Key News Asian equities were largely higher overnight, as Hong Kong, South Korea, and Pakistan (+85% YTD) outperformed. The late great market strategist Byron Wien was well known (and missed) for his annual “Ten Surprises” list of events markets we’re unprepared for. After the US close, we got a Wien-like moment as CBS News reported President Trump invited President Xi to his inauguration. The invitation is unexpected, though equally shocking is the invitation’s lack of Western media coverage, as I don’t see anything in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Reuters, etc. Bloomberg News, which edited its original headline to…

With bitcoin crossing the $100,000 mark, the largest money manager on the planet, New York City-based BlackRock appears to be falling down a crypto rabbit hole. In a new release from Blackrock Investment Institute called “Sizing Bitcoin In Portfolios” its analysts are making the case that the cryptocurrency, long shunned by mainstream investors, should now account for 1% to 2% of traditional “60/40” investment portfolios. This would position the asset similarly to companies like Nvidia, Amazon, or Apple even though bitcoin has little utility other than as a speculative asset, and it derives no revenues from products like corporate titans.…

Shares in electricals retailer Currys took off on Thursday as sales strengthened in the first half and the business firmed up its balance sheet. At 86p per share, the FTSE 250 firm rose 8.9% and was the index’s biggest daily gainer. Strength Currys’ its main UK and Ireland market meant group revenues rose 1% in the six months to October, to £3.9 billion. On a like-for-like basis sales were up 2% year on year. The business remained in the red during the period, although pre-tax losses narrowed to £10 billion from £44 billion in the same 2023 period. Free cash…

The Prudent Speculator follows an approach to investing that focuses on broadly diversified investments in undervalued stocks for their long-term appreciation potential. Does that mean we build portfolios of 20 stocks…30…? More like 50 and up. We like stocks. And we like a lot of ‘em. We don’t rely nearly as much on “how many” as we do “in which,” but we tend to invest in far more names than most. This expansive diversification, we find, potentially serves us well in two ways: we can further minimize the risk of individual stock ownership, while maximizing the likelihood of finding the…

From the $8M+ acquisition of Gold.com to the $15.5M buying price reveal of chat.com, several high-profile sales have drawn attention to the world of domain investing recently. When Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO of HubSpot, sold chat.com, he stated in a tweet that while he doesn’t usually sell domains when he does “it’s almost never at a loss”. While profit isn’t Shah’s primary intention, the quick sale of chat.com — he bought and sold it within the space of 18 months — represents a particularly speedy realization of a multimillion-dollar investment. His comments on the sale came as no surprise…

In trading on Wednesday, shares of Exxon Mobil entered into oversold territory, changing hands as low as $111.42 per share. We define oversold territory using the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which is a technical analysis indicator used to measure momentum on a scale of zero to 100. A stock is considered to be oversold if the RSI reading falls below 30. Start slideshow: 10 Oversold Energy Stocks » In the case of Exxon Mobil, the RSI reading has hit 29.5 — by comparison, the universe of energy stocks covered by Energy Stock Channel currently has an average RSI of…

We’re now well on our way to Trump 2.0, and I’m getting a lot of questions from readers about where things head from here. I see the new administration as overall bullish for stocks. But the truth is, fortunes will be made in the next four years and, sadly, retirements will be lost. My job is to keep you on the right side of the financial markets. One thing I can say is that the next four years will be challenging for two kinds of investors: Buy-and-hold (or as I like to call them, “buy-and-hope”) types, and … Those who…

Key News Asian equities were mixed overnight on light volumes, and little significant news as South Korea posted consecutive +1% days for the first time since early July, while the Philippines underperformed. There was little market-moving news for Mainland China and Hong Kong as top policymakers met at the China Economic Work Conference (CEWC). A Reuters article that the Chinese government will deliberately weaken the Renminbi to offset Trump tariffs is making the rounds. I find the article somewhat non-sensical as we know China’s interest rates are being cut, which, based on how many US Fed cuts occur, could weigh…

I like Netflix. The plethora of films and documentaries across numerous categories offer a seemingly limitless array of entertainment choices available to stream any time and any place. From sports to obscure indy films to UFO documentaries—if those can even be called documentaries—I can indulge in an occasional Sunday afternoon binge. All I need is an internet connection. What I find most intriguing about Netflix are its algorithms. Lord knows what or how many variables the algorithms use to assess my eclectic viewing habits in making those “if-you-liked-that-you-may-like-this” recommendations. Yet, and often with uncanny accuracy, the algorithm finds a film…

Circle and Binance have joined forces in a partnership deepening ties between USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin with $41 billion in assets under management, and the world’s largest crypto exchange. The collaboration, announced today at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, isn’t about introducing USDC to the Binance exchange—where it’s already available—but expanding its role within Binance’s suite of trading products and services. This includes additional USDC trading pairs and special promotions on USDC across trading, according to CEO Richard Teng. Binance will also adopt the stablecoin for its corporate treasury and work with Circle “to build key relationships across the global…