Well, we have gotten past the Super Bowl and it was a hard watch.
I love sports, but that was not an offensive juggernaut.
I didn’t have a dog in the hunt anyway.
It was amazing how much money gambled and the total advertising budget.
Being old school, I just stick to betting on which team will win.
All the prop bets seem almost in the same class as fantasy football.
It did come on the heels of the biggest gain in the markets since May last Friday.
It took the Dow above 50,000 and the S&P 500 to over 4,900.
Crypto was still having its troubles with Bitcoin trading below 70,000.
The turnaround at the end of the week reversed a real drop-off that had some analysts speaking of further losses.
As has been the case for the last three years, the buyers bought on the dip.
Of interest has been the drop in weight loss drug prices.
It simply reflects how many consumers are turning to the GLP 1 to drop unwanted pounds.
I was amused to see Oprah on CBS Sunday morning interviewed by Jane Pauley and expounding as if it were now a fact that weigh gain is a disease.
I am not about to debate that, being no scientist, but I will say that terming it a disease makes it easier to gain insurance assistance.
As always, you follow the money.
If you need any more evidence of the money made, you only need to reflect on how much the various drug companies advertise about their particular weight loss drug.
The same could be said for car warranty companies where they are saving you money.
What part of the insurance business that Warren Buffet prospered from are people missing?
Sort of like people that go to Vegas and say they broke even.
If you need any more signals that the EV market is teetering on the brink, you only have to look at Tesla terminating two models and Stellantis writing off billions for its foresaken EV attempts.
It does not bode well that the Chinese manufacturers are producing EVs that apparently are far superior to anything made in the states.
I do think the hybrid concept does make sense in the US for those needing a smaller commuter car where one doesn’t have to rely solely on recharging.
I was tempted to lease a Tesla when the price dropped but realized that I am not a short-term owner of vehicles and EVs are absolutely designed for obsolescence much sooner than later.
Dodged one there and no pun intended as I drive a Dodge Ram.
What we saw Friday was the market broadening out past just the tech stocks.
As mentioned above, the drug companies like Lilly are just printing money.
It is remarkable to me how many people I know that take several different drugs daily.
Thankfully, I take only one small dose of a generic drug.
I will do consume several different vitamin supplements.
Those are relatively inexpensive at the local HEB.
We’re also seeing other sectors find favor.
Sectors like energy and agriculture have been profitable, but not to the extent of tech.
It would appear that people have taken some of the profit off the table and diversified. As I mentioned last week, they may not have had a choice when the margin calls came in.
The foreign markets have done well, but you have to take into account the value of the dollar.
This whole market will soon focus on the midterms.
Those elections could change the policies coming out of Washington.
I will only say that it’s nine months away, which is a lifetime in this time and place.
Significantly more will change than remain the same.
One thing that won’t change is paying your taxes.
That is just around the corner.
You can always count on the tax collector.
