Welcome back to our weekly newsletter! We have things all ready and summarized for you🔥

• Bitcoin Surges Amid Prospective U.S. ETF Approval📈

• JPMorgan CEO Raises Caution for Investors⚠

• Bank of America Is the Problem Child of Big Banks🏦

What to know this Week? 📅

📊Market Performance

• S&P 500: 4,327.78 (+0.60%)

• DJI: 33,670.29 (+0.84%)

• Nasdaq-100: 14,995.12 (-1.08%)

• Russell 2000: 1,719.71 (-0.23%)

• Bitcoin: 27,759.40 (+3.31%)

• Gold: $1,915.59 (-0.52%)

Busy Week of Earnings

This week is set to be an intriguing one as we follow several significant company earnings announcements. Bucketload of companies, including financial heavyweights such as Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley, along with tech titans like Tesla and Netflix, are scheduled to share their numbers.

As these multinational conglomerates span across various sectors, their performance not only reflects their individual success but also provides insight into the broader economic landscape.

September Retail Sales Data

We're anticipating the release of the U.S. Census Bureau's report on national retail sales for September. This crucial indicator reflects the strength of U.S. consumer spending, which has been surprisingly resilient despite rising inflation and interest rates.

This retail data is a pivotal tool for understanding the health of the economy and can provide insight into consumers' sentiment towards the market.

Housing Market Updates

Reports from the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index for October will also be out this week.

These updates give a well-rounded picture of the housing market’s condition and future directions, influencing the decisions of homeowners, investors, and policy makers.

Bitcoin Surges Amid Prospective U.S. ETF Approval📈

The week has started on an exciting note in the world of crypto finance, with Bitcoin (BTC) experiencing a notable increase of 4.5% in the Asian trading hours on the back of anticipated changes in the legislative landscape.

The premier cryptocurrency almost reached the $28,000 mark, eradicating the losses of the past week. The hike is attributed to expectations surrounding the approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States; a development that Bitcoin enthusiasts and investors have long awaited.

This bull run can be traced back to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s recent decision to not contest an earlier Grayscale ruling. The alleged lack of appeal on part of the SEC could pave the way for the much-hoped-for Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. market.

This was covered in our previous newsletter which you can find below.

The entire crypto industry is looking at Grayscale's application for a Bitcoin ETF with eager eyes, as the transformation of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an ETF could hugely stimulate the Bitcoin market.

Notably, this topic has exerted a dominant influence on Bitcoin market trends for several months now.

Simon Peters, a leading market analyst at eToro, noted in a comment to CoinDesk, "The news in the U.S. over Grayscale’s ETF application has potentially very significant ramifications for the bitcoin market…As the barriers to approval fall, hopes among investors continue to rise that we could see these products in the market sooner rather than later."

JPMorgan CEO Raises Caution for Investors⚠

JPMorgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, recently contributed to the global discourse regarding the present global financial landscape, setting a new tone for the earnings season.

His remarks "This may be the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades," put the investment world on high alert, signaling a possible cautionary approach towards the financial market.

Dimon, distinguished for his insights and influence, goes on to draw attention to the escalating uncertainties that investors face, highlighting his concern about exorbitant government debt levels and persistent inflation. These have been underlying themes in his recent discussions which have sparked debates among stakeholders.

The geopolitical climate adds fuel to the uncertainty, with ongoing conflicts in regions such as Israel-Hamas and Ukraine-Russia.

These unstable dynamics, coupled with internal political unrest in the US House of Representatives, the possibility of a government shutdown in mid-November, and mounting inflation and government debt levels, paint a picture of a globally unstable financial future.

For those investors living in the moment and investing in the markets or other assets rather than subscribe to long-term strategies such as Warren Buffett, this is a critical juncture that demands caution.

Furthermore, with stock valuations far from being bargain deals, there seems to be a growing call for diligence in asset allocation until these heated issues cool down.

Bank of America Is the Problem Child of Big Banks🏦

Starting from the traditional banking scene, Bank of America has found itself skating on thin ice.

Despite making solid gains following the Covid-19 outbreak, BofA's stock has dropped, weighed down by unrealized losses amounting to $105.8 billion at the end of the second quarter, primarily from its large holding of low-yielding mortgage securities.

Interestingly, this scenario has sparked quite a discussion amongst analysts and investors, striking a sour note in credit-default swaps markets.

Question marks hang over the solidity of their business outlook and creditworthiness. However, the time is ripe for redemption as focus may soon shift from bond losses and deposit betas to credit and capital.

Forecasts

GOLD (XAU)

Last week, the price of gold increased significantly, reaching our predicted weekly high of 1925, and even slightly surpassed it, closing at 1930. This week, the price of gold started lower than the expected weekly high we had set earlier. This might mean that the gold prices could go down again this week.

However, because of political issues around the world, it will be challenging to predict the prices from this week onwards.

However, looking at the technical details, the price of gold could rise even more because last week's value ended up higher than the previous week's value, as shown above.

But, it appears that there might be a short drop in the price before it starts to increase again.

Looking at the daily chart, we see that the gold price started lower than the resistance of the previous week/day and continued to drop.

But, when the price hit the first daily support, it bounced back up significantly, which shows there are still many buyers pushing the price up.

Today, the price started lower than the previous day's value, which was also the support level. This suggests the price might continue to drop for now. Also, there are two specific ranges of support level to watch for, one is between 1907-1900 and another one at 1874 - 1880.

As the price reaches these levels, it will test the area and then decide whether to stay within the range or break out and move to the next level.

We'll have to wait and see how the price behaves this week.🤷‍♀️

We'd also like to point out that there's a known resistance level at the upper range, between 1942 - 1949. If the price goes up again, it will have to test this range. If it breaks out of this level, it's highly likely the price will keep rising for this part of the year.

Also note that there's a high impact news called FOMC statement and other unpredictable world events that could significantly affect the gold price this week.

Bitcoin (BTC)

Moving to Bitcoin, this week the price started at the same level as last week's lowest price. It then increased significantly, passing the 28,000 mark and almost hitting 30,000 before dropping back to 28,000.

This happened because of news that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved BlackRock's spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Which turned out to be fake news 😅

Looking at the day-to-day chart, it's clear that Bitcoin's price surged significantly in one day, creating a big increase, but then it fell back and ended the day right around the resistance level or 28k area.

Currently, the price started lower than the resistance level, which might suggest that Bitcoin's price could drop again, as it couldn't pass the 28,000 mark for the third time.

This is mainly because the news about the SEC approving BlackRock's spot ETF turned out to be false, as denied by BlackRock themselves.

However, because there was a large increase in price previously, we can see there is a daily support level around the 27,000 area, where the price could possibly bounce back up and start to rise again.

Therefore, if the price breaks through this specific support level, we can expect it to return to the main support level at 26,000 before it starts to increase again.

✨Bonus News✨

Disclaimer: This is not any kind of financial advise. This newsletter is solely informational; it does not constitute investment advice, a solicitation to buy or sell any securities, or a recommendation regarding how to manage your money. Be cautious and conduct your own study, please.