The Quiet Squeeze in the Money Markets

The U.S military spent an estimated $3.7 billion during the first 100 hours of conflict in Iran... That's $891 million a day.

A Military Investment Beyond Defense Stocks By Vic Lederman, publisher, Chaikin Analytics The U.S military spent an estimated $3.7 billion during the first 100 hours of conflict in Iran... That's $891 million a day. Now, official data from the Pentagon is scarce. So these numbers come from the Center for Strategic and International Studies ("CSIS"). The think tank made its estimates based on past conflicts and publicly available data. Notably, one spending category made up more than 80% of that entire $3.7 billion total. I'm talking about munitions. For this conflict so far, think guided missiles, gravity bombs, or even defensive missiles. CSIS estimates the munitions cost coming in at about $3.1 billion. That's a huge number. And again, we're talking about just the first 100 hours of the conflict. Then, there's a big cost range between the different types of weapons used... One Tomahawk missile sets the U.S. military back by $3.6 million. Meanwhile, a gravity bomb with a "JDAM" precision-guidance kit costs $80,000. With this huge spending, you would expect the big winners here would be the defense companies that make these munitions. That would be true. But there's another business that could eventually benefit from replacing these missiles... And if you're a regular Chaikin PowerFeed reader, you might have guessed what I'm talking about... Recommended Links: 'Move Your Money by March 16' (TODAY) A former multibillion-dollar pension-fund trader who once turned a $4.6M profit in 24 hours says this wave of volatility is just the beginning... but his No. 1 strategy could help you double your money – over and over again – even if stocks fall from here. By midnight tonight, click here to learn more (includes a free stock giveaway). China's Big Iran Secret Very few people know this, but China built a rare earth "axis" deep inside Iranian territory. As the war escalates, is Beijing preparing to retaliate? Prices have already spiked 69X... and what comes next could be far bigger. Here's what to buy. U.S. Demand for Rare Earth Materials Could Soar Even Higher A lot of advanced military equipment requires rare earth magnets to function. That's true of those $3.6 million Tomahawk missiles and $80,000 JDAM bombs. Of course, the rare earth materials in these explosives are often single use... My colleague Ethan Goldman covered rare earth materials in a PowerFeed issue last year. As he said, rare earths aren't actually "rare" – they're just expensive to produce. To make matters worse, the U.S. can't meet its own needs domestically. You see, the U.S is the world's second-largest producer of rare earth elements. It's responsible for nearly 12% of the world's rare earth production. Here, the U.S is behind only China. But it's not even a close race. China produces about 70% of the world's total rare earth materials. Back in December, our founder Marc Chaikin also shared the geopolitical tensions that hit this industry... In that PowerFeed issue, Marc discussed MP Materials (MP). It owns the Mountain Pass rare earth mine in California – which Ethan also mentioned in his discussion about these elements. MP Materials is the only company that can take the rare earth elements from mine to magnet in the U.S. As Marc mentioned, that sparked the U.S. government's interest. It invested in MP Materials... only to decide against a second round after China eased its export controls on rare earth elements. And Marc also said that the whole situation first led to a huge boom for MP Materials' stock – followed by a massive bust. Fast-forward to this year...  When the war in Iran started, I noticed something interesting myself. But it's not the turnaround that you might expect just yet... A Spike in Interest From Wall Street Hasn't Saved MP Materials' Stock in the Power Gauge On February 26, MP Materials reported its fourth-quarter results. And it crushed earnings expectations. Before then, the "smart money" on Wall Street mostly hadn't cared for the stock since mid-2025. But MP Materials' earnings beat got the attention of institutional investors... Then, only two days later, the U.S. made its first strikes on Iran. As you can imagine, the smart money surged in. You can see what I mean in the chart below... However, I'm not saying that MP Materials' stock is poised to make a massive comeback... Off the bat, its Power Gauge rating is still in "bearish" territory. So our system sees downside ahead. If the fighting drags on, maybe the U.S government could take a second look at MP Materials for an additional investment. But if the war stops as suddenly as it starts, the smart money could flee... and that could send the stock lower. To compound that risk, the Power Gauge still sees plenty of problems "under the hood" with MP Materials... Out of the four main categories, only Earnings is in positive territory. Experts is "neutral"... while Financials and Technicals are both "very bearish." Again, that all adds up to a "bearish" overall rating. It's true that the U.S. military needs rare earths. And as I said, that could eventually be a bigger benefit to MP Materials' stock. But for now, the Power Gauge is still flashing a clear warning that the stock looks like a trap. I'll follow our system's lead and find better places to put money to work. Good investing, Vic Lederman Market View Major Indexes and Notable Sectors     # Hld:     Bullish     Neutral     Bearish Dow 30 -0.23% 5 19 6 S&P 500 -0.57% 76 289 134 Nasdaq -0.59% 15 56 29 Small Caps -0.33% 343 1100 438 Bonds -0.49% — According to the Chaikin Power Bar, Small Cap stocks and Large Cap stocks are somewhat Bearish. Major indexes are mixed. *  *  *  * Sector Tracker Sector movement over the last 5 days Energy +2.0% Utilities +0.47% Information Technology -0.36% Consumer Staples -1.21% Materials -1.34% Real Estate -1.49% Health Care -1.91% Communication -2.56% Industrials -3.11% Consumer Discretionary -3.13% Financial -3.32% *  *  *  * Industry Focus Innovative Technology Services 10 61 29 Over the past 6 months, the Innovative Technology subsector (XITK) has underperformed the S&P 500 by -21.41%. Its Power Bar ratio, which measures future potential, is Weak, with more Bearish than Bullish stocks. It is currently ranked #15 of 21 subsectors and has moved up 2 slots over the past week. Indicative Stocks AI C3.ai, Inc. ALKT Alkami Technology, I APLD Applied Digital Corp *  *  *  * Top Movers Gainers SNDK +6.92% ARES +5.45% MU +5.13% BX +4.56% IP +4.49% Losers ULTA -14.24% ADBE -7.58% PODD -6.88% MOS -6.54% FCX -4.78% *  *  *  * Earnings Report Earnings Surprises BKE The Buckle, Inc. 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