Morning Market Download from Invincible Money

Personal finance + economics + markets

Staying on top of the markets, economics and the global issues that affect your money takes a lot of time and effort. We distill it down to a quick 5 minute read to help you make better money decisions.

Bitcoin Thrives When Banks FailBalaji Srinivasan calling for a $1 million Bitcoin price thanks to coming hyper inflation. He said, "The printing is coming!"

Arthur Hayes pointing out how the Fed is printing more money and has no other option, also leading to a higher BTC price.While the banking failures happened, #bitcoin went up 25%. It appears that the theory that when the financial system has trouble, BTC thrives, is true. BTC is up 22% so far this month and ETH nearly at $1,800.If you think the system is doomed, then BTC looks pretty good. Agree or disagree?

The Fed Knew Banks Were InsolventBalaji Tweeted this screenshot from the Kansas City Fed Newsletter from September, 2022 showing they were concerned about bank solvency and that 333 banks had "less ability to sustain economic shocks." Shocks like interest rates rising faster than ever in U.S. history? That started in November.

Both Janet Yellen and the FDIC admitted that rapidly rising interest rates led to the bank failures, which is contrary to what we heard in the news, that it was the tech sector's fault.

Bank Stocks SurgeCentral Banks and the peer banks are showing they will do whatever it takes to keep their banking systems afloat. The banking sector rose 3.8%. However, that comes at a cost as the Fed is printing more money to provides loans to struggling banks (See Haye's article above for details).

Home Sales UpSales of homes were up 14.5% in February compared to January in the first monthly gain in the past 12 months and the largest since July 2020. Sales are still 22.6% lower than a year ago.

Gamestop Back AgainThe stock is up 30% after it posted it's first quarterly profit since 2021.

The Fed (Don't Fight Them)Raised interest rates by 25 bps yesterday and indicated that rising rates are nearing the end thanks to the recent bank crisis. They raised rates the fastest in history from November until now, until they broken something. Namely, the banking sector. Now it's time to slow down as the indicated maybe only one more increase this year.

The Fed funds rate is now between 4.75% - 5.00%. That is the rate bank charge each other for overnight lending, but also sets the rates for things like mortgages, auto loans and credit cards.

France Strikes Ramp UpWorkers who aren't happy with Macron raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 are now striking at Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) terminals, blocking shipments of refined products, resulting in widespread shortages across the country.

Crypto - Ripple SurgesRipple up 25% as investors become more optimistic they can win the case against the SEC.

Crypto TaxesThe IRS is proposing new taxes that would treat NFTs the same as other collectives like art, stamps and wine.

Be a Better Investor

Investing Bias to Be Aware ofConfirmation bias: the tendency to seek out and favor information that supports one's existing beliefs and opinions.

What would you like me to add to this newsletter?

Please reply to this email and let me know!

Thanks for reading,

Trajan King