diff --git a/tradingagents/dataflows/polymarket.py b/tradingagents/dataflows/polymarket.py
index a6e52d0..97637cf 100644
--- a/tradingagents/dataflows/polymarket.py
+++ b/tradingagents/dataflows/polymarket.py
@@ -24,7 +24,10 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 GAMMA_BASE = "https://gamma-api.polymarket.com"
 
 # Network timeout (seconds), consistent with the other vendors.
-REQUEST_TIMEOUT = 30
+REQUEST_TIMEOUT = 15
+
+# Timeout for direct Polymarket API call (fail fast, use SSH proxy)
+DIRECT_TIMEOUT = 5
 
 # Default number of markets to return, ranked by traded volume.
 DEFAULT_LIMIT = 6
@@ -33,7 +36,7 @@ DEFAULT_LIMIT = 6
 def _request(path: str, params: dict) -> dict:
     url = f"{GAMMA_BASE}/{path}"
     try:
-        response = requests.get(url, params=params, timeout=REQUEST_TIMEOUT)
+        response = requests.get(url, params=params, timeout=DIRECT_TIMEOUT)
         response.raise_for_status()
         return response.json()
     except requests.RequestException:
diff --git a/tradingagents/dataflows/stockstats_utils.py b/tradingagents/dataflows/stockstats_utils.py
index 48e4a19..681ddef 100644
--- a/tradingagents/dataflows/stockstats_utils.py
+++ b/tradingagents/dataflows/stockstats_utils.py
@@ -105,17 +105,8 @@ def yf_retry(func, max_retries=3, base_delay=2.0):
     retry them internally. This wrapper adds retry logic specifically
     for rate limits. Other exceptions propagate immediately.
     """
-    for attempt in range(max_retries + 1):
-        try:
-            return func()
-        except YFRateLimitError:
-            if attempt < max_retries:
-                delay = base_delay * (2 ** attempt)
-                logger.warning(f"Yahoo Finance rate limited, retrying in {delay:.0f}s (attempt {attempt + 1}/{max_retries})")
-                time.sleep(delay)
-            else:
-                logger.warning("Yahoo Finance local exhausted, will let caller handle fallback")
-                raise
+    # Skip local Yahoo Finance entirely - always use SSH proxy
+    raise YFRateLimitError("Local Yahoo Finance disabled, use SSH proxy")
 
 
 def _ensure_date_column(data: pd.DataFrame) -> pd.DataFrame: