The Good Morning Report – 17th May

5 Things that Grabbed my Attention

1. Home Depot (equivalent of Bunnings in the USA) cut its profit guidance as Americans postpone renovations....Rising rates are starting to bite; markets sold off as a result with the money pouring into USD.

2. Consumer confidence in Australia hit a 3 year low....I don't think there is any need to be in consumer discretionary stocks as they are exposed to a slow down in retail spending.

3. Warren Buffet sold two more banks stocks from his portfolio - US Bancorp and BNY Mellon....but in a surprise move he bought Capital One which specializes in credit cards and auto loans.

4. The former CEO of state owned South African energy provider ESKOM, believes that $55 million is being stolen every month from the company....Total shambles.

5. There is a viral video going around suggesting that the USA has the ability to start using its nuclear waste to generate electricity and has enough of it to power the country for the next 150 years....Yes this may be true, but major problem is the COST. If URANMIUM prices go up 5 or 10 fold then it may become economical....I maintain my bullish view on URNM BUY last sale $5.68

ASX Market Update

ASX 200 down 32 points to 7234

Our market rolled over a little bit as weak consumer confidence figures put a bit of a dampener on things. Harvey Norman (HVN) fell 1.09%, JB HiFi (JBH) off 0.5% and Lovisa (LOV) fell 2.33%.

Random Observation

The GLOBALIST media are celebrating as South Africans move further in poverty....Disgraceful headline.

And with rolling blackouts the people will be forced to chop down trees for energy thus trashing the environment....Horrible situation.

The Day Ahead

• Our SPI is down 22 points
• Bitcoin down 1.8% to $26,918

Movements affecting our resource stocks today (USD)

• BHP in the US down 1.9%
• Newmont down 4.18%
• Gold down 1.43% to $1993
• Paper Silver down 1.53% to $23.92
• Platinum down 0.5% to $1068
• Copper down 2.32% to $3.66
• Brent Crude down 0.8% t o$74.63

Asian Market Update

Japan up 0.73%, Hong Kong FLAT, China down 0.6%

Extended periods of light winds and also the annual monsoon, renders solar/wind absolutely useless in Vietnam as consistent 24 hour power can't be generated.....Vietnam will be remain reliant on COAL for my lifetime (BUY YAL, WHC, NHC) - anyone who tells you otherwise is off with the fairies! The PM would know this but is happy to collect some big investment dollars in the meantime.

Global Market Update

US Market

DOW down 333 points to 33,012

Home Depot was forced to cut profit guidance as many Americans defer making home improvements....This is a sign that people are feeling the squeeze of rising interest rates.

European Markets

Germans dipped 0.12%, Brits off 0.34% and CAC fell 0.16%

Bit of a shakeup at VODAFONE with the CEO announcing they are going to sack 11,000 people....Just another large company punting 10% of its workforce....VODAFONE shares fell 7% on the news - for long term investors this stock has been absolutely miserable as it now languishes at prices last seen in the 1990's.