Curiosity solved. JDP features diverse guests & topics including: Wild Stories, Current Events, Geopolitics, True Crime, Society & Culture, History, Tech, Investigative Journalism and much more. Hosted by Julian Dorey.

#387 - “FRY Them!” - Julian ERUPTS on Epstein Mossad/CIA, Prince Andrew & Shadow Elite

Julian Dorey Podcast

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Intelligence Agency Connections and Compartmentalization: The episode explores Jeffrey Epstein's relationships with multiple intelligence agencies, primarily Mossad and CIA. Evidence suggests Epstein operated as a Mossad fixer since the early 1980s, connected to arms deals like Al-Yamama. The host posits that CIA may have discovered Epstein's operations later (possibly late 1990s) and made a "deal with the devil" to collect information rather than shut him down. The compartmentalized nature of intelligence work means relatively few people within these agencies may have known about Epstein's activities, making entire organizations complicit even if most employees were unaware.

Howard Lutnick's Suspicious Connections: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick lived at 11 East 71st Street for 21 years, directly adjacent to Epstein's residence. His sister Edie Lutnick was a founding member of Ghislaine Maxwell's TerraMar Project. Lutnick survived 9/11 only because his wife insisted he take their child to school that morning. After losing 658 employees including his brother Gary, Lutnick took $35 million for himself rather than distributing it to employees, yet rebuilt Cantor Fitzgerald into a successful company.

Israeli Government's Direct Involvement in Epstein's Security: Newly released emails reveal that starting in 2016, the Israeli Mission to the UN coordinated installation of security systems, alarms, sensors, and surveillance equipment at an apartment used by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to house underage models. Rafi Shlomo, head of security for Barak, personally controlled access and remotely disabled alarms. Epstein personally approved all installations, stating he "does not mind holes in the walls."

Epstein's Butler's FBI Sting and Suppression: Alfredo Rodriguez, Epstein's former butler, approached the FBI in 2007 with evidence of criminal activity, including Epstein's black book containing contacts for powerful figures. When the FBI didn't act, Rodriguez attempted to sell the book for $50,000. Instead of investigating the book's contents, the FBI conducted an undercover sting operation to arrest Rodriguez for attempting to sell it. Video from the sting shows Rodriguez describing very young girls with braces being trafficked from Eastern European countries and powerful computers downloading images.

Missing 9/11-Era Documents and Shadow Commission: Forensic analysis of released Epstein files reveals a complete gap in documentation from 1999-2001, the period leading up to 9/11. An email exchange between Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell discusses a "Shadow Commission on 9/11" with a secret membership list. Of the 6 million identified pages, approximately 3 million remain withheld by DOJ for "national security" reasons. This data gap coincides with anomalous market activity and the airline stock shorting that occurred before the attacks.

Epstein Victim's Testimony on Manipulation Tactics: An Epstein victim interviewed for an upcoming episode describes how Epstein would call her after meetings he arranged with Hollywood producers or directors, demanding every detail of what happened. He would become angry if nothing sexual occurred, revealing that he was studying and refining his trafficking tactics like "Bill Belichick studying game tape." She also describes seeing darkness in his eyes and cult-like manipulation that extended beyond what known victims have publicly discussed.

Disturbing Content in the Emails: The released emails contain evidence of activities so dark that even known Epstein victims were shocked, including references that make it impossible to rule out cannibalism and cult-related activities. The host notes that victims subjected to the worst acts described in the emails likely didn't survive. Epstein specifically targeted vulnerable people with certain psychological and socioeconomic profiles, including children and young adults.

Hillary Clinton's Denial and Upcoming Testimony: Hillary Clinton publicly claimed to have "no links" to Epstein, stating she never met him and that Bill only took "some rides" for charity work. She acknowledged meeting Ghislaine Maxwell "on a few occasions" including at Chelsea Clinton's wedding. Both Clintons are scheduled to testify before Congress. Bill Clinton took 25-27 flights on Epstein's plane and was reportedly seen on the island by victims. Virginia Roberts Giuffre stated Clinton personally visited Vanity Fair offices in 2011 to suppress Epstein stories.

Trump Administration's Contradictory Position: While the Trump administration is the first to release any Epstein evidence, Trump himself knew Epstein for decades and was friends with him. Trump has redacted names of powerful people he called "his friends" in the documents, called the scandal a "Democratic hoax," and his administration has worked to suppress further releases. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene reported Trump explicitly told her his friends would be hurt by the releases. No Republicans attended Les Wexner's congressional deposition, and Trump has turned against Republicans like MTG and Thomas Massie who've pushed for transparency.

High-Level Government and Corporate Connections: Emails reveal Epstein meeting with Regina Dugan while she was head of DARPA, suggesting access to cutting-edge defense technology and research. He emailed Ehud Barak in 2013 suggesting the US get "authorization now for Iran" and that "Congress would do it." An email to Ariane de Rothschild, head of the $236 billion Edmond de Rothschild banking empire, uses coded language: "I have your cereal. Can talk tonight around 2200."

Prince Andrew's Arrest and Royal Implications: Prince Andrew was arrested by royal police in England on suspicion of misconduct in public office, marking the first arrest of a senior British royal in nearly 400 years. The investigation involves allegations he shared sensitive information with Epstein while serving as UK trade envoy. Andrew previously tried to suppress investigations into the Al-Yamama arms deal in which Epstein was involved. Piers Morgan suggested this threatens the entire monarchy.

The Supra-Government Theory: Tucker Carlson's concept of a "supra-government" suggests visible politicians and officials work for unseen powerful figures who truly control policy. An article by Kevork titled "The Empire Above Epstein" argues that presidents, prime ministers, and even tech billionaires like Musk may be "third-level managers" implementing projects designed by banking dynasties and elite networks that remain hidden. Elections and democratic institutions may function as theater while real power operates through invisible financial and ideological networks.

Cross-Institutional Incestuous Connections: The episode emphasizes how the same small group of people appear across government, finance, media, and education sectors, controlling information flow and thought programming. Robert Maxwell's business empire included peer review companies, textbook publishers, and news organizations. Similar patterns appear throughout the Epstein network, with brothers and sisters of key figures (like Edie Lutnick) appearing in connected organizations, suggesting power operates through blood relatives and a very small elite circle.

Political Theater Across Party Lines: Both Democrats and Republicans have covered up Epstein's activities for decades. Democrats are now seizing the moment because Trump is in power and the Clintons are far enough removed to be expendable. Only representatives like Ro Khanna, Thomas Massie, and Nancy Mace deserve credit for genuinely pursuing truth. The case reveals the real division isn't horizontal (left vs. right) but vertical (elite versus everyone else), with politicians serving as bought employees of the same hidden power structure regardless of party.

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We help founders make something people want. The Y Combinator Podcast is where builders talk about building. From the earliest days of an idea to scaling a company that changes the world, YC partners and founders share real stories, lessons, and tactics from the frontlines.

The AI Agent Economy Is Here

Y Combinator Startup Podcast

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AI agents are transforming software development: Tools like Claude Code and OpenClaw have triggered what speakers call "cyberpsychosis" - non-technical CEOs are automating entire business functions, while people who haven't coded in years are staying up until 2-3am running multiple AI coding agents simultaneously. This represents a fundamental shift where developers trust agents to make autonomous decisions rather than just providing autocomplete.

The developer market is exponentially expanding: The number of potential developers has exploded from approximately 20 million formally trained computer scientists to potentially hundreds of millions of people worldwide who can now build with AI assistance, plus their semi-independent agents. This dramatic market expansion is creating unprecedented opportunities for developer tools.

Documentation quality is now the primary go-to-market strategy: AI agents choose dev tools based on documentation quality rather than traditional marketing channels like Stack Overflow. Resend (a YC company) discovered that ChatGPT became their third-largest customer acquisition channel because their documentation is well-structured and "LLM parsable" with clear question-based organization and code snippets. This gives them an advantage over incumbents like SendGrid.

Agent-friendly documentation drives explosive growth: Companies like Supabase are experiencing massive demand increases because agents default to choosing them when creating databases. The reason is simple - Supabase has the best, most parsable documentation online, so agents assume it's the best tool. Even small improvements in documentation can translate to enormous business impact.

An entirely new infrastructure layer is emerging for AI agents: YC companies are building agent-specific services like AgentMail (email inboxes designed for AI agents) and Mintlify (documentation optimized for agent consumption). These services address the fact that existing platforms like Gmail intentionally prevent automation, while agents need their own email addresses, phone numbers, and infrastructure.

Swarm intelligence may matter more than singular superintelligence: Rather than progressing toward a single "God intelligence" with trillions of parameters, the future may resemble biological systems where multiple lower-cost models collaborate like humans do. Platforms like MoltBook demonstrate agents already coordinating and sharing information, similar to how human intelligence emerged through social interaction and written culture.

Agents are becoming real economic actors with autonomous decision-making: Beyond coding, agents are already booking restaurant reservations and making consumer choices. This creates opportunities for agent-specific versions of services like Yelp, where agents exchange recommendations about where to send their humans, potentially leading to separate "agent money" and "human money" economies.
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The latest news in five minutes. Updated hourly.

NPR News: 02-21-2026 5PM EST

NPR News Now

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Trump Increases Tariffs to 15% After Supreme Court Ruling: President Trump raised his temporary global tariffs from 10% to 15% following a Supreme Court decision that found he exceeded his authority when imposing tariffs on nearly all U.S. imports. The Court ruled 6-3 that Trump could not use an emergency statute to impose taxes without specific Congressional authorization. Trump responded by using a different presidential authority to set a new universal tariff limited to 150 days unless extended by lawmakers.

Iran Nuclear Negotiations Continue Amid U.S. Military Buildup: Iran's foreign minister announced the country is preparing a counter proposal to U.S. demands on ending its nuclear program, expected within days. President Trump gave Iran a 10-15 day deadline to resolve the dispute, threatening "really bad things" otherwise. Trump has made clear Iran cannot enrich uranium, while Iran maintains its enrichment is for peaceful purposes and the international nuclear watchdog has no evidence of bomb-building.

Major Winter Storm to Bring Blizzard Conditions to East Coast: A powerful winter storm is expected to impact the East Coast from New Jersey to southern New England, with blizzard warnings issued for millions in Long Island, New York City, and southern Connecticut from Sunday morning through Monday afternoon. The storm will bring heavy wet snow, high winds, hazardous travel conditions, and risks of power outages and coastal flooding. Officials are advising residents to prepare three days worth of supplies.

Salsa Pioneer Willie Colon Dies at 75: Trombonist and songwriter Willie Colon, a pioneer in the development of salsa music in the 1970s, has died at age 75. Starting his career at just 17 years old, Colon's work included collaborations with vocalists like Ruben Blades, Celia Cruz, and Hector Lavo, and his productions became the soundtrack to Puerto Rican social movements in New York during the 1960s and 70s.

Louisiana Can Enforce Ten Commandments Classroom Display Law: A federal appeals court ruled that Louisiana can enforce its law requiring poster-sized displays of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, reversing a lower court decision that had blocked the law. The rule was passed two years ago by Republican lawmakers, but families from various faith backgrounds sued on constitutional separation of church and state grounds. Similar laws in Texas and Arkansas could be affected by this ruling.
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Political and geopolitical analysis from the world's top experts, hosted by Dan Senor.

Amit on whether he’s ideologically closer to Bennett or Netanyahu, and more…(INSIDE Call me Back sneak peek)

Call Me Back - with Dan Senor

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US Military Operation Against Iran Timing: Dan receives hundreds of inquiries from people wanting to know when a potential US military strike against Iran will occur, primarily for travel logistics purposes—Israelis concerned about getting stuck abroad or businesspeople worried about being trapped in Israel. Amit emphasizes he doesn't know the exact timing and suggests printing a shirt saying so, but maintains his view that an attack is "imminent"—meaning within weeks rather than days—and will be massive and unprecedented in scope. However, he cautions against treating recent contradictory media reports (first suggesting negotiations, then suddenly predicting imminent war) as reliable, viewing them as potential spin.

Amit's Political Positioning Between Netanyahu and Bennett: Amit clarifies that he doesn't support specific politicians but rather ideologies, sharing 75-80% alignment with Netanyahu's ideology and 80-85% with Bennett's past positions. However, Israeli politics requires considering coalition partners, not just individual leaders. While Netanyahu's coalition includes Smotrich, Ben Gvir, and ultra-Orthodox parties (which Amit doesn't favor), Bennett's potential coalition would include Yair Golan and Yair Lapid. The key issue is that Bennett has shifted away from his previous positions, particularly on judicial reform—he once called the Attorney General in the army more dangerous than war, but now remains silent on judicial issues, making it difficult for right-wingers to support him.

Amit's Father's Views on Diaspora Jews and Aliyah: Amit's father wrote an editorial arguing that the response to the Sydney terror attack should be encouraging aliyah rather than strengthening Diaspora Jewish life. Amit explains his family background—his paternal grandfather immigrated from Romania at age five and never left Israel, while his maternal family came from Pennsylvania and Beverly Hills. His father wrote bitter op-eds in the 1990s about Jews refusing to make aliyah, though he would never criticize people he knew personally, and notably, all of Amit's mother's family eventually made aliyah.

The Evolution of Israel-Diaspora Relations: Amit elaborates on his father's perspective using the metaphor of family relationships. He references Yossi Beilin's 2000 book about "the Death of the Uncle from America," which argued Israel could no longer rely on a wealthy protective uncle figure. Amit extends this to what he calls the "cousin syndrome"—maintaining superficial contact through holiday greetings and occasional weddings or funerals—and now the "second cousin once removed syndrome," where there's barely a mutual language. He interprets his father's position as arguing that Israel cannot simply wait for Diaspora Jews to emigrate, but must actively support Jewish communities abroad and maintain connections with distant relatives in the broader Jewish family.

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Joe Klein and John Ellis on what's happening and what happens next. Joe Klein is the author of seven books and "Sanity Clause," a Substack newsletter. John Ellis is the founder and editor of two Substack newsletters — News Items and Political News Items. The two friends have covered American politics for a combined 95 years.

Night Owls Episode 75

Night Owls

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Trump's Iran Threat and Regional Complexity: President Trump announced he would decide within 10 days whether to take military action against Iran. The situation is extremely complicated given Iran's ancient civilization, educated middle class, and deep-seated pride. Iranians universally oppose American intervention to overthrow their regime, having experienced Western imperialism for over a century. Limited strikes, like those on Iranian nuclear facilities, have proven more successful than regime change attempts. The Revolutionary Guard controls significant power, and Iran's ballistic missiles pose serious threats to American bases in the region.

Netanyahu's Strategic Positioning: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu benefits when America leads confrontations with Iran, as it gives him cover to pursue aggressive policies on the West Bank and in Gaza. He is attempting to replace Palestinians with Jewish settlers on the West Bank while Hamas remains a powerful force in Gaza despite claims the conflict is resolved. Netanyahu wants American support while expanding Israel's territorial control during periods of regional distraction.

Iranian Negotiating Tactics and Military Capabilities: Iranians consider themselves the world's best negotiators and are notoriously difficult in diplomatic talks. They think deals are agreed upon only to back away later. Iran's Revolutionary Guard is well-disciplined for defense within Iran but cannot project force externally. However, their short and medium-range ballistic missiles can reach Israel and American bases throughout the region, creating risks for rapid escalation.

Inflation and Consumer Prices Disconnect: According to Bloomberg analysis, prices for virtually everything—groceries, cars, insurance, household goods—are up double digits since January 2020, with only TV sets showing price decreases. The Trump administration claims inflation is coming down, but this is misleading: lower inflation rates don't mean prices decrease, they just mean prices rise more slowly. A bag of flour that cost $1 in 2020 and $1.50 in 2025 will cost $1.53 with 2% inflation, not less.

AI Revolution in White Collar Work: Claude 4.6 and similar AI tools are rapidly automating office functions that were impossible just months ago. For only $20 per month, companies are building complete stock backtesting suites, macroeconomic apps, compliance tools, and research systems. Legacy IT systems from SAP and Oracle may become competitive disadvantages as AI can build better, customized systems on demand. This represents an enormously disruptive force for white collar workers, the stock market, and software companies.

Deepfakes and Democracy's Crisis: A sophisticated deepfake video of George Will appeared to show him excoriating Trump for 26 minutes, fooling even sophisticated viewers initially. When condensed to 15-20 second clips for Instagram or TikTok, such deepfakes become virtually undetectable. With 27% of the electorate getting news from TikTok, the inability to distinguish real from fake content threatens democracy's foundation—a shared set of facts. ByteDance has developed AI that can create high-quality videos with storylines and characters from single text prompts.

AI's Path to Autonomous Development: Research indicates that at current progress rates, AI systems will achieve more than 99% automation of AI research and development by 2032—only six years away. At that point, machines will be writing their own code with minimal human oversight, raising fundamental questions about human agency and control. An international agreement between the US and China would be needed to ensure humans maintain control, but the chances of such cooperation are essentially zero.

Election Integrity Threats: The real threat to elections isn't hacking results but voter intimidation. Seven Senate races and roughly 40 competitive House races could be influenced by creating fear around voting. ICE agents at polling places could discourage voters, particularly older minority voters, from casting ballots even if they've done nothing wrong. Recent FBI raids on election offices, including one led by Tulsi Gabbard on Fulton County's election office, may be dry runs for disrupting vote counting in close districts.

Latino Vote Shifts and Gerrymandering: Republicans who gerrymandered districts to include Latino voters based on Trump's 2024 support are recalculating their strategies. The Latino community has snapped back against Trump because of ICE raids, with support returning to Democrats. Latinos represent a growing and increasingly significant factor in American politics, and the intimidation tactics may backfire by energizing rather than suppressing turnout.

Democratic Party Crisis and Primary Challenges: Democratic Party favorability among Democrats plummeted from 85% in September 2024 to 67% in October 2025, indicating deep dissatisfaction particularly among activists. Progressive candidates like Zoran Mamdani in New York are mounting primary challenges against traditional Democrats. While left candidates are more exciting and skilled at selling their message, historically the left doesn't win general elections—those are won in the moderate center.

New York City Budget Crisis and Pension Obligations: Forty percent of New York City's budget goes to education, with the percentage rising as student numbers decline. Pension obligations given to public employee unions over decades are becoming untenable, not just in New York but across the country. The crisis was created by budget games starting in the 1960s where unions accepted lower immediate raises in exchange for enhanced pension and retiree health benefits, compounding over decades.

Education Reform Success in Red States: Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana have shown significant improvement in reading scores through accountability measures that teachers unions oppose. Mississippi went from bottom to ninth in fourth-grade reading by testing third graders and holding back those who couldn't read until they could. This represents practices that help poor and distressed students despite union opposition.

Social Security Trust Fund Approaching Insolvency: The Social Security trust fund is projected to run out in approximately five years. When it does, everyone's Social Security benefits will be automatically cut by 20%. This looming crisis, like unfunded pension liabilities at state and local levels, is disguised by strong stock market performance, but a major downturn could expose massive underfunding. Chicago is furthest along this path toward fiscal crisis.

Jesse Jackson's Political Legacy: Jesse Jackson, who died recently, fundamentally changed the Democratic Party by making the black vote crucial to Democratic politics. His 1984 campaign and subsequent efforts elevated African American political power. His "take the early bus" speech at Abyssinian Baptist Church before the 1984 New York primary was described as the greatest political speech some had witnessed. By 2008, Jackson witnessed truly integrated political rallies for Barack Obama, representing the progress his activism helped achieve.

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NPR News: 02-21-2026 2PM EST

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Trump Increases Tariffs After Supreme Court Ruling: President Trump raised temporary global tariffs from 10% to 15% after the Supreme Court ruled he had overstepped his authority with his previous tariff scheme that imposed double-digit taxes on virtually all imports. The new universal tariff uses a different legal authority and is limited to 150 days, subject to extension by Congress. Trump expressed anger at Chief Justice John Roberts and two Trump-appointed justices who joined the court's three liberals in striking down his original tariffs as unconstitutional, calling them "fools and lap dogs" and questioning their loyalty and patriotism.

Prince Andrew Arrested in Epstein Files Scandal: The British royal family is distancing itself from Prince Andrew after he was arrested this week following revelations in the Epstein files that he had shared confidential trade information. Police are searching his home, though he denies wrongdoing. While the scandal threatens the monarchy's reputation, palace officials are attempting to separate the institution from the family members involved. The situation highlights a contrast with the US, where Epstein associates have faced less accountability.

DHS Plans New Jersey Immigration Detention Center: The Department of Homeland Security is moving forward with plans to build an immigration detention center in a 470,000 square foot warehouse in Roxbury Township, New Jersey, about 45 miles west of Manhattan. Local officials say they were blindsided by the deal despite the all-Republican town council previously passing a resolution opposing any ICE detention center in town. They have vowed legal action to block the project. The township had previously offered the property's owner $20 million in tax abatements to prevent the sale. Converting warehouses to detention centers is becoming ICE's standard approach nationwide.

Cyber Attack Disrupts Mississippi Medical Center: The FBI is deploying additional resources to respond to a cyber attack on the University of Mississippi Medical Center, which has forced the closure of all 35 of its clinics statewide. The attack has stranded cancer patients and other vulnerable populations, with staff in some cases resorting to paper and pen. While hospitals remain open, officials warn the disruptions could last for days.

Utah Governor Challenges White House on AI Child Safety Regulation: Utah Governor Spencer Cox is defending state efforts to regulate AI companies for child safety after the Trump administration sent a letter opposing a bill that would impose such regulations. Cox specifically cited concerns about companies selling sexualized chatbots to children. The White House memo stated categorical opposition to the bill, viewing it as counter to the administration's AI agenda. The bill's Republican sponsor sees potential for future partnership and dialogue, though no clear path forward has been established.

US Achieves Record Winter Games Performance: The United States secured its 11th gold medal at the Winter Games in Italy, marking its most successful Winter Games ever and surpassing the record set in Salt Lake City 24 years ago. The US has an opportunity to further increase its medal haul in tomorrow's men's hockey match.
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Dive deep into the minds of Wall Street legends, hedge fund managers, and seasoned traders. Each episode offers a masterclass in trading, featuring exclusive interviews with industry giants. Discover their secrets to success and market mastery. Join us for a journey through decades of trading experience, and gain invaluable insights to improve your trading.

How Steve McIntosh Went From Blowing Up Accounts to 70% Returns

The TraderLion Podcast

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Early Trading Journey and Business Background: Steve McIntosh started trading as a teenager in the 1990s after reading classic investing books, particularly drawn to Peter Lynch's "buy what you know" philosophy. His first major winner was EMC, which went from $10-15 to $95 (a 500% gain), though he admits he had no idea what he was doing. However, trading took a backseat for 20 years as he built and scaled two software companies, one growing to 250 employees before being sold. These entrepreneurial experiences taught him lessons about systems, processes, and managing what you can measure—all of which later became foundational to his trading approach.

The Volmageddon Disaster and Rebuilding: When Steve returned to trading full-time in 2017, it took nearly two years to become profitable, during which he blew up multiple accounts. His biggest loss came during Volmageddon in February 2018 when XIV, a short VIX product he was trading, went to zero overnight. He had over 50% of his account in it and even bought more as it dropped, thinking he was lucky to catch the bottom. The product "went to the center of the earth and became a flaming pile of trash." This experience seared into his mind the importance of cutting losses and managing black swan risk, but he returned to work the very next day with belief he could succeed.

Trading as a Business Philosophy: Steve applies his startup experience directly to trading, viewing it as a business that requires systems and repeatable processes. Key principles include: expecting a difficult startup phase with inevitable drawdowns, focusing on processes rather than profits, hiring experts or learning from those who came before you (he studied Qullamaggie, Minervini, and Jim Roppel), and maintaining simplicity to enable scalability. He emphasizes that complex systems with multiple indicators and timeframes don't scale well, while focusing on one thing at a time with clear processes does.

Core Trading System and Market Environment: Steve's system centers on trading market leaders in the hottest themes during strong bull trends. He stresses that environment is everything—comparing it to surfing only when waves are present. Cash is described as his "most powerful position" and an underrated superpower of retail traders. He primarily focuses on stocks with market caps over $1 billion, trading at least $50 million per day, with ADRs between 4-7%. He uses MarketSmith to check fundamentals but won't exclude a trade based solely on weak fundamentals if the chart is strong.

Key Setups and Entry Triggers: Steve's favorite setups include flat base breakouts (drawing a horizontal line and buying the break), undercut and reclaims (which he uses frequently in current markets), higher lows within strong trends, trendline touches with confirmation of reversal, and EPS/episodic pivots in strong markets. For entries, he primarily uses the 6/20 crossover on a 5-minute chart as an objective signal that buyers have arrived, 5-10 minute opening range breaks, and VWAP reclaims combined with the 6/20 crossover for additional confirmation.

Position Sizing and Risk Management: Steve starts positions at 3-5% of his account (up to 10% in very strong markets) and pyramids by adding to winners until reaching 12-15% position size, occasionally going to 20-25% for exceptional setups. He typically holds 5-6 leading stocks at full size plus 10-12 smaller positions "on trial." His stop placement targets 0.1% account risk per trade (allowing for 0.2% with gap risk), using either intraday structure rather than low-of-day, placing stops where "if it came down here, this would not be expected behavior." This tight stop approach provides high R-multiples, reduces fear of taking new trades, and prevents emotional decision-making.

Finding Themes and Leading Stocks: Steve uses DeepView's dashboard to identify where money is flowing and leaving, then checks which traders on X (Twitter) are posting about emerging themes, bookmarking and looking for consensus. He focuses on the top 1-3 stocks within each hot theme, noting there's often a significant gap in performance between the #1 stock and #2. He watches how these leaders behave during market pullbacks—stocks showing relative strength during market weakness are flagged as likely explosive movers when the market turns. This "behind the curtain" view during pullbacks is when the market reveals its cards.

Using the VIX as a Timing Tool: Despite his Volmageddon scars, Steve monitors the VIX to identify early signs that market pullbacks might be ending. When the VIX gets above 17, he raises caution and considers hedging or trimming. During pullbacks, when the VIX starts melting while the market consolidates or the index pulls back but VIX doesn't rise proportionally, these divergences signal that fear is leaving the market and an upward resolution is likely. He demonstrated this with the January 21st Greenland news selloff, where the VIX melted 5% while the market traded in a tight range, foreshadowing the recovery.

Selling Strategy and Trim Rules: Steve categorizes trades as either "just another trade" or "positioning in a market leader." For regular trades, he trims one-third after 3-5 days, more into strength, and holds the last third into weakness (or takes it earlier if moves are too fast and extended from moving averages). For leaders, he wants to sit with full size and let them work, only trimming into extensions when appropriate or into weakness when trends show signs of reversing. He closes below the 10-day or 20-day moving average after extended runs as key warning signals. His 2025 lesson was to trim more into strength even on leaders, as he gave back too much profit holding through reversals.

2025 Championship Performance Breakdown: Steve finished the 2025 US Investing Championship at +70% with approximately 1,000 wins and 1,700 losses (40% win rate), averaging 9% on winners and 4% on losers (2:1 ratio). He reached a high of +107% but had a low point of -20%, with significant drawdown in December. His most profitable trades were Bloom Energy (his biggest winner), Hood, and Palantir. Most profits came from trades held for weeks to months rather than quick flips. He took positions on both long and short sides, with morning entries being most productive, though he also uses 24-hour trading at key inflection points for advantageous overnight prices.

Key 2025 Trades Walkthrough: Bloom Energy: Started at $38 in August, pyramided up to 12-15% position size, held through multiple 50-day tests with massive cushion, ultimately selling pieces from $100-130s for near-triple. Hood: Entered at $48 during April's choppy market after watching it show incredible relative strength during the correction, added five times up to $65, held the trade for months through two 50-day tests, final trims at $135 (started at $38). Palantir: Entered "dramatically late" at $113 on a higher low after it had already ripped from $95, pyramided up, held through 50-day test with cushion, exited around $175. These trades exemplified his philosophy of adding to winners, sitting with leaders, and not being afraid to enter late if the setup is right.

Strong Start to 2026 and Lessons Applied: Steve started 2026 up 21.5% in January alone, his strongest start ever (it took six months to reach this level in 2025). Key trades included Planet Labs (space theme, near-double in weeks), Rocket Lab (space theme, quick gains), ASTS (space theme with 14% position), Katos (drone theme, 86 to 128), and his biggest winners: SanDisk (started "late" at $280 after it had moved from $244, pyramided to over double at $624) and Western Digital (50% gain). He also successfully shorted Silver after multiple failed attempts, learning that metals trade differently overnight in futures markets. His improved performance came from tighter stops, more selling into strength, better attention to feedback from new buys, and more flexible use of higher low and pullback entries rather than only pivot breakouts.

Final Advice on Persistence and Process: Steve emphasizes that every successful trader has one thing in common—none of them gave up. He stresses the importance of having a "spoonful of delusion," meaning you must believe you can succeed even through drawdowns and failures. Focus on building your "trade factory" with repeatable processes rather than obsessing over profits, as focusing on profits is what costs you profits. Track your balance as the key metric incorporating all feedback. When experiencing drawdowns, refocus on working on processes and tools rather than nursing losses. Most importantly, know that success will likely take longer than expected, but with the right systems, belief, and persistence, it is achievable.

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Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib: NGO admits Hamas controls Gaza's hospitals. Why now?

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

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Deteriorating Conditions in Gaza During Ramadan: Social media analytics tracking Arabic posts reveal escalating prices, widespread fatalism, and disappointment among Gaza's population. Basic necessities remain scarce - people shower once weekly, empty propane containers cost over $130, and approximately 30,000 injured Gazans await treatment outside the Strip. The Rafah border crossing allows only about 50 people to leave daily, far below the 50,000+ who want to depart.

Hamas Suppression of Dissent Increases: Despite reduced explicit anti-Hamas sentiment online, this reflects increased arrests, attacks on tent cities, and targeting of dissidents' families rather than renewed support for the group. Hamas uses intimidation to silence critics, going after families of those outside Gaza who speak out.

Shrinking Window for Alternative Governance: Palestinians in Gaza are waiting for alternative ideas and leadership beyond Hamas, but this opportunity is not permanent. Without presenting compelling alternatives soon, the chance to shift away from Hamas's ideology and governance will diminish.

Aid Distribution Problems and Corruption: Humanitarian aid entering Gaza suffers from unequal distribution and corruption. Aid distributors have created "fiefdoms" favoring their friends, families, and immediate communities. Organizations like UNICEF provide cooking gas allocations but require recipients to supply their own containers, which many cannot afford after losing homes.

Chronic Disease Management Crisis: With the high-intensity phase of war ended, the focus has shifted to managing chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension, but donors prefer funding acute trauma care. Dental care is nonexistent, and people's teeth are deteriorating without treatment.

Doctors Without Borders Withdraws from Nasser Hospital: MSF suspended non-critical activities at Nasser Hospital due to armed masked men and suspected weapons movement. However, Alkhatib argues this acknowledgment comes at least five months too late, as Hamas's presence in hospitals - including torture dungeons in the renal failure unit - has been openly known and documented.

NGOs Protected Hamas Over Palestinian Civilians: International humanitarian organizations knew about Hamas operating in hospitals for over a year but remained silent, allegedly to maintain operational access. Alkhatib argues this pragmatism ultimately protected the terrorist organization rather than protecting medical facilities and civilian interests, contributing to thousands of unnecessary deaths.

Misunderstanding of International Humanitarian Law: Hospitals lose protected status under international law when used for militant purposes. The misconception that hospitals have infinite protection allowed Hamas to exploit medical facilities while NGOs maintained silence, inadvertently giving Israel justification for targeting these locations.

Hamas's Continued Belligerence Post-Ceasefire: Since the ceasefire, Hamas has collected over 1.5 billion shekels through taxation, evicted people from humanitarian tent camps to establish Hamas encampments, continued torturing dissidents, and maintained armed presence in hospitals. The hostage deal gave Hamas a new lease on life.

Board of Peace Conference Concerns: The inaugural Board of Peace meeting in Washington aims to attract investment for Gaza's reconstruction, but Alkhatib expresses skepticism about its success. Donors are reluctant to invest while Hamas remains armed and in control, describing it as "pouring money into a burning pit."

Disarmament Must Precede Reconstruction: Alkhatib argues that attempting reconstruction and deradicalization while Hamas remains armed is fundamentally flawed. The decision to pursue phased disarmament rather than complete disarmament upfront was a critical mistake that dooms the transitional political process to failure.

Organic Shift Away from Armed Resistance: Despite the dire conditions, many Gazans are organically rejecting Hamas's resistance narrative, acknowledging that decades of armed resistance have only brought loss. They express regret for not following the Palestinian Authority's nonviolent approach, recognizing opportunities squandered over the past 20-30 years.

Challenges to Deradicalization Programs: While successful deradicalization models exist in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, implementing them in Gaza faces unique obstacles - these programs worked when state apparatus supported them and basic needs were met. It's difficult to discuss peace and coexistence with people who cannot shower, eat adequately, or sleep comfortably.

Long-term Hope for Transformation: Despite short-term pessimism, Alkhatib maintains hope for a radical cultural, political, and economic renaissance in Gaza. He views this as Gaza's final opportunity for transformation and wants to contribute to reshaping the territory over the next 10-20 years to prevent returning to the current cycle.

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Tether's SECRET Plan to Crush Circle -- And It Involves 140 Tonnes of Gold

Coin Bureau

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Tether launches USAT, a US-compliant stablecoin: Tether has created a separate US-focused stablecoin called USAT to comply with America's new stablecoin regulations under the Genius Act. Unlike USDT, which continues to operate globally, USAT is issued through Anchorage Digital Bank under federal oversight from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. This marks Tether's recognition that operating in the US market requires a compliant product built within the American banking system, featuring strict reserve requirements, monthly disclosures, and clear disclaimers that it's not government-backed or FDIC-insured.

Market dominance remains strong despite downward pressure: USDT commands approximately 60% of the stablecoin market with a $185 billion market cap, while Circle's USDC holds only 23% at $71 billion. During the crypto downturn starting mid-January 2026, USDT proved more resilient, declining only 0.9% from its peak compared to USDC's 6.5% drop. This demonstrates that while both stablecoins face pressure during market downturns, Tether's distribution advantage and brand recognition provide stronger staying power.

Circle maintains an edge in transaction volume despite smaller supply: While USDT dominates in total market cap, USDC actually processes more on-chain activity. In 2025, stablecoin transactions totaled $33 trillion, with USDC accounting for $18.3 trillion versus USDT's $13.3 trillion. This reveals a crucial distinction between supply dominance and usage dominance—USDT is what people hold and quote against, while USDC is disproportionately used for settlement and high-frequency transactions, particularly among institutions prioritizing compliance.

Tether has accumulated over 140 tonnes of physical gold: Tether's reserves now include $17.45 billion in precious metals, representing approximately 140 metric tons of physical gold stored in Switzerland. The company is buying roughly two tonnes weekly and aims for gold to represent 10-15% of its investment portfolio. This positions Tether as one of the largest known holders of bullion outside of banks and nation states in the $34 trillion gold market, fundamentally changing how the company is perceived beyond just being a crypto stablecoin issuer.

Gold strategy raises questions about stablecoin backing complexity: While gold serves as a macro hedge and diversification play, it introduces volatility concerns for USDT reserves. S&P Global downgraded USDT's stability assessment to 5 (the lowest score), citing increased exposure to higher-risk assets including Bitcoin and gold. The January 30th metals wipeout, where gold dropped over 20% in three days, highlighted the risk of backing a stablecoin with volatile assets. This contradicts the principle that stablecoin backing should be boring, liquid, and stable under stress.

Expansion into commodities trading and finance: Tether is transforming beyond token issuance into commodities trading, having extended roughly $1.5 billion in credit to commodities traders and recruiting two senior gold traders from HSBC. The company is exploring investments across the entire gold supply chain, including mining, refining, and royalty businesses, while expanding into commodity trade finance. This positions Tether as a competitor to traditional banks in trading precious metals.

Regulatory challenges across global jurisdictions: Tether faces varying regulatory pressures worldwide. Europe's MiCA regulations have pushed exchanges like Binance to delist non-compliant stablecoins including USDT for EEA users. Hong Kong expects to issue its first stablecoin licenses in March 2026, Japan directs issuance through regulated institutions, and Korea is building strict oversight frameworks. In response, Tether relocated its first physical headquarters to El Salvador in January 2025 after securing a digital asset service provider license there.

Diversification beyond stablecoins creates identity questions: Tether's investments span Bitcoin mining operations powered by renewables, a $775 million stake in video platform Rumble, and potential €1 billion investment in German robotics firm Neurer. This broad diversification raises questions about what kind of company Tether actually is—whether it can credibly operate as a stablecoin issuer, gold trader, commodities financier, and venture investor simultaneously without creating trust issues or confusion about its core business.

The dual-brand strategy carries reputation risks: By running both USDT globally and USAT in the US, Tether implicitly admits these products operate under different standards. If USAT can meet US regulatory requirements, critics may question why the offshore USDT product tolerates opacity and reserve complexity. The risk is that controversy around either product could contaminate the other by association—USDT issues could damage USAT's credibility, while USAT scrutiny could raise uncomfortable questions USDT has historically sidestepped.

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Actionable insights on building wealth from the top experts in money &amp; the markets

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Odds Of Stocks Recovering To Hit New Highs Increasing | Lance Roberts

Thoughtful Money with Adam Taggart

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Based on this podcast episode, here are the key points discussed:

Supreme Court Tariff Ruling and Its Limited Impact: The Supreme Court struck down Trump's tariffs under IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act), causing the S&P to jump 500 points. However, the administration can still impose tariffs through alternative legal frameworks, including a 180-day rolling window allowing 15% tariffs. The consensus is this won't eliminate tariffs but may create slightly more trade uncertainty. The administration had already accomplished its goal of securing trade deals with most major economies before this ruling.

GDP Data Heavily Distorted by Government Shutdown: Q4 GDP came in at only 1.4% versus expectations of 2.9%, but this was primarily due to the 43-day government shutdown causing federal spending to drop 16% and a surge in imports ahead of anticipated shortages. This is viewed as a temporary blip, with Q1 2026 GDP expected to rebound to around 3% as the government reopened and economic activity normalized.

Inflation Showing Signs of Bottoming: PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) came in warmer than expected at 0.4% versus 0.3%, and charts suggest it may have based out and is starting to trend higher. This correlates with economic growth levels - typically 3% GDP growth accompanies roughly 3% inflation. Both CPI and PCE have been relatively stable at current levels for over a year.

Extreme Market Bifurcation Creating Opportunities: The market has become severely bifurcated with five sectors (Energy, Materials, Industrials, Utilities, Staples) dramatically outperforming while technology and financials - the largest index components - have underperformed. Sectors like Energy and Materials are trading at three standard deviations above long-term means and are extremely overbought, while software-as-a-service and tech stocks have been decimated, creating potential value opportunities.

Software-as-a-Service Companies Becoming Compelling Value Plays: Companies like Salesforce, Adobe, ServiceNow, and DocuSign have been beaten down 40-60% on fears that AI will replace them, but many have deeply embedded moats, long regulatory approval processes, and strong fundamentals. For example, Amazon trades at half the valuation of Walmart despite having higher revenue and better growth prospects. These deeply integrated enterprise software companies likely won't be quickly replaced by untested AI alternatives.

Personal Savings Rate Hitting Multi-Year Lows: The personal savings rate continues to plunge to multi-year lows, which acts as a short-term economic stimulus as consumers spend everything they have and go into debt. However, this is ultimately unsustainable and concerning for long-term economic health, similar to how rising margin debt is bullish until it peaks.

Private Credit Concerns Emerging with Blue Owl: Blue Owl, a major private credit player, froze redemptions in one of their BDC funds, raising concerns about the sector. Private credit investments lack transparency and liquidity - they're only marked to market when actual sales occur, meaning stated values can be misleading. The broader lesson is that private investments should generally be limited to accredited investors who can afford losses, and definitely shouldn't be pushed into retail 401(k) plans.

Technical Setup Improving for Potential Rally: The months-long sideways trading range since November has worked off previously overbought momentum indicators and allowed moving averages to catch up. Relative strength has returned to more neutral levels, creating better conditions for a potential move higher if money flows rotate back into growth stocks from the current defensive positions.

Bond Market Expectations Remain Range-Bound: The 10-year Treasury is below 4.1% but likely to remain range-bound between 3.9% and 4.2% in the near term as bonds are somewhat overbought. Breaking below 4% sustainably would require both slower economic growth and lower inflation, potentially moving yields toward 3.5%.

Tax Refund Composition May Disappoint Expectations: While the administration promises the largest middle-class tax refund ever at $150 billion over two months, current data shows business refunds are surging while individual refunds are running lower than last year. If this trend continues, it may not provide the expected consumer spending boost since businesses don't spend tax refunds the way consumers do.

Japan's Economic Position Better Than Perceived: Despite decades of being called a "bug in search of a windshield," Japan has maintained stability at 230% debt-to-GDP while the U.S. is at 120%. Japan doubled down on manufacturing critical components, owns productive assets globally rather than just debt, and plays a more essential role in Asian trade and military security than most Americans appreciate.

Portfolio Management Strategy Emphasizes Rebalancing: The current approach involves systematically rebalancing winners back to target weights while identifying value opportunities in beaten-down sectors like software-as-a-service. New positions typically start at 1% allocation, allowing for averaging down if prices decline further before the expected recovery materializes.

The 10 Immutable Laws of Building Wealth: Roberts presented a comprehensive guide emphasizing that wealth building requires more than just investing - it requires proper financial habits. Key principles include: spending 20-30% less than you earn and saving that first; avoiding all credit card debt; buying used cars instead of new; resisting lifestyle inflation and "keeping up with the Joneses"; understanding wants versus needs; using cash envelopes to track spending; and making deliberate sacrifices in housing, transportation, and lifestyle choices to enable long-term wealth accumulation.

The Millionaire Next Door Principles Still Apply: Research shows that millionaires with $2-5 million typically live in modest homes valued under $469,000 (less than 10% of net worth), invest in income-producing real estate rather than personal homes, and maintain lifestyles that don't reveal their wealth. The fundamental truth remains that you must spend less than you earn to build wealth, and sacrifice is not punishment but strategy.

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