![\"\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\"](\"https:\/\/fonts.gstatic.com\/s\/e\/notoemoji\/15.0\/1f399_fe0f\/72.png\")
\u00a0\u00a0NEW PODCAST WITH CHRIS MACINTOSH<\/strong><\/h2>\nChris joined Tom Bodrovics on Palisades Gold Radio a few weeks ago to talk about the recalibrations and rotations of capital taking place in the world right now. A sexy topic, indeed. But considering the market events over the past couple of days, their conversation couldn\u2019t be more timely.<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/capitalistexploits.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-5.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nHere\u2019s a few of the topics Chris and Tom discussed:<\/p>\n
\n- How to beat the S&P 500 by buying what most investors would consider \u201ctoxic trash\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n
- What investors are not being told about passive investing.<\/strong>\u00a0Index funds and ETFs have become wildly popular in recent years (why bother paying some fund manager 2\/20 when you can beat the market with some low cost index fund?). But as Chris explains, there\u2019s a massive downside to all that \u2014 and it manifests itself in a cascade of selling that we\u2019ve seen over the past few days.<\/li>\n
- Has Chris changed his mind on inflation?<\/strong>\u00a0The short answer is no. As Chris puts it, most people are getting inflation wrong right now, thinking that\u00a0\u201cyou can\u2019t have inflation if you have no growth.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n
- Why asymmetric investing is more than just the payoff potential.<\/strong>\u00a0Yes, the idea of making 10x your money (or more) sounds great, but there\u2019s an important \u2014 and often overlooked \u2014 side to that.<\/li>\n
- Speaking of asymmetric ideas, Chris highlighted an\u00a0off-the-wall asymmetric play on a potential ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Making sense of the recent global Crowdstrike outage<\/strong>\u00a0(in the the US, Fortune 500 companies reportedly lost $5.4 billion as a result).<\/li>\n
- Investing in the age of the Great Taking.<\/strong>\u00a0How to think about the risks related to your brokerage account.<\/li>\n
- How does Chris personally deal with fear, uncertainty, and volatility?<\/strong><\/li>\n
- And much more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You can listen to the entire conversation\u00a0right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\ud83d\udcc9\"](\"https:\/\/fonts.gstatic.com\/s\/e\/notoemoji\/15.0\/1f4c9\/72.png\")
\u00a0\u00a0A PULLBACK OR\u2026?<\/strong><\/h2>\nIt was a couple of weeks ago when we made a tongue in cheek comment that Nvidia CEO\u2019s signing a woman\u2019s boobs at a tech conference could be a sign of a market top:<\/p>\n
\nDon\u2019t get us wrong \u2014 we\u2019re not questioning Jensen Huang\u2019s expertise. The man clearly knows silicone. But when CEOs are elevated to \u201crock stars\u201d in the mainstream, it\u2019s probably safe to say we\u2019re closer to market tops than bottoms.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nNvidia topped out a few weeks later and is down 25% since. Now, who knows, maybe this is just a pause and pullback in this crazy world and it\u2019s all blue skies and plain sailing here on out. Or maybe it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n
With investors in Nvidia and other Magnificent 7 stocks rushing for the exits in recent days, we\u2019re inclined to say it\u2019s the latter.<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/capitalistexploits.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-4.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nOn that note, it\u2019s curious that money leaking out of Magnificent 7 in recent weeks doesn\u2019t appear to be going into bonds or treasuries, which is what usually happens in a \u201crisk off\u201d move.<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s hard to say for sure where all this capital is going, it\u2019s pretty clear where it\u2019s NOT going \u2014 and that\u2019s energy.<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/capitalistexploits.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-3.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nIn fact, hedge fund positioning in energy is now at decade lows (h\/t @Josh_Young_1 for the chart). Talk about a hated asset!<\/p>\n
We probably sound like a broken record at this point, but it\u2019s one of the reasons why we are so excited about the opportunities in energy.<\/p>\n
![\"\ud83e\udd37\"](\"https:\/\/fonts.gstatic.com\/s\/e\/notoemoji\/15.0\/1f937\/72.png\")
\u00a0\u00a0ALL THINGS TRANSITORY\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\nFeels like a lifetime ago, when \u2014 back in February 2020 \u2014 we started warning that COVID lockdowns will bring about inflation and shortages. Fast forward to today, and this pesky stuff is now an almost daily reminder in our daily lives. We set up a dedicated inflation channel in our\u00a0Insider<\/em><\/a>\u00a0private forum, where members can share their own experiences with all things \u201ctransitory.\u201d<\/p>\nRather than pointing out the \u201cproblems,\u201d let\u2019s today discuss some solutions, shall we?<\/p>\n
Insider member Theo recently asked a great question in our Slack channel:<\/p>\n
\nDo you have any strategies to fight inflation in your daily lives? What I find hard, and I do see it a lot in my social circles, is that it\u2019s not so easy to track how should you change your lifestyle in order to be least impacted. Of course \u201cspend less\u201d is easy to say, but I was curious for more creative tips.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nHere are some of the responses from other members.<\/p>\n
From member Dancebuff:<\/p>\n
\nI definitely buy in quantity when things are on sale that I know we use. I got a Costco membership as the organic raspberries alone made it worth it. Coincidentally Amazon Prime days are tomorrow and the next day for products you may be considering.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThis from Kathryn:<\/p>\n
\nI suppose it depends on where you live @Theo, and also what you have control over and what you don\u2019t. I have no control over the cost of insurance (except shopping around and making choices on coverage) and no control over costs of medical, etc. What I can control somewhat is the cost of food, so we have a garden and this saves me a lot of money. We also have a well established relationship with our butcher and buy our meat in bulk from him. This has given us superior quality and the cost is the same or cheaper than supermarkets. We go out less to restaurants but have friends over more. Keep track every month on exactly what you spend and what percentage of your budget it takes up and then find the categories that you can reduce and still be happy.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nFrom Philip:<\/p>\n
\nKeeping a list of discretionary purchases and waiting for a discount to be offered; Black Friday is an obvious one but many software packages for example periodically offer deep discounts. It might be possible using the Internet Archive to look back at websites to see what sort of Black Friday discounts they offer.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nAnd this one from Geoff:<\/p>\n
\nAlso, review bank and CC statements for monthly and annual subscription auto-renewals that you no longer want\/need. I carved out over $100 a month just by doing this.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nAnd as member Anissa pointed out, there are positives to inflation as well \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nHere\u2019s a few of the topics Chris and Tom discussed:<\/p>\n
- \n
- How to beat the S&P 500 by buying what most investors would consider \u201ctoxic trash\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n
- What investors are not being told about passive investing.<\/strong>\u00a0Index funds and ETFs have become wildly popular in recent years (why bother paying some fund manager 2\/20 when you can beat the market with some low cost index fund?). But as Chris explains, there\u2019s a massive downside to all that \u2014 and it manifests itself in a cascade of selling that we\u2019ve seen over the past few days.<\/li>\n
- Has Chris changed his mind on inflation?<\/strong>\u00a0The short answer is no. As Chris puts it, most people are getting inflation wrong right now, thinking that\u00a0\u201cyou can\u2019t have inflation if you have no growth.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n
- Why asymmetric investing is more than just the payoff potential.<\/strong>\u00a0Yes, the idea of making 10x your money (or more) sounds great, but there\u2019s an important \u2014 and often overlooked \u2014 side to that.<\/li>\n
- Speaking of asymmetric ideas, Chris highlighted an\u00a0off-the-wall asymmetric play on a potential ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Making sense of the recent global Crowdstrike outage<\/strong>\u00a0(in the the US, Fortune 500 companies reportedly lost $5.4 billion as a result).<\/li>\n
- Investing in the age of the Great Taking.<\/strong>\u00a0How to think about the risks related to your brokerage account.<\/li>\n
- How does Chris personally deal with fear, uncertainty, and volatility?<\/strong><\/li>\n
- And much more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You can listen to the entire conversation\u00a0right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0A PULLBACK OR\u2026?<\/strong><\/h2>\nIt was a couple of weeks ago when we made a tongue in cheek comment that Nvidia CEO\u2019s signing a woman\u2019s boobs at a tech conference could be a sign of a market top:<\/p>\n
\n
Don\u2019t get us wrong \u2014 we\u2019re not questioning Jensen Huang\u2019s expertise. The man clearly knows silicone. But when CEOs are elevated to \u201crock stars\u201d in the mainstream, it\u2019s probably safe to say we\u2019re closer to market tops than bottoms.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Nvidia topped out a few weeks later and is down 25% since. Now, who knows, maybe this is just a pause and pullback in this crazy world and it\u2019s all blue skies and plain sailing here on out. Or maybe it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n
With investors in Nvidia and other Magnificent 7 stocks rushing for the exits in recent days, we\u2019re inclined to say it\u2019s the latter.<\/p>\n
\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nOn that note, it\u2019s curious that money leaking out of Magnificent 7 in recent weeks doesn\u2019t appear to be going into bonds or treasuries, which is what usually happens in a \u201crisk off\u201d move.<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s hard to say for sure where all this capital is going, it\u2019s pretty clear where it\u2019s NOT going \u2014 and that\u2019s energy.<\/p>\n
\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nIn fact, hedge fund positioning in energy is now at decade lows (h\/t @Josh_Young_1 for the chart). Talk about a hated asset!<\/p>\n
We probably sound like a broken record at this point, but it\u2019s one of the reasons why we are so excited about the opportunities in energy.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0ALL THINGS TRANSITORY\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\nFeels like a lifetime ago, when \u2014 back in February 2020 \u2014 we started warning that COVID lockdowns will bring about inflation and shortages. Fast forward to today, and this pesky stuff is now an almost daily reminder in our daily lives. We set up a dedicated inflation channel in our\u00a0Insider<\/em><\/a>\u00a0private forum, where members can share their own experiences with all things \u201ctransitory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather than pointing out the \u201cproblems,\u201d let\u2019s today discuss some solutions, shall we?<\/p>\n
Insider member Theo recently asked a great question in our Slack channel:<\/p>\n
\n
Do you have any strategies to fight inflation in your daily lives? What I find hard, and I do see it a lot in my social circles, is that it\u2019s not so easy to track how should you change your lifestyle in order to be least impacted. Of course \u201cspend less\u201d is easy to say, but I was curious for more creative tips.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Here are some of the responses from other members.<\/p>\n
From member Dancebuff:<\/p>\n
\n
I definitely buy in quantity when things are on sale that I know we use. I got a Costco membership as the organic raspberries alone made it worth it. Coincidentally Amazon Prime days are tomorrow and the next day for products you may be considering.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
This from Kathryn:<\/p>\n
\n
I suppose it depends on where you live @Theo, and also what you have control over and what you don\u2019t. I have no control over the cost of insurance (except shopping around and making choices on coverage) and no control over costs of medical, etc. What I can control somewhat is the cost of food, so we have a garden and this saves me a lot of money. We also have a well established relationship with our butcher and buy our meat in bulk from him. This has given us superior quality and the cost is the same or cheaper than supermarkets. We go out less to restaurants but have friends over more. Keep track every month on exactly what you spend and what percentage of your budget it takes up and then find the categories that you can reduce and still be happy.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
From Philip:<\/p>\n
\n
Keeping a list of discretionary purchases and waiting for a discount to be offered; Black Friday is an obvious one but many software packages for example periodically offer deep discounts. It might be possible using the Internet Archive to look back at websites to see what sort of Black Friday discounts they offer.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
And this one from Geoff:<\/p>\n
\n
Also, review bank and CC statements for monthly and annual subscription auto-renewals that you no longer want\/need. I carved out over $100 a month just by doing this.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
And as member Anissa pointed out, there are positives to inflation as well \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n
- What investors are not being told about passive investing.<\/strong>\u00a0Index funds and ETFs have become wildly popular in recent years (why bother paying some fund manager 2\/20 when you can beat the market with some low cost index fund?). But as Chris explains, there\u2019s a massive downside to all that \u2014 and it manifests itself in a cascade of selling that we\u2019ve seen over the past few days.<\/li>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/capitalistexploits.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-2.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n![\"\ud83e\ude86\"](\"https:\/\/fonts.gstatic.com\/s\/e\/notoemoji\/15.0\/1fa86\/72.png\")
\u00a0\u00a0CONFESSIONS OF A RUSSIAN PROPAGANDIST<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/capitalistexploits.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n![\"\ud83e\udd23\"](\"https:\/\/fonts.gstatic.com\/s\/e\/notoemoji\/15.0\/1f923\/72.png\")
\u00a0\u00a0WEEKLY HUMOUR<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/capitalistexploits.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image-1.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/capitalistexploits.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image.jpeg\")
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