Archive - ZTrader Macro & AI Notes

The China Story: The 5% Illusion

How China counts its economy—and why the most important number in global macro is almost certainly wrong.

Apr 1 • Dorian

When Alliances Diverge: The U.S., Israel, and the Different Timelines of War

Wars rarely end when enemies are defeated.

Apr 1 • Dorian

March 2026

The $80-95 Band: How Trump Manages Oil Like a Chinese Commodity Trader

Even if your crude oil thesis was correct.

Mar 31 • Dorian

TACO Options Playbook 01: WHY BEING RIGHT STILL LOSES MONEY

You did everything right but you still loses money... how?

Mar 29 • Dorian

Written the night before the system went live.

Mar 28 • Dorian

The TACO Trade Playbook: How Smart Money Survives Trump's Market

The options mechanics that Wall Street desks already know — and retail traders are paying to learn.

Mar 25 • Dorian

The Hard Limits Approach: How Energy, Copper, and Rare Earths Will End the American AI Supremacy Illusion

When material physics meets geopolitical friction, no amount of capital can outrun the clock

Mar 24 • Dorian

Trade Log01: When Policy Volatility Becomes Execution Risk

Notes from a trader during the Iran shock regime

Mar 24 • Dorian

This is no longer about Winning the War, Its about Reopening Hormuz

At some point in every modern conflict, the publicly stated objective and the actual objective begin to diverge.

Mar 23 • Dorian

Deep Options 03 Why Professionals Rarely Just Buy Calls

Here's how most options traders have done wrong...

Mar 21 • Dorian

The Iran War Impact: We are no longer Trading Liquidity, we are now Trading Inflation

For most of the past decade, global macro has been dominated by a single variable:

Mar 20 • Dorian

Deep Options 02 The Most Expensive Thing Retail Traders Consistently Buy

There is a very specific trade that almost every developing options trader makes at some point.

Mar 19 • Dorian

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