1.Record Inflow to U.S. Equity Funds…$56B One Week….Sounds Big But $6 Trillion in Money Markets.
Flows Show: Similarly, US equity fund flows show clear FOMO.
Source: Daily Shot
2.The Price Between Puts and Calls has Narrowed to Historic Low.
From Dave Lutz Jones Trading A closely-watched gauge of stock market sentiment has hit its most extreme level since 2008, as options traders increasingly focus on capturing further gains in soaring indices rather than worrying about a potential sell-off – Investors are so bullish that “fear of a crash-up” now trumps “any meaningful concern of a correction lower,” said Charlie McElligott, managing director of cross-asset strategy at Nomura, who wrote in a note to clients this week that markets “are foaming at the mouth, FT reports.
3.Non-Profit Tech Stocks Not Rallying This Time.
Jefferies Zach Goldberg
TS Lombard Chart https://www.tslombard.com/
4.Mega-Cap Standard Deviation vs. Rest
5.Copper Rally-Analysts Pointing Out Copper Rally as Positive Tell for China/International?
Copper Contract Rallying to 2023 Levels.
Copper Miners are Making Run at All-Time Highs.
6.Meanwhile Chinese Young People are Loading Up on Gold.
Gold Beans All the Rage With China’s Gen Z as Deflation Bites
Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) — With China’s deflation at its worst in 15 years, a volatile stock market and bank interest rates too low for her liking, 18-year-old Tina Hong is placing her financial security in gold beans.
Weighing as little as one gram, the beans — and other forms of gold jewelry — are increasingly viewed as the safest investment bet for young Chinese in an era of economic uncertainty. It’s part of a larger consumer trend for all things gold — from bullion to beans and bracelets — that has gripped the mainland.
“It’s basically impossible to lose money from buying gold,” reasoned Hong, a college freshman studying computer science in Fujian province who in January began buying gold beans because of their relatively low cost of about 600 yuan ($83) per gram. She has more than two grams of the beans and will continue buying them as long as costs are lower than international gold prices, she said.
Branded as an investment entry point for young consumers, the beans, which come in glass jars, are the latest hot-selling items in Chinese jewelry stores. Generation Z consumers — buffeted by high youth unemployment and the nation’s slide into deflation — are now among the top consumers of gold accessories in the world’s second-largest economy, according to the 2023 China Jewelry Consumer Trends Report by Chow Tai Fook Jewelery Group Ltd. The attraction of gold comes as people pull back on shopping amid months of disappointing growth.
China Gold Rush
A lack of faith in traditional investments has fueled this new China gold rush.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-beans-rage-china-gen-000000851.html
7.Musk Now Leading U.S. Defense …Morningbrew
DEFENSE
Elon Musk is being enlisted to protect the US
“Starlink Mission” (CC BY-NC 2.0) by Official SpaceX Photos
SpaceX CEO and terminally online memelord Elon Musk is becoming an increasingly vital figure in the US defense system.
The company that’s been in the news lately for its moonbound megarocket was awarded a $1.8 billion contract in 2021 to build a spy network of hundreds of Starshield satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office, Reuters reported over the weekend. The low-Earth orbit satellites would support ground forces and enhance the ability of the US to locate targets globally.
The SpaceX partnership reflects the US’ urgent efforts to win the latest iteration of the space race.
- China announced plans earlier this month to create its own constellation of low-orbit satellites to compete with Starlink.
- US intelligence officials warned in February that Russia is developing a nuclear space weapon capable of destroying satellites.
Musk’s satellites have been a geopolitical football: Ukraine has claimed that Russia is using thousands of Musk’s Starlink satellite terminals to gain a tactical advantage during its invasion, starting a squabble with the Biden administration. Starlink, however, is a separate entity from Starshield, which is designed for military or government uses.
Go down the rabbit hole: The New Yorker dug into the US government’s reliance on Musk for national security.—DL
https://www.morningbrew.com/daily
8.World Peak Population.
Capital Group Jared Franz
How population decline could upend the global economy | Capital Group
9.U.S. Migration Trends.
https://jbrec.com/insights/3-migration-shifts-shaping-housing-markets-in-2024/
10.Inaction Increases Stress.
Tiny Thought(s)-Farnam Street Blog
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“It’s easier to get a smart person to do something hard than to get them to do something easy that doesn’t matter.”
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“When you know what needs to be done, inaction increases stress. You feel a lot less stress when you do the things within your control that move you closer to your objective. Action reduces stress.”
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“A lack of routine causes more problems than poor choices. Routines turn desired behavior into default behavior.”