Blog

Gene Witt | Oct 6, 2026

The Demand for Money

Finance, Investments, Market Updates

When everyone wants to borrow at once, lenders can basically name their price. Economists often describe interest rates in simple terms: an interest rate is the price of money. Like any price, it rises when demand outpaces supply. Long-term Treasury yields are now at their highest levels in decades, and a client note from Citadel Securities argues the reason is not mainly inflation fear. The firm points to stronger US growth and competition for capital. To understand that view, it helps to look at the market from the lender's side.

Gene Witt | Sep 29, 2026

WEEKLY MARKET & ECONOMIC COMMENTARY U.S. DEBT

Investments, Market Updates

Why long-term rates are at 19-year highs, why the 1990s playbook won’t work this time, and four ways this could play out for investors. The 10-year Treasury yield hit 5.24% today — its highest level since the summer of 2007. The 30-year bond pushed past 5.5%, a level we haven’t seen since 2004. If you have a mortgage, a business line of credit, or a bond portfolio, you are already feeling it.

Gene Witt | Sep 15, 2026

The Fed's Tough Decision

Market Updates, Finance

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets this week as policymakers weigh difficult economic trade-offs. Commentators, analysts, and prediction markets generally expect the Fed to raise interest rates. While an increase could help curb inflation, it could also further strain other areas of the economy, especially housing. Mortgage rates do not look like they will be going down anytime soon, and this will mean home buyers will need to adapt by either buying smaller homes or postponing the purchase longer

Gene Witt CFP | Sept 2, 2026

The Fed is Changing and September May Make It Worse

Investments, Market Updates

Two forces collided last week, giving investors more uncertainty than they bargained for heading into the fall. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh used the most watched speech of his tenure at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium to deliver a blunt message about inflation — and markets heard it loud and clear. At the same time, the calendar flipped to September, the historically worst month for stocks in recorded market history.

Gene Witt | Sept 1, 2026

Why Your Brain Sabotages Your Investment Plan (No Matter What the Market Does)

Investments, Finance, Savings, Risk Management

The Dow crosses 45,000. Your brain whispers: "This has to be the top." The market drops 15%. Your brain screams: "Get out before it gets worse!" Different scenarios. Same result: your brain hijacking your long-term...

Gene Witt | Jun 8, 2026

Why Credit Spreads are so Narrow

Finance

All four of the major indices declined last week with the largest drop posting on Friday. The largest decline was seen in the NASDAQ with a -4.68% decline followed by the Russell 2000 -2.94% The S&P 500 index fell -2.6% and the DOW dropped -0.32%. Much of the move seems ...

Gene Witt | Apr 21, 2026

The Rally That Refused to Wait VIX, Short Covering, and What This Market's Speed Says About Risk

Newsletter Week Ending April 17th 2026 Market Recap All four of the major indexes were up significantly last week with the NASDAQ posting the largest gain of +6.84% followed by the Russell 2000 +5.33%, the S&P 500...

Gene Witt | Apr 13, 2026

Understanding Risk, Probability The Ghost in the Curve: The Fat Tail Trap:

Newsletter Week Ending April 10 th 2026 Market recap To say that the markets are volatile would be an understatement. At the end of Q1 (march 31 st ) all the major indices were down. The DOW and S&P 500 were down more...

Gene Witt | Mar 17, 2026

The State of Private Credit & Bank Exposure, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Weekly Market Newsletter Week Ending March 13 th 2026 Marker Recap All four of the major indices fell last week, with the DOW posting the largest decline, with a -1.99%. This was followed by the Russell 2000 -1.79% the...

Gene Witt | Mar 2, 2026

The Persian Pivot – A Conflict of Attrition Analyzing the Iranian Escalation and the "Long War" Trap

Newsletter Week Ending February 27 th 2026 Market Recap All four of the major indices were down last week, which also ended February trading. The Largest decline was in the DOW -1.31% followed by the Russell 2000 -1.19%...

Gene Witt | Feb 23, 2026

The Great Rotation Continues

Newsletter Week Ending February 20th 2026 In non-market-related news, on Sunday, February 22nd, the U.S. Olympic Hockey team won the Gold Medal against Canada in overtime.  It had been 46 years to the day that the 1980...

Gene Witt | Feb 19, 2026

The Revenge of the Physical World

Newsletter Week Ending February 13 th 2026 Market Recap All Four of the major indices were down on the week ending Feb 13th 2026 with the NASDAQ posting the largest decline with a -2.1% this brings the index down -2.99%...

Gene Witt | Feb 3, 2026

The Next Fed Chair

Newsletter Week Ending Jan 23rd 2026 Market Recap Last week was a fragmented week for equities; three of the 4 major indices ended the week in the red, with the S&P 500 being the lone winner by climbing +0.3%, after...

Gene Witt | Jan 26, 2026

The Gold Barometer: Fragile Powers and the New Geopolitical Hedge

Newsletter Week Ending Jan 23 th 2026 Market Recap Last week was a short and volatile week, with markets closed on Monday Jan 19th for MLK birthday holiday. It was also the week of the WEF (World Economic Forum) held in...

Gene Witt | Jan 21, 2026

Fear or FOMO

Newsletter Week Ending Jan 16 th 2026 Market Recap Three of the four major indices edged down last week with the Russell 2000 being the lone index posting a +2.04% gain on the week. The S&P 500 index edged down -0.4%...

Gene Witt | Jan 13, 2026

Supreme Court decision and the Tariff Impact on Consumer Prices and Inflation:

Economic and Markets Week Ending Jan 9 th 2026 Market Recap Last week’s market recap chart includes one extra day since Jan 1 landed on a Friday, we just wanted to keep the chart simple. The DOW closed the week at...

Gene Witt | Jan 6, 2026

Riding the Wave of Volatility

This article is provided by Gene Witt of Optimized Capital LLC. for general informational purposes only. This is an opinion, not investment advice. This information is not considered an offer to buy or sell any...

Gene Witt | Dec 22, 2025

The Fed in 2026: New Faces, New Chair, New Direction?

This article is provided by Gene Witt of Optimized Capital LLC. for general informational purposes only. It is an opinion, not investment advice This information is not considered to be an offer to buy or sell any...

Gene Witt | Dec 9, 2025

The Casino Economy: Is the Stock Market Turning into a Gambling Platform?

This article is provided by Gene Witt of Optimized Capital LLC. for general informational purposes only. It is an opinion, not investment advice This information is not considered to be an offer to buy or sell any...

Gene Witt | Nov 25, 2025

The Art of the Pivot: Decoding the Shifting Interest Rate Outlook

This article is provided by Gene Witt of Optimized Capital LLC. for general informational purposes only. It is an opinion, not investment advice. This information is not considered to be an offer to buy or sell any...

Gene Witt | Nov 18, 2025

The Tokenization Revolution

This article is provided by Gene Witt of Optimized Capital LLC. for general informational purposes only. This information is not considered to be an offer to buy or sell any securities or investments or to be considered...

Gene Witt | Nov 12, 2025

The Government shutdown fight

All four of the major indices ended the first week of November down significantly with the NASDAQ seeing the steepest de4cline of -3.04% followed by Russell 2000 -1.88% the S&P posted a -1.63% and the DOW had a return...

Gene Witt | Nov 5, 2025

Repo Market Alarms: The Vanishing Liquidity Buffer and Rising Economic Risk

Newsletter Week ending Oct 31, 2025 The first month in Q4 is now behind us leaving another 61 days (38 trading days) before the close of 2025. Last week only one of the four major indices posted a decline the Russell...

Gene Witt | Oct 27, 2025

Big week of Information for the Markets

This article is provided by Gene Witt of Optimized Capital LLC. for general informational purposes only. This information is not considered to be an offer to buy or sell any securities or investments or to be considered...