September 20, 2022
The Dow dropped over 300 points but was down as much as 500 points before recovering. Everything is red across the board. Jerome Powell is such a wet blanket. Never invite him to your party.
Notable:
- Gap is cutting 500 corporate jobs — 5% of its headquarters.
- Russia is looking to annex captured territory (their shills will hold pretend elections to prove they‘re Putin’s buddies).
- Chinese investors have sold $23.6B of US real estate so far this year.
- Sweden raised its rate by 100 basis points (1%). The Fed is in committee and will announce tomorrow…
- Nasdaq is making its first big crypto push.
Does it matter?
Gap cutting jobs is another sign of retail sadness in what many think is already a recession. Interestingly, during tough times luxury brands sometimes do well — rich people splurging. Maybe they just like to rub it in.
Russia annexing parts of Ukraine — You may recall yesterday I talked about you buying a Putin bond if Russia owned Ukraine. (you, not me) Recently, Ukraine has been rolling over the Russian invasion that Putin likes to call a “special military operation.” This is so he can obfuscate on the world stage and claim it’s not a war. However, Russian troops getting GG’d like the voluntary sacrifices who face my son [me] in Valorant could make Putin decide that it’s time to get serious. There has been talk of drafting new troops to refill the Russian army’s depleted masses. If he does that, he’ll use the word “war” to get the general populace’s support. When the word “war” gets used around superpowers, it has a tendency to spread. Just ask this mustachioed fella who got mad at us because…we were leaving him alone? Interesting fact: no major powers currently have a leader with a mustache, not even Truss.
Chinese investors are selling US real estate. This shows that the collapse in the Chinese real estate market — which we haven’t discussed but you should trust me it’s really happening and I’m never sarcastic — has ripple effects as desperate Chinese real estate investors sell assets to make up for being lied to at home. What ripple effects? Well, we’ve discussed how high interest rates are hurting the real estate market. When prices are going down and someone absolutely has to sell, is that good or bad for prices? (hint, it starts with a “b”)
Sweden and the Fed. We already talked about this yesterday. I was afraid you’d forget because we only mention the Fed five times a week.
Nasdaq is entering crypto. Remember when I said rich people get rich because they’re money whisperers? Rich people generally get in on things that are a) valuable but b) undervalued. So the good news is that this is a hint that crypto is gaining legitimacy as a real asset and is actually worth something. Bag the moon you FOMO! The bad news is that it means that crypto is down a lot, but that also means that it’s a good time to buy because what comes down must go up. Isn’t that what Isaac Newton said? Er.
Now here’s the real $1,000 question. Would you buy a bond from Putin today? And if so, how much would you pay? (you despicable person)
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