Doc's 12 Tips for 'Balance' in 2022
A short-term bottom might be here... Profits are strong – again... Greg Diamond's latest game plan... Doc Eifrig's 12 tips for 'balance' in 2022... Get moving and get off the phone... Mailbag: Dave Lashmet on Omicron... Only a handful of seats left for Gold Stock Analyst Investor Day...
Stocks rallied today – until they didn't…
A day after the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index neared a 10% drop from its most recent highs in November, tech stocks and the other broad indexes popped higher this morning...
The Nasdaq was up nearly 2% at one point and the benchmark S&P 500 Index was roughly 1.5% higher, but both indexes turned negative in the final hour of trading and closed down 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively...
The late moves ended up putting the Nasdaq a little more than 10% from its previous highs and the S&P at levels from three months ago.
As we've been saying for the last several weeks, "volatility" has been the word of the year so far... Today is a prime example.
Many of our editors expect to see up-and-down markets throughout 2022, especially as we move into an uncharted "hopefully, the end of the pandemic" period...
We've said here that high inflation will stick around for the next few months and perhaps longer, and we've also noted that the Federal Reserve seems intent on raising interest rates to cool growth...
Those combined forces create a scenario we haven't seen in a while... so expect more volatility ahead... If you are a long-term investor, hold on for the ride. But if you are trading in the short-term, there are ways to take advantage of the volatility and make money...
At the moment, a short-term bottom might be here...
Our Ten Stock Trader editor Greg Diamond thinks so. He told his subscribers as much this morning in a detailed update...
Greg highlighted several technical indicators that tell that him the Nasdaq and S&P 500 appear to have reached a short-term bottom... and the sell-offs in each index are showing "signs of exhaustion."
In particular, we can tell you the Nasdaq is near its 200-day moving average (200-DMA) – a good measure of a long-term trend – but has not yet broken below it... even with the tech-heavy sell-off of the last two months.
Same goes for other broad baskets of stocks, like the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTI), which also looks as if it is bouncing off its 200-DMA...
Part of this might be because of the most recent round of quarterly earnings reports we've seen...
So far, earnings reports have been strong for a wide swath of companies, ranging from railroad giant Union Pacific (UNP) to chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) and ASML (ASML).
As our Stansberry NewsWire editor C. Scott Garliss told us today in a private note...
It's still early in fourth-quarter earnings season but there's a trend building. Companies are able to push through pricing increases, boosting profitability. This is not dissimilar to what we've seen over the last couple of quarters.
Union Pacific said 2021 was its most profitable year on record despite a drop in volume because of supply-chain issues. The company said it offset lower volume with higher prices and efficiency...
In the meantime, Taiwan Semiconductor – which makes the chips needed for cars and phones and so many other things – raised its first-quarter revenue outlook by roughly $2 billion based on strong demand...
Industry peer ASML struck a similar tone and said it was bringing in so much cash that it plans to reward shareholders with a 100% increase in total dividends this year...
But this doesn't necessarily mean there's smooth sailing ahead for all stocks...
Not at all... As we often say, the stock market is not the economy and vice versa... A lot of factors go into a stock's price...
And as Greg wrote today, the price behavior he's seeing in stocks aligns perfectly with his comparison of today's market to that of tech stocks...
It also fits with Greg's expectation for more volatility in the markets next month...
Be prepared. As he told subscribers today...
With stocks in oversold conditions and the analog in the Nasdaq still very much in sync with our current market... it appears a low is forming of some kind that we can trade and get ready for a rally into the important February time factors that I outlined in great detail yesterday.
Greg also sent subscribers a trade update, aiming for 100% gains, to reflect this short-term shift in stocks... and how this all fits into the historical patterns that he talks about in his newest presentation and latest Ten Stock Trader research.
If you already subscribe to Ten Stock Trader or are a Stansberry Alliance partner, check out Greg's game plan in this new report here... And be sure to read closely and understand how Greg's strategy could fit into your portfolio.
And if you want to catch Greg's latest presentation ‒ he shows how you could have doubled your money 26 different times since he joined our firm ‒ you can take advantage of a special offer to access his research... But time is running out on your best chance to do so.
Greg's presentation will go offline tomorrow at midnight. And, after that, the opportunity to claim one free year of his trading research will be over. Click here now to learn what he has to say.
Moving on, to a bit of longer-term, timeless advice...
Our colleague and Stansberry Research partner Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig recently published his January issue of his Retirement Millionaire newsletter...
And that means it was time for Doc – who is, after all, a medical doctor – to publish his annual list of things to do to be healthy in the New Year.
Doc's theme for 2022 is "balance"... and he shared invaluable advice for, frankly, anyone who has a human body and wants to stay healthy or improve their health.
This should be everyone, because our health ‒ both mental and physical ‒ influences the rest of our lives whether we know it or not... That is one thing I've been reminded of this year.
When I shared some of Doc's tips for 2021 in the Digest early last year, we received nice feedback about the change of pace from our usual investment fare, so I will do so again today...
Stansberry Alliance partners and Retirement Millionaire subscribers can find the entirety of Doc's latest issue here... And if you don't have a subscription, I'll share how you can get one at the end of today's Digest.
First, though, here's Doc's top tip for 'balance' in 2022...
Get moving...
It's so simple, yet so powerful... As Doc wrote, he encourages folks seeking good health and happiness to move for at least 20 minutes every day. As he wrote...
The moment you stop moving, your mental and physical health begin to decline. That's why movement tops my life-balance list...
We know that daily movement reduces your risk of cognitive decline, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disorders (like Type 2 diabetes). It also improves your memory, releases "feel good" hormones (like dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins), and reduces chronic inflammation throughout the body.
Doc cited a recent study out of the University of Texas at Austin to add some numbers to this point...
Study participants spent 20 seconds of every hour for eight hours sprint-cycling on a stationary bike... meaning they biked for less than three minutes in total. But they experienced a 31% decrease in triglyceride levels (liquid fat in the blood) and broke down 43% more stored body fat after eating an ice-cream shake the following day.
Doc continued...
You don't need to sprint, though. Do what I do and get your daily movement through a variety of activities. I enjoy cycling, walking briskly in the late-afternoon sun, and stretching and strengthening my body with yoga.
Exercising for 20 minutes a day is a great starting point. Even if you have mobility issues, any movement counts. If you're feeling unsure about moving on your own, ask someone you trust for assistance.
Not that he needs my testimonial, but I totally agree with this point. With working at home still being a thing and my "COVID pounds" adding up to an all-time high, this summer I wanted to reverse the trend...
I started by simply taking short walks outside in our neighborhood, and I found I was able to extend these walks to an hour by scheduling specific time into my work and family schedule to "move"... It might have been the best thing I did all year.
Not only have I dropped a few pounds, but I've found my mental health is much better. I've struggled with anxiety, sometimes severe, like a lot of people in recent years, and have really found that exercise to be a great treatment... helping to rein in my racing thoughts.
I'm even lifting weights again... and closing in on my wedding-day weight. The point is, get moving, like Doc says. It works – and the benefits can apply toward whatever goal you have in mind, like managing your investments or simply just feeling better.
Doc shared 11 more excellent tips in his January issue of Retirement Millionaire...
I can't give all of them away here in the Digest, but I do want to mention one more that I've found important...
Cut the cord to your screen habits...
Longtime readers will know I've mentioned this before. The amount of time many people spend in front of screens – meaning our phones, computers, and TVs – is staggering... and can't possibly be good for your health.
I try to get my family off their phones all the time...
The thing is, the "smartphone" is a relatively new invention... and not much research has been done on what it does to our bodies. I've always wondered about it, and turns out some studies are starting to show the harmful consequences of too much screen time on our health.
Here's what Doc said in his January issue of Retirement Millionaire...
Looking at TVs, computers, smartphones, tablets, and other electronic screens late at night disrupts your sleep cycle. The screens trick your eyes into thinking there's still daylight, thereby delaying your natural darkness-induced increase in melatonin.
Screen time also means sitting more and moving less for lots of folks. Americans aged 65 and older spend more than six hours a day watching television... That's far too much of the day to go without moving or actively engaging in life.
A 2020 study on a group of young adults found that after two hours, every additional hour and a half of recreational screen time was associated with a 26% increase in body mass index ("BMI"), a 29% increase in waist circumference, and a 25% increase in fat mass. So the more time you spend on a screen, the greater your risk of developing cardiometabolic disease (like heart disease and Type 2 diabetes).
At the very least, more "screen time" promotes a less healthy lifestyle. Doc suggests spending no more than two hours of your daily free time in front of a screen, and, this is key, not right before bed, and says...
Use the rest of your time being active and social.
I'm willing to bet that most people who use a smartphone would be shocked by how much time they spend on it... but it's easy to find out. If you're one of the millions who own an Apple iPhone, for example, you can find the numbers in Settings under "Screen Time"...
If you even shorten your screen time by 20 minutes each day and put it toward Doc's first tip – get moving – you'll get the benefits of both of Doc's tips with one decision... That's what we in the business call "compound interest."
In Doc's January issue, as he usually does, he also recommended a stock for folks close to or in retirement... Via our colleague Kim Iskyan, Doc and his team suggested buying shares of a little-known international company run by someone Kim describes as the "next Jeff Bezos."
Doc's subscribers know about Bezos, of course... He founded Amazon (AMZN), one of the world's best businesses. Doc recommended folks buy Amazon stock in May 2017. Shares are up 231% since then.
This is the normal variety of content subscribers can expect in every one of Doc's Retirement Millionaire issues. We've said this before... if you are near or in retirement, the small subscription cost is some of the best money you can spend.
The stock picks alone are worth the price of admission, but you get so much more... As I write, eight open positions in Doc's model portfolio are up triple-digits... and his pick of Microsoft (MSFT) back in 2010 leads all of Stansberry Research's open recommendations with a gain of 1,086%.
Existing subscribers and Stansberry Alliance partners, you can find Doc's most recent issue with all 12 of his tips for balance, right here.
And if you don't already receive Retirement Millionaire, click here to get started with a subscription right now.
For today only, we've arranged a special offer to Doc's signature publication... You'll pay only $49 for a one-year subscription. That's 75% off the regular price…
As a bonus, if you sign up today, you'll also get Doc's Big Book of Retirement Secrets... which contains more than 250 of Doc's favorite health, wealth, and retirement secrets.
Plus, you can give his service a try risk-free for 30 days... If you are not satisfied for any reason, let us know within 30 days and we'll give you a full cash refund.
New 52-week highs (as of 1/19/22): BHP Group (BBL), Hershey (HSY), Osisko Mining (OBNNF), Telekomunikasi Indonesia (TLK), and United States Commodity Index Fund (USCI).
In today's mailbag, more feedback on Tuesday's Digest and the Omicron variant... As always, e-mail your comments and questions to us at feedback@stansberryresearch.com.
"Omicron is just what the doctor ordered. I recently heard a guest on a local radio talk show who quoted a new study on the virus variants. The results of the study said that if you had two shots of the vaccine, and had a reasonably healthy immune system, you would fight off Omicron and then achieve natural immunity not only from Omicron but also all of the current and future variants. And natural immunity is superior to any man-made vaccine. So if Omicron spreads like wildfire through the majority of the population, it will die out and this nightmare will finally be over."
Corey McLaughlin comment: I sincerely hope this is the case (personally too, as my family and I got Omicron several weeks ago), but it might not be as simple as that.
I sent your thoughts to our resident biotech specialist, Stansberry Venture Technology editor Dave Lashmet, who stays well up to date on vaccine research and studies, and here's what he told us...
As they say in Hail, Caesar: "would that it were so simple."
Boris Johnson is about to prove this is wrong, in the next four weeks...
It's because in response to falling numbers, he removed all public-health limits, not just for the end of the month, but as he spoke yesterday.
So, if you re-open the pubs, then you put more fuel into the fire of a pandemic respiratory contagion with a high infectious rate. Public actions matter.
In the U.S., we will see different surges across the different states – spikes and then their return to something close to baseline. But the problem is baseline...
See, 80,000 cases a day is way better than 800,000. But it's way higher than anything we've been accustomed to before – and it's a 2% fatal virus.
Practically, this ends when enough people – Portugal is shooting for 95% – have an omicron-specific booster. That means, mandatory vaccines in schools.
In the U.S., there will be so many holdouts from getting the vaccine, it's not going to fall to 10,000 cases again in 2022. We'd be lucky if we get down to 20,000.
If 5% of 20,000 per day hit the hospitals, that's 1,000 new cases per day, or 365,000 more patients than hospitals expected – while staff is leaving.
Dave went on to say a combination of better masks (N-95s) and antibody and other treatments (products he talks about made by companies he recommends in his Venture Technology newsletter) can radically reduce the hospitalization rate and the death rate...
But there's so many breakthrough cases now, we need an Omicron-specific booster.
Until then, expect 25,000 to 50,000 cases a day. Omicron is not less severe for the unvaccinated. It's only if you pool in the vaccinated breakthroughs too that the aggregate is mild.
So, we hate to end on that down note, but that's how Dave sees it and he's been on top of things. He was the first of our editors to warn us about the seriousness of the "coronavirus" spreading out of China back in February 2020.
Dave urged caution to all subscribers then and told us that things might not get back to "normal" much longer than most people imagined. Nearly two years later, in his mind, we ain't there yet.
All the best,