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Market literacy, short.

Every number in our dashboards, explained in plain English. Built to be skim-able at 2am and linkable from any article.

§ 03 · POPULAR EXPLAINERS
The ones everyone reads first
FED6 MIN · EXPLAINER

What the FOMC actually does (and doesn't) control

They set one rate — Fed Funds — and use open-market operations to hit it. The 2Y, the 10Y, the 30Y, the mortgage rate, the dollar — those are notset in the Marriner Eccles building. They're prices the bond market decides.

◇ TRACK 01 · LESSON 02READ →
COT4 MIN · EXPLAINER

Why “Commercials are short” is sometimes bullish

Commercials hedge their physical exposure — airlines buy oil, mills buy wheat, banks hedge duration. Their short is an insurance purchase, not a directional bet. Read against the leveraged-fund side, not alone.

◇ TRACK 02 · LESSON 03READ →
LIQUIDITY8 MIN · EXPLAINER

Why the RRP mattered for 18 months, and why it doesn't anymore

From 2022–2024, reverse repo absorbed $2.5T of idle cash that otherwise would have drained bank reserves. That shock absorber is now empty. The tide is fully out — and the next Treasury drawdown hits reserves directly.

◇ TRACK 03 · LESSON 01READ →
OPTIONS7 MIN · EXPLAINER

Reading the skew without a PhD

Put-call, term structure, 25-delta risk reversals — three numbers that say more about positioning than any sentiment survey. When skew steepens while spot grinds higher, the smart money is buying crash insurance.

◇ TRACK 04 · LESSON 02READ →
INSIDER5 MIN · EXPLAINER

Which insider trades actually matter (and which are noise)

Three filters: clusters over singletons (multiple insiders, same direction), buys over sells (they sell for a hundred reasons — they buy for one), officers over directors. 10b5-1 scheduled sales are noise.

◇ TRACK 02 · LESSON 04READ →
RATES9 MIN · EXPLAINER

The yield curve you already know, drawn correctly

2s10s inverted 22 months ago. No recession. The 3m10s signal fired in 2019 — recession 11 months later. This cycle the signal is polluted by QT and the SLR exemption. Re-steepening matters more than inversion.

◇ TRACK 01 · LESSON 04READ →
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