[HELP REQUEST] How to prepare for the markets for S&T Interview?

Hi,

Questions: How would you go about "following the markets" for S&T/trading internships? S&T interviewers, what do you ask and what are you looking for in the markets portion of an interview?

Also please critique my preparation methods:

1) Prepare for the classics

• cheat sheet table of indices on the day of the interview
• how would you invest 1 mil
• 1 Long/1 Short stock pitch - First pitch: 3 minutes, why the biz is a good one, and follow up with catalysts/more info later.
• 1 trade idea - usually the same as 1 of my stock pitch but sometimes I found a pretty good trade whether it's my own or online - oil bonds housing FX etc

2) Make sure I'm solid on broad macro knowledge: * Fed minutes & what the Fed has done (facts) * What the Fed will be doing (opinions) * how's rates and inflation gonna be (opinion) * where is the markets/economy gonna be 3 months/1 year from now * brief overview of how other markets are doing (commodities, FX, housing, etc.)

3) Read anything I can get when something major is happening: * March: corporate credit bubble and muni bonds liquidity crisis * Negative oil and the dynamics behind it

4) Quirks/interview tips: * having an "obscure" article that I can teach the interviewer about * Ready to discuss a book I recently read * Say "I believe" instead of "I think", say "Idk the answer, but here is how I'll approach it, please tell me if I'm on the right track" to a tough question.

The thing is: I can form my own opinions on the market by reading 2 sides of a story (sometimes 1 if all narratives are the same, re: Fed continues to take unprecedented actions) , and deciding which ones make more sense to me personally, and which ones I can articulate better in the interview. However, my main points ended up being more or less the same as those espoused by the FT, WSJ, and Bloomberg. There is nothing "revolutionary" or "contrarian" about what I'm saying. I suspect this may be what is getting me dinged in interviews. I say everything with confidence and conviction, so is this the case? Must I come up with my own radical revelations re: markets?

Also, for the stock pitches/ideas: I have only got my info from Seeking Alpha, Motley Fool, etc. and I feel like a complete impostor just essentially rephrasing and regurgitating what others have written. I use my stock pitch for the Student Investment Club on campus, but 75%-80% of the content comes from these sites. These are heavily biased and unoriginal, and I know I'm supposed to "do research of my own" and "dig into 10-Ks" etc but how do I go about doing that? How to find an "edge" and have a stock pitch that knocks socks off?

I guess it's really just me feeling confused and unoriginal: I'm always told you have to be pigheaded and to "have your own opinions" to succeed in this industry, and I'm just reading articles and basically repeat (more or less) in interviews what others have written on the WSJ and Seeking Alpha, etc. and maybe that's what's getting me dinged in interviews.

I imagine the trading floors to be all contrarians then, but there is only so many opinions that can be thrown around, right? If anyone could provide guidance, that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for reading.