On this week's episode!

The S&P soars to new heights as Jerry Powell sets aside the age old mandate of managing inflation. 

Accepting into our hearts the notion that this rally is now seriously overbought, Robert, James & I all take the plunge and take out short positions to hedge against the bubble that may or may not burst. 

And Walmart, defying all reason, says it's also interested in Tik Tok. At this point, Delta could say they were interested in buying Tik Tok and it wouldn't surprise me.

Finally, we wonder aloud how we can get in on the greatest IPO of the age, Ant Financial. 

The S&P launches back to all time highs. WTF????

So in the scheme of stock market history, March 2020 just looks like December 2018? As the world falls apart from pandemic, American democracy lives in the shade and wildfires engulf California, Rich White Men say...we good. 

A familiar itch to short the S&P returns, but are we emotionally ready to go there?

To boot, existing home sales surged by ~25% in July as Americans look around and say, I'm sick of living in this shit hole. See me and Robert. Thus, NAIL continues to nail it!

And renewables see their moment in the sun as clean energy bulls bet on a Joe Biden presidency. 

Greg makes the prediction of the year. One that might end the American Republic as we know it. And with it, the Federally subsidized American stock market rally of a thousand years. 

In more prosaic news, gaming darling Fortnite rebels against the mobile app duopoly of Google and Apple. In retaliation, both empires yank Fortnite from their app stores as the battle over toll house fees rages on. 

Trumpus starts messing with Chinese tech, moving for the ejection of TikTok and Tencent from these shores. 

Microsoft angles for the American branch of TikTok, hoping to diversify into social media.

And Tencent shares get pummeled on Friday. 

James finally reclaims 2020 with EDIT and PLUG soaring, proving that the Catchy Stock Ticker strategy is unassailable. 

And Robert exits Facebook and Gold.

Congressional grandstanding comes to Zoom, as the robber barons of tech attend a conference call about their staggering wealth and power.

The result? Nothing. 

Followed by a resounding success in their subsequent earnings calls, catapulting Amazon, Facebook & Apple to new highs. And cementing even further the rally of unregulated tech monopolies that has characterized the post COVID bull market. 

We are now touching earnings multiples not seen since the tech bubble of 2001. But this one shows no signs of bursting as yet.

On this week's episode!

Like the ancient King Solomon, attention turns to Silver and Gold as both minerals soar. Gold scratched a new record not seen since 2011. What gives? Risk off? Nervousness about inflation?

The modest pull-back in tech continues, as the NASDAQ clocks another week of declines. 

James finds joy on Taiwan SemiConductor TSM. 

And perennial underperformer Twitter gets some lift from chatter around it's subscription model. 

The markets muster on, mostly, as the FOMO rally of the ages continues.However the Nasdaq lost some steam, with flagship Netflix lowering it's guidance and getting walloped on Friday.

What do we make of Netflix's dual CEO consulship thingy? Reed Hastings has proven immeasurable Value over Sock in the past. Will this pull the luster out of their darling rise?

And is the bubble in tech starting to cool off somewhat?

Furthermore, Chinese markets pull back as the People's Republic encourages restraint. What happened to the jealous villagers?

The Golden Cross arriveth, after the S&P 50-day moving average crosses the 200-day moving average. Historically, this means the end of a Bear Market (if we can call the last 4 months such a thing). But in the context of the Fed's balance sheet, does this mean anything? Probably not...

The People's Republic of China returns to Pump and Dump, exhorting its citizens to stop saving and start buying stock. But, responsibly of course. What does this mean? If the past is any indication...a quick buck perhaps before a precipitous crash. 

The rally of a thousand years for tech continues, punctuated by a smug Elon Musk and Tesla scratching $1,500. We re-open the case for and against Telsa. 

And finally, we discuss the merits of going way long on the genomic revolution (see ARKG ETF), among other sectors. Dovetailing into Catherine Wood's philosophy of disruptive innovation in value investing. 

Greg is back in the market! And he picked the worst possible week. Aside from eating dust on some European and Emerging Market ETFs, he had a moment in the sun with PLUG. 

Meanwhile, Bobby remains the LeBron James of day trading, doubling his money on PLUG options. 

The markets took to wavering again this week as the United States extends it's epic losing streak on top of COVID mountain. Cases are on the rise, and the prospect of a 2nd wave puts the fabled V-shaped recovery in the shade. 

Now a purported 73% of economists are predicting a "Reverse Radical" recovery, where a sharp decline is followed by a partial rebound and slow recovery that hangs below pre-COVID GDP. This compares to 15% in favor of a swoosh and 9% in favor of a U. 

But do not be fooled, while the Fed did not expand its balance sheet this week, their interventions are propping up asset prices, putting support for the S&P at ~2,950.

THIS WEEK!

We bring back the Degenerate Champion of the Week: Markus Braun, CEO of the doomed Wirecard.

Under the gloss of high Fintech, Markus manufactured $2 Billion of non-existent credit facilities in the Philippines that, well, never existed.

AND in the markets?

Broadly, US equities rebounded as Jerry the Bear continues to assure the markets that Fed interventions will encompass individual corporate bonds, signaling that the S&P is range bound.

Leading Greg to ask James. Where can we find cheaper alternatives than the historically expensive US stock market? He suggests a few areas where cheap takes might be found, over a 5-10 year investment horizon, including Brazil, Mexico, the UK & European Financials.

Which merits the question, is this the time for Emerging Markets to emerge?