Observe the market, react to opportunities but stay alert to risks. Rich experience being humbled by Mr Market. Money matters with your head and heart.

Market Observer

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Reminiscences and reflections on my experience with FTX. Why I liked the platform until it collapsed

Reminiscences and reflections on my experience with FTX. Why I liked the platform until it collapsed

FTX has been exposed as a fraud and is now bankrupt. I have lost my funds on FTX, although I withdrew most of it before the collapse. I owe it to myself to reflect deeply on this event. I also owe it to my readers because I wrote 2 positive

Market timing has been a good risk-management strategy for me in the 2022 bear market. Pros and cons of this approach

Market timing has been a good risk-management strategy for me in the 2022 bear market. Pros and cons of this approach

When I talk to financial advisors and fund managers, a common advice they give is "Do not time the market" or "Market timing does not work". They have a financial incentive to persuade their clients that market timing is bad. Buy-side financial advisors/asset managers earn their fees based on

Watch how this pump-and-dump stock was dumped. My own experience with scammers. Tips on avoiding being scammed

Watch how this pump-and-dump stock was dumped. My own experience with scammers. Tips on avoiding being scammed

Recently, I received a telegram message about someone losing USD40,000 in a pump-and-dump stock scam. He was not the only victim. I opened up the daily price chart of 2195.HK (Unity Enterprise) to study this pump-and-dump scam in action. The pump in 2195.HK started around the middle

Hodlnaut goes out of business. Hundreds of millions in customer deposits frozen. My own experience with Hodlnaut

Hodlnaut goes out of business. Hundreds of millions in customer deposits frozen. My own experience with Hodlnaut

One day before Singapore's National Day celebrations on 8 Aug 2022, Hodlnaut threw a bombshell on their customers. The company was going under. Hundreds of millions(estimated $500m) in customer deposits have been frozen. I have been following Hodlnaut closely since last year after I signed on as their customer.

A retired stockbroker reveals why most retail investors lose money

A retired stockbroker reveals why most retail investors lose money

I like to chat with retirees, particularly those who used to work in a job where they need to be a bit of a snake oil salesman. It is after they retire that they can be completely honest about their past. A few years ago, a retired stockbroker revealed to

Losing 99% of funds while shorting Luna, the biggest crash in crypto history

Losing 99% of funds while shorting Luna, the biggest crash in crypto history

This crypto startup firm, Uprise, lost 99% of its client funds while shorting Luna during its price crash. Luna crashed 99.98% within 1 week from Thursday, 5 May 2022 to the following Thursday, 12 May 2022. Just 1 week ago, Luna's market capitalization was USD28 billion. 1 week later,

My experience with Anchor protocol and thoughts about the TerraLuna ecosystem crash

My experience with Anchor protocol and thoughts about the TerraLuna ecosystem crash

The TerraLuna ecosystem crash this week was devastating to many crypto investors, from the small retail investors to the huge venture capitalists. No matter how smart you are, as long as you are active in financial markets, big losses from time to time are inevitable. Sometimes, one manages to escape