Enrique Abeyta's emergency briefing tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern time; Hard Money's Million Dollar Podcast; S&P 500 performance during geopolitical crises; Stop Kowtowing to China; Showing up is 80% of life; Skiing at Killington yesterday
1) A final reminder that my colleague Enrique Abeyta's free emergency briefing is taking place tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Enrique is a stone-cold money maker, so you won't want to miss this event, in which he'll reveal how you can take advantage of market volatility to earn substantial returns, no matter which way the market goes. And just for tuning in, he'll also share his favorite trade recommendation.
It's totally free to join – all you need to do is register by clicking here.
2) Speaking of Enrique, he and his colleague Gabe Marshank are sharing tremendous wisdom on their Hard Money's Million Dollar Podcast, in which they are trying to turn $10,000 into $1 million – or go broke trying. A year in, they're up more than 6 times to $63,323, which is pretty amazing!
I really enjoyed their latest episode, in which they discussed what to do when your stocks are getting hammered.
3) Following up on the charts in Tuesday's e-mail about how the S&P 500 Index has performed historically during times of war, here's a table from Mizuho Securities with data from 28 geopolitical crises, dating back to World War II.
The key information is at the bottom: the median sell-off was 5.7% over 15 days, but the recovery was almost as quick (16 days) and the market was higher one week, one month, three months, six months, and 12 months later...
4) I sent this to my China e-mail list recently (to subscribe to it, simply send a blank e-mail to: china-subscribe@mailer.kasecapital.com):
New Rule: Stop Kowtowing to China – Real Time With Bill Maher
Hear, hear! His blasting of John Cena's groveling is especially classic!
Here's a related article in the New York Times: U.S. institutions are increasingly silencing themselves to win access to China. Excerpt:
Before the Winter Olympics, Chinese officials cautioned athletes against speaking out about topics that cast them in a bad light. Then, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told American athletes not to anger the Chinese authorities.
It was the latest sign that China's campaign to stifle dissent is succeeding in an important way: U.S. institutions and businesses are increasingly silencing themselves to avoid angering the Chinese government.
The professional wrestler and actor John Cena apologized, in Mandarin, last year for calling Taiwan a country. In 2019, a Houston Rockets executive apologized for tweeting support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong after Chinese officials complained, and a top video game publisher suspended an e-sports competitor who voiced support for the protests. The 2013 movie World War Z was rewritten to clarify that its zombie-spawning virus didn't originate in China.
Erich Schwartzel, the author of Red Carpet, which is about China's relationship with Hollywood, told me that one number drives these decisions: 1.4 billion, China's population.
American businesses and institutions want access to this enormous market. Given China's authoritarian leadership, that means playing by the Chinese Communist Party's rules – and, in particular, avoiding criticism of its human rights abuses. So cultural institutions that are influential bastions of American values like free expression are now frequently absent from public conversations about China.
5) I had quite a night on Tuesday...
My family and I were flying from Montreal to LaGuardia, where they were going home and I was catching a flight to Burlington, Vermont to see my parents.
When I made the plan, I figured that I had just enough time – 90 minutes – to pick up my skis and other bags and get to another terminal to make the connection, but then Mother Nature interfered... My inbound flight was delayed by nearly three hours, but fortunately my Burlington flight was as well – but not by quite as much.
We landed at 10:50 p.m., leaving me only 75 minutes before my next flight was scheduled to depart at 12:05.
By the time I got to baggage claim and my ski and boot bags arrived, it was 11:30.
Then, two buses took me on a long, not-so-scenic tour of the entire airport, finally dropping me at Terminal C at 11:45. The problem was that my flight was out of Terminal D!
"Sorry," the driver said. "The buses don't stop at Terminal D for now because of construction."
At this point, I was certain that I was going to miss my flight, which was scheduled to depart in 20 minutes...
But I figured "you never know," so I speed-walked about a quarter mile, working up a sweat while carrying four bags.
As I entered the terminal, I had a glimmer of hope, as the board showed the flight departing at 12:20.
I showed up at the check-in counter at 11:53. Miraculously, it wasn't too late – thank you Delta! They checked three of my bags and I raced to the gate, where everyone was super irritated about the long delay – but I was psyched!
A good reminder of the saying: Showing up is 80% of life...
Here I am, relaxing in my seat:
When we finally landed in Burlington at 1:30 a.m., I thought my adventures were over and I'd soon be asleep, but noooooo...
I'd rented a car from Avis (CAR), but discovered to my chagrin that it was only open from 8 a.m. to midnight, so I'd have to come back the next morning to get my car.
As I waited for my bags, I went outside to see if there might be a taxi to take me to the motel I'd reserved. Nope.
"No worries," I thought. "I'll just call an Uber (UBER) or Lyft (LYFT)." Nope – both said no drivers were available.
So I Googled "taxis in Burlington" and called the three local companies. No luck there either.
It was now 2 a.m., the airport was empty, and I was getting desperate...
I briefly contemplated sitting in the terminal for six hours until Avis opened, but quickly rejected that idea – I had already paid for the motel and I needed some sleep. Pulling an all-nighter would wipe me out for days...
"Hmmm, maybe I can walk to the motel?" Google Maps said it was 1.6 miles away, a 32-minute walk.
What other choice did I have?
But there's no way I could walk that distance carrying four heavy bags, so I went back into the terminal, stacked my luggage behind the Avis counter, and left this note with my cellphone number:
I then walked outside with nothing but the clothes on my back (I didn't even bring a toothbrush) and was about to start jogging – I estimated it would take me 15 minutes – when a van pulled up and the guy said, "Do you need a taxi?"
Did I ever! He wanted $20 for a five-minute ride, but I didn't care – I was so grateful!
6) I slept until 9 a.m. yesterday morning, took a Lyft back to the airport, rented the car, and drove 90 minutes to Killington, where I met up with my buddy Doug, with whom I last skied almost exactly a year ago (see my e-mail about it here). Here's a picture of us from yesterday:
Doug skied professionally in his youth, once going head-to-head against the legendary Phil Mahre, and then joined the pro mogul tour for a couple of years. He's 59 now, but still a superior skier (check out this short video of him cruising down a steep, difficult mogul run last year), so I have to admit I was secretly happy I had to stop at 2 p.m. because of a work call, as my legs were totally burned!
I then drove an hour to the Lebanon, New Hampshire airport, dropped the car, and my parents picked me up. (I'll be staying with them for the next nine days here at our extended family's house on Lake Sunapee.)
PHEW – that was quite a 24 hours!
Best regards,
Whitney
P.S. I welcome your feedback at WTDfeedback@empirefinancialresearch.com.