As tech sells off in a rout, where’s the fear?

As tech sells off in a rout, where’s the fear?

Don’t think traders and Wall Street market strategists haven’t noticed: on a day when AI stocks like Nvidia (NVDA) and Broadcom (AVGO) fell 17% each, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%. Yes, Wall Street’s “fear gauge”—-the VIX—soared 20% the most since mid-December–but it closed the day just below 18. That’s near the index’s historical rage of normal. When the markets really afraid the VIX spikes into the 30s or even into the 40s. On a day when AI tech stocks crumbled, the market as a whole didn’t seem especially fearful.

China’s DeepSeek news leads to AI stock rout–do you think AI stocks might have been overvalued?

China’s DeepSeek news leads to AI stock rout–do you think AI stocks might have been overvalued?

News that DeepSeek a China AI startup had developed an open-source AI model that matched the performance of U.S. AI models from OpenAI, Alphabet, and Meta platforms at a fraction of the cost sent AI stocks reeling today, Monday, January 27. Nvidia (NVDA) shares fell 17%. Broadcom (AVGO) similarly fell 17%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%. A gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps slid 3.2%. The Russell 2000 slipped 1.3%. Wall Street’s “fear gauge”—-the VIX—soared 20% the most since mid-December to almost 18.The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 10 basis points to 4.53%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%. Bitcoin fell 3.9%. Here’s what freaked out the markets today.

Saturday Night Quarterback Part 2, on a Sunday says, For the week ahead expect…

Saturday Night Quarterback Part 2, on a Sunday says, For the week ahead expect…

This week its earnings, earnings, and earnings. From the tech giants and more. This week, we’ll discover three things. First, are tech company earnings as good as the market clearly expects. I think that with the exception of Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) the answer will be Yes. Second, how much of this good news is already priced into the recent rally. These stocks could retreat even on news that’s as good as expected. An advance will, I think, require a surprise or two. And, third, how worried is Wall Street really, given the recent boom in all things AI, about capital spending at the big AI companies and falling profit margins.

Saturday Night Quarterback says, For the week ahead expect…

Saturday Night Quarterback says, For the week ahead expect…

I expect Wednesday’s meeting of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee to be the big event. Not because the Fed will do anything unexpected on interest rates. It won’t change its benchmark policy rate now at 4.25% to 4.50%. But because the Fed might say something that hints on whether and when it might cut interest rates again.

Trump tells Fed that interest rates are too high

Trump tells Fed that interest rates are too high

That was quicker than I expected. On Thursday President Donald Trump used a virtual address at the Davos World Economic Forum to pick a fight with he Federal Reserve and Fed chair Jerome Powell. I wasn’t expecting the President to go after the Fed until Wednesday, January 29–assuming, as now looks just about certain, that the Fed doesn’t cut interest rates at its meeting that day.

China’s DeepSeek news leads to AI stock rout–do you think AI stocks might have been overvalued?

Special Report: 10 stock picks for the 3 hottest sectors in 2025–and when to buy them: Part 1 AI

In 2025 you will want your portfolio fully weighted toward AI, ENERGY, and WEIGHT-LOSS DRUG stocks.
Not just any stock in those sectors, of course. All three sectors will be full of surprises and they won’t play out the way the conventional wisdom now believes. Some stocks in these sectors will do just okay as a rising tide lifts all boats. But some stocks will be GREAT. These winners could be the foundation for another great year for your portfolio. In fact, I expect that 2025 will be a tough year for an investor to make money even if stocks do finish higher. That’s because the year will be filled with more than the usual twists and turns designed make you sell on fear just when you should be holding on or even buying more. And don’t think that the year won’t include more than one of those moments rallies designed to suck you in at the top because–well, because you fear missing out. Yes, FOMO, fear of missing out will be alive and well in 2025. To do well in 2025, you’ll have to not only pick the hot trends, but also understand when that trend is about to zig zag and which stocks you’ll want to ride through all the noise and chaos. Giving you what you need for profits in 2025vis what this Special Report: 10 stock picks for the hottest sectors of 2025 is all about.And there’s no better sector to demonstrate the challenges of 2025 than Artificial Intelligence, the first of my hottest sectors for 2025. (The next two hot trends, energy and weight-loss drugs will follow in the next few days.)

Paul Krugman puts some numbers on the effects of Trump’s tariffs

Paul Krugman puts some numbers on the effects of Trump’s tariffs

Assuming that conventional economics still has some validity and that economic history has some predictive value, Paul Krugman, who won his 2008 Nobel-prize in economics for his work on international trading patterns, has put some numbers on the likely effects of the higher tariffs proposed by President Donald Trump. In his Substack (Krugman left the New York Times after 25 years at the end of 2024) he laid out this math.
Imports are about 11% of U.S. GDP. A first-pass estimate would be that tariffs on the scale Trump is threatening would be a 25% sales tax on goods that account for 11% of consumer spending. That would raise the cost of living by almost 3%–well over 3% if, as Trump has said he intends in some speeches, he puts much higher tariffs on imports from China. Since median household income is more than $80k, that’s around $2500 a year for the typical household.

Apple’s iPhone sales dove in China for the December quarter

Apple’s iPhone sales dove in China for the December quarter

Sales of Apple’s iPhones dove 18.2% in China during the December quarter, according to independent research firm Counterpoint Research. The company’s flagship handsets, China’s top sellers a year earlier, relinquished the top spot to Huawei Technologies. Apple slipped to third in the world’s largest smartphone market over the three months with a market share of roughly 15%. The drop in China drove a global slump of 5% in iPhone sales during the key shopping period, Counterpoint reported.

Drill baby, drill pledge sends oil prices down today

Drill baby, drill pledge sends oil prices down today

Oil slid as U..S President Donald Trump promised to boost U.S. crude production. Brent crude retreated almost 1% to near $80 a barrel.

Here’s the state of U.S. debt before President Trump takes office

Here’s the state of U.S. debt before President Trump takes office

Here’s the fiscal grim status of the United States on the Friday before Donald Trump is sworn in as President on Monday, January 20.
As of January 17, 2025, the U.S. national debt stands at approximately $36.17 trillion. This figure represents the total outstanding public debt of the United States government and can be broken down into two parts. Debt held by the public of $28.83 trillion and intragovernmental debt, that is debt that one part of the government owes to another, of $7.34 trillion. But in some ways that’s the good news.