Market Update 1/25/2022

The delay in the Market Review of 2021 was the result of this writer's waiting to judge whether the early January market decline would continue or rebound back into positive territory. I didn't rebound as of 1/25/2022...!

Inflation at over 7%. massive government spending and debt, the supply chain disruptions, the Federal Reserve's signals of tightening and the geopolitical crisis in the Ukraine, all have created a tumultuous market. Investors and portfolio managers nervously await the next headline event.

Rather than being proactive and stopping the quantitative easing in late 2021 when inflation first started its climb, the Fed waited and now is in a reactionary mode of raising interest rates and adjusting the money supply. The fear is whether it will go too far and strangle the economy.

The numbers speak for themselves. The CBOE Volatility Index (Vix) now stands at 31.16. (Note: it had been in the 20's.) The Dow Jones Industrial Index (DJIA) perfectly illustrates this volatility with a 1045 point swing from being down nearly 819 intraday to a plus 226 point rally and finally.settling down 67.22 (-0.2%) to close at 34,297.73. (Source: CNBC)

1/25/2022 12/31/2021

DJIA 34,297.73 36,338.30 -2040.57 (-5.61%)

S&P 500 4356.45 4766.18 -409.73 (-8.59%)

NASDAQ 13,539.29 15,644.97 -2105.68 (-13.46%)

(Note: correction territory)

Bitcoin 36,952.68 42,929.70 -5977.02 (-13.92%)

(Note: on 1/24/2022 intraday low of 33,945)

GameStop (GME) 99.79 148.39 -48.60 (-32