Image Source:  This Week’s Summary The cryptocurrency market looks set to end the week at a total market capitalization of $2.37 trillion. Bitcoin moved down by about 2% to trade at around $63,500. Ethereum increased by almost 5% to trade at around $3,300. BNB rose by 6%, TRON by 9%, and NEAR by 19%. Almost all altcoins have been seen trading in the red, with very few exceptions. The DeFi sector increased the total value of protocols (TVL) to around $94 billion. Crypto Trends for the Week of April 22-28, 2024: Market Analysis and Performance The cryptocurrency market experienced extreme volatility this week in what was . Most assets have been going up and down, confusing investors and frustrating traders everywhere. As the seven-day period ends, most cryptocurrencies have been dipping into the red. Meanwhile, the market capitalization dropped by around $20 billion to reach $2.37 trillion.Bitcoin struggled to maintain momentum following its fourth halving. The king of cryptocurrencies experienced a disappointing week, staying mostly in the green but succumbing drastically after failing at $68,000. A 2% drop took its value toward the lower limit of $63,000, with an increased probability of falling below soon.Ethereum enjoyed a better period and saw a 5% value boost to show for it. The second crypto in command has still been far from the $4,000 target. However, seeing it trade in the green again after a month’s worth of disappointments has been refreshing. Altcoins & DeFi Most altcoins have been seen trading in the red. Notable exceptions include BNB, up nearly 6%, and TRON, up 9%. Also, NEAR Protocol added […]

Image Source: The market has continued to be choppy and confusing, but with the PMO index at the bottom of its range, we need to be watching for signs of the next short-term uptrend. The momentum indicator in the bottom panel will help signal the next uptrend.The SPX equal-weight ETF provides some perspective about the pullback in prices experienced over the last few weeks. From the looks of this chart, the decline in prices really hasn’t been that bad, and it seems to be a healthy short-term retreat that pulled prices down to support.Here is the same ETF but with the traditional moving averages. Despite the harmless look in the chart above, the sharp slice below the red 50-day indicates that the market experienced several days of emotional selling, and the index is now under the 50-day and probably needs some time to build a base before moving higher again.The RSI indicator pulled back to the 30-level where it found support, and this is a bullish signal that the uptrend is intact despite the selling. Next, we will watch for a bullish divergence where prices decline down to or below last week’s low but the RSI does not pull back below its low.If a new short-term uptrend is signaled in the next week or two, I can’t imagine that I will redeploy all my available cash back into stocks. I definitely will want to participate, but the market really looks to me like it needs time to consolidate sideways, so I would […]

Image Source: If you are a Dividend Investor looking to maximize your returns, you need to have a keen understanding of the numerous investment account options available. Dividend investing, which generally focuses on generating a , requires a strategic approach to account selection, one that harmonizes with the investor’s long-term financial objectives, tax implications, and broader investment strategy. Today, we will demystify the numerous options in investment accounts, offering an introductory guide tailored to empower individuals looking to optimize their dividend investment approach. Individual Brokerage AccountsIndividual investment accounts are versatile tools for investors, offering freedom in selecting dividend-paying stocks and allowing you to tailor your portfolio to include or emerging entities poised for growth.For instance, you can choose to diversify your holdings with a mix of high-yield energy stocks (e.g. ) and technology firms known for steady dividend increases (e.g. ).Dividends in individual investments can be taxed at various tax rates based on the tax bracket and as well as if the dividends are qualified or not. Nonqualified dividends are taxed up to 37%, while  based on the income and filing status of the individual.   Traditional IRATraditional IRA BenefitsA traditional IRA offers investors the avenue of tax-differed growth on various investments. This essentially means that dividends reinvested within the IRA are not taxed annually, allowing the potential for dividends to compound over time, which can significantly enhance the growth over the long term. For instance, an investor holding $95,000/shares (1000 shares) of Duke Energy () is eligible to receive $3,600 in dividends in the IRA, these reinvested can purchase an additional […]

The Strategic Investment Conference has dominated my week in the best way possible. I’ve spoken with several friends we’ve had here on Global Macro Update, including Felix Zulauf, Louis Gave, and Pippa Malmgren.  A few themes keep coming up. One is the increased importance of stock picking, as the market broadens out, no longer wholly dominated by a handful of tech stocks. Here’s Louis:We are in an inflationary boom. We are now in a market that is moving from being just a handful of stocks, that is your mag seven, to a much broader market where energy is participating. Materials, industrials, financials, small caps, you name it.I have been saying something similar for months. We are at the start of a paradigm shift that will favor informed stock picking over passive index investing. For many, particularly younger investors who’ve only known a tech-dominated stock market, this is a big shift.Louis mentioned energy, saying it had replaced bonds as “the new anti-fragile asset of choice.” He also noted that energy has outperformed both tech and the S&P since the COVID bottom, which you can see in the chart below. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund () has soared 385% since March 2020, beating both the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (Y) and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund () by a wide margin.  Energy has been a focus here in this letter, and in Macro Advantage, where we hold two US oil and gas producers in our portfolio—including one billionaire investor Leon Cooperman highlighted in […]

You’re probably even sicker than I of hearing about Dow Utilities (), UTIL but I can’t help myself. Although, disgusting by seven straight green bars in a row, I pathetically gave up on my bearish position, I’ve got confess, between and , these could all still get nuked in the months ahead. Just sayin’.

There’s a huge furor in Britain about debanking: the process where a bank says we cannot trust you anymore so get lost. It happened to Nigel Farage, a high profile figure, and now it’s happened to me. What happened? My bank basically decided that my regular withdrawals from a crypto exchange looked like money laundering…  I was at the Innovate Finance Global Summit last week and it was fantastic, as can be seen by the pic above of the CEO and Chair having a whale of a time on stage. The job I had to do was interview Jo Dewar on stage who just launched Project Nemo (more on that tomorrow) …As mentioned yesterday, I had the pleasure of moderating a fireside chat with Joanne (Jo) Dewar during IFGS last week. If you don’t know Jo, she’s a bit of a legend. You can find out all details here and, although she has achieved a lot in her career, her latest move is an interesting one:…I’ve been collecting rare coins and bank notes for years, and have a great collection that could send a dinner party to sleep before the main course is served. Yet I’m now worried that my hobby – called numismatics – is over as we go digital. What is numismatics? According to the Corporate Finance Institute, it…As a seasoned traveler, I know an awful lot about flying through Heathrow Airport, and it is always frustrating me about how the airport is structured. By way of example if you land […]