Market Update Newsletter 3/13/23

Last week ended down big with all three indices down over 4%. Markets are opening up in the red. Bitcoin lost 10% last week.

The main focus is the fallout from Silicon Valley Bank which went tits up last week. The second largest bank failure in US history. The situation is dragging the market down and is making investors fearful. All of the banking industry will likely be caught in the net and will fall out of favor temporarily. First Republic (FRC), who had close ties to SVB was down as much as 60% premarket as customers are worried they will not be able to withdraw their deposits. Regulators did come out over the weekend ensuring that these banks will not fail to provide customers with their deposits.

The market is cautious and hopefully, we will not be whipped up in a frenzy. Securing some gains on an up day is going to be a good strategy. Markets will continue to be volatile and there is no way to accurately time anything. Risk should be lowered.

Stocks to Watch

Eli Lilly (LLY) receives an overweight upgrade. Drug companies have nothing to do with the financial fallout.

Merck (MRK) received a downgrade to hold and PT cut. Not sure if that's a good call.

Meta Platforms (META) is looking to cut another 13% of its personnel and save $1.1 Billion. If TikTok gets banned in the US Facebook is poised to fill that void. That could be a major win.

Happy Investing!

The Punkrock Capitalist