March 2023: Monthly Asset Class Report

The USD was down, but so were commodities. Stocks and bonds rallied. [The Rude Awakening] April 03, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( March 2023: Monthly Asset Class Report - The USD was down over 2% this month. - Commodities were also down, but not the shiny stuff. - But stocks and bonds rallied hard. [Secret Gold Back currency RUINING Biden’s plans for a digital dollar?]( There is a secret currency that’s beginning to spread across America. And you only have a limited time to claim one of these “Gold Dollars” for yourself. And since you’ll be getting it as part of an upgrade I want to make to your account… You’ll be receiving one of these [“Gold Dollars” as a FREE gift.]( You just have to watch this [short 2 minute video]( I recorded for you and respond by Wednesday at midnight. [Click Here To Learn More]( [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Happy Monday from sunny Northern Italy. This weekend, we drove along the lovely back roads in the Langhe Valley to celebrate our 1st anniversary in Italy. Incidentally, we drank Barbaresco instead of Barolo, but it was fantastic. That’s because we found ourselves in the village of Barbaresco, atop a lovely hill. [SJN] Credit: Pam Ring Pam took this pic. You can see the Alps in the background if you look hard and the rolling hills of the Langhe in front. In the foreground are the farmland and vineyards. It’s a beautiful place. Ok, onto business! Though stocks rallied, the SPX still seems to be rangebound. However, it’s safe to say the Nasdaq will continue to head higher. And while commodities were a bit meh this month, the precious metals were shining. We’ve been saying that gold and silver looked like great buys after the SIVB and Signature disasters. That has been proven true. Gold looks like it’ll breach $2,000 imminently. Silver will do the same to the $25 level. The moves we’ve long awaited are now here and in motion. Even Bitcoin joined the party, along with Ethereum and Ripple. The cryptos were up hard this month as investors sought ways to protect their purchasing power. This month’s report is a bit cheerier, I think. I hope you get a lot out of it. S&P 500 [SJN] We’re in a “sideways trend.” That’s a nice way of saying, “We haven’t gone anywhere.” I’m still looking for a breakout either way. And the odds still favor the upside, believe it or not, for a lovely spring rally. But nothing is set in stone yet, so wait for the signal. Above 4,200 should be good enough to call a sustainable rally. If we head below 3,800, 3,550 would be our next target down. Nasdaq Composite [SJN] The Nazzie is a bit different. Thanks to the inflation numbers easing off - in the market’s opinion, anyway - tech stocks have rallied hard. I don’t expect this to stop anytime soon. I’m first looking for the 13,000 level. If that’s breached, 14,250. Russell 2000 (Small caps) [SJN] Fighting hard though it is, the Russell couldn’t get above $200. We were right in that we got down to below $180. But the IWM peddled hard from there and has rallied a bit since its recent low of $167.50. It can go either way: follow the big indices back up to $195(ish), or head back down to $162.50. Price action matters here. The US 10-Year Yield [SJN] We’re off 50 basis points (0.50%) since our last asset class report. This is because the market thinks the Fed is done hiking and will cut soon. I don’t think the Fed is done hiking, nor do I think it’ll cut soon after. There will be a decent interval between the end of the hikes and the beginning of the cuts. So I think we’re going up from here, though the entire market disagrees with me. Dollar Index [pub] We’ve come off again as rate expectations have fallen, weakening the spot dollar price. I wouldn’t be surprised to see us staying in the 101-105 range for the next few months. That’s because the market has to get to grips fully with what Chairman Pow is trying to do with his monetary policy. USG Bonds [pub] Last month’s double top turned into this month’s triple top. If we get above 109.50, we’re looking at 117.50. If we cut below 100, we’ll see that 92.50 downside target hit. Investment Grade Bonds [pub] Ok, we hit our downside target of 105… … and are now retesting our upside target of 110. A break above here, and we go to 112 and then 118. If rangebound, back down to 105. Breaking 105, we head to 97.50. [Over 62 And Collect Social Security? Take Action Immediately!]( [If you’re over the age of 62 and currently collect Social Security, you need to prepare now](. Because Biden has given our country the worst inflation in decades – and many warn things will only get worse from here. Worse yet, the Social Security check you receive now may not keep pace with inflation… [Which is why, if you don’t act now, you could fall behind in the months ahead](. Is your retirement at immediate risk? [Click here now to get the simple, step-by-step actions to survive inflation](. [Click Here To Learn More]( High Yield Bonds [SJN] Literally the same as last month: We got that breakdown to 74. We’re stuck in the 71 - 77 range. A definite break, either way, will tell us more. Real Estate [SJN] From last month: Real estate couldn’t capitalize on its rally, sadly. After topping out at 92, it headed back to 85. From here, we can head to 82, then to 75. We didn’t get to 75, but to nearly 76. Last week, we had a massive rally. Short-term, I’m looking to get back up to 87. Base Metals: Copper [SJN] 4.09 last month. 4.09 this month. Literally no move. Right now, we’re in No Man’s Land. Precious Metals: Gold [SJN] I called $2,000 “sometime soon” in last month’s report. We’re right there at $1,986. It’s still not too late to pile in. I still think we can hit $3,000 on the upside this cycle. Precious Metals: Silver [SJN] YAY! A sustained rally! Above $25, we head to $26.50, then on to $28.50. Things are finally looking up for the former Yawny McYawnface. Cryptos: Bitcoin [SJN] After a short range, BTC coiled and popped again. Next stop: $35,000. Amazing how things turned around here. Cryptos: Ether [SJN] A good chart, but not as good as Bitcoin’s. I want to see a sustained move above $2,000 before I get excited about ETH. Trad Asset Class Summary [SJN] Another course reversal from last month saw the USD get hit to the tune of -2.15%. For some reason, commodities followed the USD down at -1.86%. Both stocks (up 4.00%) and bonds (up 5.91%) enjoyed a fruitful month. Crypto Class Summary [SJN] Ok, the inflation story hasn’t gone away, and now investors are looking for its old safe havens. Ripple led the way, up 40%. BTC and ETH were right behind it, recording double-digit gains as well. Monero, the most secretive of the cryptocurrencies, was up 3.46%. Dogecoin and Litecoin lagged, finishing the month negatively. Wrap Up The market is looking for a rate cut and a safe place to put your purchasing power. Gold, silver, and bitcoin have done well in response. Tech stocks are rallying hard, counterintuitively. I’d ride that trend. Finally, let’s take a moment to enjoy this meme, courtesy of the Twitterverse: [SJN] Have a great day! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening In Case You Missed It… The Indictment and Re-Election of Donald J. Trump [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Happy Friday! It’s a gorgeous day here in Asti, and I hope the sun shines on you right now. Pam has already asked me if we can crack open a bottle tonight, so I know it’ll be a good day. “A bottle of white? A bottle of red? Perhaps a bottle of rosé instead?” as Billy Joel has sung. My bet is on a cheeky bottle of Barolo. And why not? Napoleon once said, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” So I’ll drink away while DA Alvin Bragg gets The Donald re-elected President. It’s worth noting [on November 9, 2022, I wrote]( Donald Trump Ought to Retire It’s no secret I’ve been Trump’s biggest supporter on this side of The Pond, at least. But if there’s one thing this result screamed at me it’s that his specter hangs over the Republican party and is now a drag. The nation, however corrupted it is, simply doesn’t want him. He needs to go. With all that said, I don’t think he will. And I think he’ll get crushed in 2024 against whomever the Democrats run. Because if there’s another thing this result proved, in blue states, the Dems can run a damn scarecrow, and it’d win an election. I’m going to hold my hand up and take the “L” on this one right now. But in my defense, I didn’t anticipate an idiot as big as Bragg making an unforced error this large. Let’s get into it. Just look at The New York Times, Trump’s hometown paper: [pub] Credit: [nytimes.com]( It’ll have been worth him losing in 2020 if he gets re-elected in 2024. He’ll have gotten an extra four years living in libtard heads rent-free! And look at this: [pub] Credit: [@isource_news]( Unfortunately, Soros didn’t hop into his grave. [America’s #1 Gold Expert Issues Urgent Buy Alert]( For the first time in a decade, gold is once again red-hot. - Global demand for gold soared 18% in 2022 to its highest level in over a decade. - Central banks bought a record 1,136 tons of gold in 2022, worth around $70 billion. - And M&A has begun to pick up in the gold mining sector at a significant pace. But you must hurry. The price of gold has just climbed past $2,000 an ounce. And America’s #1 gold expert says this is only the beginning of a much larger move. [To see just how high gold could run in the coming years – and how you can prepare today, even if you’ve never bought any gold before – click here now](. [Click Here To Learn More]( Why, Though? DA Bragg is trying to turn a state-level misdemeanor, falsifying financial records to hide the alleged payment to Stormy Daniels, into a federal felony. I remember the original UK version of House of Cards starring Shakespearean acting legend Ian Richardson. His evil Francis Urquhart once scolded one of his MPs for getting into the newspapers. He ended the conversation by saying: “…and if you must use whores, for God's sake, go to a decent knocking shop where they understand the meaning of discretion.” I couldn’t agree more. But since I wasn’t advising The Donald at the time, this mess happened. Back to Bragg. Like all Manhattan DAs, Bragg is trying to get a promotion. Funnily enough, Rudy Giuliani comes to mind. When Giuliani was the DA for the Southern District (Wall Street), he made his name by nicking Ivan Boesky, Michael Milkin, Dennis Levine, and Martin Siegel. Read Den of Thieves by James Stewart if you haven’t. It’s a fantastic book about 1980s Wall Street. Giuliani rode that success to the Mayor of New York’s office. What Bragg has been promised, one can only guess. He’s a Harvard and Harvard Law-educated man, which validates what I’ll call Sowell’s Law: [pub] But here’s the thing. [Bragg’s case is ridiculous]( - The key witness, lawyer Michael Cohen, is a congenital liar. - Precedent shows that in other similar cases, such as against one-time presidential candidate John Edwards, the defendants have been found not guilty. - Bragg’s own predecessor — and the feds! — declined to bring this case against Trump for six years. And if you’re wondering why Bragg had to upgrade the case to a federal felony, Styx fixes this for you: [pub] Credit: [@Styx666Official]( Yes, a payment made over 17 years ago to a “sex worker” is now a federal case because time ran out in state law. It’s absurd. Apparently, Alan Dershowitz still thinks the case will be thrown out: "They've made a foolish, foolish decision which will cause the case to be thrown out, I think, on statute of limitations grounds." But… Bragg ran his campaign on getting Trump. So, in this way, he kept his promise. At the same time, he missed the forest for the trees. But more importantly, he should be locking up real criminals in the third-world stinking shithole known as New York City. Precedent and Natural Law That John Fetterman won the Pennsylvania Senatorial race tells you Senator Hawley is absolutely correct. [pub] Credit: [@HawleyMO]( But this takes the cake: [pub] Credit: [@SpeakerPelosi]( This woman still styles herself as “Speaker.” She is an imbecile of the highest order, except when it comes to insider trading. But it brings up a more important point. This would never have happened if prosecutors were ethical rather than litigious. And that’s the difference between natural law and civil law. From [Mises Wiki]( Natural law is the view that an absolute and eternal standard of value exists. Alternatively, natural law can be seen as an "ultimate measure of right and wrong, as the pattern of the good life or life according to nature." Natural law is seen as a form of justice or a set of laws that human authority can express or ought to express but does not create. Natural law, or common law, is discovered through time. It’s not created in a legislature. Civil or Roman law is created. Sometimes, this is called “legal positivism.” For example: “Thou shalt not kill” is law. It’s self-evident that murder is wrong.* “You must pay your taxes on April 15th or face penalties” is legislation. *Child killers in Nashville and other similar cases, notwithstanding. Natural law doesn’t allow for Bragg’s ridiculous contortion: “Well, if we upgrade the charge to a federal felony, that allows us to bring a case.” Is it legal? Apparently, for now, if you follow the law to the letter. But that’s not what was meant when that law was drafted. An ethical prosecutor wouldn’t touch this case with a 10-foot pole. Unfortunately, that’s not the world we’re living in right now. Wrap Up Stay peaceful. Do nothing. And especially do nothing that would put you in harm’s way. Go out onto your patio. Make popcorn. Crack open a beer. Uncork a great bottle of wine. DA Bragg has given us something we scarcely could’ve hoped for before. An indictment, exoneration, and resurrection of the most flawed character in the history of American politics. If all goes as well as I think, Trump will ju-jitsu this case into massive momentum for the 2024 campaign. And then, he’ll win this time. The American legal system is a petty affront to the word “justice.” But let’s let that work for us and not against us. All we have to do is sit there and watch… from the safety of our own homes. Have a fantastic weekend! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Rude Awakening e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Rude Awakening, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@rudeawakening.info. This address is for feedback only. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, [contact us here]( or call (844)-731-0984. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. 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