As President Donald J. Trump emerged victorious in the 2024 election and prepared to begin his second term, his team informed European officials that he expects their respective countries to spend at least 5% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on building military capabilities.  As of 2024, it was estimated that virtually every country – even the U.S. – fell short of this target.  However, it bears noting that the U.S.' spending is significantly higher than that of almost every one of its European allies combined. Additionally, given the significant deployment of U.S. military assets over in Europe to buttress its defense from threats, it is intuitively logical that Europe could ideally stand to be more invested in its own defense (and an idea supported by many a U.S. think ta

News and my thoughts from last week (14 Apr 25) Delinquent C&I loans rose by approximately 6.4% from the previous quarter and 19.8% year over year, reaching $31.04 billion – with a delinquency ratio of 1.31%. - DalyHodl Tim Cook explains why Apple manufactures products in China. The true reason is because of the skill, the quantity of skill in one location, and the type of skill it is. Not because of labor cost since China stopped being a low-labour-cost country many years ago. The Apple CEO elaborated on the advanced tooling and precision required to produce the products and highlighted China's vocational expertise in these areas. - X user by Shen Shiwei At the moment, Apple makes more than 80% of its products in China. Those products now receive a 145% tax when they’re imported into

Market Outlook of S&P500 - 14Apr25 Observations: The MACD indicator has yet to complete the bottom cross-over, which suggests a potential reversal. It is possible to range or go lower before the actual reversal. I prefer for MACD’s bottom crossover to be completed before acknowledging a reversal (as it forms a part of considerations). Moving Averages (MA). The MA50 line has started a downtrend, while the MA200 line is on an uptrend. This implies a downtrend in the mid-term and a bullish in the long term. We are seeing the setup of a Death Cross (when the MA50 line cuts the MA200 line from above). A death cross can be seen as a bearish indicator. Death Cross Definition: How and When It Happens Candle. The last candle is below the MA50 and MA200 lines, implying a bearish outloo

Have you ever wished to buy a super growing company like Nvidia before the price runs up? Maybe Palantir?  Have you ever wished for a pro-biz US President? Have you ever wished that when you run out of money 💰, you can simply take from others without being punished? They are here, all here! Yes, all at once... In our face! 😁😭 Don't you feel it? Now that they are all here, are you overjoyed? You are supposed to feel that, or so Donald Trump thought so... When the stock market crash occurs, have you then thought of a saviour (some sorts, any sorts in fact) to push them back up?  Ahhhhhh... Nice! It's also here! What have you been doing all these times? From crash to rebound?  Did you scoop in when the crash arrived? 🤔 Or were you so badly wounded with your blood all around the

Yes, I took a little bet during the week, despite Monday’s drop and wild week. No, it is not what most people think, not the “buy-the-drop”or “be greedy when there is blood on the street” stuffs. I am just not that sort. Not especially if some of those blood is mine! No, I did not buy in a big way… at least not into the big 7. I did not even buy the VIX, the fear index or short Nasdaq. Nothing of those sorts… that is just not me. Still, I took a gamble… a different manner as I see fit. A big reason for this week’s volatility is with Donald Trump and his tariffs war, and its resulted uncertainty. The so-called tariffs is but an import tax imposed on the Americans. Actually, the correction started way before this week. Last year’s market boom was characterised by the riskier assets such as c

Since last Thursday, the $S&P 500(.SPX)$ has corrected for 4 days, with 8 out of the top 10 largest market cap stocks falling, $Tesla Motors(TSLA)$ , $Broadcom(AVGO)$ down over 10% in the last 5 days, $NVIDIA(NVDA)$, $Microsoft(MSFT)$, $Amazon.com(AMZN)$, $Alphabet(GOOG)$, $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$ all falling, with only $Apple(AAPL)$, $Berkshire Hathaway(BRK.B)$ remaining up in the last 5

Stocks were sharply lower in early-afternoon trading Monday amid ongoing uncertainty about the impact of policies coming from the Trump White House and concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq were down 2.2% and 3.7%, respectively, in recent trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.3%. The major indexes gained ground on Friday but posted steep losses for the week, with the S&P 500 recording its worst weekly performance in six months. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, which each fell more than 3% last week, have returned to pre-election levels after losing ground for three consecutive weeks. Investor sentiment has been dented recently by worries about President Trump's plans for widespread tariffs, which experts say will

After two years of chasing a seemingly overwhelming rally in big tech stocks, options traders have shown signs of fatigue.Investors are scrambling for more protective measures as the so-called "Magnificent 7" of U.S. technology stocks lags behind the broader stock market amid growing concerns about U.S. dominance in artificial intelligence and the overall economy.In the second half of February, most "Big Seven" companiesOption costs are all rising。 Last week, Apple's three-month IV reached its highest value since September last year, and its slope was also the largest since August last year, when the liquidation of yen carry trade panicked global financial markets and stimulated protection demand.Another troubling sign is increasing put positions in stocks such as Nvidia. Nomura said buyin

$Alphabet(GOOG)$ Welcome back! After a strong year and reaching new all-time highs, Alphabet's stock has recently dipped for several reasons. Despite exceeding expectations, the stock fell on earnings release day, primarily due to concerns over capital expenditures (CapEx). Alphabet Investment The company has been investing heavily, and with projects like DeepMind and other AI initiatives, the market is questioning whether these investments will pay off. Additionally, Alphabet’s cloud revenue grew by only 30%, falling short of market expectations and raising concerns about its growth potential. That said, increased investment is often a positive sign, especially for a company with Alphabet’s track record. Their substantial CapEx is directed toward

The pullback in U.S. equities has extended from highly valued growth stocks (e.g. $Palantir Technologies Inc.(PLTR)$ $AppLovin Corporation(APP)$ .) into the larger $NASDAQ 100(NDX)$ broader market range. In the Mag 7, only $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$ has closed higher year-to-date, while $Tesla Motors(TSLA)$ with both fundamental and policy risks, has pulled back more than 22% on both performance risk and policy risk.In contrast, $S&P 500(.SPX)$ has been less volatile, with significant movement between sectors, also stemming from ris

$Microsoft(MSFT)$ While the S&P 500 is down only about 3% from its all-time high, many growth stocks have taken significant hits, dropping 20%, 30%, 40%, or even 50%. Even major companies like Alphabet are trading at roughly 18 times earnings, while stocks like Amazon and others have also seen substantial declines. Personally, I've been taking advantage of many of these opportunities. However, there's one stock I've been watching for over a year—one I've always wanted to own. I'm a big fan of the company, love its business model, and recognize its strong competitive advantage. But despite all that, I just can’t bring myself to buy it. That stock is Microsoft. Microsoft has been stagnant for over a year and has even underperformed most of the "

$Palantir Technologies Inc.(PLTR)$ plunged 27% in four trading days, which makes sense and is unexpected. But what is unexpected is why it fell NOW?Essentially, there are only two reasons for a selloff:A concerted sell-off/short-sale trade by investors who are pessimistic about their future share price due to high valuations, etc;Unrelated to valuation, market trends are affected by the actions of influential investors;Currently Palantir got both.Valuation EstimatesCurrent valuation: market capitalization of $212.677 billion, FY24 revenue of $2.87 billion, and a TTM price-to-sales ratio of 74x, which compares favorably to peers, and is well above Bloomberg Peers' 10.6x and GICS' peer group's 12.8x;The 2025 expected price-to-sales ratio of 63x rema

$Zeta Global Holdings Corp.(ZETA)$ experienced huge volatility after Q4 earnings, from +20% to -12% at one point, and investors were deeply divided on it.As one of the companies on the cusp of AI advertising services, its AI-driven efficiency improvement and scarcity of growth attribute support, the long-term logic has not changed, but the short-selling report brought about by the risk of data compliance and short-term market sentiment perturbation still need to be vigilant.The current low valuation or layout window.Investment HighlightsStrong financial performance and growth resilienceRevenue growth ahead of expectations: 4Q24 revenue growth of 50% y/y (7% ahead of guidance) and 31% growth excluding the impact of the election and acquisitions; 14

Yesterday, under the panic sentiment in the US stock market, all the big tech stocks pulled back. Which one do you think is worth buying?1. $Tesla Motors(TSLA)$ dropped 8% yesterday. Due to a sharp drop in European sales, issues with FSD testing in China, Musk being distracted by politics, and other factors, it broke down to around $300. However, this is a strong support level, meaning Tesla is likely to bounce back in the short term. Whether it continues to fall in the long term will depend on whether there are any positive news catalysts.Would you consider bottom-fishing or selling puts on Tesla? The next support level is around $270, and some traders have already opened positions selling puts during yesterday’s drop.2.

Disclaimer: Whatever I say or post doesn't act as financial advice, so please do your due diligence before making any decision. The market has been a turmoil over the past month, headlined by the tariff war, potential ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, speculative massive cuts in the US government sectors which created a lot of uncertainty and distress.  However as highlighted in the images above, the market has proven time and time again that if you stretch out the timeline, it always keep rising. So for long term investors, ignore the noise, bite the bullet and stay invested.  However, if you are an individual stock investor and not an index investor like a broad index etf, then you will need to check in with yourself and the latest financial matrics to see if you are still