We’re getting closer. It’s almost time for my debate with Louis Navellier.  If you haven’t heard, Louis and I have a friendly bet about the future of the market. Will the Dow get to 40,000 first? Or will it be bitcoin? I say the latter, while Louis says the former. So we’re getting together on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET to “battle it out” – so to speak. We’re calling it The Race to 40K. In the days leading up to the event, Louis and I have been sharing our analyses. Yesterday I told you about some of the catalysts set to push bitcoin higher in the coming months. I also explained the “halvening” and why it spells great things ahead for the entire cryptocurrency market. And tomorrow I’ll be in touch to highlight a big move bitcoin just made – and another big move that suggests higher prices are ahead. For now though, I’m giving Louis another chance.

There’s a lot riding on this. If you don’t yet know, I have a bet with my InvestorPlace colleague, the legendary growth investor Louis Navellier, about whether bitcoin or the Dow Jones Industrial Average will hit 40K first. It’s a fun bet for charity, but the ideas behind it are quite serious. We’ll both make our cases next Wednesday, August 5, at 4 p.m. ET, in a 1-on-1 debate titled The Race to 40K. If you’ve read our recent articles, you know I’m also very bullish on stocks and agree with Louis that Dow 40,000 could happen in the near future. But my best is that bitcoin will get there faster. Let me give you a sneak preview of a few reasons I’m convinced that will happen… For starters, bitcoin is already hot and bullish sentiment is soaring. It broke through $11,000 on Monday on strong volume, climbing 13% for its biggest single-day gain in nearly three months.

Maybe I’m in a bit of a betting mood with sports ramping up again. Or maybe I just like talking about making money. If you haven’t heard, my friend Louis Navellier and I have a friendly wager related to investing. Will the Dow get to 40,000 before bitcoin? Or will bitcoin win The Race to 40K? Louis says the Dow, and I say bitcoin. We’re sitting down 1-on-1 to present our cases next Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET. I can’t wait, and I hope you’ll join us. As we get ready, we’re also sharing some of our analysis with you ahead of time. Today, I’d like to turn MoneyWire back over to Louis for more on why he thinks stocks will be the winner. I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at a couple of big catalysts set to drive bitcoin higher.

Yesterday, I turned the reigns over to Louis Navellier, a friend and InvestorPlace colleague. He’s also a legendary growth investor with an impressive track record. He’s made money for a lot of people, and he’s worth listening to. He explained to you why he is confident the Dow will hit 40,000 before bitcoin. Louis made the case that stocks are the “best game in town”… better than commodities, bonds, and even cryptocurrencies. (I’ll say my piece on that in a moment.) He said that every time the Fed has pushed rates lower, it’s provided more “juice” for the market.

Yesterday I told you about a bet I have with legendary growth investor Louis Navellier. Louis and I got together recently, and he told me that he expects the Dow will hit 40,000 within the next 12 months. I don’t disagree with him. If you’re a regular MoneyWire reader, you know how bullish I am on stocks. Believe it or not, I’m even more bullish on bitcoin. So I took Louis’ statement and raised him. I think bitcoin will get to $40,000 in the next 12 months… and I’m calling for it to get there BEFORE the Dow gets to 40,000. In the coming days, I’ll show you exactly why I expect bitcoin will beat the Dow to 40K. But for today, I’m going to let Louis take the reigns and share his argument first.

I enjoy a friendly wager as much as the next guy. I’m not talking about serious gambling, though when we invest we do make a “bet” on stocks that we expect will be worth more in the future. But when we invest, research, analysis, and experience tip the odds much more in our favor than betting on who will win the Super Bowl. I’m talking about a friendly bet on a game or at the golf course. I’m a huge sports fan. I have been as long as I can remember, from my days growing up in Philadelphia through my time as a college athlete right up to the present. Longtime readers know how thrilled I was last fall to realize my dream of becoming a Philadelphia 76ers season ticket holder – and then how disappointed I was when the pandemic brought the season to a screeching halt in March.

The Nasdaq finished today in the red, marking the first time the tech-heavy index has experienced consecutive down sessions in more than 50 days. But guess what? That’s okay! We’ll take a closer look at the recent market action in today’s new episode of MoneyLine, including why I believe a pullback of up to 7% is possible. I’ll also tell you why I do not plan to sell anything in the potential weakness… and instead am working on my watchlist of stocks to buy. Then, I dive into the chart of the week. You may be surprised to learn what sector is breaking out to a new all-time high. I’ll give you a hint: It has to do with the flight to the ‘burbs. Speaking of breakouts, the action we’ve seen in bitcoin this week could be the start of what I believe is crypto’s next huge leg higher.

If you’re a member of one of my investing services or a regular MoneyWire reader, you know that I go after big profits over the long term. I dig deep for the best companies driving and benefiting from unstoppable hypergrowth trends taking us into the future, and then I stay with them unless the reason we invested to begin with changes. (I just talked about this strategy in more detail a few days ago.) Investing for the long term has made a lot of people a lot of money – my own subscribers included. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place in the investment world for short-term traders. My friend Stefanie Kammerman is the perfect example of this. She’s built her fortune on trading what are called the “Dark Pools."

Is gold a buy today? The yellow metal continues to run to multi-year highs. So is it too late? Or should you consider silver? Then you must wonder if it’s better to own the miners of the precious metals… or the actual metal… or what about an ETF? So many questions about gold and silver are top of mind for investors right now. And it only gets more complicated when you add cryptocurrencies, copper, and other metals into the mix. During a time when central banks around the world are keeping interest rates near record lows and currencies are being “printed” to pay for stimulus, it makes sense that commodities are an attractive investment option. That’s why I recorded a special episode of MoneyLine today. I share my specific thoughts on gold, silver, bitcoin and altcoins, the miners, copper, and even uranium stocks!

I get this question all the time. When I recommend a stock, I often get asked at what level should a stop-loss order be set? At what price? Or at what percentage pullback? My answer is always the same… do not set one. Nearly every investment professional will tell you that it is imperative to use a stop-loss order to protect yourself from sudden losses. I completely disagree. And I have the perfect example that proves why my strategy works. I recommended Livongo Health (LVGO) to my Early Stage Investor subscribers exactly 11 months ago today – on August 21, 2019. The stock has since climbed more than 220% from our buy price around $35, while the S&P 500 is up a mere 11.4% during the same timeframe. That’s unbelievable outperformance… but it wasn’t a smooth ride.

When we made the turn into the second half of the year, I had a little fun and went back to look at my predictions for 2020. I confess that a global pandemic was not on the list, so I cringed a bit when I opened the list. I didn’t need to. I must say, they were pretty darned good for the halfway point of a crazy year. We’ll talk more about all of them another time, but the one I want to highlight today was prediction #6. The 2020 IPO market will be both a boom and a bust. Correct. But you might not be hearing as much about IPOs as you are about SPACs, which are a kind of IPO. SPACS are on fire right now. I suspect you’re not be as familiar with them, so let’s talk about what they are and what you need to know… If I asked you to name the hottest investments in the stock market right now, you would probably say biotechnology, 5G, or artificial intelligence.

It’s a perfect time to get in touch with the latest episode of MoneyLine, as a mixed market this week has opened up a slew of investment opportunities. The tech-heavy Nasdaq pulled back slightly, even after hitting a new all-time high on Monday. On the other hand, the Dow and S&P 500 closed out the week’s trading with gains. So in today’s podcast, I break down what we’re seeing in the market and talk about some specific stocks that have dipped in the action. There is a clear pattern forming for several high-flying tech stocks. We’re seeing some weakness that pushed these companies to “screaming buy” levels. And for those of you wondering… YES, I name names! Before we get to that, I provide a quick update on the COVID-19 vaccine race.