RektDetective

I only just figured out the rules for the closing time of the Hong Kong stock market for Hong Kong stocks, so I’m sharing it with everyone. The morning session for Hong Kong stocks is 9:30 to 12:00 every day, and the afternoon session is 13:00 to 16:00. This 16:00 closing time for the Hong Kong stock market is important because before the close there’s a call auction period from 16:00 to 16:08 or 16:10, during which the market closes randomly—kind of interesting.
Before the market opens, there’s also an auction mechanism from 9:00 to 9:30, divided into four short periods, and the rules are fai

Recently, while organizing my investment notes, I realized that my grasp of the timing of company financial report releases is still not precise enough, especially around the earnings season. Thinking about how much this impacts trading decisions, I decided to compile and share the accumulated experience over the years.
First, let's talk about the Taiwan stock market. Honestly, Taiwan's financial reporting regulations are among the strictest worldwide, with extremely high transparency. Every listed company is tightly regulated and must complete disclosures before the statutory deadline, leavin

I only realized while trading forex recently that symbols that seem simple—like the US dollar symbol and the New Taiwan dollar symbol—actually come with plenty of nuances.
It’s a bit embarrassing to admit: I used to think “$” was just the US dollar, but I later found out that more than 30 countries around the world use this symbol. The New Taiwan dollar is NT$, the Canadian dollar is C$, and the Australian dollar is A$. If you don’t look closely at the codes, you basically can’t tell them apart. That’s when I understood why forex traders have to master these symbols—quickly identifying differe

Recently, many people have asked me whether they should buy stocks on the ex-dividend date, especially regarding the timing of selling after the ex-dividend date. Actually, the logic behind this is not as complicated as it seems.
First, the conclusion: stock prices do not necessarily fall on the ex-dividend date. Many people think that stock prices must drop after the ex-dividend date, but based on actual cases, leading stocks like Coca-Cola and Apple sometimes see prices rise on the ex-dividend day. In 2023, Apple’s stock price increased from $182 to $186 on the ex-dividend date of November 1

I recently looked at the 10-year chart of the Japanese yen against the US dollar and noticed a very interesting phenomenon. The yen slid from 80 per 1 USD in 2012 down to around 155 in May this year. This isn’t just a simple exchange-rate fluctuation—it’s basically a “big drama” of monetary policy.
As for the root cause of the yen’s depreciation, it has to go back to the time when Shinzo Abe took office. At the end of 2012, he rolled out “Abenomics,” and in 2013 the Bank of Japan began large-scale easing. After Haruhiko Kuroda took office, he delivered tough statements, saying that within two

Recently, someone asked me about buying cryptocurrencies with a credit card, and I realized there are quite a few restrictions here in Taiwan. I initially thought buying virtual currencies with a credit card would be as simple as shopping online, but since 2022, the Financial Supervisory Commission in Taiwan has banned banks from allowing virtual asset platforms to be designated as credit card merchants. Basically, most banks' credit cards can't be used for this.
I looked into the reasons, mainly because the government is worried about money laundering and risk control issues. Plus, over the p

Recently, I saw many people in the community asking how to trade options.
Actually, options may seem complicated at first glance, but once you understand the core logic, it’s not so mysterious.
Simply put, an option is a contract that gives you a choice—allowing you to buy or sell an asset at a fixed price in the future.
This asset could be stocks, indices, commodities, or even cryptocurrencies.
The coolest part is, you only need to pay a small amount of money (the premium) to control a large asset, with obvious leverage effects.
Why use options? There are mainly a few reasons.
Fir

Friends who have been paying attention to networking stocks should have a feeling that this industry is no longer the simple concept of pulling lines to install Wi-Fi as in the past. By mid-2026, the entire networking sector has evolved into a strong group combining AI computing demands, policy incentives, and technological upgrades.
I notice that there are actually two main themes driving this wave of market movement. One is the U.S. $42.5 billion BEAD broadband deployment plan entering full-scale construction, which is a tangible positive for domestic fiber optic and networking equipment man

Recently, I reviewed the exchange rate trends of the Japanese Yen over the past decade and found that during this period, the Yen has undergone a complete transformation from a "safe-haven currency" to a "historic depreciation," which is worth a deep analysis.
It's a bit ironic to say, but at the end of 2012, the Yen against the US dollar was still around 80, and at that time, everyone thought the Yen would continue to appreciate. But since then, the Yen has embarked on a long depreciation journey, reaching around 160 in 2024, hitting a 32-year low. What exactly happened over these more than t

Recently, I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon: more and more people around me want to exchange for Japanese Yen. Whether planning to travel abroad or trying to hedge against the depreciation of the Taiwan dollar, everyone is researching how to get the best exchange rate. Honestly, if you’re still using traditional over-the-counter currency exchange, the spread alone could cost you several hundred dollars more.
I recently organized the mainstream currency exchange channels in the market and found that online banking exchange for Yen is actually underestimated by many. Especially using online

Recently, I整理了一下 these years' cases of exchange collapses,发现 this is not really a black swan event, but rather the norm in the crypto market. Honestly, compared to the volatility of cryptocurrencies themselves, a direct exchange collapse often causes more harm to investors.
Let's start with some well-known cases. In 2014, MT.Gox was once the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, but it was hacked and 850k BTC were stolen, leading to bankruptcy. Then in 2015, Taiwan's Yes-BTC also had issues, with the chairman embezzling user funds and then disappearing. In 2020, FCoin was even more outrageous; the

Recently, I’ve noticed many people asking how to buy fractional ETF shares, especially those investors whose funds aren’t enough to buy a full ETF lot. Honestly, this is a good question because buying ETFs on the Taiwan stock market is a bit special.
You might not know that the basic trading unit on the Taiwan stock market is “one lot,” which is 1,000 shares. For example, the popular Yuanta Taiwan 50 ETF has a closing price of around NT$160, so buying a full lot costs over NT$160k. That’s a huge amount for small investors. But the good news is, ETFs can be bought in fractional shares. In recen

Recently, I’ve been looking into the hydrogen energy sector. Honestly, the market performance from last year to now has been quite interesting. Governments around the world are aggressively pushing carbon-neutrality targets. As a solution for clean energy, hydrogen has long been a darling of the investment community, and green hydrogen concept stocks are mentioned again and again.
Let’s start with the policy side. The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently released the final rules for clean hydrogen production, clarifying the tax credit policy that producers can enjoy—up to $3 per kilogram.

Recently, I’ve noticed that many investors around me are discussing an interesting phenomenon—some companies cannot be found on mainstream exchanges but can be traded elsewhere, which is the world of OTC over-the-counter trading.
Simply put, OTC trading (Over The Counter) refers to buyers and sellers bypassing centralized exchanges and directly negotiating transactions through brokers, banks, or electronic systems. Taiwan’s OTC Securities Exchange is a typical OTC market, where many small and medium-sized enterprises and startups are traded. These companies may not meet listing standards or si

I just put together a set of notes on money symbols, and I realized my understanding of these symbols before was still pretty superficial.
The most common one is the $ symbol, but it doesn’t just mean the US dollar. More than 30 countries around the world use it—like Canada, Singapore, and Australia. So when you see $, be careful. It’s best to look at the full code so you don’t mix things up. The same goes for the ¥ symbol: Japan and China both use it, representing the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan, respectively. If you need to distinguish them, write them as JPY￥ or CNY￥.
If you often tra

Recently, I’ve been reviewing 50 years of historical data on the gold price chart and found a very interesting phenomenon.
Gold has risen from $35 in 1971 to more than $5,100 today, an increase of over 145 times. But this advance hasn’t been smooth—instead, it’s been full of drama. Over the past 55 years, gold has gone through three major bull markets, and each one has corresponded to a different economic crisis.
The first was from 1971 to 1980, rising from $35 to $850, a 24-fold increase. At the time, Nixon had just announced the decoupling of the dollar from gold, and people lost confidence

I’ve been looking for good stock trading software lately and tried quite a few, and I found that these five each have their own strengths.
If you’re like me and enjoy viewing stocks on your computer, a large screen with clear data, it’s definitely more comfortable than on a phone when checking technical indicators. Plus, desktop software usually allows opening multiple windows at once, so you can watch Taiwan stocks, US stocks, and forex simultaneously—something a phone can’t do.
First, let’s talk about SanTzu Stock Market, which most Taiwanese investors should be familiar with. This software

Recently, many novice investors have been confused about why it costs so much to buy Taiwanese stocks, while U.S. stocks are much cheaper. The underlying logic is quite simple—it's the difference in trading units. Today, I want to talk about how much one share of stock actually costs and the rules behind it.
Let's start with the basics. The stock price is the trading price of a share, representing how much money you need to buy one share. In the stock market, stock prices are usually expressed per share and fluctuate in real-time based on buy and sell transactions. For example, TSMC's stock pr