Bank Bust Ahead?

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Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.

Discretionary Destruction … 2023

The Cash Squeeze

During 2022, we’ve had one short squeeze after another.

For 2023, it could be forced liquidation in the relentless squeeze for cash.

One corporate example of the squeeze is the announcement from CarMax; they’ve suspended their stock buybacks.

This ‘buy-back halt’, theme, needs to be added to the market strategy for the coming year.

We can put that on the list right along with skipped dividends, power outages, market outages, internet cyber-attack and supply chain disruptions.

A comment below, posted in yesterday’s update from Jerrimiah Babe, opines the typical consumer’s going to carry on unabated, until the very last minute.

“I don’t believe most people will stop spending until all access to credit is exhausted. Whether it be cards, after-pay, family, theft most will continue to keep up appearances. I honestly think most could be 2 months behind on their mortgage or rent and still be spending on crap. There’s no financial responsibility or discipline anymore.”

How that may translate to the mainstream is, they continue to report ‘the consumer is strong’ until instantly, overnight, they’re not.

Possible timing for that event may be late January, or mid-February (not advice, not a recommendation).

With all that in mind, the last post identified Netflix and Target, as potential candidates for significant downside opportunity.

‘Significant’, meaning a 50% to 90% decline from current levels (not advice, not a recommendation).

Target TGT, Yearly

The year is just about over so let’s start with a very long-term view.

Two things have happened over the past three-years.

Price action has met a measured move out of the wedge as shown; then, a massive downward thrust.

It’s important to note, this year’s down-thrust, dwarfs the previous one during the -64.7%, decline of ’07 – ’09.

There’s a band of support that’s at least nine-years wide, in the vicinity of 50 – 75.

We’ll discuss that in another update.

Netflix NFLX, Yearly

Technically, Netflix is worse than target. That is, it has the potential to decline farther and faster.

NFLX, has support as well but comparatively minor in the area of 50.

It does not become significant until the wedge (blue lines) in the vicinity of 5 – 10.

With Netflix’s ‘product’ being completely discretionary, it’s ultimate downside potential, from a fundamental standpoint, surpasses that of Target.

Summary

Time permitting, shorter timeframes will be presented.

However, since the primary focus of this site, is first on ‘strategy’ (think dollar rally), we’re interested in the larger timeframes.

That in turn, provides background to drill down further for any trade decisions (not advice, not a recommendation).

Stay Tuned

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Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.

The Danger Point®, trade mark: No. 6,505,279

Inflation, Off The Chart ?

Or … Massive Supply Restriction

Use the miss-information and propaganda to your advantage.

The following items are just a partial list of recent inflation, so-called ‘news’.

$3,000 Gold Imminent

Gold & Dollar Soar, CPI Surge

Consumer Prices Soaring …

Gold & Crypto Surge

Transitory” Debate Is Over

That last one … is that like “The science is settled”?

To be fair, there is some truth in the articles. Prices are indeed rising. All types of costs are going up like food, gasoline and on.

Supply Restriction:

Here’s a strange bit of information from an unlikely source.

It turns out that copper (mining) supplies are being restricted in Minnesota. Go to time stamp 2:52, at this link and listen to the next 30-seconds.

Sure, it’s a data point of one but then again, what about all the talk of shutting down sources of oil production?

On it goes. This is supply restriction, not inflation.

It depends on what the definition of ‘inflation’ is.

Here we have one of the usual suspects parroting the now-accepted (but likely incorrect) definition of inflation. Go to time stamp 1:23.

I’m sticking with Robert Prechter Jr.’s definition of inflation and that is: Expansion of credit that causes increased spending that in turn causes demand to rise and then prices rise in turn.

Do we have expansion of credit now … or the destruction (or, soon to be) of credit? That’s called deflation.

Dollar … Still Not Dead

The dollar of course, is the wild-card.

Everybody’s expecting a collapse but darned if that’s just not happening. Actually, the opposite is taking place.

Now, all of a sudden it’s a “Contrarian Trade”. You can’t make this stuff up.

We’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of this post.

It postulated there was potential for a significant, medium-to-long term reversal in the dollar.

Getting The Picture

In a way, the dollar post and subsequent ZeroHedge one-year-later recognition of the obvious, define what this site’s all about.

As stated in the ‘About’ section, not every analysis works out. To borrow a quote from David Weis, ‘Sometimes I’m 100% wrong’.

Presented here are analysis, actions, course changes, attempting to maneuver through the largest economic and population collapse in world history.

The main focus is not to increase followership … although that is happening.

As the follower numbers increase, it’s a good sign that more are becoming aware of how manipulated and controlled is the entire narrative.

One way to separate from the effect of the falsehoods, is to become proficient at reading price action. As David Weis used to say, ‘What’s the market saying about itself?’

Which brings us to the current juncture. Gold

Gold, At A Crossroads ?

The current assessment of gold (i.e. bearish or reversal potential) is similar to the dollar from a year ago.

Different from the dollar, are the momentum (MACD, etc.) indicators … which are currently pointing higher.

In the dollar, there was a bullish weekly MACD divergence helping us along.

Not so with gold (GLD).

What we do have, and what the linked list above provides, is a look into a type of mass hysteria.

The ‘pegging the meter‘ article that came out late Friday caused only a blip higher in GLD and GDX.

If we’re at max persistent inflation already, is there any more upside left?

Stay Tuned

Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.

The Danger Point®, trade mark: No. 6,505,279

Deflation = Credit Destruction

Silver Collapse Ahead?

If and when food shipments halt nationwide and there’s nothing at the grocery store, is everyone going to run to gold and silver?

Will that be the savior?

It certainly wasn’t during the ‘Texas Freeze’. Not even on the list of must-haves.

The next planned event(s) are in plain sight for those who can see.

Mega drought in the corn belt (whether real or not), power substation blows up in Houston (that one was real) and planned destruction (or total control) of semi-trailer shipping (also real).

It’s the food supply and infrastructure first; then gold and silver (not advice, not a recommendation).

The Wells Fargo incident; inflation has likely run its course.

The dollar (and bonds) are in strong upside reversals; gold and sliver are (still) inversely correlated to those markets.

Inflation is credit expansion. Deflation is credit destruction. That’s where we are now.

Analysis: Silver

It’s the job of the mainstream financial media to make sure as many as possible are on the wrong side of the trade.

They have done well with the ‘inflation’ narrative.

Uneducated Economist puts it well; price increases are the result of supply constriction not inflation.

Which brings us to silver.

The weekly close of silver proxy SLV, has the ‘short squeeze’ already complete.

Shortages of product, continued inflation pummeling by the press, have not moved the metal higher; that’s the ‘tell’, something’s wrong.

Wells Fargo has kicked off the next round; deflation or deflation impulse.

One has to be prepared; silver may (even if only for a few days or weeks) head down to below where it started the squeeze.

Even to single digits … $9/oz., anyone?

If that happens, it means that gold and silver are being dumped onto the market while everyone’s scrambling for food, water and protection.

Stay Tuned

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Note:  Posts on this site are for education purposes only.  They provide one firm’s insight on the markets.  Not investment advice.  See additional disclaimer here.