The 4% Rule Explained: Bengen, Trinity, and Reality
What the 4% rule is, where it came from, the math, the assumptions that do the work, and where it breaks down.
investing basics
How Mortgage Rates Are Set: 10-Year Treasury + Spread
30-year mortgage rates aren’t tied to the Fed’s rate. They track the 10-year Treasury plus a mortgage spread. Here’s how the math works.
How an IPO Actually Works: S-1, Bookbuilding, Greenshoe
From S-1 to first trade: how underwriters price an IPO, run the roadshow, use the greenshoe, and why the 7% spread refuses to move.
The Cash Flow Statement Explained: CFO, CFI, and CFF
The cash flow statement shows how a company actually generates and spends cash. How to read the three sections, with a worked example from Apple’s FY2024.
T+1 Settlement: How Stock Trades Now Clear in One Day
T+1 settlement means US stock trades settle one business day after execution. Here’s the mechanics, timeline, and what changed for investors.
What Is the P/E Ratio – and When Does It Mislead?
The price-to-earnings ratio is the most-quoted valuation metric on Wall Street. Here’s the formula, trailing vs forward, and when it breaks.
Options Explained: Calls, Puts, Strikes & Expiry Basics
Beginner-friendly guide to stock options: how calls, puts, strike price, expiry, and premium actually work, with worked examples and payoff diagrams.
Leveraged ETFs Explained: Daily Reset and Volatility Drag
How TQQQ, SQQQ, and other daily-reset ETFs really work — the compounding math, when they overshoot, and when volatility eats them alive.
Bond Duration and Convexity Explained: How Prices Move
Duration tells you how much a bond’s price will move for a 1% change in yields. Convexity refines the estimate for big moves. Here’s how both actually work.
Repo and Reverse Repo Explained: The Plumbing of Rates
How the US repo market really works: repo vs reverse repo, SOFR, the Fed’s RRP floor and SRF ceiling, and what broke in September 2019.