The Fed chief indicated a gradual easing of support, and markets will be closely watching some big data due this week that could weigh into how fast or slow the central bank proceeds. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing report is due at midweek, followed by nonfarm payrolls on Friday.
Energy is in the spotlight, as well, for Monday, in the wake of one of the biggest hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. mainland.
On to our call of the day, from a billionaire investor who believes investors shouldn’t waste money or time on one increasingly popular asset class that he views as a “bubble.”
“Cryptocurrencies, regardless of where they’re trading today, will eventually prove to be worthless. Once the exuberance wears off, or liquidity dries up, they will go to zero. I wouldn’t recommend anyone invest in cryptocurrencies,” John Paulson, president and portfolio manager of U.S. investment firm Paulson & Co., told Bloomberg Wealth in an interview that published on Monday.
Paulson said it wasn’t even worth shorting bitcoin given its extreme volatility, and instead suggested investors sock money into bullion, due to “a very limited amount of investible gold.” Paulson sees investors pulling money out of fixed income and cash as inflation rises, then heading toward the only logical destination — that is, gold.
For those not familiar with the Paulson name, the former hedge-fund manager made a killing betting against the U.S. housing market before it collapsed.
Bitcoin pushed to $50,000 early last week but then struggled to keep that level, even as Powell comments on Friday weighed on the dollar and gave cryptocurrencies a lift. Bitcoin was trading around $47,000 early Monday.
Paulson had another piece of advice for those who just happen to have $100,000 laying around: Use it to buy your own home. Read the full interview here.
Ida rips across the south
Hurricane Ida became one of the worst storms to ever hit the U.S. on Sunday, cutting power to New Orleans, tearing off rooftops and setting the Mississippi River’s flow in the opposite direction. One death has been reported so far, and winds are reportedly stronger than those from Hurricane Katrine, which struck the region 16 years ago.
Affirm Holdings shares AFRM, -2.97% are soaring after the buy-now-pay-later fintech group announced late Friday that it has partnered with Amazon AMZN, +1.01%. Elsewhere, Baxter International BAX, +0.27% is reportedly in advanced talks to buy medical-equipment maker Hill-Rom Holdings HRC, +0.96% for around $10 billion.
A Tesla TSLA, +1.53% using its autopilot feature crashed into a Florida Highway Patrol cruiser Saturday, narrowly missing the driver. The U.S. government opened a formal investigation into the electric-car maker’s autonomous-navigation system earlier this month.
The European Union may announce on Monday a recommendation to halt nonessential travel from the U.S., where the COVID-19 infection rate is now above that of the common-currency region. That’s as hospitalizations have been hovering above 100,000 and some southern states are running out of oxygen for patients.
Carnival CCL, +3.75%, meanwhile, is facing a lawsuit that claims the cruise ship failed to protect those taking its cruises from the coronavirus causing COVID-19.
Stock futures ES00, +0.08% YM00, +0.04% NQ00, +0.10% are barely budging, in line with European equities SXXP, +0.02%. Oil prices CL00, -0.20% CLV21, -0.20% are slipping after rallying ahead of Hurricane Ida, while gasoline prices RBU21, +2.08% are falling. The storm has knocked out 95% of energy production in the Gulf of Mexico.
Al Roker fires back at “punks” who say the 67-year-old weatherman is too old for trademark TV news live hurricane coverage.
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Why aren’t home prices in a bubble just like 2007?
What advice is this?
You can’t even buy a home for less than a bitcoin except maybe in Detroit.
If I had been smart enough and knowledgeable enough to buy crypto currencies, I would have bought early in the game and bought thousands of dollars, to make millions.
However, if I was so knowledgeable, when they reached a high point, I would have sold out and bought tangible investments like land and metals.
I’ve always thought that Cryptocurrencies were just experimentations to see how to make digital money work. There is no other to test it than to actually create one and see it people work with it.
I’m “sure” he has no vested interest..
Hurricane Katrine
LOL
No matter how much I may think I understand cryptocurrency there will always be others who know more to the point of having an unfair advantage.
Electronic coinage is only as tangible as electronic books.
Even electronic coin certificates can really only be used for one purpose, then flushed.
The physical, tactile tangibility of metals has become ingrained into the human psyche.
“A penny for your thoughts.”
To be penny-less is to be poor.
“A quarter for a clue.”
“Car won’t start? Did ya put a nickel in it first?”
This interview with a financial ‘expert’ will not age well. It is true that his firm will be left high and dry in the future world of decentralized finance that is the real promise of crypto currencies. Firms like Paulson & Co. haven’t figured out a way to monopolize the trading of these digital instruments. There are no middlemen on the block chain other than the exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, etc.
Only 21M bitcoins will ever be created for eternity. How many dollars will be created in the next 20 years? How many shares of his favorite stock will be issued? Bitcoin brings certainty and scarcity into the world of finance and that is why Wall Street isn’t too keen on it.
I will take BTC over USD any day.
Crypto coins have as much inherent value as the folding dollar. None. Their “value” depends on other people wanting them.
But there are trillions of dollars in circulation throughout the world. The demand isn’t going away. The dollar is not going away.
I would never buy a single crypto cent, but I think they are not going away any time soon either.
I’d be OK with this as long as it breaks that racist bastard Spike Lee and his “new money” fraud.
Don’t know much about this stuff, but will folks begin shorting it soon like they do stocks?
Silly wagging tongues.
Anyone who thinks world govts will allow crypto stay uncontrolled by said govts is in for a big shock.
Funny, this is the first time I’ve seen a money guy recommend Gold and not be praised to the hilt.
Do people really believe in crypto above Gold now?
I’ve got no problem investing in precious metals. Have some myself. However, crypto is the future. In what form exactly? Who knows. Only a fool, or someone with an agenda will say otherwise.
The value of Bitcoin is in its rarity, like a collectible, not currently as an exchange medium. How does one use it to exchange labor and services? Can you send a small fraction of a bitcoin, or are you walking around with a $51,000 dollar bill that only institutions and drug dealers actually trade? I fully admit my ignorance on this. There are only 19 million bitcoins around, but there are 8.6 billion Tethers. Is that why it is only trading at $1?
Let’s look at it this way - when Zer0bama sent lotsa money to Iran, did he send greenbacks? Or 0bamaC0in?
And why is Bitcoin the be-all end-all of alternate currencies? These things are pretty much like credit card points: someone is always comes out with a new points program.
I’m investing in tulip bulbs. They’re due for a big comeback.
The dollar is backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government, which amounts to wishful thinking. At the margin the Treasury creates debt, and the Federal Reserve buys it. This process keeps working because the other members of the G-20 behave in the same way. Crypto currency would probably go to zero when too many people see there is no difference and governments quash this competitor.