Tuesday, January 13, 2026

The Morning Call---Another Trump stink bomb

 

The Morning Call

 

1/13/26

 

The Market

         

    Technical

 

            Monday in the charts.

            https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/stocks-shrug-trumps-fed-feud-gold-crypto-jump

 

            Monday in the technical stats.

            https://www.barchart.com/stocks/momentum

            https://www.barchart.com/stocks/sectors/rankings

            https://www.barchart.com/stocks/signals/new-recommendations

 

            Equity volatility looks too cheap.

            https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/equity-vol-looks-too-cheap-given-our-new-world

 

            VIX one shock away from forced buying.

            https://www.zerohedge.com/the-market-ear/vix-shorts-are-one-shock-away-forced-buying

 

            Bullish gold rising wedge breakout.

            https://talkmarkets.com/content/commodities/october-bullish-rising-wedge-breakout?post=549671

 

    Fundamental

 

       Headlines

 

              The Economy

 

                        US

 

The November small business optimism index was reported at 99.0 versus forecasts of 99.3.

 

December CPI was up 0.3% versus expectations of +0.2%; core inflation was up 0.2%, in line.

 

                        International

 

                        Other

 

                          The growth in household net worth.

                          https://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/2026/01/12/household-net-worth-q3-2025

 

                          Mixed news from housing permits, construction, sales and employment.

                          https://bonddad.blogspot.com/2026/01/september-and-october-housing.html

 

                          Problems with the employment stats.

                          https://mishtalk.com/economics/except-near-recessions-bls-monthly-job-revisions-tend-to-be-positive/

 

            Monetary Policy---The Powell subpoena fallout.

 

              Who was behind the subpoena?

              https://www.advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/2026/01/12/new-years-resolutions-2026-investor-version

 

Gold and silver stormed to record highs. On the other hand, after an initial dip, most markets remained stable (which sort of surprised me)---likely realizing the odds of a successful indictment of Powell are quite low. In other words, it was just another Trump stink bomb. While the Market reaction makes sense, I am not so sure about how the electorate will react. As I noted yesterday, I think that the populace can only take so much manufactured drama before it has had enough---and clearly Trump’s ratings at least partially reflect that. I assume that Trump is fighting the ‘affordability’ problem that the dems have hung around his neck. But I am beginning to think his tactics reflect a sense of desperation.

 

Let me also opine that while I disagree with Trump’s desire for lower rates, I have sympathy with his want for changes at the Fed. In my entire career on Wall Street (57 years), the Fed has been consistently wrong in its economic assessments and policies save for the tenure of Paul Volcker who had the very unpleasant job of undoing the disastrous polices of his predecessor. The Bernanke, Yellen, Powell QE moneypaloosa has managed to do almost as much damage as Arthur Burns and it needs to stop---just not in way Trump wants.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-11/gold-flirts-with-record-high-on-soft-us-jobs-data-iran-tensions?srnd=homepage-americas&sref=loFkkPMQ

 

            Geopolitics

 

              Anarchy is what Trump makes of it.

              https://danieldrezner.substack.com/p/anarchy-is-what-donald-trump-makes

 

            2026

 

              2026 earnings outlook.

              https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/2026-earnings-outlook-another-year-optimism

 

     Investing

 

            Dopamine markets.

            https://www.dopaminemarkets.com/p/dopamine-markets-2025-annual-letter

 

            New year’s resolutions.

            https://www.advisorperspectives.com/commentaries/2026/01/12/new-years-resolutions-2026-investor-version

 

            Rules matter more than insight (absolute must read).

            https://thefinancialpen.substack.com/p/rules-matter-more-than-insight

 

            The results of a Goldman investor survey.

            https://www.zerohedge.com/the-market-ear/400-professionals-one-view-what-could-possibly-go-wrong

 

            The good, the bad and the ugly on valuations.

            https://www.zerohedge.com/the-market-ear/good-bad-and-ugly-valuation

 

    News on Stocks in Our Portfolios

 

 

 

What I am reading today

 

            Self-care and performance.

            https://traderfeed.blogspot.com/2026/01/self-care-and-performance.html

 

                        25 lessons of money and meaning.

https://rootofall.substack.com/p/25-lessons-on-money-and-meaning?isFreemail=true&post_id=182366006&publication_id=711594&r=khrn&triedRedirect=true&utm_campaign=email-post-title&utm_medium=email&utm_source=post-email-title

 

                        This account from a Venezuelan security guard.

            https://www.zerohedge.com/military/white-house-amplified-shocking-claims-us-super-soldiers-deployed-maduro-raid

 

 

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