This Week in Barrons: August 25, 2024

• It doesn’t matter how hard you try…  you can’t change the direction of the wind.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t get good at sailing and navigation.  Per Seth G: We can try and change the conditions in our household, community, and/or workplace.  It might feel at times like we’re battling the wind, but the difference is – we contribute to each of their causes and can influence their outcomes.  That doesn’t make it easy or fast.  But, knowing that it’s possible is the first step.  Otherwise, we all need to improve our sailing and navigation skills.

• Aren’t the words: ‘sponsored results’ an oxymoron?  We’ve been hooked on free media for a century.  Newspapers and network TV evolved to be extremely clear about what is content, and what is an ad.  The internet, by hyper-competing for the last penny – produced a pay-to-play grey area called: ‘sponsored results.’  On any search, the ‘sponsored results’ are displayed before the ‘real results.’  In the world of money vs trust, if they’re ‘sponsored results’ – doesn’t that mean they’re not results at all?

• A simple 5-second break is amazingly effective…  when it comes to reducing negative emotions and diffusing arguments.

The Market:

• In the S&P 500, Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple…  have accounted for a record 29% of the index’s market cap.  However, market bears have increasingly gone underground as market concentration has narrowed.  The Mag-7 have doubled the returns of the S&P over the past year.  Virtually every Wall Street firm is telling their clients not to miss the ride to the top.  And with ~20% earnings growth over the next six quarters, there’s certainly a compelling risk-reward outlook for global tech. 

• Remember when: Elon Musk borrowed $13B from Morgan Stanley, B of A, and 5 other major banks to help finance its $44B acquisition of Twitter / X.  This could be the worst banking merger-finance deal since the 2008 financial crisis.  Why?  When banks lend money for takeovers, they usually sell that debt on to others, earning fees on the transaction.  That hasn’t been possible since X’s revenues have fallen by -45%, and the company is currently valued at only $19B.  Holding $13B in loans on a $19B company without a negotiated interest rate and repayment schedule – seems like a costly mistake to me.  

[ Learn about Bullseye Trades here… ]

InfoBits:

• A federal judge temporarily blocked the launch of Venu Sports…  on antitrust grounds.  Venu Sports is a joint venture between: Disney's ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. that will charge subscribers $43/mo. for access to 15 live sports channels.

• 10% of all U.S. homes are worth $1m or more.

• If you’re invested in Berkshire Hathaway, you own…  $300B in railroads, energy & insurance – and $277B in cash and patience.

• This week the BLS downwardly revised job growth…  for the April 2023-March 2024 period by 818,000 jobs.  So, all of the monthly Jobs Reports that ‘beat estimates’ are now misses – and our job market is in far worse shape than the admin. would previously admit to us.

• For the first time, a 400-ounce bar of gold is worth over $1 million.   Gold is starting to showcase its superiority over the U.S. Dollar.  

• Both political parties are calling for a $5k+ child tax credit…  as the U.S. birth rate plummets. 

• The Mag-7 have added over $1.4T in market cap… since August 5. While the rally as a whole has broadened out, the household names are still pulling their weight.

• Lowe’s missed earnings…  when people are uneasy about the economy, they tend to spend less on unnecessary upgrades.  Home improvement and repairs will fall about -7% YoY.

• Starbucks’ incoming CEO is getting a major work perk…  the ability to work from their home office in Newport Beach, California – rather than move into the corporate HQ in Seattle, Washington.

• Starbucks’ CEO is not the only exec with relocation perks…  Victoria’s Secret’s new boss can also work from her home office in New York rather than in the company’s main office in Columbus, Ohio. 

• Healthcare costs will jump by 9% next year…  up from this year’s 6% hike.  That will push the healthcare cost per employee to more than $16,000/yr.

• Amazon is letting sellers issue refunds without returning products…  as an estimated 20% of online purchases are returned.

• BMW sold more EVs than Tesla… for the first time in Europe last month.  [Elon – there may be something to that ‘marketing/sales’ stuff.] 

• Inflation expectations in the U.S. (2.4%)…  UK (3.2%), and Europe (2.1%) dropped to their lowest levels since 2022.

• Salesforce introduces their Einstein Sales Agent…  that 24/7 engages with inbound leads to answer questions, handles stalls-n-objections, and books meetings.

• Uber and GM’s autonomous driving unit Cruise…  are now partners.

• On September 10, Apple will unveil…  new iPhones, watches and AirPods.

Crypto-Bytes:

• The SEC rejected filings for Solana’s ETFs…  making their approval under the current administration highly unlikely.

• Binance (BNB) blocked $2.4B in potential fraud in 2024…   protecting over 1.2m users.

• A “Crypto4Harris” town hall…  is shaking up HODLers, VCs and developers now that the Harris campaign brought on an ex-Binance adviser, and Dem. Sen. Chuck Schumer said pro-crypto legislation could be signed into law this year.

• Bitcoin ETF inflows have dropped since early August…  Mt. Gox recently moved 12,000 BTC, but analysts suggest creditors are HODLing their Bitcoin.  And rumors of a gov’t BTC sell-off are simply transfers in custody.

• Bitcoin is currently trapped in a descending channel…  and may need whales to step in and spark an anticipated Q4 rally.

[ Learn about Betterment.com here… ]

TW3 (That Was - The Week - That Was):

• Tuesday:  You know it’s a slow news day when I start wondering whether the S&P green streak is going to end.  Our current 8-day stretch is the 4th longest in 30 years.

• Wednesday:  Today the BLS revised the Jobs numbers down by -818,000 jobs from their original reports.  Subtracting 818,000 jobs is eliminating ~25% of the total 2.9m jobs the government said we added.  Unfortunately, our FED is making monetary policy decisions based on this data; therefore, they could be (once again) behind the curve in their decision-making.

• Friday:  Our FED will cut interest rates in September.  To quote J. Powell on our labor market: “It’s unlikely that the labor market will be a source of elevated inflationary pressures anytime soon.  We will support a strong labor market as we make further progress toward price stability.”

Morgan’s Moments…  

• Above is the ratio of the Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI) relative to the price of Bitcoin for 2024.  When this line is moving higher, it means that Bitcoin mining stocks are outperforming Bitcoin.  This suggests that the miners are positioned to outperform Bitcoin as Bitcoin moves higher over the coming months.  I stepped into RIOT & MARA last week – betting on an upside resolution in price in the coming weeks.

• Narrate your own blog posts…  RenderNet's Narrator feature allows busy founders and creators to quickly create AI clones of themselves and create realistic videos narrating any script.
• 1. Sign up for a free RenderNet account on their website.
• 2. Select "Try Narrator" from the main dashboard and upload a video file of yourself speaking.
• 3. Select an AI voice, and input your script. You can also upload a custom audio file with your own original voice directly.
• 4. Click 'Generate' to generate your AI clone video

• Turn your PDF into an interactive presentation… Step-by-Step:
• 1. Upload your PDF to an AI chatbot (e.g., ChatGPT).
• 2. Request a Python script for an interactive dashboard using Plotly Dash.
• 3. Copy the AI-generated Python code and create a new Python project on RepLit.com. 
• 4. Paste the code into RepLit and run the code in RepLit to generate your interactive dashboard.

Next Week: Echoes of Volatility…

• Bkgd:  Tech stocks face a key technical test this week - $20k for the NASDAQ 100.  Global stocks are breaking out – thanks to the weaker U.S. Dollar.  A FED pivot is underway – away from interest rates and refocusing on unemployment.  September is the season for higher volatility.  And, all eyes are on NVDA’s earnings (8/28) and the upcoming PCE report (8/30).  

• The Volatility effects…  continue to haunt traders.  The VVIX is still around 110, and this is not what market movements should look like when you’re within a couple percent of all-time-highs.  Tip #1: Fair Warning: be prepared for over-sized moves because marketplace liquidity is thin.  

• It’s no longer about the FED cutting rates…  There’s a 63% chance of a 25bps cut in September, and a 37% chance of a 50bps cut.  Fair warning, history shows us that when our FED starts to cut, markets also start to move lower.

• Bonds appear ready for a breakout…  as rates go lower – they will pierce the 125 level on the /ZB (30-Year Treasury).  Tip #2: Any pullbacks in bonds are buyable.

• The U.S. Dollar is collapsing…  and is almost under 100.  We haven’t seen action like this in the past 3 years.  The trade here is not in the Dollar, but rather Silver (SLV) and potentially Bitcoin (BTC).  Tip #3: Let Silver (SLV) pull back to ~$26 then buy it and/or just buy Bitcoin (BTC).

• Any upcoming negative economic data…  will be NEGATIVE for the marketplace - for the first time in 15 years.  That explains (along with seasonality) the consistently high volatility that we’re seeing.   

• The ripple effects of NVDA’s earnings…  Nvidia is setting up for an 8 to 13% move on Thursday morning.  Be prepared that a move of that magnitude on a $3T company – will ripple into the NASDAQ and the S&Ps.  

• SPX Expected Move (EM):

• - Last Week: EM = $74 and we hit it on-the-nose @ $75.
• - Next Week: EM = $81 and we have NVDA earnings and PCE data.  

TIPS:

HODL’s: (Hold On for Dear Life)

• - 13 to 17-Week Treasuries @ 5.04%
• - Physical Commodities = Gold @ $2,546/oz. & Silver @ $29.8/oz.
• - **Bitcoin (BTC = $63,500 / in at $4,310)
• - **Ethereum (ETH = 2,730 / in at $310)
• - HROW – Harrow Health = $42.9 / in at $12 = ~Doubled on Aug 8th earnings
• - **MARA – Marathon Digital = ($18.6 / in at $12) 
• o Weekly: BUY Puts for protection & SELL Covered-Calls for income
• - INDA – India ETF ($57 / in at $50)
• - **IBIT – Blackrock’s Spot Bitcoin ETF ($36 / in at $24)
• - **RIOT – Riot Bitcoin Mining ($8.3 / in at $12.5)
• o Weekly: BUY Puts for protection & SELL Covered-Calls for income

Options Plays:

• - +TLT ($97.4) – Bonds: Jan ’26: +$110 / -$130 CALL Spread – hedge
• - +SPY ($554) – S&Ps: Jan ’25: +$520 / -$500 PUT Spread – hedge
• - +SPY ($554) – S&Ps: Jan ’25: +$500 PUT – hedge

• - +WEC ($92) – Wisconsin Power: Oct ’24: +$95 / -$100 Call Spread - hedge
• - +GLD ($232) – Gold ETF: Oct ’24: +$245 / -$250 Call Spread – hedge  
• - +XLU ($75) – Utilities ETF: Jan ’25: +$80 / -$85 Call Spread – hedge

** Crypto-Currency aware

Please be safe out there!

Disclaimer:

Expressed thoughts offered within the BARRONS REPORT, a Private and free weekly economic newsletter, are those of noted entrepreneur, professor and author, R.F. Culbertson, contributing sources and those he interviews.  You can subscribe by visiting: 

https://rfsfinanicalnews.beehiiv.com/subscribe. 

Please write to Mr. Culbertson at: <rfc@culbertsons.com> to inform him of any reproductions, including when and where copy will be reproduced. You may use in complete form or, if quoting in brief, reference <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/>.

If you'd like to view R.F.'s actual stock trades - and see more of his thoughts - please feel free to sign up as a StockTwits follower -  "taylorpamm" is the handle.

If you'd like to see R.F. in action - teaching people about investing - please feel free to view the TED talk that he gave on Fearless Investing: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Z9I_6ciH0   

Creativity = https://youtu.be/n2QiPSe_dKk   

Investing = https://youtu.be/zIIlk6DlSOM 

Marketing = https://youtu.be/p0wWGdOfYXI 

Sales = https://youtu.be/blKw0zb6SZk 

Startup Incinerator = https://youtu.be/ieR6vzCFldI 

To unsubscribe please refer to the bottom of the email.

Views expressed are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an offer, an endorsement, or inducement to invest and is not in any way a testimony of, or associated with Mr. Culbertson's other firms or associations.  Mr. Culbertson and related parties are not registered and licensed brokers.  This message may contain information that is confidential or privileged and is intended only for the individual or entity named above and does not constitute an offer for or advice about any alternative investment product. Such advice can only be made when accompanied by a prospectus or similar offering document.  Please make sure to review important disclosures at the end of each article.

Note: Joining BARRONS REPORT is not an offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of RF Culbertson and Associates.

PAST RESULTS ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. THERE IS RISK OF LOSS AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GAIN WHEN INVESTING. WHEN CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS (INCLUDING HEDGE FUNDS) AN INVESTOR SHOULD CONSIDER VARIOUS RISKS INCLUDING THE FACT THAT SOME PRODUCTS AND OTHER SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT PRACTICES MAY INCREASE RISK OF INVESTMENT LOSS; MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AS MUTUAL FUNDS, OFTEN CHARGE HIGH FEES, AND IN MANY CASES THE UNDERLYING INVESTMENTS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT AND ARE KNOWN ONLY TO THE INVESTMENT MANAGER.

Alternative investment performance can be volatile. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his or her investment. Often, alternative investment fund and account managers have total trading authority over their funds or accounts; the use of a single advisor applying generally similar trading programs could mean lack of diversification and, consequently, higher risk. There is often no secondary market for an investor's interest in alternative investments, and none is expected to develop.

All material presented herein is believed to be reliable but we cannot attest to its accuracy. Opinions expressed in these reports may change without prior notice. Culbertson and/or the staff may or may not have investments in any funds cited above.

To Subscribe: https://rfsfinanicalnews.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Remember the Blog: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/> 
Until next week – be safe.

R.F. Culbertson

<mailto:rfc@culbertsons.com>

http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com

This Week in Barrons: August 18, 2024

The problem with the lottery is…  people actually believe that it’s an investment vehicle.  In a similar vein, a survey showed that ~25% of the population believe that they could qualify for the Olympics if they trained for the next 4 years.  Now, that is absurd.  But saying: “I could do that,” is easier when you’re sure that you can’t.  Even if we had the talent, the resources, and the time – the odds against us are so slim that it essentially becomes a lottery ticket.  And like any lottery ticket buyer (versus an investor), the world leaves us ‘off-the-hook’ for not winning.  Someone will Win Gold, and someone will Win-the-Lottery – but it probably won’t be any of us.

It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t ship…  makes mediocrity and perfection virtually the same thing.  They are both places to hide.  Per Seth G: when we ship average work, it’s not our fault.  We’re simply doing what the manual says, and if you don’t like it – blame the culture and the system.  And when we hold back on shipping because it isn’t perfect, we’re also hiding.  After all, who would sign off on something if you could still find things that could be improved?  Unfortunately, if it doesn’t ship – it doesn’t count.  You need to ship when it’s good enough, and you define good enough in advance.  You need to ship – just don’t ship junk.

The Market: 

The last time we saw bearishness spike like this…  we had the greatest 52-week period in the history of the US stock market.  So, for the past 2 weeks, with the spike in volatility and some selling pressure in equities, I've been looking for those companies whose relative strength continues to outperform (see above chart).  I want to buy into them because they are likely to continue to outperform in the back half of the year.

Greg Brockman, OpenAI's president…  and one of 11 cofounders of the artificial intelligence firm, is taking an extended leave of absence.  Another cofounder and key leader, John Schulman, has decamped to Anthropic, a fierce rival founded by ex-OpenAl researchers.  Peter Deng, a product leader who joined the company last year after leading products at Meta Platforms, Uber and Airtable, has also left OpenAI.  Fair Warning: You have an entire company at the forefront of AI – being run by their B-Team.

[ Learn about Betterment.com here… ]

InfoBits:

• Research out of Harvard is proving that…  an optimistic outlook slows age-related physical declines in women.

• “Diversification is only required when investors do not know what they are doing.” … Charlie Munger.

• It’s less than 6 months until Super Bowl kickoff…  and FOX has sold virtually its entire commercial inventory for the broadcast for $7m / 30 second spot.  

• Tally is shutting its doors…  after raising $172m in funding.  It was last valued at ~$1B with 183 employees.  [“Life comes at you fast.”  … Ferris Bueller]

• CEO poaching season is underway…  as Starbucks grabbed Chipotle’s CEO as their new head, and Victoria’s Secret nabbed the Savage X Fenty CEO as its new leader.

• Google unveils Pixel 9 with Gemini AI integration…  offering in-depth voice chats with Gemini, and a hands-free experience that allows Gemini to run in the background.

• The 2024 Paris Olympics…  brought in over 30m viewers a day across NBC platforms – an 82% increase from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

• It’s no longer a matter of IF…  but by how much.  The market is predicting a 63% chance of a Sept rate cut of 25bps, and a 37% chance of a 50bps cut.

• “Date the rate - Marry the home” … As mortgage rates drop in anticipation of a FED rate cut, current homeowners are using the opportunity to refinance their mortgages at the fastest pace since 2022.

• Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold…  BofA, Chevron, in addition to already announced Apple.

• Walmart’s Sam’s Club attracted record-high Q2 memberships…  with half of the new sign-ups coming from Gen Z’ers and millennials.

• Walmart’s grocery prices are ~25% lower…  than traditional supermarkets, giving it an edge as consumers prioritize value.

• U.S. housing starts were down 16% YoY…  a 4-year low,  June’s numbers were revised lower, and residential permits dipped 4% MoM.

Crypto-Bytes:

• Bitcoin Miners are doubling down…  as now is the time to spend $’s to upgrade equipment efficiency.  Some miners are eyeing mergers, and some are pivoting to become AI datacenters as a path to profitability.

• Goldman Sachs now holds $418m in Bitcoin ETF shares …  And as the third-largest holder of BlackRock’s fund, they’re signaling strong institutional interest in Bitcoin.

• Binance re-enters India after settling a $2.25m penalty.

• Marathon Digital (MARA) closed a $300m offering of convertible debt…  and immediately purchased ~4,144 bitcoin with the proceeds. [Sounds like MicroStrategy Part 2.]

• After Pump.fun made it free to launch Solana-based coins…  users created +1.7m new meme coins.  FYI: only 41 have maintained any kind of value.

• The State of Wisconsin bought 447,651 more shares of IBIT…  bringing their total to nearly 3m shares. 

• Sen. Chuck Schumer is on a mission…  to push crypto legislation through Congress before the year wraps up, calling for a balanced approach that fosters innovation while laying down some guardrails.

• South Korea’s National Pension Service…  just spent $34m on MicroStrategy shares – basically doubling down on the Bitcoin proxy.

• Uncle Sam might be fiddling with the Silk Road BTC stash…  and the idea of ~20k BTC getting dumped on the market has traders in a cold sweat. 

• Chainlink (LINK) just hooked up with Base…  bringing their full suite of DeFi tools to ETH’s L2.  Think fast, low-latency market data, and secure random numbers – all ready to supercharge Base that jumped ~20% this month.

TW3 (That Was - The Week - That Was):

Monday:  Investors await a power packed week of key inflation data, starting with July Producer Price Index (PPI) data on Tuesday followed by consumer price (CPI) data on Wednesday 8/14.  These will provide strong cues about our FED's interest rate move in September.  Current FED predictions for September are torn between 25 and 50bps of easing with ~100 bps for the entire year.  Walmart is the world’s largest retailer, and is gaining ground in groceries - which make up 60% of its US sales.  It captured a record 37% of all US online grocery sales in Q2 – beating all supermarkets.

Thursday:  Early this morning, the futures were green but not crazy – now they’re just crazy.  WMT’s revenues and earnings were better than expected.  The initial jobless claims came in less than estimates.  Retail sales came in at +1% - beating expectations.  And import prices only increased +1.6% YoY.  These ‘Goldilocks’ numbers were ‘just right’ for the economy.  Along with the usual suspects, there are some interesting gold miner set-ups: NGD, EGO, AU, and AEM.  They are all at double or triple-top resistance levels, and if they can get through – they have room to run.  NGD over $2.46, EGO over $17.43, AU over $31.35, and AEM over $78.16 all look great.  If they break-thru, have them hold the breakout overnight before investing.  Remember, this is one of the most manipulated sectors of the entire market.

Friday:  The S&Ps turned positive for August as recession fears eased, and the SPX just put in its biggest 6-day rally since November 2022.  The S&Ps have risen 8.3% from the panic Aug 5 low.  The Nasdaq also posted a 6-day win streak as mega cap tech and semis extended their rally off August lows.  This is a super impressive 6-day run for U.S stocks as the SPY goes 6 for 6 = closing higher 6 days in a row, and gains more than 6% in the process.

Morgan’s Moments…  

Cash-Flow Tricks in growing a small to medium-sized business:  Marathon Digital (copying MicroStrategy) announced a private offering of $250m in convertible notes.  These are 7-year notes – convertible into cash or shares of MARA common stock.  The advantage of convertible notes over traditional debt financing is that MARA will be able to acquire a much lower interest rate due to the fact that the notes may be converted into equity.  Marathon plans to use these funds to “buy more bitcoin and for working capital, strategic acquisitions, expansion of existing assets, and repayment of debt and other outstanding obligations.”  The financing is much needed after MARA lost nearly $200m in Q2.

Next Week: The Dip, the Rip, and the Now? 

Bkgd:  We’re in the calm of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.  The S&Ps had their best week in almost a year, and are just 2% off of all-time highs.  But don’t raise the Mission Accomplished banner just yet.  The ‘Goldilocks’ scenario that everyone is buzzing about has: inflation, unemployment, and growth being ‘just right’.  We are seeing: strong retail sales, an in-line CPI, and a September rate cut.  Unfortunately, every economic report has the capability of sending Mr. Toad's Wild Ride flying around the next turn.  

Vol will NOT go quietly into this good night…  We started last week approximately 200 S&P points lower than where we ended.  We had an almost 2 Std. Deviation rally that brought us within 2% of all-time-highs.  What’s puzzling is that volatility (VVIX) is still hanging around the 110 level.  

VVIX, SKEW, Bonds, Dollar and /ES levels…  Last week we saw Bonds back off from their previous duck-n-cover trade, and even the dollar to fade (causing Gold to make all-time-highs).  Our markets are making over-sized moves (both higher and lower) – often due to limited liquidity.  Institutions are exhibiting extremely heavy hedging activity – for example over 1.2m VIX options were traded on Friday alone.  Tip #1: It wouldn’t surprise me if the S&Ps did a little back-filling next week to the 5500 level.

Goldilocks = retail + inflation + unemployment = ‘just right’…  It was just 2 weeks ago that traders were worried about this being a crash and our FED would have to do an emergency rate cut, but now all’s right with the world.  That’s a sign of real nervousness / volatility being in the air.  Everybody is expecting an interest rate cut in September, and the only question is whether it’s 25 or 50bps.  Tip #2: I’m looking for every economic release (from now until the election) to resemble Goldilocks (be ‘just right’).

$100B issues: SBUX, INTC, DIS & NKE…  We are seeing statistically impossible moves (8 to 10 Std. Deviation moves) in $100B+ corporations like: Starbucks, Intel, Disney, and Nike.  Tip #3: If you’re SELLING NAKED PREMIUM in this marketplace - dramatically reduce your size.   

Smashing expectations…  Currently, the equity marketplace is not doing a very good job of handicapping forward risk.  Be aware, we often go through periods of ‘spot-on’ handicapping; however, this is NOT one of those periods. 

SPX Expected Move (EM):

• Last Week = $120 EM …
• Next Week = $76 EM.  Are you kidding?  Last week’s EM was $120 and we moved $200, so this week’s EM is reduced by 40%.  “Without conflict, there is no interest.” … Fred Wilson

TIPS:  

At the risk of sounding overly bullish, things are looking up.  Market technicals have improved, and some of the ‘land-mines’ seem to be a little less scary.  Several risks remain, and we’re still late in the market-cycle.  But, with rate cuts on the way, technicals turning up, geo-politics calming down, and nothing else happening – maybe it’s as simple as: “Laissez les bons temps rouler” == [“Let the good times roll.”]

Tip #4: SHY = BONDS will go higher when our FED cuts rates.

Tip #5: GLD = Will go higher as rate cuts lead to a weaker dollar.

Tip #6: Various Gold & Silver Miners: NGD over $2.46, RUM over $6.45, EGO over $17.43, AU over $31.35, and AEM over $78.16.

HODL’s: (Hold On for Dear Life)

• 13 to 17-Week Treasuries @ 5.04%
• Physical Commodities = Gold @ $2,546/oz. & Silver @ $29/oz.
• **Bitcoin (BTC = $59,500 / in at $4,310)
• **Ethereum (ETH = 2,620 / in at $310)
• HROW – Harrow Health = $38.9 / in at $12 = ~Doubled on Aug 8th earnings
• **MARA – Marathon Digital = ($16.2 / in at $12) Weekly: BUY Puts for protection & SELL Covered-Calls for income
• INDA – India ETF ($56.3 / in at $50)
• **IBIT – Blackrock’s Spot Bitcoin ETF ($34 / in at $24
• **RIOT – Riot Bitcoin Mining ($8 / in at $12.5) / Sold Sept $16 Cov-Calls

NEW’ish ADDS:

• +TLT ($97.4) – Bonds: Jan ’26: +$110 / -$130 CALL Spread – hedge
• +SPY ($554) – S&Ps: Jan ’25: +$520 / -$500 PUT Spread – hedge
• +SPY ($554) – S&Ps: Jan ’25: +$500 PUT – hedge
• +SLV ($26.4) – SLV: Sept 27: +$25.5 / -$27.5 CALL Spread

** Crypto-Currency aware

Please be safe out there!

Disclaimer:

Expressed thoughts offered within the BARRONS REPORT, a Private and free weekly economic newsletter, are those of noted entrepreneur, professor and author, R.F. Culbertson, contributing sources and those he interviews.  You can learn more and get your subscription by visiting: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/>. 

Please write to Mr. Culbertson at: <rfc@culbertsons.com> to inform him of any reproductions, including when and where copy will be reproduced. You may use in complete form or, if quoting in brief, reference <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/>.

If you'd like to view R.F.'s actual stock trades - and see more of his thoughts - please feel free to sign up as a StockTwits follower -  "taylorpamm" is the handle.

If you'd like to see R.F. in action - teaching people about investing - please feel free to view the TED talk that he gave on Fearless Investing: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Z9I_6ciH0   

Creativity = https://youtu.be/n2QiPSe_dKk   

Investing = https://youtu.be/zIIlk6DlSOM 

Marketing = https://youtu.be/p0wWGdOfYXI 

Sales = https://youtu.be/blKw0zb6SZk 

Startup Incinerator = https://youtu.be/ieR6vzCFldI 

To unsubscribe please refer to the bottom of the email.

Views expressed are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an offer, an endorsement, or inducement to invest and is not in any way a testimony of, or associated with Mr. Culbertson's other firms or associations.  Mr. Culbertson and related parties are not registered and licensed brokers.  This message may contain information that is confidential or privileged and is intended only for the individual or entity named above and does not constitute an offer for or advice about any alternative investment product. Such advice can only be made when accompanied by a prospectus or similar offering document.  Please make sure to review important disclosures at the end of each article.

Note: Joining BARRONS REPORT is not an offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of RF Culbertson and Associates.

PAST RESULTS ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. THERE IS RISK OF LOSS AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GAIN WHEN INVESTING. WHEN CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS (INCLUDING HEDGE FUNDS) AN INVESTOR SHOULD CONSIDER VARIOUS RISKS INCLUDING THE FACT THAT SOME PRODUCTS AND OTHER SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT PRACTICES MAY INCREASE RISK OF INVESTMENT LOSS; MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AS MUTUAL FUNDS, OFTEN CHARGE HIGH FEES, AND IN MANY CASES THE UNDERLYING INVESTMENTS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT AND ARE KNOWN ONLY TO THE INVESTMENT MANAGER.

Alternative investment performance can be volatile. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his or her investment. Often, alternative investment fund and account managers have total trading authority over their funds or accounts; the use of a single advisor applying generally similar trading programs could mean lack of diversification and, consequently, higher risk. There is often no secondary market for an investor's interest in alternative investments, and none is expected to develop.

All material presented herein is believed to be reliable but we cannot attest to its accuracy. Opinions expressed in these reports may change without prior notice. Culbertson and/or the staff may or may not have investments in any funds cited above.

Remember the Blog: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/> 
Until next week – be safe.

R.F. Culbertson

<mailto:rfc@culbertsons.com>

http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com