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Thursday, August 7th
“In the whole vast domain of living nature there reigns an open violence, a kind of prescriptive fury which arms all the creatures to their common doom. As soon as you leave the inanimate kingdom, you find the decree of violent death inscribed on the very frontiers of life. You feel it already in the vegetable kingdom: from the great catalpa to the humblest herb, how many plants die, and how many are killed. But from the moment you enter the animal kingdom, this law is suddenly in the most dreadful evidence. A power of violence at once hidden and palpable … has in each species appointed a certain number of animals to devour the others. Thus there are insects of prey, reptiles of prey, birds of prey, fishes of prey, quadrupeds of prey. There is no instant of time when one creature is not being devoured by another. Over all these numerous races of animals man is placed, and his destructive hand spares nothing that lives. He kills to obtain food and he kills to clothe himself. He kills to adorn himself, he kills in order to attack, and he kills in order to defend himself. He kills to instruct himself and he kills to amuse himself. He kills to kill. Proud and terrible king, he wants everything and nothing resists him.
From the lamb he tears its guts and makes his harp resound … from the wolf his most deadly tooth to polish his pretty works of art; from the elephant his tusks to make a toy for his child – his table is covered with corpses … And who in all of this will exterminate him who exterminates all others? Himself. It is man who is charged with the slaughter of man … So it is accomplished … the first law of the violent destruction of living creatures. The whole earth, perpetually steeped in blood, is nothing but a vast altar upon which all that is living must be sacrificed without end, without measure, without pause, until the consummation of things, until evil is extinct, until the death of death.”
– Joseph De Maistre
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Markets Today
🌏 Asia-Pacific: Up
🇪🇺 Europe: Up
🇺🇸 United States: Up
🛢️ Oil: Up
⚡Crypto: Up
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“Ride the Wave”: This tool has called reversals with 87% accuracy… And one stock just started flashing!
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Major Market Events
- Trump’s Tariffs Now in Effect — sweeping levies hit dozens of countries, reigniting trade tensions
- Markets Edge Higher on Tariff Day — S&P and Dow push green despite new policy risks
- Bitcoin Nears $63K on Rally — crypto lifts as traders digest 401(k) policy buzz
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🤔 My Thoughts
Stuck in the Middle — and That’s OK
The simple way I collect cash when stocks refuse to move
Yesterday on Profit Panel, Kane Shieh summed up the whole market in one line:
“I would expect more chop than a directional move.”
That hit me because it matches exactly what I’m seeing: the S&P keeps bouncing inside a narrow box — like a tennis ball stuck in a practice machine.
Every serve lands, but it never leaves the court.
What “Chop” Really Means (in Plain English)
- Range-bound: Prices zigzag between two fences instead of sprinting higher or lower.
- Low follow-through: Big headlines pop up… then fizzle out a few points later.
- Time over distance: The market burns days on the calendar without making new ground.
For most investors that feels boring. For option sellers, it’s an opportunity.
How I Handle a Sideways Tape
- Think “rent,” not “lottery.”
When stocks drift, I prefer to collect premium (like rent) rather than buy options hoping for a giant move. - Use wide guardrails.
Instead of picking exact highs or lows, I give the market elbowroom. For example, I might sell a call up near last week’s peak and sell a put down near last week’s low. If we stay in the middle, I get paid as the clock ticks. - Keep contracts short.
One-week-to-go options lose value fast. If the market stays range-bound, that rapid decay lands in my account.
If you’ve never sold options before, picture an insurance company: you collect small premiums from many “policies,” knowing you will only ever have to pay out on a few.
Choppy markets aren’t sexy, but they’re reliable. I’ll take reliable every time.
We’re firing up the live room again right now, ready to tackle whatever the market throws at us today.
Click here to watch the on-demand replay!
And don’t forget to register your spot here to join us next time we go live!
To Better Trading,
Alex Reid
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