No prior generation has been as empowered to engage in the financial markets.

And it is exciting to see so many young people realizing this. They represent a new class of investor. One that is more independent of Wall Street, more empowered with technology, and has been liberated from prohibitive trading fees that handicapped retail traders in every prior generation.

Indeed, the new generation has a wealth of assets at their disposal, but perhaps more than any other factor, it is their involvement that is changing the game. …

Biden’s enormous spending package is resetting markets. The glut of free cash has pushed Treasury rates up over one percent in the space of a few weeks as markets try to reposition. The subsequent climb in rates has sent the very pricey tech stocks plummetting. In short, investors are scrambling to reposition themselves. (In case you’re curious, I recently wrote about the stimulus package and its effects on the markets here.)

One of the spaces that stands out as a happy recipient of this exodus of cash is commodities futures.

There is a wide range of commodities types: from pork…

It’s no secret that we’re spending a lot. For much of the 2010s, our debt-to-GDP hovered just above 100%. Put another way: we borrowed as much we produced, year-over-year, for almost the entire decade. Then Covid-19 happened. By the end of 2020, that figure swole to 135% — its highest point since the end of World War II.

As I’m sure you are aware, the new administration of President Biden is on the verge of pumping an additional $1.9 trillion into the U.S. economy. Will it work? Both sides have made sound arguments. Critics contend that taking on so much…

Under the buffleheads

And the hooded mergansers.

Under the water of Lake Bellevue

And the run-off of the Northeast Eighth Street,

The yellow lilies grew;

Layers deep,

They crowded the…

My first job out of grad school was with an established hedge fund in Palo Alto. To say I wasn’t prepared for the environment would be an understatement. The office was across the street from Stanford University and its rungs were stacked with Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton MBAs.

It was a unique and amazing experience working alongside so many brilliant people all focused on investing. The expectation and tempo far exceeded anything I’d ever experienced before. I threw myself in headfirst and swan in those waters for just shy of two years. …

The language you use to describe your circumstances determines how you see, experience and participate in them and dramatically affects how you deal with your life and confront problems both big and small.

― Gary John Bishop

Too many of us are caught in a false notion that if only such-and-such were so and so-and-so were such, then all would be well in the world. The reality is that this is not how life works. We don’t get to choose what we want most of the time — and that’s a horrible fact if you frame your wants as expectations.

Expectations versus Wants

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