9. The big picture: macro, markets and news

Social posts, newsletters, TV and tech news (TWIT, SUB, TV, HN)

Four optional panes bring outside media next to your data: TWIT (a live X search), SUB (your newsletters), TV (live business TV) and HN (Hacker News).

  • 3 min
  • 3 questions
  • Lesson 2 of 2

Why you would care

What are people saying, outside the data? Market-moving information increasingly appears first on social media, in a newsletter, or on a TV interview. Traders keep one of these panes open the way they used to keep a TV on the desk. The skill is to use them as a fast alert, then verify with data and primary sources.

The idea from scratch

PaneSourceWhat it is good forWatch out for
TWIT $NVDAPosts on X matching a search (here a cashtag)Fast reactions, rumors, executives' and analysts' postsSpam, bots, paid promotion, fake news
SUBYour own newsletter subscriptionsLong-form analysis you already pay for or followOpinions, not data
TVLive business TV channelsInterviews, breaking coverageCommentary moves fast and is rarely sourced
HNThe Hacker News front pageWhat the tech community talks aboutTech news, not market news

Two habits help:

  1. Weigh by reach and source: a post with 2,000 views from an unknown account is not news. An official company account is.
  2. Check the price: if a "breaking" post did not move the stock, the market may already know, or not believe it.

SUB, TV and HN are plugins: add-ons you install once (type the code and confirm; see chapter 02, Make it yours). TV in the terminal needs a video player that can draw in your terminal; on the desktop it plays inside the pane. TWIT needs a verified email.

Diagram: Social post, newsletter, TV segment leads to Alert: something is being said; Alert: something is being said leads to Verify; Verify leads to Price and volume reaction; Verify leads to Primary source: filing, press release; Price and volume reaction leads to Your judgment; Primary source: filing, press release leads to Your judgment.

See it in Gloom

Gloom screenshot: TWIT $NVDA: recent posts naming the cashtag, with time, tickers mentioned (and their price change) and engagement; authors and post text blurred here
TWIT $NVDA: recent posts naming the cashtag, with time, tickers mentioned (and their price change) and engagement; authors and post text blurred here. Historical example.

open themTWIT $NVDA (or any query), SUB, TV, HN.

  1. TIME: post age (3m, 26m, 5h).
  2. TICKERS: every ticker the post names, with today's change (NVDA -0.7%): posts often mention several stocks at once.
  3. LIKES and VIEWS: engagement; sorted here by views (2k at the top).
  4. The tab $NVDA and the +: each search is a tab; add more.
  5. Refreshed every two minutes.

Practice and recap

Try it3 tasks
  1. In the screenshot, how many views does the top post have? (About 2,000.)
  2. A post claims "huge contract coming" for a stock that did not move. Two possible reasons? (The market already priced it; or nobody believes it.)
  3. Which pane would you check for a long-form take you subscribe to? (SUB.)
Common mistakes4 mistakes
  • Treating social posts as sources.
  • Counting likes as evidence.
  • Reacting to TV commentary without checking the data screen.
  • Forgetting that cashtag feeds attract promotions and spam.
Check yourself3 questions
  1. What is a cashtag?
  2. Why verify a social post against the price?
  3. What do you need before using TWIT?
Answers
  1. A ticker with a dollar sign in a post, like $NVDA.
  2. The price shows whether the market cares or already knew.
  3. A Gloom account with a verified email.
Words in this lesson5 words
cashtag
A ticker with a dollar sign in a social post.
engagement
Likes, views and replies a post gets.
newsletter
A regular publication sent to subscribers.
plugin
An add-on that brings new panes to Gloom.
primary source
The original document: filing, press release, data release.

Educational material about reading market data, not investment advice.