REALLY.....now is the time to buy stocks? Great call. For anyone that missed at least 40-50% gain on their money over the past couple of years. There is only one way to invest in my view........fully invested all the time for the long term. of course this assumes that you are not investing short term money and are not a trader, market timer, or speculator. It also assumes that you are rational and realistic about the markets and your own risk tolerance. U.S. Inflation Slows: Why Now Is the Time to Buy Stocks Lower inflation is becoming a positive impetus for markets once again https://investorplace.com/hypergrow...tion-slows-why-now-is-the-time-to-buy-stocks/
It might help us a little bit if our government did not totally and constantly shoot our businesses in the foot.....and....the arm, the chest, the head, the leg, etc, etc. Not to mention that.....lower corporate and capital gains taxes would UNLEASH massive government tax revenue.....as usual when taxes are cut. The U.S. Economy Would Profit From a Competitive Corporate Tax Rate https://www.realclearmarkets.com/ar...a_competitive_corporate_tax_rate_1085249.html "...the U.S. corporate tax rate is now higher than corporate tax rates in a large majority of the countries in the world. According to this study, 68% of the countries in the world now have a lower corporate tax rate than the United States." ........ "The average corporate tax rates in Asia (19.7%) and Europe (20.18%) are nearly one third lower than the U.S. rate. The average OECD rate is 10% lower at 23.85%. Even the four Scandinavian countries now have a lower average corporate tax rate (21.15%) than the U.S." ....... "The U.S. rate is also significantly higher than the 15% rate China applies to industries encouraged by the Chinese government, including high-tech and software, and business sectors critical to their global supply chain."
Over the past 15-20 years I have trouble identifying a single company that has had as many criminal and civil problems that impacted and screwed their customers. Yes....it appears from this....."ALLEGATION"...that they are still at it. Wells Fargo, Merrill Cash-Sweep Accounts Shortchanged Clients, SEC Alleges https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wells-fargo-merrill-cash-sweep-145103904.html LOL...of course Wells Fargo has been my bank for over 20 years now. Back in one of their earlier "ISSUES" we did have a teller open an account in our name that we did not request or know about. I dont use them for anything other than a single checking account.....no credit cards or other products.
It gets so old seeing the financial media and rumor mongers jerk the markets around day to day. BUT....I will take the gains today. Dow, S&P, Nasdaq climb as techs and rate-cut hopes revive https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live...echs-and-rate-cut-hopes-revive-143105357.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "US stocks jumped on Friday amid a tech stock revival, as investors assessed a week of key data and earnings reports and eyed likely policy shifts under a Trump administration. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.7% while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 1%, coming off a losing day for the major gauges. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) put on over 1.6% as Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA) shares nudged back into the green. Markets have turned upbeat as investors take stock of recent days' big bank earnings and inflation readings, which have resuscitated bets on interest-rate cuts. Stocks are on track for big weekly wins after a major rally on Wednesday, while the 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) pulled back to trade around 4.6% on Friday. Housing starts climbed faster than forecast in December, and US industrial production outstripped estimates. The data out Friday added to a picture of strength in the US economy, buoying rate optimism. Meanwhile, techs were staging a comeback, with Apple (AAPL) stock up slightly in morning trading after booking its worst loss since August. Chipmakers such as Micron (MU) joined Nvidia in making gains, while Coinbase (COIN) was among crypto-linked names getting a boost as bitcoin (BTC-USD) continued its advance above $100,000. Minds are also on potential policy upheaval on the last day of trading before Donald Trump begins his second term as president. Fears are that his plans for tariffs, taxes, and debt — as aired by Treasury pick Scott Bessent on Thursday — could inflame inflation. Inauguration day is Monday, when markets will be closed to mark the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. China's economy, an adversary for Trump, grew more than expected last year, topping Beijing's 5% target after a stimulus blitz. But Asia stocks lost ground on Friday as investors weigh the potential hit from promised hefty tariffs." MY COMMENT I am not sure I buy any of the reason above....but....who cares. I will take whatever money I can get today by the close.....if we can avoid the...... late day, Friday, into the three day weekend.....FADE.
YES....another day when in reality NOTHING new is going on. So I will as usual do....NOTHING. NOTHING is the theme of the day......along with ENDURE. We will have another short market week next week with the markets closed for MLK day on Monday. It seems like we have not had a full five day week all year....so far. These short weeks disrupt the normal market...."flow" and "feel". They impact traders timing......and....traders that dont want to hold positions for a three day weekend. They disrupt the normal flow of order execution with orders piling up over the OFF days. They also cause the Wall Street professionals to take time off from the markets for extra little vacations. That is my view......not that I would want the markets to stay open over holidays or take away holidays.
Of course I am referring to Dale Robertson who played "Jim Hardie" on the old western.... "The Tales of Wells Fargo." A roving agent for the company who protected the companies cargo from bandits. Every time I see Wells Fargo....I think of that show.
Talk about a (STEALTH?) rally. PLTR is now up by +11% over the past five days.....although still down by nearly 5% over the past month.
Of course that was a classic old TV show....but now.....the question is who are the real BANDITS? Probably at least 50-80% of readers of this thread have never heard of that show. You are.....REALLY OLD.....Smokie.
Probably not true......but I can still dream that the BIG RALLY today is a reflection of the coming.......new government.....which will be tax friendly for all the little people and small and big business....along with being business friendly by trying to cut regulation and bureaucracy. This has NOTHING.....(theme word of the day)....to do with politics or party....I would say the same thing if the other party was coming into power with the same potential policy positions. Being a former busines owner and a life long investor....I view just about all politics and politicians through a lens of.....BUSINESS and TAXES. Not the other way around. I dont think many voters or people think this way.....probably way more oriented toward social, and other issues. In an ideal world I would definately be a.....LIBERTARIAN.
As to the markets, I have been hanging on to the green side so far this year. There has been a ton of noise out there. As usual, most of it is literally about nothing. Thinking back over the past couple of years, we made it through much, much more than expected. The market just flipped the bird to all of it and did it's own thing. Think about all of what investors endured during that span of time. Then think about how it turned out. I agree with what was stated way upthread about all of the attention the markets do get now. Many times it just seems to be too much information. However, I believe the market over time sorts through all of this nonsense. I believe it will in the future as well. Sometimes it takes longer than we may want and it frustrates us, but it still gives us our best chance at financial freedom and independence in the long run. Yes, there are corrections, crashes, unseen events, geo political events, and a whole list of over things. A lot of it is normal and occasionally we get slapped with something unexpected. Time moves on one way or another. Investors contribute more to their own angst about any of these things. Often even worse than the actual event.
I was lazy about looking at my account today....but I just did. I have eight of nine stocks up. The lager today is CMG. I have a nice BIG gain going with about 3.4 hours to go in the day and the week. Yesterday I was just below a half percent loss for YTD in my entire account. if the gains can hold today I will be back to a good gain for 2025 YTD. We need to string together some good days so I can build a bit of a cushion for the year gain and avoid some of this erratic daily..... gain/loss.....YTD figure for my account. BUT......what will be, will be. What it is, it is. It is not like I have any control over anything to do with the markets.
KILLER market today. I closed with eight of nine stocks positive....the only red one was CMG. I also beat the SP500 by 1.22% today. A great way to end the week.
Here is the week that was: DOW year to date +2.58% DOW five days +3.73% SP500 year to date +2.18% SP500 five days +3.71% NASDAQ 100 year to date +2.26% NASDAQ 100 five days +4.12% NASDAQ year to date +1.82% NASDAQ five days +3.85% RUSSELL year to date +2.03% RUSSELL five days +4.61% As for me.......last Friday I was at (-0.50%) year to date for my entire portfolio. Today I am at.....+1.46%....year to date for my entire portfolio. Looks like the DOW.....(GASP)...is in the lead. ONWARD AND UPWARD.
