2022 Starts Off With A Thud

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Well, 2022 didn't start the way a lot of traders had hoped, I imagine. Stocks fell on Friday to end a rough first trading week of the year, as rising interest rates battered tech shares. The NASDAQ dropped -0.96% to close at 14,935.90. The S&P 500 fell -0.41% to 4,677.03, and the DOW lost 4.81 points or -0.01% to close at 36,231.66.

On a weekly level, the NASDAQ posted its worst week since February 2021, down -4.53% in the first five trading days of 2022. The S&P 500 was off by -1.8%, while the DOW lost only -0.29% as traders rotated out of tech and into some value stocks amid the rising rates. Continue reading "2022 Starts Off With A Thud" →

Bitcoin 2022 Price: $113,972!

Posted on by Wayne Burritt

While I’m not in love with price predictions, when I figured out a reasonable 2022 target for Ethereum (ETH), I have to admit I kinda enjoyed it.

So, I figured, why not kick off our first installment of 2022 with a bold prediction of where we think the price of Bitcoin (BTC) is headed over the next 12 months?

For this exercise, we'll ignore the fundamental factors that are in play behind these price movements. Instead, we'll just look at some charts, do a little math, and see where our BTC prediction journey leads us.

So, let's get started! Continue reading "Bitcoin 2022 Price: $113,972!" →

My Top Sector For 2022 And Beyond

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been a number of supply chain and global shortages of different products. But one industry had a shortage of their product not only because of the pandemic-related supply chain problems but because of the rapid increase in demand for the product. More so, the product is seeing demand increases in not just one or two industries in which it serves. Still, nearly every single industry and these products are such items that you and I use literally countless times every single day.

Have you figured out the industry that I am talking about is semiconductors?

The global chip shortage has affected more than just computer sales, but vehicle sales, kitchen appliances, and much more due to a number of different factors that all hit the industry with demand, much around the same time. For example, the auto industry began increasing demand for chips due to more smart driving vehicles and even driverless technologies being options in new cars hitting the market. Kitchen appliances are also demanding more chips due to the "internet of things" movement, which now has nearly every device and appliance in our homes connected to the internet. We now not only have smartphones but smart refrigerators and ovens. Continue reading "My Top Sector For 2022 And Beyond" →

2022 Financials Outlook

Posted on by Noah Kiedrowski

2021 Tailwinds

The big banks have benefited from a confluence of a rising interest rate environment, post-pandemic economic rebound, financially strong balance sheets, a robust housing market, and the easy passage of annual stress tests. Earnings season kicks off in January for all the major financials. The most recent earnings reports from the core financials such as Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and Goldman Sachs (GS) all reported very strong quarters with stock prices breaking out to all-time highs prior to the Q4 overall market turbulence. The biggest banks, by assets, posted profit and revenue that beat expectations. These results came on the heels of booming Wall Street deals and the release of funds previously earmarked for pandemic-related defaults. The big bank cohort is in a sweet spot of a post-pandemic consumer, with rising rates and balance sheets to support expanded share buybacks and dividend increases. These stocks are inexpensive and stand to capitalize on all these tailwinds heading into 2022.

Resilient Consumer

The pandemic has been going on for two-plus years, and the big banks have navigated the coronavirus volatility over this stretch. Throughout the rolling pandemic, the consumer has been resilient, and the potential worst-case financial downsides did not materialize (i.e., massive loan defaults). In addition, the consumer has been strong in retail, housing, autos and the overall holiday spending was robust.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan stated that whether it was a return to loan growth, credit-card signups, or economic indicators like unemployment levels, the company was back in expansion mode. "The pre-pandemic, organic growth machine has kicked back in," "You see that this quarter, and it's evident across all our lines of business." Loan balances at BAC increased 9% on an annualized basis from the second quarter, driven by strength in commercial loans, the company said. Continue reading "2022 Financials Outlook" →

Top Cryptos vs. Bitcoin In 2021

Posted on by Aibek Burabayev

2021 is done, and we can check the performance of top cryptocurrencies compared with the main coin for the past year. I promised to build this leaderboard in my earlier post where I compared fiat currencies with gold.

The crypto universe repeatedly extends as new coins and tokens appear in the arena one by one. I put the top ten largest cryptocurrencies by the market cap against Bitcoin in this post. I skipped stablecoins and Shiba Inu coin as the latter has less than one year of history.

Bitcoin vs. Crypto
Diagram by Aibek Burabayev; data source: Binance

It was a good year for Bitcoin, gaining almost 60% against the U.S. dollar in 2021. However, in its own digital universe, it was the loser to all top cryptocurrencies, as you can see in the comparison above.

Let's check the top three leaders. Continue reading "Top Cryptos vs. Bitcoin In 2021" →