I want to begin with trading and need some help, my strategy is with 70% of my money I am buying a save ETF but with the other 30% I want to take some more risk. What stocks could I buy??

Intel have been all over the map recently, often starting the day 3-6% different than the previous end price. I wasn’t sure about how to go about trading it, but wanted to try and capitalise on the fairly extreme volatility.

I’ve ended up copy trading an account that not only exclusively trades INTC shares, but also mentions volatility trading as part of its algorithmic setup. It’s gone well enough so far that I’m looking for other volatile assets to trade in a similar way if anyone has any ideas?

The copy trade master account holder has said they are willing to look at opening trading accounts for other assets on request, and is even willing to back-test their algorithm to check compatibility.

We all want to retire, but we all don’t have pensions. We all need to pay for healthcare and we all wanna retire early. I live in the United States of America and I’m 53 years old my wife is 57, we have a total of 2.75 million in 401(k)’s traditional. We owe 150,000 on our mortgage. Our kids college has partially been paid and they can pay the rest in loans. We do not have any pensions and and for those that have one if you can refrain from commenting how that benefited you it’s appreciated. We want to live off approximately $95,000 annually with the hypothetical 30 year longevity. We’re in good health. How much has health health insurance cost you annually? We do not have any real health issues other than a few medication’s that are somewhat expensive. Our cars are primarily paid off. no big bills, other than electric, water, food, misc entertainment and dogs/cat food nothing crazy. I plan on going to a fiduciary to review our finances and have them give us a plan on how to approach spending our retirement funds. We have a $150k brokerage account, 2.5 mil in traditional 401(k), and $150,000 Roth IRA and I believe the first way we want to start spending that money down is by getting rid of the brokerage account then Roth, but I don’t know for sure so any input on that is also appreciated. I know there are budgeting tricks one needs to do in order to be under a certain dollar amount to qualify for the best monthly ACA insurance fee. What is that and if you will provide any input it’s appreciated, minus how you were able to retire because you had a pension or health insurance was paid by your company. Thanks.

Brent crude has surged past $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022. The trigger is not a slow-burn supply cut but a sudden closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the 21-mile chokepoint that carries one-fifth of the world's oil. The International Energy Agency has called the disruption the largest in history, and it arrives at a moment when the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds just 311 million barrels — half of what it held four years ago and its lowest level since 1983.

A Reserve Stretched Thin

The SPR was designed as an emergency insurance policy, releasing barrels into the market to blunt price spikes during crises like the 1970s oil embargo or Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Those releases worked: prices moderated, refiners kept running, and consumers saw temporary relief at the pump. Each drawdown, though, leaves less oil in the ground and more strain on the aging salt caverns that store it. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie has warned that further releases risk collapsing the caverns entirely, turning a strategic asset into a geological liability.

The White House has defended its approach, arguing that it is exchanging current barrels for lower-cost future deliveries to replenish the reserve. The Department of Energy claims this could save taxpayer dollars, even with the SPR at a 40-year low. That claim hinges on a bet that oil prices will fall before the delivery dates arrive — a bet that looks riskier with every missile launched over the Persian Gulf.

The Strait of Hormuz controls 20% of global oil flows. U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve inventory has fallen to its lowest level in over 40 years. | Source: kpler.com

The Shale Buffer Is Real, But Not Infinite

The U.S. is no longer as vulnerable to energy shocks as it was in the 1970s. The shale revolution has turned the country into the world's largest crude producer, and net imports have fallen sharply. Domestic drillers can ramp up production, but not overnight. New wells take months to bring online, and the global oil market prices in disruptions immediately. As long as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, American drivers will pay the global price regardless of how much oil is pumped in Texas or North Dakota.

The energy sector has already responded. Integrated majors like Chevron and ConocoPhillips are seeing upstream revenues rise in lockstep with Brent crude. For dividend-focused funds with heavy energy exposure, this is a tailwind — provided the price surge persists. If it does, the earnings boost could offset broader market volatility for income-oriented portfolios.

>Watchlist — SCHD: With roughly 21% of the portfolio in energy — including integrated majors whose upstream cash flows move with Brent crude — the fund has direct revenue exposure to this oil price surge. If $100+ crude persists while the SPR remains depleted and the Strait of Hormuz stays contested, that energy weighting becomes a meaningful earnings driver within an otherwise defensive, dividend-quality portfolio.

China's Stockpiles: The Hidden Shock Absorber

The most surprising reason oil prices haven't spiked even higher is China. The world's largest crude importer slashed its purchases during the conflict, choosing to draw from its own strategic reserves instead. Analysts estimate that if China had maintained its pre-war import levels, Brent crude could have surged past $170 a barrel. For now, China's restraint has acted as a global shock absorber, but its reserves are finite. Once they run low, China will return to the market as a buyer, adding another layer of upward pressure on prices.

The next phase of the crisis is unlikely to involve further SPR releases. With stockpiles already depleted, the focus will shift to replenishment. The U.S. government will need to buy back oil at elevated prices, locking in higher costs for taxpayers and sustaining upward pressure on the market. This dynamic could extend the duration of triple-digit oil, particularly if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

U.S. crude production has surged since 2010, but SPR inventory has fallen to its lowest level in over 40 years. | Source: en.wikipedia.org

Inflation Fears Return, and Bonds Feel the Strain

Morgan Stanley has warned that the oil shock could force the Federal Reserve to keep rates higher for longer. Energy prices feed directly into headline inflation, and sustained triple-digit oil could push consumer price indices back above the Fed's 2% target. Markets have already repriced rate-cut expectations, and Treasury yields have climbed in response. Funds with longer average maturities are particularly sensitive to rising yields, and their net asset values are adjusting downward.

>Watchlist — BND: The fund's roughly six-year average duration makes it directly sensitive to the higher-rates-for-longer scenario Morgan Stanley flagged in response to the oil-shock inflation surge. When energy-driven CPI expectations push Treasury yields higher, longer-duration investment-grade bonds reprice downward — and BND, as the broadest U.S. aggregate bond fund, absorbs that move across more than 11,000 holdings.

Gold, meanwhile, has hit record highs. The metal serves as a hedge against both inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, and the current environment offers both in abundance. Funds that combine gold exposure with commodity baskets and bond income are seeing outsized moves as investors seek protection from rising prices and volatile equity markets.

>Watchlist — GOLY: The fund carries simultaneous notional exposure to gold and an energy-inclusive commodity basket alongside its bond income sleeve — the precise combination moving sharply in this environment: gold at record highs and Brent crude above $100. Its inflation-hedging architecture was built for the kind of supply-shock, higher-rates-for-longer environment the Iran conflict has now produced.

The Strait of Hormuz is closed, the SPR is depleted, and the world's largest oil importer is drawing down its own reserves. If the Strait reopens, prices could retreat quickly. If China returns to the market as a buyer, they could surge again. And if the U.S. begins replenishing the SPR at $100 a barrel, the taxpayer bill will be measured in tens of billions of dollars. None of these outcomes are priced into markets with certainty, but all of them point to a prolonged period of elevated volatility in energy, fixed income, and inflation-sensitive assets.

Gold and oil have surged in tandem as the Strait of Hormuz closure disrupts supply and stokes inflation fears. | Source: reuters.com