Welcome to the 185th edition of The Weekly Bull Report.
Happy Martin Luther King day π€
Here’s a shortlist of the content we found interesting and informative over the past week…
π€ Interesting Articles & News:
POLITICS
- Supreme Court halts Covid-19 vaccine rule for U.S. businesses. π
- Biden job approval plummets to 33% as majority think US Democracy ‘In Danger Of Collapse’. π
- Bitcoin crashes the midterms: Candidates staking out positions on cryptocurrency, scrambling party lines and fanning fundraising concerns. πͺ
- Venezuela: The decline of an oil giant in crisis. π»πͺ
- Britain’s opposition urges Boris Johnson to resign over “bring your own booze” garden party during COVID lockdown. πΉ
- Trust in politics has reasonable correlation with range of outcomes, including vote choice, turnout, and policy preferences. π€
ECONOMICS
- Shipping expenses in the US go through the roof. πΉ
- FED published Microeconomic Data of consumer expectations: Short- and medium-term inflation expectations unchanged; job and income expectations strengthen further. π
- Chinaβs GDP grew by 8.1% last year, beating most expectations, but population crisis and coronavirus cloud economic outlook. πΆβπ«οΈ
- Chinese semiconductor output surged 33% last year, double the growth rate in 2020. π»
- UK inflation nears 30-year high, but how fast will it fall back? π€
- High gas price pushes Norway’s trade surplus to record in December. β½οΈ
- Nigerian economy: The concerning proliferation of essential goods sold in smaller quantities. π³π¬
CULTURE
- Scientists βvirtually unwrapβ exceptional 3,500-year-old mummy of Amenhotep I with CT Scans, revealing ancient mystery. π¬
- Incredible photos show bioluminescent fungus illuminating driftwood during lunar eclipse. π
- How physicians became scientists. π¨βπ¬
- Madame von Meck offered Tchaikovsky her generous patronage, but spoke to him only through letters. π¬
- East Africaβs oldest modern human fossil is way older than previously thought. π¦΄
- Long-overlooked Necropolis in Naples reveals the enduring influence of Ancient Greece. π¬π·
SOCIETY
- Scientists find the worldβs deepest-dwelling squid. π¦
- How Campbell Soup turned New Jersey into a tomato-growing state. π
- Some tiger sharks are migrating further north due to climate change. π¦
- Peaky Blinders theater show debuts in the UK next September. π
- How the potato chips took over the US (and the world). π
TECHNOLOGY
- Worldβs largest 3D-printed real concrete building is completed in Oman. π·ββοΈ
- Meet Relativity Space: the little 3D printing rocket company that could. π
- 2022 trends in 3D and 4D printing. π¨
- Constraining the Multiverse: Stephen Hawkingβs final theory about the Big Bang. π₯
- Super absorption unlocks key to next-generation quantum batteries. π
- Newly discovered type of βStrange Metalβ – Material that shares fundamental quantum attributes with Black Holes. π³
- New tiny sensor makes the invisible visible. π²
- MIT physicists detect strange hybrid particle held together by uniquely intense βGlueβ. βοΈ
- China challenges Britain over Huawei ban after reports intelligence services found no security threat. π«
MEDICINE & SCIENCE
- HPV vaccines could shift rates of many cancers, not only cervical. π
- Dried goji berries may provide protection against age-related vision loss. π
- Large international evaluation shows AI accurately diagnoses prostate cancer. π¬
- Researchers find dying from a heart attack while having sex is rare. π«
- Your gut senses the difference between real sugar and artificial sweetener. π§
- Obesity harms brain health throughout life, yet scientists don’t know why. π§
- Researchers make important new findings about how to test cancer-fighting drugs. π
- Green-med diet seems to slow age-related neurodegeneration. π₯
- Half a tablespoon of olive oil each day reduces cardiac deaths by 20 percent. π«
- Food high in added fats & refined carbs as addictive as cigarettes. π¬
CANNABIS & PSYCHEDELICS
- Marijuana MSO Ascend Wellness sues MedMen over New York deal. π°
- Can microdosing magic mushrooms help you quit drinking? π₯
- Synthetic CBD may protect patients from contracting COVID-19. π¦
- Psilocybin and MDMA have been approved for medicinal use in Canada. β
- South African indigenous ‘king’ released on warning after cannabis arrest. πΏ
SPORTS
- AFCON: All-female squad to referee Guinea-Zimbabwe game. β½οΈ
- The Cowboys are the worldβs most valuable team. So why are they so bad at winning? π
- βItβs as simple as that’ Djokovic deported for breach of Australiaβs border rules, PM says. πΎ
- Liverpool rediscover scoring touch to sweep past Brentford and move up to second. π₯
- Philippe Coutinho leads Aston Villa comeback against Manchester United on dream Premier League return. β½οΈ
π² Noteworthy Stocks & Assets:
- Virgin Galactic shares tumble as the company says it’s raising $425 million in debt. π°
- Car Capital scores $150 million in backing for its instant car loan approval technology. π€
- NFTs: An overblown speculative bubble inflated by pop culture and crypto-mania. π
π¨ Investment Opportunity: FIELD π§
Brought to you byΒ Longevity Technology:
First Longevity is fundraising for a neurotech company: FIELD
FIELD technology uses cutting-edge materials, science, and ultra-modern electronics to create full brain mapping neurotech solutions. The company leverages high-quality quantitative EEG thatβs easy for anyone to use. π§
The companyβs pathway interventions are built on fully referenced neurological training and improvement protocols. Until FIELD, these peer-reviewed outcomes havenβt been available on any singular platform. π¬
- PHASE 1: A private, immersive pod for luxury spas, wellness clinics, and regenerative practices globally. The first customer is Thrive Performance a boutique medicine and precision-care facility currently being built in Houston, Texas.
- PHASE 2: Using the same technology as in the FIELD pod, personal headsets will be sold for use in the home to train the clientβs brain and improve their life; whenever and however they want.
FIELD is led by an experienced management team with experts in performance coaching, applied neuroscience, neurofeedback, and the development of hardware and customer interface solutions. π©βπ¬
Having completed a pre-seed round of $740K, the company is now raising this seed round of $3M.Β
β‘οΈΒ Link to the deckΒ β¬ οΈ
What Moved the Markets
U.S. Indices
Dow -0.9% to 35,912. S&P 500 -0.3% to 4,663. Nasdaq -0.3% to 14,894. Russell 2000 -0.8% to 2,161. CBOE Volatility Index +2.3% to 19.19.
S&P 500 Sectors
Consumer Staples -0.4%. Utilities -1.4%. Financials -0.9%. Telecom +0.5%. Healthcare -0.3%. Industrials -0.6%. Information Technology -0.1%. Materials -0.6%. Energy +5.2%. Consumer Discretionary -1.5%.
World Indices
London +0.8% to 7,543. France -1.1% to 7,143. Germany -0.4% to 15,883. Japan -1.2% to 28,124. China -1.6% to 3,521. Hong Kong +3.8% to 24,383. India +2.5% to 61,223.
Commodities and Bonds
Crude Oil WTI +6.8% to $84.28/bbl. Gold +1.1% to $1,817.4/oz. Natural Gas +7.8% to 4.223. Ten-Year Treasury Yield -0.1% to 128.19.
Forex and Cryptos
EUR/USD +0.5%. USD/JPY -1.18%. GBP/USD +0.68%. Bitcoin +3.5%. Litecoin +13.6%. Ethereum +7.7%. XRP +3.9%.
Top S&P 500 Gainers
Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) +13%. APA (NASDAQ:APA) +12%. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) +11%. Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) +11%. Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) +9%.
Top S&P 500 Losers
Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) -12%. Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LUMN) -10%. Aptiv (NYSE:APTV) -10%. Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) -9%. Dollar General (NYSE:DG) -9%.
Earnings spotlight:
Tuesday, January 18: Goldman Sachs (GS), PNC Bank (NYSE:PNC), Truist (NYSE:TFC), J.B. Hunt Transport (NASDAQ:JBHT) and Stride (NYSE:LRN).
Wednesday, January 19: UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Procter & Gamble (PG), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) and Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI).
Thursday, January 20: American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Travelers (TRV), Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP), Netflix (NFLX) and CSX (NASDAQ:CSX).
Friday, January 21: Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY), Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON), IHS Markit (NYSE:IHS) and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB).
IPOs expected to start trading this week:
IPOs expected to start trading during the week include Verdant Earth Technologies Limited (VDNT) and Jupiter Neurosciences (JUNS) on January 18, Four Springs Capital Trust (FSPR) on January 20 and Samsara Vision (SMSA) on January 21. Notable IPO lockup expirations include Vtex (NYSE:VTEX), Zevai PBC (NYSE:ZVIA), Instructure (NYSE:INST), Couchbase (NASDAQ:BASE) and Ryan Specialty Group Holdings (NYSE:RYAN) on January 18, as well as Gambling.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:GAMB), Xponential Fitness (NYSE:XPOF), Caribou Biosciences (NASDAQ:CRBU), Cytek Biosciences (NASDAQ:CTKB) and Outbrain (NASDAQ:OB) on January 19. Across the Pacific Ocean, an operating subsidiary of JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS) is expected to start trading Shanghai. The company plans to offer 2B shares in the offering, representing ~20% of shares outstanding, at a proposed price of five yuan per share, for estimated gross proceeds of 10B yuan, or ~$1.57B.
π― Stocks On Our Radar:
- Biohaven Pharmaceutical (NYSE: BHVN) πΒ – $200 targetΒ
- AgeX (NYSE: AGE) π Β – $3.00 target
- Portage Biotech (NASDAQ: PRTG) π – $40 target
- Wuhan General Group (OTC: WUHN) π – $3.00 target
- Agronomics Ltd (OTC: AGNMF) πΒ
- Regent Pacific Group Ltd. (HKG: 0575) π
- ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK.CN) (OTC: IDKFF) π
π Quotes That Inspire Us:
βI donβt count my situps. I only start counting once it starts hurting.β – Muhammad Ali π₯
π Word Of The Week:
Affable [aΒ·fuhΒ·bl] adjective –Β Means being pleasant and at ease in talking to others or characterized by ease and friendliness.
”The affable owner of the restaurant can be seen most nights welcoming his guests and making light conversation.”
” In the hallways, the principal has an affable demeanor; however, when called to her office, students know she is all about business.”
β Did You Know:
Martin Luther King is one of the only Americans to have his birthday as a national holiday. πΊπΈ
George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are the only other Americans to have had their birthdays observed as a national holiday (now combined as President’s Day).
π Books We Are Reading:
- Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World – by Tim Ferriss.
- Crushing It: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence β and How You Can, Too – by Gary Vaynerchuk.
- The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of PovertyΒ β Clayton M. Christensen
- Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again β by Eric Topol
π€£ One-Liners:
The stock market is like a guy with IBS.
– All it takes is one fart to ruin the day.
π½ A Must Watch & Listen:
Barry Ritholtz interviews: Jim McKelvey, Co-Founder of Square (excellent interview). π
Understanding the Metaverse and Web 3.0 – Goldman Sachs: Listen here π§Β (good simple explanation).
π Upcoming Events:
The UKβs largest event for private investors, 19 March 2022. π·
Our very best wishes for a brilliant upcoming week! πͺ
Respectfully yours,
The IBR Team
Please send any news, comments, or stock ideas to jeff@internetbullreport.comΒ and follow IBR on Twitter @IBullReportΒ
All content provided by Internet Bull Report is for informational and educational purposes only and is not meant to represent trade or investment recommendations.