Articles written by Gary Brode - Benzinga

September CPI Is 2.4%

Today, we got the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) report which showed an overall increase of 2.4% for the last year and 0.2% for the month. That’s slightly below last month’s 2.5% and above expectations by 0.1%. The 0.2% monthly increase was above the 0.1% expected. The Core CPI which excludes food and energy was up 3.3% vs last year and up 0.3% from last month.

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The Rising Price Of Commodities Edition

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) has an outage with customers showing balances of zero. The customers are horrified. Want to know why the Bitcoin community finds this hilarious? The answer is hubris. Japan communicates it is dedicated to keeping ultra-low interest rates. The yen predictably declines again.

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The We Pivoted Bigly Issue

Years ago, President Trump talked about a change in tax rates that he described as “big league”. It was misinterpreted as “bigly” and a new word entered the lexicon. Last week, the Fed pivoted and cut the fed funds rate. This cut was more than two years after Fed doves and asset gatherers started begging for a return to zero interest rates.

August CPI Is 2.5%

Today, we got the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) report which showed an overall increase of 2.5% for the last year and 0.3% for the month. That’s below last month’s 2.9% and consistent with expectations. The 0.3% monthly increase was above the 0.2% expected, and a bigger increase than last month’s 0.2%.

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The Uranium Market Is Out Of Balance Issue

The week started with political proposals that will lead to production cuts and a reduced food supply. In the middle of the week, DKI released its new health care stock idea. Subscribers are already up around 20% in the name. The week ended with uranium production cuts and Fed Chairman, Powell, indicating the expected September rate cut is on the way.

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The Disinflation Issue

The Disinflation Issue

July CPI Is 2.9% - Breaks 3-Handle

Today, we got the July Consumer Price Index (CPI) report which showed an overall increase of 2.9% for the last year and 0.2% for the month. That’s below last month’s 3.0% and expectations of 3.0%. The 0.2% monthly increase was in line with the 0.2% expected, and a bigger increase vs last month’s -0.1%.

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The We Don't Have Your Data Issue

At the same time the Bank of Japan caused panic and traders began to unwind the carry trade, something DKI has been talking about since October of 2022, multiple retail trading platforms failed. It might be a good time to hedge your portfolio, or have some assets outside the financial system (or both).

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The Trump Bitcoin Issue

President Trump talks about Bitcoin and he and some other politicians call for a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Plus, we have another week of tech stock obliteration. It’s not that earnings were bad; but rather, that expectations and valuations were so high. Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is the exception.

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The Earnings And Inflation Issue

We hit earnings season and with the Magnificent 7 priced for perfection, it was going to take “perfect” earnings reports to keep the market from falling.

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The Rate Cut Expectations Are 100% Issue

This was a fascinating week featuring political shifts, increased market volatility, and a week-long drop in the stock prices of the mega-cap tech leaders that have been supporting the equity market indexes the past couple of years. This week, we’re focused on higher retail sales and wondering if anything will slow the consumer.

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The British Are Coming Issue

On the day that the United States celebrated declaring independence from the British, the UK elected a new Labor government. Is this a coincidence – definitely yes! Bitcoin falls on temporary trading issues. Hodlers shrug and don’t panic. DKI approves and sides with the hodlers.

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The Taylor Swift Is Responsible For Inflation Issue

Yet another government agency revises its projections. This seems to be a weekly thing these days. Anyone want to guess which direction the revisions headed? The Bank of England disappoints UK doves and holds rates steady. DKI thinks it’s all Taylor Swift’s fault.

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The Most Important Issue Ever

DKI had Enrique Abeyta from HX Research on to discuss Talen Energy (OTC: TLNE). We’ve been positive on nuclear energy and uranium so his description of the value of Talen’s nuclear plant and high-priced energy sales contract was welcome. Nvidia reported earnings.

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The Let's Look At The Data Issue

DKI stock pick, AuthID, announces 1Q revenue almost as high as all of 2023. Guidance indicates they expect quarterly revenue to double this year. They still need to announce new contracts, but the year is off to an excellent start. Lyn Alden @LynAldenContact makes a brilliant point explaining fiscal dominance.

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The That's Not What I Said Issue

This week, we released the DKI report on AuthID in public and explain the use cases for biometric security. The stock has some near-term catalysts, and the full report is available on the DKI website.

April CPI is 3.4%

Today, we got the April Consumer Price Index (CPI) report which showed an overall increase of 3.4% unadjusted in the last year and 0.3% vs last month. That’s slightly below last month’s 3.5% and in-line with expectations of 3.4%. The 0.3% monthly increase was below the 0.4% expected, but still annualizes to 3.7%.

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The Everybody Shut Up Issue

The Federal Reserve completed its May meeting and kept rates unchanged. So, why did the market rise? The Bank of Japan intervened to save the yen twice to no effect before getting bailed out by the Fed taper and a weak employment report. Irresponsible people in Washington are saying insane things. DKI’s solution: Everybody stop talking!

5 Things To Know In Investing This Week: The Stagflation Issue

We saw a weak and overstated GDP print combined with a higher inflation metric. The conclusion is that absent government spending, we’re heading for stagflation. One problem: government spending is destroying value. Mish Shedlock warns that we can’t vote our way out of the problem.

Monthly Depth Report: The Blind Leading The Confused

One of the best experiences I’ve had in my investment career was being partner and co portfolio manager with Raji Khabbaz. He’s a fantastic stock-picker and the two of us spent the better part of a decade discussing and debating investment ideas.