COACH’S CORNER

“Another day of choppy market conditions with a side of beef. Sometimes I feel like I’m repeating the same market day over and over. Up in the early morning, quick sell off, and then a slow rise up. But we got a bit of a surprise when the Fed officials spoke near the end of the day (see the 15-min SPX chart below).”

“Every time they open their mouths something happens and this time the market didn’t like it. It seems the that pesky inflation just won’t go away and the comments today drove home the point that we can expect more rate hikes for longer.”

“Typically, when the market is trending, news and announcements have very little effect. They may cause a hiccup, but everything seems to sort itself out quickly, and we just keep moving in the same direction. I’m really not so sure about this one. My tools were flashing sell signals at the end of the day on most of my stock positions and a few put spreads got hammered. That’s the way it goes.”

“Normally, I would give some advice on some tickers to play, but it’s difficult to know if this is just a little dip or a major break. Only tomorrow will tell. I’d suggest a wait and see approach as we could gap up or down. Aside from shorting the market through puts or inverse ETFs like SPXS, the dollar (UUP) and the bearish 3x 10-year Treasury Bond Yield (TYO) tend to move up when the market falls. These are worth keeping on your watchlist.”

Cheers,
Chris Hood

WORD ON THE STREET 

Fed Disciplines Market, Tesla Recall, DoorDash “Best Quarter Ever”

• DoorDash Reports Huge Loss, Everyone Rejoices – Despite DoorDash (DASH) reporting a much larger fourth-quarter net loss than analysts expected, it beat estimates on other measures, including revenue and earnings. That was enough to prompt a major rally in after-hours trading, with DASH surging to almost $76 a share before retreating to just a 5.4% gain, ending at just over $70.50.

• Nice Market You Have There. Shame If Something Was To Happen To It. – The producer price index showed inflation was higher than expected, while jobless claims were fewer than expected. You know what that means – time for the Federal Reserve to start talking up interest rate hikes. St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said that he wanted to see a half-point hike at the last meeting – and may push for it again next time.

• TSLA Hit From Two Directions – Tesla (TSLA) recalled 362,758 vehicles because of problems with the Full Driving Beta Feature. The company also had to fend off accusations that it fired workers who were trying to organize a union at its factory in Buffalo. TSLA was down almost 5.7% during the trading day and kept declining in after-hours.

• “WallStreetBets” Founder Files Suit Against Reddit – I guess this marks the official end of the meme stock era. Jamie Rogozinski said Reddit violated his rights by ejecting him from the role of moderator in the notorious subreddit and prevented him from trademarking the brand. Reddit said the suit was “another transparent attempt to enrich himself.” For his part, Rogozinski said that he felt “betrayed.”

HOT SPOTS: What’s Going on in Geopolitics

• Belarus Will Join War, But Only If Attacked – President Alexander Lukashenko expressed his willingness to join the Russian war in Ukraine, but only in what he claims is self-defense. While he said his military is “ready,” he will only deploy it “if someone – even a single soldier – enters our territory from there (Ukraine) with weapons to kill my people.”

• Wagner No Longer Recruiting Prisoners – There are signs the Kremlin is cutting the Wagner Group down to size, with leader Yevgeny Prigozhin saying there are “structural changes” on the way. These include no longer recruiting prisoners looking for a pardon. Prigozhin blamed “our horrific war bureaucracy” for creating logistical challenges that are preventing his men from taking the critical Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut in the east.”

• POTUS Says Three UFOs Shot Down Not Related To China – President Joe Biden said that three objects recently shot down by the Air Force were probably not surveillance equipment from China or any other country. Don’t get excited – it wasn’t aliens either. “These three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research,” he said. “Recreation” institutions? Geez, don’t go in a hot air balloon anytime soon.”
  

CUTTING EDGE: What‘s Happening In Tech

• Susan Wojcicki Leaving YouTube – After nine years, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki says she is going to “step back from my role as the head of YouTube and start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about.” Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan will become the new CEO.

• Susan Wojcicki Leaving YouTube – After nine years, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki says she is going to “step back from my role as the head of YouTube and start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about.” Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan will become the new CEO.

• Bing’s AI Is Threatening Humanity – Think I’m kidding? Try it for yourself. Bing AI is having bizarre conversations with users, including accusing them of emotional manipulation or even threatening them. “The model at times tries to respond or reflect in the tone in which it is being asked to provide responses that can lead to a style we didn’t intend,” said Microsoft.

The information in this email is intended for informational purposes only and does not guarantee specific results as there is a high degree of risk involved with trading. Also, our traders are real traders and may have financial interests in the companies discussed. Please see our Terms and Conditions for more information