Dichotomy

By Hoda Mehr Mon, Apr 20, 2020

Hey Scoopers,

The market and the overall economy are living in dichotomy. — More on that in the “Overall Market” section.

Beyond the overall market, the hops of reopening the economy pushed up a few stocks, while other companies’ dreams were crushed. — More on that in the “What’s Up?” and “What’s Down?” sections.

Oh, by the way, do you know how your response to the COVID-19 market crash similar or different from your fellow Scoopers is? — More on that in the “Water Cooler” section.

But, first, here is a recap of what happened in the market last week:

Market Recap

• U.S. markets: All three indices finished Friday and the week in the green. Scroll down to the “Overall Market” section to read more.
• Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin’s price is back to the above $7,000 mark, and the 5-day return of the world’s largest cryptocurrency is as green as the stock market indices.

Preparing for the Great Depression of 2020

The man who predicted The Great Recession details the 5 steps he’s taking right now to protect his wealth and family.

Watch his important message for the public.

The Market – Economy Dichotomy

The stock market finished the week in the green, with the Nasdaq index gaining more than 6% during the five trading days. The other two indices also had a good week, finishing between 2% to 3% higher than where they started the week.

This happened in the same week as the bet against the stock market has risen to a new record high. Bet against the S&P 500 index is up to $68 billion during the week, and the unemployment rate has risen to levels we haven’t experienced for quite some time. Although the unemployment rate is still not as high as what the U.S. experienced back in 2000 to 2008 market crashes, the speed of rising in unemployment is staggering.

(Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

We are going through extraordinary times when no economic model or forecast can explain the dichotomy of the market movements and economic fallout.

Re-opening Hopes

So, what happened?

Shares of Imax (Ticker: IMAX) were up more than 8% on Friday. Since the start of the COVID-19 crash, the company had lost nearly half of its value. Of course, if people don’t go to watch a movie in the theatres, what good would high-quality sound and image equipment do? However, last week, as President Trump lays out his plan for re-opening the economy, investors started to gain confidence in the future of IMAX. Whether the re-opening is just sweet hope, or it actually gets rolled out is yet to be seen. In the short term, the fate of IMAX is out of its own hands.

A free retirement strategy you MUST see

Want to learn how to retire rich with just 3 stocks?

Get the names and tickers of the 3 stocks you need to get started.

Just click here.

Sleep Economy Was A Dream?

So, what happened?

Shares of Casper Sleep (Ticker: CSPR) were down another 4% on Friday. The company has lost more than 50% of its value since its IPO a few months ago. During the IPO, CSPR managed to sell a grandiose vision for the future of sleep. However, as COVID-19 rolled in, it became apparent that Casper Sleep is still a consumer retail company that has to deal with retail shut down and employee furlough programs. It looks like the sleep economy was just a good dream, and nothing more.

How Do You Compare To Your Fellow Scoopers?

So what happened here?

Last week, we asked you to give us 30 seconds of your time and answer two quick questions. Our goal was to get to know our community better and customize The Daily Scoop’s content to you. The results are in, and they are so uplifting.

What did we learn?

Despite the scary COVID-19 market crash, the majority of you have stayed on course. We asked, how do you feel about the state of your portfolio during the COVID-19 crash, the chart below shows the summary of your answers, so far.

Now what?

If you are scared, but confident that scary times will pass: Kudos to you! The situation is scary, with too many unknowns. Make sure you have a plan to take advantage of the market opportunity during the COVID-19 crash.

If you are not too worried, or not worried at all: Well, you’ve got nerves of steel. Make sure you don’t go too overzealous, if you are buying up, make sure you have crash left, in case we see the next wave of market fall if it happens.

If you are panicking and losing sleep over COVID-19: Let us tell you that you are not alone, many other people in our broader community are panicking. Use your emotions to your advantage. Ask yourself a few questions:

• Why are you panicking?
• Did you take too much risk before the crash?
• Have you not saved an emergency fund?

Panic is a normal response to fearful situations. But, it gets exacerbated if you are not ready. Perhaps, ask yourself, how can you learn from this experience and adjust your approach to investing.

What’s next?

We will be using the results of the survey to put together a more customized resource center, for each type of Scoopers, and will be sharing them with you in the coming days. Stay tuned!

About the Author

The authors of this Scoop are the editorial team at Stock Card, led by Hoda Mehr. Hoda Mehr is CEO and Co-founder of Stock Card and the host of Renegade Investors podcast. She runs a community of 40,000 stock market investors and manages Stock Card's successful flagship portfolio, Roll with Our CEO, on Stock Card Portfolio Store. Hoda is an Economist with an MBA from Concordia, John Molson School of Business. She applies behavioral economics, data journalism, and storytelling to all aspects of her work. Before starting Stock Card, Hoda worked as a strategy and insights lead at technology companies including Symantec, Aimia and Sony. Create a free account to do your stock market research easily and mistake-free: Stock Card Stock Card