POSTED ON October 28, 2021 BY Noah Kiedrowski

Stellar Earnings
The big bank cohort reported stellar earnings across the board and set the stage for earnings season while sparking a broad rally across the indices. The big banks have benefited from a confluence of impending rising rates, post-pandemic economic rebound, financially strong balance sheets, a robust housing market, and the easy passage of annual stress tests. The most recent earnings reports confirm this secular thesis as Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and Goldman Sachs (GS) all reported very strong quarters, with stock prices nearing all-time highs. The big bank cohort is in a sweet spot of a post-pandemic consumer, rising rates and balance sheets to support expanded share buybacks and dividend increases. These stocks are inexpensive and stand to capitalize on all these tailwinds over the long term.
A Healthy Consumer
The big banks are already transitioning beyond the pandemic based on the results and commentary from the collective companies’ top executives during their respective Q3 earnings. The six biggest banks by assets posted profit and revenue that beat expectations. These results came on the heels of booming Wall Street deals and the release of funds previously earmarked for pandemic-related defaults.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan stated that whether it was a return to loan growth, credit-card signups, or economic indicators like unemployment levels, the company was back in expansion mode. “The pre-pandemic, organic growth machine has kicked back in,” “You see that this quarter, and it’s evident across all our lines of business.” The company said that loan balances at BAC increased 9% on an annualized basis from the second quarter, driven by strength in commercial loans.
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POSTED ON October 22, 2021 By Jeremy Lutz

All three of the major averages finished the week higher, marking three straight weeks of gains, with the DOW being the only one to post a daily gain on Friday, hitting a record close. The DOW was able to post a weekly gain of +1.08%, while the S&P 500 gained +1.64% and the NASDAQ gained +1.29%, triggering a new green weekly Trade Triangle, indicating it’s now in a strong uptrend.

The DOW climbed 74 points or +0.21%, hitting a record close of 35,677.02, its first since August 16. The S&P 500 fell -0.11% to close at 4,544.90 a day after closing at a record, and the NASDAQ shed -0.82% to the week at 15,090.20.

On a monthly level, the S&P and DOW are up about +5%, while the NASDAQ is up +4%.
This week's other big news is Bitcoin and...Continue Reading...