jgroup/iStock via Getty Images Investing is more art than science, i.e., mathematical models. The last 70yrs experts have tried to convince investors and themselves that Modern Portfolio Theory operated by computers produced the highest returns over time. Today, an overwhelming majority using this tool is still expecting a recession, and some of this is reflected…
PM Images By SchiffGold Money Supply is a very important indicator. It helps show how tight or loose current monetary conditions are, regardless of what the Fed is doing with interest rates. Even if the Fed is tight, if Money Supply is increasing, it has an inflationary effect. One key metric shown below is the…
Anne Czichos Timing is everything in markets. When we last covered International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) we looked at the results and the valuation and felt that this was almost there at the right level for investors to exit and not look back. Specifically, we said: The only time when it was more expensive was…
The FBI has issued a public service announcement today, warning Americans against using unregistered and non-Know Your Customer (KYC) cryptocurrency money transmitting services. JUST IN: 🇺🇸 FBI warns Americans against using non-KYC #Bitcoin and crypto money transmitting services. pic.twitter.com/BkSuG6MiCE — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) April 25, 2024 This announcement, identified as Alert Number I-042524-PSA, urged Americans…
An announcement was put out today by the Justice Department that Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill had been arrested and charged with operating Samourai Wallet, “an unlicensed money transmitting business” that executed “unlawful transactions.” Fuck the Justice department, full stop. At no point did Samourai custody user funds, have control over user funds, and ESPECIALLY…
In a significant development, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, founders and CEO of the privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet and mixer, Samourai Wallet, have been arrested and charged with money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Southern District of New York, announced these charges today following an extensive investigation…
youngvet/iStock via Getty Images Co-authored with Hidden Opportunities. To make money when you sleep, you need a “set and forget” investment strategy. This is where an investor makes purchases intending to hold it for a long period, often without actively managing or monitoring it regularly. Here are some criteria that investors should consider when seeking…
The Bitcoin Halving: Gold is on Borrowed Time For the first time since its inception, Bitcoin’s annual inflation rate is poised to become less than that of gold, the quintessential store of value. At Bitcoin block height 840,000, the annual supply of Bitcoin will be cut in half, resulting in a decrease in its annual…
DjelicS/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Some investors may prefer to invest in other sectors like tech or consumer staples because of the capital appreciation those stocks tend to offer. But one sector that has offered investors some capital appreciation in the last few years is the BDC sector (BIZD). Since I’m constantly building and adding…
farakos Introduction Amid parabolic stock moves in the technology sector, the murmurs of an AI bubble are growing louder and louder; however, nosebleed stock valuations are not limited to the Nvidias of the world. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST), a mature retail giant, is up ~50% over the last year, building on top of a parabolic…
“What underpins a world order is always the financial system. We are on the brink of a dramatic change where we are about to, and I’ll say this boldly, abandon the traditional system of money and accounting and introduce a new one. And the new one is what we call blockchain. It means digital. It…
nadla By SchiffGold Please note: the CoTs report was published on 03/22/2024 for the period ending 03/19/2024. “Managed Money” and “Hedge Funds” are used interchangeably. The Commitments of Traders report is a weekly publication that shows the breakdown of ownership in the Futures market. For every contract, there is a long and a short, so…
Andrew Burton Despite reporting decent earnings numbers last month, Alibaba’s (NYSE:BABA) stock failed to gain momentum and has been underperforming against the broader market in recent quarters. As international capital continues to leave China in droves while the geopolitical risks are on the rise, it’s safe to assume that Alibaba’s stock is likely to remain…
RyanJLane/iStock via Getty Images Large Institutional Investment in NYCB: On Wednesday March 6th, New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:NYCB) received a $1.05 billion investment led by former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s Liberty Strategic Capital, Reverence Capital, and Hudson Bay Capital. Details of the investment are below. Mnuchin Group Investment in NYCB (Company Presentation) The common…
akiyoko/iStock via Getty Images Just over 2 years ago, Stone Fox Capital warned investors that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was dead money for up to 4 years. The stock of the tech giant was set to struggle with the strong new product development needed to warrant the current price at the time, much less higher prices over…
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Introduction Generally speaking, I am very happy with the way most of my calls have unfolded in the past 12 months (and before that). Nonetheless, I need to start this article by admitting I was wrong on Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M), a stock I have been neutral on for a while. After…
International Money Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMXI) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript February 27, 2024 9:00 AM ET Company Participants Alex Sadowski – IR Coordinator Bob Lisy – Chairman, CEO & President Andras Bende – CFO Marcelo Theodoro – Chief Digital Officer Conference Call Participants David Scharf – Citizens JMP Mike Grondahl – Northland Securities Chris Vang…
Instant settlement profoundly transforms our behavior as it reconnects us with the elemental laws of nature. The existing paradigm mirrors the primal imperative of reaping benefits in exchange for labor–working to survive, but the pay-per-time system in the labor market is creating the incentive to get something for nothing. In the whole “fiat stack,” everyone…
I attended the Bitcoin Freedom Festival in Uvita, Costa Rica from January 18th through 20th. It was a unique event that was unlike any bitcoin gathering I’ve ever attended. There were over 30 speakers during the festival so I won’t try to cover each but there was one session that stood out and it involved…
Anton Petrus/Moment via Getty Images Altria (NYSE:MO) is a “Dividend King” and there are only about 55 companies that currently qualify for this title. To make this list, a company needs to have at least 50 years of consecutive dividend increases. Altria has a 54-year history of consecutive dividend increases. The company has been able…
Viorika International Money Express (NASDAQ:IMXI) looks like a strong addition to portfolios looking for stable growth and relatively low risk at this time. The company’s shares look undervalued to me despite P/E ratio concerns, and profitability weaknesses could be eased through operational shifts. Operations International Money Express, or Intermex, is a specialist in money remittance…
Phiromya Intawongpan As money market account balances soar, the mainstream media again proclaims, “There is $6 trillion of cash on the sidelines just waiting to come into the market.” No? Well, here it is directly from Yahoo Finance: “The growing pile of cash in money market funds should serve as a strong backstop for the…
da-kuk Investors were net sellers of fund assets (including those of conventional funds and ETFs) for the second week in three, redeeming a net $6.6 billion for the LSEG Lipper fund-flows week ended Wednesday, January 24, 2024. Fund investors were net purchasers of fixed income funds (+$3.9 billion), commodity funds (+$220 million), and alternatives funds…
The core of Bitcoin’s security model relies on this basic game theory—miners, armed with their digital pickaxes, are in a relentless chase for profit. And it’s this pursuit that keeps the network secure. Basic vanilla mining involves producing blocks to earn the block rewards and transaction fees, but have you ever considered that miners might…
Despite the increasing involvement of the USDT stablecoin in criminal activities, the UN has reported that law enforcement authorities have successfully dismantled various money laundering organizations responsible for transferring illegal funds using USDT. The United Nations (UN) has warned that Tether’s USDT stablecoin has become the preferred cryptocurrency for money laundering schemes and other illicit…
andriano_cz Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR), the self-driving trucking company, has seen a significant boost in its share price; it is up more than 100% in recent months. When TuSimple Holdings (TSP), the only other major player in this market, decided to withdraw from the US, it left AUR with an open field and a potential road…
Jeff Fusco Introduction 7.5%. That’s how much Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) shares have risen since January 2018. This performance is horrible, as investors in the S&P 500 made 75% during this period, with lower risks. After all, a well-diversified basket of 500 stocks almost always has lower risks than a single stock. Data by YCharts My…
bomboman As the saying goes, there is always a bull market going on somewhere. One particular market that may not have received much attention, but has certainly made fortunes for attentive inflection investors, is in shallow-water offshore drilling. Deep-water drilling attracts the majority of attention in the offshore oil industry, making the shallow-water sector often…
The “smart money index”, which measures the net bullish bets by institutional players through Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Bitcoin futures, has reached an all-time high of over 13,700 in recent days. Large investors have taken large long positions in the Bitcoin (BTC) futures market, indicating that institutional capital is flooding into the coin in anticipation…
DNY59 High-conviction Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) investors have failed to lift MPW from its doldrums over the past two months since I downgraded the stock to a Hold. The caution is justified, as I reckoned the challenges that hampered MPW’s bullish thesis was more than just a hawkish Fed. I indicated that the market…
g-stockstudio/iStock via Getty Images Christmas Breaks and Wishes Like most weekly blog producers, I experienced an early December dilemma. Should I send out my seasonal best wishes to our readers and not produce the final December blog, or write it as usual? Not writing the blog was very tempting, but I then remembered George Washington’s…
Kameleon007 Investors in leading alternative asset manager Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) have continued to outperform the S&P 500 (SP500) over the past year, registering a 1Y total return of more than 73%. Despite that, BX remains well below its November 2021 highs at the $150 level, notwithstanding its stellar performance. BX has also significantly outperformed the…
This article is featured in Bitcoin Magazine’s “The Primary Issue”. Click here to get your Annual Bitcoin Magazine Subscription. I always find it funny when I am attending a Bitcoin event like Bitcoin 2023 — or next year’s Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville — and a fight fan recognizes me with a bewildered look in their…
Although released on a $175 million bond, debate surrounds whether CZ can safely return home to the UAE before his sentencing hearing without the risk of facing more punishment. Changpeng Zhao, widely known as CZ, the founder and former CEO of the global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in a Seattle…
Whether transferring money to family abroad or tipping a tour guide on vacation, Coinbase Wallet lets users easily create a personalized link for any payment amount. Cryptocurrency platform Coinbase aims to make sending money worldwide easier, faster, and more affordable through newly added features. Users can now instantly send funds globally by simply creating a…
Individual voting, often considered a civic duty, has a statistically negligible impact on election outcomes. Studies show minimal difference between Republican and Democratic state governments on various policy outcomes. Politicians often declare every election as the “most important of our lifetimes” to rally their supporters. However, despite increased voter turnout, change remains elusive. Government keeps…
Crypto.com will provide customers in the country with a suite of e-money products that are localized for the UK. According to the official announcement, Crypto.com has hit a new milestone as it has been authorized as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom. In August 2022, Crypto.com…
Circle Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy Dante Disparte wrote a formal letter to Senators Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren to refute claims that USDC has been used for funding the Hamas terror group. After the United States Department of Treasury caught up with Binance Holdings Ltd, and its former CEO Changpen Zhao…
Americans remained primarily positive regarding financial contentment despite the recent economic challenges, like rising costs and student loans. According to a recent study conducted by Empower, a US-based financial services company, many Americans believe that money can buy happiness, and the price tag for financial bliss is $1.2 million. Based on responses from 2,034 adults…
Some fifty-odd years ago, I purchased a small pamphlet that promised to teach me the rudiments of “the international language” – Esperanto. The shirt-pocket sized booklet contained a half-dozen pages of grammar and a vocabulary of a few hundred words. The grammar was simple, with no exceptions, the pronunciation was easy, and the vocabulary, based…
Alchemy Pay is continuing its expansion in the United States and has now gotten a money transfer license in Iowa. Crypto-fiat payment gateway Alchemy Pay has acquired a money services license in Iowa as part of plans to expand extensively into the United States. The acquisition of a license is in compliance with local state…
In an exclusive interview with CNBC, Tom Farley, the former President of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and current CEO of Bullish, shared his optimistic outlook on the future of cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin, upon the potential approval of a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Farley’s comments come amidst…
theasis Thesis Summary Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE:BABA) reported its Q3 earnings last week, and the stock sold off, approaching a 52-week low. However, Alibaba showed a promising trend in profitability while still focusing on new growth initiatives. Furthermore, I see at least three possible catalysts that could take the stock higher: money, power and macro….
vm A “Hedge Fund” can be thought of as pooled investment funds that are managed by professional fund managers. The funds come from various investors and institutional investors who tend to take a more aggressive approach at times as they try to achieve a specified return. Many hedge funds have investment minimums, such as being…
andresr/E+ via Getty Images With a market capitalization of $207.9 million as of this writing, Parke Bancorp (NASDAQ:PKBK) is about as small as it gets when it comes to companies, especially banks, that I analyze. Generally speaking, smaller firms tend to be less stable than larger ones. But this is not always the case. This…
This article is featured in Bitcoin Magazine’s “The Withdrawal Issue”. Click here to subscribe now. A PDF pamphlet of this article is available for download. With all the scrutiny on megabank JPMorgan’s relationship with the now dead sex offender Jeffery Epstein, Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has called for less regulations on the banking sector. “The…
It’s that time of year when the leaves are changing, the chill of winter is in the air, and many of us in the Western world are once again gearing up for the holiday season. Thanksgiving and Christmas are important holidays for many and one of the best times to gather with family. Still, I…
Commodity money is a form of money that derives an intrinsic value from its underlying commodity and the supply and demand dynamics. Gold and silver have been accepted as commodity money for centuries because of their scarcity and desirability. Commodity money has some inherent limitations, such as the challenge of transportation and storage of larger…
David McNew The sharp rise in interest rates has led to a decisive shift in market and economic sentiment. The cost of money was virtually free over the period, extending from the initial QE and bailout responses in 2009 to the end of 2021. With interest rates at or near zero and the government rapidly…
Adam Gault The U.S. economy is currently experiencing a rare event that hasn’t been witnessed since 1949: a shrinking money supply. M2 has declined by a whopping ~$700 billion since the hiking cycle began. This phenomenon is sparking discussions and debates about its causes, implications, and effects on various financial instruments, including the SPDR® S&P…