This week’s Alpha Trader features host Stephen Alpher speaking with Scott Bauer, CEO of Prosper Trading Academy (co-host Aaron Task is off this week).

Among the topics discussed:

The recent market stumbles probably have a lot more to do with the Omicron variant, rather than the Fed speeding up its pace of policy tightening, suggests Bauer. For now, Omicron is more about cases, rather than serious illness, but it’s too early to have a handle on how this plays out.

Of that Fed tightening, Bauer isn’t too worked up about the central bank’s “plan” to maybe hike three times in 2022. That would still leave short rates near historic lows, and even a move in long rates to the 2.5% area shouldn’t pose much issue for the economy.

While leaning bullish on stocks right now, Bauer isn’t trying to hit any home runs thanks to the Omicron wild card. He’s been selling volatility on spikes, noting that seemingly every market downdraft of late has been quickly faded (and he’s using the subsequent rallies to buy back that vol).

Looking into 2022, he’s fan of the recently hit big banks, expecting players like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to do well alongside the continuing strong economy.

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