Are Pokémon Cards a Good Investment? 0 (0)

<p class=“MsoNormal“>With the world having a shortage of a large majority of items, the
public has had to deal as the uprising of prices in their favorite hobbies and
collectibles skyrockets. Whether it be Nintendo Switches which were largely
popular during COVID shutdowns or PC parts that are still rare, collectibles
are becoming rarer and rarer. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>That being said, there are problems with certain pop culture
collectibles, like the overprinting of Funko pops that has started to drive the
price down for quite a few. For the large majority, prices have steadily
increased, making it difficult to get our hands on a fresh pack of Fossil,
Jungle, or any WOTC.</p><p class=“MsoNormal“>Not to mention newer packs and sets are retailing for more expensive
prices. What’s the deal, will they continue to rise in price due to resellers
or will they fall in value as overprinting and holding becomes an issue?</p><p class=“MsoNormal“>As gaming continues to grow as an industry, and media becomes a form of
entertainment on a daily basis, more and more consumers are wanting their
favorite shows or games to occupy their time. Twitch and Youtube unboxings are
a thing of popularity and Tiktok card openings are as popular as ever with
stars like PokeRev and Leonhart bringing mainstream attention to Pokémon cards.
</p><p class=“MsoNormal“>Yet, the substantial push that started the craze over again began with
Logan Paul. Logan Paul brought down the hammer on remaining TCG card packs like
shadowless boxes and Neo-Genesis. Fans of the series would call out Logan Paul
for creating an influx of rising prices for a series that they loved dearly.
However, this was not only on Logan, as collectables like video games have had
no slow-down in delusional price points.</p><p class=“MsoNormal“>Let’s start with the original release of these card sets, as the
Pokémon craze did not happen until around 1999. Starting with the original sets
like Wizards of The Coast or Japanese Pocket Monsters, many fans originally
kept their booster boxes sealed. Base sets or booster packs in general from
this series now retail for over two-hundred dollars, with an increase of sixty
times the original price. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>Now, this is simply for a booster pack, imagine owning a first edition
booster box! First edition booster packs can sell for around five hundred
dollars each, being an increase of one hundred and fifty-one times the original
price. You read that correctly. If we were looking at first edition booster
boxes, those can fetch the heftiest of prices, and upwards towards six figures.
Pokémon cards are largely sought after, till this day.</p><p class=“MsoNormal“>Each passing generation of Pokémon gets a new set of starters and
additions to said generation. There have now been up to eight generations of
Pokémon sets released into the world, with various subsets for each generation.
For example, Crown Zenith is the next set to be released in the Sword &
Shield era, with Lucario being the cover Pokémon to pull from the set. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>Before that, was the infamous Lugia Alt Art card from the Silver
Tempest which can fetch five hundred dollars in mint condition. Keep in mind,
sets like these are unknown as to how they will react to price in the future.
Some may be worth more than others, but that depends on the set of cards and
who the poster Pokémon for them is. Rarer Pokémon like Lugia, Charizard, and
varied legendaries are sought after more so than others. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>Let’s move on to one of the most valuable Pokémon cards of all time,
and potentially the most popular Pokémon in gaming, card, and television
history. The PSA 10 Base Set Holo Shadowless Charizard. A mouthful, but more
than fetches a pretty penny in price for those lucky enough to own one or pull
one. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>This is the card that got the majority of Pokémon players and fans back
into collecting these rare cards. Many Charizards have been printed and
replicated to try and replace this one, but none have reached the limits and
rarity of the card that started the craze. For those who have pulled these
cards, you can bet they are sealed away in cases and collections, only to be
sold for the correct prices. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>What exactly is the correct price for one of these? Let’s say it would
be around four hundred thousand dollars, and that is a steal for one listed on
the market as they are bound to grow in value as the years pass. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>For modern day, the best investment I see with new sets would be the
25th Celebration Pokémon packs. Although the majority of them are reprints from
the Wizards Of The Coast set, they seem to have almost doubled in value since
their initial release. Not to mention that as these original run of Pokémon
sets get opened and sold, less will be available from the set that started it
all. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>In our opinion, more fans will start to flock to the readily available
25th Celebration packs. There are a large amount of different sets out there
that could be worth the price and time, if you have both. Anything Neo-Genesis
from the second generation of Pokémon is beloved and becoming as priceless as
these. Black & White booster packs would also be a find to pick up, if
obtained for below correct price-points. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>Alternatively, will the costs or rates of our favorite collectables be
a detriment to the future? Kids no longer have the chance to open up and enjoy
their favorite Pokémon cards because of scalpers and reselling, taking the fun
away from those who play or collect. Not to mention games have risen overtime,
with PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox classics costs increasing. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>Luckily, Game Freak has done well in printing enough Pokémon booster
packs to get that vintage feeling with cheaper sets like Fusion Strike and
Darkness Ablaze. It seems like Pokémon cards will continue their ascension to
the top of everyone’s want lists.</p><p class=“MsoNormal“>In general, I say to not start looking for Pokémon cards with the idea
that they will be worth the price of the shadowless Charizard. In due time, all
of these vintage packs and modern packs will have their time, just as anything
else does with growth and passing years. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>As Pokémon games continue their progression and releases, like Scarlet
and Violet or Pokémon GO, fans will be willing to attach themselves to anything
that is released with their favorite Pokémon. For any <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.eldorado.gg/pokemon-go-accounts/a/57-1-0″ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>Pokémon Go shinies</a>
that are rare finds in games like GO, feel free to check Eldorado.gg for the
latest and greatest deals.</p>

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Japan finance minister Suzuki says sees no change to existing BOJ monetary policy 0 (0)

<p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>The full quote from Suzuki being that „I understand that BOJ governor Kuroda’s comment as meant to say that the BOJ would continue with its prior and existing policy“. Sure, sure. You can understand why they don’t want markets to get ahead of things but once again, their credibility will be at stake if such remarks fail to hold true next year.</p>

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

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US data one to watch later today before the weekend 0 (0)

<p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>Core PCE prices are on the data docket in US trading today and that will might set out one final twist, albeit unlikely, before the Christmas weekend comes along. The monthly reading is estimated to show a 0.2% increase but the annual reading is estimated to slow to +4.7%, with some arguments for why pointed out earlier <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/inflation-indicator-pce-data-coming-up-from-the-us-on-friday-23-december-2022-soft-20221223/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>here</a>.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>With markets already settling into the holiday mood, it is hard to see this as being a major mover but then again, it is in part inflation data. So, that’s always worth watching based on recent behaviour in markets.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>It’ll be a long weekend amid the Christmas holiday and stocks are tentative for now, throwing some caution to the wind with US futures flattish after <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/equities-stay-under-pressure-ahead-of-the-christmas-weekend-20221223/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>yesterday’s setback</a>.</p>

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

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Spain Q3 final GDP +0.1% vs +0.2% q/q prelim 0 (0)

<ul><li>GDP +4.4% vs +3.8% y/y prelim</li></ul><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>A light revision lower as the Spanish economy managed to grind out a measly growth in activity in Q3. The initial post had a bit of an error as the Reuters print was inaccurate and subsequently corrected:</p>

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

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RUSSELL 2000 Technical Analysis 0 (0)

<p class=“MsoNormal“>As the Fed delivered a <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/federal-reserve-hikes-50-basis-points-as-expected-20221214/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>more
hawkish than expected stance</a>, the market sold off for some
days as the risk of an overtightening coupled with a deep recession caused risk
aversion across the board, affecting the Russell 2000. The Fed is resolute on bringing the inflation
rate back to their 2% target and they are willing to go for a “hard
landing” scenario to achieve that. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>This can be seen by the subtle
hawkish messages like them not revising the terminal rate in the <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/fomc-dot-plot-and-central-tendencies-from-dec-2022-meeting-eoy-2023-48-20221214/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>Dot
Plot</a> after the <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/us-november-cpi-71-yy-vs-73-expected-20221213/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>miss
in the CPI report</a> even if they could do so until the evening or them
complaining about the <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/federal-reserve-hikes-50-basis-points-as-expected-20221214/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>tight labour market</a> hinting that they want to see the unemployment
rate picking up. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>All of these things point to the
two of the worst things for the stock market: overtightening and serious
recession.</p><p class=“MsoNormal“>RUSSELL 2000
Technical Analysis</p><p class=“MsoNormal“>In the
chart above we can see how the market initially spiked up as the <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/us-november-cpi-71-yy-vs-73-expected-20221213/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>CPI
report missed</a> again expectations but soon after got faded as
the market went defensive into the FOMC meeting. Sure enough, the Fed came
out as more hawkish than expected causing a risk-off <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/Education/understanding-market-sentiment-20220217/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>sentiment</a> in the following days. The
price broke down through a swing low support and kept on falling until the
selling momentum waned.</p><p class=“MsoNormal“>In the 1-hour chart above we can
see how the price <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/Education/technical-analysis-understanding-divergence-20220429/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>divergence</a> with the <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/Education/technical-analysis-understanding-relative-strength-index-rsi-20220426/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>RSI</a> was hinting to a loss of
selling pressure. In such instances generally the price pullbacks to a
previous swing level or the top/bottom of the swing where the divergence
started. In the chart above the price retraced back to the top (orange line) of
the whole divergent move. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>This is also a previous broken
swing low <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/Education/technical-analysis-support-and-resistance-20220405/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>support</a> area (blue) that now may turn
into a <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/Education/technical-analysis-support-and-resistance-20220405/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>resistance</a>. The price now is struggling
right at the resistance as we can tell by the multiple rejections and
candlesticks wicks. If the price breaks down through the blue trendline the sellers
would be again in control.</p><p class=“MsoNormal“>On the daily chart above we can
see how the CPI spike couldn’t break the resistance area at 1910-1920.
After the FOMC the price broke down through the minor blue support zone. As the
selling pressure waned, the price pull backed and it’s currently retesting the
previous broken support that now may turn into resistance. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>On a downward continuation the clear
target is the double bottom level at 1642. If we get another “Santa Claus
Rally” the price should break up the blue resistance area and reach again the
1900 price zone.</p>

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ForexLive European FX morning news wrap: Dollar lightly lower as markets slowly unwind 0 (0)

<p>Headlines:</p><ul><li><a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/10-year-jgb-yields-fall-back-after-first-run-up-against-050-20221222/“>10-year JGB yields fall back after first run up against 0.50%</a></li><li><a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/how-significant-was-the-impact-of-the-boj-surprise-this-week-20221222/“>How significant was the impact of the BOJ surprise this week?</a></li><li><a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/ecbs-de-guindos-50-bps-rate-hikes-may-be-the-new-standard-20221222/“>ECB’s de Guindos: 50 bps rate hikes may be the new standard</a></li><li><a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/uk-q3-final-gdp-03-vs-02-qq-prelim-20221222/“>UK Q3 final GDP -0.3% vs -0.2% q/q prelim</a></li></ul><p>Markets:</p><ul><li>AUD leads, CAD lags on the day</li><li>European equities little changed; S&P 500 futures down 0.1%</li><li>US 10-year yields down 2.3 bps to 3.641%</li><li>Gold flat at $1,814.63</li><li>WTI crude up 1.8% to $79.68</li><li>Bitcoin up 0.2% to $16,829</li></ul><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>Markets are slowly winding down to the holiday period, with meaningful headlines few and far between. Bonds moved higher on the day, owing to a drop in 10-year JGB yields after having run up against the 0.50% mark set out by the BOJ yesterday.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>Equities are looking more tepid now after a decent start, with US futures nudging a touch lower while European indices have also pared early gains to keep more flattish at the moment.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>In the FX space, the dollar is just a smidge lower with losses more evident against the yen and aussie. USD/JPY is seen trading 0.3% lower to 132.10 as the plunge from Tuesday begins to consolidate. Meanwhile, AUD/USD is up 0.4%. to 0.6735 as the pair keeps a bounce off its 100-day moving average from around 0.6658 earlier in the week.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>EUR/USD is up 0.2% to 1.0625 as buyers look to build on a shallow upside break while other major currencies are mostly little changed against the dollar.</p>

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

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DOW JONES Technical Analysis 0 (0)

<p class=“MsoNormal“>Following the <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/federal-reserve-hikes-50-basis-points-as-expected-20221214/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>more
hawkish than expected FOMC meeting</a>, the market and the Dow Jones went into risk-off
mode breaking down and selling off for a few days. The market is now fearing
the risk of overtightening from the Fed as economic conditions deteriorate and
the Fed seems to be resolute to keep financial conditions tight for longer. The
absolute worst for the stock market is a too tight monetary policy and a deep
recession. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>In fact, the Fed has been
complaining about the <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/us-november-non-farm-payrolls-263k-vs-200k-expected-20221202/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>“extremely
tight” labour market</a> for several times, they can’t have the confidence
in loosening their stance until they see the unemployment rate picking up. So,
in the end that leads to a “hard landing” scenario especially since the actual
layoffs were always bigger than the Fed forecasts. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>DOW JONES Technical Analysis</p><p class=“MsoNormal“>In the chart above we can see how
the market cheered initially as the <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/us-november-cpi-71-yy-vs-73-expected-20221213/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>CPI
report missed</a> again expectations but soon after went into
defensive mode as the FOMC event approached. The market was right, and the Fed
was more hawkish than expected causing a risk-off <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/Education/understanding-market-sentiment-20220217/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>sentiment</a> in the following days. The price
broke down and kept falling until the selling pressure waned.</p><p class=“MsoNormal“>In the 1-hour chart above we can
see how the price <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/Education/technical-analysis-understanding-divergence-20220429/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>divergence</a> with the <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/Education/technical-analysis-understanding-relative-strength-index-rsi-20220426/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>RSI</a> was signalling a loss of
momentum to the downside. In such instances generally the price pullbacks to a
previous swing level or the top/bottom of the swing where the divergence
started. In the chart above the price retraced back to the top (orange line) of
the whole divergent move. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>This is also a previous broken <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/Education/technical-analysis-support-and-resistance-20220405/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>support</a> area (blue) that now may turn <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/Education/technical-analysis-support-and-resistance-20220405/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>resistance</a>. In fact, the price is diverging
with the RSI again showing some struggle right at the resistance. A break to downside
through the blue trendline and the orange line would give sellers more control
again.</p><p class=“MsoNormal“>On the daily chart above we can
see how the CPI spike couldn’t break the resistance area at 35200-35400. After
the FOMC the price broke down through the blue <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/Education/technical-analysis-trendlines-20220406/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>trendline</a> and the previous swing low
support zone. </p><p class=“MsoNormal“>As the selling pressure waned,
the price pull backed and it’s currently retesting the previous broken support
that now may turn resistance. On a downward continuation the clear targets are
the swing low at 31761 and further down the October low at 28650.</p>

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10-year JGB yields fall back after first run up against 0.50% 0 (0)

<p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>The drop is also weighing on bond yields elsewhere, with 10-year Treasury yields also down 2 bps to 3.645% on the day. For now, it looks like the BOJ is managing to keep a hold of the new red line that was drawn this week at 0.50%. But let’s see how things unfold once we get past the holiday season and the turn of the year.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>The constant run up by the market against the previous red line at 0.25% for months eventually proved too hot to handle for Kuroda & co. so they might have to face up against such pressures again soon enough.</p>

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

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Equities hold slightly higher so far in European trading 0 (0)

<p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>A glance at the major indices in Europe shows that:</p><ul><li>Eurostoxx +0.2%</li><li>Germany DAX +0.2%</li><li>France CAC 40 +0.2%</li><li>UK FTSE +0.4%</li><li>Spain IBEX +0.3%</li></ul><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>This comes as S&P 500 futures are marginally positive, up 3 points, or 0.1%, on the day currently. Overall, risk sentiment is holding up and finding some bit-part relief following the selloff from last week. That said, the technical outlook remains on the ropes as pointed out earlier <a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/a-bit-of-relief-for-equities-but-the-coast-is-not-clear-just-yet-20221222/“ target=“_blank“ rel=“follow“>here</a>.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>Elsewhere, a retreat in 10-year Japan government bond yields to 0.41% is pinning Treasury yields lower as well. In turn, the greenback is slightly lower across the board. USD/JPY is down 0.4% to just below 132.00 while GBP/USD is keeping a slight bounce just above its 200-day moving average of 1.2078 to trade around 1.2090 currently.</p>

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

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