It is my impression that a lot of lemmings are now trading stocks because they had a lot of free time this year because of lockdowns. While they invest in markets they follow gurus who are often oddballs or fakes. So the market trend has been erratic and unreliable. Given the risks of covid variants and hefty price rises, the stock market should not be as buoyant as it is. Many shares are priced for perfection despite negatives. Others are chopped by panic-struck newbies exiting stupidly.

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Chilly Chile

*Today after the lefty won in Chile, producers of lithium in the Latin American country were hit hard. Among they is Albermarle which has 3 sites in Chile, La Negra, Salar, and offices in the capital, Santiago. It was downrated to hold from buy today. Earlier this month, on Dec. 8, ALB was rated one of the top 500 environmental and political responsible companies in America, after it opened a botanical nursery at the Salar de Atacama there. The US firm was established in 1887. The only thing that has changed is the party running the country. What the pessimists are forgetting is that ALB has lots of other site without a leftist government where it can product lithium, bromine, and catalysts. And the Chileans are of course aware of this.

*Also allegedly under the gun is SoQuiMich, a more Chilean play, which we sold earlier this year. But both companies will survive, and their customers will have to pay higher prices for non-Chilean products. 

Pharma

*Genfit rose sharply yesterday so, natch, its stock fell by 0.5% Weds. GNFT.

*Astra Zeneca whose share was tipped by Federated Hermes International Growth earlier this month, was another victim of panic. It fell yesterday and gained back 0.44% today. AZN.

*A mark of irrationality was the brief rise in Bristol Myers stock by 14.13% in the pre-market today. BMY.

*BioNTech fell 3%. BNTX.

*Novacure fell 2.7%. NVCR.

*Israeli TEVA lost 1%, a possible reaction to its deal with Tikun Olam to sell cannabis in Israel and the Occupied Territories (for now.)

*Moderna fell 1.6%. Neither of them is given credit for being able to cut the dangers of Omicron. MRNA.

*Enlivex, ENLV, rose 0.17%.

*India's Dr. Reddy's jumped 1.34%. RDY.

*Eli Lilly rose 0.43%. LLY. 

*Grifols rose 1%. GRFS.

*Glaxo gained 0. GSK.

*Our worst performing drug stock was Zymeworks, down 4.1%. It usually is a day late for any trend being run from British Columbia.

Tech

*Nokia was heavily short-sold, by 9.4%. This may mean that there will be a reversal because there is no real reason to exit NOK.

*Eon, EONGY, rose 0.72% because it is not Chinese.

*Chinese tech stocks were in the dumps because both our SEC and Beijing are cracking down on VIE listings. 

*Alibaba BABA fell nearly 3% because it is buying Weibo from AT&T. This is not a VIE.

Energy

*UUUU crashed 2.5% today. Energy Fuels supplies alternative energy from wind and solar and should be rising as oil prices jump.