I've been thinking the same thing, just didn't consider it regarding my VIX play.
I avoid leaning into any conspiracy mindset, mainly because it's not a great trading strategy, but my theory has been that it effectively acts as a capital inflow to prop up the market using a steady flow of retail money.
Say we have a day that everyone expects to obviously go down some,
because of some perfectly reasonable data or event.
1. Retail buys a ton of 0DTE puts
2. Prop up the whole market to counteract the puts, expiring them all worthless.
This means a direct day-to-day paycheck, and as long as the cost of holding up the market is less than the potential loss from 0DTE puts printing it's a win, even if you only hold it up to negate *some* losses.
3. Now the market has moved up, when retail expected it to go down.
The result is even heavier buying of 0DTE puts.
4. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat. The more absurd it gets, the more 0DTE puts, the more value to hold it up.
5. The entities holding up the market eventually ends up with heavy leaning on the long side because they need to buy up the market, but that is profit in itself because the day-to-day 0DTE put counteracting results in fat long term rallies, so it's a win-win scenario.
It's obviously more complex than this, but I think retail is basically acting as a cash cow to prop up the market with a constant inflow of losses betting on the short side. I mean you can literally see how the market changes right around the introduction of daily 0DTE.
It basically means that short-term or even mid-term betting is way harder,
because there's an actual incentive for the market to counteract the most obvious movement with 0DTE.
So it basically finally became the casino.
I don’t know about the woods, but I friend of mine bought his first house by going down to Florida for the summer and picking them off cow poo. He came back with yard bags full.
Oh they will put it on QBs helmets? Only after VR, not like right now right? "Once AAA companies make games for VR". IDK what rock you live under, maybe your retired or have a lot of free time and friends as such but no. AAA companies will not invest heavily in VR, mobile is too much of a cash cow.
I don't even know where to start on the limitations of VR in practice. Apple thinks they can pull a META And make it work, let's see.
It looks like a consulting company.
Their business development pipeline must be off the mark. It is a crap-shoot if they are able to redevelop it. Will they pick the right product/service mix to ride the next wave?
Their home-page says AI. Investors buy AI futures, but how big is the AI market for consulting services? Are consumers buying? Has EPAM found a new cash-cow to milk?
I should look into AI Consulting Services.
https://preview.redd.it/ngjfo05vl84b1.png?width=491&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=8cacb4b4b8e2de3c3d80adcdfa55a14fe4bdabd9