koolgal

🌟🌟🌟A Big Thank You @optionspuppyfor sharing your investing journey. I like your user name Options Puppy as it is personifies a friendly and really approachable person.

What is your advice to those who are new to Options trading on how to start. It can be a rather daunting task.

Does it take long to learn options trading?

What are the risks to look out for?

I totally agree with you that Patience especially when it comes to investing is a key ingredient to be successful.

May you continue to shine your light and share your wisdom with the Longbridge community.

The Great Rotation From Tech to Value Stocks Has Begun With Procter & Gamble Leading the Charge

$Procter & Gamble(PG.US)smashed its Q1 FY 2027 earnings this week, proving to be a phenomenal safe haven value winner.

P&G, the consumer staples titan reported its results on Thursday October 22 2026. Facing intense inflation headwinds, P&G flexed its legendary pricing power, pushing its stock up 5.6% to USD 165.59 in a single session, climbing right back up toward its 52 week highs.

I like P&G because it is a Dividend King, having increased its annual dividend payout for a record 68 consecutive years. That is an amazing record.

Sheng Siong - A Safe Harbour During Volatile Times

🌟🌟🌟$Sheng Siong(OV8.SG)is the epitome of defensive investing on the SGX because it has a recession proof model. Regardless of inflation or economic cooling , consumer demand for household groceries, fresh produce and pantry staples remains constant.

Sheng Siong benefits from a consumer trend known as "trading down" where middle class shoppers migrate from premium supermarkets like Cold Storage to budget friendly chains to save money.

Sheng Siong holds a massive gross profit margin of 31.8% during the first half of 2026. This is due to improvements in their internal product sales mix.

I like Sheng Siong as it has a strong solid balance sheet with zero debt and a massive net cash position of over SGD 400 million. This provides a defensive shield especially during high interest rates environments.

Best of all Sheng Siong rewards its shareholders with a dividend yield of 2.66%. Slow and steady wins the race.

Dear Fellow Investors, would you consider Sheng Siong in your portfolio?

Do You Think $Tesla(TSLA.US)Decision to Slash Its 2026 Capex is a Good Idea?

🌟🌟🌟Whether $Tesla(TSLA.US)decision to slash its 2026 Capex forecast by 20% from USD 25 billion to USD 20 billion is a good idea, depends entirely on what kind of company you believe Tesla is.

The Bull Case:

By spending USD 4.7 billion on Capex in Q3 instead of USD 7.5 billion expected, Tesla has delivered a big surprise. It generated USD 1.53 billion in free cash flow which would give Tesla massive firepower and flexibility before it merges with $SpaceX(SPCX.US) if the merger goes through.

The Bear Case:

Tesla's premium valuation rests almost entirely on the promise that it is an AI and robotics powerhouse, not just a car manufacturer.

By pulling back on spending suggests less of an all -in approach to the AI arms race just as rivals are accelerating.

Lower Capex also strongly hints that mass producing Optimus humanoid robots schedule has been delayed to late 2027.

Dear Fellow investors, do you think the trimming of the Capex by Tesla is a Bull or Bear Case?

Why XLE ETF is The Geopolitical Hedge With the Iran War

🌟🌟🌟With the escalating Iran war, the Strait of Hormuz is blocked. Brent Crude Oil is trading well over USD 100, hovering around USD 111.00 per barrel. The result? $SPDR Energy Select(XLE.US)has jumped into a 52 week high of USD 68.64.

For those who are new, XLE is an ETF that tracks the performance of the largest US energy companies listed in the S&P500.

The top 10 Holdings include $ExxonMobil(XOM.US)$Chevron(CVX.US)$ConocoPhillips(COP.US)$Marathon Petroleum(MPC.US)and makes up 78% of the fund.

XLE has a low expense ratio of 0.08% and pays a di vidend yield of 2.24%.

As a tactical play, XLE is a great defense mechanism for a portfolio with geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East.

Dear Fellow Investors, have you invested in XLE?

Is SpaceX & Tesla Merger a Match Made in Heaven?

Elon Musk has dropped a financial supernova. SpaceX has posted a jaw dropping 3rd quarter profit of USD 4.4 billion with revenue skyrocketing 161% to USD 14.6 billion. Driving this turnaround is SpaceX Super Intelligence AI Division which hauled in a massive USD 7.6 billion all on its own.

The real kicker? Elon Musk announced that special committees of independent directors are weighing a historic merger between $Tesla(TSLA.US)and $SpaceX(SPCX.US).

If this happens, it will be the largest corporate merger in human history, creating a USD 3.5 trillion to USD 5 Trillion tech powerhouse. But the real question remains: Is this beneficial for shareholders of both companies?

Why It Is A Masterstroke:

Merging the 2 companies means that Musk can focus on 1 unified ecosystem.

There will be Superintelligence synergy:

SpaceX isn't just about rockets anymore. Merging allows seamless integration between SpaceX's AI infrastructure, the Tesla Optimus robots, self driving software and their joint Terafab chip making initiative. It bridges the gap between digital AI and physical machines perfectly.

Why It Can Be A Minefield:

A National Security Nightmare:

SpaceX is a critical US Defense contractor. Tesla however relies deeply on manufacturing infrastructure and consumers in China. Merging the 2 companies together is bound to trigger a frenzy of national security reviews.

The Verdict:

As you digest the reality of a world where your electric car might be built by the same company launching Starships into orbit, keep the words of the legendary Peter Lynch in mind:

"Behind every stock is a company. Find out what it is doing".

Right now , SpaceX and Tesla are trying to build the physical infrastructure of the future. Just make sure you check the final merger details before you strap yourself into the rocket.

Dear Fellow Investors, What do you think of the odds that this mega merger will be successful?

Buckle Up: Elon Musk's Tesla Faces an Earnings Reality Check This Week

🌟🌟🌟Hold onto your steering wheels, because $Tesla(TSLA.US)is reporting its Q3 26 earnings after the bell this week.

The Forecast:

Wall Street consensus is braced for a slightly down quarter. Analysts expect EPS of USD 0.44 to USD 0.45 on around USD 27.8 billion to USD 27.9 billion in revenue. That represents a 10% to 12% dip in earnings YoY.

The Silver Lining:

Tesla managed to deliver 486,532 vehicles in Q3, beating muted analyst expectations even though it is slightly down from last year.

The Fear:

Wall Street is worried about Tesla's massive capital expenditure. It is projected to spend a huge USD 25 billion in 2026 on AI infrastructure and factory buildouts. This means free cash flow is feeling a big squeeze.

The Analyst Target Prices:

Wall Street is wildly divided on what Tesla is actually worth. Is Tesla a car company or a robotics and AI powerhouse?

The Consensus Average Target Price is USD 404.87, representing a modest 12% upside potential.

My Take:

If Elon Musk gives a masterclass on Superintelligence, Cybercabs and Robotics Economies, Tesla's share price may rocket to the moon. I was thrilled watching the Flying Tesla Roadster last week, doing mid air gymnastics and flying over a row of semi trucks. One thing for sure, there is never a dull moment with Elon Musk and $Tesla(TSLA.US).

Dear Fellow Investors, what do you think about the shiny new Tesla Roadster?

Why $VanEck Semiconductor ETF(SMH.US)Is Still A Buy?

🌟🌟🌟The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has just wrapped up its 8th straight losing session. To make matters worse, hedge funds have sold off AI stocks for 5 consecutive sessions. Headlines are screaming "AI bubble". But let's pause.

Is $VanEck Semiconductor ETF(SMH.US)still a buy?

Yes it is because this isn't a structural collapse of AI. It is a textbook inventory and valuation sanity check.

SMH has taken a 9.70% haircut over the past week, testing crucial technical floors around the USD 537 to USD 539 mark.

The Culprits: A nasty cocktail of debt financing drama at AI cloud companies like Coreweave, sticky inflation spiking capital costs and macro jitters.

The Smart Money Exit: Hedge funds are fleeing to lock in profits, considering SMH was still up 44.6% YTD.

Why Is SMH Still A Buy?

SMH's foundation still remains rock solid for the following reasons:

The Infrastructure Inertia:

Data centers do not stop construction midway because of a bad week on Nasdaq. Billions of Capex are already locked in. Power contracts are signed. GPUs are ordered.

The Monopoly Board:

SMH is concentrated in the crown jewels of tech: $NVIDIA(NVDA.US)$Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US)and $Broadcom(AVGO.US). They are the money printing moat heavy monopolies. If you believe the world needs more computation tomorrow than it does today, you buy the chipmakers.

Overdone Bubble Fears:

Analysts noted that this pullback is pricing in a catastrophic tech crash that is not actually supported by the high enterprise demand.

Concluding Thoughts

When Wall Street is panicking, the long term compounding machines go on sale. Keep you head cool while everyone else runs for the exit.

As Warren Buffett famously said:

"The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient".

Dear fellow investors, do you agree with the Oracle of Omaha?

Why Did the US Markets Fall On Friday Despite What Kevin Warsh Said At The IMF Meeting In Bangkok?

🌟🌟🌟The stock market has just pulled a classic "good news is bad news" routine, leaving investors holding bags of expensive tech stocks.

The market dropped because Warsh refused to confirm that a interest rate pause was coming at the October 27 to 28 FOMC meeting. Warsh also said that AI is hitting the demand side of the economy, before it is hitting the supply side. This means that the capex spending is happening before any real productivity gains.

Moreover the Producer Price Index or PPI has reached 6.3%, showing that wholesale inflation has reached that multi year high.

This is why I prefer to dollar cost average into $Schwab US Div Eq(SCHD.US). This is because SCHD's strict selection rules required its 100 holdings to have at least 10 consecutive years of dividend payments.

The top 10 Holdings include $Coca Cola(KO.US)$Unitedhealth(UNH.US)$Texas Instruments(TXN.US). These are companies that produce physical products, have excellent cash flow and trade at reasonable P/E ratio.

SCHD is up 23% year todate and pays a dividend yield of 3.2%.

With fear and growth stocks stumbling, investing in SCHD is one of the smartest ways to wait out the storm.

As the legendary Ray Dalio often reminds us:

"Inflation is a tax in holding cash, but hot inflation is a death sentence for overvalued growth".

Dear Fellow Investors, what is your strategy in tackling this volatile market?

Is $STI ETF(ES3.SG)A Buy?

🌟🌟🌟$STI ETF(ES3.SG)isn't a high flying tech fund and it won't give you 10x crypto thrills overnight. This ETF is the quintessential defensive workhorse of the Singapore economy.

Lately the index has experienced a sharp reality check. After climbing to a historic roaring record high in September, the STI ETF price is down by 5%.

So after this cooling period is $STI ETF(ES3.SG)a buy?

Yes if your strategy prioritises reliable dividend payouts and you are buying for the long haul. In the short term, the market is a voting machine but in the long term, it is a weighing machine.

What about you fellow investors? Are you buying $STI ETF(ES3.SG)during this correction?

Goldman Sachs Is The Winner of the Latest Q3 26 Earnings

🌟🌟🌟The latest Q3 earnings among the Big US banks showed that $Goldman Sachs(GS.US)has crushed Wall Street estimates. Its Q3 26 revenue was USD 18.68 billion, a big 23% jump year over year. Diluted EPS rocketed up 39% to USD 17.01, beating consensus estimate of USD 13.02.

The main catalyst for this blowout was an excellent performance in equities trading which surged 72% year over year to USD 6.44 billion. This was propelled by huge institutional derivatives demand and prime financing.

Combined with a 21% boost in investment banking fees as corporate M&A advisory hit a record USD 1.65 billion, Goldman Sachs listed its 2nd highest quarterly net revenue in history.

CEO David Solomon has done an excellent job in pivoting the bank back into elite investment banking and trading.

Exciting times are ahead for Goldman Sachs. Dear Friends, would you deploy your cash into Goldman Sachs or the other US banks?