Lots of good examples. I agree he could have listed a few, but with ETFs it is very easy yo buy energy, industrial firms etc.
Look at INFL it is 25% gold and basic materials but also lots of energy and financial firms

I can't remember all of them but during previous shutdowns, I am sure our practice was not paid for some of them.
Medicare was almost as bad a payor to work with as Trump. They would always delay the late September check to push it into the next fiscal year. They were more prompt than the commercial insurances, but had the right to audit a small fraction of your chart visits ( say 10) and if they found 2 miscoded, would demand a check for 205 of those revenues paid over the last three years on the spot.
They spent a lot of money torturing small practices over junk like this but for some reason could never catch huge practices that were billing millions fraudulently. An ophthalmologist in Florida would use 1/2 of a vial to treat one eye, and open another vial to treat the other eye, and bill Medicare for both vials. Why they couldn't catch that one I will never understand.

This is more updated ( But we are still stoopidest "advanced" planet on face of the earth, run by a political party whose ONLY policy objective is maximal cruelty to the most number of citizens possible)
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/cms-walks-back-medicare-payment-pause/
CMS has clarified that only select Medicare claims will be held amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, walking back an earlier notice that suggested a broader payment pause.
“In light of the continuing government shutdown, CMS will continue to process and pay held claims in a timely manner with the exception of select claims for services impacted by the expired provisions,” the agency said in an Oct. 15 notice. “To date, no payments have been delayed as statute already requires all claims to be held for a minimum of fourteen days, and this recent hold is consistent with that statutory requirement. Providers may continue to submit claims accordingly.”
An earlier version of the notice stated that all payments under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, ground ambulance transport claims and all federally qualified health center claims would be temporarily held.
The updated notice specifies that only claims tied to lapsed legislative provisions — such as those for non-behavioral telehealth visits, hospital-at-home care and hospice face-to-face recertifications — will be affected by the hold.
Provisions for those programs expired Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass a funding bill. The lapse has already led to service disruptions at hospitals and health systems across the country.
About 30% of hospitals have halted Medicare telehealth services amid the shutdown, according to estimates from the American Telemedicine Association. Many systems have also discharged or transferred hospital-at-home patients back to capacity-strained brick-and-mortar facilities as CMS reimbursement for the model lapsed.

See the CG link below:
https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/64622/2025-estimated-capital-gains-estimates-with-links

SENTIMENT & MARKET INDICATORS, 10/15/25
AAII Bull-Bear Spread -12.4% (low; large decline)
CNN Fear & Greed Index 30 (fear)
NYSE %Above 50-dMA 47.73% (negative)
SP500 %Above 50-dMA 49.80% (negative)
These are contrarian indicators.
INVESTOR CONCERNS: Budget, debt, tariffs, inflation, jobs, Fed, dollar, recession, geopolitical, Russia-Ukraine (190+ weeks), Israel-Hamas (67+27 weeks).
For the Survey week (Th-Wed), stocks down, bonds up, oil down, gold up, dollar down.
Israel-Hamas fragile peace deal, phase 1 has begun. Delayed CPI on 10/24/25 – it’ll affect SSA COLA (2026), & I-Bond & TIPS variable rates. Other updates delayed by DC shutdown – Medicare info during OEP; Fed TSP G Fund rate.
#AAII #CNN #Sentiment
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/post/2257/thread

The news appears credible. Further, private insurers (Medicare Advantage) may be stuck paying covered medical expenses even if they don't receive payments from the government.

MA plans directly reimburse providers for care in accordance with contractual agreements between the plan and provider. Those contractual agreements must include a prompt pay provision; the specifics of the provision are up to the plan and provider. MA also has concrete rules for how non-contracted providers who provide care outside of the plan network are reimbursed for services, and those have not changed. Under existing regulations, MA plans have 30 days from receipt to pay 95% of “clean claims” for services furnished by non-contracted providers or submitted by, or on behalf of, an enrollee of an MA private fee-for-service plan.

The government shutdown’s impact on Medicare Advantage: As clear as mud?
That headline pretty much sums things up. Hard to tell quite what is happening. With providers and with insurers.
The dateline on this piece is Oct 16th. No wonder it's clear as mud. As Yogi Berra said, it's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/261863-it-s-tough-to-make-predictions-especially-about-the-future

Please clarify any findings (you may discover) about this post or the information below, as to the fully credible nature and/or any modification of the terms or wording. I/we need this to be accurate reporting and not contrary to the below. Thank you.
--- This evening, October 15, 2025, 9pm, EST

Medicare has temporarily paused payments to doctors, community health centers, and ground ambulance providers due to the federal government shutdown. This hold applies to services provided since October 1, 2025, and payments will not be released until Congress acts to fund the government and reauthorize expired programs. This situation is separate from the annual Medicare physician payment cuts and the 2025 reduction that is still in effect.
Why payments are paused
Federal government shutdown: The shutdown that began on October 1, 2025, has triggered the pause in payments because certain Medicare payment programs, such as those for telehealth, have not been reauthorized by Congress.
Expired provisions: The expiration of legislative provisions passed under the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 has put a hold on payments for services delivered on or after October 1, 2025.
Claims are still being submitted: Providers can continue to submit claims, but the payments will remain on hold until the situation is resolved.
What this means for patients
Potential delays in care: The pause in payments could create delays in accessing care, as doctors and clinics face financial strain.
Impact on specific services: The hold specifically affects services paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, ground ambulance transport claims, and claims from Federally Qualified Health Centers.
Resumption of services: Once Congress acts to fund the government and reauthorize the programs, the hold will be lifted, and claims will be processed.
What this means for doctors
Payment delays: Doctors are experiencing a delay in receiving Medicare payments for services rendered since October 1, 2025.
Impact on clinics: This could create significant financial challenges for physician practices, especially those that rely heavily on Medicare reimbursements.
Need for congressional action: Physicians are waiting for Congress to pass legislation to reopen the government and reauthorize the programs to get paid for their services.
Ongoing payment cuts: This is separate from the 2.8% Medicare physician payment cut that took effect on January 1, 2025, and remains in effect.
What to do if you have questions
Contact your doctor: If you have questions or concerns, contact your doctor's office for information about how this may affect your care or billing.
Contact CMS: For specific questions about your Medicare benefits or claims, you can contact the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for the most up-to-date information.

ARK Bitcoin Yield ETF
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579982/000121390025098865/ea0261089-01_485apos.htm
ARK DIET Q1 Bitcoin 1 ETF
ARK DIET Q2 Bitcoin 1 ETF
ARK DIET Q3 Bitcoin 1 ETF
ARK DIET Q4 Bitcoin 1 ETF
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1579982/000121390025098860/ea0261086-01_485apos.htm

Pre-ordered audio version of Sorkin’s 1929 several weeks ago after first hearing about it. Started listening last night. Excellent. Very well written and narrated by Sorkin himself. About more than just the market mania / crash. A good historical account of the period. Highly recommend.

Side sleeper also. That pain in the bones shoots right through you late at night or upon waking. Not any one area. Legs. Arms. Whatever. Enough to make you scream. Nearing 80. Guess that older smaller bed will have to do until figure this one out. Both shoulders been really sore for months. Arthritis I think. Had a cortisone injection in one a couple months ago. Some relief. I bought a tube of Diclofenac Gel from Amazon recently. Slopped it on both shoulders the other night and most of the pain has gone away. Seems to last a while. Quite amazing.
@Old_Joe. No, the bed didn’t come from the pillow guy! :) Funny - the (real) wood frame of that smaller bed I’m using now was purchased about 45 years ago at a Montgomery Ward store downstate where I worked back then. Who woulda thunk it would last all those years? Outlasted “Monkey Ward” by a mile. Newer isn’t always better.

The Week in Charts (10/15/25)
The State of the Markets, including...
00:00 Intro
00:27 Stocks
13:09 Bonds/Fed
21:34 Real Estate/Housing
27:53 Commodities
33:56 Currencies
35:36 Crypto
36:51 Intermarket
41:54 Economy
Video
Blog

They are just testing this SEC.
SEC has restricted ETFs to +/- 2x, but didn't restrict ETNs that can still be +/- 3x.
Existing +/- 3x ETFs weren't affected - may be that is giving the filers hope.
Some have already filed for +/- 3x ETFs to test, but +/- 5x may prompt SEC to act quickly on this.

Sure ... but even that *someone* is offering such a product after the past few years is kind of telling/worrysome, at least to me.

They are just testing this SEC.
SEC has restricted ETFs to +/- 2x, but didn't restrict ETNs that can still be +/- 3x.
Existing +/- 3x ETFs weren't affected - may be that is giving the filers hope.
Some have already filed for +/- 3x ETFs to test, but +/- 5x may prompt SEC to act quickly on this.

Irrational idiotic exuberance -- markets can only go up, right?
(Reuters) -Volatility Shares, an issuer of exchange-traded funds, filed on Wednesday to launch a total of 27 highly leveraged ETFs, including the first-ever proposed 5x ETF for the U.S. market, at a time of rising caution over inflated asset prices as markets continue their upward swing....
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/volatility-shares-files-first-ever-182608186.html

@hank - maybe consider stuffing some of your cash into the new mattress and see if that helps.
I didn't have to deal with that achey bone and muscle business the first 75 years of my life but it's acting up to me now. Sucks, and I feel your pain.

Today I moved everything I had in NEAR (14-15% of portfolio) into AGZD. That’s the closest I come to holding any cash, except for a few bucks left in SPAAX for trading. AGZD is hedged against rate volatility. Should yield roughly whatever intermediate to long high grade bonds do without all the excitement. Suspect a bit higher than short-term bonds going forward. AGZD zigs and zags a bit. Not necessarily bad if it helps offset volatility in other parts of the portfolio.
Enjoyed the discussion of aging. Right now I’m trying to figure out why every bone in my body aches in the morning after sleeping in a newer more upscale more expensive queen bed in the master bedroom, but don’t hurt after a night in an older smaller & softer bed in different room. Nuts.

Wonderful, 15 Billion worth of Bitcoins in US Bitcoin Sovereign fund.

Howdy folks,
Some of you are riding this bull and some are tempted. At this moment, for most investors, if I wanted to establish a position, I'd Dollar Cost Average. I'm a momentum investor and have been scaling in until I reach my target allocation. What your target allocation should be varies enormously from investor to investor. For years I suggested 3-7% for most, preferably in physical bullion. Yeah, that can get sticky but cripes, a roll of American Gold Eagles is slightly larger than a quarter in diameter and stands 2-3" tall. At todays prices it's worth about $90K. You can hide it in your box of oatmeal. As for silver, a 100 oz bar is worth about $5K and you can paint it black and use it as a door stop. Buy some bling for you and your spouse.
Note: I don't trust bullion ETF funds generally as they are based upon an enormous amount of paper. I do trust Sprout. For paper investing, it's them, PRPFX and junior silver and gold miners with SILJ and SGDJ.
Spot price is determined in the commodities market and is paper and manipulated enormously. The price you pay is spot plus the premium. The premium varies by the type of bullion you're buying. I've attached the quote sheet from my local coin dealer. It lists the premium for every type of bullion. Note that better types are more than others and that volume buying lowers the premium. Top shelf costs more than rot gut.
https://libertycoinservice.com/daily-price-quotes/
Right now the LBMA has come up against a shortage of physical bullion and more and more contract holders are requesting physical delivery of their contractual bullion. This has increased the demand for pure bullion ingots .999%. Couple this with the increased demand from individual investors and more particularly from various central banks around the world and you see a perfect example of artificial pricing. The spot price was around $3.00 below the 'street' price. Premiums are soaring. When the paper price is lower than the street price, one of two things occurs. The street price goes up [increased premiums] or supply dries up. "Sorry, we're all out."
One last thing. Because London is so desperate for physical bullion, the refiners in this country are refusing to except 90% silver (old U.S. coinage pre-1964), not because it's not valuable, but because they don't have time to refine it to .999% pure. Ah, but this has resulted in the premium on 90% silver going to around zero. Best buy in town. Having a couple of rolls of quarters and dimes in the safe, doesn't sound like a horrible idea.
and so it goes,
peace,
rono

. "Nevermind."