The Watchdog on Wallstreet Weekly Recap for 1/30/23
Investors are smartening up! They are not selling out!
At Markowski Investments, I’m in the job of Investor education. Again, trying to cut through all the narratives, all the BS, despite the garbage being thrown at people and getting them to do stupid things. So when I see a story like this, it makes me happy. It truly does.
Americans resisted the temptation to sell. They did not spend their savings. They did not sell their 401Ks. This is the market falling. Inflation was high. Yet 90% of investors and their 401K plans are maintained or increased their savings rates in 2022. Nice job! And the trading came down. Perhaps they are getting smarter. Wise enough to recognize Wall Street BS.
GOOD NEWS: FANTASTIC JANUARY JOBS Numbers!
What great news we have today. The January Jobs report revealed 517,000 new jobs. In my opinion, don’t listen to the fools out there who are trying to spin this by saying it’s terrible and that they must react to it. You mean to tell me that more people returning to the labor force and competing for jobs is inflationary? How? Again, these are people who are not usually employers, such as myself.
You want to see more people return and get rid of all the quiet quitting nonsense that’s been going on. It’s fantastic for employers. If you examine wage inflation, you will notice that it is decreasing due to this. Think about this. With all of our problems in this country, we create over 500,000 jobs? Pretty darn good!
Jim Cramer’s Investment Advice: The Harsh Truth
So the Spectator did a piece about Jim Cramer and his track record. and how, if you decide to listen to his recommendations on his program, “Mad Money”. You’ve got two youths out there who have created investment vehicles which do the inverse of what Jim Cramer does, and they’re doing pretty well. Yeah, I talk about investment programming all the time, and many of the programs out there, including Kramer’s, need a disclaimer at the bottom. It is strictly for entertainment purposes. you get it? you don’t listen. you don’t make moves in your portfolio if you’re doing the right thing on this.
Charles Munger’s Thoughts on Crypto
Charlie Munger, the great. If I’m not mistaken, he just turned 100. And still working. He is still working at Berkshire Hathaway. He and Warren Buffett and continuing to prove all of the buy sell hold guys that are on TV that they’re full of it. He had an editorial in the Wall Street Journal today. and he questioned why America should completely ban crypto. In case you were unaware, China has already banned cryptocurrencies. China decided that there would be far more harm than good to come from this so they decided to ban crypto.
I understand what Charlie is saying as he describes how much of a shambles the whole thing is. However, for every scam that you stop, another one comes up. For thousands of years, people have been buying snake oil from salesmen.
Biden Vs McCarthy: The Truth
Take a look at this headline: “McCarthy meets for high-stakes debt showdown.” In the background, I got that ELO song playing there, “Headin’ for a Showdown”. Oh, and it gets even better! They’ll meet Wednesday for a high-stakes meeting amid tensions over what each man described as playing politics with the potential for economic disaster. They’ll have to strike a deal to keep the country from defaulting on its debt. Some Republicans support the proposal without the assurance of spending cuts. The White House will almost certainly not take hostages or negotiate the terms of the situation. It’s almost like a body highlight from a summer blockbuster here. This is the headline. This is malarkey. They’ve got nothing. This is a show. McCarthy does not know what he wants to cut, and his conference has nothing going on. Expect nothing, people!
What will the FED do next?!?!?!?
So, what were our fearless, but, in my opinion, clueless, Federal Reserve overlords up to next? I know. They do have a lot of expensive artwork on their walls. There’s no denying it. And I’m not referring to Picassos. I’m referring to diplomas. There are a lot of them, with a lot of degrees. Got into very expensive universities.
What do you think they lack? Have you ever looked at the resumes? They’ve never worked in a real job. Do you think that qualifier is necessary? You want to work for the Federal Reserve? Do you understand how the world works? Get out there and about? I don’t know, maybe flip a burger or two and come up with a marketing strategy or something. There are 400 or so economists at the Federal Reserve, and none of them has ever had a real job.
Why China will NEVER lead in Innovation
Simone Gao wrote a great piece in the Wall Street Journal about why China will never lead in technology. And again, we talked about this when it comes to the overreach of governments like China. China is a communist, socialist country, as is any other place that stifles creativity and innovation. How are they going to lead in any type of technology? Not only technology, but also art and music. You name it; you don’t want to be canceled. Unfortunately, this type of creep occurs in the United States. We need to return to being a nation that supports people who think differently.
Why retirees should still work
About eight years ago, I published a whitepaper. It’s known as the Retirement Crisis Whitepaper. In it, I discussed some of the things I’ve seen over the years regarding retirement—the issues that retirees face. And I actually presented an idea called the three-day work week. It’s like Thanksgiving week, right? As most people are not working on Thanksgiving, you have a three-day work week.
When we talk about inflation, we’re talking about the bare necessities. Now, inflation is with us in more ways than it was before. There is nothing wrong with returning to the workforce and working a day or two or more per week. In fact, doing so is beneficial. You’re going to live in a much more vibrant time. If you continue to contribute, you will be able to do more.
