Navigator Algorithms – 100% Cash
As discontent reaches fever pitch, I have now scrapped my 2021 outlook video for a second time. It is a moving target, and that is why I lead with Aesop’s famous quote in this morning’s title. As all of you know, I disdain politics unless it impacts the markets, as is occurring now.
Short-term, the handful of market leaders that saved the stock market in the aftermath of the China Virus (and disproportionately influence the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100) are in as much turmoil as these companies have foisted on the rest of us with their draconian attacks on the First Amendment.
This morning, Twitter is universally condemned by nearly every world leader who imagines themselves as its next victim. It is not a good idea to offend nearly every important policymaker in the world. Wokeness is for the little people – not them.
Moreover, it may be fun to watch the leftist class action lawyers now devour one of their own as they seek shareholder retribution for Twitter losing $5 billion in stock value yesterday. By the way, Jack, your fiduciary duty is to your shareholders, not you’re arrogant, woke contemporaries. Not to get too personal, but if you dawned a turban with that ridiculous beard, it would look like Osama Bin Ladin is running Twitter. Things that make you go hmmm.
It would not be too bold to suggest that Big Tech may have just sewn the seeds of their own destruction. Facebook and Twitter might never see their recent all-time highs again. Hey, Facebook, do you remember MySpace? Dozens of knock offs will now flood the marketplace to serve the other half of the Country that Facebook hates.
So the challenge in completing my 2021 plan lies in forecasting the new conservative/nationalist eco structure that will rapidly replace the current tyrannical tech architecture bowing to the left. Opportunities abound. One other quick piece of advice to the radical voices attempting to overthrow the country; Wall Street is not red or blue. It is green. It will eat you up and spit you out for a buck. Plain and simple. So Wall Street will cater to many of these new start-ups as the Nationalist Eco Structure unfolds to compete with the Globalist Eco Structure before our eyes in real-time. I love the competition. One small solace to Big Tech – you likely won’t have to worry about Anti-Trust lawsuits very soon. There won’t be much left to break up.
In fact, 75 million Trump voters may stop shopping at Walmart, Amazon, and Amazon’s Whole Foods. I have to figure out what all of this will mean. Will we see a slide back to low tech – e.g., half the country will have their own storage devices rather than rely on the “lefty” cloud? Will the U.S. mail experience a resurgence? Will people actually get together and meet instead of being glued to their smartphones? Will half the country, or even half the world, ditch Apple? Where are the opportunities in all of this? Who benefits and who loses? This will be fun.
Anyway, I think you get the point. I will take another shot at the 2021 update by the weekend. Of course, all of this noise tends to distort the rising risks of inflation and a potential currency crisis leading to a depression of sorts. Just a couple of ancillary, minor points to be considered, right?
Meanwhile, thanks to the fact that there are more stocks in the market than a handful of Tech Monsters run by monster egos, the market traded rather balanced yesterday. The market could not attract sellers below Friday’s low or buyers above Friday’s high. It could have been worse, that is for certain. Nothing has really changed in terms of the narrative; the lofty sentiment and valuations may continue to lead to a sell-off and a chance to reposition around these new themes. As always, it is day by day.
Being in cash is fine for now, but it will pay to capture the fever pitch frenzy around the inauguration. Hopefully, the peak in strife will lead or accompany a broad sell-off. I always like to zig when the crowd is zagging.
One more small piece of advice offered with sincerity in the midst of this somewhat dystopian information warfare. The situation is intense, to be sure. But never underestimate the good sense of the American people. We have far more in common with each other than the issues that separate us. The US Constitution has endured through worse.
Put away your smart device. Take a break from Social Media. Realize that Information warfare is designed to exaggerate our differences. Trust your instincts and think for yourself. Listen to the genuine concerns of the other side. Use the shoe on the other foot test. You might be surprised what we can learn from each other,
Finally, ask yourself this question: Why are they trying to divide us? The answer is simple. If we got together in our commonality, we would vote the politicians and their corruption out of office. Now we can’t have that, can we?
AF Thornton