To The Moon

The “tariffs-for-Greenland” drama, which had markets on edge for days, quieted down Wednesday night after Trump’s latest “TACO” move. U.S. equity indices, having touched their 20-week moving average, bounced back as expected—thanks to a clean alignment of news flow and technical support.What is the “TACO trade”?It stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” a term coined in 2025 by Robert Armstrong, a columnist at the Financial Times. It describes a recurring pattern in Trump’s policy playbook since returning to office: his administration loudly announces aggressive measures—like steep tariffs on foreign nations—sparking market panic and sell-offs. But under pressure, it soon pauses, scales back, or reverses course, triggering a swift rally.This cycle has worked repeatedly in 2025. The recent

Trump’s Tariff Gambit to “Buy” Greenland—What’s at Stake?Trump is clearly in full midterm-election mode—and since the start of the year, he’s delivered a new headline every week. First a strike on Venezuela, then brinkmanship with Iran, now talk of “buying” Greenland. Each move has jolted markets to some degree.The pattern is unmistakable: these regions matter because of what lies beneath them. Venezuela sits just 230 kilometers from U.S. shores and holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves. Its heavy crude perfectly complements refining capacity along the Gulf Coast.Greenland, though deep in the Arctic, is only 320 kilometers from Alaska—yet over 3,000 kilometers from Copenhagen. Geographically, it’s more America’s backyard than Denmark’s. And beneath its ice lie vast mineral deposits

Scarcely had the Venezuela episode quietened than America began casting around for ways to rattle Iran—a sign that Donald Trump is unlikely to lie low before the 2026 midterms. With voters demanding lower inflation and reliable energy supplies, he must be seen to deliver on those pledges. For Mr Trump, the midterms matter more than most.With both chambers of Congress in Republican hands, Mr Trump’s legislative agenda can glide through with little more than a nod from Capitol Hill. But if the midterms strip his party of either the Senate or the House, his second term will soon resemble his first: gridlocked, frustrated, and reduced to bargaining endlessly with Democrats just to get anything done—a president in name only.The consequences of striking Iran?If America follows through, markets w

At the start of the new year, the drama keeps coming. Over the weekend, the United States launched an operation, directly apprehending Venezuela’s president and bringing him to the U.S. for trial; the speed of the action and the precision of the intelligence once again demonstrated America’s military capabilities. Although there are rumors that the operation went so smoothly because there was an insider, being able to secure an insider is itself a reflection of military strength. Since the incident both occurred and concluded over the weekend (many recent military operations share this style: short duration, clear objectives, and no sustained escalation in responses from either side), for financial markets it would likely be digested within the few hours from Monday’s open through the Asia

As the year-end approaches, the market continues last week's trend, with relatively light trading volume. During such quiet periods, a short-term piece of news can often trigger significant market volatility, so everyone needs to pay slight attention (especially those chasing rallies). Over the weekend, the CME Group issued a major margin adjustment notice on December 26th, stating that it will comprehensively increase the performance margins for metal futures such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium after the close on Monday, December 29th.Normally, this is just a routine exchange operation for high-volatility products. However, when a product experiences abnormally rapid one-sided movement in a short period, such news often leads to substantial volatility (though not necessarily a t

As the year-end approaches, the market gradually enters a clearing period and trading activity becomes lighter. Overseas markets are about to enter the Christmas and New Year holidays, which makes this a suitable time to review the past and think about how to position trading ideas for the year ahead. Next year, like this year, is also expected to be a high-volatility year, with risks and opportunities coexisting. In January, there will be an introduction to the major trading opportunities for the coming year—stay tuned. In the meantime, even if the remaining time this year is relatively quiet, there are strategies designed for quiet markets, and this period is particularly suitable for using them.The Nasdaq rebounded from support as expected​Last week’s post stated very clearly that the N

The U.S. stock market saw a pullback, and while a decline in equity indices is entirely normal, an intraday headline made the move particularly noteworthy. Markets had largely assumed the next Federal Reserve Chair would be White House chief economic adviser Kevin Hassett. However, last Friday (local time), President Trump said that as he considers a successor to Powell, he is leaning toward “two Kevins”—Kevin Warsh and Kevin Hassett. Although Hassett has been viewed as the front-runner, Trump noted that after a 45-minute White House meeting with Warsh on Wednesday, Warsh has also entered his top tier of preferred candidates. That news contributed to a pullback in U.S. equity indices, suggesting that markets view Warsh as a relatively hawkish option whose comments may be amplified further,

A significant market movement for gold and silver is anticipated leading up to the Federal Reserve's final meeting of the year. The market widely expects the Fed to continue cutting interest rates, with some even forecasting another cut in January. However, with the market having already priced in the likely successor to the Fed chair, this meeting is drawing less attention than usual. The primary source of uncertainty may lie in the differing opinions among the voting members. In the near future, the market is likely to focus more on the statements of the "shadow" Fed chair to predict the future path of rate cuts, potentially making the market less sensitive to Fed meetings until the leadership transition is complete.​Gold Awaits a Clearer Path for Rate CutsDespite strong expectations for

Next week marks the start of December, and in overseas markets December is usually a fairly quiet month. When there has already been sufficient volatility in the first eleven months, as long as there is no sudden news in December, institutional traders and fund managers generally trade cautiously in order to avoid overtrading and hurting their year-end performance. This year, volatility has already been large due to global trade and tariff headlines, and with the market also expecting a Fed rate cut in December, price swings in December may be smaller than in November. U.S. equity indices might even enter the Christmas season early, meaning light trading and a lukewarm, directionless market.​Over the weekend, an unverified rumor suddenly spread that Fed Chair Jerome Powell would announce h

Last week’s U.S. non-farm payroll data attracted widespread attention due to severe market disagreements and the need for official data to guide trading decisions.As the first official data released after the U.S. government shutdown ended, although it was delayed by two months, it still provided a baseline for the market's subsequent trend. Before the release, the market had largely withdrawn expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in December, with the probability dropping below 50%, which was a main reason for the stock index decline last week. After the data release, Federal Reserve officials voiced mixed views, with both dovish and hawkish statements highlighting significant divergence ahead of the December Fed meeting. Dovish comments raised the odds of a rate cut and boosted sto