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If this is your first time reading, welcome to The Investor’s Edge — a thriving community of over 25,000 subscribers striving to be better investors with an edge in the market.
Every weekend we publish “The Weekly Wrap-Up” — your ticket to being well informed and staying ahead in the investment game!
This report is designed to help investors of all skill levels break down important stories/topics within the stock market. And best of all, we cut through all of the BS and give you exactly what you need to know in easy to digest, bite sized pieces of content.
Grab your coffee and let’s dive in.

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A deep dive into Mark's personal portfolio, recent moves, and his top 10 individual holdings
Exclusive insights into the stocks we’re watching closely, complete with Edge scores and analysis
A breakdown of the most intriguing charts we’ve seen recently
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Market Talk
The major indexes ultimately rebounded this week, but US/China headlines led to major swings throughout the week and the increased volatility is causing some fear in markets.


3 Stories Moving the Market
These are some of the biggest stories from the second half of the week that had an influence on market action.
Trump Softens 100% Tariff Threat, Says China Move “Not Sustainable”

President Trump said Friday his planned 100% tariffs on Chinese goods were “not sustainable,” signaling potential easing after days of rising tension. His comments followed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s remark that a tariff pause extension remained possible. Trump also confirmed he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month, suggesting a shift toward negotiation despite escalating trade frictions.
🔑 Key Points
Tariff rethink: Trump admitted the 100% tariff level “could stand, but they forced me to do that,” signaling flexibility.
Diplomatic opening: The White House confirmed a late-October Trump–Xi meeting as both sides test de-escalation paths.
Beijing pushback: China accused Washington of “panic” over export controls and sanctioned U.S. subsidiaries of a Korean shipper.
Economic impact: The 2025 deficit narrowed 2% to $1.78 T, aided by higher tariff revenue even as consumer prices rise.
Legal overhang: The Supreme Court will soon hear challenges to Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs,” which could reshape his trade playbook.
👀 What You Need to Know
Trump’s softer tone marks a clear shift after weeks of escalating threats, though tensions remain high. Both countries are balancing pressure with pragmatism, trying to contain fallout from rare-earth and shipping disputes. Markets now expect any tariff changes to hinge on the Xi meeting’s outcome, not new announcements. A Supreme Court ruling could further constrain tariff powers, leaving diplomacy as the likely next phase of the standoff.
🔐 Edge Takeaway: Tariff noise is giving traders an opportunity, and some investors are taking advantage. Capital is rotating toward…upgrade to Edge+ to read the Full Edge Takeaway. We are currently running an Earnings Season Sale!
Banking Stocks Sink as U.S. Loan Worries Spark Global Selloff

Global banking shares slumped this week after reports of bad U.S. loans reignited fears of credit strain. Disclosures from Zions and Western Alliance triggered sharp losses in U.S. regional lenders, quickly rippling across European and Asian markets. Despite solid capital positions and healthy earnings, investor sentiment turned risk-off as worries about loan quality overshadowed fundamentals.
🔑 Key Points
Regional rout: Zions and Western Alliance plunged over 10%, dragging the KRE regional bank ETF down 6% in a single session.
Major U.S. lenders: JPMorgan, Citi, and Bank of America fell up to 3% in pre-market trade amid renewed credit risk jitters.
Europe follows: The Stoxx Banking Index dropped nearly 3%, with Sabadell, Deutsche Bank, and Barclays hit hardest in continental trading.
Asia joins slide: Japanese and Hong Kong banks with U.S. exposure slipped 2–4%, led by Mizuho and HSBC amid contagion fears.
Analysts divided: Some see isolated loan fraud as the root cause, while others warn of looser lending standards across smaller lenders.
👀 What You Need to Know
The selloff shows how quickly fear can spread when investors hear “bad loans,” even if the problems are isolated. Most experts still see the U.S. banking system as stable, but confidence is fragile after several credit scares this year. European and Asian lenders got caught in the wave simply because sentiment turned risk-off. If no new loan issues appear, markets should calm soon, but it’s a reminder that trust can vanish faster than it’s rebuilt.
🔐 Edge Takeaway: I warned in Discord that private credit and trade-finance lending were shaping up as the next cracks forming, and the collapse…upgrade to Edge+ to read the Full Edge Takeaway. Take advantage of our Earnings Season sale!
📚 Edge-ucation: What are Credit Spreads?
Credit spreads measure the extra yield investors demand to hold corporate bonds instead of U.S. Treasuries. When spreads widen, it signals growing concern about default risk or liquidity; when they tighten, confidence is improving.
Indicator of risk: Wider spreads often precede equity weakness as investors price in higher credit risk.
Economic signal: Tight spreads suggest stable conditions and easier financing; widening spreads flag caution in lending and borrowing.
Sector sensitivity: Financials and cyclicals move most when spreads change since funding costs shift quickly.
Investor takeaway: Watching high-yield and investment-grade spreads helps gauge where credit stress is building before it shows up in earnings.
Shifts in spreads often lead equity volatility by weeks, giving investors a window into whether risk is quietly building or easing across the system.
Salesforce Targets $60 Billion by 2030 Amid AI Platform Expansion

Salesforce $CRM ( ▼ 1.19% ) stock climbed this week after its investor day at Dreamforce, where management unveiled a long-term target of more than $60 billion in revenue by fiscal 2030. The outlook calls for 10%+ organic growth from FY2026–FY2030 and a margin ramp from 34% to 40%. Shares remain down nearly 28% in 2025, but the roadmap around Agentforce 360 and new AI partnerships reignited optimism that growth and sentiment could recover heading into next year.
🔑 Key Points
Long-term guidance: Revenue expected to surpass $60 billion by 2030, reflecting renewed confidence in subscription growth.
Margin expansion: Operating margin forecast to reach 40% by FY2030, driven by AI efficiencies and disciplined expense control.
Agentforce 360: Expanded platform now supports chat and voice, with FedEx, PepsiCo, and Williams-Sonoma among early adopters.
AI partnerships: Deep integrations with OpenAI and Anthropic bring frontier models directly into Agentforce and Slack.
Informatica acquisition: The pending $8 billion deal strengthens Salesforce’s data stack and closes in FY2027 or FY2028.
👀 What You Need to Know
Salesforce’s renewed 2030 plan reframes it as an AI-powered enterprise platform rather than a slowing CRM vendor. The combination of Agentforce adoption, voice integration, and direct OpenAI + Anthropic model access could turn skepticism into conviction if execution follows. Yet investors will watch closely over the next 12-18 months for real acceleration in AI revenue and customer uptake. Guidance sets the stage, but delivery will decide whether this rebound in confidence holds.
🔐 Edge Takeaway: Salesforce’s investor day re-anchors the growth story but the setup still carries risk under the surface. The…upgrade to Edge+ to read the Full Edge Takeaway. Our Earnings Season sale ends soon!

In Other News
In this section, we'll be curating a selection of news headlines we think you'll find interesting. If a topic catches your eye, click the provided links to read more about it.

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Edge+ Posts of the Week
We continue to push out more and more content every week to give investors that edge. Here are the posts Investor’s Edge+ subscribers received this week.
The Edge Report
Mondays are for the investors. Every Monday morning we share exactly what we’re watching in the week ahead, how we’re positioning, and even share a sneak peek into our systems and models. This week we discussed the impact of the government shutdown, as well as the upcoming earnings from Pepsico and Delta. See the latest full report here:
Weekly Options Recap
This report is a breakdown of every options trade we made this week—what we opened, what we closed, and how our open trades are performing. Each edition gives you full transparency on our strategy, including entry points, premiums collected or paid, trade rationale, and risk/reward setups. See this week’s recap:
Portfolio Update - October
Every month we share a full access look into our portfolios, including holdings, performance, activity and our watchlists for the upcoming month. You can see both of our portfolios here and see what moves we made in September:
Earnings Recap
Every week during earnings season is extremely busy for us here at the Edge as we dive into over 100 reports and provide our members with top tier breakdowns and insights. This week we saw earnings from Taiwan Semi, JPMorgan, Johnson & Johnson, and more. See this week’s recap:

The Week Ahead
The government shutdown continues to throw a wrench in economic data being released, but we finally get some key insights next week as the CPI inflation report will get released on Friday. We will also see several major names report earnings next week.
Earnings Reports
Q3 earnings season carries on next week and we have another busy week with nine of companies that we cover expected to report:
Monday 10/20: --
Tuesday 10/21: Netflix, Coca-Cola, Lockheed Martin, and General Motors
Wednesday 10/22: Tesla, IBM, and Lam Research
Thursday 10/23: Intel
Friday 10/24: Procter & Gamble

Here is the full calendar of scheduled earnings releases:

Source: Earnings Whispers
Economic Reports
We will actually some economic data next week, including the all important CPI report. Last week we noted that the reason the government is getting this report out is because it is crucial for the cost of living Social Security benefits adjustment required by Nov. 1 under Fed law.
We will also get existing home sales data and UMich consumer sentiment.


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Thank you for reading this edition of the Weekly Wrap-Up. Have a great weekend!
Until next time investors!
Mark & Chris
The Investor’s Edge

Disclosure
This is not investing advice. It is very important that you do your own research and make investments based on your own personal circumstances, preferences, goals and risk tolerance.