Your weekend market wrap and look ahead

  Stay ahead of the market 💥 Stocks fall for the second week in a row Markets moved lower on Friday, after a week of mixed economic reports. The Nasdaq-100 ETF (QQQ) dropped 0.36% on Friday, but ended the week slightly higher, adding 0.4%. Meanwhile the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) fell 0.13% on Friday, placing it's weekly move down 0.29%. The Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) shed 0.2%, with a weekly loss of 1.4%. While the SPY and QQQ can be buoyed somewhat by mega cap stocks such as Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT), the IWM is comprised of "small cap" companies...[here's why Chris Johnson thinks the IWM is a key indicator for "risk on" vs "risk off" trade.]( WTI crude oil contracts closed 1.89% lower for the week, while natural gas added 3%. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) each fell roughly 3% over the last 5 days. 🏛️ Debt ceiling drama gains steam Money Morning LIVE Chief Economist Garrett {NAME} has been talking about the developing debt ceiling issue for months...but other macroeconomic factors have gobbled up most of the headline space. And now it appears the chickens are coming home to roost. Just yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office said the U.S. can avoid a default on its debt in July...if the Treasury can make it through a cash crunch in June. The agency also said the government remains at "significant risk" of default during the first half of June if Congress doesn't address the debt ceiling. Garrett believes the market can't sustain another extended debt ceiling drama a la 2011. He believes it's political theater, [which could have a significant consequences for your money.]( Why does the debt ceiling debate matter for traders? Just look at this chart of market moves during the last significant debt ceiling crisis, in 2011.     The "X-Date" on the chart above is the date the Treasury would no longer have had the money available to cover it's obligations. As you can see on the chart, even though the debt ceiling was raised, markets sold off significantly. During the height of the debit ceiling drama in 2011, the price of gold rallied 20% from early May through mid-August. Tom Gentile thinks there could be a similar move for gold in the next 6 months...only instead of 20%, [he sees gold going much, much higher.]( [Check out Tom's prediction for gold right here.]( 🤖 Google's AI redemption story Google (GOOGL) stock rallied more than 11% on the week, significantly outperforming the market, following the company's annual developer conference. The first time Google debuted it's ChatGPT-like competitor, Bard, back in February, shares of the stock fell 7% after the chatbot made an error. Shares have been on the rebound since mid-March, with this week pushing Google stock within 4% of 52-week highs. After losing 40% of in 2022, GOOGL shares are up 33% this year. 🏴‍☠️ Pirate Garrett wants your plunder Staying laser focused on the market, macroeconomic factors, writing, and trading can make a guy a bit drained. That's why when we have moments of levity, it's important to give yourself a break and appreciate them. This week, Garrett appeared in Olivia Voz's Trade the Close premium trading room to discuss trading - and provided a slick 25% winner in a manner of minutes on SQQQ. But the REAL news was the debut of an EYEPATCH, that's still unclear if it was medically necessary, or just Garrett doing his best impression of Tim Curry in the hit film Muppet Treasure Island. While we can't share the full clip of that segment - which was as hilarious as it was informative (and profitable) - enjoy this GIF of Pirate Garrett discussing his plans for world domination.     Economic data for the week starting 5/15   💰 Monday - Empire State Manufacturing Index 💰 Tuesday - Retail Sales m/m 💰 Wednesday - Building Permits, Housing Starts 💰 Thursday - Unemployment Claims, Existing Home Sales, Philly Fed Manufacturing Index 💰 Friday - Fed Chair Jerome Powell Speaks   Key earnings for the week starting 5/15   Image via Twitter [@EarningsWhispers](   Three things to keep your eye on for next week 🛒 Big week for retail One of the most significant economic reports this week are Retail Sales numbers on a month over month basis, which drop Tuesday before the market opens. Major retail names such as Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT), and others report earnings this week. Keep an eye on the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT), which has been on our traders' radar of late, for a potential trade. 🩳 High short interest While social media "meme stock" traders get caught bagholding terrible stocks (like BBBY) waiting for the next MOTHER OF ALL SHORT SQUEEZES, stocks with short interest can provide trading opportunities around shifts in momentum. That's why it's so important to keep up with Garrett {NAME} and his [Midday Momentum newsletter - sign up right here.]( Garrett likes using HighShortInterest.com to find stocks that have potential to break out when momentum moves one way or the others.[Check it out.]( 🏅 Gold poised to breakout [This particular chart]( how the SPDR S&P Gold Trust (GLD), an ETF that follows a basket of gold stocks, is ready to breakout. Gold stock trading legend Brien Lundin believes there's a much, much bigger move to the upside for gold in the near future, and[here's how traders can profit from it.](   [Saturday School]( Get ahead of the trading week by staying prepared… [📊 CJ's Top Indicators]( Quantitative Analyst Chris Johnson believes that the market is math. But, if you're like me, you have a hard time carrying the 2 without a calculator. Good thing CJ is here to share his favorite indicators that help him with his trading. [🔊 Pump Up the Volume]( Trading Specialist Olivia Voz recently sat down for an extended session all about VOLUME. Check it out, turn it up, and follow along with the Beyonce of trading as she breaks down how volume can give traders an edge in this market. [🌋 Andrew On Vol Products]( Expert Andrew Giovinazzi does a deep dive into the CBOE Volatility Index how volatility affects option pricing, and the different "vol products" available for traders, and how to make sense of them.   We’d love to hear from you! There’s nothing more that we value than hearing from our loyal Money Morning LIVE audience! (Especially hearing how much you LOVE Boom and the content you receive from Trading Today 😉) So whatever your pleasure - whether it’s [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [TikTok]( or [Facebook]( - give us a like, a follow, or leave us a comment (or an emoji 💸)! Never miss another episode of Money Morning LIVE! [Sign up for text alerts right here]( - and be the first to know when (and where) we’ll be having special guests, access our daily watchlist, and much more! 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