Bank Earnings The Only Theme To Care About

So, starting with this interview, I’m doing a residency for Yahoo! Finance of sorts. Every second Tuesday I’m going to do a long-form interview. The topics? Whatever is on my mind that day.

Jen Rodgers asks all the right questions - why are bank earnings the most important tell for the market right now? I explain why I love to analyze the earnings to give me a high level view of the overall economy. This helps give me a clue to the mood of bankers, firms that borrow money to expand, and the effect of the tax cuts. While none of this will make you a billionaire trading stocks - it can help with practical decisions on rebalancing, how to invest new cash, and where to focus on when clients need money to cover their monthly expenses.

Also, it’s fascinating. . . We shot this in my office studio via Skype. I have to say the picture quality isn’t that bad and audio is what it is. Notice the twin posters of Twin Peaks - a reimagined movie poster version that for whatever reason I have two of.

Lee Munson Spring Break TV Tour

Spring break along with first quarter are behind us. Below are some of the interviews I did while on a mini-week vacation with my family to Manhattan. Yes, I snuck in some quick TV shots in between taking my kids to a Broadway show, MOMA/The Met/NY Nat History Museum.

First off, a short but electric interview with Charles Payne. This got a ton of hits, and at the end you can hear Charles end with “Lee Munson, you’re the man.” What a compliment!

Second, I make my triumphant return to Mornings With Maria Bartiromo. She gave me over 5 minutes to chat about the tariff trades, if I would commit money that day, and thoughts on the new Fed governor. My favorite line is “I knew the gig was up.”

Third, a long form interview (I chopped it down to size on my laptop) for Yahoo Finance’s The Final Round. Jennifer Rogers is the best person to spend 30 minutes with talking about everything from Facebook’s data SNAFU, interest rates, to the private equity markets. This was also my second major interview not wearing a tie – which I seem to think is really cool.

Here is the bottom line: we had some buying opportunities and took advantage of them. Our team has disciplined market levels we are looking to rebalance. If you really want to know the levels and technical numbers we are looking at, just email me at lee@portfoliollc.com.

Munson on Payne: Change what you're smokin'

High energy interview on the top ranked (hey, it beats Cramer in the same time slot - look it up!) Fox Business show Making Money with Charles Payne. I suggest that Wall Street should “change what they are smoking” in thinking we will have a full scale trade war that brings the market down. Kudlow is here to negotiate (hope he stays!).

Lee Munson On The Short Volatility Crash Of 2018

I absolutely love going on with Jennifer Rogers and talking markets. After covering the crash from Monday - I make some pot shots at Carl Icahn. But let’s be honest, he has some good points and billion dollars in the bank. 

“Taking some profits from the last year on Monday and investing new cash."

“Wait a little bit, see what happens, nobody knows, but when volatility is this high, relax and see where things go.”

“I was there for the dot.com crash, don’t be so convinced we are fine, but know I’m still overall bullish.”

“Dips are healthy, and I like the pause, but I want to see more pause, more blood-letting, and I want to see three good down days.” 

End Of Year Wrapup 2018 - Bitcoin Is Dot.com Redux

I love to do end of year shows when not enjoying the holidays with my family. While Liz Clamen was on break, Cheryl Casone got the interview rolling. My take is simple, a chart is a chart, and bubbles are best played on breakouts and momentum. But if you want my opinion about buying this stuff, the answer is no. Fox Biz wanted me to give an end of year price for Bitcoin in 2018, and nobody really knows. I guessed $2000, but let me tell you, this could get more out of hand before reality sets in.

Munson on 2018 rally, FAANG rally, Bitcoin Bubble

Jen Rogers and I spent some time together in the Yahoo Finance NYC studio. We covered everything that was rattling around in my head that cold Manhattan afternoon. I said I would fly back once the yield curve inverted . . .

Dark Side Of Cryptocurrencies: Making Criminals Rich

Over the past few months I’ve taken a deep dive into cryptocurrencies beyond simply trading an asset. Earlier in 2017 my interest was in how the mechanics worked. Clunky, high transaction charges, foreign banks in very foreign countries, and zero investor protection or oversight. Hey, I never got past the poor transaction framework. As time went by and the prices went up it became clear on top of all of this – the so-called currency was nothing but ether, hot air, and no better than gold. At least gold is shinny and you can wear it. Since I don’t invest directly in gold (it has no actual value, pays no dividends, and it can be easily stolen), cryptocurrencies didn’t have any more appeal. And no, just because the price of something goes up doesn’t mean, well, anything.

Now that I’ve had time to travel to New York City, talk to people in the know and vet out how many people out there had no idea what was going on, the real issues started to come out.

Rather than keep typing, I include this interview I was quoted in by Ethan Wolff-Mann from Yahoo Finance. He’s a talented writer that isn’t quick to print things without some real research. While I love when I get a quote – keep reading the whole article as he spells out the core issue: criminals are the ones that profit. This may seem obvious once you see it, but it wasn’t in the most recent past

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-boom-may-made-criminals-wallets-richer-153914871.html

Charles Payne Asks Munson About Tax Reform On Fox Business

I was in New York all day seeing a few clients, meeting up with some old friends, and keeping my ear to the ground. I was invited to come on Making Money with Charles Payne. I've known him for many years and always love the opportunity to hang out and talk about the topics of the day.

I wasn't going anywhere and, since I had a late redeye that evening, I told the producers to put me any place they wanted and I can stay the whole hour, and they did. In the first block, they were covering all the news about tax reform, but the only thing Charles really wanted to ask me point blank prior to going live was Lee, do you really think 20 versus 22% for corporate tax rate is going to make or break this market? My response, as you can imagine, was no it really doesn't make any difference. The issue is whether or not smaller US based versus large multinationals (that have armies of advisors to dodge tax) are going to do better on their balance sheet than paying 30% to the US Treasury, and the answer is of course they will.

What Skills Do You Need To Be A Forensic Investigator

In part 3 of Financial Times’ Financial Advisor IQ’s interview by Bruce Love, Lee Munson discusses the skills needed to become an expert witness for securities litigation cases. Also, there is no better way of staying up to date on compliance. Over the last 10 years Lee Munson has assisted Clinton Marrs in going after the bad actors that plague our industry.