Most of us knew inflation was never transitory.
Yet, the Fed would continue to push the idea again… and again, until the call became painfully laughable. Even Allianz Chief Economic Advisor Mohamed El-Erian has said, “The characterization of inflation as transitory is probably the worst inflation call in the history of the Federal Reserve, and it results in a high probability of a policy mistake.”
Nowadays, the Fed realizes it has to be far more aggressive against inflation.
It’s why just yesterday, Jerome Powell said aggressive rate hikes are possible by May.
“It is appropriate in my view to be moving a little more quickly” to raise interest rates, Powell said, as quoted by CNBC. “I also think there is something to be said for front-end loading any accommodation one thinks is appropriate. … I would say 50 basis points will be on the table for the May meeting.”
That being said, where should we invest? Here are three top ways.
Markets
- The Dow is up down 91 points to 34,618
- The S&P 500 down about six points to 4,385.75
- The NASDAQ is up 16 points to 13,744.50
- Gold prices are down $20.03 to $1,931.21
- Bitcoin is down 4.5% to $40,527.21
- Oil prices are down about $1.50 to $102.30
- The VIX is up 2.73 points to 23.05
Trading Tips
One of my favorite strategies is the Dogs of the Dow.
You’re simply buying the top Dogs, which also pay out dividends. What I like most is that despite others’ belief the strategy is antiquated, and not worth the time, it really is. In fact, while the rest of the market gets nuttier by the day, most of the Dogs continue to bark.
In fact, here’s how the top 10 Dogs are doing year to date.
Verizon (VZ) – with a yield of 4.63% ran from $50.74 to $55.28
Dow (DOW) – with a yield of 4.25% ran from $56.11 to $70.16
IBM (IBM) – with a yield of 4.74% ran from $132.04 to $141.03
Chevron (CVX) – with a yield of 3.37% ran from $116 to $168.78
Walgreens (WBA) – with a yield of 4.06% fell from $51.74 to $47.03
Merck (MRK) – with a yield of 3.18% ran from about $75 to $86.75
3M (MMM) – with a yield of 3.92% fell from $174 to $152.13
Amgen (AMGN) – with a yield of 3% ran from $220 to $258.32
Coca-Cola (KO) – with a yield of 2.63% ran from $58 to $66.93
Intel (INTC) – with a yield of 3.04% fell from $51 to $48.11
Not bad at all for an “antiquated” strategy that’s “not worth the time.”
Better, if you use options with down and out Dogs, you could do even better.