Just the week that Apple announced its new iPhone 14, it was announced that the company's market share in the US has surpassed 50%. A totally unheard-of figure. This gives Apple huge Pricing Power against the price of its products.
What does this mean? That it has the ability to raise the price of its products without losing sales. Apple, without a doubt, is the poster child for what a branded moat can do.
As always, Warren and Charlie (Berkshire Hataway) have been one step ahead. Hence, their equity portfolio has 41% in Apple.
Tip from the Asymmetric Finance team: every time you buy an Apple device, invest that same amount in Apple stock.
Dangerous week
If there is one week to keep an eye on the markets, this is it. At least in the short term. It is a week that can be full of opportunities, as the number of events and their importance are enormous.
We have positioned our portfolio for any possible scenario:
Monday: British GDP growth.
Tuesday: U.S. CPI, German inflation, and UK Unemployment.
Wednesday: UK inflation, eurozone industrial production, and U.S. PPI.
Thursday: U.S. retail sales, China, and U.S. industrial production.
Friday: US consumer sentiment and Eurozone CPI.
In Europe, the news is not so good.
The European continent will undoubtedly be the worst off in this energy war. The cost of living in the eurozone continues to grow, and this is one of the most important indicators that indicate that, at least in the EU, a strong recession is looming.
Inflation averaged a rise of 9.1%, and we keep reminding you that the ECB's objective is for this figure to grow at 2% per year. As if that were not enough, the PMI (Purchasing Managers Index), which measures economic health, fell to its lowest level in 18 months.
For the time being, this week, the ECB had no choice but to make the largest rate hike in history (75 bps).
But if we think the European Union is bad, don't ask the British. Citi bank has announced that it expects inflation in the UK to be 18% by 2023...
When inflation of this magnitude is reached, is when we really begin to realize the misery that exists in countries like Venezuela, Argentina, or El Salvador and also begin to understand why their citizens want to join Bitcoin. Perhaps until we see the shadow of these countries, we do not begin to realize what we have been announcing for a long time.
Obviously, it has nothing to do with it, but inflation in Zimbabwe grew from 18.7% in 1997 to 31.8% in 1998 and 58.51% in 1999.
Rally Can Be Epic
A few weeks ago, we announced a vitally important piece of information to our subscribers. It was about when it was possible that the FED would start to stop raising rates and start printing money again.
This data is vital, as, from that point onwards, the markets will start to rally upwards, as seen from 2009 or 2020.
Most investors, as always, will miss this rally, and it is very difficult to be well positioned for when this rally begins.