Volatile stock market, short selling, and unpredictable people

---On volatile days in the stock market, the best advice, generally speaking, is "to do nothing".  Following that maxim is difficult here and, given that recent volatility seems to be almost normal, impossible to follow.  This all started in recent weeks with the extreme volatility in bitcoin related stocks.  Now that volatility has spread like a virus, unfortunate reference, and moving from one stock to another.  Not so many at one time, but for the individual investor it is impossible to predict.  Yet it is now being called the retail investors revenge against the hedge fund short sellers.

Here, GME(Gamestop) was added to my investments a few weeks ago but then sold shortly thereafter when I saw that it's institutional ownership was 117%, a sure sign of a massive short. "They must know something that is impossible for me to have access to."  Making what should have been the correct decision leaves me just watching the craziness, a little envious but knowing that it is best to be on the sidelines for now.  Now just looking at relatively boring stocks like PBI(Pitney Bowes), oops now there it goes.  Steady now, could even GM be next? 

---At a more mundane level, supporting local business is not only good for the community, it is an important attribute of responsible service. On the weekend, my once a week housekeeper was checking out the finished basement and upon opening the utility room door, water began flowing out. There was a leak in my boiler that would not have been discovered until later, how much later who knows, when the hot water and heat ceased to work.  Fortunately I was able to call "Joe the Plumber", a very large man who has been my reliable service provider for at least 20 years.  Everyone around town knows him by that name(it's also on the side of his truck), and he was here less that an hour. Boiler fixed, and when I paid him a little extra he at first refused it, "not necessary" he said.  I insisted and he said "thank you".  This is the small town that I live in that is a only five minute drive from the border of New York City. 

---Chamath Palihapitiya is an institutional investor who is prominent in recent financial news. Under the guise of being a huge supporter of climate change related stocks, his various SPAC's are almost illiquid.  He is referred to by some as an Elon Musk type brilliant person. Now he is contemplating a run for governor of California. A mystery to me, I don't get it.  

Strange investments, hopeful spending, and two more days

 ---"BTBT is a digital currency stock that has become popular among some individual investors.  Named Bit Digital Inc., formerly Golden Bull Ltd., it is a bitcoin mining company that is focused on bitcoin mining facilities in Wuhai, Zhundong, Xilinot, and Sichuan, China.  It is also engaged in the car rental business.  It intends to rent cars to both individual and corporate customers.  Customers can confirm the time and place for vehicle delivery through text, phone calls, or face to face in person."

That's the description of the company that has no institutional investors but has a market valuation of approximately $800 million.  Yes, I bought it at year end and quickly sold it at just below breakeven. It is still trading slightly below that level today.  "Intends" to be in the car rental business?  Apparently there is no actual business yet.  It seems to be just a company that managed to buy bitcoin in four locations, one that has food that is popular worldwide.  With the proceeds from their U.S. listing they will be able to buy many very nice cars.  Partially sold here were other bitcoin stocks mentioned here in a prior blog.  Good trade then but now proceed with caution!

---Infrastructure spending is once again part of a new President's agenda. With Trump it was primarily a Mexican border wall that was already underway.  This type of spending is a lengthy procedure that Congress always has trouble approving, as the money goes out long before the results are seen.  A relatively united country approved the Interstate highway bill in the early 1950's.  Each project requires right of way approval from states and cities associated with the all important transportation system.  Is that still possible now?  Tax increases required, possibly at all levels?  The well paying jobs created would be worth every penny, but does the American public have the foresight to realize this?  And the answer is...

---Two more days until a new President is sworn in.  Let's just hope that the paintings, silverware, and furniture in the White House are all still there for the Biden's.

Chaos, calm, and uncertainty

---After yesterday's chaos, order has been restored but much remains unclear.  Obvious leading culprits for this attack on democracy are President Trump, Senators Cruz and Hawley, and Trump family members who encouraged the demonstrators/rioters.  Some view participants inside Congress once order had been restored, such as VP Pence, Lindsey Graham, and Mitch McConnell, as exemplars of a democracy at work.  In fact, those three as well as many Republican members of Congress have been enablers of Trump for four years.  Let's just get through the next 13 days!  No matter what reassurances are spouted, with Trump it always gets worse.

---Equity markets rose yesterday afternoon with the S&P up 1.5% and the Nasdaq up 2.5%.  The biggest movers reflected the fragility of the markets and governments.  The stock symbols of those were RIOT, yes riot, MSTR, BTBT, and Greyscale Trust, all related to Bitcoin.  If one were lucky enough to have bought each those names in mid-December 2020, they would be up by 90%, 54%, 41%, and 42%, respectively.  They could collapse just as quickly one could presume, but they are up modestly again today at 11am.  Be forewarned, yet the Trump denouement may persist.  The damage that his Presidency has done cannot be underestimated.  

to be continued, on a cheery note... 

Engaging market and dismal politics

 ---The equity market is trying to find new footing as 2021 begins.  Tax based buying and selling in the last months of 2020 is impossible to determine.  What is known is that the fundamental aspects of evaluating stocks will soon be apparent, sort of?  Understanding all of the variables of tech investing is nearly impossible for most investors, retail investors for sure, and many institutional as well.  Momentum investing for all, hey get off of my cloud.  Mimicking successful fund managers has worked well at times, but now most successful ones generally all own the same stocks.  Then to small caps, a great place to lose money, only indexes there unless special knowledge is known.  Digital currency speculation has made a mish mash of all that.  Blockchain, of course that is easy to understand, really? 

---Mike Pence is a devout Christian.  We all know that.  He and his wife religiously reject many citizens as abnormal.  Now he joins his Boss Trump in echoing the questioning of the election results.  Why not?  It's his duty to the country, making sure that all is fair.  Far be it from him to be more concerned with his political future rather than the sanctity of our electoral system. 

---Isolation affects all of us.  Strange advertisements on television for "solve all" products exploit that.  That perfect cushion or pill that will make you happy, be forewarned.  And there is nothing special about duct tape, Phil Swift, whoever you are.