A new, free event with Porter… The historic ‘market anomaly’ you shouldn’t miss… Questions about weight-loss drugs… Dave Lashmet answers… The long, costly road to FDA approval… We need to invent exercise… What else to watch…

First up today, an urgent message about an ‘anomaly’ in the markets…

Tomorrow morning, our founder, Porter Stansberry, will go live with a brand-new free presentation you won’t want to miss. In short, he has spotted a “market anomaly” that has emerged in a select group of stocks that could lead to unparalleled returns… and soon.

And if you know Porter, or even if you don’t, you’ll want to listen.

For new readers who might not be familiar, Porter started Stansberry Research more than 20 years ago. If you’ve never heard him give a presentation before, well, you should…

Among other things, he famously predicted the fall of General Motors… recommended bitcoin when it traded around $10,000… and foresaw much of the financial and cultural unrest we’ve seen in the U.S. over the past few years. He wrote books about it that have proved prescient.

At 10 a.m. Eastern time tomorrow, alongside Altimetry founder Joel Litman, Porter will discuss all the details about what he says could be the biggest opportunity for investors in 2024. It’s free… We just ask that you sign up here to ensure you don’t miss a minute.

A rare, incredible short-term setup that shouldn’t exist…

I (Corey McLaughlin) can’t say too much more, but I can tell you that this story doesn’t concern a market crash or a banking crisis… Instead, it’s an incredible opportunity stemming from one of the deepest and longest corrections in one area of the market in more than 20 years that Porter and Joel both agree shouldn’t even exist in the market.

This situation only exists because of today’s interest-rate environment, and Porter has been trying to bring it to the public’s attention because it happens only once or twice in a lifetime.

But you need to know 1) how to spot this anomaly and 2) how best to take advantage of what’s likely to come next, Porter says.

It’s something that folks on Wall Street are quietly talking about… and that caused several small stocks to shoot up as much as 170% in a single day recently.

So, be sure to tune in tomorrow. Because of the short-term nature of this setup, we’re rushing to get the word out, and the opportunity won’t last forever. Register now here, to make sure you get all the details from this free, can’t-miss event.

Moving on, you asked us some questions about weight-loss drugs…

As we’ve highlighted over the past two weeks or so (like here and here), our colleague and Stansberry Venture Technology editor Dave Lashmet has been covering and ahead of the story and potential of suddenly popular weight-loss drugs for years… long before they won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) or entered the popular consciousness.

Recently, Dave and one of our colleagues at Stansberry Research, who has tried one of these drugs, have been sharing why they believe they represent a medical breakthrough… presenting one of the bigger investment opportunities of the next decade.

We’ve received a lot of feedback on the subject, so today, I want to share a brief Q&A with Dave that touches on the big topics that seem of most interest. Here are three questions, followed by Dave’s answers…

• “What is going on with companies that advertise GLP-1 on TV, like RO, or HIMS? Where do they get their meds? Are these companies investable?” – Subscriber Jeff M.

• “Good day, I do wonder if the turnover of GLP-1 takers is being considered by Lashmet et al. when projecting growth. Keep up the good work.” – Subscriber Frank A.

• “I understand that lawsuits have been filed against Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly by plaintiffs who are claiming that they suffered very serious side effects from taking the weight loss drugs.

“I don’t question the veracity of these claims for a second, but I would be astonished if either company failed to fully disclose the potential side effects, and suspect that the plaintiffs are just looking for a deep pocket. If anything, they may have potential claims against their physicians if the physicians failed to disclose the side effects…

“However, I think that people who want to take these drugs in order to lose a few pounds (as opposed to the seriously obese) ought to think twice before they treat these drugs as a panacea. It’s not a free lunch.” – Subscriber Sherwin R.

Dave answers…

If there’s one thing I (Dave Lashmet) have found in researching drug development, it’s that making FDA-approved drugs is bloody hard. A good estimate for the timeline and cost is around 10 years and $250 million, and 94% of drugs developed never get approval. We’re fortunate we get anything at all.

With that in mind, it’s not an exaggeration to say these new weight-loss drugs are a revolution in medicine.

What we have today are “gen-2” drugs from the same firms that invented GLP-1 drugs to treat Type 2 diabetes and lower your blood sugar. The difference with these gen-2 drugs is that they also boost your resting heart rate – so you burn more energy. Plus they cut your appetite by triggering your brain to flip a key “switch.”

Now, there are another 40 drugs in development that take a similar approach – including one by a company I’m recommending this week to Stansberry Venture Technology subscribers – but at least so far, nothing else is within five years of FDA approval. So for the foreseeable future, there’s no way around these gen-2 drugs.

If you’re interested in staying up to date on all the developments and getting my latest recommendations, click here for more information and learn how to get started with a subscription to Venture Technology today.

About getting ‘off’ these drugs and side effects…

As for the question about getting “off” these weight-loss drugs: Yes, that’s a good factor to consider…

Our take in Venture Technology is that these drugs are not the only solution for weight loss. Increasing how many calories you burn through work or exercise helps you lose weight and rebuild your muscles, bones, and heart.

There is a cultural component to all of this, too…

Remember, back in 1800, 80% of American workers were on a farm, with oxen and metal plows. By 1900, it was 40%, thanks to mechanical reapers along with the steam-powered trains and paddleboats that brought farm products to industrial workers (who built the trains).

Today only 2% of American workers are on the farm (yes, only 2% of the working population) – and even there, GPS-controlled combines and air-conditioned pickups cut down on the amount of manual labor. There are no oxen.

Generally speaking, Americans had to invent exercise (jogging, going to gyms, etc.) to make up for the muscle, heart, and bone expenditures most of the population used to get routinely. Today, if you don’t labor, or exercise, then you are just an eating machine.

We know where this ends up given our national (and global) obesity epidemic. These gen-2 weight-loss drugs give you a second chance at a longer, healthier life. But you still should exercise and pay attention to what you eat.

Lastly, on side effects…

These GLP-1 drugs cause moderate stomach discomfort, which is preventable if you start at lower doses and work up. Plus, over-the-counter remedies for upset stomachs and digestive systems can solve about 95% of these problems. A few people have more severe side effects, and they should stop taking these drugs. (Talk to your doctor for more details.)

A few other things to watch this week…

Turning to economic data, I (Corey) will keep an eye on some numbers that will come out over the next few days.

We’ll look at a “revised” GDP estimate for the fourth quarter of 2023 on Thursday… and a home price index update and consumer confidence readings tomorrow…

But Friday morning’s release of the latest personal consumption expenditures (“PCE”) numbers covering February is the most notable item of the week to me.

This is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, not the consumer price index (“CPI”) data, which tends to be more widely reported by the financial media for reasons we don’t understand.

Economists expect a 2.5% year-over-year headline rate and a 2.8% annual “core” number, excluding food and energy (not useful, of course, for a real-world budget, but supposedly entirely important for those managing central banks). If those expectations are met, you’ll probably hear commentary that the pace of inflation continues to ease.

I’ll be looking more closely at the month-over-month numbers, though, to get a read on if that is actually true…

For example, prices measured by PCE grew by 0.3% in January and 0.1% in December 2023, up from a flat reading in November. “Core” PCE monthly growth also accelerated to 0.4% in January… at least twice the rates in both December and November.

In other words, inflation in the Fed’s preferred gauge has been picking up in the past three months, despite the annual numbers decreasing. Now, will that matter? Since the Fed has telegraphed rate cuts coming later this year, maybe not. But keep an eye on it…

If the monthly pace of inflation continues to accelerate, soon enough, you’re talking about the “high inflation is over” narrative having no more legs to stand on – and the prospect of higher rates becoming more seriously considered.

Alternatively, if the February inflation numbers show monthly growth in the 0.1% or 0.2% range – a pace in line with 2% annual growth – it could be more fuel for bullish trends, and we can see the “Fed pause… with a promise of cuts” trade continue.

New 52-week highs (as of 3/22/24): Amazon (AMZN), AutoZone (AZO), Cencora (COR), Copart (CPRT), Commvault Systems (CVLT), D.R. Horton (DHI), iShares MSCI Spain Fund (EWP), Diamondback Energy (FANG), Franklin FTSE Japan Fund (FLJP), iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense Fund (ITA), Lennar (LEN), London Stock Exchange Group (LNSTY), MSA Safety (MSA), Micron Technology (MU), O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY), PulteGroup (PHM), Phillips 66 (PSX), Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD), Construction Partners (ROAD), Tenaris (TS), and Textron (TXT).

In today’s mailbag, aside from the questions about weight-loss drugs, we have feedback on Dan Ferris’ latest Friday essay… Do you have a question or comment? As always, e-mail us at feedback@stansberryresearch.com.

“Dan, I am still chuckling over your quote, ‘The Fed is always either fighting or blowing bubbles.'” – Subscriber Curtis W.

All the best,

Corey McLaughlin with Dave Lashmet
Baltimore, Maryland and Seattle, Washington
March 25, 2024