S&P and NASDAQ BOTH hit new RECORD highs 🍾

1. Genevieve’s Corner

🚨 ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER RECORD!

S&P and NASDAQ BOTH hit new RECORD highs🍾

Let’s recap:

- S&P 500 is now up +130% since its March 2020 bottom. Incredible!

- Apollo’s CIO says the FED will NOT cut rates this year as the U.S economy is NOT slowing down

- 97% of companies reported S&P 500 Q4 GAAP earnings per share are +22% over the prior year, the highest growth rate since Q4 2021

- US national debt is rising $1 trillion every 100 days, according to Bank of America

- U.S Q4 GDP MISSED expectations, 3.2% vs 3.3%

- PCE inflation (FED’s preferred inflation measure) comes in line with expectations of 2.4% in January. BUT month-over-month up +0.4% (above +2% annualized), the most in 1 year.

- Canada’s economy grows +1% annualized in Q4, beating estimate of +0.8%

- Elon Musk sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman for breach of contract, pursuing profit over humanity

- New York Community Bank Reports $2.4 Billion More in Losses, C.E.O. Resigns and stock plummets over -21%

- The regional bank index $KRE is officially in correction, down -10 % YTD.

- Coinbase CEO says the exchange is dealing with a LARGE surge of traffic. The error causes users to see zero balance in their crypto accounts (now fixed).

- BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF tops +$10 billion in assets ($BTC) in 37 days, marking the fastest milestone for an ETF ever!

- Bitcoin up +20% this weeks. It hits +$64k, the highest in 2 years, and near ATH of $69k.

- Edward Snowden predicts a government has been buying Bitcoin and "will be revealed this year."

- Bank of America, Merrill and Wells Fargo to offer Bitcoin ETFs to clients

- Hedge Funds sold tech stocks at the fastest pace in 7 months last week

- NVIDIA becomes the 3rd largest public company in the world with a $2.05 TRILLION market cap 

- Dell shares up nearly 30% on Friday, up +200% in the last year.

- Salesforce beats earnings and declares the first dividend in company history. Stock is up +7% this week.

- Beyond Meat jumps +25% this week on management plans to make the company profitable. Quarter was bad with revenue down and big loss.

- Electronic Arts cutting 5% of its workforce (670 employees)

- EV maker Fisker shares are down -33% today, hitting a new record low as the company says it might go bankrupt

- Macy’s announces they will close 30% of their stores (150) over next 3 years.

- US Bond Market has been in a drawdown for 43 months (the longest bond bear market in history)

- Early retirements surged in late 2023 with gains in stock market and home prices, leading to a record 2.7 million excess retirees in the US

- Biden had his annual physical, with normal results. The White House has meanwhile insisted that the president ‘doesn’t need’ cognitive test

- Walton family sells +$1.5 billion of Walmart stock. Joining Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Jamie Dimon and Bill Gates who are selling stocks as the market hits record highs!

💥 STAY TUNED for the end of March, as I will be sending a NEW monthly newsletter focused solely on my personal portfolio changes and my rationales behind buys and sells. There’s so much to share, it deserves it’s own email!

If you want to receive this monthly email, make sure you’re A GRIT VIP! 🚀 Sign up HERE.

Enjoy your weekend!

Genevieve Roch-Decter

2. Matt Allen’s Corner

BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO BITCOIN

Hi Everyone! Today, I’m highlighting one of our sections in GRIT VIP! Below, I share part of my article, Beginner’s Guide To Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency invented by an unknown person or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. 

It operates on a peer-to-peer network, allowing users to transact directly without intermediaries, using blockchain technology for security.

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin can be described as digital values maintained online.

Quick Facts: 

Peer-to-peer (P2P): Bitcoin enables direct P2P transactions, eliminating the need for intermediaries like banks or payment gateways. This characteristic is a key factor in its recognition as a decentralized currency.

Electronic Cash: Numerous attempts have been made to create electronic cash systems. However, Bitcoin distinguishes itself through its innovative application of cryptography and distributed networks, enhancing its security and efficiency.

Limited: There are only 21 million bitcoins that will ever be created. This creates a scarcity effect, which ultimately helps drive Bitcoin's price. This limited availability is why Bitcoin is called 'digital gold.'

Quick Transactions: Settlement times for Bitcoin transactions average about one hour, unlike the two days typically required for traditional wire transfers.

Smart Contracts: On the Bitcoin network, developers can create decentralized applications, commonly called smart contracts, expanding their functionality beyond simple transactions.

Who is Satoshi? 

Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonymous person or group who created Bitcoin, which was introduced to the world via a white paper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" in 2008. 

Despite extensive speculation and investigation, the true identity of Satoshi remains one of the greatest mysteries in the technology world.

Satoshi's revolutionary idea was to allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution, using a decentralized network powered by blockchain technology. This was a response to the 2008 financial crisis and a revolution against the big banks. 

Satoshi was actively involved in the development of Bitcoin and the community until 2010, after which they handed over control to other developers and vanished from the public eye. The last known communication from Satoshi was in 2011, stating they had moved on to other projects. 

How does Bitcoin work? 

Bitcoin is built on blockchain technology, enabling users to execute transactions while miners operate in the background to support and secure the network. Mining is an activity open to anyone who possesses the necessary computing power.

In the Bitcoin ecosystem, users can transfer and receive funds, relying on miners to manage the complex processes required to validate these transactions.

To fulfill their role, miners must use powerful computers to store data, manage and disseminate transactions, and solve intricate mathematical problems to achieve what's known as 'consensus.' This process, referred to as Proof of Work (PoW), kicks into gear when a new transaction is introduced to the network, with miners undertaking the necessary procedures to validate it discreetly.

Miners are not altruistically involved in upholding this decentralized network. They are motivated by the chance of earning mining rewards and transaction fees for successfully solving problems and confirming transactions, receiving compensation in Bitcoin for their efforts.

To read the full resource, upgrade to GRIT VIP here. Try free for 7 days! 📚

Cheers,

Matt Allen

3. Comin’ Up

EARNINGS AND ECONOMIC DATA

💰 Earnings:

Monday: SEMrush, SEA

Tuesday: Crowdstrike, Target

Wednesday: JD.com

Thursday: Costco, Kroger

Friday: Buckle

📈 Major Economic Events:

Monday: N/A

Tuesday: Factory orders

Wednesday: Jerome Powell testifies

Thursday: Initial Jobless Claims, Trade balance

Friday: Nonfarm payrolls

The author of this newsletter owns ETF’s (exchange traded funds) that may hold ownership interests in the companies discussed in this newsletter as of the published date of this newsletter.