Topley’s Top 10 – March 15, 2022

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Matt Topley
March 15, 2022

1. Yield Curve Watch…Yield Curve Inversion is the Most Respected Indicator of Recession

Curve Flattening Toward Inversion

2. Commodity ETF…..COMT -15% Correction

3. In 2 Year Period…Gasoline Futures Hit All-Time Low and All-Time High

@Charlie Bilello  There Is No Impossible in Markets

Two years ago the entire world was shutting down and Gasoline futures hit an all-time low.

Last week, they spiked to an all-time high, surpassing the previous high from 2008. If someone told you this would happen two years ago, you would have said that was impossible. But as we have learned time an again: there is no impossible in markets.

With gasoline futures hitting new highs, it wasn’t long before prices at pump would follow. By the end of the week, the average price of gasoline in the US had hit $4.33, surging past the prior high of $4.11 from 2008.

4. Canada by far the Leading Supplier of U.S. Oil

From Dave Lutz at Jones Trading

We also have IEA, OPEC Monthly Market Reports and OpEx for April Crude this week

5. Euro Stock Sales Much Worse than Covid Crash

European Equity Exodus:  European equities (understandably given direct geopolitical risk, not to mention indirect/direct economic + financial spillover risk) have been *heavily* sold… much much worse than during the pandemic panic.

Source: @MikeZaccardi

6. Chinese Tech Stocks Full Dot-Com Crash

Jim Bianco Research

Chinese Small Cap ETF Hitting Covid Levels.

7. Corporate Bond Funds Seeing Double Digit Losses

Investment Grade Bond ETF….LQD -10.5% from highs

FPE Preferred ETF -9%

8. Coinbase Breaks to New Lows …Down Double Bitcoin ETF

Coinbase -35% YTD vs. BITO (Bitcoin ETF) -15%

9. Rental Nation….Affordability of U.S. Homes Hits New Lows

Affordability of New Homes in U.S. Resumes Decline in 2022

10. What is the West?

America the generous: U.S. leads globe in giving

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From Axios Finish Line, here’s a stat to savor: America was the world’s most generous country this past decade, according to the Charities Aid Foundation’s World Giving Index, which surveyed 1.3 million people in 125 countries.

  • Not only do we give money, but 72% of Americans help strangers and 42% of us volunteer.

  • We grew more generous during the pandemic: 2020 and 2021 donations each topped 2019.

Why it matters: This cuts across religion, region and age, with nearly 60% of Americans giving money last year. Average donation: $574.

Trend to watch: There’s a big surge in people setting up Facebook and TikTok fundraisers in lieu of birthday presents. You might roll your eyes at the exhibitionist dimension of public giving … but it beats the alternative.

  • Facebook says birthday fundraisers bring in hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Top beneficiaries include St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Cancer Society and No Kid Hungry.

  • Try it.

An even newer, real-time wave to surf: Booking an Airbnb stay in Ukraine — not to visit but as a way to send money to a family in need.

  • Last week, 61,000 nights were booked at Airbnbs in Kyiv and other cities — 34,000 of them by Americans.

  • Try it.

Tip to go: Be careful when giving. These four sites, all recommended by the Federal Trade Commission, let you verify whether a charity is reputable:

And remember, if you want a deduction, you can make sure the charity qualifies by hitting the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.

Editor’s note: This story originally published on March 8.

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