KISS Investing in 2023

Please enjoy this updated version of weekly commentary from the Reitmeister Total Return newsletter. Steve Reitmeister is the CEO of StockNews.com and Editor of the Reitmeister Total Return.

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It been roughly 40 years since investors have been faced with high inflation as the cause of a recession and bear market. And yet we have been dealt 5 bear markets since that time.

The point being that the majority of today’s investors have either never seen inflation cause a recession… or it is so far back in the memory banks that they don’t know how to properly react to the information in hand.

This begs us to get back to KISS investing.

Instead of what it usually means: Keep It Simple Stupid

In 2023 we will go with: Keep Inflation Separate Stupid

The reason for this pearl of investing wisdom will be fully illuminated in this week’s Reitmeister Total Return commentary.

Market Commentary

There have been quite a few joyous bear market rallies this past year based on the notion that inflation was cooling…which would mean the Fed would pivot to more dovish policies soon… which eventually fell apart when the Fed dumped cold water on the situation.

I sense the same set up is taking place now coming into their February 1st rate hike decision and announcement. And that is why I continue to be bearish even as the S&P 500 (SPY) is flirting with a breakout above the long term trend like (aka 200 day moving average) @ 3,978.

Yes, one could say that we have closed above for 2 straight sessions. Yet hard to call it a breakout when the psychologically important 4,000 level looms large overhead. Until we break above that key hurdle, then the bears are still in control.

Back to the KISS theme: Keep Inflation Separate Stupid Continue reading "KISS Investing in 2023"

Are Stocks Stuck in a Trading Range til February?

Please enjoy this updated version of weekly commentary from the Reitmeister Total Return newsletter. Steve Reitmeister is the CEO of StockNews.com and Editor of the Reitmeister Total Return.

Click Here to learn more about Reitmeister Total Return


Stocks are likely going to be stuck in a trading range until the next Fed announcement on Wednesday February 1st.

Why?

Because investors have been burned many times before getting bullish in hopes of a Fed pivot that did not arrive.

So even with signs of moderating inflation providing a modest lift to stocks of late…there is a limit to the upside until investors hear from the Fed again. There is also limit to the downside. And this begets a trading range.

Let’s discuss the shape of the trading range and possible outcomes after the Fed announcement. All that and more is on tap for this week’s Reitmeister Total Return commentary.

Market Commentary

In many ways the trading range has already been in place for the past month flitting between 3,800 and 4,000 for the S&P 500.

And this is likely to stay in place as investors are fearful of reading the Fed tea leaves wrong as they have so many times this year. So even though there were welcome signs of moderating wage inflation (public enemy #1 to the Fed) there are enough whispers from the Fed that their job is far from done.

One such whisper from the Fed recently came from Atlanta Fed President, Ralph Bostic. During his speech he shared that interest rates will get above 5% and hold there for a while. He was then asked for how long would they remain elevated above 5% for which he stated emphatically. “three words: a long time”.

This harkens back to December 14th when the market was on the verge of a breakout above the 200 day moving average before Powell slammed the door on that notion. He too repeated the 3 word mantra (a long time) over and over again when discussing their plans for higher rates. Continue reading "Are Stocks Stuck in a Trading Range til February?"

Good Defense in a Bear Market

The S&P 500 slumped 19% in 2022, registering its biggest decline since 2008. Besides geopolitical turbulence and supply-chain disruptions, the market pullbacks were mostly driven by fears of a looming economic slowdown as an undesirable side-effect of the Federal Reserve’s fight against high inflation with aggressive interest rate hikes.

Since there is still a long way to go before inflation can be reined in to around the desired 2% mark, the central bank, by its own admission, is far from done with interest rate hikes. Hence, the market, subdued by the ever-increasing risk of a recession, is unlikely to stabilize anytime soon.

In fact, bearish sentiments have become so pervasive that the strengthening dollar has also been unable to offset the increasing luster of precious metals, such as gold. Such commodities are gaining popularity among market players as ballast during panic-driven market sell-offs and a time-tested hedge against a potential economic downturn.

Which factor will influence gold prices in 2023 the most?

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The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) is expected to offer downside protection. The fund is managed by Van Eck Associates Corporation. It offers exposure to some of the largest gold mining companies in the world.

Since gold mining stocks strongly correlate with prevailing gold prices, the ETF provides indirect exposure to gold prices.

Here are the factors that could influence GDX’s performance in the near term: Continue reading "Good Defense in a Bear Market"

A New Bull Market In Gold?

We continue to think precious metals are one of the best risk vs. reward opportunities right now.

Last week, we shared the Gold to $5K Report with you from our friends over at All Star Charts.

You can check it out here, in case you missed it. The report outlines all of the reasons why Gold could hit $5,000/oz. sooner than the crowd expects.

Today we want to reiterate that it's not just Gold that looks attractive here. Silver is also poised to move higher.

Gold and Silver Futures Chart

As you can see above, Gold & Silver are confirming one another by hitting 6-month highs together.

The current leg higher began a couple of months ago after both metals formed a failed breakdown at support. As you might know, failed breakdowns often lead to fast moves higher, and we're starting to see that play out.

Silver Futures Chart

When you zoom out and look at a long-term chart of Silver, you'll notice it's in the process of forming a massive Cup & Handle pattern that dates back to 1980.

The next long-term objective for Silver is around $50, which is the all-time highs from 1980/2011. That's more than 100% higher here!

Be sure to download this free report to learn how to profit from this potentially historic move.

Enjoy,
The INO.com Team

1 Energy Stock to Fuel Your Portfolio This Winter

Amid macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds, energy stocks have fared better than the broader market this year.

The war between Ukraine and Russia had led to a significant rise in prices of crude oil and natural gas as the world feared a shortage of these essential commodities with widespread sanctions on Russia, a major oil and gas producer. This led to investors’ focus shifting to energy stocks.

Oil and gas major TotalEnergies SE (TTE) has gained 29.8% in price year-to-date and 27% over the past year to close the last trading session at $63.13. Courbevoie, a France-based company, announced a solid third-quarter performance.

The company’s iGRP segment reported a record adjusted net operating income of $3.60 billion in the quarter, rising $1.10 billion sequentially, and cash flow of $2.70 billion, driven by increase in average LNG selling price.

TTE’s CEO Patrick Pouyanné said, “In a context marked by an average Brent price of $100/b and an increase in gas prices exacerbated by Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine, TotalEnergies leveraged its integrated model, particularly LNG, to generate results in line with previous quarters.”

TTE announced that it had obtained a 9.375% participating interest in the 16 million ton per annum (Mtpa) North Field South (NFS) LNG project in Qatar to fuel its growth further.

After combining its participating interest in North Field East (NFE) with NFS, TTE will add LNG production of 3.5 Mtpa to its worldwide LNG portfolio by 2028, which is in line with its goal to increase natural gas in its sales mix to 50% by 2030.

During the previous quarter, the company also announced that production had started at the Ikike field in Nigeria. The project is expected to deliver peak production of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of this year.

TTE also launched the Begonia project in Angola and the Fenix project in Argentina, which is expected to produce 10 million cubic meters per day of natural gas after the expected operations in early 2025.

Moreover, the company’s partner Eni announced in August that it had made a significant gas discovery in the Cronos-1 well in Cyprus, with initial estimates indicating 2.5 TCF of gas. Continue reading "1 Energy Stock to Fuel Your Portfolio This Winter"