🇺🇸 Pentagon Spent $93B in End-of-Year Budget Rush

In September 2025 the Pentagon spent a record $93.4B trying to use up its budget before the fiscal year ended.

US agencies often follow a “use it or lose it” rule. If allocated funds are not spent by year end, next year’s budget may be reduced.

Some notable purchases during the spending surge:

➡️ ~$15.1M on ribeye steaks
➡️ ~$6.9M on lobster tails
➡️ ~$2M on Alaskan king crab
➡️ ~$1M on salmon
➡️ $139K for ~272K donut orders
➡️ $124K on refrigerators
➡️ $225.6M on furniture
➡️ $5.3M on Apple devices
➡️ $4M on Samsung equipment
➡️ $98K for a Steinway grand piano
➡️ $26K for a violin

September is often the biggest spending month for US government agencies as departments rush to exhaust remaining budgets.

✅ @trading

📉 Volkswagen to Cut 50,000 Jobs

Volkswagen plans to eliminate around 50,000 jobs, about 17% of its German workforce, as profits fall to their lowest level in a decade.

The company’s profit dropped 44% last year and pressure is coming from several directions.

📊 Chinese EV makers like BYD are taking market share in China

📊 U.S. tariffs on imported cars are costing VW nearly €3B per year

📊 Rising energy and labor costs in Germany are forcing factory shutdowns

Europe’s largest automaker is now restructuring to stabilize its finances.

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📉 Stocks May Have Topped for the 4-Year Cycle

There are signs the stock market could be approaching the top of its current 4-year cycle.

Early breakdown signals are appearing on the daily timeframe, though the weekly cycle has not confirmed a top yet, so it may still be early.

If a top forms here, the next cyclical bottom could come around October, likely resulting in a relatively mild cyclical bear phase.

Given strong AI investment and ongoing fiscal stimulus, such a pullback could simply act as a shakeout before a larger rally into 2027–2029.

✅ @trading

👾 Retired US General Linked to UFO Base Reported Missing

Days after Donald Trump ordered the release of classified UFO documents, a retired US Air Force general connected to long-standing UFO rumors has gone missing, according to CNN.

68-year-old Major General William Neil McCasland left his home on February 27 and has not been heard from since. Hundreds of volunteers joined search efforts but no trace has been found.

During his career he commanded the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson base, a location often linked to claims that debris from the Roswell UFO incident was stored there. The Pentagon has always denied those claims.

After retiring, McCasland worked with To The Stars Inc., a company co-founded by Blink-182 musician Tom DeLonge that researches unidentified aerial phenomena.

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Trump just signed a Cyber Strategy for America backed by a $15 billion Pentagon cyber budget

📊 Cloudflare: +25%
📊 CrowdStrike: +20%
📊 Palo Alto Networks: +12%
📊 SentinelOne: +9%
📊 Fortinet: +6%

🛍S&P 500: -2%
🛍Dow: -4%

Every major cybersecurity stock is green since the Iran war started

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🧠 Confidence in Trading Comes After the Work

Most traders think confidence must come first. They believe once they feel calm and certain, their execution will improve.

In reality the order is reversed.

Confidence appears after you execute your system correctly many times. It is the result of disciplined behavior.

🕯 Outcome vs Behavior

Many beginners tie confidence to results. A few wins and they feel skilled. A small losing streak and doubt appears.

The problem is simple: outcomes are not under your control. Behavior is.

Real consistency is emotional consistency. Your actions stay stable regardless of the last trade. You take the next valid setup instead of reacting to the last result.

❓ Why Most Traders Never Build Confidence

Most traders interrupt the process too early. After a few losses they adjust the system, reduce size, or stop taking trades.

Because of this they never collect enough data to see what their strategy actually does over a real sample.

⭕️ The Confidence Loop

Confidence forms through repetition.

✅ define a clear setup
✅ risk a fixed, manageable amount
✅ execute the setup many times
✅ review execution, not P&L

Over time the focus changes. Instead of asking “will this trade win?”, the question becomes “did I execute correctly?”

That shift is what real confidence looks like.

✅ @trading