The Trading Post | 01.21.26

Good morning,

Trump’s tariff saber-rattling triggered the ugliest selloff in three months, gold ripped to record highs while Bitcoin cracked, the Supreme Court put the Fed’s independence on trial, earnings beats got sold anyway, and small caps pushed into nosebleed territory.

Brandon Wendell is hosting a free class revealing how futures trading can give you more flexibility, require less capital, and help you trade on your own schedule—even with a full-time job. 

Let’s jump in.

Pre-Market Performance

As of 01.20.26 market close.

Market News

• Trump tariff threat sparks broad risk-off move: Markets suffered their worst day since October after Trump threatened 10% tariffs on eight European nations tied to Greenland negotiations, escalating to 25% by summer. Futures are attempting a weak bounce ahead of Trump’s Davos speech at 8:30am ET — more positioning than conviction buying. WSJ

• Volatility wakes up, resistance now matters more than support: VIX pushed above 20 while S&P futures stalled below former support near 6,900 — now key resistance. Failed rallies into that zone favor distribution, not dip-buying. WSJ

• Gold and silver scream safety as crypto cracks: Gold cleared $4,750 and silver broke $94 on classic flight-to-safety flows, while Bitcoin slipped below $89K as speculative risk got repriced. Dollar weakness despite higher yields hints at foreign capital rotation. CNBC

• Supreme Court hears Fed case today: Oral arguments on Trump’s attempt to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook raise existential questions about central-bank independence. Treasury volatility reflects growing political risk premium. CNN

• Earnings beats get punished anyway: 81% of S&P 500 companies beat Q4 estimates, yet stocks are posting the worst post-earnings reactions on record. Netflix and J&J both beat — both sold off. Forward guidance matters more than backward-looking numbers. CNBC

• Small caps hit all-time highs… and overbought: Russell 2000 is up 7.8% YTD and massively outperforming large caps, but RSI north of 70 suggests momentum fatigue just as macro risk spikes. CNBC

A Message From Wealth Builders HQ

Trade Futures on Your Terms—Free Class with Brandon Wendell 

If you've ever felt stuck trading only during market hours, frustrated by account size limitations, or exhausted from being chained to your screen, this free training is for you. 

Brandon Wendell, CMT—a 20-year futures veteran and former hedge fund manager—is hosting The Emini Revolution, a complimentary class that reveals how futures trading can transform your approach to the markets. 

Inside this training, you'll discover: 

• The Flexibility of Futures Trading – Trade outside regular market hours, whether you're a night owl or juggling a 9-to-5 

• How to Grow a Smaller Account – Learn to leverage futures without tying up thousands in single positions 

• Professional Risk Management – Discover how prioritizing protection leads to consistent, scalable results 

Brandon doesn't just teach theory—he trades these markets daily and has trained thousands of students worldwide. As a Chartered Market Technician® (a credential held by less than 1% of traders), he brings institutional-level insight to everyday traders. 

This class is perfect if you: 

• Struggle to trade consistently due to time constraints 

• Feel limited by your account size 

• Want to learn spreads but they seem too complicated 

• Jump from strategy to strategy without clear results 

Register now for The Emini Revolution and discover why futures may be the most overlooked opportunity for today's traders—offering you flexibility, lower barriers to entry, and a safer path to consistent results. 

Spots are limited, so reserve your free seat today. 

Earnings We’re Watching

• Ally Financial (ALLY) - Wednesday (BMO) 

• Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) - Wednesday (BMO) 

• Citizens Financial Group Inc (CFG) - Wednesday (BMO) 

• Halliburton Company (HAL) - Wednesday (BMO) 

• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - Wednesday (BMO) 

• Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV) - Wednesday (BMO) 

• Truist Financial Corporation (TFC) - Wednesday (BMO) 

Trade Ideas

Want to learn how we trade these? Learn the setup we call the “High Volatility Switchback” trade.

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Daily Moment of Zen

Why It Matters:

Most traders don’t fail because their system is bad — they fail because they keep cheating on it. They buy a trend-following system but panic-sell pullbacks. They sell premium but can’t emotionally handle drawdowns. They scalp with a swing-trader’s patience and then wonder why their P&L looks like a seismograph.

The market doesn’t care about your personality — but your system absolutely should.

A strategy only works if you can execute it consistently when it’s uncomfortable. If you can’t hold through normal volatility, your “edge” evaporates. If you need constant action, a slow, high-probability system will sabotage you mentally long before it pays off financially.

This is why system-hopping is the silent account killer. Every new strategy feels better right before it hits its first drawdown. Then the trader blames the system, not the mismatch between rules and temperament.

In markets like this — volatile, headline-driven, and emotionally exhausting — compatibility matters more than optimization. The goal isn’t to find the perfect system. The goal is to find one boring enough, repeatable enough, and psychologically tolerable enough that you’ll still follow it on your worst trading day.

The edge isn’t in the indicator.
It’s in the discipline to run the same play when your brain is screaming to do something stupid.

That’s the real system.