This episode is brought to you by StockMarketHats.com -- claiming to be stylish and funny. To avoid ads, consider becoming a premium subscriber. Kevin Rendino of 180 Degree Capital joins the podcast to discuss reasons for optimism (yes, optimism) in markets and why we may have already reached "peak pain." Content Highlights Valuations for most of the market are already discounting bad news across the board. Cash balances are at peak levels seen at the start of the pandemic, in 2008, and 2001 (2:44); What segments of the market are particularly interesting right now? Look to semiconductors for starters (4:54); How big of a concern is Fed policy? (7:20); Media companies will benefit as the economy resumes its growth and advertising budgets revamp. There are indications this cycle is already turning (13:49); What is 180 Capital's investing style and how does it work? (16:25); Background on the guest (25:17); The guest meets with company management often. What are some 'red flags' and 'green flags' he looks for? (31:38); The 'great resignation' and which companies may be a great 'pedigree' for future executives (38:18); Some parting guidance and why today's market feels more like 1990 than 2008 (43:17). More Information on the Guest Website: 180DegreeCapital.com; Twitter: @180DegreeCap; "Reasons for Hope" article; Stocks Mentioned on this Podcast 180 Degree Capital (TURN) -- the guest's publicly-traded fund; Lantronix (LTRX); Quantum (QMCO); Arena Group (AREN); Potbelly (PBPB). Not intended as investment advice.

This episode was recorded on May 26, 2022 and released to premium subscribers -- without ads or announcements -- that same day. There are a host of other benefits to becoming a premium subscribers, including the Daily Contrarian briefing and podcast released each market day morning by 0700 ET. To become a premium subscriber, sign up here or through our substack.  Ayesha Tariq of Keystone Consulting joins the Contrarian Investor Podcast to discuss her bearish views on the global economy and on stock markets, what investment options she prefers right now, and why work-from-home will not persist (or at least not at current levels). Content Highlights The idea of a 'Fed pivot' away from higher rates is baseless. The Fed has no choice but to raise rates (3:01); What about inflation having peaked? Won't that remove some pressure from the Fed? (8:35); Unemployment is due to rise, with companies soon having no choice but to lay off workers -- but this won't stop the Fed either (11:28); Markets had a good week. Did we have the bottom already? (13:57); What about commodities? A potential bright spot due to structural issues? (15:32); Background on the guest (21:06); What are some of the best options for investors in light of all this? (23:19); Real estate investment trusts are one good option, especially commercial real estate. Work-from-home was a phase that will be scaled back soon (26:25); More Information on the Guest Website: AyeshaTariq.Substack.com; Twitter: @AyeshaTariq; CommonStock: AyeshaTariq. Not intended as investment advice.

This podcast episode was recorded on May 11, 2022 and made available to premium subscribers that same day (without ads or announcements, either!) To become a premium subscriber, go here or visit our Substack. Brooker Belcourt, CEO of Covey, joins the podcast to discuss his analyst platform and its ‘alpha algorithm’ that has been able to produce outperformance through its stock and ETF picks and crypto calls. Content Highlights Covey’s contrarian thesis: Retail analysts are every bit as good, if not better, than institutional analysts (4:10); The idea of a platform to aggregate analyst opinion is not new. But very recent history has proven Covey correct: its analysts predicted the drop in cryptocurrencies and rise in value stocks over that have transpired over the last week (5:53); The ‘alpha algorithm’ and how that works (6:58); What is Covey’s algorithm picking up right now? (11:03); Some highlights: Long commodities, fertilizer stocks like Mosaic (MOS), financials, energy stocks, and a few beaten-up tech names like Facebook/Meta (FB) and Alibaba (BABA). Short cryptos has been taken off (14:46); Isn't Covey just chasing past performance hoping for future results? (17:20) Great investors appear to have staying power, regardless of environment (23:27); Background on the guest and how he came to start Covey (28:11); Deeper discussion on how Covey's top analysts are positioning their portfolios right now (36:39); For More Information Website: Covey.io; Twitter: @Covey_io;

This podcast episode was released to premium subscribers — without ads or announcements — on April 28, 2022. To become a premium subscriber and take advantage of a host of other benefits, go here or visit our Substack. Mike Singleton of Invictus Research joins the podcast to discuss why the current sell-off is not a buying opportunity for stocks. Content Highlights Many contrarians currently believe sentiment is too bearish, meaning the market is due for a run for strong performance. Their conclusion is likely wrong (3:28); Regardless of what investors say in surveys, the key question is whether they have money on the line -- and how much (5:50); Right now retail exposure to stocks is at all-time-highs, while institutional investors have cash at low levels (7:27); What about the economic fundamentals, which are mostly in good shape? (10:09); The Fed actually has credibility when it comes to tightening interest rates -- and is not just 'jawboning' the market (12:58); This is partly because the Fed does a lot more communicating than it has in the past (16:40); Inflation has likely peaked and will start to slow, though not by enough to let the Fed ease rates (24:02); Background on the guest and 'origin story' for Invictus Research (26:54); What part of the business cycle are we in now? (33:23); What does that mean for asset classes? (35:34); ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) "has been a terrific place to look for shorts -- quick discussion of Cathie Wood and her predicament" (38:03); Bonds will become an opportunity when the Fed 'breaks something' and there are indications that may be happening now (40:40); More Information on the Guest: Twitter: @InvictusMacro; Website: Invictus-Research.com.

This podcast episode was released to premium subscribers -- without ads or announcements -- on April 19, 2022. To become a premium subscriber and take advantage of a host of other benefits, go here or visit our Substack. Edward Olanow, portfolio manager and director of investment solutions at Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers, joins the podcast to supply a surprisingly bullish outlook on the economy and on certain segments of the stock market. Content Highlights Reasons for optimism: Given the Fed and external shocks, GDP remains high and there is still a backlog of orders and millions of unfilled jobs (3:15); The Fed's talk about 0.75% interest rate hikes is "just jawboning" (5:33); The era of 'buy & hold' is over; investors need to be more nimble (8:25); The house view at Weiss is that Nasdaq stocks will have a tougher time than other segments of the market (10:40); The war in Ukraine: in all likelihood risks are localized at present, judging by gold and energy prices (14:25); Background on the guest (18:40); What are dispersion trades and how do they work? (20:34); Why this may be a good time for this strategy -- and a 'turning point' for alternatives managers in general (26:27); Where all this leaves fixed income and the bond market: Fixed-income is less forward-looking than people think... (29:55); What Olanow and Weiss monitor for inflation (32:31); For More Information: LinkedIn; Twitter: @WeissMultiStrat.

This podcast episode was made available to premium subscribers without ads or announcements on Monday, April 11, 2022. Don't be jealous of premium subscribers -- become one by signing up here. Free trials are available. Leo Schmidt of River Eddy Capital Management rejoins the podcast to discuss the coming credit crunch, its impact on stock market sectors, and where to invest to protect one's portfolio. Content Highlights So-called "unicorn" companies, or the darlings of the VC crowd, and others that cannot generate cashflow, will face a tough reckoning (3:17); Undermining this is "a complete change of psychology" in terms of velocity of money (6:27); What if the Fed reverses course? It's not so simple (8:52); Oil is a short: "Oil is the ultimate liquid commodity" but there is a place for pipeline stocks... (11:38); What stocks can thrive in this type of environment? Look first to medical company spin-offs (19:13); Another area to look: Business development companies, or BDCs. This is a risky part of the market but there is at least one BDC making first-lien loans, which are the safest part of the capital structure... (26:23); Quick epilogue on China's latest Covid lockdown. There are ways to play the move away from supply chain issues that result (35:58);

This podcast episode was recorded on April 4, 2022, and released to premium subscribers –without ads or announcements — that same day. Become a premium subscriber through our substack or supercast to take advantage of this and a host of other benefits, including the Daily Contrarian briefing each market day morning. Leigh Goehring, managing partner of Goehring & Rozencwajg, joins the podcast to discuss his view that most renewable energies are ineffective at reducing carbon output and pointless as investments. Content Highlights The consensus opinion is that renewable energy will solve many of the problems of CO2 production and energy needs. This is false (3:12); The "terrible energy efficiency" associated with renewables will make the world poorer (5:00); What is the problem with solar and wind and why are they so inefficient? (7:20); It's no coincidence that the energy crisis started in Germany, which is now forced to import coal (12:20); Vaclav Smil and the premise that there has never been a new technology with inferior energy efficiency that displaced the old technology (13:59); The ulterior motives behind China's green energy push (18:33); The "great hope" for a Moore's Law of wind mills and solar panels is a fallacy. Input prices have declined because energy prices have (21:05); Where does that leave electric cars? (25:00); Background on the guest (33:42); What parts of the energy industry are better targets for investment right now? Look to uranium for starters, "the perfect solution to our problems" (37:17); Copper is "the quintessential green metal" also facing a supply/demand imbalance. Also agricultural commodities, grains, fertilizers, nitrogen, and potash (41:26); Mosaic (MOS) is one of the world's largest phosphate and potash producers, and a stock the guest is particularly bullish on -- it trades at just 5x earnings versus 25x at the peak (47:07); An agricultural crisis could soon be upon us, leading to hoarding of supplies (49:58). More Information About the Guest Website: GoRozen.com; Twitter: @GoRozen; LinkedIn; Link to Goehring & Rozencwajg video on the history of energy.

This podcast episode was recorded on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, and released to premium subscribers --without ads or announcements -- that same day. Become a premium subscriber through our substack or supercast to take advantage of this and a host of other benefits. Lukasz Tomicki of LRT Capital rejoins the podcast to argue his (highly contrarian) case that inflation is due to slow and to provide stock picks that allow investors to take advantage of current dislocations in markets. Content Highlights Inflation will peak around mid-year and return to historic norms shortly thereafter (2:43); Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its impact on supply chains have certainly contributed to higher prices for commodities, but markets will adapt (7:01); Another contrarian take: The Fed will successfully manage a soft landing (8:55); "Russia is basically a gas station with nuclear weapons." The U.S. and Europe can deal without Russian imports so this shouldn't be a point of concern (14:20); Stocks of two Brazilian companies that have been beaten down but have started to rebound... (20:05); A company that has been directly impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine is an IT consulting firm with a large presence in Ukraine whose stock has predictably been beaten up but could offer huge returns (31:38); The most likely outcome in Ukraine is for the military situation to grind to a stalemate (35:55); A final idea: Buy the Polish stock market through the iShares MSCI Poland Capped ETF (EPOL) (39:50). More Information on the Guest Website: LRTcapital.com; Twitter: @Tomicki. Not intended as investment advice.

This episode is brought to you by StockMarketHats.com -- claiming to be stylish and funny. To avoid ads, consider becoming a premium subscriber. Allen Bond, managing director and portfolio manager at Jensen Investment Management in Lake Oswego, Ore., joins the podcast to provide some stock picks for an increasingly uncertain -- and inflationary -- time in global financial markets. Content Highlights Investors have two major issues they're grappling with right now: Ukraine and inflation (5:51); To protect against inflationary pressures, Jensen looks for businesses that have pricing power (11:11); Mastercard (MA) and TJX (TJX) are two such stocks (13:29); Background on the guest (19:36); Three additional stock ideas, starting with ADP (ADP), another company that is difficult to displace (28:54); Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR), the leading provider of proxy services (35:51); Pfizer (PFE) has sold off since making Covid vaccine headlines last year, but continues to generate a ton of cash -- and put it to productive use (43:26). More Information on the Guest Website: JensenInvestment.com; LinkedIn. Not intended as investment advice.

Brent Kochuba of Spot Gamma joins the podcast to discuss his view that there will likely be an equities rally into the March 17 options expiration. This podcast was recorded Wednesday afternoon, March 9, 2022, and made available to premium subscribers that same day. Become a premium subscriber today by visiting Contrarian.Supercast.com or our Substack. There are many benefits beyond getting podcasts a few days (or more) early and not having to deal with annoying ads or announcements. Content Highlights Stocks have been selling off with the Nasdaq now officially in a bear market. But the guest is short-term bullish for reasons that can be traced to market makers hedging counterparty risk (2:39); What about all the uncertainty with Russia-Ukraine? (5:57); Stocks are up since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, likely because markets were hedged going in due to Fed tightening concerns (9:28); What to make of the March 9 rally? A brief primer on gamma, vanna, and charm aka delta decay (11:02); Similar gamma squeezes caused rallies in the past around options expiry (15:20); Background on the guest (21:31); The hedges investors have put on ahead of the FOMC meeting next week should lead to more risk-off. The lower bound for the S&P 500 is 4,100 (24:36); Recent days have seen a change in options flow: Nvidia (NVDA) and crypto names such as Coinbase (COIN) have benefited along with Amazon (AMZN) and the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) (26:50); Liquidity is important and recent months have seen some of it leave the system (30:06). More Information on the Guest Website: SpotGamma.com; Twitter: @SpotGamma; YouTube: SpotGamma; Not intended as investment advice. Do your own research, make your own decisions!