Scratch. Wampum. Dough. Sugar. Clams. Loot. Bills. Bones. Bread. Bucks. Money. That which separates the haves from the have-nots. But what is money? It's everything if you don't have it, right?
Is it simply an agreed-upon unit of exchange for goods and services? $3.70 for a gallon of milk? Thirty bucks to cut your grass? Or, is it an intangible? Security or happiness - peace of mind. Let me propose a third option. Money as a measuring device. Money is, at its essence, th...

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday notified Congress that the U.S. will reach its statutory debt limit next Thursday.
After that, the Treasury Department this month will begin “taking certain extraordinary measures to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations,” Yellen wrote in a letter to new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
The Treasury “is not currently able” to esti...

The boom in stock market options shows no sign of slowing, as the number of traded US contracts surpassed the 10-billion mark in 2022 for the first time ever, playing a role in the biggest equity rout since 2008.
For the third straight year, contracts in US single-stock and index options set a record, more than doubling from the level three years ago.
As the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 33% and the S&P 500 declined 20% in 2022,...

TLDR: Didn't manage to get to level 100, but did manage to get 4 plays that returned more than 30% ROI. Getting a 30% ROI play in a bear market is way easier than getting to level 100 Reflecting on the lucky successes, it is found that those successful trade have solid hypothesis backed by macroeconomics factors, company fundementals, and legal framework. During...

Stock and bond markets will be closed on Monday for the Christmas holiday.
It will be a quiet holiday week once Wall Street reopens. It's the stretch between Christmas and New Years, and the corporate calendar is practically empty. There are no major companies reporting earnings or speaking with investors. Fourth-quarter earnings season kicks off with results from several big banks on Jan. 13.
There are a fe...

MACRO
Stock Market’s Defining Moment Arrives With CPI, Fed Decision
It’s the week everyone’s been waiting for. With the release a key measure of inflation, the Fed interest-rate decision and Powell’s comments afterward, investors are hoping to finally have a clear view of what’s ahead for a beaten-down stock market and economy in 2023.
A half-point hike on Dec. 14 would leave the fed funds rate in a range of 4.25%-4...