Hello Antagonist community.
Welcome to another edition of “Over the Weekend.” This is where I summarize interesting things that I read, listened to, or viewed this past week. I also link to the sources so you can check them out “Over the Weekend.”
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1. Members of Congress continue to get away with insider trading.
Last week, I linked to a report that details how the investment activity of some members of Congress reeks of insider trading…yet they face no consequences.
Here’s an example:
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ended its insider trading investigation of former U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R) and his brother-in-law. No action was taken against either man despite strong evidence that the they traded on insider information.
Burr received briefings from federal health officials in early 2020 about the coronavirus before it began spreading widely in the U.S. Also, since he was a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Burr had access to classified intelligence reports that contained dire warnings about the pandemic.
On Feb. 13, 2020, Burr called his stockbroker and directed him to sell more than $1.65 million worth of stock. Just a week later, the U.S. stock market and others around the world crashed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
After reports of his stock sales surfaced, Burr claimed that he “relied solely on public news reports to guide [his] decision regarding the sale of stocks.”
Source: CNBC
2. If you can’t convict ‘em, join ‘em.
A Twitter account called Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker regularly reports suspicious investing activity among elected officials. This includes politicians buying stocks in companies that they oversee:
The SEC doesn’t appear interested in stopping politicians from engaging in insider trading. So, the folks behind this Twitter account,
, created a way to copy politicians’ trades automatically.(Please note that I have never used this app, nor am I endorsing it. I just found this interesting..and kinda funny!)
3. Do the opposite of that guy!
Poor Jim Cramer. The former hedge fund manager and current host of Mad Money is known for his loud stock picking and analyses on CNBC.
Cramer is also consistently blasted on social media. Fintwit (the not-so-affectionate-term for Twitter accounts focused on the market) gets flat-out giddy when Cramer’s picks are wrong.
I don’t watch Cramer’s show, nor have I read any of his books. So, I don’t have an opinion about how good or bad he is at picking stocks.
But an alternative data company, Quiver Quantitative, has taken it to another level. They created the “Inverse Cramer Strategy.” According to their website
This strategy takes a short position in Cramer's 10 most-recommended tickers (whether bullish or bearish) over the previous 30 days, and hedges it with a long position in the market index. It rebalances on a weekly basis, with equal weighting.
In other words, whatever Cramer says, this portfolio does the opposite!
(Please note that I am NOT endorsing or recommending this strategy.)
4. There are bad years…and then there’s this.
(The following is a summary of Stocktwit’s “The Daily Rip” email sent on Jan. 9, 2023. CNBC also reported on the story.)
The Swiss National Bank reported a loss of 132 billion Swiss francs ($143 billion) for the 2022 financial year, citing preliminary figures.
That’s the biggest loss in the central bank’s 116-year history. It also equals about 18% of Switzerland’s gross domestic product (GDP)!
Central banks are supposed to be staffed with the greatest financial and economic minds in the world. Remember that the next time you have a bad year in the market…at least you didn’t lose 18% of your country’s GDP.
5. Prices are rising…but only on things that you need to survive.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) summary on Thursday.
Here are some notable price changes over the last year:
Fuel oil: +42%
Utility gas service: +19%
Transportation services: +15%
Electricity: +14%
Food at home: +12%
Food away from home: +8%
Shelter: +8%
Gasoline: -2%
Used cars and trucks: -9%
This was my favorite Twitter response to the report:
6. The Fed and the Wizard of Oz.
The scarecrow is the Fed.
The ice cream is Fed policy.
And everyone else is…everyone else.
That’s a wrap.
That’s it for this edition of “Over the Weekend.” If you enjoyed it, please hit the heart button and share it with others!
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Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
Jason Milton
Twitter: Antagonist_News
Disclaimer: I am NOT affiliated with any of the sources that I link to, nor do I receive any compensation or benefit for mentioning them. I’m also not recommending or endorsing the sources that I mention in “Over the Weekend.” They are simply some things that I found interesting or funny this past week.
One of the core values of The Antagonist is integrity. As such, I will always tell you if/when I receive any benefit for discussing another product or organization. As of now, I don’t receive any such benefit from anyone.