The law of the jungle 🌴

Special Weekend Edition

Well, strictly speaking, we know that quote isn’t completely true.

The 2008 financial crisis proved that the banks are very capable of lending money to people who needed it. The whole economy suffered because of it.

But as general advice, this one is pretty good.

Money, like many other things in life, moves away from those who stink of “neediness.” It’s the law of the jungle: we pursue that which flees and flee that which pursues.

Neediness is pursuing and the thing they need is often fleeing from them.

A strange phenomenon, but I’ve witnessed it too many times to discount it.

I recommend trusting God for your daily needs and making sure you simply do the right behaviors that have the highest chance of getting you the results you want. 

All right, enough of that, let’s look at the markets.

Well, it was supposed to be a rough week, but we set new high after new high. Premium decayed through the week and most positions should have expired worthless or might have been rolled for some really juicy premium. It was a good week for most stocks and ETFs.

The Fear and Greed Index is up 1 point from last week. We set several new highs, but the index indicates the lifting of the indexes is a slow enough rise to sustain these levels. This is a very good sign especially during a government shutdown week.

The White House appears to be making adjustments to keep many duties in place if it loses before SCOTUS.

Why it matters …

This is the main financial headline on Yahoo Finance. The reason I find this so fascinating is that the government has been shut down for 4 days, yet the major headline is about tariffs and the Supreme Court. The “sky is falling” government shutdown is not even the lead news story.  The market has largely shrugged it off after 15 government shutdowns, now.

The article itself should be no surprise if you have read “The Art of the Deal” by Donald J. Trump.  (If you haven’t read the book, I highly recommend it so you can understand why he does what he does. It is helpful.) In this case, the President is pushing the boundaries of what he can do for the benefit of the country. He is no stranger to court and does not feel it is a threat. If they strike down his tariff, he will move a different direction. He just wants them to consider it and compare it to the Constitutional framework for legitimacy within our nation. He is always testing boundaries, as everyone knows…

Three real trades collecting $87 of premium for single contract trades. Average Return on Risk (ROR) = 1.52% for this week.

Sample Trade Ideas Spotlight (Free subscribers):

Average Return on Risk (ROR) = 1.38%

Sample Premium = $181 for single contract trades. 

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