💰 Stocks to Watch Today (1 Aug) 1. Market Movers & News to Watch: • AMD (AMD): All eyes on AMD after earnings—market is reacting to guidance and AI chip sales. Watch for follow-through or reversal after the big move. • Nvidia (NVDA): Sympathy plays possible; if AMD’s tone is bullish, Nvidia could get dragged higher too. • Coinbase (COIN): Tumbled 9% after missing revenue and reporting a sharp drop in trading volumes. Watching for stabilization or a further dip—may present a contrarian buy if crypto sentiment turns. • Figma (FIG): Epic IPO, up 250% on debut—likely to be volatile as traders play the new listing. • Palantir (PLTR): Earnings coming up—lots of hype on AI growth. May see pre-earnings momentum or profit-taking. • China Tech/HSI: China ETFs (YINN, KWEB) in focus as Hang Seng h

The real retirement crisis isn’t the amount you need - it’s that traditional retirement is dead. Everyone’s debating S$550K vs S$1.87M, but I think we’re asking the wrong question entirely: “Retirement” is a 20th century concept that makes no sense in 2025. The idea of working 40 years then stopping completely was designed for industrial workers with 10-year post-retirement lifespans. Now people live 30+ years after “retirement” with rapidly changing skill requirements. The binary work/retirement model is obsolete. Singapore’s wealth inequality makes these averages meaningless. The S$550K figure assumes you’ll be content living like a struggling retiree, while S$1.87M assumes you want to maintain wealthy lifestyle. But the real issue is that Singapore’s cost structure is designed to extrac

This infrastructure buildout is the biggest malinvestment bubble since the dot-com era. Everyone’s piling into AI infrastructure plays, but I think we’re witnessing a classic capital misallocation cycle: CoreWeave’s $6B Pennsylvania bet is peak bubble behavior. They’re building massive GPU clusters based on current AI demand, but AI workloads are fundamentally different from traditional cloud computing. These specialized data centers will become stranded assets the moment AI efficiency improves or demand patterns shift. Remember all those fiber optic cables laid in 1999? The “Trump AI Push” is political theater, not sustainable policy. Government-driven tech initiatives have a terrible track record - Solyndra, anyone? This Pennsylvania project smells like industrial policy designed to crea

Thematic investing—once a niche corner of the market—is rapidly evolving into one of the most influential forces shaping portfolio construction today. Far from simply buying slices of established sectors or geographies, investors are increasingly casting their nets over big-picture megatrends: everything from artificial intelligence and clean energy to aging demographics and food security. What was once the domain of boutique managers has burst into the mainstream, with a tidal wave of exchange‐traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds sponsoring portfolios built around disruptive technologies, social change, and even whimsical concepts like “pets & animal welfare.” As the global economy reorients in the post‐pandemic era, thematic investing has matured from marketing gimmick to legitimate

Jim Rogers’ decision to exit U.S. equities entirely—and Ray Dalio’s increasingly loud warnings—shouldn’t be dismissed as just another round of doomsday punditry. These aren’t TikTok day traders, but two of the most battle-tested macro investors of the last half-century. When they say America’s debt crisis is a ticking time bomb, it’s worth paying attention—even if you don’t agree with every part of their thesis. Dalio’s call to have at least 15% in gold and crypto is a blunt reminder that diversification isn’t just about chasing the next hot sector, but preparing for the tail risk that the U.S. dollar, Treasury market, and American economic dominance may not be eternal. As U.S. debt breaks record after record, interest payments eat a growing chunk of the federal budget, and political dysfu

The Nasdaq pushing above 21,000 is more than just a technical milestone — it’s a psychological turning point. This breakout isn’t happening in a vacuum. It’s being powered by a mix of AI euphoria, strong corporate earnings, resilient U.S. economic data, and renewed confidence that the Fed may finally be done hiking rates. The rally feels less speculative than 2021 and more like a re-rating of tech as infrastructure, not just innovation. What’s striking is how broad this move is. It’s not just the Magnificent 7 anymore. Semiconductors, cloud stocks, cybersecurity, and even smaller-cap tech names are catching bids. That kind of breadth adds credibility to the breakout — it’s not one or two names dragging the index up, it’s the whole ecosystem waking up. The Nasdaq has broken out of its conso

DBS’s charge toward S$50 is a big moment for Singapore’s banking sector, but also a reminder that the easy gains may be behind us—at least for now. After an incredible 52% rise last year, this year’s 16% YTD move feels steadier but also riskier, especially as DBS now trades well above book value. That kind of premium only holds if the bank can keep growing earnings—but with margin pressure now accelerating, there are definitely cracks appearing beneath the surface. A pullback after reaching new all-time highs wouldn’t be surprising at all. Profit-taking is normal at psychological milestones like S$50, and volatility could pick up quickly if upcoming earnings (from DBS or OCBC) disappoint. DBS’s own warnings about the impact of margin compression and rate headwinds show that even the strong

This earnings season is a minefield—markets at all-time highs, but the reaction to results is unforgiving. As Goldman Sachs points out, it’s classic “negative asymmetry”: good news gets a shrug, but a miss triggers a cliff-dive. In this kind of environment, risk management isn’t just smart, it’s essential if you want to survive—and thrive. How do you hedge risks when the market feels this stretched? 1. Options as Insurance: The simplest way to protect gains at market highs is buying puts—either on the stocks you own or on broad indices like the S&P 500 (SPY) or Nasdaq (QQQ). Yes, it costs money (like buying insurance), but when a bad earnings print hits and a stock drops 10–15% overnight, those puts suddenly look genius. 2. The Iron Condor for Earnings Volatility: When implied volatili

Full Speed Ahead! Can NVIDIA and AMD Keep Running Till AMD Earnings? If you’ve been watching the semiconductor space this year, it’s almost impossible not to feel a mix of awe and disbelief at how far and fast the leaders have run. NVIDIA and AMD—the twin engines of the AI chip revolution—are once again front and centre as the market’s darlings. Both stocks have been in relentless uptrends, powered by an unstoppable wave of artificial intelligence hype, explosive revenue growth, and the world’s biggest tech firms shoveling money into data centers. With AMD set to report earnings on August 5, and Bank of America bumping its AMD price target to $200 on surging AI shipment potential, the stakes have rarely felt higher. The million-dollar question: Can NVIDIA and AMD keep running at full speed

$SIA(C6L.SI)$ Singapore Airlines (SIA) is facing a real test of investor confidence after tumbling for three straight days. The headline numbers are jarring: a 59% plunge in net income, dragged down by Air India-related losses and shrinking interest income, despite revenue ticking up thanks to record travel demand and resilient cargo volumes. It’s a classic example of how even industry leaders can get blindsided by one-off losses and cost pressures—reminding everyone that the airline business is never as simple as “more passengers = more profit.” How do you view the profit decline? The sharp drop is concerning, but not catastrophic. SIA’s core operations still look solid, with top-line revenue up and travel demand holding firm. The Air India los