Merry Christmas to all the survivors of 2020!
I would list them but, if you've ever seen the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, DC – well, there's "only" 58,000 names on that walls for all the American soldiers who gave their lives in that 20-year war and we would need 6 sets of those walls just to try to rembember all the Americans who have died just this year under the reign of our mad tyrant, Trump.
20,874 people are dead in Florida, 23,651 in California, 26,405 dead in Texas… nowhere is untouched, nowhere is safe – we even had a case of Covid in the South Pole this week. But no country is suffering like America and no people are suffering like Americans with 18.5M of us now having been infected – half of them actively so as the infection rate has soared to 1.5M people per week and is very likely to hit as many as 2M people in our country per week (300,000 per day) after the holidays.
Our fellow countrymen need our help more than ever before and I was inspired by an old post on Barry’s site titled "Give and You Will Receive" listing 13 good ways we can all give every day.
’Tis the season of giving and goodwill to all man and all that and my children used to wrap up all their old toys when they were done with them to give to children who need them more than they do. Keep in mind that your old IPhones makes a great IPods for kids who can't afford such fancy things – even without the contract and those old kitchen appliances, tools, etc. could really help out people less forunate than ourselves.
It’s a little thing, but if you want your kids to learn the benefits of charity, actually parting with things they like or liked and physically giving them to kids who clearly appreciate it is much more gratifying than writing a check to some anonymous organization. The same goes for volunteering some time (and money!) at a local shelter and helping some people come in from the cold for a nice, warm meal – it makes you appreciate your family dinner a LOT more!
The Global markets are closed tomorrow and we’re bound to have a very slow half day today – if you are looking for a continued Santa Clause rally on today’s trading, you are very likely to be disappointed. Today is a day for relaxation and reflection. Remember, the words of Jacob Marley, who said:
Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!
Marley was a man who worked and worked until the day he died and regretted it every day after. If you don’t believe in an afterlife and you don’t believe in leaving behind the World a better place than you found it, at least find some time for yourself so people don’t call you "a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner" after you’re gone.
Whether 2021 will be another great year for the top 1% as they coast along on an endless wave of free Fed money remains to be seen. So far, despite the minor rate hike, the signs are looking good. We have, however, stayed very much in CASH!!! into the holidays – just in case it isn't…
We stuffed $887.50 into our Members' stockings yesterday as our short trade idea on S&P (/ES Futures – as noted right in the morning post) gave us a very a very nice drop at the close down to 3,675 before stopping us out with a great, quick gain.
Don't forget, you can give your friends fantastic trade ideas like these all year long by giving them a PSW Annual Membership – they are easy to wrap!
I know this certainly isn't the Christmas we wanted. 2020 has been a rough year for our country but things should be better in 2021 and we can look forward to re-uniting with our friends and families and going to movies and concerts and theaters agan and maybe, at least for a while, we'll appreciate reality just a little more – after a year of being forced to be couch potatoes.
Wishing you the happiest of holidays!
From all of us to all of you: Thanks for 2020, it’s been a crazy last few years, but the century is still young and, as long as we have the spirit to match it – what is there that we can’t accomplish together?
Looking forward to next year’s challenges and accomplishments to come.
All our best,
Phil, Ilene, Andy and the whole team at Philstockworld!
