Thread by @MikeFritzell

Today, much of the focus is on US compounded stocks, cryptocurrencies and COVID-19.

Let's get some perspective (1/x)

Key headlines in 1999:
• Motorola earnings
• Gateway Spanish speaking product
• Mutual funds
• Intel earnings

Key headlines in 2000:
• Compaq introduces hand-held line
• Looking forward to Home Depot earnings
• Bank CEO regulation
• Venture Capital flows still strong, despite crash

Key headlines in 2001:
• NASDAQ ends three-day losing streak
• What's next for Microsoft?
• Commentator: Ignore gold stocks
• Jobless claims continue to rise

Key headlines in 2002:
• Defense stocks are a great offense
• Stocks seen as lagging over 20 years
• Legal challenges for Hershey
• OPEC hesitates amid oil price spike

Key headlines in 2003:
• Stock pick: Washington Mutual for a 30% return
• Traders slam IBM
• Dollar boosts Asian exporting stocks
• Nikkei turns positive on SoftBank

Key headlines in 2004:
• Diebold's a winner
• Safe stocks hiding under the radar
• Japanese stocks open lower
• Fleckenstein: Insurance mess may ignite greater problems

Key headlines in 2005:
• A fund that beats Buffett
• Investors fear stock slip as oil surges
• Is China exporting good deflation?
• Dell's slowing may signal market weakness

Key headlines in 2006:
• Iran keeps crude oil above $70
• More turbulence ahead for Boeing
• Goldman, Lehman had worst Q3 banking drops
• Clorox names Coca-Cola executive as CEO

Key headlines in 2007:
• How far will the credit crunch spread?
• ABN, RBS consortium say to continue takeover talks
• Bear chief moves to assuage investor fears
• Profit from the Blockbuster-Netflix war

Key headlines in 2008:
• Wall St. soars on banks' best day in 16 years
• Inflation soars; home builder sentiment crumbles
• Merrill to sell Bloomberg stake for $4.5bln
• Computer shipment growth said slowing

Key headlines in 2009:
• Why a meltdown could happen again
• The bold new face of GM
• Why it's time to invest in real estate
• 4 problems that could sink America

Key headlines in 2010:
• Will Apple offer free iPhone fix?
• Should you buy gold?
• A meltdown survival plan
• Dow streak still alive, barely

Key headlines in 2011:
• Russia sells oil via pipeline to China
• Hangover or afterparty for stocks?
• Why Japanese stocks look tempting
• UK business leader sees rough start for economy

Key headlines in 2012:
• Better jobs, but worse jobs
• Sealed Air looks tasty
• Icahn goes activist on Motorola
• Transocean's surprising turnaround

Key headlines in 2013:
• How Twitter's pop stacks up
• Tesla and the competition
• Groupon is no bargain
• Macy's ready for happy holidays

Key headlines in 2014:
• The next Chipotle?
• Sunny outlook for solar?
• Home Depot hacking report worries Wall Street
• Why you shouldn't put your money in index funds

Key headlines in 2015:
• US gasoline prices at lowest level since 2008 recession
• A worst-case scenario for stocks? It's ugly
• How low can oil go? Goldman says $20 a barrel is a possibility
• Surging US debt should have you prepping for fiscal crisis

Key headlines in 2016:
• Trump shifts from Wall St. villain to savior
• The oil market could get a lot messier
• Silver prices have slumped into a bear market
• What Fidel Castro’s death means for investors

Key headlines in 2017:
• Here's why oil might crash to $10 a barrel
• Are Analysts Secretly Calling Gilead a Screaming Buy?
• Amazon said to make sportswear push in industry
• Bitcoin prices hit all-time high

Key headlines in 2018:
• Cryptocurrency ether hits lowest point of the year
• China puts off licenses for US companies amid tariff battle
• China trade war could cause bear market
• US 'likely' has taken over as the world's top oil producer

Key headlines in 2019:
• 80% of the stock market is now on autopilot
• Tesla analyst cuts price target
• Trump says no reduction in tariffs
• Stocks rise to close out Dow’s biggest June gain since 1938

Key headlines in 2020:
• Big tech lobbying
• Virus epicenter stocks
• Elon says China rocks
• Coronavirus live updates

Today's headlines:
• $100 million market cap deli
• Dogecoin rallies on Elon Musk tweet
• Facebook data could be halted
• Greece emerging from coronavirus lockdowns

Conclusions?
• News = noise
• All news are backwards-looking
• New, emerging trends are not obvious from today's news headlines
• Your focus has to be driven by something other than news reports: e.g. insider buying trends, buybacks, capital cycles, valuations, etc.