Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read through all the threads, but curious if people are buying way out-of-the money S&P puts or similar options.

I know that is how the Black Swan guy and others made a fortune during the 2008/09 financial crisis (in addition to figuring out how to short Mortgage Bonds).

I don’t play options. But I will look into SOXL, SH, spxs and some of the inverse ETFs if the market slides.

At this point I’m stacking gold bullion ETFs and waiting. They’ll stay high in a crash, but can be sold to buy cheap stocks.

Why would they stay high in a crash? In a crash, people (especially hedge funds) need to raise cash however they can, so they will sell your gold bullion ETFs just like any other stock.

Anonymous wrote:People on here are so detached from reality. Don’t let politics play into your financial strategy. You’ll get burned.

It’s funny to think - everyone in this thread predicting the second Great Depression must have taken some pretty drastic action back in April. (If they feel this way now they clearly felt this way or worse when the market cratered back then and panic sold at a low). Imagine missing out on the insane gains since then? Wild to think about.

What are we up another 1% today? Market keeps rolling.

Anonymous wrote:It is going to be horrifying.
If you are spending money now you are a fool.
If you think he won't crash the $ and the banks you are a fool.

Project 2025 told you what they are going to do and it will be way worse than that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read through all the threads, but curious if people are buying way out-of-the money S&P puts or similar options.

I know that is how the Black Swan guy and others made a fortune during the 2008/09 financial crisis (in addition to figuring out how to short Mortgage Bonds).

I don’t play options. But I will look into SOXL, SH, spxs and some of the inverse ETFs if the market slides.

At this point I’m stacking gold bullion ETFs and waiting. They’ll stay high in a crash, but can be sold to buy cheap stocks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read through all the threads, but curious if people are buying way out-of-the money S&P puts or similar options.

I know that is how the Black Swan guy and others made a fortune during the 2008/09 financial crisis (in addition to figuring out how to short Mortgage Bonds).

I don’t play options. But I will look into SOXL, SH, spxs and some of the inverse ETFs if the market slides.

At this point I’m stacking gold bullion ETFs and waiting. They’ll stay high in a crash, but can be sold to buy cheap stocks.

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read through all the threads, but curious if people are buying way out-of-the money S&P puts or similar options.

I know that is how the Black Swan guy and others made a fortune during the 2008/09 financial crisis (in addition to figuring out how to short Mortgage Bonds).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glasses: One company controls roughly 30% of the global eyewear market, owns numerous brands (Ray-Ban, Oakley, and more), optical stores (LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut), and insurance partnerships. Some estimates suggest control near 80% of major eyewear brands.

Anthem Health: In many U.S. states, Anthem holds over 50% market share in commercial health insurance—crossing into monopolistic territory in certain regions. Just three companies—CVS Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts, and UnitedHealth’s OptumRx—control ~80% of the prescription drug middleman market. Hospital mergers have left many U.S. regions with just 1–2 dominant hospital systems. Research shows this raises prices by 20–40% for patients.

Meatpacking (Beef, Pork, Poultry): Four companies—Tyson Foods, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef—control 80–85% of beef processing in the U.S. Similar concentration exists in pork and chicken. This impacts grocery prices, farmer contracts, and food supply stability.

Seeds & Agrochemicals: The “Big Four” (Bayer/Monsanto, Corteva, Syngenta/ChemChina, BASF) control over 60% of the global seed market and ~70% of agricultural chemicals. Farmers often have little choice but to buy from them.

Grain Trading (ABCD firms): ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus dominate global grain trading. They control supply chains that affect bread, cereals, and animal feed prices worldwide.

Waste collection: Two giant companies control 50–60% of U.S. garbage collection and disposal.

Groceries: In many U.S. metro areas, Kroger and Albertsons (pending merger) could control over 70% of grocery sales. Walmart already captures ~25% of all grocery spending nationwide.

Banks: The “Big Four” (JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup) control nearly 40% of U.S. deposits.

Hedge funds and large chains (like Gannett and Alden Global Capital) now own the majority of U.S. newspapers. Entire states have only one or two daily papers left.

Thank you PP for sharing this. And these corporations are more powerful than the government. We all now in America $$$$ gets you what you want. These monopolies have the means to challenge any disruption to their market share at any level (judicial, legislative, executive).