Run, Russell, Run!

Is the small-cap index getting ready to break out? [The Rude Awakening] January 23, 2024 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Run, Russell, Run! [Sean Ring] SEAN RING As I was reading about Nikki Haley's alleged extramarital affairs, I thought, “Ewwww! Let's write about the stock market today instead!” Luckily, a trade in one of the indexes may interest you, especially if you prefer to keep your money in index funds. Let me explain. The Russell 2000 index's charts look pretty unremarkable at the moment. But I'll show you a strong argument for why it may be about to break out. But before I do, let's define the Russell 2000 and why you'd want to invest in an index like this. What is the Russell 2000? The Russell 2000 index tracks 2,000 small-cap companies in the United States. It's part of the broader Russell 3000 Index, which covers around 98% of the U.S. equity market, making the Russell 2000 a significant chunk. Investors consider the Russell 2000 for a few key reasons: - Diversity in Small Caps: It offers exposure to small companies across various sectors. These companies are often more agile and potentially faster-growing than larger, more established firms. - Domestic Focus: Many small-cap companies are more domestically focused than larger multinational corporations. This means they can offer investors different market exposure, which is especially useful when global markets are volatile or facing unique challenges. - Growth Potential: Small-cap stocks have the potential for high growth. They are often in their early growth stages and can offer higher returns (though with higher risk). - Portfolio Diversification: Including small-cap stocks like those in the Russell 2000 can help diversify an investment portfolio, which can reduce risk. - Economic Indicator: The Russell 2000 is often seen as a bellwether for the domestic economy. Since it's made up of smaller domestic companies, it can be a good indicator of the overall U.S. economy's performance. But remember, investing in small caps can be riskier than investing in larger, more stable companies. They can be more volatile and sensitive to market changes. So, it's always good to consider how this fits into your overall investment strategy and risk tolerance. Only you know that for sure. The Russell's Charts We'll use IWM, the tradeable Russell 2000 ETF, for the charts. You can easily buy IWM through whichever broker-dealer you use to trade your portfolio. The daily chart is unremarkable, except that the price trend is bullish, the 50-day moving average is above the 200-day moving average, and both moving averages point upward. [Rude] As we zoom out to the weekly chart, the picture gets muddier, not clearer. For the last two years, we've been in a sideways range between $160 and $200. Currently, we're in the top end of that range at $196.54. Again, from this point of view, nothing is screaming to me, “BUY NOW!” [Rude] [*New Intel* Strange and Powerful AI Project Revealed]( Jim Rickards was recently passed some urgent new intelligence involving a $10 million A.I. project… That could have a massive and direct impact on your life. Everything you need to know is in this 2-minute AI briefing. [Click here to play his urgent message now.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( The Trade That's why it's good to follow analysts who love to pick apart numbers. Charlie Bilello, a noted chart analyst with over 580,000 X followers, posted on X that the Russell is around 20% away from its all-time high while the S&P 500 just made a new all-time high. The last three times that happened, the Russell rallied hard on each occasion. Here's the post. (Note: R2k = Russell 2000). [Rude] If I were a betting man, I'd suggest that this situation will resolve like the one in 1999, when the Russell rallied 36.5%. I cross-referenced this with the IWM's point & figure chart. Its current price target is $277, a 40.9% gain from the current level of $196.54. To be sure, there's no guarantee the IWM will hit $277. But even if it falls short, you'd have made a hefty gain. Besides the charts, there's another reason I love this trade. Trump is Good For the Russell 2000 Donald Trump loves Small Business. And Small Business loves Donald Trump. One of the most significant incentives for voting for Trump is his treatment of small businesses. Running a small business is hard enough. Running a small business when your government is actively trying to castrate you is another matter entirely. So, I expect every small business owner (except vegan smoothie shop owners, perhaps) to vote for The Donald. And there's historical precedence for this, as well. When Trump became the front-runner in 2016, the Russell surged. It dipped momentarily when he was elected but then soared nearly 50%. Then, Jerome Powell started to hike rates, only to reverse course a few months later. The Covid crash crushed the index before a full recovery upon leaving office. The Russell is up roughly 25% under Biden. A Trump election strengthens the chances of the trend continuing. [Rude] Wrap Up Small caps are a great way to diversify your portfolio while leaving you with significant upside. IWM is a diversified small-cap ETF straight off the shelf, ready for you. Its fees are minuscule while giving you the upside. And the small-cap upside can be substantial, especially in this case. But it's up to you. Do your homework and see if this is right for you. Full disclosure: currently, I don't own IWM, so I have no conflict of interest. I own a few small-cap companies and won't buy it soon. But if you have no small-cap exposure, this is worth considering. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening X (formerly Twitter): [@seaniechaos]( In Case You Missed It… Trumping DeSantis [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Before I get into Donald Trump's retirement from the “Ron DeSanctimonious” nickname after beating the living daylights out of DeSantis in Iowa, I want you to watch [this amazingly informative interview I conducted with Jason Hanson](. In this handy video, you’ll find out what “bugout plans,” “toss wallets,” and “nuts on a string” are. I had no idea what they were, how useful they were, and how easy they were to create. You and your family will be much safer after [watching this video](. You’ll even find out who’s coming through the Southern border and who makes up the Deep State. Head to the Paradigm Press YouTube Channel to watch [Jim Richards Presents: Survival Secrets for the Incoming Crisis with Jason Hanson](. Now, let's go back to DeSantis being out of the race. — What’s the point of debating when your opponents graciously concede the race to you anyway? Last night, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis permanently suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald J. Trump for President. Now it’s only the nutty neocon, Nikki Haley, who stands between Trump and the Republican nomination. It’ll only be a matter of time before Haley’s paymasters realize they backed the wrong horse and make her bow out. But talking about Nutty Nikki and how she pulled the race card is a topic for another time. What Happened to DeSantis? In The Age of Hyperbole, there’s no point in being the more grown-up choice. In a concession speech riddled with clichés, DeSantis said: It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him. While I have had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear. I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee, and I will honor that pledge. He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear -- a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism -- that Nikki Haley represents. Actually, he has DeSantis’s endorsement because, in Iowa, Trump beat him like a red-headed stepchild. Thirty points. Thirty points! But seeing DeSantis lay the boot into Haley before he left the race was nice. [The New York Times]( wrote: Mr. Trump’s constant mockery — about everything from Mr. DeSantis’s facial expressions to his choice of footwear — degraded his image as a confident conservative warrior. Over the course of his campaign, Mr. DeSantis’s national poll numbers fell by roughly half, a seeming indictment of both his skills as a candidate and his strategy of trying to run to Mr. Trump’s right. A vaunted turnout and canvassing machine paid for by his super PAC, Never Back Down, hardly seemed to make a dent in the race. At points, it felt as if Mr. DeSantis was careening from one embarrassment to the next, as his campaign dealt with setbacks like mass layoffs and the fallout from producing a social media video that featured a Nazi symbol. According to a new poll by CNN and the University of New Hampshire, DeSantis has just 6% of the state's Republican vote, vs. Trump at 50% and Haley at 39%. That Churchill Quote is a Fake Across the pond, [The Daily Mail]( was keeping tabs on the Churchill comparisons: Ron DeSantis ended his campaign to become the GOP's presidential candidate by using a fake statement attributed to British wartime leader Winston Churchill. The Florida Governor signed off his campaign with the quote: 'Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts,' underneath the video where he announced he was removing himself from the running. But the motivational words, which he attributed to Churchill, where never actually used by the statesman and former UK Prime Minister, according to history experts. The International Churchill Society's website states: 'We base this on careful research in the canon of fifty million words by and about Churchill, including all of his books, articles, speeches and papers. 'We can find no attribution for either one of these, and you will find that they are broadly attributed to Winston Churchill. They are found nowhere in his canon. 'An almost equal number of sources found online credit these sayings to Abraham Lincoln—but we have found none that provides any attribution in the Lincoln Archives.' Author Richard Langworth, who wrote 11 books on Churchill and his life, also found no source for the quote. It isn’t hard to look this stuff up… [James Altucher: THIS is my top AI investment pick]( I've been called a “genius investor” by my fans… And an “eccentric millionaire” by some others. I think it's because I make big predictions that [tend to come true.]( Today, I'm making my boldest prediction ever. Revealing the AI stocks I believe… Could turn as little as $10,000… Into $1 MILLION over the next few years. To show you I'm serious about helping you get in on this opportunity, I'm giving away one of my top 5 AI 2.0 stock picks — free. [See my top 5 pick here now.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( To New Hampshire! [Republican strategist Scott Jennings said]( Trump benefits, but he was already cruising to the nomination. Trump is dominant. He's run a textbook operation to dispatch his opponents. New Hampshire is the most fertile ground Haley would ever find, and Trump's leading her by a decent margin. It doesn't get easier from there. In fact, it gets significantly harder. While DeSantis was only polling 6% in the Granite State, Haley was 11 points behind Trump. If Trump handily beats her, don’t be surprised if Haley’s forced out of the race. Remember, as DeSantis said in his exit speech, “It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance.” Wrap Up This is getting embarrassing now. Let’s get Nutty Nikki out of the race next. Her only chance is if only defense contractors vote in New Hampshire. Unfortunately for her, that’s not the case. She’ll lose up there badly. And then she’ll have to concede she had no chance other than the one RINO financiers set up for her. Trump should cruise from here on out. Have a great week ahead! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2024 Paradigm Press, LLC. 1001 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. 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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