Hi There! I used to count down the minutes to 5 PM, until one sentence changed everything.

I was great at my job, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. Like many of you, I started wondering if I was meant for something more.

It took me a while to realize that my nine-to-five wasn’t my enemy. It was my investor.

I didn’t see it that way at first, though.

Early in my career, I landed an engineering job with a small firm. They threw me straight into modeling work for major wastewater projects. I learnt fast and delivered, but I can’t say I loved it. The numbers made sense, but the work didn’t feed my soul. One day, I told my mom that I missed teaching. Back home in Grenada, teaching always felt natural to me. She smiled and said, “You don’t have to be in front of a classroom to teach.”

Her statement shifted everything.

From then on, I looked at my job differently. My salary was seed money. It gave me access to opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise. My job paid for courses, certifications, and investment classes that later changed my life. It gave me structure, and it taught me discipline. I learnt how to lead people, manage projects, and communicate with clients. Those skills became the foundation for the work I do today.

Maybe you’re in a similar place right now where you are clocking in, doing the work, feeling stuck between gratitude and restlessness. I get it. However, before start plotting your grand escape, take a deep breath and reframe what your nine-to-five could do for you.

Your job can give you three priceless things:

1. Capital — steady income that covers your bills, lets you invest, learn, and build your emergency cushion.

2. Competence — every skill you sharpen now becomes leverage later.

3. Connections — the colleagues and clients you have now could become collaborators in your next chapter.

Most people use their paycheck to stay comfortable, but comfort won’t create the future you dream of. Growth will.

Your nine-to-five isn’t holding you back; it’s giving you the means to move forward. It’s the bridge between where you are and where you want to be. It’s the reason you can afford to take a calculated risk later without falling flat.

If your current job no longer aligns with your goals, that’s okay. Just make sure you leave with a plan, not frustration. Every step you take right now, like saving a little more, learning a new skill, starting that small side project, builds your bridge to freedom.

This week, take a moment to look at your job through a new lens. What resources, relationships, or skills could you use more intentionally to move closer to your goals?

You don’t stumble into freedom. You build it one smart decision at a time!

Alright, let’s dig in!

Last week, the capital markets packed a month’s worth of catalysts into one week. Trade talks, global central bank decisions, and Magnificent Seven earnings kept investors very busy. U.S. stocks held weekly and monthly gains through last Friday’s Halloween session. Treasury volatility returned after the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. Commodities slipped and the dollar held firmed. International markets navigated busy local headlines and mostly finished last week mixed to modestly higher.

The Halloween effect showed up last Friday with all three major indexes closing green. Amazon stole the spotlight after Q3 results beat expectations and Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenue jumped 20%.

U.S. Markets Recap (October 26 - November 1, 2025)

Equities:

Major averages finished higher last week and notched another monthly gain, extending the S&P 500’s streak to six straight months, the longest since 2021. Markets absorbed a brief slide and choppy breadth after the Fed delivered a hawkish leaning rate cut and announced the end of quantitative tightening (QT). The December rate cut expections fell to about 63% after Chair Powell downplayed the odds of another move.

Big tech was a tale of contrasts. Alphabet (GOOG/L) flagged strong cloud trends and a confident outlook. Microsoft (MSFT) results were poorly received. Meta (META) drew scrutiny over AI infrastructure spending and fell 11% last Thursday. The U.S. China trade truce rolled back tariff rates and export controls, but that was overshadowed midweek by mixed mega cap reactions. Last Friday’s pop followed after Amazon (AMZN) posted its fastest cloud growth in three years and Apple (AAPL) guided favourably for the holidays with better than expected revenue. NVIDIA (NVDA) announced a plan to expand AI infrastructure globally with new chip supply into South Korea. Qualcomm (QCOM) revealed an entry into data center chips earlier in the week.

Fixed Income:

Core bonds, measured by the Bloomberg Aggregate, traded lower as yields rose across the curve. The two-year yield added 10 basis points and the ten-year gained nine. Yields jumped after Chair Powell tempered hopes for a third consecutive cut. The Fed will stop unwinding Treasury holdings on December 1 and continue mortgage backed securities runoff near $35B per month while reinvesting MBS proceeds into Treasury bills. Money market stresses have been visible with the Standing Repo Facility tapped for roughly $2B-$20B per day in 10 of the last 13 sessions. Ending QT aims to avoid prior market distortions while keeping liquidity additions off the table for now.

Commodities:

The broad complex edged lower. WTI crude slipped as supply concerns and the U.S. China truce weighed on prices, partly offset by a larger than expected U.S. crude draw and production declines. Headlines around potential Venezuela strikes that proved false also stirred intraday swings. Gold posted a second straight weekly loss and broke below $4,000 per ounce as easing trade tensions and lower odds of an aggressive Fed cutting path pressured bullion, though it remained positive for the month.

Currencies:

The dollar strengthened with the U.S. Dollar Index moving back toward 100 as investors responded to a hawkish tone from the Fed and a dovish hold from the BoJ. One year options premia showed rising demand for dollar upside protection.

• EUR/USD: -0.77%

• GBP/USD: -1.19%

• USD/JPY: +0.75%

Traders favoured the dollar ahead of the Fed meeting, betting that rate cuts may come slower than anticipated if the economy holds steady.

U.S. Economic Recap (October 26 - November 1, 2025)

Fed flying with limited visibility. The FOMC cut the target range to 3.75 to 4.00% as the labour market becomes a growing concern. The Committee will halt aggregate securities runoff on December 1. With some official data unavailable due to the shutdown, policymakers are leaning more on private sources for inflation and jobs signals. The Committee dissented on pace, echoing September 2019 dynamics. Our read on the news suggests downside labour risks keep December cuts in play into next year even as Powell’s tone leaned cautious.

Consumer confidence softened. The Conference Board index slipped to 94.6 in October from 95.6. Expectations fell to 71.5 while current conditions improved slightly. More respondents saw jobs as hard to get, and big ticket purchase plans stayed subdued.

Corporate pricing and hiring. NABE surveys showed over half of firms faced higher input costs, yet 65% held selling prices steady, pointing to margin pressure. Hiring showed a first net gain since 2024 with most firms expecting no near term change.

AI as a 2025 growth driver. Economists estimate AI related investment accounted for more than half of first half GDP growth near 1.6%. Meta, Microsoft, and Google spent $78B on Q3 capital projects. Data center construction is running near $41B annually and supporting GDP even as private construction slows. Power constraints and trade protection costs are noted risks to the pace into 2026.

Global Markets Recap (October 26 - November 1, 2025)

Europe

European equities slipped but stayed modestly positive for the month. The ECB held rates. President Lagarde flagged inflation above target and core consumer inflation held at 2.4% in October. Growth cooled on last Thursday’s prints. Earnings leaned constructive with Porsche in line after prior warnings, Mercedes confirming outlook with buybacks, and Deutsche Bank posting strong revenue.

France’s government confronted a political and fiscal standoff after the National Assembly rejected wealth tax proposals on ultra high net worth households. The government will seek a compromise on spending priorities and revenue behind closed doors to avoid cuts to pensions and welfare.

Asia

Regional markets ended mixed for last week and the month. South Korea led after a U.S. Korea trade framework and a late week NVDA related AI boost. The U.S. China trade truce was the marquee headline yet China related indices faded on a sell the news tone. Japan gained with TOPIX higher and the Nikkei up 6.3% as investors digested confirmation of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and a BoJ hold that signaled ongoing policy support.

BoJ: The BoJ kept the policy rate at 0.5% while Governor Ueda hinted a possible hike as early as December. Two members dissented in favour of 0.75%. Tokyo core CPI accelerated to 2.8%. Wage dynamics remain central as Rengo seeks at least 5% increases again next year. The BOJ upgraded FY2025 GDP to 0.7%.

China: Industrial profits rose 21.6% year over year in September after 20.4% in August, the strongest in nearly two years, while the official manufacturing PMI fell to 49 for a fifth straight month of contraction and the weakest in six months. Policymakers outlined a longer term pivot to raise the consumption share of GDP while maintaining manufacturing and tech priorities in the next five year plan.

Crypto Recap (October 26 - November 1, 2025)

The crypto market’s early week rebound faded by the end of last week as risk appetite cooled across digital assets. The total crypto market cap settled near $3.66T, while the Crypto Fear and Greed Index slipped to 33 (Fear), signaling caution. Bitcoin dominance held around 59.84%, underscoring its continued market share even as broader tokens weakened.

Bitcoin (BTC) ended the week down 1.26%, with U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs seeing $799M in outflows. After briefly topping $115,960 on October 27, prices dropped to roughly $106,950 by October 30 as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s rate cut and hawkish guidance. October closed with a -3.69% monthly loss, marking Bitcoin’s first red October since 2018.

Ethereum (ETH) also drifted lower, posting a 1.74% weekly decline. While spot ETH ETFs recorded $16.1M in inflows, Ethereum still closed October down 7.02%. The token traded near $3,882, after peaking at $4,251 on October 27 and bottoming at $3,681 on October 30 amid broad risk-off momentum following the Fed’s announcement.

Last Week’s Top Gainers: DASH, ZEC, VIRTUAL, TRUMP, TAO

Here are other key highlights from last week:

• IBM’s ‘Digital Asset Haven’ aims to turn crypto into corporate infrastructure.

• Western Union filed WUUSD Trademark Days after Stablecoin reveal.

• Binance Wallet partnered with Bubblemaps to help fight insider crypto trading.

• Immutable unveiled an audience creator program to reward participants.

• Africa’s largest payments company joined forces with Polygon Labs.

This week is packed with high-impact events!!!

Key U.S. Economic Releases this week:

(Subject to delay due to government shutdown)

• Mon: ISM Manufacturing PMI

• Tue: JOLTS Job Openings  

• Wed: ADP Nonfarm Payrolls, ISM Services PMI

• Thurs: Weekly Unemployment Claims

• Fri: Nonfarm Payrolls, Unemployment Rate, Consumer Sentiment, Core PCE Price Index

Fed Speakers:

• Mon: Daly, Cook

• Tues: Bowman

• Thurs: Barr, Williams, Hammack, Waller, Paulson, Musalem

• Fri: Williams, Vice Chair Jefferson, Miran 

Earnings: 

Notable Earnings Releases are outlined in red in the cart below.

Medium-to-High Impact Global Economic Events This Week:

Week 10/26/25 - 11/01/25 Recap

Special Tools & Strategies - The 10 AM Rule

From my experience trading and investing over the years, I realized that simple techniques reap big rewards. One of those techniques is called the “10 am rule.” It does not promise miracles, but it gives you a practical anchor when the market opens, helping you stay grounded rather than chasing every ping of volatility.

What the 10 am rule is

The 10 am rule is the idea that by around 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (the market opens at 9:30 a.m. ET) you can often see how the day is going to go. The first half hour tends to be wild because of overnight news, big orders, opening gaps and early reactions. By 10 a.m. the air has cleared somewhat, volume is settling, and price movement tends to reveal a pattern for the rest of the day.

How it helps spot trends and interpret price action

Imagine you walk into a library at opening hour. The first minutes everyone is rushing for the new books, asking questions, adjusting then after a bit things settle. In the stock market the first 30 minutes are like that: big swings, loud reactions, unclear direction. If you wait until 10 a.m. you’re listening after the rush. If by then the price of a stock is up hard on heavy volume you might interpret that as a real trend forming rather than a reflex reaction. Simple:

• If a stock shows strong upward or downward movement by 10 a.m. that may suggest continuation for the day.

• On the other hand, if you see the price hesitating by 10 a.m. that might mean the early move was a trap and the day could go sideways or reverse.

Which indicators or techniques work well with it and how to use it

Here are the tools I recommend pairing with the 10 a.m. rule:

• Volume: Check whether the move by 10 a.m. carries higher-than-usual volume. A trend without volume is weak.

• Support and resistance levels: See if by 10 a.m. price is breaking out of a recent range or bouncing off a key level. A breakout or bounce can signal the direction.

• Momentum indicators: For example RSI or MACD can show whether the price move has strength or is exhausting. If by 10 a.m. momentum is fading but price is still moving up, it might warn of a reversal.

• Trend confirmation: After 10 a.m. if the price continues in the same direction (say up) while volume stays elevated and momentum remains positive you can lean toward an entry. If price stalls or reverses you may decide to wait or take profit.

How to enter

Let’s say you watch a stock open, and by 10 a.m. it has broken above yesterday’s high, volume is strong, momentum is positive. At that point you could enter a long position, with a stop just under the breakout level or under the low of the first hour.

If instead by 10 a.m. the stock is up but volume is low and momentum is fading you might skip the entry.

How to take profits

You can use the 10 a.m. rule to decide when to exit, because i gives a clearer picture of trend strength. If you are long and by 10:30 or 11 a.m. momentum and volume begin to drop even though price is still going up you might tighten your stop or take partial profits. If the trend remains strong you might hold with a trailing stop beneath recent swing lows.

Limitations and risks

• The 10 a.m. rule is not a guarantee. Some days open slow, some days reverse late. Market conditions change. The rule gives probability not certainty.

• If you wait until 10 a.m. you might miss a big early move, and that is a cost of waiting.

• It works better for active traders looking at intraday moves rather than for long-term buy-and-hold investors.

• You still must apply sound risk management. Use stops, size your position properly, avoid over-leveraging.

Disclaimer: This newsletter is strictly educational. The information this report provides does not constitute investment, financial, trading, or any other advice. You should not treat any of the report’s content as such. Please be careful and do your research.