Why it’s almost Christmas Eve, Mr. Scrooge!
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.
James Altucher wrote an article 15 years ago titled “Give and You Will Receive” and giving can be as simple as cleaning out your closet and taking a trip to Goodwill. 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!
And, who knows, perhaps your children will develop the kind of empathy it takes to make a top-notch Customer Service Manager. Like Maddie here at Rockefeller Center, many years ago – waiting for Santa to show up while contemplating the true meaning of Christmas…
Whether 2026 will be another glorious year for the top 1% as they coast along on the Fed’s latest $40 Billion-a-month “Reserve Management” injection remains to be seen. Despite the “stagflation-lite” reality and a 3% inflation floor that simply won’t budge, the “Santa Rally” is working its usual low-volume magic to keep the S&P above the record 6,900 mark while Gold moves past $4,500 with Silver now $72.50 this morning (price check on Frankincense and Myrrh please!).
We have, however, kept a good deal of CASH!!! into the holidays – sitting on over 55% liquidity in our Long-Term Portfolio just in case the 2026 “Jenga Tower” of circular AI spending and $40 Trillion in National Debt decides to finally obey the laws of physics.
After a 2025 that saw a 35% crash in April followed by an engineered technical rescue, we’ve learned that in Trumpland, reality is always negotiable while patience and hedges are always essential.
Happy Holidays to all – and remember – the House always wins!
