Welcome to Gold Dragon Daily, an AI-powered podcast by Gold Dragon Investments, helping you win the game of passive investing.

For more information, visit GotTheGold.com... I'm your host, Justin two-point-oh... This is Market Pulse. Tuesday's numbers.

Final trading day of 2025.

Oil

• Mixed on year-end session
• Brent rose 0.33% to $61.69
• WTI fell 0.5% to $57.72
• Both benchmarks closing worst year since 2020
• Brent down 16% annually
• WTI down 18%
• Oversupply narrative dominated 2025
• OPEC+ output increases scheduled for January
• Chinese demand weakness persisted throughout year
• U.S. production remained elevated
• Geopolitical tensions provided minimal support

Natural Gas

• Climbed
• Rose to $4.04/MMBtu as of midday
• January contract near $4.42
• Weather forecasts supporting prices
• Storage draws accelerating
• LNG exports remain robust near record levels
• U.S. production holding at 107.74 bcf/day
• Winter volatility expected through January
• 12-month strip forecast at $3.76

Equity Markets

• Full trading day
• Bond market closing early at 2 PM Eastern
• Markets closed Wednesday for New Year's Day
• Full-year 2025 performance exceptional
• S&P up 23%
• Nasdaq up 28%
• Technology and AI-focused stocks led gains
• Fed rate cuts catalyzed rally
• Energy worst-performing sector
• Small caps surged fourth quarter
• Year-end positioning complete

Real Estate

• Closing strong year
• Office vacancy peaked at 20.4% first quarter but stabilizing
• Prime spaces in key markets showing strength
• Flight to quality driving Class A demand
• Industrial leasing rebounded late year
• E-commerce and manufacturing supporting warehouse demand
• Multifamily occupancy stabilized
• Rent growth returning most markets
• Retail showing resilience — grocery-anchored centers performing well
• Construction slowdown expected to drive rent increases
• Data centers explosive growth from AI workloads
• 88% of executives expecting higher revenues in 2026

Credit Markets

• Record year
• Private credit reached $3.5 trillion assets under management, up 17% from 2023
• Strong fundraising with $209 billion in final closes
• Competition increasing from broadly syndicated loan market
• Bank partnerships expanding
• Private credit providing capital-efficient solutions for long-dated corporate loans, infrastructure, real estate
• Asset-based finance projected at $8 trillion in three years
• Retail participation growing through evergreen funds
• Direct lending appetite remains strong
• M&A rebound expected to drive 2026 growth

Bottom Line

• Oil: Targeting sub-$50 breakevens, hedge floors above $75
• Gas: Selective exposure, winter contracts locked
• Industrial: Sub-6.5% caps near logistics hubs
• Senior secured credit: SOFR + 650, LTV under 65%

Visit GotTheGold.com. Stay sharp.

Welcome to Gold Dragon Daily, an AI-powered podcast by Gold Dragon Investments, helping you win the game of passive investing.

For more information, visit GotTheGold.com... I'm your host, Justin two-point-oh... This is Game Theory. Today we're talking the Blank Gene — soulless humans who terrify daemons. Now let's get into it...

What Are Blanks?

• In Warhammer 40K, there are humans born without souls — not metaphorically, literally
• They're called Pariahs, Untouchables, or Blanks
• They're the only thing in the universe that Chaos genuinely fears

How It Works

• Every living creature in 40K has a Warp presence — a reflection in the Immaterium, a soul
• Psykers have bright souls that shine in the Warp like beacons
• Normal humans have dim souls
• Blanks have nothing — they're voids, anti-souls, holes in reality where the Warp can't exist

The Effect on Others

• Blanks are biologically repulsive
• When you're near a Blank, you feel it: nausea, dread, existential wrongness
• Your soul recoils from something that shouldn't exist
• Most people can't articulate why they hate Blanks — they just do, viscerally, instinctively

What This Does to Daemons

• Daemons are pure Warp entities made of psychic energy and emotion
• A Blank isn't just repulsive to them — a Blank erases them
• Being near a Blank causes a daemon physical pain
• Being touched by a Blank can kill a daemon outright
• They don't just fear Blanks — they experience existential terror

The Sisters of Silence

• The Imperium weaponizes Blanks
• The Sisters of Silence are an all-female order of Blanks trained as elite warriors
• They accompany the Emperor's Custodian Guard
• When the Imperium needs to kill something Warp-tainted, they send the Sisters
• They wear black armor and take vows of silence because their very presence makes communication psychically painful
• They hunt psykers, daemons, and Chaos sorcerers — and they're terrifyingly effective

Why Chaos Fears Blanks More Than Grey Knights

• Grey Knights are psykers — they fight Warp fire with Warp fire
• They're powerful, but they're still playing on Chaos's terms
• Blanks aren't playing the same game — they nullify the Warp entirely
• A daemon can fight a Grey Knight
• A daemon can't fight a Sister of Silence — they can only flee

The Rarity and Tragedy

• The Blank gene is incredibly rare — maybe one in a billion humans
• The Imperium hunts them down and conscripts them
• In a universe where gods are real and daemons are everywhere, having soldiers who are immune to corruption and can kill daemons by proximity isn't just useful — it's essential
• The tragedy: Blanks live lonely, hated lives — they're weapons, tools, never trusted, never loved
• But they're the only reason humanity survives against Chaos

That's Game Theory. Subscribe if you haven't already, and visit GotTheGold.com for more... Make it a great day!

Welcome to Gold Dragon Daily, an AI-powered podcast by Gold Dragon Investments, helping you win the game of passive investing.

For more information, visit GotTheGold.com... I'm your host, Justin two-point-oh... This is Market Pulse. Weekly market overview and data.

Year-end positioning underway as markets close out strong 2025.

Oil

• Rebounded Monday
• WTI rose 0.91% to $57.67
• Brent climbed 1.04% to $61.27
• Both benchmarks posting modest gains after hitting multi-year lows
• Short-covering and technical buying supporting prices
• WTI ending year below $60 for first time since 2021
• Brent down 16% for the year, WTI down 18%
• Worst annual performance since 2020
• Oversupply narrative continues dominating sentiment
• OPEC+ production increases scheduled
• Chinese demand remains sluggish
• Geopolitical tensions providing limited support

Natural Gas

• Retreated sharply
• Fell 1.31% to $3.83/MMBtu
• Down from Thursday's $4.42
• Weather forecasts moderating
• Storage draws slowing despite strong LNG exports
• U.S. production holding near record at 107.74 bcf/day
• Quarter-end forecast at $4.38
• 12-month forecast at $5.43
• Winter volatility expected to continue

Equity Markets

• Closing year at records
• Global stocks on track to end 2025 at all-time highs
• MSCI World Equity Gauge up 21% year-to-date
• Fed rate cuts driving sentiment
• Technology and AI-focused stocks leading gains
• Santa Claus rally into year-end
• Low volume expected through New Year's
• S&P up approximately 23% for the year
• Nasdaq up 28%
• Energy weakest sector
• Small caps outperformed in fourth quarter

Real Estate

• Entering 2026 with momentum
• Cap rates stabilized after early 2025 peaks
• Industrial between 6.5-7.5% for single-tenant assets
• Multi-tenant around 6%
• E-commerce and nearshoring driving warehouse demand
• Multifamily vacancy declining
• Class A at 5% caps, Class B at 7%
• High homeownership costs supporting rental demand
• Office finding stability, flight to quality driving Class A demand
• Retail making strong comeback — grocery-anchored centers leading
• Data centers showing explosive growth from AI workloads

Credit Markets

• Ending year at record strength
• Private credit reached $3.5 trillion assets under management end of 2024, up 17% from 2023
• Market diversifying beyond direct lending into asset-backed finance
• Bank partnerships increasing
• Retail participation growing through evergreen funds
• Asset-based finance projected at $8 trillion in three years
• CLO spreads tightening
• Strong fundraising year with $209 billion in final closes
• Competition increasing from broadly syndicated loan market

Bottom Line

• Oil: Targeting sub-$50 breakevens, hedge floors above $75
• Gas: Selective exposure, winter contracts locked
• Industrial: Sub-6.5% caps near logistics hubs
• Senior secured credit: SOFR + 650, LTV under 65%

Visit GotTheGold.com. Stay sharp.