Finance, Markets & Crypto.
So, about a month ago I hit on this and some people thought I was off, or at least I was not looking at real forces driving things. Well, here it is again. Markets being driven downward by none other than Crypto-Currency, mainly (Bitcoin) at this very moment. I said about a month ago this was a bad idea, to include Bitcoin and/or other Crypto as a source on sites or a straight out Investment. I'll say it again, it is very volatile and very risky. Look at Bitcoin over the last month. A high at 17,106 on 1/6/18 to todays wild ride of 7,833 around an hour ago to sitting at about 8,912 as of 5 minutes ago. I work with several of the largest Financial Marketing Organizations and Brokerage Firms in the USA and they tell me and other Producers, stay clear of Crypto, unless you have money to lose and it won't hurt you.
A better Investment for the future would be almost anything within the S&P 500 as an Index, nothing even comes close to how it is performing.
Just putting this out there for those that look at this type of Investment or just Information to use for future endeavors....Beware and Be Safe!
Just an update as to what has happened and leading into Monday. Don't believe that this market (2.5% correction) was driven by releasing a Memo from the House Intelligence Committee. This was driven by a down slide of Crypto as well as some Bonds selloff and talk of rising Interest Rates by the FED. Going into Monday, expect some more in the form of early Dow Futures and others dropping before the bell. Gradient Financial is looking at some more correction, but not in the sense of bell ringing knock out %%%, like 10-20%. Again, just putting out some info that might be helpful.
Have a great weekend boys and girls....
Recent Comments
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Hi Dean,
A lot will be very interested in this report. There has been questions asked from our members about Crypto Currency.
I am surprised that it is not doing better, I thought if I had extra money I wouldn't mind investing.
Thanks for the update.
Jae
The problem with crypto is that it is decentralized and governments are unsure how to deal with it since it is a way to move money though their biggest concern is money laundering and terror financing yet they do realize the great potential of the technology behind cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies and the technology behind them is still very new so expect a lot of dramatic changes and volatile swings, but I don't think it is something you should completely stay away from. Bitcoin has seen these types of volatile swings before and always recovered, but now it has A LOT of competition to worry about.
I've also read about cryptocurrencies that are coming that are being backed by gold so that could be a game changer as well. I do agree with you though that you shouldn't invest heavily into cryptocurrencies at this stage because of how volatile they are. I've invested some, but not enough to where it will hurt me financially.
I think now you should expect some major regulation coming into the crypto world and once that happens and the technology gets even better, I think things will start to change. Of course that is not a guarantee, but I like to think of it as Crypto 1.0, the beginning. Crypto 2.0 and beyond I think is coming next :)
My nephew has been tinkering in crypto for the last several months. I urged him to be very careful while trying to discourage him as well. But he's young and will do as he thinks he might have found something. I have not seen him in a month so perhaps his tune has changed
If you pass along any info to him, let it be this. 99% of all those that pass along "Great Info on a Stock" are pushing a product for a reason and it's not because they want you or me to do well with a stock purchase. It's usually because they are being paid to push a stock or fund, etc....These can be insights he might find on the Internet or from an Insider that may work for The Motley Fool to Kiplinger's to Yahoo Finance. Do not necessarily believe all that....Investigate it yourself, always! Good Luck.
My father's generation left me a great generation to grow up in (1943 to now) and man could earn a living for the family while the wife raised the children. The next generation had both husband and wife working in order to survive and babysitters raising the children.
It seems to me that the Millennial want a different world and I am cheering them on. I would listen to your nephew closely; try to pass on some wisdom; give them a chance to fail and learn; and always be there for them. They couldn't do any worse - given the wars, pollution and financial mess the world is in.
He's a smart kid and at least he is being reasonable in the amount he is using for his venture into crypto. He actually runs his own small business. I know we learn from failure but he's got two young children so just hoping he doesn't try to jump too deep into something risky. I'm older so I admit a bit on the conserative side. Thanks for the advice Roger.
I tend to agree with you, so for me at least I think it's good advice.
Funny, I watched a video a few months ago via Linkedin with Mark Cuban giving advice about wealth and one of his recommendations was to invest in bitcoin (only as much as you can afford to lose of course). I haven't seen anything recent as to whether he still feels the same. Not that he is the all time know it all of how to accumulate wealth..but I think a lot of big time wealthy billionaires have been touting it for a while and I'm sure they have made a lot investing in it early on. Haven't really kept up with how they are feeling about it all now.
Yeah....us here in the DFW area know all about Cuban and his nonsense. We don't pay much attention to what he says. People that say, oh he's a Billionaire and smart. I like to say, Being wealthy does not make you smart. He got wealthy on an idea that his "Silent Partner" actually came up with back in College called Broadcast dot com. Yahoo, later admitted that it paid way too much for the rights to it, which made Cuban a Billionaire. Cuban has smart Attorney's working for him.
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Hi Dean - Agree wholeheartedly.
Stay away from Crypto currencies unless you have money to burn. As you point out they are too volatile and have no full faith and credit backing.
Looks like the stock market is headed for a correction, as valuations on many stocks are way too high from a historical perspective.
Bond rates are headed up, as the Fed has removed the punch bowl. So the party is over, as they will be raising rates for the foreseeable future.
Keep an eye on the yield curve. When short term rates get higher than long term rates the curve becomes inverted. The first signs that a recession maybe on the horizon.
It's been a good run, and maybe it will keep going a little bit longer, but were headed into the 9th year of this Bull Market.
Like you said, if you are a long term investor an S&P 500 Index Exchange Traded Fund may be the way to go.
Thanks for sharing.