fear starting to creep in as people see their money slowly and relentlessly disappear day after day? Is that gnawing doubt growing....as your brain tells you....SELL.....GET OUT? I am sure there MUST be unease out there in the long term investing world. Is anyone seeing or feeling it? I am now resolved to just ride the wave....backwards....to some unknown market low. After all...that is what I do....RIDING THE WAVE.
I wouldn't doubt there might be a bit of nervousness out there with some. If there is any panic or great angst about it, maybe their portfolio is not allocated to their personal risk level. I think the SP 500 drawdown from ATH is somewhere around 8% or so. There are some individual names that have taken a greater pounding, but that also kind of comes with the territory at times. The chaos in the headlines (War/Oil). The market is living off of those right now. We have kind of been in a measured, slow down trend. This has led to predictions of what is to come. Although, nobody really knows. I'm fine. I venture to say that most long term investors are just continuing their contributions, keeping their head down, and making the best of it.
You know what I would like to see? These policymakers go without pay and benefits of any kind during any type of shutdown. Not just a full shutdown, but any partial shutdown of any kind. There job is to run the government. Yes, they do a very poor job of it most of the time. But that is their function and responsibility. I don't care if they don't like "Bill" or "Suzy" across the aisle. I don't care if "they" feel they have been done wrong by the other "side." The problem is we are reliant on a group of people that are not affected by the things that the "average" person deals with in their everyday life. They have a true disconnect with this and always have. Think about it. They are not concerned with running a household budget. They are not looking at the price of utilities, groceries, fuel, putting kids through college, and so on. They are not worried about not being paid or not having benefits at anytime while these things occur. Yes, we will soon begin hearing them speak of these things for the "average" american soon enough. They will speak of how they want to address these issues. Not because they should have been doing so all along, but because they need something from you now to continue to reap the benefits of their position. I still find it amazing that somehow, through decades of incompetence, we have survived the repeated poor performance from most of them. It just speaks to the resiliency of this country and it's people despite some of the most inept ability demonstrated.
I am not too far out. Likely a few years left I figure. I have been busy mapping out some of those things over the past few months. Everything is still on track. At this point, it is more about my plan than actual market type conditions. I will say though. At times I have wondered what type of market it will be at that point in time. I have no way of knowing, but it does cross my mind. I have been planning well in advance so that I will not have to make many decisions when the time arrives. There will still be a few, but most of the hard stuff will be set by then.
I would like to see a law that congress gets NO PAY or benefits....any time government is shut down. AND....when it opens they do not get that lost money back. Of course they ended the little shut-down now....since they all want to get out of DC for their two week Easter vacation. I hate...politicians.
