Trump's vainglorious speech got 77% approval rating from Republicans ..... no surprise there. It received much less support across the US...... no surprise there either

Zelensky has about 65% approval rating among Ukrainians, rather more than Trump's lies of 4%

An "NPC" rating from the far right is a badge of honour. Keep it up Jonathan

Are you writing a dissertation and looking for inspiration or are you honestly trying to figure out how to predict market behaviour and trends?

You can only really discern broad trends and whether it will help you with the granular detail of investment choices, like which stocks to buy, is debatable. Because there are always so many variables at work. From the macro down to the micro. It is an interesting question though.

For instance, I can discern that we are moving into an era of the "Great Man" again, and away from the faceless technocrat and bureaucratic process. This was probably already so in most of the real world, but not for the West in revent decades .

We see Trump, Putin, Xi, Netanyahu being of particular significance at this moment. Others are Milei, Modi, Erdoğan. When I say "great" I don't mean "good" or "right", I mean men who cut through and bend things to their will. Trump is proving to be a truly astonishing example of this. He is already taking the US, and the world beyond, by the scruff of the neck. Compare to the ineffectual worms, as typified by the European political elites.

Note that having worms in charge in the West hasn't prevented conflict - arguably made it more likely, and when it has engaged in violent confrontation itself, it has usually been with foolish, idealistic and wasteful ends in mind. Like trying to promote feminism and democracy in the likes of Afghanistan; toppling leaders and unleashing mayhem.

And with this, I anticipate broader changes that might mean trends, in the West and possibly beyond, which are more archetypically male. Direct communication, the real threat and even use of force - but only when really necessary, realistic rather than idealistic goals, a preference for building and getting things done, action, a preference for things that are effective and really work, common sense...

So green energy, which basically involves wasting loads of money on crap that doesn't work very well - this doesn't really fit into that trend. That is form, or ideology, over function. Could be good news for traditional energy resources? Oil, gas and delicious coal. Military hardware. Gold. Promoting traditional values and norms, which have worked and stood the test of time. More of a warrior culture where men are expected to be men, families will be encouraged, rather than encouraging young people to be gay or change genders. Shrinking the public sector and its vast array of fake jobs which waste resources and misdirect peoples efforts; cutting back on damaging legislation, including human rights, equalities. Celebrating winners rather than victims. Things that are of an effeminate nature, like man bags and soy lattes, veganism, solar panels, etc. probably don't fit.

As you can see from the last paragraph, I'm already into wild speculation. Because getting from broad trend to detail will always involve guessing. Even if we expect more military expenditure and it happens (or will the US spend less relative to allies?), this doesn't tell you which company to invest in. How well are the companies being run?

Basically: invest in a global tracker, and it will take care of whatever is going on in the world of private enterprise. Plus some gold, cash, bonds, real estate for balance. You can do it all with 2 or 3 funds/trusts. If you want to be clever and gamble, expect to lose money. I could've said this at the start but, as I say, you've asked a good question and I couldn't resist answering it :) at least partially.

Nope, not writing any dissertation LOL!

Appreciate the extended reply.

Just a quick explanation about myself: i've been "investing" since 2020..... first in Tesla, then in Solana, lost it all with the crash of FTX..... i should be getting a proportion back this year, so i'm starting to do research in preparation for my next steps.

So i've been sitting watching frustratedly as sure bets (in my opinion) like A.I. & European defense have come along, so just want to prepare myself better for the future.

Let's deal in facts. He came within an inch of having his head blown off over the summer, has been subject to endless litigation and cancellation by his political opponents at home - comprising the main body of the state and a network of European state elites - and had to overcome all of that, and has done so. His performance so far speaks for itself. Like him or not, he is an example of the great man type I referred to.

I appreciate all opinions and am taking everything on board.

I guess it all depends on your appetite for risk. Obviously yours is different from mine. So far my philosophy paid off, although i was unfortunate to run into the FTX thing. My lesson from that is to spread yourself across a few different platforms.

To this point, my gut feeling has always been right, and I've only lost out when i made snap decisions or tried day / short term trading.

Are there any websites that claim to identify trends? Other suggested sources of information?

I know a lot about tech, so that's easy for me to judge, but i'd also be interesting in knowing about other trends, then i could do some research.

So when i say trends, i mean areas of the market that are already trending up.