I like this little article....in general....not as investing advice. For the Best Long-Term Bet in the AI Economy, Look to the Past AI isn’t the first game-changing technology for the economy. Here’s what investors can learn from previous waves of innovation. https://www.morningstar.com/funds/best-long-term-bet-ai-economy-look-past
Interesting.....I am surprised that we are seeing this right now. Although there is no discussion or reason given for this happening in the current market. Margin Debt at Record Highs https://www.apolloacademy.com/margin-debt-at-record-highs/
The EARLY markets today.....TGIF. Stocks bounce as oil eases slightly, but S&P 500 heads for third-straight losing week https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/12/stock-market-today-live-updates.html
The economic data today on jobs.....I dont trust this data at all and it is irrelevant to me as an investor. YES....no one cares. Job openings inched up in January, data shows https://finance.yahoo.com/news/job-openings-inched-up-in-january-data-shows-141624127.html
The OTHER data out today. Hindsight "stuff"......and we know from earnings that business was BOOMING. US economy expanded at sluggish 0.7% in fourth quarter, government says, downgrading first estimate https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-economy-expanded-sluggish-0-124253941.html Fourth-quarter GDP revised down to just 0.7% growth; January core inflation was 3.1% https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/13/fou...anuary-core-inflation-was-3point1percent.html
I start today with HOPE for the close.....and....four GREEN stocks.....COST, GOOGL, NVDA, and AMZN. We are still seeing all the big averages in the green about an hour into the day. I am hoping to make some progress in my YTD result.....especially if we can get a green close today.
In spite of a FLURRY of economic news......the markets are just drifting today. At least we are drifting in the green. One good thing about all the media attention on Iran and oil......the AI disruption BS has been driven out of the media. Without the constant negativity in the media about other topics....investors are able to endure the oil and Iran coverage.....and....see stocks stabilize and actually put up some green. AND....the coverage about Iran and oil....just background noise....at least for investors here in the USA.
We are now seeing weakness in the big averages at about 1.5 hours into the day. The typical mid morning....fade. NASDAQ is now slightly red. The REAL day starts from here.
IGNORE the short term markets. I was just looking at the results of one of the accounts that I manage. The account contains ALL the same stocks and investments that all my accounts contain. This particular account has a current LOSS....for 2026 YTD......of (-4.6%). BUT....expand the time span to.....ONE YEAR.....and the account is......STILL....+37%. So the question is.....do I care about just 2.5 months of market action? Of course.....the answer is NO. AND....if I extend the performance in that account to......TWO YEARS.....the return is approximately.....+70%. Looks pretty good to me.....as I ENDURE and IGNORE the short term BS. If you are starting to feel a little bit of doubt or panic to creep into your brain.......just look at how you are doing for one year, two years, three years and/or five years. For many of us this data will show that we are doing......JUST FINE.
I have not mentioned some of this in a long time. I have ZERO debt. A big help in retirement, investing, and life. We have not had a house payment since about 1986. I do use a primary credit card that gives me 2% cash back on all purchases. BUT...I pay it off every month....so I pay no interest. I choose to NOT live off a credit card for every little thing. We only charge larger items to get the cash back. In an average year we get about $2500 in cash back from our primary card and about $400 from a secondary card (American Express) that we only use for gas and groceries since we get 6% cash back on groceries and 3% on gas. My FICO score is.....820. I wonder...you guys that are outside the USA......a FICO score is a credit rating score....a credit rating. Do you have something similar outside the USA? AND....my credit has been LOCKED for about 20 years now. We rarely need to apply for anything....but when we do I simply unlock my credit for a brief time.
