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1. A Bull Market Fueled by Speculation and Risky Bets
In a recent Commentary- MicroStrategy Is A Leveraged ETF In Disguise – we discussed the company’s business model, which revolves almost entirely around highly speculative bitcoin and leverage. To wit: So, what is MicroStrategy? It’s a leveraged Bitcoin fund disguised as a non-profit technology company. Regarding leverage and speculation, we also recently discussed the surging use of options, particularly those with short time frames. Options employ significant leverage. Thus, record options volume, especially in calls with short periods until expiration, is another sign that speculation is rising. — Lance Roberts
2. Trump Tariffs Undermine Bessent's Optimistic Outlook
Markets are buckling as investors worry that President-elect Trump’s trade policies could weigh on economic performance and corporate earnings. This week’s announcements featured hawkish tariff talk with Trump proposing imminent duties on Canada, China and Mexico with the news erasing some of the progress stemming from the nomination of Scott Bessent to become head of the Treasury. — Jose Torres
3. Why I’m Buying Meta and Selling Apple in 2025
If you could pass just one investing lesson to your kids, what would it be? For me, it would be this: own the disruptors, avoid the disrupted. BlackBerry (BB) investors in 2007 were feeling good. BlackBerries were the hottest mobile device, and the stock gained more than 90% in the previous year. Then Apple released iPhone 1. Over the next five years, BlackBerry’s market share plummeted from 22% to less than 1%. BB stock got eviscerated, crashing 90%. iPhone, on the other hand, went on to become the best-selling product ever, raking in over $1.5 trillion in sales. It catapulted AAPL stock by 5,000% and turned Apple into the largest company in the world. — Stephen McBrde
4. Will Rising Tariffs Force the Fed to Rethink Rate Cuts?
Just when inflation was starting to get (dare I say) boring again, the potential for higher tariffs, a central element of the incoming Trump administration’s agenda, has reignited concerns about inflation. With the much-anticipated Federal Reserve easing cycle just underway, markets must now consider the potential consequences for monetary policy if disinflationary trends were to reverse. — Stephanie Aliaga
5. Quantum Cybersecurity Explained: Are Your Systems Ready for the Quantum Storm?
In this episode, Chris Versace, Bob Lang, and Lindsey Bell talk with Scope Technologies’ Founder, CTO & Director Sean Prescott, and CEO & Director James Young. This episode discusses the urgent need for quantum-resilient cybersecurity as quantum computing threatens current encryption. Sean and James highlight solutions like non-replayable entropy, ransomware-proof storage, and AI-optimized security. Learn how these innovations protect critical industries and prepare for the "quantum storm" reshaping cybersecurity. — Why The Buzz?
6. Even Bad Advisors Are Hard for Clients to Fire
Whether it’s the 1962 or the 1975 version – both before my time – Neil Sedaka crooned “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.” Turns out that’s true of clients and advisors with former often struggling to part ways with the latter even when their advisor isn’t living up to their standards. Studies and surveys confirm there are myriad reasons why clients move on from an advisor and most of those reasons aren’t return-driven. Arguments over fees, not feeling heard or valued and being pitched investments and strategies that aren’t relevant or overly complex are among the reasons clients give advisors pink slips. — Todd Shriber
7. The Leadership Power of Gratitude
What’s gratitude got to do with leadership? Everything! As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches leaders in the United States are preparing for an onslaught of family visitors, delicious turkey dinners and plenty of personal drama. It can be a stressful time for many of us even if we are excellent time managers and carefully decide on what topics of conversation to avoid. But as the saying goes: “ The best-laid plans often go astray”. That reminds us that Thanksgiving and leadership are not just about our vision and execution, but also and most importantly about the people we connect with. — Terri Klass
8. The Best Way To Destroy Capitalism Is To Destroy Money
I’ve said for a long time that we have these figments of our imaginations particularly countries, borders, time and money. Humans have made all of these up and it is our world order today. Go out to tribes in the Amazon or Papua New Guinea who are untouched by such modern life, and these things don’t exist. Travel across China and it is all one timezone, even though neighbouring Russia has eleven! Walk across the border of China and Afghanistan and set your clock back four hours but, then, you have to ask yourself why those borders exist? If you look at the history of Europe, most of our countries have existed or disintegrated every century. — Chris Skinner
9. Stop Selling the Old Way Before It Commoditizes You
Many advisors complain about how hard it is to get decisive qualified prospects these days. Getting clients used to be easy. All you needed to do was be friendly and educate people about your services and solutions. But then more advisors began to sprout up everywhere, and being friendly and informative was no longer enough. They thought that if they over-delivered on value pre-sale (e.g.: initial meeting, discovery meeting, free personalised financial plan etc.), then they’d be seen as special, unique, and differentiated. — Ari Galper
10. Top 3 Retail Predictions for the 2024 Holiday Season
In this Thanksgiving edition of What Does it Mean?, hosts Lindsey Bell, Chris Versace, and Bob Lang share their analysis of recent retailer earnings, highlighting the mixed performance across companies like Walmart, Target, and Dick's Sporting Goods. The hosts discuss consumer shopping trends, such as the rise of digital and mobile purchases, and make predictions for the holiday season focused on the impact of AI, promotional activities, and online shopping dominance. — What Does it Mean?
11. Thanksgiving Networking? Don’t Be the “Creepy Referral Guy”
Picture this: You're sinking into the plush embrace of a Lazy Boy, basking in the post-turkey glow of a family feast, when your sister's latest beau, a chap you've barely exchanged two words with, decides to make himself comfy on the adjacent sofa. Out of the blue, he hits you with, “So, what do you do?” In those few seconds, your mind races. Do you launch into your polished elevator pitch, risking the overeager vibe? Pretend you're too engrossed in the football game to hear him? Or maybe offer a vague reply, hoping he doesn't pry further? Yet, you are thinking, "This guy could be golden for my business, and he seems well-connected." — Bill Cates