1. S&P Biggest 2 Day Decline Since 1950—What Does History Say?
Charlie Bilello
2. Forward P/E Correcting Fast…Ex-Mag 7 Closer to 15
Bloomberg
3. Last Week Higher Dollar Amount was Lost than 2008 Crisis
StockCharts
4. S&P 50day Still Above 200day…Break Today?
StockCharts
5. Crude Oil Fell -13.6% in 2 Days, THU and FRI
StockCharts
6. Ten Year Treasury Moved Back Above 4% Last Night
CNBC
7. China Tariffs…U.S. Does Not Export Much to China
Markets are freaking out about China retaliating hard against the United States, with a 34% tariff on all US goods. But in economic terms, this isn’t such a big deal: China barely imports from the US in the first place.
Chartbook
8. The Top in Globalization was in Motion
StockCharts
9. Another Contra Indicator?
Hedge funds capitulate, investors brace for margin calls in market rout.
Summary:
Some hedge funds offload all stocks as selloff widens
Prime brokers say leverage falling, more selling coming
Sales triggered by margin calls rise in South Korea
Via Reuters: Some hedge funds say they are offloading all or most of their holdings of stocks as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war wipes out trillions of dollars of market value and forces them to curtail trading using borrowed cash.
In the three trading days following Trump’s announcement of broad reciprocal tariffs on almost all countries, stock markets across the world have plummeted, and bonds have become both a haven and a bet on rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, turning on their head market assumptions before Trump took office.
The selloff on Wall Street has been vicious as investors that bet on U.S. exceptionalism and economic might stampede out of its markets.
The benchmark S&P 500 index (.SPX), opens new tab fell 10.5% over two days and lost about $5 trillion in market value. China’s CSI300 (.CSI300), opens new tab blue-chip index fell more than 5% on Monday, while the pan-European STOXX index (.STOXX), opens new tab is down nearly 12% from its March 3 all-time closing high and in correction territory.
William Xin, chairman of hedge fund Spring Mountain Pu Jiang Investment Management based in Shanghai, said he had liquidated all of his stock positions as the current geopolitical landscape is messy, and the risk of a global recession is rising.
2. Q1 2025: Everything Positive Except U.S. Stocks
Nasdaq
3. China Top 25 Export Countries
StockCharts
4. UNG Natural Gas ETF +25% YTD…Still Below 2024 Levels
StockCharts
5. Crude Oil -7.5% Pre-Market on Tariffs
CNBC
6. CAVA: -56% High-to-Low Correction
StockCharts
7. EuroZone Unemployment Rate Dropping
The unemployment rate hit a new low in February.
The Daily Shot
8. Working Class/Middle Class More Concerned About Hourly Wages
Chart from the Fed shows the Top 1% of U.S. earners now have more wealth than the entire middle class.
Zach Goldberg Jefferies
9. Mexico Border Crossings
Semafor
10. Mark Cuban’s Advice to His Kids on How to Be Successful Is 2 Simple Words
The research-backed advice doesn’t just applies to his kids, but to you too.
Via Inc: As a serial entrepreneur, former NBA team owner, long time Shark Tank co-star, and multibillionaire, Mark Cuban has certainly seen up close what it takes to make it big in life. When it comes to his three children, what advice does he give them on how to be successful?
You might think a guy with so much insider knowledge might point his kids to a particular professional niche or industry sector. But on a fun, free-wheeling recent episode of podcast Your Mom’s House, Cuban explained he doesn’t push his kids to take any particular path. Instead, his best advice to help them be successful is all of two words long: “Be curious.”
Mark Cuban’s top success advice to his kids.
The conversation kicks off when podcast co-host Robert Smith asks a perceptive and interesting question: When you’re super successful in a very public way like Cuban, how do you help your kids have their own identities and success beyond the shadow of their famous parent?
“It’s hard,” Cuban responds before walking through his thinking on setting his three teenage and young adult kids up for success and sanity. “You try to just let them be themselves. I try to not say you’ve got to go in this direction or that direction.”
Whether or not a young adult has wealthy or well-known parents, Cuban believes it’s OK for them to not know what they want to be when they grow up at first. That’s especially true these days when the world is changing so fast.
So if Cuban isn’t pushing a particular professional path, what is he pushing? Curiosity.
“Just be curious,” he advises his kids. “That’s what I try to get them to do.”
Research agrees with Cuban about the value of curiosity.
Cuban wants his kids to be continually learning and to view knowledge as strength to stockpile. He believes the route to lifelong learning and growth is curiosity. Turns out a ton of science agrees with him.
Curiosity, studies show, is one of the best predictors of how well a particular student will do in school, no matter what their IQ might be. The benefits of curiosity extend well beyond graduation. Other research links curiosity with increased memory, patience, empathy, creativity, and engagement.
Given all of those are traits that help people get ahead professionally, it stands to reason that more curious kids would tend to become more successful adults. And indeed studies show a link between higher curiosity, work, and better job performance.
That suggests Cuban’s efforts to inculcate curiosity in his kids will help them be successful in life independent of their billionaire dad. There is also evidence that focusing on curiosity will help his kids grow up to be happier too.
“Research has shown curiosity to be associated with higher levels of positive emotions, lower levels of anxiety, more satisfaction with life, and greater psychological well-being,” reports UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. “Of course, it may be, at least partially, that people who are already happier tend to be more curious, but since novelty makes us feel good, it seems likely that it goes the other direction as well.”
Nudge your kids to be more curious like Mark Cuban.
All of which suggests that Cuban is very much on to something in wanting his kids to be curious and hungry for learning. But how do you accomplish that?
Cuban doesn’t say so, but he’s clearly a great model of someone who is always exploring new possibilities and learning new things. You don’t have to be a billionaire to model curiosity to your kids. Explore the world and discuss and investigate new topics with your kids.
Actively talking up the benefits of curiosity as Cuban does can help too, according to science. According to a report from the BBC, Rachit Dubey, a cognitive scientist at Princeton University, found that reminding people of the usefulness of new knowledge can boost their curiosity when it’s lagging. Research suggests actively brainstorming questions you want answers to is another good way to become more curious.
Takeaways for entrepreneurs about curiosity.
If you’re a parent, consider being like Cuban and pushing your kids less toward a particular career path and more toward curiosity. You’ll probably help them get further and be happier if you value novelty and learning over certainty and consistency.
Second, curiosity is great for you too. Most of the science that shows curiosity is great for kids also applies to adults. Perhaps, you should also follow the tips above to nudge yourself toward greater curiosity.
Finally, curiosity helps people do better at work. As a business leader, is there anything you can do to nurture and support your team’s natural curiosity?
“Managers might consider giving their employees a little more independence … with various studies showing that a sense of autonomy increases curiosity,” the same BBC article suggests. “Where relevant, employers might also encourage workers to look beyond the narrow confines of their primary expertise.”
As Mark Cuban seems to have figured out, success usually isn’t about finding your lane early and sticking to it. It’s about being curious and continuously learning. That applies to his kids, but it applies to you too.
3. Europe 2025 Stock Rally—Euro Growth Stock ETF Never Made New Highs
StockCharts
4. Biotech Stock Bear Market…XBI -25% from Highs…Flat Return on 5-Year Basis
StockCharts
5. Charted: How Nvidia Makes Its $131 Billion in Revenue
Visual Capitalist
6. Reddit -57% High to Low…High Beta Stocks Huge Corrections
StockCharts
7. ETF frenzy hits fever pitch with 1,000 new launches forecast for 2025
Via Investment News: After breathtaking first quarter burst of 230 new products, industry experts are starting to see a thousand-launch year ahead driven by advisors and retail investors. This year’s whiplash headlines and thrashing in equity markets have done little to slow down the ETF industry.
While tariff and economic news have commanded investor attention, exchange-traded funds issuers have kept busy: they’ve churned out more than 230 new products in the US, a record for a first quarter in data going back to 2015. In comparison, the first three months of 2024 — a year which ended up seeing both a record 700-plus launches and more than $1 trillion in fund inflows — saw 174 brand-new ETFs, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Issuers, including a growing number of asset-managers or even research shops that are debuting products for the first time, are seeing opportunities in a space that’s been attracting massive amounts of cash from institutional and retail investors alike, mostly at the expense of mutual funds. If the breakneck speed of more than 75 new ETFs on average coming to market every month continues, over 900 new ETF products could debut this year. Some industry participants say that number could go even higher.
To Amrita Nandakumar, president of ETF sub-adviser Vident Asset Management — whose clients have debuted funds in recent days — it’s possible 1,000 new products launch this year.
8. Defense Spending by Country
ZeroHedge
9. U.S. Vehicle Sales by Country of Origin
Food for Thought: US vehicle sales by country of manufacture:
The Daily Shot
10. The Psychology of Motivation
Via Addicted2Success: No matter how worn out you might feel right now, a few small changes can give your motivation a serious boost. Below is a short list of motivation tips and ideas you can try. Pick what sounds doable and see how it goes. Little steps often have a bigger impact than you’d expect.
Create a “Daily Win” Ritual – Doesn’t matter if it’s writing down a quick list of accomplishments or celebrating a small triumph with a high-five in the mirror, acknowledging your wins keeps your spirit lifted. Even something as simple as completing your laundry or finishing a single work email counts. So count it!
Make Mornings Count – Establish a steady morning routine that gets you into gear. Maybe it’s two minutes of gentle stretching, a quick journal entry about your intentions for the day, or a little moment of positive thinking before your shower. A good start sets the tone for everything else.
Use “Odd Moments” Wisely – Try to maximize random moments—like waiting for your coffee to brew or standing in a line—by reviewing mini-goals or reminding yourself of something you’re aiming for. This helps keep your brain engaged with your goal setting plan.
Rotate Your Rewards – Similar to how you might switch playlists to stay interested, change up your rewards to keep them fresh. Maybe treat yourself to a healthy snack one day and allow yourself an extra 15-minute break the next time you hit a milestone.
Lean on Productivity Apps – Digital tools can be lifesavers. It might be a scheduling app, a note-taking system, or an AI program that helps you plan tasks. You can even ask AI for ideas on making your day more productive. The key is to pick tools that fit your style instead of complicating your routine.
Build an Encouraging Network – Surround yourself with people who uplift your spirits. This can mean positive co-workers, motivational podcasts, or even online communities that share helpful advice. Seeing others’ commitment to self discipline often encourages you to stay true to your own goals.
Keep Tracking Progress – Regularly check how far you’ve come. This doesn’t need to be an elaborate spreadsheet—just a quick note of tasks completed or personal milestones reached. Watching your progress can keep your drive alive, especially on days when you doubt yourself.
Space Out Your Responsibilities – Give yourself mini-breaks between tasks to reduce the chance of burnout. Go for a short walk, stretch your legs, or sip some water while gazing out a window. These micro-pauses clear your mind and get you ready for the next challenge.
