Political cartoon by John Deering, chief editorial cartoonist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
"I think you can dislike the court's opinion and think they're wrong on the substance, and criticize them for that, and you certainly can vigorously appeal...And you can also read a mandate—you know, when a court issues an opinion, they issue what's called a mandate that sort of sets the direction ... It's perfectly fine to read that very narrowly, to be like, 'All right, fine, you said to do this and we're going to do that, but we're going to do only that, we're not going to apply it broadly... "I think outright, sort of just, like, 'Oh, we're just going to completely ignore the decision?' That, I think you can't do. Andrew Jackson did that, infamously. He was wrong on that. That was the Trail of Tears. That was lawless. That was wrong." – Republican Senator Josh Hawley, Missouri.
My cmt: If enough Republicans agree, maybe the next impeachment will stick.
“... China, and most notoriously, the Wuhan Lab, reported the discovery of a new coronavirus in bats. To wit:
“Another coronavirus feared to be powerful enough to spread through humans has been discovered in China... The new virus is even closer related to MERS, a deadlier type of coronavirus that kills up to a third of people it infects. Virologist Shi Zhengli, known as ‘Batwoman’ for her work on coronaviruses, led the discovery, published in a top scientific journal.” Story at...
https://realinvestmentadvice.com/resources/blog/government-job-cuts-may-be-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/
My cmt: Let’s hope they don’t let this one out.
“The coming unprecedented government job cuts will undoubtedly impact the job market. Given the labor market’s importance to Fed policy and the economy, it’s worth fully appreciating the size of the government workforce and other employees whose jobs might be affected... 3.8 million employees work directly for the government. Moreover, almost twice as many employees indirectly receive some or all of their wages from the government.
... direct and indirect job categories comprise over 11 million workers, about 8% of the total U.S. workforce (134 million). However, the impact will be far more significant than those jobs. To better appreciate the chain effect of government layoffs, let’s presume the government needs to buy 1 million fewer computers this year than last. In this case, those working for computer manufacturing and chip companies could be let go. Furthermore, for all of those laid off, whether they are government or otherwise, their spending habits will likely be curtailed. Accordingly, the impact will ripple throughout the economy. The bottom line is the 3.8 million government jobs are just the tip of the iceberg.” Commentary at...
https://realinvestmentadvice.com/resources/blog/government-job-cuts-may-be-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/
“‘In February, consumer confidence registered the largest monthly decline since August 2021,’ said Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board. ‘This is the third consecutive month on month decline, bringing the Index to the bottom of the range that has prevailed since 2022. Of the five components of the Index, only consumers’ assessment of present business conditions improved, albeit slightly. Views of current labor market conditions weakened. Consumers became pessimistic about future business conditions and less optimistic about future income. Pessimism about future employment prospects worsened and reached a ten-month high.’” Press release at...
https://www.conference-board.org/topics/consumer-confidence
"Fifth District manufacturing activity improved somewhat in February, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.” Report at...
https://www.richmondfed.org/region_communities/regional_data_analysis/surveys/manufacturing
-Tuesday the S&P 500 declined about 0.5% to 5955.
-VIX rose about 2% to 19.43.
-The yield on the 10-year Treasury declined (compared to about this time, prior trading day) to 4.298%.
XLK – Holding since the October 2022 lows. Cut position in half – Monday, 2/24.
QLD – Sold 2/25.
NVDA – added 1/6/2025.
Today, of the 50-Indicators I track, 19 gave Bear-signs and only 3 were Bullish. The rest are neutral. (It is normal to have a lot of neutral indicators since many of the indicators are top or bottom indicators that will signal only at extremes.)
TODAY’S COMMENT
Nvidia may decide where the market goes. They report after the close of trading tomorrow, Wednesday.
I am bearish, but not convinced yet. If all the indicators giving bull-signs turn neutral or bearish, I’ll cut back on stock holdings again.
TODAY’S RANKING OF 15 ETFs (Ranked Daily) ETF ranking follows:
*For additional background on the ETF ranking system see NTSM Page at…
http://navigatethestockmarket.blogspot.com/p/exchange-traded-funds-etf-ranking.html
For more details, see NTSM Page at…
https://navigatethestockmarket.blogspot.com/p/a-system-for-trading-dow-30-stocks-my_8.html
I trade about 15-20% of the total portfolio using the momentum-based analysis I provide here. When I see bullish signs, I add a lot more stocks to the portfolio, usually by using an S&P 500 ETF as I did back in October 2022 and 2023.
