Berkshire Hathaway is now holding 25% of their Assets in Cash, the highest % since 2004.
Historical average cash position: 14%. $BRK.B Source: Charlie Bilello
"What I needed to get ahead was to compete against idiots. Luckily, there's a large supply." — Charlie Munger
Source: Invest in Assets
JUST IN: President Putin signs law legalising Bitcoin and crypto mining in Russia.
Russia seems to be acting to keep up with the US. Nation-level as Bitcoin FOMO is heating up. Their entry will boost the hash rate, strengthen network fundamentals, and diversify miner politics. Chinese mining pools control 57% of the BTC hash rate, while the 🇺🇸US has 35%. Source: Cryptoquant, Ki Young
US crudeoil production hit a record high.
Source: The Daily Shot
The main reason the economy has been able to avoid a recession over the last 2-years
was due to the massive spending from the inflation reduction and CHIPs Acts. However, the rate of that spending is declining which could potentially weigh on economic growth going forward. Source: BofA, The Daily Shot, Lance Roberts
Interesting to see how the psychology of the market has been changing lately.
A few weeks ago, strong job reports had a negative effect on stocks. Now it is the other way round. Initial jobless claims reversed their uptrend and stocks seem quite happy with this. Why? Because there is actually a "growth" fear (instead of an "inflation" fear) which means that any decent economic report will be welcome by the market (and any bad one could push stocks lower).
Stock market corrections are a common occurrence: Since 1928, the S&P 500 has experienced a decline of 5% or more in 94% of years.
A correction of 10% or more happened in 61 out of the last 96 years. A larger drawdown of 15%+ was seen in 40% of the years in the 1928-2023 timeframe. Finally, a bear market with a 20% drop or more took place in 25 out of the last 96 years. Stock market pullbacks are normal. Source: Ritholtz Financial, The Kobeissi Letter
Italy has doubled the flat tax on foreign income for wealthy new residents who have been flocking here to take advantage of it.
The €100,000 a year payment — which exempts people moving to the country from taxes on overseas earnings, gifts, and inheritance for 15yrs — will rise to €200,000. The previous €100,000 tax incentive was popular w/wealthy individuals but controversial among Italians, particularly in Milan, the business capital. The recent influx of the super-rich has been blamed for significantly increasing real estate prices and living costs. The increaed flat tax for the billionaires is still set at a level that would remain interesting to wealthy foreigners, FinMin Giorgetti said. Source: Bloomberg, HolgerZ
