Author: Andrew Packer

Commodities

Kitco News: Safe-Haven Demand Driving Solid Price Gains for Gold

Posted on by Andrew Packer

Gold has been the odd asset out in 2025. It’s been less volatile than stocks or crypto. And it’s held up well, with the price around $2,900. Many see $3,000 and beyond in sight for the metal later in the year.

What’s most impressive about gold’s returns is that it’s held up well as interest rates have stayed relatively high. And that the U.S. dollar has been in a strengthening trend against other currencies.

Obviously, a weakening dollar could help fuel gold’s moves even more. Over the longer-term, strong central bank demand for the metal continues to push prices higher. And retail investors are still largely focused on other markets.

With rising economic uncertainty, however, safe-haven demand will likely shift retail investors to gold. That can help push gold prices up even further.

On the supply side, physical production continues to lag overall demand for gold. And we’re seeing some unusual moves as warehouses move gold to bank vaults in Manhattan.

There’s some possibility of a squeeze higher in prices, given the physical demand for gold bars right now. That could be above and beyond the overall safe-haven demand. It’s likely that any such squeeze would be short-lived.

For now, with gold holding strong and likely to trend higher, investors may want to consider investing in gold and gold-related stocks.

 

To see the full read on today’s gold market, click here.

 

Cryptocurrencies

Grant Cardone: U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Impact

Posted on by Andrew Packer

While running for office, now-President Trump has discussed creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The goal behind that is to own a digital asset. Remember, bitcoin has a hard-wired total amount that will ever exist at 21 million.

Today, over 19 million bitcoin have been mined. It’s a harder asset than gold, which is already a reserve asset for nation states. And given bitcoin’s potential price upside, buying bitcoin could go far to help pay down a nation’s debt.

Most nations today hold either gold or foreign currencies as a reserve. But foreign currencies can be printed at will by a nation’s central bank. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is “mined” in equal amounts every 10 minutes.

And every four years, the total amount of bitcoin produced through mining is cut in half. That’s allowed for bitcoin’s price to soar higher over time. And why estimates for bitcoin topping $1 million each someday aren’t as far-fetched as it sounds.

Gold has and continues to perform well. But moving around gold is a costly effort, requiring tools such as armed guards and armored cars.

Creating a strategic bitcoin reserve, as President Trump did on Thursday night, could go a long way towards strengthening the national balance sheet by adding a high-returning asset. And those who buy bitcoin before nation-state adoption will likely get in ahead of any big move higher from massive government buys.

 

To see the full potential impact of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, click here.

Income investing

Invest With Matt: 62 Companies Raised Their Dividends Last Week

Posted on by Andrew Packer

While markets have taken on a bearish tone, many companies continue to have strong fundamentals. And that includes the ability to generate an increasing amount of cash flow that can be paid to investors as dividends.

Unlike a fluctuating share price, a cash dividend is a sure thing. Once it’s paid and in your account, it can be used however you see fit. Many companies pay a dividend, and several of those companies have a history of increasing their payouts.

That includes companies across a variety of industries.

For instance, property and casualty insurance company Old Republic International (ORI) recently increased its dividend by 9.4%, and raised its payout for the 33rd consecutive year.

The insurance industry is a slow-and-steady winner for investors, and buying insurance stocks during a market downturn is a safe strategy for solid long-term returns. Old Republic currently pays a 3% dividend.

Another dividend growth name right now is retailer Home Depot (HD). They raised their payout for the 15th consecutive year, raising its payout by 2.2%. Home Depot currently pays a 2.4% dividend yield.

The home improvement retailer has been challenged by a slow-moving housing market. But existing homeowners continue to spend to improve their homes.

Dozens of dividend payers continue to increase their payouts monthly, and a market downturn may be an ideal time to go shopping for income-paying stocks.

 

To see the full list of recent dividend increases, click here.

 

Stock market strategies

The Compound: Staying Bullish On Stocks Through Economic Pain

Posted on by Andrew Packer

With market sentiment turning bearish, it’s important to consider a few factors. One is how much markets can sell off. Another factor is whether or not the downturn is short, or part of a longer-term swing lower.

Over the past few years, fears of a recession have been on the rise. In 2022, some estimates calculated a 100% chance of a recession in 2023. It didn’t happen. Nor in 2024. Now, in 2025, some economic data hints at another recession.

Time will tell if that’s true or not. But even in a recession, investors can likely see their best returns in the stock market.

The current economic pain relates to moves to shrink the size of government. What that means a lower GDP in the short-term, it does move away from relentless deficit spending.

And while that could technically mean a recession, it could mean a stronger economy afterward.

So far, with earnings season winding down, the private sector remains strong. The AI trend remains intact. And many companies and countries are moving to invest in the U.S.

Amid those factors, it’s a sign that investors may want to scale back on leverage right now. But they shouldn’t stay out of the market entirely. Especially given the private sector’s AI-fueled growth right now.

 

To watch the full interview, click here.

 

Stock market

FX Evolution: Markets Are Crashing But Are Wall Street Buying?

Posted on by Andrew Packer

Markets have had another volatile week, seeing massive daily moves and big intraday swings. The economic data this past week has turned sour. President Trump has made good on his plans to raise tariffs, which could impact global trade.

Plus, predictions for GDP are starting to turn lower. That’s due in part to rising tariffs, but also related to shrinking government spending. Either way, that’s leading to investors heading for the sidelines in the stock market.

As that happens, the market is deleveraging. That’s a good sign after hitting record total leverage at the end of January.

Meanwhile options flow and dark pool transaction data indicates that investors are staying cautious right now.

Growth-related stocks are showing the most weakness. Many well-known growth names from the past two years have seen the worst selloff. And some more defensive sectors, such as healthcare, have started to show signs of life.

Fortunately, this behavior looks more like a market rotation, if a somewhat aggressive one. We haven’t seen credit spread yields indicate an immediate economic danger. And financial stocks continue to hold up well.

That points towards markets being in the later stages of a bull market, rather than the start of a full-on selloff. However, if the data starts to materially deteriorate, that could change quickly.

For now, caution and defensive investing is the name of the game.

 

For the full analysis, click here.

 

Cryptocurrencies

Bravos Research: You Don’t Want to Miss This

Posted on by Andrew Packer

Cryptocurrencies have sold off this week, liquidating leveraged trades. From its peak, bitcoin is now down over 20%, a meaningful pullback. In the meantime, that’s taken bitcoin’s market cap under $2 trillion.

That’s still one tenth the size of the gold market, which recently topped $20 trillion. And gold continues to inch higher, with one ounce right under $3,000. Given crypto’s four-year market cycles, bitcoin may make a run to close its market cap with gold this year.

That’s because bitcoin tends to rally for three years, then take a year off. After starting to trend higher in 2023 and rallying over 100% in 2024, bitcoin has one year left. Historically, this last year has been the big mover for higher prices.

Meanwhile, institutional demand for bitcoin continues to grow. From ETFs to large firms buying bitcoin, more is being bought and held than ever before. And following last year’s halving, the rate of buying well exceeds the creation of new bitcoin from mining.

That points to a further price shock higher later this year. Despite the recent volatility, which has always been a feature of bitcoin trading, more upside likely remains ahead.

With inflation still looking sticky, and with money supply continuing to increase overall, bitcoin’s fundamentals remain intact as well.

 

For the full analysis on bitcoin’s latest moves, click here.

Stock market strategies

The Financial Economics: “The Only Secret for Higher Returns…”

Posted on by Andrew Packer

Investors have developed seemingly endless strategies to try and beat the market. Some of those involve finding deeply-discounted value stocks. Or buying growth stocks on the cusp of a new product or service.

Strategies can also relate to trying to trade the market as a whole. That could involve using technical indicators to determine when markets are likely to bounce higher or lower. But there’s another factor at play that can also boost returns.

That factor? Investor sentiment. Investors can be irrational at times.

For instance, those who think that tech stocks are priced too expensively see irrational behavior. But sometimes a company may trade for less than the value of its assets. That represents another aspect of irrational behavior.

Markets are mostly, but not entirely, efficient. Being able to step outside of investor sentiment and look at markets objectively can help find the mispriced opportunities.

Market anomalies can take time to develop. And they won’t be resolved quickly either. That gives patient investors an edge. Especially in today’s world, where professional investors are looking for ways to make increasingly faster trades.

Investors who focus on companies with long-term competitive advantages can see great returns. Particularly if they wait for a period of market irrationality to take hold. While that’s not particularly secret, investors who are patient can earn higher returns.

 

To see the full interview, click here.

Income investing

Dividend Growth Investor: Twenty Dividend Growth Stocks Raising Dividends Last Week

Posted on by Andrew Packer

Whether markets go up, down, or sideways, stocks are still an ownership stake in a business. Understanding that business is critical to long-term success.

A well-run business will be able to generate excess returns. Those returns can be reinvested in the business, or returned to shareholders. A cash dividend to shareholders indicates that management is aligned with the owners, who expect a return on their capital.

That’s why many companies pay dividends and will work to grow them over time out of increased earnings. In the past week, a full 60 companies have raised their dividends. Within that group, one third, or 20, have a track record of 10 years of consecutive increases.

One recent dividend increase came from The Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW). The paint producer and seller has increased its payout by 11.3%, and just raised its payout for the 47th consecutive year.

While the current yield is low at 0.9%, increased payouts over time will likely mean an increased share price too.

Retailer Walmart (WMT) also increased its dividend recently, for the 52nd straight year. The payout increased by 13%. Currently, Walmart pays a 1% dividend, and increased payouts over time will increase an investor’s yield.

Overall, dividend growth companies offer a tremendous advantage for long-term investors. So, as investors look for a potential market pullback, it may be an ideal time to create a list of dividend growth stocks to buy.

 

For the full list of dividend growth stocks increasing their payout now, click here.

Stock market

DataTrek Research: The Dull Market Sell Signal

Posted on by Andrew Packer

The market action of the past few weeks, despite a few large down days, has been largely sideways. While investors are a bit fearful whenever the market isn’t shooting up like a rocket, it isn’t the end of the world.

In fact, dull markets with a lot of long sideways trends, tend to be bull markets. Especially if market volatility remains low. But if that volatility starts to meaningfully pick up, a shift could occur.

Historically, volatility has averaged between 17 and 20, as measured by the COBE Volatility Index (VIX).

Today’s investors are coming off the low volatility period of the 2010s. That’s when markets often traded with a VIX under 15. Occasionally, the VIX will spike higher. It spiked to over 40 in August 2024, even as the stock market dipped a total of 8.5% from peak to trough.

With a current read around 20, volatility is within its historical norms, and a sign of a dull market.

What makes for a dull market? It’s much like the one we’re in now. Corporate earnings are growing. GDP growth is stable. Monetary policy is stable. And among other things, there are no issues in the financial system.

Looking at these metrics, it’s likely that the bull market trend is still intact, even if it’s dull right now.

 

For the full details on when to sell a dull market, click here.

Economy

The Compound: Stocks React to Negative Economic Surprises

Posted on by Andrew Packer

Despite hitting all-time highs last week, markets feel much more defensive. Market structure is breaking down. And stocks may see a pullback from here following months of a narrow trading range.

Why would stocks pull back now? Because investors are looking at a variety of negative economic surprises. That includes the ongoing economic data, as well as new developments occurring daily. With rising uncertainty, a retreat in stocks is the likely outcome.

For instance, one negative economic headline relates to defense spending. President Trump’s plan to cut defense spending isn’t good for defense contractors.

Yes, other countries may increase their spending plans to compensate. But it likely won’t offset the overall decline from a cut in U.S. spending.

Next, President Trump’s plans to shrink the government are deflationary. Yes, most investors want to see waste and abuse phased out. However, the simple fact is that less spending, even if wasteful, translates into a lower GDP.

These economic surprises may be good in the long-term. It can mean a shift away from soaring debts and deficits. But in the short-term, it means that markets face a belt tightening. And markets aren’t  fan of that.

So far, markets are unlikely to see a major crash. But a pullback or even healthy correction could be in the cards as the news headlines turn negative.

 

To see the full video, click here.