TraderMerlin
A live daily podcast covering nearly every aspect of the financial markets. My guests and I cover stocks, futures, forex, cryptocurrency, real estate, long term investing and much more! Join us live on youtube at 2pm daily!
Trading Week Wrap Up! – 10/16/26
Tesla's Roadster is making headlines, inflation is keeping traders on edge, earnings season is heating up, and apparently I've upset a few XRP investors!
Just another week in the financial markets!
On today's TraderMerlin, we're wrapping up the biggest stories of the week, examining what they mean for traders and investors, and taking a look at the trades I've made along the way.
And yes, we're going to have a little fun with some of the XRP hate mail I received after questioning aspects of the cryptocurrency's decentralization and network structure!
...
Top 5 Cryptos I'd Buy Right Now! — Who's Winning the Digital Asset Race? – 10/15/26
Thousands of cryptocurrencies. Trillions of dollars in market value. But if I could only pick FIVE, which ones would I buy right now?
That's the question we're tackling on today's TraderMerlin!
The cryptocurrency industry is evolving rapidly. Bitcoin continues to dominate the conversation, institutional investors are expanding their involvement, stablecoins are changing how money moves, and blockchain technology is finding its way into traditional financial markets.
But here's the problem...
Not every cryptocurrency will survive. And not every great blockchain project will make a great investment!
Some projects have...
Crime Does Pay! — Bank of America's $1.2 Billion Money Laundering Scandal! – 10/14/26
What happens when one of America's largest banks fails to properly monitor trillions of dollars in financial transactions?
Apparently, it gets hit with a $1.2 BILLION penalty!
But here's the bigger question: Is that enough to change the behavior of a banking giant, or is it simply the cost of doing business?
On today's TraderMerlin, we're digging into the latest enforcement action against Bank of America (BAC), involving years of serious failures in its anti-money-laundering compliance program.
According to federal regulators, Bank of America failed to properly monitor enormous volumes of financial...
Memory Stock Crash? – 10/13/26
What happens when one announcement from China sends some of the world's biggest semiconductor stocks tumbling?
That's exactly what we're seeing as ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), a Chinese memory-chip manufacturer, claims significant progress on a new technology that could challenge the dominance of Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix.
And Wall Street isn't taking the news lightly!
Shares of major memory manufacturers have been hammered, with South Korea's SK Hynix plunging more than 10% and Samsung dropping more than 7% in Tuesday's trading. U.S. memory stocks, including Micron, have also come under significant selling pressure.<...
Trading Week Wrap Up – 10/09/26
Another trading week is in the books, and the markets are giving us plenty to think about!
Oil prices are creating uncertainty. Commodities are making some interesting moves. Treasury yields continue to influence investor sentiment. Cryptocurrencies are navigating an evolving financial landscape, and equities are trying to figure out whether the next big move is higher—or whether a pullback is overdue.
On today's TraderMerlin, we're wrapping up the biggest market stories of the week and, more importantly, looking at how they're all connected.
Because while these markets may seem completely different, they're of...
Are We In An AI Bubble?! – 10/08/26
Artificial intelligence is changing the world. But does that mean AI stocks are worth any price?
A viewer recently sent me a great question: Are we in an AI bubble, and how does today's market compare to the dot-com bubble of 2000?
It's a question worth asking, especially with billions of dollars pouring into AI infrastructure, data centers, semiconductors and the companies promising to revolutionize everything from healthcare to financial markets.
On today's TraderMerlin, we're going to put the hype aside, dig into the numbers and try to answer this question as objectively as...
Is Now the Time To Buy Nike? — Bargain or Value Trap? – 10/07/26
Nike was once trading above $150. Today, it's around $34.
So here's the obvious question:
Has one of the world's most recognizable brands finally become a bargain—or is there a reason the stock has fallen this far?
On today's TraderMerlin, we're putting the charts aside for a moment and digging into Nike from a fundamental perspective.
Revenue. Earnings. Margins. Cash flow. Debt. Return on invested capital. Valuation. Growth.
We're going to tear apart the numbers and try to answer one simple question:
At what price does Nike become a...
Breaking Down Harvard's Stock Portfolio — The Good, the Bad & the Ugly! – 10/05/26
Harvard has a $50+ billion endowment—but where is some of that money actually invested?
Today on TraderMerlin, we're cracking open the latest 13F filing from Harvard Management Company and taking a look inside Harvard's publicly disclosed stock portfolio.
And I have to say...
This portfolio probably isn't what most people would expect.
Harvard's latest filing reports approximately $4.26 BILLION across just 19 positions, and rather than finding an ultra-conservative portfolio dominated by boring dividend stocks, utilities and defensive investments, we find significant exposure to technology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, gold and even Bi...
Trading Q&A with TraderMerlin – 10/05/26
he mailbag is full, so today YOU get to set the agenda!
On today's TraderMerlin, we're stepping away from the usual headline-driven show and diving into your questions about trading, technical analysis, risk management, cryptocurrency and market strategy.
No single theme. No predetermined market narrative.
Just your questions—and hopefully some useful answers!
One of today's topics is NEAR Protocol, a digital-asset project that's undergone a significant evolution. NEAR isn't positioning itself as simply another Layer-1 blockchain anymore. Its focus increasingly revolves around AI agents, chain abstraction and cross-chain execution, attempting to...
Trading Week Wrap Up! – 10/02/26
Another trading week is in the books—and September just gave us a lot to digest.
The labor market is slowing. Inflation pressures haven't disappeared. Manufacturing is still expanding. Treasury yields remain above 5%. And after the Federal Reserve's September rate hike, traders are already trying to figure out whether another one is coming.
On today's TraderMerlin, we're putting all the pieces together in another Trading Week Wrap Up!
I'll break down the biggest market headlines of the week, unveil my latest Fed Scorecard, run through the major economic data we received for September an...
Digital Asset Outlook with Matt Hougan – 10/1/26
Crypto is changing—and the next phase may look very different from the one that got us here.
Today on TraderMerlin, I'm joined by Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise Asset Management, for a deep dive into the current state of cryptocurrency and digital assets—and where this rapidly evolving market may be headed next.
Matt brings a particularly interesting perspective to this conversation.
Before becoming CIO of Bitwise, he was CEO of ETF.com and has spent years working at the intersection of ETFs, institutional investing and digital assets. Today, Bitwise mana...
Nvidia Massive Share Buyback! - 09/28/26
How confident is Nvidia in Nvidia? Apparently...$150 BILLION confident.
Nvidia just announced a massive $150 billion increase to its share-repurchase authorization, bringing its remaining buyback authorization to roughly $235 billion.
That makes this one of the biggest share-buyback stories we've ever seen.
But before you automatically assume that's bullish, there's a much more interesting question:
Why does a company at the center of the AI boom believe buying its own stock is one of the best uses of its enormous cash flow?
On today's TraderMerlin, we're digging into Nvidia's announcement and...
Trading Week Wrap Up! - 09/25/26
Another week in the books—and there was definitely no shortage of market-moving headlines.
Interest rates are moving higher. Treasury yields are hitting levels we haven't seen in years. Economic data continues to challenge the idea that the economy is slowing dramatically. Tesla has fresh news out of Europe. And after all the anticipation surrounding the Trump-Xi meeting, the United States and China have bought themselves a little more time with another extension of their trade truce.
So what actually matters to traders?
On today's TraderMerlin, we're cutting through the noise and breaking do...
Market Top Like 2022? - 09/24/26
We've seen this movie before...or have we?
A viewer recently sent me an interesting comparison between the 2022 stock-market top and what we're seeing in the market today.
At first glance, there are some similarities that are difficult to ignore.
Stocks have enjoyed a powerful run. Valuations are elevated. Inflation is creating problems again. Treasury yields are surging. And perhaps most importantly, the Federal Reserve has started raising interest rates again.
Sound familiar?
On today's TraderMerlin, we're pulling up the charts and putting 2022 vs. 2026 side by side.
...
Bond Trouble! - 09/23/26
The bond market is flashing another warning—and stocks are starting to pay attention.
Treasury yields surged again today, with the 10-year yield climbing above 5.1% to its highest level since 2007, while shorter-term yields also pushed higher as traders increased their expectations for additional Federal Reserve rate hikes.
On today's TraderMerlin, we're digging into the bond selloff and asking a critical question:
How high can yields go before something in the broader market starts to break?
Just one week after the Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time in more than th...
United State of Greenland?! - 09/21/26
Greenland isn't becoming the 51st state—but something very significant just changed in the Arctic.
President Trump announced a new agreement between the United States, Denmark and Greenland that would dramatically expand America's long-term security role on the world's largest island.
Trump says the agreement gives the United States "permanent control" over Greenland's security, while Denmark and Greenland maintain that Greenland remains sovereign and the agreement strengthens NATO's broader role in defending the Arctic.
So what exactly did the United States get?
And perhaps more importantly for investors...
Trading Week Wrap Up! - 09/18/26
What a week.
The Federal Reserve is hiking rates again, inflation remains stubborn, Washington is rewriting the rules for digital assets, Bitcoin is moving, and the Magnificent Seven are starting to tell very different technical stories.
On today's TraderMerlin, we're wrapping up one of the more consequential trading weeks we've seen recently and connecting the dots between monetary policy, inflation, technology, crypto and the trades I'm personally watching.
The biggest story was clearly the Federal Reserve.
The Fed raised rates 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00%, marking its first rate hike in more than th...
Digital Asset Debrief - 09/17/26
The digital-asset world is moving fast—and this week gave us plenty to talk about.
The CLARITY Act may have stalled in Congress, but regulators aren't exactly sitting around waiting.
On today's TraderMerlin, we're doing a full Digital Asset Debrief, breaking down several major developments that could reshape cryptocurrency, tokenization, stablecoins and the broader financial system.
Perhaps the biggest development comes from the SEC, which just introduced an Innovation Exemption designed to allow experimentation with onchain trading of tokenized U.S. stocks.
Think about that for a moment.
We're no...
Rate Hikes Begin with Bill Addiss! - 09/16/26
The Fed is hiking again.
For the first time in more than three years, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates today, pushing the Fed Funds target range up 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00%.
But the bigger story isn't today's quarter-point move.
It's what comes NEXT.
On today's TraderMerlin, I'm joined by longtime bond trader Bill Addiss to break down today's Fed decision and what it means for the bond market, stocks, mortgages, the dollar—and your portfolio.
Bill has spent decades trading fixed-income markets, so we're going beyond the headlines and look...
The Clarity Act - 09/15/26
After more than a year of negotiations, hundreds of pages of legislation and enormous pressure from the crypto industry...
The CLARITY Act just hit a wall in Washington.
Today, the U.S. Senate failed to advance the landmark digital-asset market structure bill, falling short of the 60 votes needed to move forward.
And with Congress preparing to leave Washington ahead of the November midterm elections, the legislation could now be stalled for quite some time.
On today's TraderMerlin, we're breaking down what happened—and more importantly, what it means for crypto markets go...
AI: Taming The Monster - 09/14/26
Artificial Intelligence promises to transform medicine, productivity, education, science and nearly every industry on the planet.
There's just one small problem...
Some of the people building the most powerful AI systems in the world are starting to worry about what they're creating.
On today's TraderMerlin, we're looking at an extraordinary development in the AI race.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk—three major competitors who rarely agree on much—are suddenly finding common ground:
AI may be advancing too quickly.
Amodei recently call...
Operation "Treasury Twist" — Can Washington Stop Yields From Rising? - 09/09/26
The bond market is sending Washington a message—and the Treasury is fighting back.
Long-term Treasury yields have been climbing sharply, pushing borrowing costs higher and putting pressure on everything from mortgages and corporate debt to stock-market valuations.
Now the U.S. Treasury is stepping in.
On today's TraderMerlin, we'll look at what I'm calling Operation "Treasury Twist"—the Treasury's decision to dramatically increase its purchases of longer-dated government bonds in an effort to improve liquidity and take some pressure off the long end of the yield curve.
The Treasury just anno...
Oil Surge! — Is $100 Crude Coming? - 09/08/26
Oil is surging again—and geopolitical risk is back in the driver's seat.
Over the weekend, U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers after Iran launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships. Now tensions are escalating around the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important energy chokepoints in the world.
On today's TraderMerlin, we'll look at what this means for crude oil, inflation, interest rates—and ultimately your portfolio.
Brent crude is now approaching $100 per barrel, while WTI has pushed above $93, as traders add another geop...
US Jobs! - 09/04/26
The latest U.S. jobs numbers are out—and apparently the labor market didn't get the memo that it was supposed to be slowing down!
The U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in August, well above expectations, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%. Even better, June and July payrolls were revised higher by a combined 55,000 jobs.
So...good news, right?
Well, this is Wall Street, where good economic news can quickly become bad news for the markets. 📈📉
A stronger labor market gives the Federal Reserve more flexibility to remain aggressive on inflatio...
Robo Taxi! - 09/03/26
No steering wheel. No pedals. No driver.
Welcome to Tesla's vision of the future! 🚕🤖
On today's episode of TraderMerlin, we're heading to Austin, Texas, where Tesla is generating a massive wave of publicity around its Robotaxi network and purpose-built Cybercab.
Tesla has already been operating autonomous Model Y Robotaxis in several cities, but today's Austin event puts the spotlight on something much bigger: the Cybercab, Tesla's two-seat autonomous vehicle designed specifically for the Robotaxi business.
And Wall Street is paying attention.
Tesla shares surged ahead of today's event as invest...
The Beige Book! - 09/02/26
The Federal Reserve just released one of the most overlooked—and potentially revealing—reports on the U.S. economy.
It's called the Beige Book.
No, it's probably not going to make anyone's bestseller list. 📖
But if you're trying to figure out what the Fed might do next with interest rates, it's definitely worth paying attention to.
On today's episode of TraderMerlin, we're digging into the latest Beige Book and looking for clues about what Fed officials will be considering when they meet again on September 15–16.
Unlike CPI, GDP or the unemp...
$100 Oil Ahead? - 09/01/26
Crude oil is surging again...
And suddenly $100 oil doesn't seem so far away.
Renewed fighting between the United States and Iran has sent another shock through the energy markets. U.S. forces launched fresh strikes against Iranian targets, two oil tankers were reportedly attacked while leaving the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns are once again growing about the security of one of the world's most important energy chokepoints.
The result?
Brent crude jumped 4.6% to $94.65 per barrel, while WTI surged 5.2% to $90.22.
So on today's TraderMerlin show, we're asking the obvious...
Wrapping Up August! - 08/31/26
August is officially in the books!
And after another month of AI enthusiasm, strong corporate earnings, stubborn inflation, rising oil prices, geopolitical uncertainty, Fed drama and some major market breakouts, it's time to step back from the daily noise and see where the money actually went.
On today's episode of TraderMerlin, we're pulling up the charts and reviewing the performance of our Top 8 Market Segments for August.
Because sometimes the best way to understand what's happening in the financial markets isn't another headline...
It's simply looking at which assets are actually...
Trading Week Wrap Up! - 08/28/26
Another trading week is in the books...
And today, we may have gotten our clearest look yet at how Kevin Warsh intends to run the Federal Reserve.
In his first Jackson Hole keynote as Fed Chairman, Warsh delivered a message Wall Street had been waiting for—giving investors important insight into how he views inflation, interest rates, employment, artificial intelligence and the future direction of monetary policy.
And there was one message that came through loud and clear:
The fight against inflation isn't over.
Warsh reiterated that the Federal Re...
The Bulls Remain! - 08/27/26
Just when the bears thought they had an opening...
The bulls came roaring back! 🐂
After weeks of questions about stretched valuations, AI spending, inflation, interest rates and whether technology stocks were finally running out of steam, today's market delivered a pretty convincing response:
Not yet!
In today's episode, we'll break down the latest round of corporate earnings and the technical breakouts pushing the markets higher.
Leading the charge was Nvidia, which surged nearly 9% following another monster earnings report and an extremely bullish outlook for AI demand. But Nvidia wasn't alo...
Nvidia: Still the King! - 08/26/26
If there were any doubts about who's wearing the crown in the AI revolution...
Nvidia just delivered another monster quarter.
In today's episode, we're breaking down the latest earnings from Nvidia—and these aren't numbers that matter only to NVDA shareholders.
Nvidia reported $96.2 BILLION in quarterly revenue, up an incredible 106% from a year ago. Even more impressive, its Data Center business generated $89 billion, up 117% year over year.
Think about that for a moment.
Nvidia isn't just growing.
A company of this size just more than DOUBLED its re...
Is The Consumer Cracking? - 08/25/26
Walmart beat earnings expectations.
Walmart beat revenue expectations.
Walmart raised its full-year outlook.
And then the stock got CRUSHED!
So what happened?
In today's episode, we're diving into a great viewer question about Walmart and whether the recent selloff was justified. But to really answer that question, we need to look beyond Walmart's earnings report and ask a much bigger question:
Is the American consumer finally starting to crack?
Walmart's latest quarter gave Wall Street plenty to think about. U.S. comparable sales grew just 2.6...
Return of the Trade Tariffs - 08/24/26
Just when Wall Street thought the trade war was fading into the rearview mirror...
TARIFFS ARE BACK!
The latest escalation between the United States and Canada has suddenly injected another major dose of uncertainty into the financial markets. After trade negotiations broke down, the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods, while Canada announced plans for dollar-for-dollar retaliation beginning September 8.
And now the stakes may be getting even higher.
President Trump has threatened 50% tariffs on Canadian-made cars, trucks and auto parts beginning January 1, 2027 if the dispute isn't resolved...
Trading Week Wrap Up! - 08/21/26
What a week!
Crypto surged. Bond yields jumped. Technology stocks got hit. Economic data kept traders guessing. And now Wall Street is preparing for one of the biggest earnings reports of the quarter.
In today's Trading Week Wrap Up!, we'll connect the dots between the biggest market-moving stories of the week and, more importantly, discuss what they could mean as we head into a potentially HUGE week for the markets.
Let's start with crypto.
Bitcoin is on pace for its best week in more than two years, surging more than 20% as...
The SEC Crypto Playbook - 08/20/26
The SEC Crypto Playbook - 08/20/26
After a brutal stretch for cryptocurrencies, Washington may finally be giving the digital asset market something it has been asking for for years...
CLARITY.
The SEC just unveiled a major new proposal called "Regulation Crypto Assets," designed to create clearer rules for how crypto projects can raise capital, issue tokens, and potentially transition away from being treated as securities.
At almost the exact same time, President Trump brought crypto executives and financial regulators to the White House for his latest Crypto Summit, calling on Congress to...
The Bond Buyback - 08/19/26
The U.S. Treasury just made a major move in the bond market—and Wall Street immediately took notice.
Today, the Treasury announced it will at least double the size of its buybacks of longer-term Treasury securities, increasing the maximum purchase amount for certain 10-to-30-year maturities from $2 billion to $4 billion per operation, beginning September 9.
Almost immediately, bond prices jumped and yields dropped, with the 30-year Treasury yield retreating sharply after recently reaching its highest level since 2007.
So what exactly is going on?
And more importantly...
Why is the U...
The Tokenization of Wall Street - 08/18/26
For years, we've been told that blockchain technology would eventually transform Wall Street.
Well...
"Eventually" is starting to look a lot like RIGHT NOW.
In today's episode, we're diving into one of the biggest developments yet in the convergence of traditional finance and digital assets: the DTCC's move to tokenize traditional securities.
And this isn't some crypto startup experimenting with a proof of concept.
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) sits at the heart of the U.S. financial system, and its subsidiary DTC currently custodies more than $114 TRILLION...
Trading Q&A With TraderMerlin! - 08/17/26
Your questions. Your markets. Your show.
Today we're throwing out the script and opening up the discussion to YOU!
Have a stock you're thinking about buying? A trade that's gone against you? Questions about Bitcoin, options, futures, technical analysis, the Federal Reserve, AI, interest rates—or anything else happening in the financial markets?
Bring it!
Join me LIVE at 2:00 PM Pacific for an open Trading Q&A with Trader Merlin, where we'll dig into your questions, pull up the charts, analyze the markets, and talk through the opportunities and risks we're se...
Best Way to Trade Ethereum? - 08/13/26
Ethereum is one of the largest digital assets in the world—but if you believe in its long-term potential, what's actually the best way to trade or invest in it?
That's a great viewer question, and the answer isn't nearly as simple as just saying, "Buy ETH."
In today's episode, we'll start with the basics: What exactly is Ethereum, what does Ether (ETH) do, and why does the network have value?
Ethereum isn't simply a cryptocurrency. It's a programmable blockchain designed to run smart contracts and decentralized applications, creating infrastructure for everything from st...
Auto Industry Warnings - 08/12/26
Is there a crisis quietly building in the U.S. auto industry?
Car prices surged. Monthly payments exploded. Consumers took on larger loans at higher interest rates—and now we're starting to see signs of stress.
In today's episode, we're diving into a great viewer question about the health of the U.S. auto market and, more specifically, the growing concern surrounding auto loan delinquencies and defaults.
The numbers deserve attention. U.S. auto loan balances have climbed to roughly $1.7 trillion, while serious delinquencies remain elevated. At the same time, consumers originated a re...
