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Rich Habits Podcast
More Market Predictions, Tesla Kills Their Model X & S Vehicles & Amazon's AI-Induced Layoffs
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- [00:00]
A
Public.com presents the rich Habits Radar, a new Friday episode of the Rich Habits Podcast, where every Friday morning we're coming at you with the biggest headlines impacting you and your money. My name is Austin Hankwitz. I'm joined by my co host Robert Kroke. And the three things sitting at the top of our Rich Habits Radar this week include Meta entering into a $6 billion deal with Corning for some fiber optic cables, Amazon Endow Chemical to lay off tens of thousands of employees because of AI and TESL discontinuing their Model S and X vehicles. We also have an awesome interview with Katie Stockton, a regular on cnbc. She's gracing us with her presence for this episode, so be sure to stick around for that as well as to the end where we talk a little bit more about how Southwest plans to quadruple their profits in 2026. Spoiler alert. It's because you're now paying to pick your seat when you fly Southwest. Robert, let's dig into our first story.
- [00:59]
B
That's right, the big headline this week and I've been talking about it because it's a Toledo company. Meta's $6 billion deal with Corning earlier this week, Meta struck a multi billion dollar deal to buy fiber optic cables from Corning. This was of course done in efforts to build and scale Meta's data center network for their AI. Corning will supply Meta with their newest generation of optical fiber cable and connectivity hardware, specifically from US Based companies.
- [01:30]
A
Yeah. To meet this demand, Corning is planning to expand their manufacturing capacity in North Carolina, including a scale up at their facility in Hickory. The partnership will boost their employment in the state by 20%, adding more than 5,000 new skilled workers to the mix.
- [01:47]
B
And according to the Corning earnings call that took place this week, the company is working on similar long term agreements with other major customers. They're essentially taking the same approach they did with Apple for their iPhones and Apple watch the glass screens in Kentucky and implementing it with their fiber optic for data centers, which is a very smart move. So Austin, what does this mean for you and your money?
- [02:09]
A
Yeah. So for everyone listening right now, this is a great example of picks in shovels as it relates to the rise of the data center. There's a lot of components that go into data centers and Cornings. Fiber optic cables make up a large chunk of that share. As more and more data centers get built, more fiber optic will be needed. However, we all know the real bottleneck for these data centers aren't fiber optic or copper cables or anything like that. It's the energy powering these data centers, which is why we've seen Bloom Energy stock just skyrocket lately, and that trend will likely continue up and to the right for years to come.
- [02:46]
B
Yeah, 100%. We've been talking about energy for a while now and the importance of it as we continue to grow this data center sector. So I think that's a great call out on bloo.
- [02:56]
A
So let's jump to our second point today, which is Amazon and Dow chemical laying off 20,000 employees because of artificial intelligence. Amazon said earlier this week they're cutting 16,000 corporate white collar jobs on top of the 14,000 jobs they cut back in October. For those of you trying to do the math, that's 30,000 jobs gone in the matter of three or four months here because of AI, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy shared in a company Memo back in 2002. 24, I believe, and the quote is generative. AI is a once in a lifetime technological change that is already altering how Amazon deals with consumers and other businesses and how it conducts its own operations. I think that's a lot of corporate speak for y' all getting laid off. AI's taking your job.
- [03:47]
B
Yeah, Austin. Not just Amazon, but Dow Chemical as well. They announced they're cutting 4,500 employees as part of this cost saving program that will lean in on artificial intelligence to increase productivity and bolster shareholder returns.
- [04:03]
A
Yeah, I saw that. Dow said they're embarking on a program called Transform to Outperform, which would deploy AI in automation to reduce expenses and catalyze growth and productivity to the tune of $2 billion of adjusted EBITDA every single year. So, Robert, what does this mean for you and your money?
- [04:22]
B
It means that as these major corporations become more and more efficient with AI, we expect to see more layoffs in the near future. And if you haven't already started training in AI and learn those specific skill sets, you need to get after it. Tactically speaking, these companies will become more profitable because of these efficiencies. So don't take a blind eye to their stocks as well. Even though you might be a little, you know, mad because they're doing these layoffs, it doesn't mean the stocks might not be a great thing to look at. And if your children, your nieces or nephews or anyone you care about is entering college right now and not sure where to study or what to do, physical labor jobs like nursing, electricians, plumbers, engineers are what they should focus on because we want to make sure by the time those 18 year olds are 28 and blooming in their careers, they don't have one of these AIs taking their jobs because a vast majority of white collar jobs will disappear in the next five to 10 years.
- [05:19]
A
So Robert, this brings us to our last story, which I think is the most interesting one, which is Tesla discontinuing their Model S in X vehicles. During the company's earnings call earlier this week, Elon Musk announced Tesla will no longer manufacture Model S or Model X vehicles, but instead use that factory space in California to begin manufacturing their Optimus robots. Elon's quote is this. It's time to basically bring the Model S in X programs to an end with an honorable discharge. We expect to wind down S in X production next quarter and convert that into an optimum Optimus factory with the long term goal of having 1 million units a year of Optimus robots in the current S and X space in Fremont, California. This came after the company's EV sales fell by 16% year over year, selling only 1.7 million vehicles during the last quarter of 2025.
- [06:16]
B
Interestingly enough, subscriptions of the company's full self driving Software increased by 38% to 1.1 million people. This says a lot about where the company is focusing as Musk stated that the company still plans to start the production of Cybercab, a fully autonomous two seater with no steering wheel and no pedals. And there's already about 500 of them operating in the streets of Austin, Texas as we speak. So Austin, this is some crazy news. We've been talking about autonomous robots and humanoid robots and all of this for quite some time. What does this mean for you and your money?
- [06:52]
A
I think this is a genius move by Elon because on one side you can sell a electric vehicle for a flat fee with Mid Teen margins attached to it. And you take that money one time, right? Whereas with a humanoid robot or something of that likes, right, With Optimus you see similar margins. Call it mid teens, maybe 20, 30% depending on demand, but you are able to charge an annual recurring fee to operate it. So at scale, talking about the million robots per year that, that are out and about now, this is, this could be the tune of tens of billions of dollars more per year to Tesla's bottom line if they were able to successfully pull this off.
- [07:32]
B
So my takeaway is this. We remain bullish on Tesla long term because Elon's idea of 1 million Optimus units a year is very hard. But if someone is going to achieve that goal. We think the guy that builds rockets is the most likely candidate to pull it off. So we'll see where the numbers fall in the future. But we still remain bullish on Tesla.
- [07:54]
A
As you guys might tell, I've got a different camera going on right now, maybe a little different microphone as well. I lost power and I keep losing power. Winter storm here in Nashville's kicking my butt. So we're gonna actually just skip over a little bit of the ETF Central call out. Of course, go check out ETF Central, but we won't be able to share our screens and do the cool images and stuff and all the, all the things we talk about on a weekly basis. But ETF Central.com is an incredible place to go check out. If you want to lear more about ETFs in general, themes, sectors, flows, performance, everything as it relates to ETFs. Go check out ETF central.com major shout out to ETF Central and the New York Stock Exchange for powering and sponsoring the show 100%.
- [08:36]
B
We love ETF Central and you really should go to the website, poke around, learn more. They have a lot of cool things going on there and we appreciate them being a longtime sponsor of the show. So let's get into it.
- [08:48]
A
As we alluded to earlier in this episode, we are joined by Katie Stockton. Katie Stockton is the founder and managing partner of Fairlead Strategies, an independent research firm and registered investment advisor based in Greenwich, Connecticut. Fairlead specializes in technical analysis and disciplined rules based investment strategies including the FairLead Tactical Sector ETF T A C K which applies sector rotation and asset allocation techniques to help investors navigate evolving market conditions. And that is exactly what we are experiencing today in 2026. So Katie, welcome to the Rich habit radar.
- [09:28]
C
Thank you Austin. It's good to be back with you guys.
- [09:30]
A
We are super, super grateful. I think it's funny I showed you that I was going to was it Fort Lauderdale and I landed in the airport and on CNBC right then and there at the airport was Katie Stockton did her thing and I had to take a photo and put it on X and all that stuff. You are just, you're all over the place, Katie. So we're grateful to have you here on the show.
- [09:49]
C
I appreciate that.
- [09:50]
A
So we just shared our 2026 market predictions episode like maybe three or four weeks ago now. And as part of that episode we were talking about how we're going to see a little bit of sector rotation into small cap stocks, right? Earnings. We're Seeing some quasi quantitative easing. We're seeing the Fed cut interest rates like the easing cycle there. Right. So we thought that small caps would benefit in 2026, specifically the Russell 2000. So what is your take on that Russell 2000 prediction we shared?
- [10:19]
C
Well, I think it was very precious. You guys presented it a few weeks ago, you said so kudos to that. Very good call that you had. I mean we've seen that really manifest itself in the market year to date in 2026. It's become very obvious now to everyone that there is a very significant rotation that's been underway. It became somewhat evident in Q4 when we saw the loss of relative strength behind large cap technology. When that happens, it occurs to the benefit of just about everything else. Because tech obviously has the biggest footprint in the S&P 500. When it underperforms, you start to see other sectors have their opportunity to outperform and also other segments of the markets like small cap. So we really saw that from the Russell 2000 index and in December it broke out from what we call a long term cup and handle formation. And we have a chart to show it. It looks essentially like a big rounded basing phase followed by a shallow version of the same and then a breakout in this case to new all time highs above what was a pretty significant resistance level. That breakout is something that serves as kind of a technical action item. When you see resistance removed from a chart, that's a bullish development. Typically it doesn't mean you always see immediate upside, but when you an even stronger breakout. And that's of course what we've seen from the Russell 2000. So I would concur that there has been meaningful rotation and that it is something maybe not as explosively as in January, but beyond, you know, this month that we could see as more of a theme for 2026.
- [12:00]
A
Yeah, and I think too what's really important people understand when it comes to some of the small cap stuff we're talking about. Despite some crazy small cap performance with specific names. Right. When I say small cap I think like sub tub billion in market cap. We saw some craziness happen in 2025. If it's biotech, if it's, you know, some quantum computing names, like there's a lot of small cap stuff that was happening last year. We're specifically talking about the Russell 2000, the index. Right. Which I just want to be clear here. That is the index, not these specific names. So like there could be specifics names that don't do well at all in 2026, but still be considered a small cap. But we're specifically talking about the entirety. Right. Of small caps in general with the Russell 2000. So I just want to make sure that's really, really clear to our audience here.
- [12:45]
C
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense from a bottom up perspectives. They can look very, very different.
- [12:50]
A
They certainly can for sure.
- [12:52]
B
I am so excited because I've been beating the table for a few years now telling people to diversify in precious metals. And we've seen a historic run up in the last, let's call it 12, 14 months with gold, silver and now copper as well. How are you thinking about this price action and is it sustainable in 2026?
- [13:13]
C
I would say it's probably the most common question that I'm getting these days and it wasn't really the case six months ago. We've been pretty constructive on gold though over the long term. We've owned it in our ETF for more than a year now and we feel that it, it's just a bull cycle and it's been very persistent. It's had the support of positive, of momentum and for now it's right across all time frames. Right. Short term metrics, intermediate term metrics, long term metrics, all still point higher. But naturally with the, the steepness of the rally that we've seen in gold, silver especially, people are wondering that is this overdone? And when you have that steep kind of up move, it's tough because you're not really well served to wait for a breakdown to sell, which a breakdown is always a risk risk metric that we watched. So rather we have to use other tools to understand when it's time to reduce. And for us that could mean something like an indicator, an overbought, oversold indicator flashing a sell signal and then maybe a little downtick. Today I think we actually have an outside down day in gold. That means when you have a wide swing by the low spread for the day and then it closes lower, that's sometimes a short term setback, things of that nature that would serve as weight of the evidence that it's done going up. But we just don't have that yet, not on a collective basis within precious metals and extend that to base metals as well, like copper. So you know, we feel we want to hold these uptrends while they're still working. And once we see some real deterioration in the indicators that would warrant some reduction in exposure or taking profits for most people. For copper, it's a newer breakout than we've had in gold or silver. So when you have a breakout that serves as a positive catalyst. So perhaps copper is a bit more interesting as one to add to.
- [15:04]
A
And Katie, this is probably a good time to mention, you know you mentioned the TAC etf. It's been around for years actually. It was one of the first cool ETFs that I've really gotten a part of. I mean we started talking about it back in 2022. I think it was maybe 2023. But regardless, with the Tac ETF, you mentioned how you've had gold in there for the last 12 or 18 months. Can you maybe explain a little bit how the TAC ETF works and how you are picking and choosing what sector the S and P that you are adding or subtracting to the etf. I got it shared up on screen here so the audience can take a look.
- [15:35]
C
Great. Thanks Austin. Yeah, so at its essence it's a sector rotation fund investing in the S&P 500 economic sectors. And we have sort of a pie that's broken into eight equal weight pieces and we will ideally in a very strong tape have all of those pieces of the pie in various sectors, the sectors that have the best, best momentum and the best relative performance versus the broader market. When the tape weakens like it did do in Q4, we will see some kind of shift. And it's a very dynamic fund. It sort of puts the active and the active ETF theme there. It's very dynamic, reacting to long term momentum inputs. And we did see a position or two on the sector front get kicked out. And when that happens we will replace it with a combination of asset classes that we feel are different are usually doing better than the equity market in a weaker equity market environment. And that of course includes gold. So we've defaulted into a gold positions that's been pretty substantial around 8, 9% of the fund at various times. And with that we've been able to benefit from something that we considered almost a safe haven input and historically it has certainly acted that way but incredibly additive to the portfolio in 2025. So we're very glad to have held it as long as we have had been more a function of the weaker equity tape at different times. But that defaulted position has worked really very well for us. We also use short term treasuries and long term treasuries for that other alternative exposure. Now with the equal weight sector strategy, that's sort of an environmental strategy that would do well in my opinion in a year like we've seen start right in 2026. So the, the start of 2026 has been beneficial to equal weight strategies like TAC because you've seen that tech sector underperformance and now of course we have earnings. So it's getting a little mish mosh in here. But that has allowed other sectors and other market cap sort of categories emerge as relative performers. So that means that equal weight strategies might in general be more interesting in 2026, unless you feel like we're going to see yet another passive cycle year that favors the mega caps. But what I've noticed is that in the mega cap complex, it doesn't seem to me like they're being treated as a group anymore, but rather as individual companies, which is probably how it should be. You know, I think today or you know, with earnings having hit the tape from the likes of Meta and Microsoft and they are acting totally oppositely and their response, that does show that there's dispersion that really just wasn't there for a long time. So I think that's in a way healthy and certainly reflects a different kind of tape than we had in much of 25 and 24.
- [18:31]
A
I completely agree with you. And just to make sure we're on the same page for everyone listening, how the TAC ETF works is using price action moving averages. You had mentioned sort of these like buy and sell signals. You're a cmt, so like this is what you do. You are a technical analysis wizard is what I like to call you. So you do this stuff. You're very, very good at it. And what you're saying is every single sector of the S and P, if it's doing well, you add it to the TAC etf. If it's not doing well, you take it out of the TAC etf. And so it's like always kind of being in a position where this ETF is invested into things that are doing well as sectors of the S P and not as sectors that aren't right. So like during times of economic prosperity, health care, historically speaking, right. Does not do well. Where during times of economic turmoil health care does do well. And you're looking over here, okay, we got some health care and the tax, so we're looking at that.
- [19:22]
C
Right? That's a new ad. And so healthcare having been added recently is a testament to our conversation and that it's a changed environment of late and we actually expect a couple of sectors that haven't been represented recently to surface soon intact. So we're really seeing Some sector rotation in the charts, which is what we use as our primary discipline. We're using technical analysis, which is a study of price trends. We're looking at momentum indicators, overbought oversold metrics and relative strength inputs to try to understand the markets and to navigate them. And we're doing it in a systematic fashion. So rather than using discretion in our opinions, we're saying, well, okay, if this indicator changes, we want to change with it. And that's indeed what tech does.
- [20:07]
A
I love that.
- [20:08]
B
Yeah, that was a great breakdown. And before we move on, I want to click back just one more time. Are there any other commodities that you like and see for 20, 26 and beyond? Because we're all talking about gold, silver, copper, a little palladium, a little aluminum, maybe some potash. What else is out there that we're not talking about that we should be keeping an eye on and sharing with our audience?
- [20:30]
C
Well, I think for those that have a little fatigue around the metals complex, that we will see more strength from other areas within the broader commodity sort of arena. We've had a basing phase by one of the broad ETF proxies that we use to represent commodities as a whole. And so it feels to us like we could be in the midst of a bull cycle, an early stage bull cycle for commodities. Of course, gold may not be early stage, but it's, it's there to participate, at least for now. And I would highlight energy commodities primarily as standing out to us as having some upside. Maybe some of the greens could unfold as well as, as you know, momentum sources, but they're not quite there yet. But crude. Very interesting to us in that it's advanced from its lows. After a successful test of support, there was support for WTI futures around $55 per barrel. And we've seen this relief rally that took it above the 200 day moving average, which is a widely watched gauge of resistance or maybe potential selling pressure on a chart clearing that sometimes acts as a positive catalyst. It gets on the radar of folks that might not have paid attention to it. It seen the 200 day moving average as a gauge of the primary trend. But now that crude oil is above it, we sense that it will get on people's radars just from a trend following perspective. And it allows for an upside objective, at least preliminary preliminarily, of about $68 per barrel per the next resistance level that we track. So we're, we're really intrigued by that turnaround that appears to be underway for crude oil.
- [22:09]
B
For one, I really appreciate that take just because I want to make sure not just for myself, but our listener in our audience, that we don't miss anything. You know, our goal here is to always provide updated information, make sure everyone is prepared for the markets. Austin says it all the time and I really like this statement. If we aren't preparing you for the markets and you're surprised by anything, we're not doing a good enough job. So that's a great takeaway from where I'm at in commodities and looking for other opportunities.
- [22:39]
A
Maybe Katie would love to get your perspective. You've shared with us the XLE monthly chart here. I've got it pulled up on screen. Help us decipher what we're looking at.
- [22:48]
C
Well, it seems like we're not the only ones that have been anticipating a relief rally in crude oil. When crude oil rallies, it tends to occur to the benefit of a lot of energy companies, right, that the drillers and the refiners tend to benefit oftentimes from rising energy commodity prices. And we could even at this point throw natural gas in the mix, just given the spike up on the recent cold snap. But with crude oil carrying over to these individual stocks and their sentiment, we have a breakout in this energy sector. SPDR ETF the XLE ETF is representative of the S P500 Energy Complex and it's been range bound for a really long time. So that trading range can be really frustrating to a lot of people. So and it's been years, three years or so now that it's been range bound. And then just recently we saw an advanced from that trading range and it's cleared resistance or is testing some longer term resistance on the chart and looks poised to get through that level. So we also are encouraged by the action here. The breakouts as mentioned, do act as positive catalysts typically and this would be a long term breakout, potentially with longer term implications. I'd make a side note on the energy sector is that it sometimes has a mind of its own. It's a very small piece piece of the S P500, but it can have, you know, relative performance that really shines in any kind of environment. So I would highlight 2022 to that end. We only owned energy for some time because it was the only sector that was working from a technical perspective. It was really the only sector that was exhibiting upside momentum for much of 2022. So it can have a mind of its own because it's related to things that are perhaps a little bit more external to the S&P 500. So we like it in a way for that, I guess diversification that it can provide on the sector front.
- [24:52]
A
Amazing. I appreciate that breakdown. Let's wrap this up with our final question for you here, Katie, which is another hunch we have for 2026 emerging markets. We think with the weakness of the US dollar, the rise of commodities, things like the that the emerging markets etf, let's call it EEM or just emerging markets in general.
- [25:13]
B
Right.
- [25:13]
A
Are going to become more and more strengthened. They're going to trend up and to the right here in 2026. What's your perspective on what the emerging markets are shaping up as right now?
- [25:23]
C
Well, I think you guys are on to another good theme and it's really manifested itself year to date as well in the charts and that the EM etf which represents this space has accelerated to new highs, a very steep uptrend. And with that We've seen outperformance versus the S&P 500. We've seen some relative performance also shift towards developed global versus the US too. So it's not just emerging markets, although it's a bit more obvious there perhaps. So we're encouraged by the relative strength shift from I guess US to international as something that could lend itself to sort of diversification in portfolios, meaning that you can build some international exposure, that it won't necessarily be as important to have that US large cap, core, mega cap tech exposure and you'll have an opportunity to benefit from some trends elsewhere. And that EEM ratio looks like a long term turnaround. It doesn't mean there won't be volatility from a short to intermediate term perspective. But we think that it's a meaningful turnaround when referencing things like the moving averages and their slip slope. So I think you're onto something with that theme. And it's always interesting to break down the emerging markets to the individual countries that comprise these broad benchmarks like eem. And we've had leadership from the likes of Brazil recently, Taiwan, Korea and then there's some areas that have underperformed. India stands out, but also China. China we almost can't separate from emerging markets. It's got the biggest footprint and it's pretty remarkable to see the EEM ETF do as well without leadership to the upside from China. What we showed recently in our latest research was a comparison of a China benchmark, this MCHI ETF versus the broader EEM benchmark. So we wanted to see how China was doing relative to broader em. And you can see this massive downdraft or a phase of underperformance and it's something that we think will culminate here in the near term. So not only constructive on emerging markets and that would be intermediate to long term, but even in the near term we're expecting the downside momentum and relative terms behind China to alleviate and perhaps even give another bit of a boost to the broader emerging markets complex as we regain or see China to regain leadership.
- [27:57]
A
Interesting. So you think that you're looking at ms, I'm sorry, mchi kind of Chinese stock market type stuff and it's been underperforming relative to the EEM etf, which is the emerging markets in general. You think that the China side of it will see some relief in the near term?
- [28:15]
C
That's right. And we think it's because we have signs of downside exhaustion in the ratio that would suggest the down move or phase of underperformance is overdone. So if we have China kick back in here in sort of a catch up trade relative to broader em, that's something that can help sustain that bull cycle for EM in general. And we've also seen China Tech, you can look at a K web etf, KWEB to that end has seemingly advanced from a corrective phase of its own. So we're starting to see better momentum behind some of the China proxies and we find that encouraging.
- [28:54]
A
What an incredible breakdown by our favorite technical analysis wizard, Ms. Katie Stockton. Thank you so much for joining us and we're looking forward to hanging out with you in New York City next week.
- [29:06]
C
Same here. It's going to be great. You too, Robert.
- [29:08]
B
Yes. Great job today. We always love having you on the show.
- [29:11]
C
Thank you.
- [29:12]
A
So for everyone that wants to learn more about what Katie's up to, please go click the link in the show notes below to learn more about Fair Lead strategies. Please learn more about TAC Tac, their incredible ETF and follow Katie on X. We'll have all that linked out in the show notes below. All right, Robert, this is now our own call outs. I've got three, you've got three. Let's kick them off. So my first one is the fact that the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, right? They didn't cut, they didn't raise, they didn't do nothing. Just hanging steady for the first time since July. That's six months.
- [29:46]
B
Months.
- [29:46]
A
Six months, Robert. So despite Trump's efforts to criminally investigate Jerome Powell, the purple tie wearing fella didn't cut interest rates this month. This decision was approved by a 10 to 2 vote. Jerome said that recent economic data painted a brighter picture that officials had at their last meeting. With strong growth in tentative signs of labor market stabilization at time of recording, polymarket is pricing in two to three rate cuts in 2026. So we'll see when those take place. The next call out I've got to share is Southwest quadrupling their profits in 2026. The company that's been known for you can't pick your seat. You just kind of go and order and just sit where you can. Is now charging for seats and checked bags, which we've known about. But what we didn't learn until yesterday is that it's actually working. For context, Delta profited about $4 billion in 2025. United Airlines profited about three and a half billion. But Southwest only had half a billion dollars in profits for 2025. But that now has changed because according to their COO, the extra fee revenue derived from seat selection fees falls straight to the bottom line. The stock of the company is up 20% today because that straight to the bottom line actually means an extra $2 billion for 2026. So next time you fly Southwest and you pay $112 to select are also contributing to that $2 billion thumbs up? Not really. All right, so my final call out is Alibaba teaming up with zelos on a $2 billion robo van business. Alibaba's logistics arm is merging its autonomous driving unit with a Chinese robo van company called Zelos, spinning up and creating a new business valued at $2 billion. The new entity will be ran by Zelos and comes at a time of heightened competition in China's autonomous driving industry. Now here's the kicker, Robert. Technology companies and startups are really competing for a share of the multi billion dollar market for robo taxis, buses and other autonomous vehicles, specifically in China. According to McIntyre, they've estimated that by 2035, robo taxis could account for 45% of shared mobility rides in China, representing a $70 billion dollar market. That's one and two rides that are, you know, shared in China, right? One of two, like rideshare, is through a robotaxi in just nine years from now.
- [32:19]
B
I really like those call outs. And it's kind of funny about Southwest because that's the thing I like the most about them is because when I get on these flights, if I have to take a Southwest flight that I can just pick a seat, get one near somebody that I want to sit by up front, usually so charging for it. I don't know if it'll make it better or worse, but I'm excited to see how that works out. So let's get into my three radar points today. I'm going to start off one that I think is funny and we've been very fortunate in the Rich Habits Network to get way ahead of this trend, and that is space tourism and technology is seeing a huge boost with a highly anticipated SpaceX IPO as well as increased investment spending in space tourism, technology and infrastructure. I believe that stocks like Rocket Lab and ASTS Space Mobile will lead the way in this highly touted secular growth trend. For the United States to lead the way in data center growth, we definitely need a lot more energy. And data centers in space may sound like this dystopian sentiment, but could be the answers that we need to dominate AI and data centers in the future. My second radar point today is the S&P 500 Top 7000 for the first time. And although we still see a bumpy road in the markets as we film this episode, the S P did hit a new all time high above 7,000, which is a great milestone driven by continued optimism in tech, small caps and broader markets. And my third point today, as everyone has seen in the last couple days, is that markets are dumping and bitcoin fell below 83,000. I think this is all part of a broader fear due to geopolitical tensions, earnings disappointments and no rate cuts by the Fed. Do I think this is a long term bearish sign? No, I just think there's so much fear and hostility in the headlines right now that I think it's hard for people to see a clear path on where the markets are going. So maybe it's time to reallocate some of your portfolio away from crypto and big tech tech and find stability elsewhere. Think small caps, precious metals, energy and some of these other maybe a little less volatile sectors right now.
- [34:30]
A
Yeah, we've been talking about cryptocurrency for a while and one of our predictions for 2025 was that the cryptocurrency market, specifically bitcoin, would experience a top. I believe we called that correctly. I believe the top is in. It was 127,000. Now we're at 84, which is about 32% off that high. I think Bitcoin could go closer to 40, 50, 60,000. I think Ethereum could go sub 2000. So just set expectations. If you're a long term cryptocurrency investor, just know you're in for a wild ride during 2026 and perhaps 2027.
- [35:08]
B
Talk about wild ride. This episode definitely defines that Austin is without power. He's got a snowstorm going on, all kinds of crazy Internet issues. But we got through it. And what a great episode.
- [35:19]
A
Everybody can to give us the feedback because we want these episodes, these Friday headline based news timely episodes, to be as valuable for you as possible as it relates to navigating the markets in real time. If you've not yet joined the Rich Habits Network, please consider doing so. And with that being said, we will see you on Monday.
- [35:45]
C
It.