Contrary to popular belief, we're not just Americans. We're earthlings.

I think that gets forgotten, especially after the United States stock market outperformed practically everything else for so long.

You have a combination of home country bias and you have the recency bias layered on top of that.

So when U.S. Technology is an underperformer, as it has been since last summer, many investors with too much exposure in those areas are blinded by their losing, to see all the winning that's going on around them.

China, for example, just closed the week out at new 4-month highs. The CSI 300 is basically the S&P500 of China, and just closed at the highest levels since early November.

Meanwhile, you're seeing the German DAX this morning working on the highest weekly close in the country's history.

Whether it does or doesn't, the relative strength in Germany has been off the charts, despite any selling pressure you've seen in the U.S.

Keep in mind that outside of the American Indexes (S&P500, Dow & Nasdaq), I would put Germany right at the top of the most important markets list.

This is a very big deal, especially when...

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. No new positions today.
2. Adjustment to XLP position.
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

The selling in US Growth stocks continues. 

But why have European stocks and China done so well? 

They don't have any US Growth stocks in their indexes.

While the selling pressure in these stocks has accelerated recently, the underperformance has been there since last summer. We've been pointing out that High Beta never broke out relative to Low Volatility stocks while the major indexes were making new highs.

And now they're making new lows. Look at the underperformance from Tech along with the underperformance in High Beta:

And I'll be the first to tell you that it affects me too. Remember, that on a personal level, my wife and I have retirement accounts and we have 3 kids with college funds. I'm not immune to the selling in US Growth stocks.

I'm right in there with you guys, regardless of what I do for my day job.

Now, this is a great example of why we don't want to limit ourselves to a long only strategy in U.S. stocks.

I've already got plenty of that stuff. Too much, if you ask me. So I need to go out of my way to find additional sources of income and returns. 

This is strictly on a personal level,...

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. New position in XLB.
2. No adjustments are needed today.
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

There’s no sugar-coating it—recent weeks have been rough in my account.

Call it a pullback, a correction, or a bear market—whatever label you prefer, the selloff in U.S. growth stocks hasn’t spared me. And let’s be honest: Watching account equity shrink isn’t fun. Not even a little.

But one thing that helps me stay grounded through market swings—both up and down—is tracking my Closed Trades Performance. It’s nothing fancy, just a simple spreadsheet with four columns:

• Date Closed

• Ticker

• Net Gain/Loss

• Running Total

That last column, “Running Total,” continuously adds up my net dollar gains and losses as I close trades.

The key benefit? It shifts my focus away from open equity swings in positions I haven’t closed yet. Any old-school futures trend follower will tell you: open profits aren’t yours until you close the trade. I learned this trick from my friend Peter Brandt, and it has been invaluable for my mindset.

Why This Helps My Trading Psychology

By focusing only on closed trades, two...

Today's trade is one of those setups where if the bulls can't stick this landing (making it a good buy), then it's goodbye and good night.

I'm betting on the latter. But being mindful that it could in fact be a good time to buy for those brave enough to step in, I'll be getting short with a defined risk put debit spread.

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. No new positions today.
2. Rolled ITB to April options
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Welcome to The 2 to 100 Club.

In this scan, we look to identify the strongest growth stocks as they climb the market-cap ladder from small- to mid- to large- and, ultimately, to mega cap status (over $200B).

Once they graduate from small-cap to mid-cap status (over $2B), they come on our radar. Likewise, when they surpass the roughly $30B mark, they roll off our list.

But the scan doesn't just end there.

We only want to look at the strongest growth industries in the market, as that is typically where these potential 50-baggers come from.

Some of the best performers in recent decades – stocks like Priceline, Amazon, Netflix, Salesforce, and myriad others – would have been on this list at some point during their journey to becoming the market behemoths they are today.

When you look at the stocks in our table, you'll notice we're only focused on Technology and Growth industry groups such as Software, Semiconductors, Online...

While U.S. equity investors are panicking, the Gold Bugs are riding powerful uptrends. It's a fantastic time to own shiny rocks.

Yesterday, we discussed the short interest in Silver hitting a record high. We think it's time for Gold's crazy cousin to shine.

In addition to that, we covered a variety of subjects in today's video, including: 

• The largest 4-week inflow into Gold on record
• Wild swings in the currency markets
• International stock markets
• Shiny rocks > stocks
• Seasonal sweet spot for Gold & Silver miners
• And what we're buying

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. No new positions today.
2. Adjustment to IGV and XRT positions.
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

I don't know about you guys, but it seems like every trader I know now trades options these days. And more and more newbies in the markets are skipping trading stocks altogether and jumping right into the options ring. One look at the continuing explosion of options volumes on the main exchanges backs this up.

It wasn't always this way. 

For much of my early career, options trading was the "complicated" backwater of investing, reserved mostly for investors selling covered calls on their long-term holdings to derive some extra income in their portfolios.

Everyone’s an Options Trader Now—In Markets and in Life

Options trading has exploded in popularity. It seems like everyone, from Wall Street veterans to TikTok influencers, is placing bets on calls and puts. But this obsession with optionality isn’t just happening in the markets—it’s everywhere. Across industries and careers, people are structuring their decisions like options traders, seeking asymmetric rewards, hedging risks, and keeping multiple paths open.

This phenomenon raises an interesting question: Are people trading more options because they think like traders, or are...