Should You Own Cryptocurrency?

Posted on by Wayne Burritt

The short answer: Yes.

I’ll get to the reasons why it should be a part of just about every investor’s portfolio in just a moment.

I’ll also get into why, if you do take the plunge into crypto, do so gingerly.

But before we get started, take a look at the first three installments in this multi-part series about blockchain and cryptocurrency. We talked about why they’re so important, what they’re all about, and what they really mean to you.

Feel free to take a look at these when you get a sec. But they’re not needed to get a deep understanding into what we’ll talk about today.

So, let’s get to it. Here are just a few reasons to own cryptocurrency... Continue reading "Should You Own Cryptocurrency?" →

Texas Freeze Impacts Crude Oil Production

Posted on by Robert Boslego

The Energy Information Administration reported that February crude oil production fell by 1.197 million barrels per day, averaging 9.862 mmbd. This follows a dip of 42,000 b/d in January. The freeze in Texas accounted for the majority of the downturn. The February 914 figure compares to the EIA’s weekly estimates (interpolated) of 10.368 mmbd, a figure that was 506,000 higher than the actual 914 monthly estimate.

Monthly US Crude Oil Production

Drops in production were experienced in Texas (836,000), New Mexico (105,000), Oklahoma (98,000), North Dakota (82,000 b/d), and lesser amounts in many states.

Given the huge reduction last May, production dropped by 2.884 mmb/d over the past 12 months. This number only includes crude oil. Continue reading "Texas Freeze Impacts Crude Oil Production" →

Transportation Index Continues To Grind Higher

Posted on by Chris Vermeulen

If the face of last week’s sideways price action and almost in a rebellious manner today (May 4, 2021), the Transportation Index is moving higher while the US major indexes are all broadly lower. VIX has shot up over 20 again (over +13% higher) and the NASDAQ is off by more than 300 points (-2.75%) as I write this article. Yet, the Transportation Index is bucking the trends and trading higher.

What does it mean when the Transportation Index bucks the major index trends?

My team and I have often highlighted the Transportation Index in our past research article. The reason we watch this index so closely is that it tends to lead market trends by at least 30 to 60 days. In short, the Transportation Index is a measure of future expectations related to freight, shipping, transportation, and the movement of goods and commodities across the US and across the globe.

When an economy contracts, the Transportation Index will likely follow major indexes lower as future expectations related to economic activity contract. When a recession or deep price correction happens, the Transportation Index usually moves sharply lower as the sudden shock of an unexpected economic contagion vastly alters future economic expectations. But generally, the Transportation Index tends to front-run economic expectations. Continue reading "Transportation Index Continues To Grind Higher" →

How To Fight Inflation With ETFs

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Many market participants, including the Federal Reserve Board members, believe that inflation is coming. The questions at this point we would love to have answers to are, how bad will it be, will the Fed be able to control it, and how long will we experience a period of high inflation.

For years, the Federal Reserve has told us they wanted to see 2% or higher inflation, and for years we were below their benchmark goal. The Covid-19 Pandemic stimulus packages, combined with very low-interest rates and the low supply of material and goods due to Covid-19 shutdowns and the belief that demand would be weak following the shutdowns, we see prices from homes to cars to toys to obviously wood and other commodities sky-rocket.

So, it's easy to see that inflation is finally here, after years of the Fed trying to get it to move higher. But, now that it is here and it's clear the Fed had very little to do with it moving higher does anyone really have control of it? If no one does, then it could go much higher than most economists would like it to go, and it could stay that way for longer than most people would want it to? Continue reading "How To Fight Inflation With ETFs" →

Dollar, Gold And Silver: The Market Takes A Break

Posted on by Aibek Burabayev

The market does not move in a straight line. I anticipated a correction to start in the U.S. dollar index (DXY) as it moved down too far without a break, and it came at the end of last week. Traders decided to book some profit ahead of a weekend, pushing the price of the dollar higher.

U.S. Dollar Index Daily Chart

I highlighted the possible retracement area between 38.2% and 61.8% Fibonacci levels with the orange rectangle within the 91.60 - 92.30 range. The dollar nears the first resistance. The top of the rectangle is very close to the trendline resistance, making it a fortified barrier. Continue reading "Dollar, Gold And Silver: The Market Takes A Break" →