In his Daily Market Notes report to investors, while commenting on the bitcoin short squeeze, Louis Navellier wrote:
Q4 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Growing Concerns
Volatility continues as concerns grow about "sanction spillover." The bullets are still flying in Ukraine, as Russia presses forward with its invasion and Ukraine surprises by its tenacious defense alone with only monetary and weapons support from the rest of the world.
Concerns are growing that the ramped-up sanctions on Russia and its leaders, now including restrictions on the important SWIFT banking system, as well as the Russian central bank and Putin himself, will have repercussions on global commerce that are hard to predict.
US Is A Safe Haven
This is on top of the disruption of all the products that Ukraine itself delivers to the world markets. It is generally believed that the majority of the damage will hit Europe, with China already seen stepping up to provide alternate markets for Russian exports, making the US even more of a safe haven than it was already considered.
Today, there are several elements in play, with gold higher (+$21 to $1,922) and interest rates lower (US 10-yr down 10 basis points to 1.74%, the lowest level of the year) reflecting a risk-off sentiment because of uncertainty.
At the same time, crude oil has spiked above $100 (WTI now $103, the highest since 2014) which will add heat to inflation concerns, a conflict with what interest rates are doing.
Bitcoin Short Squeeze
Interestingly, crypto has finally caught a bid with Bitcoin trading up above $44K in an apparent short squeeze. Stocks broke their 2-day winning streaks with a small closing loss, albeit the NASDAQ managed a late rally to green. For February, the top three indexes are approximately down 3%.
On the earnings front, Target (NYSE:TGT) reported an earnings beat though missed top-line estimates but their improved outlook for 2022 has resulted in the stock jumping over 11% on the day.
Tonight, President Biden will deliver his State of the Union speech which is timely given the Ukraine situation, the rapid easing of pandemic rules, runaway inflation and pending monetary tightening by the Fed.
