LP Morning Brief — 07 March

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fell on Monday, with the world's largest cryptocurrency falling below $40,000, as investors abandoned risk assets in the face of Ukraine-related turmoil.

Bitcoin remained at $39,000, up less than 1% in the last 24 hours and significantly below the $42,000 level seen in the early hours of Friday, according to CoinDesk data. Last week, the leading cryptocurrency climbed above $45,000 at one point.

That is the prevailing tone on Wall Street — one of utter bewilderment — as its machine-like staff labor overtime to mitigate the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict. Some traders have been shorting oil in recent sessions, which hasn't worked well as prices have risen to over $120 per barrel and, perhaps, $150 shortly.

Other traders stated that they are still long bank stocks in anticipation of rising yields and interest rates. Banks have been crushed (KBW bank ETF down 5%, JPMorgan down 9%) in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as people in the know believe the financial system will soon become pressured as a result of the West's sanctions on Russia.

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When Vice President Joe Biden sought to discuss the development of electric car chargers as part of his "Made in America" Siemens USA CEO Barbara Humpton joined the president on stage on Friday to announce $54 million in new investments, including a new factory that would serve as the focal point of the company's plans to manufacture over a million electric vehicle chargers in the United States over the next four years.

Siemens is now collaborating with automakers on everything from the circuitry inside electric vehicles to the charging stations that will be installed once the new cars are on the road. The USA plans to have half of all cars in the country to be EVs in 2030.

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A financial research firm raised eyebrows by claiming that there is a 10% possibility that humanity would be destroyed in a nuclear apocalypse — while advising investors to continue purchasing shares anyway. It estimated the likelihood of a civilization-destroying nuclear war occurring within the next 12 months at an "uncomfortably high" one-in-10, as tensions between Russia and the West continue to increase.

"Despite the possibility of nuclear war, it makes sense to be bullish on stocks over the next 12 months," writes Peter Berezin, chief global strategist at BCA. When an ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile] approaches, the size and makeup of your portfolio become irrelevant. As a result, from a strictly financial standpoint, you should mainly disregard the existential danger."

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