I last wrote about the world's "Doomsday Clock" on March 14, 2022. At that time, it was 100 seconds to midnight.
In it, I asked how China's President Xi would react to Russia's war on Ukraine...and to which country China would lend its support...inasmuch as Xi's legacy is at stake if he chooses unwisely.
So far, he seems to be backing Russia...jeopardizing his legacy in the process.
So, make the most of your next 90 seconds, as they may just be your last...repeat if necessary! 😏
N.B. Parts I, II and III regarding President Biden's massive policy blunders and scandals are described in detail here, here and here, respectively, for your edification.
Due to the extensive length of the prior articles, I've had to break them up into parts. Part IV begins, as follows, with the latest scandal, Joe Biden's Classified Document Dilemma.
As described in numerous investigative reports this past week, a number of classified government documents, half of which were, apparently, marked 'Top Secret,' were uncovered at several locations (over the past several months) in the possession of current President Biden, that were unlawfully taken with him when he left his Vice-Presidency at the end of the Obama-Biden administration in 2017...and were stored in a variety of unsecured locations (one of them being his garage, along with his Corvette, at his home in Delaware!), thereby, potentially compromising America's national security.
Why did the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) previously claim that once the Obama-Biden Administration was out of office in January 2017, that they had all of President Obama's classified documents in their possession, when it's clear they didn't?
Joe Biden, as Obama's Vice-President, did not have the authority to de-classify documents...so, why did he have them in his possession for 6 years?
Department of Justice Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a Special Counsel to investigate the matter on Thursday.
Unless leaks somehow appear in the media from any government agencies involved in the investigation, or unless Congressional committees uncover additional information pertaining to this issue, the public may not hear any further details in this matter until the Special Counsel has concluded his review and submitted his report to the AG. This could take months.
However, in the meantime, the reports below provide background information on locations where these were 'found,' who found them, numerous dates of discovery, who turned them over to which government agency(ies), and dates of public disclosure by the Biden administration. No doubt, there will be many more news items in the coming days and weeks, as reporters uncover other facts.
If Joe Biden once knew and now has forgotten he had these documents, what does that say about his competency as President of the United States and Commander-In-Chief of the military? If he does know, but has said he doesn't, then he's, potentially, lying.
Either way, these classified documents were in Biden's possession unlawfully, and are now the subject of yet another of his many scandals during his two years in office, thus far. He still has another two years to go, unless he's impeached at some point, so Americans can expect further scandals to erupt, if he continues along the same trajectory as his first two years of his Presidency.
N.B. This latest scandal is the first shocking surprise to surface in 2023, as I forewarned in my 2023 Market Forecast. We'll see if there's any fallout in the markets, as a result, in due course.
N.B. The following reports are worth a read, as they uncover a treasure trove of information:
* UPDATE Jan. 18...
Former President Obama's White House Ethics Chief Walter Shaub said this about Biden's classified documents scandal, "The negligence exhibited in the mishandling of records, especially those stored in his garage, is appalling...The White House was not at all forthcoming with the public about their discovery in more than one location."
Sounds like Obama is upset. 😏
Furthermore, Democrats may be actively pushing the narrative that Biden should NOT run for President in 2024. Former top advisor to former President Bill Clinton, Dick Morris, has, apparently, said that, "Biden can't run again in 2024 due to his quickly declining mental abilities and the economic disaster he has presided over."
Perhaps Hillary is planning another run for President. 😏
And, this from the Wall Street Journal...the DOJ rejected the FBI's presence to monitor document searches by President Biden's lawyers, even though those lawyers lacked the proper security clearance to view and handle classified documents!
Why the apparent recklessness by the DOJ in the special treatment of their boss?
* UPDATE Jan. 22...
Even more classified documents were found on Friday in Joe Biden's residence...some from the time when he was a Senator!
This time, the FBI were, finally, involved in the 12-hour search...with the consent of Biden's legal team.
President Biden is making AG Garland look like a fool, for giving him 'special kid-glove' treatment...an observation not lost on the American people and the media.
When will the "discoveries" end?
Why hasn't the FBI searched all of the President's properties/offices?
As one Congressman said, "...he's a serial classified documents hoarder."
The following information is truly disturbing and shocking...a must-see video interview regarding the temporary storage of classified documents in D.C. Chinatown before being stored at Joe Biden's former office at the Penn Biden Center...
* UPDATE Jan. 31...
Finally, obligatory Congressional oversight/investigations will begin under Republican majority committees into the Biden administration...two years after Joe Biden became President.
Revelations could get ugly over the coming weeks/months.
My 2021 Market Wrap-Up and 2022 Forecast can be found at this link.
I speculated that 2022:
In conclusion, I suggested that traders/investors look for more stable and valuable sectors and stocks, commodities, bonds, and currencies which, potentially, may act as a safer hedge against the headwinds (and, as yet, unrevealed shocking surprises) described above.
In fact, 2022 ushered in all of these events.
Large-scale whipsaw market action in 2022 is evident on the following weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly charts of the S&P 500 Index (SPX).
My 2022 Market Wrap-Up post describes this more fully...2022 was a year of:
Of the following graphs of the U.S. Major Indices and Major Sectors showing percentages gained/lost in 2022, the only sector that made any significant gains was the Energy sector (which gained 64.32%). All of the Major Indices lost, with the Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq 100 Indices losing the most, while the Dow Utilities lost the least.
The U.S. Fed has continued to aggressively raise interest rates, which now sit at 4.25 to 4.50%. Its 2023 target rate is 5.1%...its 2024 target rate is 4.1%...and its 2025 target rate is 3.1%.
The COVID-19 virus has continued to play havoc with supply chains and world markets, especially, parabolic one-hit COVID-era wonders...as noted in these posts. China is struggling with a massive increase in the virus, which is causing great harm to its population, and has been having a negative effect on its Shanghai Index and Hang Seng Index.
President Joe Biden's economic agenda of out-of-control spending of trillions of dollars has shot up the U.S. National Debt to almost $31.5 Trillion, making every taxpayer responsible for $246,866+...and increasing the threat to National Security...as well as making life miserable for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Biden shows no signs of changing any of his extreme far-left (socialist) policies or agenda, which will lead to his eventual political downfall...he can kiss his 2024 chances of re-election good-bye!
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014...and has caused thousands of deaths on both sides, cost the U.S. and NATO countries billions of dollars, and has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. As a result, Crude Oil prices shot up and will remain elevated, or climb higher, as long as President Biden and other world leaders continue their relentless war on fossil fuels in favour of pushing their climate-change theories and ESG agenda.
Record-high illegal border crossings, drug smuggling, and human trafficking operations along the southern border of the U.S. (approx. 5 million in the past 2 years from 161 countries), along with record-high violent crime rates and large-scale "looting swarms" of businesses all across America, are threatening to bankrupt many small businesses. If this continues unabated, along with rising interest rates, we'll see more and more layoffs this year in a variety of small and large companies (raising the unemployment rate), as well as higher prices of goods and services...leading to a recession and/or stagflation.
U.S. and foreign Banks are under pressure, as shown on the following monthly chartgrid, as interest rates rise and as businesses begin to default on loans and credit card debt repayments stop. Furthermore, if any of these banks are involved in crypto trading, as described below, we'll likely see further losses, if crypto contagion becomes widespread in 2023...etc.
The U.S. Dollar remains the favoured of world currencies, as shown on the following percentages gained/lost graph in 2022.
However, it has lost ground during the latter half of 2022, as other world currencies moved back toward their long-term "median" of their respective regression channels, as shown on the following monthly chartgrid.
2/5/10/30-Year U.S. Bonds peaked in 2020 and have dropped ever since, as shown on the following monthly chartgrid. However, they have stabilized somewhat just below their respective long-term regression channels. I think investors will start buying up Bonds in 2023, as crypto markets continue to fail, bank lending tightens, and equities continue to drop.
The crypto-currency markets were roiled by the Sam Bankman-Fried scandal involving FTX, et al, as described here. A related crypto-currency, Bitcoin, lost 64.07% in 2022, as shown on the Currencies graph above. No doubt, there will be more crypto contagion as more graft (corruption, deceit and fraud) is uncovered, along with reckless "investments"...and we may eventually see Bitcoin hit 10,000, or lower to, possibly, zero, as shown on the monthly chart below.
The following Pivot Points were calculated from the high/low/close of the 2022 candle, shown on the Yearly SPX chart above.
It shows the SPX target resistance and support levels for 2023. Note that S1 is close to the 3200 level, mentioned in my post of December 21. I think that level will be hit sometime in 2023...possibly the first half.
Rather, I think we'll see more of the same that transpired in 2022, as I described in my opening segment above, with choppy, whipsaw prices sliding down to 3200, or lower...particularly, as/if companies forecast lower earnings growth in their upcoming quarterly releases in 2023.
As in 2022, "look for more stable and valuable sectors and stocks, commodities, bonds, and currencies which, potentially, may act as a safer hedge against the headwinds (and, as yet, unrevealed shocking surprises...yes, more await), as described above."
Happy New Year and best of luck in 2023!
* UPDATE Jan. 16...
Well, that didn't take long...the first shocking surprise of 2023 has arisen...Joe Biden's Classified Document Dilemma. We'll see if there's any fallout in the markets, as a result, in due course.
* UPDATE Jan. 17...
From this Wall Street Journal article..."Big banks may need to be broken into smaller pieces if they become too big to manage and are unable to fix significant regulatory lapses, a top federal banking regulator said in a warning shot across Wall Street on Tuesday."
We'll see if this becomes another shocking surprise of 2023...see my above-mentioned comments regarding U.S. and foreign Banks on rising interest rates, loan and credit card defaults, crypto contagion, etc.
Thank you to the following sites for hosting my articles this year:
Best wishes for a very Happy New Year 2023 and may it bring good health, peace and prosperity! 😊
As shown on the following monthly chart, the price has, essentially, traded sideways in a large trading zone, between 3500 and 4300.
It's bounced back and forth between Buyers and Sellers, like a yo-yo.
As it's turned out, any gains, either on the long or the short side, have been short-lived...much like the first half of 2022 was.
Day-to-day or week-to-week trading for 2022 has been erratic and non-directional...and about as interesting as 'watching paint dry.'
Unless you took profits during the December 2021 candle -- which followed November's bearish 'shooting star' (which wasn't confirmed until January's 'bearish engulfing' candle) -- and, either, shorted the markets and held, or, simply stayed out, you were caught up in this slow slip downwards, dominated by choppy large-scale sideways consolidations.
As I mentioned in my post of December 21, we may see a fourth 'candy cane' form in January 2023, with a price target of 3200...if Sellers remain in control.
We'll see what happens.
I hope to post my Annual Forecast for the New Year in the next few days, so stay tuned. As a reminder, my 2021 Market Wrap-Up & 2022 Forecast can be read here.
Will we see a fourth 'candy cane' form on the SPX in January?
If so, the target is 3200, as shown on the following weekly chart.
Have a great weekend! 😊
The SPX weekly downtrend is still intact.
2022...Year Of The Bear! 🐻
Lululemon's (LULU) unsold inventory is piled up to the rafters!
With a likely recession looming in 2023, this does not bode well for their stock.
The following monthly chart of LULU is signalling further volatility and weakness ahead, with the potential formation of a bearish Head & Shoulders pattern, as well as the Balance of Power flipping to the Sellers.
A drop and hold below the neckline at 245.00 could prove to be catastrophic and see a plummet to its H&S target at 50.00.
The Retail ETF (XRT) is already weak, and the Sellers are in charge, once again, as shown on the following monthly chart.
Major support sits much lower than its current price, at 50.00. A drop and hold below could see price plunge to 40.00, or even lower to 20.00.
