As an investor, you never want to put all your investment eggs in one basket. In addition to investing in stocks, bonds, currencies, precious metals,  investing in commodities can provide yet another avenue to diversify one’s portfolio. Unfortunately, many investors overlook the opportunities available to them in commodities. There are several ways to invest in commodities, which are raw materials that are either used directly, such as food, or indirectly to produce another product.

If we look at the recent situation where the Covid lockdowns forced oil prices down to below $0 for a brief period of time. Savvy investors at the time took advantage of those once inn a lifetime global crisis to invest in oil and reaped massive gains as the global economy started to recover and the price of oil went from $0 to over $100.

You can invest in commodities in several different ways including by purchasing physical goods, such as gold, or by purchasing ETFs that track specific commodity indexes. You can also buy stocks of commodity-related businesses such as oil and gas producers or miners of base metals such as copper, zinc, nickel, ore, etc..

Some  of the most traded commodities are:

  • Oil
  • Natural gas
  • Metals
  • Corn
  • Wheat
  • Soybeans
  • Cattle
  • Hogs
  • Lumber

Commodity industries are all about supply and demand. In any individual commodity industry, the product is largely the same. Wheat is wheat, cattle are cattle. Because of this, producers are all price-takers and in normal times are not able to dictate prices. Many commodity industries are prime examples of what’s called perfectly competitive industries, with many buyers demanding an undifferentiated product and suppliers unable to offer differentiated products.

Here are some keys to think about when considering investing in commodities:

  • Investing in commodities can provide investors with diversification, a hedge against inflation, and excess positive returns.
  • Investors may experience volatility when their investments track a single commodity or one sector of the economy.
  • Supply, demand, and geopolitics all affect commodity prices.
  • Investors can trade commodity-based futures, stocks, ETFs, or mutual funds, or they can hold physical commodities such as gold bullion.

For all the latest blog articles click here

Election Month Market Moves: Setting the Stage for 2025

/in , /by

November 2024 brought a whirlwind of market activity following the Trump election, with standout performances setting the tone for what could be the next big trading themes. Here’s a condensed look back—and some thoughts moving forward.

Market Highlights Post-Election

  • Explosive Gains: Ethereum (+49%), Bitcoin (+42%), natural gas (+26%), cloud storage (SKYY) (+17%),  broker-dealers (IAI) (+16%), and software (IGV) (+15%), stole the show.

  • Broad Rally: Oil and gas (XOP), financials (XLF), the Russell 2000 (+11%), and internet stocks (FDN) (+10%) showed strong follow-through.

  • Trading Targets: These sectors could lead the next wave of performance—we want to keep an eye on the frontrunners.

Trump-Era Market Signals

  • VIX Decline: A drop from $23 to $13.70 eased market fears, clearing the way for equity gains.

  •  Sector Laggards: Cannabis stocks (MSOS, -37%) and solar energy (TAN, -9%) faced heavy losses amid Trump’s pro-energy, anti-renewables stance.

Key Risks and Observations

  • Semiconductors are a source of concern: Semi ETF  SMH up 50% YTD but was down ~9% in November.

The Playbook

  • Trump Trade Momentum: Bitcoin (IBIT), software (IGV), S&P 500 (SPY), financials (XLF), broker-dealers (IAI), cloud storage (SKYY), and consumer discretionary stocks are leaders who we need to keep watching.
  • Tactical Approach: Wait for pullbacks, manage risk, and position for continued strength into 2025.

The market has identified its current leaders. As the Santa Claus rally approaches, expect continued momentum, but post-inauguration, market euphoria may cool off. That pull back could present a good buying opportunity.

Stay tuned!

Week ending November 1, 2024: Key Market Highlights

/in , , /by

The S&P 500 drop: Key points on the chart are the breaking of the ‘rising wedge’ pattern (red & green dashed lines), and the testing of the 50-DMA (blue line). The 100-DMA (red wavy line) at 5592  would be the next key technical support level.

Volatility Risk: The past 12 months have delivered some of the strongest risk-adjusted returns in market history. However, volatility is now on the rise, driven by the increasing likelihood of a fiercely contested presidential election. In today’s polarized political landscape, this is far from a remote possibility.

Election Showdown: One way to gauge market sentiment on the US election outcome is by tracking the action on Trump’s media stock. From May to late September, investors were unloading the stock. Then, momentum shifted dramatically as buying surged—only to taper off about a week ago. This pattern suggests a razor-thin race, with Harris picking up momentum as election day approaches.

Investor optimism hits record high: The Conference Board surveys respondents on whether they believe stocks will rise or fall, and the current bullish sentiment has reached its highest level since the survey’s inception in 1986. What could go wrong?

Oil prices spike with escalating tensions: Oil prices climbed at the week’s end, fueled by rising tensions in the Middle East. Reports suggesting that Iran might be preparing a major attack on Israel have sparked concerns over potential disruptions to the region’s oil supply.

Market insights: The biggest relief about the US election may simply be that it will eventually conclude. Yet, the process could stretch for weeks, with disputes over vote counts and tactics adding to potential chaos. While we don’t anticipate a lasting impact on the market, the uncertainty is likely to drive short-term volatility and speculative losses. The best ‘election trade’ might be patience: staying focused on long-term fundamentals rather than getting swept up in the noise. In time, the distraction will fade, and attention will shift back to what truly matters.

Special Offer Extended: Due to popular demand, we’ve extended our offer to upgrade to a full Trend Letter subscription! Get 33% off now through this weekend—offer ends Sunday, November 3/24 at midnight. What are you waiting for?!

Special Off - 33% Discount

This Week’s Key Market Highlights:

/in , , , , , /by

October 25, 2024:

The S&P 500 dip:  The first weekly decline after six gains suggests a potential bounce next week, though election volatility could bring market jitters, especially if results are delayed.

US Election Countdown: With just 10 days until the election, markets leaning toward a Trump victory due to his pro-deregulation stance, seen as favorable for business.

Rising Bond Yields: Concerns about persistent inflation are pushing bond yields higher, limiting room for Fed rate cuts. The Bank of Canada cut rates by 50 bps to 3.75%, and the ECB by 25 bps to 3.4%, contrasting with the Fed’s 5%.

Rising Mortgage Rates: Contrary to expectations, mortgage rates are rising, tracking higher bond yields despite the Fed’s September rate cut.

US Dollar Surge: Up 4% since late September, the dollar’s strength reflects robust US economic data, solidifying it as the “least ugly” currency in uncertain times.

Canadian Dollar Weakness: As the Bank of Canada cuts more aggressively, the loonie falters amid Canada’s weaker economic outlook.

Homebuilder Setbacks: Rising mortgage rates weigh on homebuilder stocks.

Gold Near Highs: Gold is nearing new highs with its RSI around 70 (bottom of chart), signaling potential overbought conditions and a possible pullback.

Market Insights: Bullish trends continue, but election uncertainty looms. A clear election outcome may trigger a ‘sell the fact’ reaction.

Special Offer: Upgrade to a full Trend Letter subscription this weekend at 33% off—offer ends Sunday, October 27 at midnight.

Special Offers - 33% Discounts

Why the Bond Market Fears Inflation Despite Fed Rate Cut?

/in , , , , /by

Why Retail Investors Should Pay Attention to the Bond Market

Many retail investors overlook the bond market, dismissing it as too complex or less exciting than stocks. However, bonds hold the key to understanding broader economic trends, especially interest rate movements. Ignoring them means missing out on critical insights that could enhance your investment decisions

The Unexpected Rise in Long-Term Rates

On September 18, 2024, the US Federal Reserve announced a significant 50-basis-point rate cut, the first since July 2023. Typically, rate cuts are designed to lower borrowing costs, leading to a drop in bond yields. However, this time, the opposite happened—interest rates on 10-year bonds went up, not down. So, why are these longer-term rates rising?

The impact was also felt in the real estate sector. The 30-year US mortgage rate jumped back to 6.69%, a surprise to many who expected lower mortgage rates following the Fed’s rate cut. This spike has left homeowners and real estate professionals rethinking their expectations.

Why Inflation Expectations Are Rising

To understand why bond yields and mortgage rates are rising, we need to look at the underlying factors driving these movements. One major reason is long-term inflation expectations. While the Fed may believe inflation is under control, the bond market seems to think otherwise. One of the key reasons why is related to soaring government deficits:

  1. Reckless Government Spending: The US government’s increasing debt levels mean more bonds are issued, leading to a flood of new supply.
  2. Replacing Maturing Bonds: New bonds must be issued to replace those that are maturing, adding more supply.
  3. Funding New Debt: Continued high levels of government spending require new bonds to finance the debt, driving yields higher as investors demand more to take on increased risk.

Since the debt ceiling was suspended on June 2, 2023, the US has added a whopping $4.3 trillion to its debt total, with national debt fast approaching $36 trillion. To put it into perspective, the $600 billion increase over the last two months is nearly three times the annual budget of NASA.

Navigating the Current Investment Landscape

Clearly, the bond market is sending a warning signal: inflation is not as controlled as we might like to believe, and expectations are that it will continue to rise. As inflation erodes the purchasing power of the dollar, many investors are turning to alternative assets like gold and Bitcoin.  Gold closed at a new all-time high today.

These assets offer a limited supply, making them less susceptible to devaluation. Unlike paper dollars, governments cannot print new gold or bitcoins out of thin air, which is why they remain popular as inflation hedges.

 Why You Should Stay Informed

Our team at the Trend Letter has been monitoring these developments closely. We’ve been publishing insights for over 22 years, helping our subscribers stay ahead of market shifts with timely alerts and data-driven analysis. Our models have consistently alerted us to key changes in the market, and our current portfolio is up 39% this year.

We provide our subscribers with weekly reports every Sunday evening, covering all major sectors, key events and trends to watch, including:

  • The effects on the markets of the upcoming US election
  • Central bank actions
  • Inflation trends
  • Potential recession risks
  • Seasonal market movements

Special Subscription Offer

Our subscribers don’t just read market updates—they gain exclusive insights that help them navigate complex financial landscapes. Subscribe now to get expert analysis, weekly updates, and timely alerts straight to your inbox. We’re offering a Special Discount of 33% off all our services, with even greater savings when you bundle two or more.

Our goal is to keep you informed and prepared for any market scenario. Join our community of savvy investors and stay on top of the trends that matter most.

Click button below to view our special offers and join now.

Special Offers 33% Discount

Stay tuned!

This Week’s Trends & Market Highlights

/in , , , , /by

October 18, 2024 Key Market Highlights This Week:

Gold reaches a new all-time high despite rising interest rates and a stronger U.S. dollar, driven by surging national debt.

The S&P 500 breaks through to a new record high, signaling strong market momentum.

Uranium stocks ratchet higher, fueled by increasing demand for energy, especially from AI data centers.

Semiconductors roaring  back, with Nvidia testing new all-time highs.

Market Insights: We’re witnessing a broad-based bull market across multiple sectors, even as bond yields rise and economic indicators fluctuate. Look out for a comprehensive update in this Sunday’s issue of the Trend Letter.

Special Offer: As a free subscriber, you can now upgrade to the full Trend Letter subscription at a 33% discount this weekend. Don’t miss out—click below to take advantage of this special offer.

Special Offer - 33%+ Discounts

 

This Week in Money Interview

/in , , , , , /by

Martin did his monthly interview with Jim Goddard on the This Week in Money show. Topics discussed were:

  • Stock market trends
  • Gold coming into seasonal strength
  • Have geopolitical events been priced into oil?
  • Why has the $US been rising, especially given the Fed just made a deep rate cut?
  • The Fed says its not worried about inflation anymore, should they be?
  • There is a lot of mainstream media talk about a Soft vs Hard landing. What does it mean and how should investors prepare for either scenario?
  • The Fed cut rate 50-bps, and now the long bond yields are rising, which seems counterintuitive. Why is that happening?
  • The Shanghai stock exchange had wild swings in the past week, what is happening there?
The other guests on the show—Ross Clark, Victor Adair, and Josef Schachter also offer sharp perspectives on the current market landscape. Tune in!

Click here to listen.

“Fueling Success: Exploring Explosive Investment Opportunities in Energy”

/in , /by

Martin re-recorded his presentation from the World Outlook Financial Conference in Vancouver on February 2/3, 2024. In the presentation he outlines key energy sources and gives 12 stocks for investors to consider in the natural gas, uranium, and oil sectors.

Market Notes – September 1/23

/in , , , , /by

Some investment news for those looking to invest in gold, invest in stocks, or currencies, and commodities.

Each week the Trend Letter, displays weekly heat map of the S&P 500. It is a great visual of the equity market that holds stocks many North Americans own. Each of the 500 stocks is shown in a box, & the size of the box represents its market valuation, and the colour of each box tells you how that stock did, GREENS being gains & REDS being losses.

As we can see, for the week, big tech stocks led the way higher. There was also a lot of green throughout most other  sectors, with utilities and healthcare being the main exceptions.

On the daily heatmap a bit of a different story, with some big tech in red.

Looking at the BIG picture, the S&P 500 is still solidly in a long-term uptrend channel, since 2009. If we were to test the initial support level  of that long-term uptrend channel, we would see a correction to the 4000 level, which would be a ~11% decline  from the current 4500 range

Based on seasonality, September is the weakest month for the S&P 500.

If we do get a decent correction in September, it could provide a good buying opportunity. Sectors that have looked good are oil, uranium, tech, gold, base materials and even cannibals cannabis, what with US health dept urging the DEA to relax restrictions. We will see if these will remain strong after Labour Day, or if the negative September seasonals take over.

What we do at Trend Letter is track those key support & resistance levels, looking for changes in trend, and then and alert subscribers when trends change.

In Martin’s interview with Jim Goddard on This Week in Money on Friday (interview start at 44:39), he promised to show the chart below. If we look at the last number of times the Fed CUT rates recently, so 2000, 2007 and 2020…each time was driven by the economy falling into a recession (grey shaded bars). And when they CUT rates (red arrows) the S&P 500 had sharp declines. In each of those CUTTING phases it was not until the Fed STOPPED cutting rates that the S&P 500 started to recover (green arrows).

For those investing in gold, the key numbers are::

  • Near-term resistance is 2000, 2040, then 2070, which was that double top in April-May
  • Next key support level is 1915, 1900, 1880, then & really strong support at 1825
  • If it does drop to 1825, that would likely trigger several new BUY alerts

In Martin’s interview with Jim Goddard, he explained why he still feels a recession is very possible. He outlined the two key leading indicators, the inverted yield curve and the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI).  Both of these have an almost perfect record in forecasting recessions. Both are forecasting a recession coming soon.

A yield curve is inverted when short-term yields are higher than long-term yields. An inverted yield curve is a leading indicator of a recession and since 1955 (68 years), there has been only one time where the yield curve inverted without there being a recession.Recently, the yield curve is the most inverted it has been in over 40 years. Recessions don’t start when the yield curve inverts, but rather when it starts to ‘uninvert’ (red arrows).

This chart clearly shows that for each of the last 6 recessions, they all started after the yield started to rise. Today, the yield curve is starting to ’uninvert’ (circle).

The other indicator with a near perfect record of forecasting a recession is the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index, which looks at 10 components across the US economy. That index, again in its latest report last week, is firmly saying a recession is coming.

 

Oil has had a great week after dropping down to the 80.00 level, it has rallied big time this week, and closed Friday at 85.55.  The big bump this week came after a massive 11.5 million barrel drawdown in US crude inventories. Also, we have the Saudi Arabia production falling and they, plus potentially Russia, are expected to extend the production cuts into the end of October.

Stay tuned!

We are offering discounted prices for our three services and with each new subscription this week, we will donate $100 to Special Olympics.  See Special Offers below.

 Trend Letter:
Since start-up in 2002 Trend Letter has provided investors with a great track record, giving exceptionally accurate information about where the markets are going, and it has explained in clear, concise language the reasons why. Using unique and comprehensive tools, Trend Letter gives investors a true edge in understanding current market conditions and shows investors how to generate and retain wealth in today’s climate of extreme market volatility.

A weekly publication covering global bonds, currencies, equities, commodities, & precious metals. Publishes every Sunday evening, covers equites, currencies, precious metals, commodities, and bonds. Each weekly issue is about 50 pages, mostly charts, with key bullet points to make easy to understand. A 10-15 min read

Timer Digest says: “Trend Letter has been a Timer Digest top performer in our Bond and Gold categories, along with competitive performance for the intermediate-term Stock category.”

Technical Trader:
Trend Technical Trader (TTT) is a premier hedging service, designed to profit in both up and down markets.

Our hedging strategy empowered  TTT subscribers to not only protect wealth from serious losses during markets crashes, it allowed them to be positioned to make significant gains as markets crashed.

TTT isn’t just a hedging service.  Its timing strategies have returned fantastic gains on the long side. See examples here

Included is our proprietary Gold Technical Indicator (GTI).

Trend Disruptors:
Disruptive technology trends will propel our future and the reality is that no industry will go untouched by this digital transformation. At the root of this transformation is the blurring of boundaries between the physical and virtual worlds. As digital business integrates these worlds through emerging and strategic technologies, entirely new business models are created.

Trend Disruptors is a service for investors seeking to invest in advanced, often unproven technology stocks on the cheap, with the objective to sell them when masses finally catch on. Covering Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), 5G, Quantum Computing & many more.

All subscriptions in $US

Special Offers

ServiceRegular PriceSpecial PriceSavingSubscribe
Trend Letter$599.95$349.95$250Trend Letter $349.95
Technical Trader$649.95$349.95$300 Trend Technical Trader $349.95
Trend Disruptors$599.95$349.95$250 Trend Disruptors $349.95
Better Deals
Trend Letter + Technical Trader$1,249.90$549.95$699.95 Trend Letter & Technical Trader $549.95
Trend Letter + Trend Disruptors$1,199.90$549.95$649.95 Trend Letter & Trend Disruptors $549.95
Technical Trader + Trend Disruptors$1,249.90$549.95$699.95 Technical Trader & Trend Disruptors $549.95
Best Deal
Trend Suite: Trend Letter + Technical Trader + Trend Disruptors$1,849.85$649.95$1,199.90 Trend Suite: TL + TTT + TD $649.95
Market Notes

Market Notes – June 17/22

/in , , , /by

For those wanting to jump in and ‘buy the dip’ be mindful of our constant warnings that ‘bear market rallies typically fail to make new highs, and instead often make new lows.’

According to Bank of America ‘The average peak to trough bear decline = 37.3%, average duration 289 days; history is no guide to future performance but if it were, today’s bear market would end on Oct 19, 2022 (35-year anniversary of Black Monday) with S&P 500 at 3000.‘

The S&P 500 has dropped through the 38% fibonacci retracement level at 3838 and is approaching the 50% retracement at 3534.

A few months ago we targeted mid-year as a potential top for commodities. We are seeing food, lumber, even gasoline and oil coming down this week. Could the top be in?

Here is the Reuter CRB Commodity Index and it has started to roll over. Watch the 296 level (green horizontal line), which was the May low; a break below that level would be bearish. Understand that long-term we are very bullish commodities, but if we are heading for a recession then commodities will be hit as well. Once the bottom is in, we will be sending out BUY signals to subscribers.

Michael Hartnett of Bank of America notes that Fed tightening ‘always breaks something’ with the US recession likely the last leg lower in this bear market. Looking at the their Bull & Bear indicator we can see that it has dropped right down to zero, which is quite extreme. This is a contrarian indicator suggesting one of those bear markets rallies should kick off next week.

Another sign a recession likely coming as manufacturing took a big hit last month.

And yet another negative piece of news. ‘Global profit expectations among money managers are tumbling, another sign that Wall Street is at a crisis point’, according to BofA Securities. In their June Fund Manager Survey of 800 panelists with $834B under management, a net 72% say corporate profits will worsen, the lowest reading since the collapse of Lehman Bros. in September 2008.

There is a term called the ‘wealth effect.’ It refers to how homeowners and investors feel when housing prices and the value of their stock portfolios go up in value; they feel wealthy and therefore are willing to spend more. Consumers account for ~70% of the GDP, so when they spend more, it is good for the economy. Of course the reverse is also true, when house prices and stocks fall in value, consumers spend less and the economy slows.

Various indicators continue to portray extreme bearishness, which in a bull market would be a solid BUY signal. But, this is not a bull market, so we need to show caution here. If you have not yet put on any hedge positions, use this next relief rally to do so. Trend Technical Trader (TTT) uses simple inverse ETFs for hedging and offers subscribers many options; there is something for every investor. Click here to subscribe to TTT at a 50% discount

Market Notes

Market Notes – June 16/22

/in , , /by

The S&P 500 dropped 123 points or 3.25% and is now close to testng the 50% Fibonacci retracement level from the rally from Mar’20 to Jan’22.  Remember our warning all through this year… bear market rallies tend to be sucker rallies, usually failing to reach new highs, and instead make new lows. We are neutral right now, with our insurance trade offsetting our long play.

We do have a great list of stocks on our watch list, but we are NOT buying the dip here. We will let our subscribers know when our models trigger a BUY Signal. If you want receive those BUY Signals when they are triggered, subscribe now to the Trend Letter and receive 50% off the regular rate. Click here to take advantage of this  special offer.

Yesterday Fed chair Jerome Powell stated ‘Overall, spending is very strong, the consumer’s in really good shape financially — they’re spending. There’s no sign of a broader slowdown that I can see in the economy.’ That is quite an astonishing statement and we have no idea what data he is looking at. Every consumer sentiment chart we see shows consumers are anything but confident.

Even the Atlanta Fed, Powell’s own institution, is now forecasting Q2 GDP to come in precisely at 0.0%. That’s down from a 2% forecast in May and then a 1% forecast earlier this month. Given that the consumer accounts for~70% of the economy, how can he possibly say the consumer is in ‘really good shape financially’

Inflation was caused by excess government spending, a very dovish Fed, and high energy prices caused by the Ukraine war and extremely nearsighted energy policies.. The way the Fed seems to be planning to stop inflation is to drive the economy into a recession. And then once the recession takes hold, those laid off workers will not be able to afford things like gasoline or healthy food, so the prices will finally start to fall.

Gold had been oversold and had a nice bounce today. Still trading in 1800-1975 range.

Mortgage rates for the US 30-year jumped by the most since 1987 and are now at the highest level since 2008, which coincided with the real estate crash and a recession. Sound familiar?

Stay tuned!