Republic Risk: Why Earnings Winners Fall

JPMorgan has started the day lower... and gold and silver continue to ride the lightning as our top hedges of the year.

Equity Storm Watch Is YELLOW on the S&P 500 and YELLOW on the Russell 2000

Selling pressure remains very high. Five sectors are in Red territory, and all are interest rate sensitive: catalysts, financials, utilities, communications, and technology. Yesterday’s update on CarMax (KMX) told us everything we need to know about the U.S. consumer and the auto industry after a 9.3% decline. Boeing (BA) is under pressure. But what’s holding up? Semiconductors after the government’s sugar high around Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM). We are officially in earnings season, and today, we want to explain how a company like JPMorgan (JPM) the alpha dog of banking - is down 3% to start Friday and what we can expect ahead. Selling pressure remains VERY high in Russell 2000 stocks, so we remain cautious, and this feels like your last best chance to hedge against any additional surprises in the markets. With gold and silver at a breakneck pace higher - I continue to stress the importance of hedging.