Here is the supposed update for the end of February, but since it's the end of March now I will just summarize what is happening with my portfolio up until now, March 31 2018.
The dollar is also weakening considerably. This is a major tailwind for a large chunk of my portfolio as I hold many companies who operate internationally. A weak dollar will boost handsomely the money held overseas when converted into US Dollars.
Crude oil has been rising. I do not hold many companies directly affected by the price of oil. Rising oil costs will increase material costs for the companies I hold but I don't see it affecting them significantly. If anything, the low oil prices in the past has caused the overall market to tank because it was thought to be seen as a sign of low demand or low economic activity. Higher oil prices, although bad for most businesses, may be seen now as a boom because economic activity is high causing higher demand for oil. Anyways, rising oil prices will definitely help those downtrodden oil businesses. I find oil to be a "dying" business with a bad reputation. Oil is not the way of the future (many decades from now) and I want to invest in businesses that will continue being pretty much the same many decades from now (i.e. toilet paper will still be toilet paper and toothpaste will still be toothpaste 100 years from now).
