Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Cats, Dogs, and Inflation

Last night's presidential debate... What was said and left unsaid... Inflation continues... The best advice you'll ever hear about Nvidia... Remembering 9/11...
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Last night's presidential debate... What was said and left unsaid... Inflation continues... The best advice you'll ever hear about Nvidia... Remembering 9/11...


Tax breaks. Tariffs against China. Immigration. People eating pets...

Last night's presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris covered all the major talking points. But as you can tell from that last one, it also got into others that are good for another street-corner debate...

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs," Trump said of a viral, alleged story of how immigrants are trying to survive in one Ohio city. "They're eating the cats... They're eating the pets of the people that live there."

That quote alone is enough to make you think. But the candidates also talked about some of the key issues heading into November's election – even if they gave few plausible, long-term solutions for our economic problems.

At today's open, as reviewers and pollsters suggested that Harris won last night's debate, the benchmark S&P 500 Index moved into the red. Eventually, though, it finished up 1%.

What was said and left unsaid...

The debate started, delightfully in subject, with a heavy crosstalk about the economy.

Harris wants Uncle Sam to help first-time homebuyers with $25,000 for a down payment (so they can go into debt). Starting a small business? That's good for a $50,000 tax deduction. And if you're having a baby, she proposes a $6,000 tax credit.

OK, ma'am, but who will pay for all that?

On the same subject, Trump doubled down on tariff policy for imports from China and the rest of the world – which he said doesn't cause inflation. Maybe it's more like passing the bill around and waiting for it to return.

In the end, I (Corey McLaughlin) learned one big thing from the debate...

Neither candidate gave any real answers. Rather, they both made promises and shared proposals to add more federal debt and keep ever-present inflation rumbling higher.

Regular readers will recognize the following chart. It shows that the U.S. government hasn't run at a surplus since 2001. And it has suffered losses of $1 trillion or more since 2019...

Between this chart and all the blather of the debate, we're only more convinced that nobody can protect and grow your wealth better than you. Both candidates made compelling cases for owning shares of high-quality stocks and other inflation hedges... without even saying it.

Instead, they too often directly served the American people with slick lines and misdirection about timelines of rises in inflation and falls in unemployment. And like I said, they also failed to clearly answer simple questions that shouldn't fool anyone.

Moving on to some hard data...

Inflation continues. But apparently, it's now at an acceptable pace for Wall Street.

This morning, the government released the consumer price index ("CPI") report for August. And it was in line with Wall Street expectations...

Year over year, the CPI was 2.5%. And month over month, the pace of this "official" inflation measure was 0.2%.

The monthly rate is considered "normal." And it's in line with the Federal Reserve's supposed 2% annual inflation target.

So, with the labor market simultaneously weakening, this data supports the case for a Fed interest-rate cut at the central bank's next policy meeting on September 17 and 18. The CPI report's lack of surprises also suggests a more tempered 25-basis-point rate cut.

Federal-funds futures traders lifted their odds on that outcome to 85% today. That's up from just above 50% a week ago.

This shift could ease some volatility in the week ahead. But it doesn't change the story of a weakening labor market and its consequences, recession risks, and on down the line.

The best advice you'll hear on Nvidia...

Lately, we've discussed "rotation" in the best-performing U.S. stocks.

For the past few months, the "S&P 493" has outperformed the most popular mega-cap tech names of the past two years – like chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA). Despite that outperformance, many of these Big Tech companies still have eye-popping valuations.

This brings up a good question...

How should a person think about buying or selling stocks like Nvidia today – or any that have gone on an incredible run already – with an uncertain future ahead?

Well, we can't give personalized advice. But we can share the thoughts of our editors.

In his free daily e-letter last Thursday, Stansberry's Investment Advisory lead editor Whitney Tilson published the best take – and practical strategies – about managing big winners like Nvidia that we've seen in a long time. (You can read the entire piece here.)

For starters, Whitney pointed out that this is a "high-class problem." By that, he means it's something we'd all like to worry about. After all, it would mean we're sitting on a big winner.

That said, managing big winners is a dilemma for a lot of folks (especially if that stock is trending lower). So Whitney offered up a way to think about solutions. As he wrote...

Keep in mind that there's no "right" answer – or a one-size-fits-all solution – here...

But if I had this high-class problem, I would want to let the stock run, but have a series of stop losses in place – let's say, starting with selling 20% of my position if the stock fell 20%. Then, if it dropped 30% from its peak, I could sell another 10%... down 40%, another 10%... and finally another 10% if the stock got cut in half.

On a related note...

Just yesterday, we reopened access to our terrific Quant Portfolio for a limited time.

Longtime readers know that this publication and tool puts the concepts Whitney discussed in his daily into action via a fully allocated portfolio for subscribers. And it's updated monthly.

You can claim access at 50% off the regular price right now. Plus, you'll get a host of bonuses for joining today.

Don't delay, though...

This special offer won't stay open for long. It expires at midnight Eastern time tonight. Get all the details here.

Never forget...

Finally, and most importantly today, I can never do anything on September 11 without remembering the events of this day in 2001.

I grew up outside New York City. And like so many others all over the country, I will never forget what happened. I have connections to the tragedy through family and friends – not to mention our own impressions.

My grandfather was a former fire chief. He retired before 2001. But folks like him and many he knew were just doing their job on 9/11 – as they do every day. As I wrote last year...

On this day every year, I think of the firefighters who ran toward the destruction at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan...

A total of 343 New York City firefighters died on September 11, 2001, as they tried to rescue innocent folks when the twin towers collapsed. And in the 22 years since then, 341 more firefighters or first responders have died from post-9/11-related illnesses...

On this day, I also always think of Welles Crowther, an equities trader at Sandler O'Neill and Partners in New York. The so-called "Man in the Red Bandana" was credited with saving more than a dozen lives while running into and out of one of the World Trade Center towers multiple times. He died when it collapsed. He was 24.

And I think of many others as well – most notably, the heroes aboard United Airlines Flight 93 who thwarted a third hijacked plane from possibly crashing into another symbol of America in Washington, D.C. (likely the Capitol building or White House).

Unfortunately, I also think of the terrorists, the geopolitics, and the security breakdowns that led to such horrific attacks on U.S. soil. I think of the two decades of war in Iraq and Afghanistan that followed. And I hope that enough people learned lessons from all that, too.

Never should anyone who sacrificed on 9/11, their family or friends, or anyone else be compelled to think what the heroes did that day was in vain.

Let us never forget what happened in New York City, Washington, and rural Pennsylvania.


Recommended Links:

MUST-SEE BY MIDNIGHT: 'This Is How I'd Invest $1 Million Today'

Legendary investor Whitney Tilson just posted a portfolio that includes four must-see stock picks. He isn't gambling on the next big breakthrough. He's using the Monte Carlo method to see which of 4,817 stocks could double your money in today's uncertain market. Click here to learn more, before it goes offline at midnight tonight.


'Wheels Are Falling Off' the U.S. Stock Market

Today, analyst Dan Ferris is back issuing a new warning. He says what's coming next to the U.S. economy could be much worse than anything he has predicted before. And this time, he says, "The trouble is coming straight for Nvidia and the AI market." Click here to see why.


New 52-week highs (as of 9/10/24): AbbVie (ABBV), Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Altius Renewable Royalties (ARR.TO), Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box Fund (BOXX), Clorox (CLX), Compass (COMP), Cintas (CTAS), Direxion Daily Real Estate Bull 3X Shares (DRN), Nuveen Preferred & Income Opportunities Fund (JPC), JPMorgan Chase – Series LL (JPM-PL), London Stock Exchange Group (LNSTY), NYLI CBRE Global Infrastructure Megatrends Term Fund (MEGI), Simplify MBS Fund (MTBA), Nuveen California Quality Municipal Income Fund (NAC), Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI), Oracle (ORCL), Procter & Gamble (PG), ResMed (RMD), Sherwin-Williams (SHW), iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond Fund (SHY), S&P Global (SPGI), Stryker (SYK), iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund (TLT), Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), Tyler Technologies (TYL), Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities (VTIP), Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU), and the short position in SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG).

In today's mailbag, a valid question stemming from last night's presidential debate. As always, send your notes to feedback@stansberryresearch.com.

"What an embarrassment that this is the best we can come up with... I turned it off halfway through.

"Our system is broken. The Democrats had essentially no primary to challenge the obviously declining president, and the candidate ends up being someone who never got a single vote. All non-Trump Republicans but one were gone after only one state voted.

"What ever happened to the people electing the politicians?" – Subscriber Ryan R.

All the best,

Corey McLaughlin
Baltimore, Maryland
September 11, 2024


Stansberry Research Top 10 Open Recommendations

Top 10 highest-returning open stock positions across all Stansberry Research portfolios. Returns represent the total return from the initial recommendation.

Investment Buy Date Return Publication Analyst
MSFT
Microsoft
11/11/10 1,363.4% Retirement Millionaire Doc
MSFT
Microsoft
02/10/12 1,320.5% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter
ADP
Automatic Data Processing
10/09/08 1,006.3% Extreme Value Ferris
WRB
W.R. Berkley
03/16/12 808.1% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter
BRK.B
Berkshire Hathaway
04/01/09 713.7% Retirement Millionaire Doc
HSY
Hershey
12/07/07 504.7% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter
AFG
American Financial
10/12/12 466.7% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter
TT
Trane Technologies
04/12/18 454.2% Retirement Millionaire Doc
TTD
The Trade Desk
10/17/19 379.6% Stansberry Innovations Report Engel
NVO
Novo Nordisk
12/05/19 371.1% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Gula

Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 10 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the model portfolio of any Stansberry Research publication. The buy date reflects when the editor recommended the investment in the listed publication, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if a security is still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber to that publication and refer to the most recent portfolio.


Top 10 Totals
5 Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter/Gula
3 Retirement Millionaire Doc
1 Extreme Value Ferris
1 Stansberry Innovations Report Engel

Top 5 Crypto Capital Open Recommendations

Top 5 highest-returning open positions in the Crypto Capital model portfolio

Investment Buy Date Return Publication Analyst
wstETH
Wrapped Staked Ethereum
12/07/18 2,291.8% Crypto Capital Wade
BTC/USD
Bitcoin
11/27/18 1,433.2% Crypto Capital Wade
ONE/USD
Harmony
12/16/19 1,124.5% Crypto Capital Wade
MATIC/USD
Polygon
02/25/21 722.0% Crypto Capital Wade
OPN
OPEN Ticketing Ecosystem
02/21/23 279.3% Crypto Capital Wade

Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 5 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the Crypto Capital model portfolio. The buy date reflects when the recommendation was made, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if it's still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber and refer to the most recent portfolio.


Stansberry Research Hall of Fame

Top 10 all-time, highest-returning closed positions across all Stansberry portfolios

Investment Symbol Duration Gain Publication Analyst
Nvidia^* NVDA 5.96 years 1,466% Venture Tech. Lashmet
Microsoft^ MSFT 12.74 years 1,185% Retirement Millionaire Doc
Inovio Pharma.^ INO 1.01 years 1,139% Venture Tech. Lashmet
Seabridge Gold^ SA 4.20 years 995% Sjug Conf. Sjuggerud
Nvidia^* NVDA 4.12 years 777% Venture Tech. Lashmet
Intellia Therapeutics NTLA 1.95 years 775% Amer. Moonshots Root
Rite Aid 8.5% bond 4.97 years 773% True Income Williams
PNC Warrants PNC-WS 6.16 years 706% True Wealth Systems Sjuggerud
Maxar Technologies^ MAXR 1.90 years 691% Venture Tech. Lashmet
Silvergate Capital SI 1.95 years 681% Amer. Moonshots Root

^ These gains occurred with a partial position in the respective stocks.
* The two partial positions in Nvidia were part of a single recommendation. Editor Dave Lashmet closed the first leg of the position in November 2016 for a gain of about 108%. Then, he closed the second leg in July 2020 for a 777% return. And finally, in May 2022, he booked a 1,466% return on the final leg. Subscribers who followed his advice on Nvidia could've recorded a total weighted average gain of more than 600%.


Stansberry Research Crypto Hall of Fame

Top 5 highest-returning closed positions in the Crypto Capital model portfolio

Investment Symbol Duration Gain Publication Analyst
Band Protocol BAND/USD 0.31 years 1,169% Crypto Capital Wade
Terra LUNA/USD 0.41 years 1,166% Crypto Capital Wade
Polymesh POLYX/USD 3.84 years 1,157% Crypto Capital Wade
Frontier FRONT/USD 0.09 years 979% Crypto Capital Wade
Binance Coin BNB/USD 1.78 years 963% Crypto Capital Wade

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