October surprise

[Zoe]

I was at Costco yesterday and member can buy a 1 ounce there for $4,175.
Few weeks ago, one of those 1 ounce flake bar was $3,7XX.
My wife happy with her gold!
Nice to diversify.

Gold is considered a very safe investment. I missed the boat that started last year. Gold and precious metals are out the roof in last year. Just over the past few months, precious metals have soared.

 

[Zoe]

I forget how much Gold the U.S. treasury owns. It is a bunch. I think it is well over a trillion dollars worth of Gold.

 

[Charles West]

"Buy when there's blood in the street. Especially if it's your own blood."

The market will fall quickly but will rise slowly. You'll have plenty of time to get in but don't be in a hurry. We haven't seen a bottom yet.

My advice and I've been in the market for 50 years....Buy the best stocks in their respective sectors and hang onto them. Or just buy into one of the growth ETFs that's loaded up with the FAANG stocks along with a couple of older stocks like JD, CMI, PCAR, and a couple of financials like C, BAC, GS, etc. Maybe take a chance on PLTR and NVDA, I've made over 1,000% on those in the past 3 years.

Good advice. I want to add to my position in my iShares US Tech fund, and in sectors likely to benefit.

 

[Charles West]

Andrew Ross Sorkin just said on 60 Minutes that we will undoubtedly have a crash sometime in the equity market, but didn't have a clue when (duh), saying corporate CEOs are afraid to say anything because the administration may come after them and overregulate their businesses.

 

[Fernando]

MSN

Stock futures rise after Trump hints at backing off from new China tariffs​

US stock futures rose Sunday after President Donald Trump said, “Don’t worry about China,” following a sell-off on Friday.

Dow futures were up 0.8%, S&P 500 futures rose 1.04% and Nasdaq futures climbed 1.34%, as of 6:32 p.m. ET.

But on Sunday afternoon, Trump appeared to hint that he may not follow through with his tariff threat, posting on Truth Social that “it will all be fine!”

Trump told reporters on Air Force 1 that China’s President Xi Jinping is “a great leader” and they have “a great relationship.”


TACO BACKED DOWN AGAIN TO XI AND THE STOCK MARKET.

 

[Carnivore]

John C. Bogle, the founder of Vanguard : "“Investing is not nearly as difficult as it looks. Successful investing involves doing a few things right and avoiding serious mistakes. The most important thing you can do is to invest regularly and stay the course.”

Bogle believed that ordinary investors could build wealth by consistently investing in diversified, low-cost funds and resisting the urge to chase market trends.

Imagine if you followed that advice when you graduated from high school and or college, 40 or 50 years later how much wealth you would have.

 

[Carnivore]

I recall Trump Suggested: we do something like this for every newborn.

Yes — you were quite close! President Donald Trump did propose a plan called “Trump Accounts”, which is part of the 2025 tax and spending package. The idea is to give every newborn U.S. citizen a $1,000 government-funded investment account at birth, seeded with Treasury funds and invested in low-cost stock index funds like the S&P 500 Ascensus UPI.


Here are the key features:

• Eligibility: Children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028.
• Initial Deposit: $1,000 from the government.
• Annual Contributions: Parents, employers, and others can contribute up to $5,000 per year until the child turns 18.
• Investment Vehicle: Funds are invested in index funds, allowing for long-term compounding.
• Access Timeline:
  • Partial access at age 18 (for education, home purchase, or starting a business).
  • Full access at age 25.
  • Unrestricted use at age 30.

According to Treasury projections, if fully funded and left untouched, these accounts could grow to as much as $1.9 million by age 28 Fox Business. So yes, the concept is very much aligned with what you described — a modest investment at birth that could lead to substantial retirement savings.

 

[Zoe]

Andrew Ross Sorkin just said on 60 Minutes that we will undoubtedly have a crash sometime in the equity market, but didn't have a clue when (duh), saying corporate CEOs are afraid to say anything because the administration may come after them and overregulate their businesses.

Yeah, I have been reading some of the forecasters smarter than me.

Some are saying the crash could be tied to unemployment and inflation. With govt shutdown, I heard on one news station that even the Federal Reserve Bank has limited information to go on. The news station said several data sources were available with govt shutdown.

I can't remember all the sources they said were available that could point to a major downturn in stock market.

It was several sources available but some major sources are not available with government shutdown.

 

[Zoe]

Several news stations are saying if you invest in a major tech type stock, you could do really well if the Artificial intelligence/tech type stock company does well.

 

[Mark K]

John C. Bogle, the founder of Vanguard : "“Investing is not nearly as difficult as it looks. Successful investing involves doing a few things right and avoiding serious mistakes. The most important thing you can do is to invest regularly and stay the course.”

Invest regularly and buy more on the dips and buy heavily on the crashes like 08-09. I had relatives asking what to do during that period and I told them it was a once-in-a-generation buying opportunity. I was buying good stocks like a kid in a candy store during that crash. They were scared and didn't buy.

Imagine if you followed that advice when you graduated from high school and or college, 40 or 50 years later how much wealth you would have.

I started buying right after college, nearly 50 years ago. The market has been VERY GOOD to me. I've been giving stock to my kids for several years now. I transfer it to their accounts but tell them that they get it at my basis and have to pay the capital gains if they sell it. They've sold some but have kept most of it.