Top Pros' Top Picks 10/1/25

Market Minute ⏱️ 10/1/25: Gold Soars, Stocks Slide as Government Shuts!

Mike Larson | Editor-in-Chief

Gold is soaring and stocks are slumping amid ongoing chaos in Washington. Meanwhile, crude oil, interest rates, and the dollar are dipping...but Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are popping.

Well, it’s official. The federal government is (mostly) shut down. Republicans and Democrats in Congress couldn’t agree on a way to extend federal funding past midnight – and President Trump’s meeting on Monday failed to break the impasse. So, hundreds of thousands of workers will get furloughed and non-essential operations will cease until some kind of deal can be reached.

Meanwhile, the labor market was already struggling last month, if PRIVATE data from ADP is to be believed. This morning’s report from the payroll processor showed the economy shed 32,000 jobs in September – much worse than the gain of 50,000 jobs that economists were expecting. Official government data won’t be released Friday due to the shutdown.

GLD, SLV, LAC (YTD % Change)

Investors may want to keep some perspective on the “Shutdown Drama” though. I wrote about why panicking is NOT the best option here. Other MoneyShow expert contributors have also chimed in on how past shutdowns – while disrupting people’s daily lives – have NOT had lasting, negative impacts on markets.

As for precious metals…WOW. Gold and silver just had the best quarter of performance in history, rising 17% and 29%, respectively. Both are rising again today as “chaos insurance” plays amid ongoing dysfunction and upheaval in Washington. Plus, if the shutdown were to drag on, it would likely weaken the economy at the margins and provide extra fuel for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. And that would likely pressure the dollar...boosting the appeal of metals.

Speaking of the federal government, it IS moving forward with a plan to buy a chunk of Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC). The Vancouver, Canada-based company is developing the Western Hemisphere’s largest lithium mine – called Thacker Pass – in Nevada.

Uncle Sam will buy 5% of LAC and also 5% of the mining project. General Motors Co. (GM) is a partner in the Thacker Pass joint venture because lithium is a critical component in Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries. LAC shares soared another 36% on the news – after already rising 92% in 2025 through yesterday.

Mobius: Why You Should Take Another Look at Investing in THIS Foreign Market

• SPX: How Warren Buffett Used the "Snowball Effect" to Build Wealth
  👉️ TICKER: SPX
  As a young kid, I always loved playing in the snow with my brother. Many years later, I came to realize there was great investment wisdom in this. Let’s explore how playing in the snow can make you a lot of money from the “Snowball Effect,” writes Pieter Slegers, editor of Compounding Quality.

• CTBI: A Regional Bank with Solid Dividend Growth
  👉️ TICKERS: SPX, CTBI
  Community Trust Bancorp Inc. (CTBI) is a regional bank with 84 branch locations in Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Overall, the stock is expected to return 7.8% per year over the next five years thanks to 4% growth in earnings per share, a dividend yield of 3.7%, and a 0.6% expected valuation tailwind, suggests Ben Reynolds, editor of Sure Retirement.

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