Note: According to Jeff Brown and Porter Stansberry, President Trump just quietly declared the biggest national emergency since World War II.

Behind the scenes in Washington, the administration is racing to control a destructive economic force that could impoverish millions of Americans… while creating extraordinary wealth for a handful of others.

Jeff and Porter want you to be one of the few. To learn their plan to profit, be sure to sign up for their upcoming event on June 11. You can add your name to the RSVP list right here.

Markets right now are confusing.

The major indexes experienced massive falls followed by a rapid recovery. Over my 40-year career, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an extreme move. Typically, when markets tank, it can take months or even years to recover.

But the major indexes are pushing back toward all-time highs. So traders face a dilemma…

A slowing economy and tariff uncertainty should put a cap on the market moving much higher.

Yet the big institutional players don’t seem to have much appetite to short the market.

When the market’s stuck in a “no-man’s land” like this, it can be difficult to know what to do next…

Watch Volatility

Some traders think they’ve always got to be in the market. After all, you can’t make money sitting on the sidelines.

But trading is different from so many other professions. Sometimes the best action is to take no action at all.

Everyone has a finite amount of capital. You can’t afford to fritter it away on low-probability trades. Unless you find a strong setup, you should be happy to pass on a trade.

Yet even with a promising setup, another reason to pass on a trade is volatility…

For example, when you buy an option, you want to buy when volatility is low but rising. Rising volatility causes option premiums to rise. That gives a tailwind to your option position.

But if volatility is sky-high already, it may be wise to let that trade go. Even if you get the trade direction right, falling volatility can erode the value of your option and lead to a loss.

And there are other times when it’s best to sit tight…

Tune in to Trading With Larry Live

chart

Each week, Market Wizard Larry Benedict goes live to share his thoughts on what’s impacting the markets. Whether you’re a novice or expert trader, you won’t want to miss Larry’s insights and analysis. Even better, it’s free to watch.

Simply visit tradingwithlarry.com at 8:30 a.m. ET, Monday through Thursday, to catch the latest.

Follow us on YouTube to catch any episodes you missed.

When Things Don’t Make Sense

As a trader, I spend my day putting together clues on what the market is going to do next.

That means following key economic releases (like inflation and job numbers), bond prices, commodities, currencies, and company earnings. Plus, we have to anticipate interest rate moves from the Federal Reserve.

All these things have the potential to move the market. Yet the weight these various factors carry over the market is always changing.

Take inflation… As it continued to ramp higher post-COVID, people feared that it would force the Fed to keep raising rates, putting pressure on stocks.

Yet now, tariff uncertainty means people are closely looking for any rise in unemployment to gauge if the economy is slowing down. (That could cause stocks to fall.)

And this is where discipline becomes key…

If the market action doesn’t make any sense or the right trade setup isn’t there, then it’s best to just leave it alone.

As difficult as it may be, it’s better to patiently wait for the market to come to you.

You don’t always have to trade. And knowing when not to trade will have a big bearing on your success as a trader.

Regards,

Larry Benedict
Editor, Trading With Larry Benedict

P.S. I hope you’re enjoying your Opportunistic Trader content, including our new podcast. That’s why we have a favor to ask…

If you haven’t already, would you please add [email protected] to your contacts list?

That will “whitelist” us with your email provider and help ensure these emails reach your inbox. If you’d like to learn more about whitelisting, you can check out our detailed instructions here.

Thanks for your help!

Free Trading Resources

Have you checked out Larry’s free trading resources on his website? It contains a full trading glossary to help kickstart your trading career – at zero cost to you. Just click here to check it out.