diff --git "a/reddit_finance_43_250k_444.txt" "b/reddit_finance_43_250k_444.txt" new file mode 100644--- /dev/null +++ "b/reddit_finance_43_250k_444.txt" @@ -0,0 +1,10000 @@ + +Feel free to forward the list below to any representatives and lawmakers if you concur that these tactics were used: + +**Rampant Naked Shorting -** With the [extremely high number of Fail to Delivers (FTID](http://www.wherearetheshares.com/)) , [short interest being as high as 226% recently](https://imgur.com/fN4fVQl), [and institutions alone holding a staggering 177% of the total float](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/le235t/gme_institutions_hold_177_of_float_why_the) (likely due in large part to counterfeit shares), signs strongly point to GME being rampant with naked shorts and counterfeit shares. I believe the original goal of shorts was to drive GME to bankruptcy with these naked shorts, using [the laddering of naked shorts](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/lf4vn3/yes_laddering_is_real_short_ladder_attack_is_just/) (aka short ladder attack), executed with the help of counterfeit stock which is a classic and reliable method of driving down the stock price. I believe the GME stock has seen relentlessly aggressive short attacks, especially on the week of Monday February 1st, which drove the stock price down and triggered panic selling. + +**Ladder Attacks with the help of Dark Pools** \- Another identified method of ladder attacks was identified to come from [crosstrading with darkpools (the stock market has its own private stock exchange where institutions can trade…)](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/lf4vn3/yes_laddering_is_real_short_ladder_attack_is_just/). Essentially darkpools are private stock markets retail investors do not have access to, where short side funds can purchase securities “off market” and then sell “on-market”, with the effect of creating a lot more downward pressure on the market without the upward pressure from buying. + +**Illegally masking shorts with synthetic longs**. Another tactic shorts are suspected of using in GME is the use of illegally using options to evade short positions in violation of Reg SHO which SEC describes in [this risk alert](https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2013-151) and which I elaborate in this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/leorks/evidence_points_to_gme_shorts_not_having_covered/). Essentially it’s the use of using options to create synthetic longs to illegally and artificially cover and prolong short positions and at same time obscuring the true short interest %. If you consider that it would be far more profitable for shorts to not cover at high prices but instead ladder attack the price and wait for retail investors to lose interest and close their shorts at as low of a price as possible, then you can see why this strategy would be very effective. + +**Using way out-of-money call options to obscure true short interest.** You may have heard about the 43 million worth of 800 dollar calls purchased when the price was 100 and found it odd. [Later it was identified](https://www.reddit.com/r/Wallstreetbetsnew/comments/lgpim2/shorts_have_not_covered_and_i_have_proof_please/) as a tactic to cheaply purchase synthetic call options (since at 800 its way out of money) to obscure their short positions (with the added benefit of hedging at 800 if a squeeze does happen) + +One thing I want to note, particularly to legislators at the GameStop hearing: Retail investors were not incited to pump GME. **Retail investors spotted a unique Short Squeeze opportunity created by the greed of short side hedge funds**, whereby GameStop was being abusively naked shorted with the goal of bringing it to bankruptcy, and hedge funds were so greedy about it that they shorted the company with a short interest of 226% of float, meaning A LOT of counterfeit shares were being used to short the company. **Retail investors saw this as an opportunity to short squeeze the hedge fund shorters, which is a legal and legitimate investment strategy**. The short squeeze would have happened had everyone played fair, but instead, financial institutions who were culpable to the naked shorting intervened and shut down retail buying, hurting the retail investors and successfully manipulating the market. The investment itself was in my opinion a sound decision based on the short squeeze, but in hindsight retail investors did not seriously consider the risk of the market would be blatantly and publicly manipulated and that the market would be rigged against them. + +If this post was useful (and I hope it was! Gave up my Friday night to write this for you Apes), please upvote for visibility and share it far and wide. **The GameStop hearings could be a first step and hope towards legislative change, and it’s extremely important that the right story is told at those hearings (and by the right story I mean the real truth of what happened**.) I hope the truly culpable parties are investigated and brought to justice. Again, I know many of us feel cynical that anything meaning will be done towards finding justice against the lawbreakers in this case, but **if you feel even an ounce of injustice or empathy at how retail investors were unfairly harmed in the course of investing in GME, I strongly urge you to contact a legislator associated with the GameStop hearings and bring this to their attention so they can review this case with more complete information. In addition I recommend you to contact the SEC and any journalist you know or via journalist tip lines. It’s not going to be easy but the more awareness we raise the higher the likelihood our voices will be heard and positive change will be made.** + +As we navigate the rocky waters ahead, I’ll gift you with a favorite quote of mine: + +**The only difference between a nightmare and a dream is how big your balls are.** + +🚀🚀🚀 + +*Disclaimer: I am not an investment advisor, I just like the stock.* + +Ps. If you’ve read to the end, I’ll leave you with a few more thoughts and reminders: + +\- If I were to distill life into one thing, it would be to never lose hope. + +\- Remember that if you’ve lost money in any way shape or form, don’t be depressed, money can always be made back and the important thing is to maintain a good attitude. + +\- Only invest what you can afford to lose. + +\- Perhaps the most important factor in good investing is patience. + +If you’d like to read more about counterfeiting stocks this is a good place to start [http://counterfeitingstock.com/CS2.0/CounterfeitingStock.html](http://counterfeitingstock.com/CS2.0/CounterfeitingStock.html) +Well f**k. Amazon (AMZN) just announced that they made $92MM last quarter versus a loss of $126MM in the same quarter last year. So what did investors do? They decided to reward Amazon with an $85 per share increase after hours. That’s an additional $40Billion or so in value added. So now they are officially worth more than Wal-Mart. And that is beyond stupid…and here is why: + +In the last twelve months (TTM – Trailing Twelve Months), Wal-Mart has $485Billion in revenue. Amazon has $96Billion in the last 12 months. So Wal-Mart, by sales, is 5 times larger. But it is worth LESS?!?!?! Ok…maybe it’s about profit… + +In the last twelve months, Wal-Mart has made $16Billion in net income. Amazon has LOST $188MM. Wait. So Wal-Mart has MADE A PROFIT of $16Billion and Amazon has LOST $188,000,000….LOST….Oh but wait, everyone says it’s about the growth… + +I know. So Amazon’s BEST argument is that they are investing in more and more things to make the experience for users better and grow their media collection and blah blah blah. Ok. Fine. Then why can’t you make money off of $96B EVEN DOING THAT?!?! + +Their best margins ever were almost 4%…Wal-Mart, which is brick and mortar and supposed to cost more, is higher on average. So let’s assume that they hit 4% in profit margin in the long run because of their investments and they finally start to turn a profit…on $96Billion in sales, that’s profit of $3.8Billion. So at a market cap of $265Billion, that’s a price to earnings ratio of 70 still! Which is still 5 times more than historical averages especially for such a mature company because REMEMBER, Amazon is a MATURE company. It isn’t a start-up! It’s been around for 20 years! + +Sure it is! They surprised everyone by growing 20% from last year’s same quarter. Ok. So let’s assume they continue to grow 20% per year and let’s assume Wal-Mart only grows at 3% per year…how long will it take for Amazon to catch up? Remember, assuming 20% growth per year is HIGHLY unlikely…is it impossible? No. But even Amazon’s growth since 2007 has slowed significantly. From 2007 to 2008, before the big recession, Amazon’s revenue grew 30%. So there is going to be a slow down. Have they had better years since then? Sure, but here is their year over year growth since 2007: 30%, 27.9%, 39.5%, 40.5%, 27%, 21.9%, 19.5%, and this last quarter they SURPRISED everyone with 20% growth. + +So back to my point: Let’s assume 20% growth for Amazon every year and only 3% for Wal-Mart every year…In 10 years, Amazon’s revenue will be $595Billion and Wal-Mart’s revenue will be $651Billion! They still haven’t caught up to Wal-Mart! And even at $595Billion in revenue and 4% profit margin, which I remind you they have never achieved, they will have profit of $24Billion which is still only 10 times earnings of TODAY’S MARKET VALUE!…which is about where stocks should sell for during a bad bear market. So let’s even assume that it should sell for the same multiple as Wal-Mart, which is around 15 or so historically. That’s a valuation of $360Billion which is 35% higher than today. + +Soooooo…follow me here…Today’s market value of Amazon is 35% lower than what it should be if it were to grow at 20% per year for 10 more years AND have profit margins it has never seen before. Does it sound optimistic? Absolutely. Yes, Amazon is winning the popularity contest right now, but no companies does that for decades. Microsoft didn’t. Google didn’t. Dell didn’t. IBM didn’t. No one does. And sometime in there, it will massively correct. And when it does, it will be ugly. Until then, my bank account looks ugly. + +Good day. +PG is getting some blowback on their toxic masculinity campaign for Gillette pandering to #metoo movement which is being considered an attack on men. + +https://twitter.com/hashtag/BoycottGillette?src=hash +Bittersweet feeling. Just called my bank and instantly got my variable rate dropped from 2.6% to 1.9%. + +Bitter because I thinking I lost at least 10k in not doing this earlier. + +First house we own so I was naive thinking the cash rate savings would automatically be passed on to us during the last two years. I signed the mortgage at 2.9% two years ago so the Bank only dropped 0.3% without me picking up the phone. At least something. But now getting another 0.7% drop that I probably could have gotten at least a year earlier already?? + +How often do you negotiate your interest rates? I kinda assumed it would be a no go during the first 12-24 months of your first mortgage , but now thinking it something I should have done as soon as I noticed cash rate drops were not passed on? +So, this has been a bit of an issue for a while now from what I can see. I live in Brisbane and there seems to be so many empty commercial buildings all over the city which remain empty for years. + +I have worked with some people renting these spaces, and they really struggle to pay the rent because it's so ridiculously high (like 50% of a restaurants turnover). + +I've also worked with some people who own some places and it stays empty for years because the added insurance costs etc for renting it out makes it cheaper to keep it empty than to rent it for what people in the area can afford. + +I assume this is a problem in many cities as people gradually buy more things online. The question is, does anyone know how government bodies plan on handling this? Surely they should just rezone some of these into residential spaces right? Thoughts? +Just thought this was interesting and worth sharing. Every January, Mexico undertakes the biggest oil hedge in the world. This year, they locked in prices at $49 per barrel. Given the drop, its proven extremely lucrative and explain why they have been reluctant to cut production. + +https://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/1/3/mexico-hedges-2020-crude-oil-exports-at-49-per-barrel +https://twitter.com/OverstockCEO/status/421682424976654336 + +OSTK hasn't reacted much, but was up over 1 point after announcing the go-live yesterday, and subsequently down almost almost 3 points today. + +I'm interested in opinions on if the Bitcoin go-live news has affected investors in their stock, and if so, how are they viewing it? +The fact that they’re still talking about us “Meme” investors and now introducing new headlines like conspiracy theories is quite fucking exciting. They keep attacking us for no reason lol. + + +If the GameStop hype died 6 months ago, why the fuck would it matter today? + + +There’s no need for a reaction when we’re all ultimately retarded as fuck. + + + +They’re obviously very threatened of our position. Just buy and hold my apes. + + +You’re on the right side of history. +Let's not forget the CFTC refuses to report data on swaps immediately after we discovered them back in August until October of 2023. This is not a coincidence and no one seems to be talking about it. Can we get a # or something trending calling them out and bring attention to them again so maybe we can see what is going on? +I have been experimenting quite a bit with major ETF recently and came across overnight behavior that has been somewhat consistent since 2016. It came from backtests for 3 ETFs that represent major indexes: **$SPY, $QQQ, $DIA** agains the following setups: + +&#x200B; + +* ​📈 Up Yesterday → Long in the Morning, Sell EOD +* ​📈 Up Intraday → Long Overnight, Sell at 9:30 Next Day +* ​📉​ Down Yesterday → Short in the Morning, Sell EOD +* ​📉​ Down Intraday → Short Overnight, Sell at 9:30 Next Day + +[Strategy Setup](https://preview.redd.it/mo5eirmggjj81.png?width=2386&format=png&auto=webp&s=9dc62b8af3f458a59c4807f957d006c0e32c736c) + +**Other Conditions** + +* $10,000 to trade daily +* Buy at intraday if condition is met +* Do not trade on early close days +* Market orders +* No Stop Loss in this study + +**The Results** + +$QQQ has best over night continuation rate; $SPY - the next day + +https://preview.redd.it/eevhv6gxgjj81.png?width=798&format=png&auto=webp&s=6fcacddf4200c5a7b987e0eac56e9833b10df5f8 + +https://preview.redd.it/lv7ep55ygjj81.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=4b91b3225730886f6c50bc6d3d8e83ab04a3aa6b + +https://preview.redd.it/gv5xq6vygjj81.png?width=804&format=png&auto=webp&s=692750a6562f5e479a2adc13b81b7117976738f4 +I am so perplexed by this. My gf got the red slip a few days ago and when we went to pick it up it turned out to be a parcel from China. Inside was a gold ring and a jewelry certificate for 15200 Chinese yen (£1,656). We didn't order it and we can't think of anyone who would send something like this to us. The return address just points at some customs office in China. + +Can anyone advise? We have no idea what to do. Send it back? Keep it and wait? + +Edit: I just found that there's a label on the front that states that the contents value is 10USD. I'm beginning to think that it is really a scam and I'm telling my gf to return the parcel to the post office and refuse to accept it. I'm wondering if it's possible when the package is already open. + +Edit: Thanks for all the advice! So we called the bank and cancelled the bank card. Just in case, because there was no missing money or any other suspicious activity. We also deleted her Alibaba and AliExpress accounts (also just to be safe, as we didn't spot anything suspicious). Tomorrow we're going to see if it's fake or not. If it is, great, if it genuine then... I don't know, we'll take it from there I guess. + +Edit2: We threw the ring in a cupboard and will appraise it if needed. We will return it if needed. We essentially forgot about it until something happens that will require us to revisit this issue. Thanks for all the advice. +I'm 21 and looking to start investing. I have £300 to put away each month, and after researching a bit it seems like putting that into FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund with Vanguard would be the best choice. + +I want to invest for the very long term and I'm happy to take on more risk to increase returns at my age, so I haven't included any bonds. I'm comfortable with hanging-on when markets are down and don't plan to touch the money for a long time. + +The thing is, I'm not sure if *only* this fund is the right choice. Most portfolios I have seen online have at least three ETFs or OEICs, but I can't think of how I could reasonably increase risk/returns or diversification by adding more. Adding another tracker like UK equities would presumably just unbalance the portfolio towards the UK rather than increase diversification, and I can't think of any sensible ways to increase risk/returns that aren't already covered by the global tracker in some way (like US small cap). + +Am I missing something? Is there a benefit I'm missing by not having some other kind of investment in there? +There was a Reddit thread not long ago that highlighted an economist who asked the question, if free markets were so great at efficiency, why are we not all companies-of-one freelancers interacting with each other in a completely free market, why are there companies in the first place? I've Googled for the past several days on a term ("threshold of efficiency") I thought I remembered from the linked article and cannot track him down any longer, and now I want to read some of his papers to see if he has performed any empirical analysis so I can apply it to my own firm. Does anyone remember who he is? +I am your typical 27 year old web developer with absolutely no experience in investing, but have a burgeoning interest in economics. I've been reading Ron Paul's book **End the Fed** as well has hearing "buy gold" over the years from various sources. + +I'm worried about our current financial crisis being prolonged by government foolhardiness, coupled with reckless record spending, deficits and inflation (and consequently, the declining value of the dollar), as well as the general instability of markets around the world. + +(Possibly dumb) Questions: + +* Why gold? What's so special about it, and what gives it its value? +* Should someone like me take the leap and buy it? Of what practical use is it, if any? What should I expect once I buy it? + +Thank you for your advice. +Pros and cons? It seems like a great idea to boost up the lower classes while not forcing government onto everybody else. Also, how valid are Milton Friedman's points that most government programs like state colleges actually help the middle class much more than the lower classes because lower classes start paying earlier and die younger. Also his despise of the FDA? Thoughts? +If not, here's a quick recap: The media told everyone that Apple was not a good stock to buy or hold and that everyone who owns it should sell it before it crashes and dies during its early days, all while at the same time Banks were adding it to their asset catalog, blocked a majority of their clients from being able to buy it, and allowed only their most wealthy clients to add it to their portfolios. + +Sound familiar? It was some hell of what felt like an endless stream of FUD that they spread on Apple, which as you may know is only the most valuable company in the world today. + +**Here's a tweet pointing out the early Apple stock FUD days:** [**https://twitter.com/APompliano/status/1365671526612221955?s=09**](https://twitter.com/APompliano/status/1365671526612221955?s=09) + +They scared my poor immigrant dad who came to this country with nothing and started investing in his youth, out of his Apple stock in the '97 for a small $40k profit with their endless stream of FUD news lies. That news stopped him from ever investing back into the market. + +And that stock he was scared into selling would be worth millions today. I can only imagine how many other people they scared out of that stock and others like it, who could have greatly improved their lives and the lives of their families with those internet tech stock assets. + +Because of that experience, I'm never letting them scare me into panic selling my Bitcoin. HODL'r and diligent DCA'r for over a decade now, and I will HODL and DCA until my kids can inherit my fortune and become HODL'rs and DCA'rs themselves +Those who favor such an idea, what are your reasons? + +Those who don't, what are your reasons? (besides profession, friends and family) + +**Edit:** Philippines vs USA cost of living: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Philippines&country2=United+States + +**Edit 2:** Say $300K instead of $100K. I've read that $12K is enough to live well there. +Hey all, after a frustrating time with my ex she has decided to buy me out of our house. 50/50.But we have no idea how to get started. +Is there someone in particular we need to speak to about sorting out finances as she will owe me around £20k in equity. +Will it cost much for everything to be sorted? +Thanks! + +Edit: Hey all. There is a lot of comments here to read through. +I want to say a big thank you to everyone for the advice and guidance. I was truly lost. I’m going to have a good read through and get something sorted. +Once I finally settle the house, I’ll make a follow up post to say how it went! +Thanks again. +Cohen disclosed his BBBY purchase in early March. There has been plenty of discussion around it but I have never seen as much pushback as I have seen this past week. So what is different this time? + +The difference is that BBBY is now $5 dollars a share. This sub suddenly thinks it’s sus to talk about BBBY, I think it’s sus to pushback so hard at arguably the best price to buy in at. If you don’t want to buy don’t buy. But y’all remember how we are always complaining that there is no more new DD? Maybe instead of calling people who talk about BBBY RC cultists and colluders, we could focus our attention asking questions and doing DD. Cohen has invested in 2 heavily shorted companies with many similarities. You must be crazy to not want to dig deeper into BBBY. + +It is reported that 100% of the float is held by institutions. We know that by the SEC report that it was in a similar situation to GameStop during January 2021. There is so much more to unpack here but y’all are too busy thinking that this makes you look like a cult and colluder with Ryan Cohen. When this sub makes up it’s mind and won’t even discuss new ideas is when it sounds like a cult. We are here to find new DD. + +And guess what, this is America we are free to have a whole portfolio of stocks based off a rich guys portfolio. Are all the investors on the Tesla subreddit going to get arrested for colluding if they start to talk about Elon’s twitter deal? Nope. + +I don’t even hold any BBBY, I’m just tired of this sub not researching something that could bring us new knowledge about GME. Even worse we are being discouraged to even talk about it. + +I’m sure I’ll get some hate and be called a shill but idc, I’ve been holding since November 2020, I will keep holding, and I hope you do too. #BuyHoldDRS + +Edit: BTW how many of y’all remember when BBBY announced their share buyback after hours last year? Not only did their stock start to moon but so did GME out of nowhere with no news. I’m not advocating for the purchase of the stock. Just wanted to point out some observations. +I have about 5k to invest. I want to do a long term thing. Should I invest now while the market is going up, or should I wait to see what happens, what are your guy's opinions on what will happen or what I should do? +And when I say major, I truly mean MAJOR. A lot of Fortune 500 companies are starting to establish a presence for themselves in the Web3 space even though the market is extremely bearish right now. + +One might say “this is only PR” or “they can afford to lose money” but I would disagree. These companies have entire departments for market studies and financial advice. They’re pouring billions of dollars combined into the Web3 space and crypto market in general. + +Realistically speaking, this is the worst time to be risking billions of dollars over something that might have a risky future, so this only bolsters the belief that the crypto market is here to stay. + +Apple will soon be joining the crypto market and will be onboarding hundreds of millions of new users. We all know how vast and connected the Apple ecosystem is so this will have a huge impact on the market. + +Web3 networks like Polygon alone have integrated dozens of traditional companies into the blockchain space. +Billion dollar companies like Facebook, Coca Cola, Disney, Stripe, E&Y, and D&G are all building a Web3 presence through Polygon which is one of the reasons why I actually believe in their vision of eventually heading into the top 5 ranks. + +Let’s not also forget about GameStop and its NFT marketplace. This will give more and more incentives for companies and institutions to join the Web3 space and build. It’s a sort of FOMO where no big-name company wants to miss out on the next big thing. + +I could keep going on and on about market development, building brands, and utilizing crypto use cases but you get the point. + +The fact that all of this is happening during a bear market is a clear indication that this isn’t just hype. This is real… +Crypto is here to stay. +Welcome to the **/r/EthTrader** Daily Discussion thread. The thread guidelines are as follows: +*** + +- Discussion topics include but are not limited to general discussion, details related to events of the day, technical analysis, Ethereum Classic, and minor questions. +- Important content should be posted as a separate thread. +- Be excellent to each other. + +*** + +Thank you in advance for your participation. Enjoy! + +Seeing as they are huge markets, I assume they would have their own versions of coindesk, cointelegraph, reddit, or other forums. Can anyone share these sites? Thanks in advance! +Use this for all questions, answers, proposals, opposals, discussions, etc. + +Details can be found [here](https://paritytech.io/blog/security-alert.html). + +Wallets affected are the ones deployed since july with Parity. + +This thread is for general discussion including price & market discussion. The equivalent thread for r/ethereum can be found [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/7bl6da/megathread_parity_multisignature_library/) +People are always advising everyone to buy a Nano S to store their coins. + +But how safe are those really? + +I mean, as far as I'm concerned, it's a black box. And with a black box you don't know what's in it. + +Maybe the creators ( or even just 1 developer secretly) put an algorithm in there that makes the generation of private keys predictable (for him / for them). + +( not insinuation but hypothetical) Say 1 rogue developer inserted this trick, and he decides to only use this trick to steal funds from 1 % of all of the sold hardware wallets. He might get away with it and nobody is going to notice, because the other 99 % of customers will claim it's safe. + +How can we be 100 % certain? That's my question. +Is there something fishy going on with the exchanges? I noticed the spike on coinbase for less than a minute. Any other exchanges do this? anyone know whats going on? +I live in constant fear that I will (A) have my wallet compromised and my ether stolen from me or (B) lose access to my ether due to a slight error in copying down my password or a wallet bug or something. + +To make matters worse these two events are a bit in conflict. The more secure I try to make my ether to prevent against A (put my ether into a multisig, etc) the more B grows as a possibility (lose one of my multisig addresses or make a mistake in the multisig contract). Just one small mistake somewhere and it could all be gone. + +This fear has even driven me to spread a portion of my ether holdings onto two exchanges. I figure if my wallet gets stolen or lost, at least I'll still have a little ether stored for me by a third party. The sad thing is that I've had to accept that over the course of the next couple of years chances are I'll lose at least one of those exchange holdings (given the short life of exchanges). + +I admit it. I got Goxxed. Maybe I'm just dealing with post-Gox stress disorder. Is there a support group for this? +In many occasions I have wondered about factors determining the price of ethereum. I think it is a matter of demand and offer, as almost the price of everything is. Scarcity is important. But how does the demand created? It's a gas for running dapps. So fuel consumption for used dapps on the nerwork and difficulty of validating transactions (cf. Mining), mainly drives the price. However, here comes my question: the goal of the developers of ethereum is to make it more and more efficient, faster, etc. In this way, it will be less "costly" for validating the transactions, which would reduce the fees and fuel consumption of dapps significantly so that the price would be pushed down? In the end scarcity is determined by how much of a fraction of one unit of eth you need to get things done. I am curious about your opinion. Cheers. +As a crypto noob wanting go get my share of the hype I went all in with the 4k I had collecting dust in my savings. (20 y/o student). This was on jan 4th I bought for 4k worth of Ethereum. Saw my stack go to 5,5k and thought it would make me rich. Untill the huge dip. Never saw this before in crypto as Im really new and then it hit me, wtf am I doing putting this money at risk. I might need it in darker times to pay bills, rent or buy food. My stack went from 5,5k to 2,9k and just hit 4,1k. Decided to pull out on 'just' 100 euro profit and rethink my investment strategy. I learnt my lesson to not over invest and be more smart about it. I will probably buy back in a future dip, but not with all of my savings again. Who knows when one day I might need that money for whatever reason. +Etheroll is entirely pleased today to announce that with the latest Status mobile [release](https://our.status.im/0-9-33/) and after [months of work](https://github.com/status-im/status-react/issues/5162) our players can now roll in the dough 'on-the-go' using their mobile and the Status app. + +This is such a huge moment for us as it means that our players can now roll the dice from wherever they may be, using only their mobile and the Status app. No more being stuck at your desktop to roll, our players have been let loose to roll in the wild, wherever that may be! + +So give [etheroll.com](https://etheroll.com) a go today and download the latest Status [release](https://our.status.im/0-9-33/). Many roll. Such mobile! + +Note: We also support [Cipher Browser](https://www.cipherbrowser.com/) and [Coinbase Wallet](https://wallet.coinbase.com/) for players that like to roll on the go. +After waiting over 12 hours for a single simple bitcoin transaction to go through, I did some research and found that the bitcoin scaling problem is a lot more serious than I realized. +I mean if you compare it to things like cash and credit cards, bitcoin is not very usable as a currency right now. Can you imagine needing to wait 12 hours at the check stand to see if your credit card went through or not? Obviously, Ethereum and Bitcoin are not the same things, but Bitcoin is the pioneer and is such a valuable case study I think it is healthy for us to look at. + +Please treat me kindly if I am just not understanding this correctly, but while everyone is saying that blockchain technology is the wave of the future, and I certainly see that and believe in that, I also can't help but feel like everyone's ignoring the elephant in the room that it just doesn't seem like it is a truly *sustainable* technology. The file size of the blockchain is going to keep getting bigger and bigger, and the more popular the technology becomes it is going to keep getting bigger faster and faster and the demand will be bigger and bigger. + +I know that the big issue is block size limit, but also what about the block chain its self? If you look at the size of the bitcoin blockchain, it is growing at what looks like an exponential curve. https://blockchain.info/charts/blocks-size?timespan=all +It's already well over 100 GB. What are they going to do when it is 1,000 GB or Million GB? +Because if their vision of becoming a worldwide mainstream currency becomes true, than that would certianly give it more than enough traffic to get there very soon. + +I mean, especially if you think about it from the mindset of an EthTrader - we are here investing because we (I assume) base our expectation that it's value will continue to rise on the concept that this will be a valid currency and a valid technology beyond how it can be used as a currency. BUT if that is true, then it will need to be able to cope with a user demand that is going to be thousands, if not millions of times more than it currently has and how are we going to deal with this giant blockchain? + +If we don't believe that blockchains are sustainable, than we are just investing in a speculative bubble that will eventually pop. + +Is this really a truly sustainable technology? Does anyone out there have a good answer to this? + +Thank you very much. +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. + +I know everyone has their reasons but I wanted to give mine. My family was devastated by 2008 and we lost our house my dad lost his job. Fast forward I have 40k in student loan debt, and this BANG play got me up to 44k at one point but I couldn’t sell it. My brothers and I were having too much fun, and the community that has come and interacted with old head wsber’s is fucking magical. I’ve been lurking here for years and years I’ve seen beautiful and tragic things happen on this subreddit, and I’ve always wanted to be a part of it. Now I’m part of the biggest thing to happen here ever, and I’m so jazzed. Seeing the dirty nonsense on the other side has only hardened my resolve. My mom may not live to see this thing play out, but I want to make her proud. 💎🤲🏼 go to the 🌕and beyond!!!! Moreover I’d like to hear more stories of why y’all are holding? Especially the international crowd cause y’all are killing it! +People don't seem to fully appreciate HOW many options are VERY CLOSE to being in the money expiring today. As these options become more likely to end up in the money it will create a lot of positive feedback momentum. Not all options buyers will exercise them but many will. Remember each 1 option = 100 shares. + +Sort by VOLUME + +$GME +[https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/gme/options?p=gme](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/gme/options?p=gme) +29,097 contracts @ $800 +10,905 contracts @ $200 +10,418 contracts @ $150 + +This is HUGE volume. If the stock closes at $150 it can cause a chain reaction. + +$BB +[https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/bb/options?p=bb](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/bb/options?p=bb) +6,665 contracts @ $11 +2,483 contracts @ $12 +1,692 contracts @ $10.50 + +$AMC +[https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/amc/options?p=amc](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/amc/options?p=amc) +43,493 contracts @ $8 - WOW! +27,299 contracts @ $9 +26,471 contracts @ $10 + +They can't let the price above $8! + +$NOK +[https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/nok/options?p=nok](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/nok/options?p=nok) +4,064 contracts $4 +3,417 contracts $4.50 + +&#x200B; + +EDIT 1 @ 4:30PM: +**AMC closed at $8.01 AH $8.04** +**NOK closed at $3.92 AH $3.94** +**GME closed at $101.74 AH $100.55** +**BB closed $10.05 AH $10.03** + +Option holders have until 5:30PM to exercise any ITM options. Option sellers will be assigned many obligations to return shares at that price to option holders. You get two days if you don't have the shares already. + +This does mean there will be some additional demand for the buying of shares Monday/Tuesday but it is not massive and I don't think it's enough to materially affect price (but what do I know). + +It is very common for large banks, like JP Morgan, to sell a lot of options and their goal is for them to expire worthless. They will dump shares to achieve this, and then go long a stock again after they've expired. It's very common around earnings. + +There is still A LOT of options on March 5th for GME @ $800 (29,427) @ 200 9,758. + +AMC has A LOT MORE: [https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/amc/options?date=1614902400&p=amc](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/amc/options?date=1614902400&p=amc)Almost 100,000 options between $8,$9,$10,$12... So, there's a lot of potential there for momentum. Think of option interest like potential gas on the fire. It can influence price upwards, and increase volatility. + +BB gang, so you're not left out, have a decent amount too. A lot of people want to see this stock north of $12. + +NOK gang, there are 20,000 contracts at $4 and $4.50 for March 5th... That's a decent amount... So there's potential for momentum here too. + +Catalysts for next week? Stimulus vote (which I had hoped would break today). We may also see more capital flows back to equities as the bond sell off normalizes. Growth and momentum stocks may do better (this week low momentum stocks performed best). + +Everyone have a great weekend. + +Disclaimer: this is for entertainment/informational purposes only. Do your own research. Not financial advice. Eat crayons. + + +EDIT 2: fucked formatting +So Terra Community has approved Do Kwon’s Plans to Revive the Project. It is people like him who gives a bad reputation to cryptocurrency. As long as we have such people in our community forget about fast adoption of crypto. + +Look at his past statements and comments. Such an ignorant and arrogant brat. Someone needs to teach him the meaning of Credibility. It’s a shame that the whole community will lose some sort of credibility because of him. + +Every failed project would go to the last checkpoint and reset. It’s not that simple. Basically he is just setting himself for another failure. We as a community should teach such people a lesson. +If mods need proof I'll be happy to prove my degree in media production. 🙈 + +TLDR; The media not covering a huge subject like this means they are in the pocket of someone else. Aaand HOODL 🚀🚀🙈 + +Imagine your the owner of a news network, magazine, online news source or whatever media company you work for and you have a HUUUUGE story about Gamestop, AMC and the corruption of Wallstreet. + +Well then lets publish it! + +The higherups come in say "No you can't do that you banana eating retard, we are on the payroll of XXX and they are owned by XXXX, publish it then we take it down, you get fired and thats it" + +The media and journalists all over the world only care about a couple things (not saying every single one but the majority) + +The first thing are viewers, readers or clicks on an online article. Soo basically you have a story that the whole world would love to know about but your not publishing it EVEN though you would make a ton of money for being one of the first to publish it. + +So the second thing is mooooneeey. Everybody loves money, I do you do, the world is a fucking zoo. + +All in all. If the media don't publish a huge story that would generate a shit ton of traffic, well, you already no why... + +. So basically: traffic=money(advertisements) +viewers=money + +They are getting paid a lot more money from a third party or their parent company just said "fuck off can't publish orders from higher up" + +That being said the media not covering a huge subject that can generate a shit ton of traffic + they can just go on Reddit and get all the fuckin tidbits of information they need just confirms my bias that WE ARE GOING TO THE FUCKIN MOON BOIS 🚀🚀🚀 + +There are no unbiased news sources, at least on televison. Everybody needs to get paid and an agenda to fill. They don't choose what to cover. The higher ups decide what to do. + +Have a beautiful day apes. Love you all 🚀🚀🙈❤️ +- Salary: $100k pre tax +- Side work: ~ $1500/mo (this will start from August onwards) +- One dependent: 6 year old +- Marital status: separated, no spousal support + +Monthly breakdown: + +- 401k contribution: $930 +- Roth IRA: $500 +- HYSA: $1200 +- Rent: $1150 +- Car: $450 (includes monthly lease + insurance. I live in a no fault state so insurance costs are higher) +- Gas: $200 + ++ utilities, groceries etc this roughly comes out to about $3200 in total monthly expenses that includes rent, car, gas + everything else (excluding savings) + +I am trying to determine if I can move closer to my daughter’s school. This would increase my rent from $1150 (includes heat, water, trash but the apartment doesn’t have central air), to $1850 (heat, water will be added on so I’m looking at about $2000 to $2100 total). + +The $1850 is a 2 bed 2 bath 1 car garage luxury apartment. It’s the only apartment that’s close to her school, about a 6 minute drive. + +Right now, it’s a 1 hour round trip for me, which is 2.5 hours of total daily time I spend driving 3 days a week. It’s not sustainable as my work is very busy and while I work remote, the increase in gas prices etc makes this harder. She also wants to have play dates and staying so far away makes that difficult as well. + +I am unsure if this is the best route. It seems like it is and even though this apartment is so much more expensive, it’ll greatly improve my peace of mind and quality of life but I also need to make sure I am not making a dumb decision. + +Ideally I want to be able to do this without any changes to how much I save each month. I got out of an abusive marriage 4 years ago and only started working in 2018. Due to some immigration issues, I had to stop working for 6 months last year and used my emergency fund to manage. I cannot lower the amount I save each month because I want to buy my own place in the near future, and also make sure I have enough in case something happens with my immigration status and I have to take a break from working. +Went back to early this year and tweets most common came around Friday and Monday. Occasionally you would have some peppered here and there but they would come. + +This has been one of the longest times without a peep. The first time was on January 11 (the anniversary) and we heard back the 27th of that month (year after the run up), 16 total days. + +The last tweet was August 10 and so far it has been 12 days and counting. + +If numbers and patterns mean anything, i think the next tweet will be August 26, for a total of 16 days. + +Perhaps a run of something? Not sure but i am looking forward towards this Friday. + +Edit: wording +**THIS IS A REPOST!** +Since eToro (finally) has got some more attention lately, i shamelessly decided that i should repost my original post about eToro’s shady Terms and Conditions. Happy reading! + + +eToro has been a hot topic on Superstonk for a long time now, and we already know that there are a ton of apes that have shares on their platform. Some time ago i started investigating how eToro handles our shares, so i went to read their Terms and Conditions (TaC) since nobody at customer service bothered answering my questions. This post will bring to light some of the shady statements in their contract, and how it could potentially be used to rob people of their money during MOASS. + +Note that this is the TaC for eToro Europe (which is regulated by the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission) and i have not read what's stated in the US and Australian versions. I also don't have any formal education in law, and this only what i've been able to gather through my own research, so feel free to correct me if there's something i missed. This is definately not financial advice, i have *severe* brain damage. + +SO, where do i start? I guess a good place to start would be the area where they describe: OUR RIGHTS AND YOUR RIGHTS IN SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES. This is the section in their TaC where they describe what rights their platform (and yours, but that's not important) has if something out of the ordinary should occur. + +> In section 26.4 they state: We may also freeze, block, or terminate our Services and/or your eToro account if: + +> e) an "Exceptional Event" occurs. We explain what an Exceptional Event is in clause 29 – "Exceptional Events". + +There are other circumstances than this one, but this is the one i'm going to focus on. If we go to clause 29 like instructed above we are provided with several instances that could be counted as Exceptional Events, like: + +> d) "any act or regulation made by a government, supra national body or authority that we believe stops us from maintaining an orderly market in relation the instruments traded on the trading platform" + +or + +> i) "excessive changes to the price, supply or demand of any product. We may also call an Exceptional Event where we anticipate this change (within reason)" + +Now both of these seem like they could cover some grey areas that could be exploited by bad actors during a squeeze, **but here is the one that i really want you to take note of:** + +> m) "an event which significantly disrupts the market, which could include (but is not limited to) the premature close of trading in the market of a product, excessive movements in the price, supply or demand of a product, whether regulated or unregulated, that our Services relate to." + +Notice that there are two parts of this section that can occur during an event like MOASS - an event which siginficantly disrupts the market, and **excessive movements in price**. Now what exactly does this mean for the average shareholder over on eToro, should something like this occur? Luckily, they've got us covered here aswell if we look at the very next point - 29.3 which states: + +"If we think, in our reasonable opinion, that an Exceptional Event has occurred or is occurring, we may make the following changes to your eToro account **without telling you**: + +> a) change your margin requirements which might mean that you may have to provide more margin (we explain what margin is in Schedule A – Trading CFDs, as well as in Schedule C – Trading Cryptoassets in relation to cryptoasset Margin Transactions); + +> b) limit the availability of instructions that you can give in respect of an order or trade; + +> c) close your open transactions at a price that we reasonably think is proportionate; + +> d) change the trading hours for a product; and + +> e) cancel all open orders or trades which are affected by the exceptional event. + +Now, one could argue that "all exchanges have these kinds of statements in their Terms and Conditions, it's not big deal!", but at what other time in the history of the stock market would an exchange *actually* act on some of those shady statements in their TaC? If i were to take a wild guess, MOASS would be one of them. + +Anyways, the two most important points here is b, c and e - which all have to do with either your positions in your portfolio or your open transactions. In the case of eToro, an open transaction would be something like a take-profit or stop-loss that you have set for any of your positions, which we know are the only way of setting a limit order on their platform. This means that they can close your position which has a take-profit or stop-loss set at the price they see appropriate. Starting to see a problem here? + +Next up is the cancellation of open orders or trades which are affected by the exceptional events. If you go to your profile on eToro and click any of your positions in your portfolio, it says "close trade". This is because as it stands in your portfolio, it is considered an open trade - which in turn would fall under point e) about cancelling all open orders or trades. + +My understanding of this is that if eToro decides to during MOASS, they could legally either restrict you from selling all together, close your positions or trigger your stop-loss/take-profit early **WITHOUT TELLING YOU**. Chew on that for a while. These are *their* words, not mine. Anyone can verify that this is stated in their TaC, clear as day. + +Now i know that this could cause both outrage and fear, which is not the intention of my post. I am writing this post to inform you about the power that this platform have over your shares should something like the MOASS occur, and i would hate for thousands of apes to be fucked in the ass *once again* by eToro. + +I still have the majority of my shares in eToro, but this might just have been the final straw for me. The only safe place to keep your shares are in Computershare. No question about it. + +I have already opened an account there, which took me over 4 months of waiting as an europoor - and if i can do it, SO CAN YOU! I am looking into the best way for me to "transfer" my shares out of eToro would be, but for this to happen i would have to sell on eToro and rebuy directly on Computershare, which pains me as i've held these shares since late January. + +Take what you will from this post, make up your own decision on how you want your shares to be handled, but know that DRS is definately the way. + +If anyone finds anything that contradicts what i've written in my post, you are very welcome to debunk or correct any of the points i've listed above. Education is key, and we should always strive to become more informed about how our shares and hard earned money are being handled. + +Peace. + +Edit: i have now sold all my shares on eToro for a lower price than what i bought them for (thus avoiding any tax-implications for my sale), rebought the same amount of shares instantly at IBKR and DRS’ed them from there. Totally painless process, which in turn ensures that your shares are 100% yours. I’m sure as hell not letting some ‘investing platform’ which closed positions and limited trading in GME back in January decide the fate of my shares. Will you? +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +[http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20181114-the-man-who-leases-out-his-life](http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20181114-the-man-who-leases-out-his-life) + +Just a short video featuring a 25 year old aiming to be fire by the time he's 28. Totally neutral piece - there's no interviewer or reporter - the camera just follows him around his house and he explains how he's making passive income from his home, and he briefly mentions avoiding lifestyle creep. The accompanying written article is only several sentences long and is similarly neutral. +🤯 +Insured with budget direct and the quote came in this year literally TWICE as much as last year. $3.4K vs $1.6k last year for $750k of cover and a $1k excess. + +I’ve been with them since 2018 and at the time they were a very competitive price. + +I called them today to ask what the driver of the increase was and basically the lady (who actually provided THE BEST customer service I have ever experienced) basically said premiums had gone up due to floods etc. + +She worked through a few different scenarios with me to see if we could bring it down in any meaningful way (reduce insured amount or increase excess) but nothing really moved the dial. Property is right near Gosford NSW. + +1) anyone in the same boat? +2) any tips for competitive insurers? + + +PS. The lady who helped could not have been more helpful. She almost made me happy to be paying close to $2k extra :) + + +EDIT: are people insuring to the full value they think it would take to rebuild the home in case of total destruction? Not sure how to play that one but realise if I lower the insured amount I can save $ in the short term. I mean what’s the chance the entire thing would need to be rebuilt……? (She says, while potentially being in a flood zone) +Keen to get the conversation started, do you think we will see a seismic shift of investors rushing for the exits soon?[AFR Article](https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.afr.com%2Fproperty%2Fresidential%2Fthe-insto-threat-to-mum-and-dad-property-investors-20221116-p5byxy%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3Dnc%26utm_source%3DLinkedIn%23Echobox%3D1668735879) +As there is only so much you can do to save, the logical thing to do to optimise wealth seems to be to increase income as much as possible. + +Ideas are often things like: + +- building a business +-increasing skills to leverage for higher pay +-taking on a side job +-doing overtime +- real estate +-stocks + +My question is what have you done to increase your income? + +What has the highest ROI in your opinion? + +Can income be increased substantially without compromising lifestyle quality? +Hi guys, + +Curious if anyone has come across this issue before. + +My parents purchased a townhouse in Melb. They did the final inspection 2 weeks before settlement, + +Almost all of the furniture was out and it was in as expected condition. They couldn't do any closer due to a holiday booked well in advance. + +Once settlement occurred, we didn't get the keys for at least a week from the previous owner, but my parents weren't in a rush because they got back 4 days after settlement. + +Upon getting the keys the going to the townhouse, we discover its been flooded. It appears the removalist when removing the washing machine did not turn off the taps fully and it dripped down from the 2nd to the 1st level doing fairly significant damage. Approx 30k minimum. + +My question is, does anyone recommend someone who can help with the legal side, our solicitor is a little useless, sent a letter but im feeling this is a little beyond their normal experitice. Their solicitor is saying bad luck, should have checked the day before settlement - it's on us + +&#x200B; + +Thanks! + +TLDR House flooded by remoalist, previous owner/solicitor is saying not their problem +Within the next few years I'm going to be looking to buy my first property. The [First Home Super Saver Scheme](https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/super/super-housing-measures/first-home-super-saver-scheme/) seems appealing but I was wondering if anyone had done the math to see if using this scheme outweighs using a high rate interest account (\~2.80%)? + +&#x200B; + +Side questions: + +* Have you opted in to save using the first home super saver scheme? and what advantages do you see using this scheme apposed to using a high interest account? +It's as simple as this. There is an open interest of 18,604 contracts at the $300 strike calls. Thats almost 2M shares or nearly $600M worth of stock the hedges will have to buy in order to cover their risk. + +That amount of buying near the end of day power hour will take us back to near term highs, and continue the push monday. + +🦍💪🏼 together... when 🦍 = 💎🙌🏼 + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/6skc78o0smm61.png?width=1060&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f22fc268685f992de9c1f74b6b5238b1cca7dda + +PS: I put my money where my mouth is, 100 shares at $280.70 + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/au2igba03nm61.png?width=1952&format=png&auto=webp&s=12b5e98a406f6cf98e58fef6672e2793902f737e + +&#x200B; +Update 2/19: finally managed to get an update post through moderation- much better than this original! [https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/lnzeho/the\_silver\_short\_squeeze\_is\_glaringly\_obvious\_to/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/lnzeho/the_silver_short_squeeze_is_glaringly_obvious_to/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +First here is the other post [https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/l68ill/the\_biggest\_short\_squeeze\_in\_the\_world\_slv\_silver/?utm\_source=share\&amp;amp;utm\_medium=ios\_app\&amp;amp;utm\_name=iossmf](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/l68ill/the_biggest_short_squeeze_in_the_world_slv_silver/?utm_source=share&amp;amp;utm_medium=ios_app&amp;amp;utm_name=iossmf) + +Second, everyone buy and hold GME through at least $1000 before buying silver because the shorts are still at 139% of the float so there is a technical reason to stay long until they really cover. + +Third, the other post said to buy miners, but that won’t cause a silver squeeze. The miners will benefit from the squeeze, but buying miners alone does nothing to actually beat the manipulating banks at their own game in silver. + +So here’s how you do it: + +Buy SLV directly. If you want options buy in the money or near the money to force true hedging (buying) by the market maker. This is a very old and slower moving market than equities so unless you are buying leaps, SLV shares are the way to go anyways. Alternatively, buy silver physically or even force delivery through purchasing futures if you are rich and can store it. Physical silver purchases carry a premium over spot price though so you end up causing more physical silver to be purchased by simply buying SLV. + +By purchasing SLV, more shares will be created and SLV will have to purchase massive amounts of physical silver to hold in their vaults because the etf has to remain backed by physical silver. + +Silver is a much larger market than GME, but the paper traded gold market is 100x the physical market. If we force more physical purchase and delivery of silver, the paper traders will be required to buy it in real life and deliver it. Creating a positive feedback loop just like a short squeeze. + +Lastly, the fundamental case is that government stimulus combined with fed money and reopening economy will cause inflation, and that government debt loads mean dollar debasement. Lest someone say we are manipulating the market (as big banks have literally been doing for decades). We like the stock! + +Let’s get GME to the moon and then park all of the winnings in SLV. Could take a couple of months to fully moon as delivery of silver takes time but it really could go to $1000 from $25. If GME took down a single hedge fund, this would take down JPM. + +Please share, it’s hard to break through right now + +Power and tendies to people! + +TLDR: don’t sell GME till over $1000 and then move it all to SLV and hold for 3+ months +I'm a 20 year old university student with around 20,000 saved up from working at a grocery over the last 6 years. I pay for my own tuition, car expenses (insurance and gas), and 150$ rent a month to my parents as my major expenses.i get about 315$ weekly and put around 60$ a week into ETFs and stocks (3800$ invested so far). + +During school I work 18 hours per week at 18.85$/hour, I work two jobs (full time grocery store, part time coaching) during summers and average about 60 hours per week. + +I know I'm probably not in any position right now to be looking at buying rental properties but my curiosity is getting the best of me so I thought I would ask. + +THE REAL QUESTION: +Realistically, how much money would I need to invest to start owning a rental property in Calgary? Its a goal id like to eventually work up to, I believe it would be a good source of cash flow as well as a way to diversify some of my future investments. Have a relative close amount in my head can really give me a goal to start working towards. + +Also any resources to learn more about this type of stuff would be very much appreciated! + +Thanks for the info! +Any idea if and when Moneysense will be publishing Norm Rothery's Best Canadian Stocks ranking for 2019? + +It usually comes out in November or December but it has not come out yet this year. + +2018 rankings: https://www.moneysense.ca/save/investing/stocks/the-best-canadian-stocks-2018/ +My skepticism for this historic level of return holding true in future markets is the drop in new technology firms listing on exchanges or any new startups. It seems to me that private equity is holding much larger portions of future investments and firms are starting to only stick to PE as it makes them have all the funding they want. So moving forward, is it still possible for the market to achieve these returns given that tech has basically carried every index out there and tech IPO listing is dropping? +My dad is 67, married, mortgage free and retired. I don’t know his exact worth or his holdings but I think he has around $600k. I know he’s 100% equities and I know he doesn’t own any bonds or etfs, but not super speculative stuff...banks and A&W type companies. + +Should I be trying to convince him to focus on preserving his wealth instead on growing it? I mean, it’s his money so whatever, so maybe not. + +I asked if he’d be okay with a 50% crash in the market for ten years. He said that everyone would be screwed so it wouldn’t matter. + +He likes stock picking. But he doesn’t even know if he beats the market. What’s an ideal weighting for someone in his position and WHY? + +UPDATE: Thanks for the replies. I realize that I’ve probably not given him enough credit for building his portfolio. He spends a lot of his time reading about the market. I’m sure he’ll be fine. I just need to get over the fact that his choices are different than mine. +I'm considering purchase of GIC's vs bonds to build a retirement ladder, and notice that many of the bonds from Canadian banks that are listed with my brokerage list "bail-in" as a special term. I tried to find a clear explanation without much luck. Based on reading about bail-in provisions, I'm guessing these bonds are similar to regular bonds except that the bond issuer could convert the debt obligation to common shares in the event of a financial crisis? Am I close? If so, how is it determined whether the bond is paid out like a conventional bond vs a conversion to stock? +I have holdings of Chinese Yuan (CNY) and was planning to exchange to CAD but recently the CAD has been appreciating... and exchanging now would result in a loss. + +If I keep it in CNY I can keep it in safe investments there at about 3.4% and wait it out vs exchanging it now and taking the hit then buy something like VGRO or VEQT here in Canada, hoping it will make up for the money lost on the exchange. + +Thoughts on how to calculate or make an informed decision? Thanks +Manulife stock is extremely low but after experiencing the 08 crash it still hasn’t fully recovered. Any investors out there recommend this stock? I’m thinking about just investing in TELUS and avoid Manulife for the time being as TELUS ha a pretty good dividend. What are your opinions? +I’m in my mid thirties and own a condo. + +I’m invested heavily into XEQT, is it time to move to XGRO? What are your thoughts on rising interest rates and the bonds associated with XGRO? +Any early adopters that weathered 2008 and early covid? + +If you’ve been bitten by it what happened and how bad was it? + +I was listening to some of the earlier Rational Reminder episodes on the SM. The biggest issues I’ve seen highlighted as I’m teaching myself about it are cash flow, investor behaviour, potential changes to tax code, and it’s a callable debt. There’s other issues like bad administration (Eg mishandling of roc, mixed usage of LOC, etc). + +Cash flow it sounds like the answer is recapitalisation. + +Investor behaviour sounds like the answer is diversify and hold. Think the exact quote was “if markets don’t recover we’re all looking for a cave”. + +Changes to tax code sounds like well it sucks but it only accounts for 1/3 the benefit. + +Callable debt seems like it could be an issue if you end up on long-term disability and are struggling to make payments. + +If you had a bad experience executing SM what caused you problems? + +Edit: experience not experiment + +Edit 2: added callable debt +Hi everyone. I have a 300k LOC at an interest rate of 2.2% that is not being used. I don’t have to make principle payments on it for another 4 years on it. + +Already have investments in XEQT, TEC, AAPL, VRE, BTCC and some of the banks (TD, RY, BNS, and CM). + +I’m deciding if I should go in further with the banks given their high dividend payout or put it all into XEQT. + +Thanks for the help! +Thank you in advance! + +I got a new job where I bring in about $4,700 a month +I get paid $2,393 biweekly +My monthly expenses without paying my cards are as follows: +Rent: $1144 1st (I’m a month ahead on rent already and pay it biweekly - $572 every time I get paid) +Car Payment: $171.69 24th +Car Insurance: $192 3rd +Phone: $50 23rd +Spotify: $15.99 2nd +Hulu: $12.99 8th +Gym: $22.99 17th +iCloud: $2.99 19th +Apple Care: $9.99 19th +Total Reoccurring: $1622.64 + +My total CC debt between my cards is: +$7,692 + +how much should I pay to pay them down so I can get to a small usage so I can start saving more money to move in 1 - 2 years +The cards and balances are as followed: +Min payments for all total about $204 but obviously want to pay more + +Amex: 26.2% interest +Balance $890.44 +Due Date 21st +Min Payment $40 + +Discover: 21.3% interest +Balance $1514.37 +Due Date 22nd +Min Payment $44 + +Capital one: 22% interest +Balance $2380.44 +Due Date 19th +Min Payment $60 + +Apple: 23.5% interest +Balance $2906.92 +Due Date 31st +Min Payment $60 +Hello, + +I am currently living with three other people in a unit we rent in Washington State. As the title says out lease is up on August 31 and we have not heard back from the management that owns the home. I have tried contacting them several time via email, phone, and message system on their own website. + +The main problem is that in the app they use (AppFolio Portal) it shows that rent is due on the 1st of September. I know that the lease has a clause that says once the lease is up we can go month-to-month, but that would still require the approval of both the management and tenets. + +Should me and my roommates pay the rent that is due next week or should we hold off till we hear back from management? + +Edit: I went over the lease with my roommates and we've decided to do the month to month till the owners want to do anything. Thanks for all the replies. +I have positions in BAT and OMG. I really like them both, I consider them "blue chip" tokens that could survive a market crash if we have one. BAT especially, has a fantastic product in the Brave browser that I actually enjoy using. + +Before I double down on BAT and OMG, are there any other tokens I should consider that are as high quality as those two? +I haven't seen this being posted. Perhaps just missed it. Not a surprise, but discussion about regulation on a global scale is apparently about to start. + +https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-18/europe-wants-to-regulate-bitcoin-to-clamp-down-on-illegal-risks +I remember when ETH was flying up and down in price 2 years ago. This is very slow price increase in comparison. Yet the institutional investments are coming in and the future has never been brighter. Is there just more liquidity in the market? It seems like $250 is a steal given it was $1400 per ETH not long ago. The next vertical increase panic FOMO mode could be 2k-3k per ETH easy. I don't get this one and two dollar a day increase or decrease. +Links: + + +* https://etherscan.io/address/0x79610036215cdfbe9047208ce2e6f9e5d141af0d#tokentxns +* https://blog.cofound.it/closing-cofound-it-as-crowdfunding-market-disappears-and-presenting-good-practice-for-icos-796db5e001b8 +Welcome to the **/r/EthTrader** Daily Discussion thread. The thread guidelines are as follows: +*** + +- Discussion topics include but are not limited to general discussion, details related to events of the day, technical analysis, Ethereum Classic, and minor questions. +- Important content should be posted as a separate thread. +- Be excellent to each other. + +*** + +Thank you in advance for your participation. Enjoy! + +Welcome to the **/r/EthTrader** Daily Discussion thread. The thread guidelines are as follows: +*** + +- Discussion topics include but are not limited to general discussion, details related to events of the day, technical analysis, Ethereum Classic, and minor questions. +- Important content should be posted as a separate thread. +- Be excellent to each other. + +*** + +Thank you in advance for your participation. Enjoy! + +Let's start this off with.. I don't have anything against Facebook.. In fact I spend an absolute ton advertising there, have stock in FB, and meet with FB regularly. +I do have a problem with the Suggested news feed Algo items that FB spits out at me on a consistent basis so I decided to count how many Bitcoin negative sentiment versus Bitcoin positive sentiment articles they feed me and how I personally feel each time one is suggested to me. Today I finally hit 100 and the results shouldn't be shocking at all. + +The majority of sources for these articles are Forbes, Business Insider and Coindesk. You should know that all 3 of them are pay to play.. meaning if you want to pay $$$ your article can be featured on them. + +Without further delay.. of the 100, only 3 had a positive sentiment for Bitcoin. I don't follow any Bitcoin pages, don't follow any groups and don't contribute to any crypto discussions on the platform so the suggestion is purely FB's way of saying yes we know you're into crypto so here's what we think you should read. The headlines have been "Miamicoin set to grow faster than Bitcoin" .. "Find out why this viral TikToker has predicted Bitcoin's fall from #1" .. "Why Bitcoin is going to lose value due to X" + +I'm not fucking selling.. But why does Facebook want me to so badly? Why does Facebook want me to think that Bitcoin is going to lose to some random shit coin? Why does Facebook care that I read about Bitcoin with negative sentiment? Why doesn't Facebook share relevant positive sentiment articles? + +Facebook knows whether you're pro or not. Facebook knows if you hodl. So here's my 2 cents.. If libracoin can't succeed than why should the Winklevoss twins have something more valuable than FB and FB will exert it's power over the people with it's own agenda through suggested news feed articles to negative sentiment articles that people will read and recite as if it's the gospel.. +Hi guys I just received a DM from u/Thegreatdiamondape he's suprised me by not trying to sell me silver and he does seem like he has a legit theory he wants you all to poke holes in. Hopefully he comments so he can get the karma to post here himself but that's upto you guys. But here is his message copy and pasted. + +Hey man I saw a comment of yours on on SS +I'm new to reddit - I have been following along with several buddies of mine who have many shares. I myself am an XXXX holder as is my father. Can provide proof to show you I'm not a shill +The reason I am messaging is because I don't have enough Karma to post and this has not been getting any traction: +The HUGE thing here is that this is a stock split THROUGH A DIVIDEND which requires JOURNAL ENTRY. A regular stock split does not need Journal entry. By having Journal entry, the number of synthetics will be exposed. This is why the split is being done as a dividend for the sole purpose of ensuring JOURNAL ENTRY is required. +Please post this so that more wrinkle brains can determine if this is correct logic in my thinking +"There is a Journal Entry passed for Stock Dividend i.e debiting the Reserves (Retained Earnings) and crediting the Issued Share Capital, whereas no Journal Entry is passed in case of Stock Split only the details are mentioned in issued share capital." +"A journal entry is the act of keeping or making records of any transactions either economic or non-economic. Transactions are listed in an accounting journal that shows a company's debit and credit balances. The journal entry can consist of several recordings, each of which is either a debit or a credit." +Once the dividend is distrubeted to existing share holders (what I believe to be upwards of 500M shares floating around) the number of shares distributed as the dividend will be > the 1 Billion as a journal entry which will force a recall +Please let me know if you can post this. If not I will message someone else with more Karma. Thank you, god bless and see you on the Moon!!! + +Edit 1: If anything over 76M (float) x the split ratio is entered in journal entry as shares distributed a recall must take place + +Edit 2: our man u/thegreatdiamondape wants you wrinkle brains to concentrate on the journal! He believes that is the key bit being overlooked. + + +Again, credit goes to u/kengriffinsbedpost i was asked to post this for him. + +Below is a theory DD I wanted to get a discussion started started on. + +A lot has been in the news lately regarding Bank of America and BOFA Securities. I have been monitoring commercial paper issuances for a while and now believe this should be an item of interest as investors begin jockeying for the most money in bankruptcy. + +As I said above I monitor new commercial paper issuances almost daily. On Monday BOFA Securities, a name I had not seen in a while popped up with a large amount (1.6 billion) and higher yield. That tells me 2 things, they want unsecured funding and they want it fast (yield they are offering was more than double other "blue chips") + +Something else strange happened with BOFA Securities on Monday. They redeemed over 2 billion worth of senior notes. https://investor.bankofamerica.com/press-releases/detail/1881/bank-of-america-announces-redemptions-of-2-503-senior + +This is where it is still theory and more wrinkle brained apes can help disprove or fill it out. Commercial paper can be used for operating expenses, payroll, accounts payable and other short term liabilities. A short term liability is one that is to be paid within the year. Guess what date are on all of those redeemed notes. + +OCTOBER of 2022 or still classified as a short term liability available to be paid with commercial paper proceeds. + +Ok but why does this matter? This matters because if they are paying off senior notes that have a high priority in bankruptcy proceedings with commercial paper that is unsecured it could be a sign they are already planning how BOFA investors can get higher in the bankruptcy hierarchy. + +I think we are close to the end, I will continue to keep an eye on CP and this is heartbreaking because the institutions buying CP are likely pensions and municipalities that are going to be left holding the bag. + +Edit 1: Commercial Paper had a huge impact during the 2008 financial crisis. Once institutions (pensions, governments) lose faith in their liquidity or if they lose the necessary ratings to invest the real liquidity problems will start for banks. Below is a link to a paper on CP in 2008 + +https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.24.1.29 +[https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/apples-future-comes-down-to-four-crucial-questions/2019/04/30/81081e44-6b9a-11e9-bbe7-1c798fb80536\_story.html?noredirect=on&utm\_term=.ebb4fc3a9558](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/apples-future-comes-down-to-four-crucial-questions/2019/04/30/81081e44-6b9a-11e9-bbe7-1c798fb80536_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ebb4fc3a9558) + +&#x200B; + +I'm watching Apple drop and getting tempted but this article sums up my main concerns for the stock. People bullish on Apple's long-term - how do you see them using their brand/moat to generate major future revenue steams which don't currently exist? +One of the big issues that has kneecapped previous launch attempts: massive numbers of new short sales. + +A proprietary crypto dividend wouldn't just force existing shorts to cover their positions before the date of record for the dividend, it would also **prevent any new shorts from entering the market before that same date**. + +Depending on when things are announced, there may literally not even be enough time to short the stock & then close the position such that the trade is *settled* on time. Can't FTD or they're screwed. Can't create fakes. Can't even buy the crypto from a public marketplace because literally nobody has it until after the delivery deadline. + +*That* is the real power move here, because it screws over every short seller with open positions & it keeps any *potential* short sales from taking profits that would have otherwise gone to a shareholder. + +This is the coolest freaking thing ever. +ROBOGATE 2014 UPDATE: Internet Justice Has Been Served + +A couple of days ago my friend Andrew and I posted about our experience buying a Bitcoin ATM from a company called [Robocoin](http://www.robocoin.com). You can read about it [here](http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2jakg4/the_great_robocoin_ripoff_how_we_lost_25000/), it’s a pretty crazy story. The post got way more attention than we thought it would, and by the next morning it had been shared all over the place. We were a top story on Reddit, Slashdot, and HackerNews, and there were thousands of tweets about it. We also received a ton of emails from reporters, Robocoin customers, and the Bitcoin community at large. To our surprise, a story about a broken ATM went viral. We weren't sure what would happen, but as things unfolded we learned a few things about the power of the Internet... + +We learned that attention gets results. The night we went public, we figured we had little chance of ever seeing our money again. Especially when Jordan tried to spin the story and posted [this response](http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2jakg4/the_great_robocoin_ripoff_how_we_lost_25000/cl9yw80), which unfortunately didn’t line up with the facts we had shared. The next morning, with the intense spotlight of Internet Justice focused on Robocoin, we got our $25,000 back along with a hangdog apology from Jordan ([see it here](http://imgur.com/fu19p6t)). + + +While we’re happy that we got our money back, we learned something much more troubling: We are not alone. In between reporters, well wishers and sympathizers, we heard from other unhappy Robocoin customers. Stories similar to our own: Machines that are 6 months or more delayed. Machines that break all the time and don’t reliably process transactions. Miserable customer service and empty promises from Jordan and his team. We have our cash back thanks to the help of all of you, but these other customers are yet to be made whole, and that's not right. + +This afternoon, Jordan [sent us an email](http://imgur.com/9YlkJ4z) asking us to take down our post. He also reached out to other Robocoin customers asking them to do media interviews or give testimonials to help redeem Robocoin's image. I'm not sure if that will help Robocoin, but from my years in business there is one thing I’m certain of: Unhappy customers will always lead to bad PR. Just look at Comcast. +At this point Andrew and I could quietly walk away with our money and leave the other customers to fend for themselves but we'd like to use the opportunity to help Robocoin do right by them. + +**We hope that Jordan and the team at Robocoin will take this opportunity to redeem themselves and issue a refund to anybody that:** + +* Hasn’t received their Robocoin 6 months after they were promised delivery. +* Has a Robocoin that doesn't work most of the time. +* Received their Robocoin after you changed pricing, but paid full price. + +If any Robocoin customers out there need us to help shine a spotlight on your issues, please feel free to email me at rajivk@sparklit.com so we can share your story and help you get a resolution. That said, we hope that Robocoin will do the right thing and resolve these issues privately, so that that isn’t necessary. + +Thank you, Internet! That was awesome. +Former Federal Reserve chairs Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen are recommending that the central bank continue trying to shore up the economy against the coronavirus threat, even suggesting that it go beyond the powers it now has. + +In [a Financial Times essay](https://www.ft.com/content/01f267a2-686c-11ea-a3c9-1fe6fedcca75), the two say the Fed should look for more authority that would give it the power to purchase corporate bonds on top of the Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities it already plans to buy. + +“The Fed’s intervention could help restart that part of the corporate debt market, which is under significant stress,” Bernanke and Yellen wrote. “Such a program would have to be carefully calibrated to minimize the credit risk taken by the Fed while still providing needed liquidity to an essential market.” + +Yellen and Bernanke served during the financial crisis, the latter as chairman and the former as head of the San Francisco Fed. Back then, they helped roll out a number of innovative programs aimed at recapitalizing the banking industry and getting money flowing through the financial system again to businesses and households. + +The Fed already has deployed several of those tools, moving Tuesday into credit operations [for commercial paper](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/fed-announces-move-to-help-businesses-get-short-term-funding-in-commercial-paper-market.html) and another for [primary dealers that buy Treasurys directly from the government](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/the-federal-reserve-is-adding-another-program-to-aid-lending-to-businesses-and-households.html) and use the liquidity to fund credit for businesses and households. That’s on top of a $1 trillion a day [foray into the overnight repo markets](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/17/the-fed-will-keep-short-term-cash-injections-to-banks-going-through-the-week.html) where banks go for short-term funding and longer-term bond purchases. + +Getting into corporate debt and its higher levels of risk, though, requires congressional approval.  + +The two former chairs recommend that the Fed buy “limited amounts of investment-grade corporate debt” and pointed out that other global central banks already have that authority. + +Bernanke and Yellen are not the first to recommend that the Fed go further out on the risk curve — some have suggested it buy into the equity market through exchange-traded funds — but the idea does seem to be gaining steam as the coronavirus crisis worsens. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren in a recent speech suggested doing so. + +“To avoid permanent damage from the virus-induced downturn, it is important to ensure that credit is available for otherwise sound borrowers who face a temporary period of low income or revenues,” Bernanke and Yellen wrote. Though they said the Fed has done much so far, “there is more that the central bank should consider doing as it helps Congress reduce the long-run effects of the downturn.” + + [https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/18/ben-bernanke-and-janet-yellen-are-urging-the-fed-to-buy-corporate-bonds.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/18/ben-bernanke-and-janet-yellen-are-urging-the-fed-to-buy-corporate-bonds.html) +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +# Binance is actively following FTX's collapse + +Net withdrawals from Binance have [now breached $3 Billion in 24 hours](https://decrypt.co/117155/binance-customer-withdrawals-exceed-3-billion-in-24-hours). They now have little-to-no equity. Reuters now reports that [withdrawals to U.S. dollars using USDC are no longer possible](https://www.reuters.com/technology/binance-halts-withdrawals-major-usdc-stablecoin-2022-12-13/?utm_source=reddit.com). And further, the [U.S. Dept of Justice attorneys are close to prosecuting Binance's Changpeng Zhao with criminal charges.](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/12/12/us-prosecutors-look-to-charge-binance-and-cz-for-possible-money-laundering-violations-reuters/) + +&#x200B; + +[Binance has already seen more than $3 Billion in withdrawals in a 24 hour period. The FTX fiasco showed that hedge funds are claiming crypto as collateral for their margins, which means that GameStop short-sales may have to be covered \(GameStop share buy-ins to satisfy margin calls\) upon Crypto's continued collapse of valuations](https://preview.redd.it/5w2yg8sc7r5a1.png?width=649&format=png&auto=webp&s=91f500e11399b9e414940ef6fea0a907bffba099) + +# + +# Inflation, and the Federal Reserve continually raising interest rates + +Today, the CPI came in hot, with inflation still egregiously high: at 7.1%. This means that the "strongest currency in the world" is *still* losing its value by 7.1% per year, which after last year's, 9% loss of value, and the prior year's 2%, means that **the value of the dollar -since the pandemic began- is now worth about 20% less per dollar.** + +Tomorrow the Fed meets and will raise interest rates (which have already sky-rocketed this year), from **3.83% to either 4.33% or 4.58%.** [Mortgage rates are unbelievable: at 6%](https://www.zillow.com/mortgage-rates/). Anyone buying these inflated housing prices at 6% and higher interest are trapping themselves in a financial death-spiral. Who would take a loan to buy a shack, probably worth only 100k, for a half of a million dollars? + +&#x200B; + +[With inflation raging 7&#37;+ annually, and cost of new debt already 4&#37; higher, money in general is facing a 25&#37; liquidity shock \(of value and liquidity\) since the onset of the pandemic. GameStop is debt-free and holds raw assets, meaning that buying and holding GameStop Corp stock is a premiere protection \(a hedge\) against any and all danger of inflation and associated fed rate hikes.](https://preview.redd.it/s6120pinqq5a1.png?width=875&format=png&auto=webp&s=1d9af968e017c7eff38904c7f3df04266532cdea) + +&#x200B; + +# COVID-19 is 'not yet done' with humanity + +GameStop has successfully shifted to e-commerce and metaverse-monopolistic business paths, not to mention with increased sales from its 5-star app. So, the upcoming spike in COVID-19 shall not impact GameStop's business prospects as much as COVID-19 would impact other businesses in society. This could be seen as a bullish case for GameStop, since tech customers would depend on GameStop's streamlined logistics and same-day shipping. Further COVID-19 risks would, instead, benefit GameStop's business plan. Its plan is that of metaverse markets: under GameStop's digital marketplace, and associated metaverses on top of it, humans can work and interact over the GameStop market from anywhere in the world, completely free from even the worst pandemic risks. + +&#x200B; + +[Today, active cases have ballooned from 14.0M to 18.2M in only 20 days. At this point on December 13th, 2021, before the major spike shown, cases were only 15.0M. This means that the upcoming spike in COVID-19 cases may be the worst of them all, and the associated rate of death could become the highest on historical record.](https://preview.redd.it/pzjo4nrusq5a1.png?width=1043&format=png&auto=webp&s=0900c105ae35ac4dda87a79ad6f76596750b7f5b) + +&#x200B; + +# Macro Stock Market Technicals: + +[GameStop's negative beta is a statistic which shows how GameStop Corp stock behaves during a macro market downturn. With a negative beta, past performance has proven that hedge fund margins have reached limits because their long equities falter, thereby placing pressure onto the funds closing their short positions by buying the stock that everybody likes the most.](https://preview.redd.it/mv1qdfp5nq5a1.png?width=875&format=png&auto=webp&s=7a2fae96675fb6027f1987460170453eedd09bc6) + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +[In this tyranny-stricken stock market, I prefer to invest into GameStop Corp stock](https://preview.redd.it/e9lc894ebs5a1.png?width=675&format=png&auto=webp&s=43fc9c2cb26cf78f71e980ae1d407afdffb0eda8) + +&#x200B; + +**TLDR** + +Binance - a friend to Citadel/Sequoia - is actively crashing. U.S. attorneys are taking steps to criminally-prosecute Binance's Changpeng Zhao. More than $3 Billion has been withdrawn, out of the limited equity, in less than 24 hours. This means that Binance may not have the remaining equity to cover customers' holdings. FTX's collapse showed that hedge funds use crypto as an anti-GME collateral hedge, so without the fake crypto collateral, hedge funds could face a margin call here and have to buy GME to cover their short positions. Further, inflation is still raging at 7.1% annually, and with cost of loans now at 4% higher since the pandemic, *liquidity of the dollar's value* is now facing an acute, 25% shock since the onset of the pandemic. Buying and holding GameStop Corp stock, with its raw assets and no debt, protects investors from the risks of inflation. + +COVID-19 cases, too, are rising at a record pace, now with 18.2M active cases. This is much higher and faster than December of 2021. As a streamlined tech company with a monopoly on metaverse assets, and with about $1B in cash and no debt, *GameStop* will benefit from this resumption of covid-19. Negative Beta as a performance statistic, as well, shows that upon the impending *stock market panic of 2022-2023*, GameStop would actually go up in price. GameStop, however, with its successful shift to e-commerce and increased sales from its 5-star app, is well-slated to absorb the vast majority of tech-related and gaming-related sales: thanks to GameStop's streamlined distribution, improved logistics, and now fastest same-day shipping. +Let me start off by saying, when I first started I did the same thing on UPRO and I lost money. With that being said, I did my research and found out even if the price direction/volatility is in your favor, that doesn't necessarily correlate to the options moving in your directions, or even if it does, the liquidity on these securities are often minimal at best. Please people do your research before buying things, stop being greedy and just stick to 'bigger' ETFs for options trading. + +**Edit: Forgot to add that a good metric for this and for future investments is the Bid/Ask spread. +The following is my summary of Cathie Wood’s thoughts on recent market volatility, as presented in her latest video on the Ark Invest YouTube channel (~42 min) – I strongly recommend you check it out. + +The minimum expected rate of return for a stock to enter an ark portfolio is 15% CAGR. Cathie contends that she sees the recent volatility as a gift to gain alpha over the intended 15% return in many of her high conviction names. + +She mentions that at Ark, they have a five year time horizon, and it is counter productive to compare its performance with a benchmark (like the s&p) over a shorter period. She further adds that many stocks in traditional indices today are a potential value trap, and that ark etfs “are a good hedge against broad based benchmarks.” + +She reiterates that “we are not in a bubble” – and that the seeds of their 5 innovation platforms were planted in the dot com bubble, and are now ready for prime time, in a period of reality. Fear of a bubble likely stems from benchmark sensitivity and backward looking institutional investors. Furthermore, intuitions should be worried about their own strategies as “creative disruption will impact nearly 50% of the s&p500”. + +To Cathie, interest rates going up suggest that ‘real growth is going to pick up’ – and that she understands the concern over her own stock picks potentially underperforming as a result. However, she believes that that the market has assumed that interest rates will stabilize at a 4 to 5% range - which inversed (1/4 or 1/5) gives a normalized p/e of 20 or 25; so markets didn’t actually misprice assets to begin with. She thinks that nominal growth however, will not be at 4 to 5%, but instead around 2-3%, which can lead to greater valuation support for companies that can grow more rapidly. + +Rotation from growth to value was also expected on her part. She repeats that value will face massive headwinds going forward. Energy and financial stocks have done amazing in the past month - which is a good thing as the bull market is broadening out unlike the dot com bubble, where ‘too much capital chased too few opportunities, too soon’. Energy and financial sectors booming will likely be short lived as they are both ripe for massive disruption. + +Source: https://youtu.be/Qb8uQSQi8bc +So I'm a 24 year old dude. Dropped out of engineering school at sophomore year. Tried to become an EDM producer, then two years in realized that I don't have what it takes. I'm currently a tattoo artist with 2000$ in my bank account. A week ago I was informed that my dad who I never met til I was 22 passed away and left me a decent amount of cash for someone my age. (I think it might be < 500,000$). I know for a fact that I can spend that money quite fast (since I've been leading a frugal lifestyle for almost all my life). So I figured that before spending a dollar of that money I have to make a 5 year plan in one of the two directions- get back to school and get a bachelors in finance or business ( and use that knowledge to start a business or get a good career). Or start a small business with a chunk of that money and put in all my effort to learn through experience as opposed to formal university education. I never had more than 4000$ to my name Like ever and I also never knew someone with that much money and now I don't know what to do with it or how to use it to make a better life plan. what will you do if you're in my situation? +I just signed a contract for a job that gives 120k/yr up from my job that paid $15/hr. I have about 70k in student debt, 10k in medical debt, 10k in credit card debt, all of which have defaulted, since I have never made enough to make regular payments. + +Now that I will have the resources to pay these debts off, where should I start? Savings? Repayment? Consolidation? + +I know very little about this and would love some info on how to adjust to this new income level in the most efficient way. +First, I understand this may be the first merger you've been exposed to. As much as it grinds my gears that this question is only asked about Twitter and not the countless other mergers that go through I'll provide some data on the strategy of buying companies that will be acquired. + +Is it free money? Yes and no. + +First, let's look at a fund that focuses primarily on buying companies that have had an announcement regarding their acquisition. + +IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF (MNA) + +This ETF has returned 2.68% annualized over the last ten years and 2.49% since inception. If you exclude fees and assume you do this yourself, over the last ten years it has done 3.56% annualized. + +Is this free money? If you consider anything with a positive return to be free money, then yes. However I should remind you the S&P 500 has done around 14% annualized over the same time period. + +The strategy fails for the same reason the martingale roulette strategy fails. You make very little money with each 'success' and your failures eat many 'successes' given how large the drawdowns are when mergers get cancelled. When mergers get cancelled they almost always immediately lose whatever premium they received from the merger announcement. From personal experience, these companies rarely perform well after a failed merger as well. + +Hope that helps. + +TLDR + + [ImpressiveCitron420](https://www.reddit.com/user/ImpressiveCitron420/) wrote a great TLDR that simplifies things: + +It's not free money. It's money in exchange for risk. There's a risk that the merger won't happen (as OP says). This is what the premium is paid out for and why the price is not at the buy out price currently. + +The problem however, is that on a risk adjusted basis, this gives poor returns compared to the SP500. + +&#x200B; +Hey, greetings from Sofia, Bulgaria! + +I would really like to buy an apartment and I also have some saved money. But I cannot decide if it is worth it. + +Even though the interest is quite low I will need to have a mortgage and another loan for furnishing and misc like the first 10% and notary. + +The prices have been on the rise since forever(except for 1-2 years after the 2008 crisis). Whenever a new apartment, that is worth it, appears on the market it gets sold in days. That is because the situation in the countryside is not ideal and many people come to the big cities, looking for better life. + +I can afford to buy, but it will most likely be in a worse neighbourhood(by worse I mean not so close to the downtown, but that doesn't really matter, because I have a car), or smaller apartment in a good neighbourhood. + +That was just for context. The question is + +TL;DR: Generally, is there a case in your experience, when paying 50-100% more a month for mortgage is better, than renting +Hey Fatties! I’ve locked this post so only verified members can reply. + +I have a hunch that most replies will be “boring” in nature (and that’s okay) but I’m curious: + +What investments are you making and/or excited about right now? What have you changed since rates were ~free? + +On my end: We are running our business a little leaner and more profitable than normal (investing less ahead of growth) to add more to our cash reserves. Outside of the business, I’ve been doing larger monthly buys of the index ($VTI) on the ride down. I think I’ll be “fully invested” in about 6 months at current deployment pace if I don’t take cash out of the business to deploy that as well. +Has anybody out there retired from their jobs/business and reached their own FatFire threshold, but then explored real estate investing for the first time? I was once an attorney that left to run my own small business for the past 15 years. At this stage, my business is largely on auto-pilot, and I project it will suffer a slow but painless death over the next decade. We are a family in a MCOL area in our mid-40s, with two kids (young teenagers). I am at a point where my passive income significantly exceeds a 3-4% SWR (though I am not at a stage where I need to touch my investments), but I like to have the business/extra income to "justify" larger expenses like a planned kitchen remodel, new cars, big trips, etc. + +For the past decade, I have been very interested in exploring real estate, preferably largely passive investments, to use some moderate leverage to slowly grow a little real estate empire that could be handed off to my children. The upside would be a tangible business that I could hand off and be in a position to teach them how to manager it while still around. Ideally, I would not need to rely on any of these investments for cash flow to live, nor would I need to liquidate any of my retirement assets. + +I can't imagine I am the first one on these boards that has approached FatFire and been lured by the prospect of real estate investing (as opposed to those that used real estate to reach FatFire). For those that came from business backgrounds and then transitioned to real estate after being financially set, what were the results? I like the idea of building a little real estate empire and learning the business, but then my mind wanders to all of the "inconveniences" like problem tenants, administrative hassles, repairs, dealing with contractors, etc., and I wonder if the allure of playing the real estate game will soon be outweighed by the hassles. +This is not a question of whether you should or shouldn't, the price is irrelevant for this sub. My question is: those of you who have bought their own plane for personal travel, did you actually use it as much as you think you would or was it just a novelty? + +I was looking into a 6 seater for my growing family since we live in a mildly inconvenient location (1 hr to the nearest big city, 2.5hrs for most destinations). I'm a pilot and I feel like the plane would let us experience much more small family vacations without dreading the drive and getting stuck in traffic. The journey to the destination would be part of the fun. At least, that's the idea. +I've been struggling on and off with motivation for the past couple of years. My business makes significant money without much input. All of my investments are passive. + +I used to have very significant drive to make more money out of fear of not having enough. However, now that I have enough money invested ($5M+) to live a fairly good life from just investment income I am struggling to make myself work and grow my business which has very significant growth opportunities. + +Some background: I'm currently 25, single, and have no kids. I have never worked for anyone and have only ever run my own businesses. + +To be clear, I'd like to make more money. There are plenty of things I'd like to have that I currently can't afford. However, I have been struggling with motivating myself to keep working. + +I feel like I have become a less interesting person overall as a result. I've lost a lot of my drive and don't really feel very passionate about anything. + +I am posting here (on fatFIRE specifically) to see if anyone has experienced something similar and if so, have you done something to keep you motivated? +I think privacy and anonymity will become very important in the future and want to invest in it. I'm hesitant to invest in Monero long-term though with zkSNARKS coming to Ethereum. What are the differences between the two? +Does the ethereum community like / respect him at all? He is all over the place in crypto (BTC, Naut, Hyper, Razor) over the past 2-3 years and is constantly vitriolic and dramatic on Twitter. + +Maybe there is something there, he has a lot of followers of course, but I just don't see it. +The price of Ether has finally halted its growth to move sideways despite ever growing news and mainstream coverage. And that's, in my opinion, due to the hesitance of investors from making meaningful moves. + +Why do you ask? Because the ICO landscape, despite its theoretical benefits, has become toxic from the greed by founding teams and dumb money infusion by dumb investors. It's a circle jerk of chasing ICO flips, locked up ETH, all coiled up waiting for a crash. + +Absolutely great for BAT, Status, Tezos, and similar teams for their personal fortunes. I don't blame them for their crowd funding. But the ethical line gets blurred when hype is built and raises are larger than what any team anywhere, in any industry, needs to develop a company. + +Dumb money will get really hurt in this unregulated landscape, and we are all just waiting for governments to overstep their bounds due to our inability as a community to reduce the abuse. Once governments step in, then we will really see our own failure to launch. + +It only takes a few thousand investors to get hurt before, say for example, the U.S.'s SEC shuts down Americans' access to ICOs... And even though crypto is a global market, all globally would be affected by this. (Don't be stupid and say that governments can't track crypto investors or that they can't find ways to severely cripple crypto's flexibility.) + +I'm pretty tired of seeing the blind investing here. We are frothing at the seams already, even before institutional investors have stepped in or any damn functional products have gained real consumer use / adoption. Dapps are nothing but thin air right now. Zero damn commercial products. $X00M+ valuations? Worse: $150M crowd raises? There is a reason why small fish don't get to invest in the traditional VC world. + +As someone who was fortunate enough to invest in Ether way before the overwhelming majority of the people in this sub, I'm now disappointingly out of Eth for a while. I wish everyone the best, but its our own collective greed's fault that many among us may unfortunately see their paper gains take a dive in the near future. + +(Preemptive: I'm speaking my mind. Go ahead and shill your maximist views, down voters. Because it means nothing to me if you don't deeply consider the worry that I'm trying to convey. You're not a trader nor an investor if you only think things go up. You are only an immature financier who down votes things that scare you.) +Welcome to the **/r/EthTrader** Daily Discussion thread. The thread guidelines are as follows: +*** + +- Discussion topics include but are not limited to general discussion, details related to events of the day, technical analysis, Ethereum Classic, and minor questions. +- Important content should be posted as a separate thread. +- Be excellent to each other. + +*** + +Thank you in advance for your participation. Enjoy! + +Take the following hypothetical scenario: + + +ETH price rises back to near ATH levels. As you can imagine, many of the HODLers that were buying near current levels will have a proportionally significant amount of money on the table. Assuming no profits were taken along the way, a 1% move now vs at ATH would be a gut-wrenching difference. As an example, say a trader holds $150k USD worth of ETH at $150USD per ETH (ie a 1% move is worth $1500). If/when price goes 10x and the trader takes no profits on the way up, that same 1% move is now worth $15,000! Everyone knows how volatile crypto can be, and a 1% move is relatively conservative. + +&#x200B; + +My question is, how do you stomach these price swings when so much is on the table? Do you take profits on the way up or do you hold to avoid the FOMO that accompanies these massive market moves? I've already seen my stack grow quite a bit in 2019 and can't imagine what it would feel like if ETHUSD was trading above $1k. +I'm sitting here with my alts being down 30% as bitcoin continues to rise. + +If Bitcoin suffers a sharp correction in the next 10 days, what does that mean for the alt market? + +Will panic trickle down to other coins pushing them down even further? + +It's hard to see a situation where alts rise quickly when their base coin is crashing. +For those who are wondering, "the flippening" was described as the migration away from the bitcoin platform to an alternative currency (read about it this week, I will post a link to the article in the comments). I suspect we might be witness to that right now, as Bitcoin is taking serious hits while the price of it's runner-up (Ethereum) surges. +Hey guys, + +We all know how big FUD is in this space, as well as outside of it. South Korea banning crypto FUD caused quite a price swing many a time. Fake news on Facebook helped get Trump elected and helped Brexit. How can we stop this? Any platforms that can validate content? Maybe the blockchain could be used in some way to prevent fake content being distributed to the mass? +Hey there, + +I've been wondering about alt coins. All of them seem to have a project around a certain theme; be it solar energy for SolarCoin, computing power for iExec RLC etc. + +So here's my question: there are probably many great ideas, but **why** do these projects always insist on launching a new currency to go with those ideas? + +What am I misunderstanding ? +Thanks :) +They think they know better but they're gonna lose everything that way. I don't think they understand, this is the first time in the history of the world we've had something so distributed yet backed by the laws of nature. It's not just some funny money being moved around there some serious weight behind it. +Right now I'm holding mostly eth, btc, and a small portion of ltc. Also just bought like $500 worth of doge around . 2 just for play money to be in on the fun I know it may crash at any point though + +So I'm looking to speculate on some of the more promising coins that may not be super popular yet, what are your top picks and why? Very curious to broaden my perspective if you can list your coin and what its value proposition is, what's the investment hypothesis on why it might go up a lot? + +The first non popular coin I bought was algorand recently since I saw it posted here and decided to learn more. +They think they know better but they're gonna lose everything that way. I don't think they understand, this is the first time in the history of the world we've had something so distributed yet backed by the laws of nature. It's not just some funny money being moved around there some serious weight behind it. +Usually the focus is on day trading, but I am curious what arguments people can conjure to put away a decent amount of money in a coin and forget about it, and which ones even to avoid? + +EDIT: some solid info in here keep it coming! +Hey, guys. Sorry if this seems to be a simplistic question but I can't find an explicit answer anywhere. If I buy an altcoin using bitcoin on an exchange and then sell that altcoin back to bitcoin, do I owe taxes on that transaction? Some sources online say yes because it is like I converted the altcoin to fiat (a taxable event) and then used the fiat to buy bitcoin. Other sources, specifically my friends, are under the impression that a taxable event only occurs when you take bitcoin out of your exchange or wallet and convert it back to fiat which ends up in your bank account. That, they claim, is the only taxable event because that is the only time in which capital gains are realized. I've done a lot of research but can't come to a clear conlusion on which line of thinking is correct. So, in short, do I owe taxes when I sell my altcoins back to bitcoin? Or only when I sell my bitcoin and gain fiat? + +Thank you in advance for the help, I'm not trying to commit tax fraud over here. Also, I would like to know the answer for the United States, if that helps (I know these tax laws are different for different countries). +Hi everyone, + +&#x200B; + +I need some advice and other perspectives. I'm considering bankruptcy, or letting my payments lapse, but not sure if that's a good idea in the long run. I dug myself a hole and I recognize it, I understand the severity of the debt and constantly beat myself up over it. I have never missed a payment - my credit score is at 600. + +&#x200B; + +Nonetheless, i'm going to separate the good and the bad, and if you could let me know what you'd do in my situation - i'd appreciate it. + +&#x200B; + +Bad; + +1. Credit Card Debt - $37.9k; total of minimum payments is $869. + 1. AMEX Everyday, $15.8k - card cannot be used anymore. **LOW interest.** + 1. On a repayment plan over the next 4 years, paying a fixed payment of $356. + 2. AMEX Gold, $2.8k - card cannot be used anymore. **LOW interest.** + 1. On a repayment plan over the next 3 years, paying a fixed payment of $102. + 3. Discover Bank, $9.7k used out of $13.3k available. **HIGH interest.** + 1. Paying the monthly minimum of $194. + 4. Citicards CBNA, $5.5k used out of $5.8k available. **MED interest.** + 1. Paying the monthly minimum of $55. + 5. Capital One, $1.8k used out of $2k available. **HIGH interest.** + 1. Paying the monthly minimum of $55. + 6. Paypal Credit, $1.5k used out of $2.2k available. **MED interest.** + 1. Paying the monthly minimum of $40. + 7. Wells Fargo Store Card $758 used out of $2.6k available. **HIGH interest.** + 1. Paying the monthly minimum of $67. +2. Loans/Auto - $31.2k; total of payments is $1191. + 1. Credit Union personal loan + 1. $1720 left out of $5000 original, monthly payment of $102. + 2. Fifth Third Bank personal loan + 1. $1503 left out of $5300 original, monthly payment of $147 + 3. Ford Motor Credit auto lease, payment of $492 + 1. 2 years, truck used for business + 4. Credit Union auto loan for Jeep (READ \*NOTE BELOW) + 1. 6 year loan, $450 payment, balance of $28000. +3. Phone/Insurance + 1. Phone is paid off, $50 a month bill for data/service. + 2. Insurance for each car is $200, after Jeep is sold/cancelled it would be $200 total. +4. Mortgage + 1. I am on my father's mortgage as he needed a co-signer or would have lost his house a year ago. I don't pay the payment and it is paid by him. Legally, it is on my credit report and I am responsible. Payment is for $1300. +5. Total going out - $2310 in minimums. + +Good; + +&#x200B; + +1. Income, $100k in the next fiscal year. + 1. I started up a construction services company with a friend, and we just signed a contract that will generate us each $50-60k in profit over the next 12 months with a lot of work. We are looking to bring on employees and/or work at night as a second job. + 2. I am about to start a white collar job as a day job, and should generate a net of about (at least) $1000 a week after taxes. + 3. Total coming in, about $2000 a week after taxes. +2. I was doing very well before this debt piled up making $80k a year from a single income source, but have been unemployed and living in an expensive apartment paying about $1700 in rent a month for the past 6 months. This is when most of that debt piled up. Both of the above income sources are news as of last week, so I really want to turn around my situation. +3. I moved back in with my parents to negate paying rent and most food expenses as of 2 days ago. +4. \*\*I am interested in renting my Jeep out on Turo OR selling it to cover other payments, I would net about $1-5000 depending on if sold privately or to a dealer. This car was purchased last month for the sole reason of being over mileage. I would have owed $2000 for mileage, but instead - bought it and can likely turn a profit on it. I have no interest in keeping two cars for luxury and understand that I am not in a position to do so. + +&#x200B; + +What do you all suggest I do? I understand I am just about to start generating income again, so I want to be as efficient as possible with my planning. I know Dave Ramsey's payment plan, where you pay small sums first for mental motivation - I also know that may not be the most efficient way to pay everything off. I understand I messed up. I understand I maybe should have moved back into my parents' place 6 months ago. I didn't really have debt advice growing up from my parents, and they are not the people to turn to in a situation like this. + +&#x200B; + +Thank you to everyone in advance. +Just moved into my new apartment and furnishing things has put a huge dent in my pocket even though I’m buying the cheapest furniture possible. I wish I visited DT for all other household essentials before going to Walmart thinking I got a deal. They have utensils, glass cups, laundry detergent, cups, sponges, spices, pasta, rice, command hooks that are easily $3-$8 at Walmart. I wish I known before how much Dollar Tree had before moving out. I used to go there to buy stuff I didn’t need but now I realize how essential they are! +This morning, a family member of mine asked me to write up my opinion of the Bitcoin price movement recently. For those who don't know me, I've been heavily involved in Bitcoin since May 2011. It is my full time life, my career, and my passion. The price in 2013 has been wild, and here's what I wrote to my family member. + +-------------- + +Unfortunately, while I'm certainly an insider, not even I know if the price will rise or fall tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or next year. Guessing short term price movements is a fool's game. + +My sentiment is the same today as it was a year or two years ago: either Bitcoin is worth zero, or is worth thousands of dollars each. It will take years for the market to figure out which it is. If you believe in the Bitcoin story, that it may revolutionize the world of finance, then it's a good idea to hold on to some Bitcoins. If you think it's just too risky, or are unconvinced of the narrative, then it's best to sell. As stated many times, Bitcoins are incredibly risky and volatile. The whole thing is one grand experiment. Don't ever hold more money in Bitcoin than you can afford to lose, and in general you should assume the whole thing will go to zero. + +Now, if you're curious why this price may be going crazy right now, it's a few factors: + +1) A handful of "respectable" online merchants are now accepting Bitcoin, this proves that real businesses see the value in it. It's likely that others will follow. + +2) Cyprus scared the hell out of everyone (and rightly so). While a few Cypriots may have bought some Bitcoin, the bigger influence is a world of onlookers who are all thinking, "well that could happen to US!" and "look how Bitcoin solves the problem of trusting banks." It's not so much that Cypriots are buying bitcoins now, but rather that the world realizes that as this euro (and soon dollar...) crisis continues unfolding, a greater number of people will seek some degree of refuge in Bitcoin. Speculators, seeing this possibility, are buying up Bitcoins. + +3) Venture capital (and private investor) money is moving into Bitcoin. A handful of VC firms putting in a handful of money would explain the current price rise. + +4) An increasingly wide swath of the libertarian/gold & silver "hard money" types are buying into Bitcoin. They were very skeptical at first, but are coming around. There are probably a few hundred thousand people like this in America who are deciding to put a few grand into Bitcoin. + +5) The FinCEN ruling clarified the government's stance on Bitcoin about 3 weeks ago. The good news is Bitcoin is very much legal, and will be treated basically like money. People don't need to worry that the government will come down on it any time soon. + +6) The press attention gained from all of the above real-world events is fueling a huge amount of hype (justified or not). + +7) Ignorant, foolish people are buying bitcoins simply because the price is going up and they think (consciously or unconsciously) that this means it'll go up tomorrow. Maybe 1% of the buying interest is from people like this, or maybe 99%. Such people may get really lucky, or impoverish themselves, but either way they're in it for the wrong reason. + +All of the above have combined over the past couple months to cause this price rally. It may well be a bubble, and could fall back down to $20/coin. Or, it could be the "new normal" and a new stable price between $100-$300 will be found. Or, it could be the start of a mega bubble that drives prices over $1000 before they come crashing down somewhere and cause widespread misery and chaos. The price right now could be the highest Bitcoin will ever be from now on, or the lowest. Nobody knows! + +My advice... don't obsess over the fluctuating price on any given day. The market will figure out the value of these coins, and there ain't a damn thing anyone can do to prevent this from playing out. + +But certainly, Bitcoin is the most important thing happening on the planet right now... and it has nothing to do with the price. + +-Erik +Hey bulls and bears - with interest rates hitting their lowest expected point in Australia (as per RBA), do you expect that this will slow-down rising house prices? + +I’m based in Bris, but logic should apply in most places. + +Also, just saw CBA etc doing 4 year fixed at 1.99% (crazy!!) +Speaking to any buyers or sellers. We are looking to buy again (Northern Beaches - Units) and have been in and out of the market a few times over the last 12-18 months for various reasons. My observations right now are slightly different to what they were previously so I wanted to compare sentiment with anyone in a similar position. + +Today: More stock, sales are slower, much more interest in offers prior to auction, sales still seem to have strong prices but only looks to be impressive stock selling in a short time, no more lines in front of open houses 15 min before open. + +6 months ago: Lines out the door before the property is open for inspection, unconditional offers from day 1, most sellers adamantly going to auction and bringing auctions forward, minimal follow up from agents as they didn't need to. Things selling 20-30% over guides regularly. + +12 months ago: Fairly quiet, momentum building but things didn't start getting crazy until a month or two later in the area after some high visibility results that set everyone seemingly into a frenzy. + + +Still keen to buy but I am wondering if what I am noticing is part of a broader slowdown or just a blip before momentum picks up again in the new year. Thoughts? Any insight from other areas? +Unless you're a Winklevii, most in the community seem to agree that the BitLicense regulation proposals are archaic, and that it will hinder startup growth, etc. + +The most important point that people seem to overlook is this piece of regulation, section 200.8(b): + +Each Licensee shall be permitted to invest its retained earnings and profits in **only** the following high-quality, investment-grade permissible investments with maturities of up to one year and **denominated in United States dollars**: + +(1) certificates of deposit issued by financial institutions that are regulated by a United States federal or state regulatory agency; + +(2) money market funds; + +(3) state or municipal bonds; + +(4) United States government securities; + +(5) United States government agency securities + +BitLicense businesses cannot invest or hold their ANY of their profit in Bitcoin, ONLY in US Dollars. + +You will be told this regulation is to protect the business (and therefore, its consumers) from Bitcoin exchange rate fluctations, but if Bitcoin businesses are forbidden from holding their profits Bitcoin, then what are those businesses forced to do? + +Sell their Bitcoin - driving down prices, reducing demand. + +This part of the regulation has one purpose, and that is to prevent the rise of Bitcoin as a reserve currency. **It simply makes no sense that a BITCOIN BUSINESS cannot hold ANY of its earnings in Bitcoin.** + +This was written by the banks, for the banks. Don't support it, and don't be blinded by the "This is actually good news!" mentality. It's not, unless you're looking forward to JPMorganCoin. + +**EDIT:** Even more telling, the specific piece of regulation that I refer to above is NOT mentioned on the summary page of the regulations provided by New York State: http://www.dfs.ny.gov/about/press2014/pr1407171.html +I saw a few posts awhile back in March/April where people said they were selling everything because a market crash was imminent. I'd guess that a crash is maybe more likely now, but in the meantime the market has gone up substantially so how has it been for those who sold off? Have you gotten back in and what was your thought process or how has in changed in the last couple months? +>Job growth leaped higher in June as businesses looked to keep up with a rapidly recovering U.S. economy, the Labor Department reported Friday. +> +>Nonfarm payrolls increased 850,000 for the month, compared to the Dow Jones estimate of 706,000 and better than the upwardly revised 583,000 in May. The unemployment rate, however, rose to 5.9% against the 5.6% expectation. + +**How do you think this will affect the market?** + +Full source: [https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/02/jobs-report-june-2021.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/02/jobs-report-june-2021.html) +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +&#x200B; + +I'm sure many of y'all have gotten high and stared at the Dow (or S&P) for way to long. + +&#x200B; + +[May 1896 the Dow Jones begins.](https://preview.redd.it/a3ho1mpqi6d81.png?width=2358&format=png&auto=webp&s=70d73448ccb4494d1482fb6f146d551748b06fba) + +Let us begin in the year 1896. From 1896 to 1986 We stayed in that green trend line... for the most part... + +The first Bubble begins in 1927 when we leave the trend line, wild speculation on wall street caused a bubble that led to the great depression. + +&#x200B; + +[🚀 🚀 🚀 To the Moon! 🚀 🚀 🚀... and then the Great Depression.](https://preview.redd.it/iipxlqhui6d81.png?width=2358&format=png&auto=webp&s=559a21aa3e3e61c0cc9674348dbffec7cf7e8fca) + +Yada Yada WW2, back on the trend line for **decades**! All the way to 1986 (2 years into the Reagan administration). + +Lets zoom out again + +&#x200B; + +[Banks deregulated, Stock Market detaches. It's all a bubble? Always has been.](https://preview.redd.it/91cddaayi6d81.png?width=2354&format=png&auto=webp&s=ab89c23ad8faf7dcb7f0d756db6b936151375a84) + +So during the Reagan administration the banks get deregulated, and the dow starts a new trend line that goes all the way up to the 2016-2020 (post got deleted for saying the name) administration. + +&#x200B; + +[1995, Beginning of the \(Dot Com\) Bubble X Housing Market Colab that led to the 2008 Crash](https://preview.redd.it/dq2wnkw0j6d81.png?width=2344&format=png&auto=webp&s=9112332c83da8eb33ec94cb36f9fbfd3fd1c5cad) + +&#x200B; + +[Was the Dot Com bubble just the beginning of the 2008 Crash? A bubble inside a bubble? Bubbleception?](https://preview.redd.it/7dpmghy4j6d81.png?width=2358&format=png&auto=webp&s=2b96921ae37ee97bb2224e08494aab2bf06d6dad) + +&#x200B; + +[2016 election happens and we leave the trend. COVID happens, the bubble grows larger as we leave the trend again... and history likes to rhyme.](https://preview.redd.it/macstd5lj6d81.png?width=2362&format=png&auto=webp&s=1f082cd7135f85dd2dbd9563283ed752e13f694e) + +We all know the crash is coming, and MOASS is happening. + +Looking at the market as a whole though. Are we going to fall back into the new trend line? Or is it possible that we are in the Mother Of All Bubbles, and we drop down to the original trend line. + +&#x200B; + +[$8,000 Dow... You heard it here first folks.](https://preview.redd.it/15mwo3y6j6d81.png?width=2346&format=png&auto=webp&s=f49cc71648ad05d2b4859a5b72e7f4b265e7ec77) +I started investing in October 2020, using dollar cost averaging strategy over the last several months. My profits peaked several months ago at +16k. Now it's down to 1k, nearly all my profits gone. A savings account would've been better. +Tell me this is fine. I don't need the money now, and QQQ is the lowest it's been since March 2021. This isn't indicative of some big screwup on my part, right? +Hey everyone! + +First of all, I'm not sure if it's okay to ask this hear. So if this has to be taken down I will understand it. + + +My dad recently called me about how he got a check from the government dating way back to the mid 2000's. However, it's named to both my dad and mom. + +The issue with this is that my mom never became a US citizen or resident. She was there with TPS. + +I've been living with her for almost a decade in a foreign country and she never tried to get a VISA so she can't just go there for a few days and sign the check. + +My dad's been told by various people that he can either get a vehicle from a dealership, cash it at a gas station or open a bank account in my country with the check (foreign country in Central America). + +I've told him to wait on all the option as none of us know if these methods are legal or could work. + +What's the best thing my parents could do? Does my mom/dad have to travel to get the signature? + +EDIT: The countries involved are Nicaragua (mom and I) and the United States (dad). + +EDIT 2: My dad sent me a photo of the check. It says "Pay to the order of "his name" & "mom's name"." + +The only date I can make out on it is 12/2005 and it shows "01 29 18" on the first line. + + He just recently got this mail as he came to visit us on February 1st and returned to the U.S on March 8th. He got the check on March 9th. + +UPDATE March 13th, 2018: Thanks everyone for commenting and helping us out with this, I know I posted limited information and tried to answer as many questions as possible. + +My dad told me he called the IRS and the check is valid, with an Issue Date of 01 29 18, it was most likely sent to him a few days later, but unfortunately, he left the US on Feb 1st for Nicaragua to come visit us, that's why he got this check until these days. + +He's decided he'll come to Nicaragua to open a bank account here jointly with my mom, as the bank requires both of them to be present, both signature and both fingerprints. + + + +Thank you all for the help, good day! +Slowly migrating my holdings to a 50/50 split between VGRO and XAW. From what I can see, this should provide me an aggressive North American weighted portfolio (that favors the USA) with significant international diversification. + +&#x200B; + +What's the downside to this portfolio outside of a slightly higher MER? + +&#x200B; + +EDIT: Great discussion, particularly re: tax efficiency. I think I will keep this portfolio as-is for now but will likely be looking at shifting focus a bit once I hit $200k in investments. +*Please remove the thread if it's not being posted per the rules...* + +I've been keeping my money in the chequing and TFSA saving account for the past 2 years, it's collecting dust as we speak and inflation is taking a good portion as well (or it will soon). With how the housing and condo market is going, I cannot afford a downpayment anytime soon. + +With that being said, any suggestions on how to invest my $25k savings? Should I download questrade app or wealthsimple app and it will guide me on next steps? Is that how an investor starts? + +(I didn't see a WIKI on this sub but correct me if I'm wrong.) +I won't get into much details but I'm invested in a scotiabank balanced growth portfolio. It's in my TFSA and I'm down about 13% right now from where I started. This is my first time investing and I'm very new but I haven't seen a profit in the year since I've started. I'm starting to wonder if I should cut my losses and get out. This money is not easily recovered for me. +Personally I think I've gotten used to it, for sure everyone has anxiety building up, as long as you guys bought companies YOU believe in, you should be fine because they'll recover, stay strong and buy the dip + +Just my opinion. whats yours? Feel free to spew some words if you panic sold or if you're holding strong. + +Edit:This is geared mostly towards the new players, anyone in the market from before covid is definitely a veteran who knows what's going on +Is Riocan a Buy more, hold, or sell right now under current market conditions? Dividends have already been cut and have been a stay still price. + +I have been really considering selling. Just want to hear some thoughts towards this +I have been investing for a few years into TFSA but it was recently that struck me about the handling of it if I do plan to move out of Canada be it the US (and maybe come back to Canada if I don't like it there) + +From my understanding, it really depends where you end up going and whether they recognize TFSA. If not, capital gains in TFSA would be taxed and the approach for that is to liquidate the assets. + +Given the worse case, shall I continue to invest in TFSA or rather reduce my risk levels if the timeframe is <3 years? That would unfortunately shift my long-term plan which I initially had though. +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. + +#WSJ Wall St Journal just asked to interview me and I told them to no thanks -- shoddy journalism should not be rewarded and the gain of publicity is not worth feeding the monster of lazy editors and writers who get facts wrong. + +Until they give some assurances that they will be remotely attempting to be accurate everyone but the worst publicity hound should do the same. + +https://www.facebook.com/bruce.fenton.page/posts/10152091168788001 + +http://imgur.com/KCcj1LO + + +Update: reporter me sent a very nice note....I won't get into details as it wasn't public but he has convinced me he's a decent guy, WSJ issues were not his fault, and our association PR Head convinced me I was overly harsh.....we've agreed to start fresh ....I told him I'll do an interview on whatever they want anytime or give names of other Bitcoin Association members who might want to --- obviously we will watch carefully with anyone for accuracy +Connecticut's congressman Jim Himes made a couple of comments during the May 6^(th) hearing that I think we shouldn't just gloss over. We should definitely pay attention to the not only incorrect, but inappropriate stance that he took. + +* He claims that retail investors should have restrictions, leaving Wall Street as it is. + * This implies that "dumb money," really is just that, and it helps push market inequalities that we are **currently** fighting against. + * This is **not** how one establishes a fair market in this day and age, and this is exactly what causes corruption through uneven distribution of power. +* He had the audacity to claim that Alex Kearns was trading irresponsibly, and that was what prompted his untimely death. + * Alex Kearns fell victim to poorly handled data by Robinhood, and attempted many times to call customer service. + * As we've all heard, Robinhood's "customer service" line will simply say "go to the website lol" and hang up on you. + * Jim Himes made assumptions about a real person's death without knowing the full story, **in front of congress.** + +These comments are coming from a real person who has the power to present them in a hearing, showing that not only has he not paid any attention to the real issues at hand, but he's willing to do the bare minimum and dilute the discussion with his uninformed and **absolutely inappropriate** input. Jim Himes does not understand the situation, and has had ample time to read the truth, but he would rather take the easy way out and make uninformed suggestions in an extremely important hearing. + +I'm not a professional writer, and I don't have much information on this guy besides what I've seen in the hearing, but this is inexcusable, and I'm glad others are talking about it on Twitter **(his handle is** [**@jahimes**](https://www.twitter.com/jahimes)**)**. + +**Residents of Connecticut can call his office with this number: (203) 333-6600** + +He's inactive on Reddit, but his account is u/RepJimHimes + +If you live in Connecticut, this man should not be able to speak in congressional hearings on important matters that he doesn't do sufficient research on, especially while misrepresenting the tragic death of a young person as an example. This absolutely infuriated me, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this. + +Retail, Main Street, is just as capable as Wall Street, and we deserve the same access to market resources and trading tools. + +Edit: Added Twitter link + +Edit 2: More information about who's contributed to Mr. Himes - [Rep. Jim Himes - Campaign Finance Summary](https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00029070) + +Edit 3: Jim Himes in the hearing - [https://youtu.be/vX2X8xxHEns?t=6560](https://youtu.be/vX2X8xxHEns?t=6560) + +Edit 4: + +* Starts talking about restrictions on retail - [https://youtu.be/vX2X8xxHEns?t=6702](https://youtu.be/vX2X8xxHEns?t=6702) +* Lies about the death of Alex Kearns - [https://youtu.be/vX2X8xxHEns?t=6733](https://youtu.be/vX2X8xxHEns?t=6733) + +Edit 5: Added phone number for CT residents + +Edit 6: It appears that Mr. Himes worked for Goldman for a decade: [Wall Street's Favorite Democrat - Bloomberg](https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:12DEEtQUIaYJ:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-04-26/wall-streets-favorite-democrat+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us) + +Edit 7: Here's the Wikipedia article that also describes his time spent at Goldman - [Jim Himes - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Himes) + +Edit 8: Adjusted link in Edit 6, no more paywall! + +Edit 9: First paragraph of Alex Kearns' suicide note. Unbelievable. - [https://twitter.com/BillBrewsterSCG/status/1273292130769932288?s=20](https://twitter.com/BillBrewsterSCG/status/1273292130769932288?s=20) + +Edit 10: More about Alex Kearns - [https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/n6q7sw/alex\_kearns\_successful\_trader\_earning\_200\_return/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/n6q7sw/alex_kearns_successful_trader_earning_200_return/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) + +Edit 11: Added Jim Himes' (inactive) Reddit account +Hi all, + +I transferred over 2500 USD from my German USD account to my PayPal account (through transferring the money to their JP Morgan bank account). + +My mistake was not adding the bank account I transferred the money from to my PayPal account before doing so (although it's also in my name) and not realizing that PayPal doesn't accept funds in USD from bank accounts located in Germany. + + +This was on 28.10. + +I talked to customer service on 3.11 and they said I should wait until 14 days (or 10 business days) have passed. + +I called my bank and they said the money has been transferred. + +I talked to them again on 13.11 and they said that I should have told them to start looking for the money 5 days after transferring it instead of waiting. +I sent them all the details they needed as instructed (my bank account and their bank account details and all the transfer details) and they came back to me after 1 day saying that they can't find the money or the transfer anywhere. + +What can I do in this case? + +I'm stuck without a lot of money I need right now, and every represemtative at PayPal seems to be saying something else. +Now to have a read through and see what they've come up with. I think this is still a draft, but it looks fairly finalised to me. + +Here's hoping I can continue to run my limited co. + + [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020) + +I'll wait to see what smarter people deduce from this legislation. + +edit: Additional link for Draft Finance Bill - [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/finance-bill-2019-20-government-publishes-draft-legislation](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/finance-bill-2019-20-government-publishes-draft-legislation) +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/58emjef1y3h71.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=06b6c636682ee737e87cd317e90848c5e68ce0f8 + +# [Gooooooood Moooooorning Superstonk!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwSra5p8MDw) + +&#x200B; + +It is a wonderful day to be up and in the jungle! + +&#x200B; + +Wake up, bend over touch your toes and let one rip! It is time for Friday the 13th and I just got done petting my black cat! + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/r6tnobu2y3h71.jpg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec706638563c2f9b47113c1f7f2b591397c8df32 + +# [Reverse Repo remains above $1T](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p2hjao/daily_reverse_repo_update_0811_1000460b/)! + +The system is now hit the cruising altitude of $1T and you are free to move about the Market. And by that I mean BUY and HODL. + +In the event my goldfish brain forget here is [Reverse Repo explained](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/owwk1p/the_rrp_number_is_incredible_but_what_does_it/h7iv86i/?context=3) in a way even I can understand. + +Looks like Repo Agreement spikes can actually be[good indicators of a market crash.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p37kef/the_fed_just_published_36_years_of_its_money_data/) + +# [Treasury is at $389B](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p37n2n/daily_treasury_balance_for_0811_389b_27b/) + +Looks like a drop of $27B. This can only hold up for another11 days or so. Tick. TOCK. + +[74 Players](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p34h1q/reverse_repo_new_high_score_back_over_a_trilly/) + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/5fkp1s54y3h71.jpg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=688baa41e8cfe51c3cba2b89b6747b9abe608e95 + +# [Low Volume of 1.28 Milly](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p2kzi0/i_cant_hear_you_closed_with_091_mil_volume_sub1/) + +Thank you u/edgar510 for charting it and u/canispeaktoyourmanagr for the beautiful graphic. + +&#x200B; + +# [US Inflation Chart](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p2cou7/us_inflation_chart_update/?ref=share&ref_source=link) + +The last time that inflation has 3 consecutive months in the 5% range was June, July, and August of 2008. The crash then happened on September 29. Like all TA this is not an indicator of a crash but there is a strong correlation of the power of the dollar skyrocketing, weakening economic power, and a stock market crash. + +&#x200B; + +# [Housing prices jumped 20% or so](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p30jqs/home_prices_in_the_us_soar_20_the_fastest_rate_on/) + +Anyone else ready for the MOASS so prices drop and we can buy hoses for the same cost our parents bought the houses for in the 90s? + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/rn68eaj5y3h71.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=d8213dba05814dd9eda9456ae87fefa0a8384961 + +# [Looks like it is Hammer Time!](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p3er2f/oh_no_not_another_ta_post_hammercandles_and_why/) + +Some possible DD. Long story short it looks like a "T" and can signal a reversal. + +This coupled with... + +# [Broken Regression Trends](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p37ul0/the_ascension_has_begun/) + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/g2zvyw86y3h71.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab4bcc22d46ec726e970cf79e0a3bbe6fbefb625 + +and... + +# [MCAD Crossover](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p37ulq/gme_macd_bullish_crossover_and_third_green/) + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/b2p4um57y3h71.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=6442284443eecbbb36993084ac714e8a0a482b60 + +We could be primed and ready for a jump! + +&#x200B; + +If a few wrinkle brains could dig into these things and look for past examples/proofs of it all works together that would be great! u/dismal-jellyfish ? + +Do they dare drop the stock? ON PAY DAY? + +# [Cayman Islands Are a Sore Spot So They Stay](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p2aeyi/sorry_apes_apparently_im_facilitating_illegal/?ref=share&ref_source=link) + +Dig dig diggity dig! Below you can see the location of [40,000 companies](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p3c70y/nothing_too_important_but_this_is_the_building_in/). Kind of amazing that they all fit there! [PoDDible information of the boys club that is hiding there!](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p3a79x/billionaire_boys_club_bbc_ep_102_cayman_island/) + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/0gdcqnf8y3h71.jpg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e80d6889673bb35af8b81ca293fb5a35a16be60 + +# [Looks like Robinhood App is confusing the word "Real" Again](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p362aj/robinhood_now_hiring_paid_actors_for_damage/) + +No seriously. They are hiring users to post reviews and stories. That is all I have to say about that. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/h0pixri9y3h71.jpg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a78a5ed6fafe6403233c1dd44c39a43efee32010 + +&#x200B; + +# Memes: + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/3e8vioufy3h71.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e87a5df73c424e86b654d34dc5d85671e97686a9 + +[Sign Guy!](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p397be/ape_news_network_81221_green_crayon_day/) + +Have you ever heard of the [TheOereom](https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/markets-crash-every-time-oreo-releases-an-even-greater-stuffed-cookie/)? Originally posted on That Wall Street Sub (Google "Oreo and Market Crash") for sauce. + +[Well let me introduce...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p3f32h/rrp_a_trilly_volume_so_low_you_can_barely_hearand/) + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/623mqflcy3h71.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f21b02b3cadb5bdc4d39cee6fb4f308192fe41b9 + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p2zium/ryan\_cohen\_before\_he\_shitposts\_on\_twitter/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p2zium/ryan_cohen_before_he_shitposts_on_twitter/) + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p3erdj/why\_phrase\_it\_like\_that/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p3erdj/why_phrase_it_like_that/) + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p3a80a/all\_you\_apes\_waiting\_for\_lambos\_after\_moass\_rick/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p3a80a/all_you_apes_waiting_for_lambos_after_moass_rick/) + +&#x200B; + +[ https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Superstonk\/comments\/p33qwe\/fuck\_jim\_cramer\/ ](https://preview.redd.it/ynzg95ydy3h71.jpg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3d6310b0842015a7f5037df3005c1ee99aa9550) + +# AMA: You Asked, Mods Listened! + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p2ttdo/ama\_announcement\_robert\_shapiro\_lucy\_komisar\_18th/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/p2ttdo/ama_announcement_robert_shapiro_lucy_komisar_18th/) + +# [EXCELLENT!](https://giphy.com/gifs/ifc-80s-bill-and-ted-excellet-l46CDHTqbmnGZyxKo) + +We don't care, just be nice and let's make this community as Excellent as we can! + +&#x200B; + +A few wrinkled-brained apes for quick post history access: + +u/DeepFuckingValue (dont need to explain) + +u/atobitt (DD) + +u/Criand (DD) + +u/peruvian_bull (DD addict) + +u/Parsnip (German Market Guy | Diamantenhände) + +u/DR7KE (scales Treasury Balance Guy scales) + +u/pctracer (Reverse Repo Market Updater) + +u/JTH1 (Floor Guy Stonkdate) + +u/mr_boost (Ape News Network | Sign Guy) + +u/gherkinit (Daily Technical Analysis) + +u/Dismal-Jellyfish + +&#x200B; + +Thank you to the mod team!! Thank you to YOU ALL BEAUTIFUL APES! + +Remember not to to give your password or log in information to anyone. If it seems suspicious don't do it! Phishing attacks have become more common across all platforms. + +As always we are here from all different walks of life and all different countries. This doesn't matter as we are all apes in here, and apes are friends. We help each other, we care for each other. Ape don't fight ape, apes help other apes! + +Remember the fundamentals of this company are great, so for the love of god if someone starts with trying to spread FUD, remind yourself of the fundamentals. BUY and HODL. + +Okay that is all for now smell ya later! +Hi all, I welcome your thoughts. Long story short, and some details deliberately kept vague, but I am in my early 40's, live in a VHCOL area, and have two small kids. Wife and I gross close to $200K annually, and own our home outright. Between retirement accounts, brokerage and cash savings, we have approx $700K saved, and there will be modest government pension income as well. Here is the real kicker -- in the near future I will also be the beneficiary of a lump sum in the lowish seven figures. Kids' 529's both have low-six figures already and are not reflected in the numbers above. Financially, we are extremely fortunate. + +Here's the thing -- my job is killing me -- possibly literally. It's white collar, but the stress level has become ridiculous (anyone who thinks that government work is inherently stress-free or lackadaisical, it is not so for professionals, who often end up heavily subsidizing the mediocrity of the rest of the workforce). The job is now keeping me up at night, and also causing me some digestive issues, and I have physical anxiety symptoms. People in my group, including senior folks, are running for the exits, and there is not only no end in sight of the crappy nature of the work, it's getting worse. That all said, I am close to vesting (less than a year) in a very, very valuable benefit that would be huge for me and my wife in retirement. + +Here's the question -- do I just flat-out quit after vesting? We are not going to be starving any time soon, and notwithstanding the VHCOL area, we could coast for a while (and my wife, who has good benefits, is happy with her job). The reasons I'm not eagerly looking forward to just getting after giving notice after vesting are (a) the old maxim about how it's always harder to find a new job when you're not still working, (b) my profession doesn't really look kindly upon gaps in employment, (c) the psychological block of doing the "irresponsible" thing of quitting and depriving my family of income. I have always been the super-responsible one, and it's just not in my DNA to do something drastic professionally, particularly now that I have a family to take care of. I have been doing some job searching, but there isn't anything better available in my agency, and conflicts rules prohibit me from being a free agent in private sector while I am currently employed. Also, I am growing very disenchanted with my profession generally (have been for a while, it's getting worse) and am contemplating a professional reboot, which has its own baggage. I just don't know. + +Given both our current and future financial outlook, coupled with how miserable I am, should I just pull the ejection cord after vesting? Yes, the future is unknowable, except that the only way the future financial seven-figure windfall (not inheritance) would not happen would be alien invasion/asteroid strike or something equivalent (even 2008-2009-esque meltdown would reduce, not eliminate it). Also, my wife's income would cover most, but not all, of our expenses. + +Thoughts? + +Thank you. + +p.s. I found this forum in part due to my total job frustration -- my desire for FI is directly correlated to how much I dislike my current job. I actually don't dislike w**king per se, it's just that my current gig is unsustainable for me. +Just saw [this article](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/14/wealthy-retire-austerity-pensioners-work) over at r/truereddit. Yes, a lot of people are struggling to make ends meet, but it's not helpful for the media to make sweeping statements like "millennials will never retire". That makes millennials think that it's normal to not be saving up enough to retire. + +People like to think they have no power towards their retirement goals because it gives them an excuse to keep not doing anything, to keep spending more than they earn. You can save up for retirement without earning huge bucks. Why don't people want to accept this? +Hey Guys, + +I'm just about to be moving into a house with my Girlfriend of 3 years, the mortgage is in her name as she is using a Barclays 'Family Springboard' mortgage where her parents have put up the deposit (13k). For the first 3 years we will be paying her parents back through the scheme and I will be paying half of this. + +I am also putting in 1-2k into the house right off the bat to secure the house as the mortgage was not enough to fully cover the house price. + +I plan to pay half of the mortgage payments and bills, pay for renovations and put a lot of money into the house. + +The original plan was to remortgage after the 3 years when her family is paid back (which I will have paid them around 7k) and put me on the mortgage but the other day she said that there was no point putting me on as it could up the payments to remortgage and we may be worse off. + +She says I will still have a stake in the house and we can draw up a legal document of some sort? + +My question is after the 3 years do I need to/should i get put on the mortgage or is there a legal document we should get drawn up so that all my time and effort is not wasted. + +I asked this because if we were not doing this i would have planned to get a mortgage myself next year and would be putting my money into a property I owned. + +Any help on this would be great 🙂 + +Thanks + +EDIT: Sorry guys just gonna clarify things. + +With her parents putting up the deposit the plan was for me to be on the mortgage in 3 years after their initial deposit amount was met through spring board mortgage repayments, as I don't have enough cash to put in 1/2 the deposit at current. + +I was told I was unable to be put into the mortgage as when using an online checker I didn't have good enough credit (I'm in the 'Fair' category on most credit score sites) so I understand this. + +I don't believe there is any intention to take advantage of me or not give me what I'm entitled to, I'm just trying to figure out the best way to ensure that if the worst happens I at least get back what I have put in. + +We are very happy now and really excited about the move but this is new territory and I've heard/seen all the horror stories associated with this kind of thing. + +Thanks for your advice guys, I'm going to get her to have a talk with the solicitor and see if they can write us something up to protect us both. +Hi all, + +In the next 3-5 years, my wife (37) and I (36) plan to purchase our "dream home". We currently have approx $65-70K in equity in our current home, with remaining mortgage balance of $335K @ 2.375% 20 year fixed. We have 19 years left as we refinanced 1 year ago. Based on the amortization table, our mortgage balance will reduce by $40-70K (3-5 years). + +My goal is to have $200K between equity + new investments (for 3 year plan) or $250K for 5 year plan. Will be looking at houses between $750K-$1M. + +We both have 401Ks + Pensions. Together we make $250K a year. Currently have a 9 month old and plan for 1 or 2 more kids still. My MIL will likely move in with us and will contribute towards down payment (amount TBD). + +We have $1K per month that we can comfortably invest or pay down our mortgage further. + +My question: If we're looking at moderate risk, what would be some good options? My initial thought was putting $1K per month in to an investment account for 5-7% return. Our 401K returned 13% last year but is taking an obvious hit right now. Also withdrawing would be too costly. Should I use some of the $1K to pay down the mortgage? At only 2.375% rate, doesn't seem logical to me but I could be wrong. Would love to hear some recommendations. Thank you! +(Im not sure if this is the correct community to post this in and Im sorry if Im wrong) I just started a new job, I don’t get paid until next month and I have serious bills that are needed to be paid. (Rent,Lights, etc.) I had a job prior but they only gave paper checks that I had to cash out the same day to pay other bills so I didn’t do mobile deposit because of course it’s next day. My credit is fair and every loan I applied to denies me because I’m a new hire. Does anyone know who I can reach out to for a loan ? I literally started 3 days ago and I need to pay my bills. It’s been rough lately, prior job was family owned and was a very racist toxic environment. Pay wasn’t even good to begin with and it was a struggle to balance food, bills, and gas for me and my wife. Im lost at the moment and I don’t know what I can do. I have WF but they won’t offer me anything :/ any advice would be really appreciated. +I'm nineteen, living on my own and trying to save. + +I make $13.20/Hour, and I work 40 hours a week. + +My costs are: + +Rent - $600 + +Food - $300 (that's what I budget, I often go under that) + +Misc - $100 + +Leaves me an average of $700 to do whatever else with (invest, hopefully.) + +I currently have 4.8k in checking (because I plan to move into a new apartment soon, they'll want two months rent up front plus deposit; Hence having so much in cash.) + +I have 1k I just put in Capital One's 360 Savings (2.15% APY). + +I have a credit score in the 700's. + +&#x200B; + +Is there anything else I can do with my money to grow it? I've looked into the stock market as an option but from what I'm reading it's not uncommon to lose several grand on it, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with just losing a few months of money on it, not to mention I work full time so I'm not home during open market hours. + +I intend to put at least $200 in my savings account at the end of each month. + +&#x200B; + +TLDR; I'd like to learn where to invest my money because I have no higher education to get a better paying career, and investing reads like a good way about that. +Do you recommend any budgeting apps? I currently do my budget via excel and handwritten pen and paper. I have MacBook and iPhone if that makes a difference. Are any worth paying for? +Hello all, + +I would really appreciate any advice on this topic. I am saving to buy a new home and should be able to do so in about 5 years. I currently save about $30-35k a year and have about $60k in savings. I also have already maxed out what I can contribute to retirement per year. My question is what should I do with this money before I have enough to buy a new home? Right now it it is just sitting in a couple low interest cds and a savings account. This does not feel like the best option for me however, I’m really at a loss for what other options exist. Again, I appreciate any and all advice. +(Im not sure if this is the correct community to post this in and Im sorry if Im wrong) I just started a new job, I don’t get paid until next month and I have serious bills that are needed to be paid. (Rent,Lights, etc.) I had a job prior but they only gave paper checks that I had to cash out the same day to pay other bills so I didn’t do mobile deposit because of course it’s next day. My credit is fair and every loan I applied to denies me because I’m a new hire. Does anyone know who I can reach out to for a loan ? I literally started 3 days ago and I need to pay my bills. It’s been rough lately, prior job was family owned and was a very racist toxic environment. Pay wasn’t even good to begin with and it was a struggle to balance food, bills, and gas for me and my wife. Im lost at the moment and I don’t know what I can do. I have WF but they won’t offer me anything :/ any advice would be really appreciated. +I am starting over so to say, starting a new job next month and want to make sure I stick to the best path. Keeping expenses low, not having a car (I truly don’t need one) and I have a roommate. I’m 27. + +Right now my new employer will match up to 50% of contributions up to 5K per year, so at a minimum I would be contributing $10K a year into my 401K. + +Although my plans are flexible, I want to save as much as possible to catch up. + +The only set plan I have is receiving the maximum 401K match. My gross income is going to be 130-140K. I’m single. + +Should I do the usual, max out Roth IRA & Max HSA? should I max out my 401K as well? Of course want to make sure I’m taking full advantage of my tax benefits where I can.. + +Biggest thing I’m focused on is starting my own business at some point. So probably in the next 10 years or so. When I start with my new employer I’m going to then set my 401K to receive the maximum match for 2022 and then contribute to filling up a 6 month emergency fund. Then what’s the best plan for continuing past that? + +Thanks! +I've been thinking about general investing best practices such as: + +1. Don't time the market +2. Bonds are low risk and stocks are high risk. +3. Indexes are better than individual stocks. +4. Keep at least 6 months of emergency fund. + +Do these and other investing best practices apply given the current environment of: + +1. A very high rate of unemployment +2. The Fed printing trillions of dollars and buying assets, inflating the market, and potentially creating monetary inflation. +3. A political landscape that value stock market performance above all other economic indicators. +4. Covid slowing down the economy and adding FUD. + +Have you changed your investing strategy to cope with this new world or are you staying the course? +I need help. I’m having a conversation with my husband, we are in the midst of paying off some consolidated credit card debt at a medium high interest rate. My husband still uses the credit card as cash, but is paying “more than he spends” every month so the balance is still steadily going down. I maintain that it is better to NOT use the credit card and use debit instead, while paying off cc as quickly as possible (despite the 2% cash back he gets from using the cc). Can someone please explain who is right, and why, in simple old people terms? Thank you enormously for your help. +So I worked at a company for about a year (mid 2018- mid 2019) and accumulated about 10k in a 401K traditional plan. Now switching jobs I want to roll over the 401k into my Roth IRA with my new company. Just to keep everything in one place. Can I only roll over the entire 10k or do I have to roll over 6k (the max IRA contribution) this year and then next year rollover the rest? +Hey all, I've been lurking on this sub for awhile now and have acted on most of the basic advice I've seen, I'm sure you'll let me know what I missed. ;) I have little debt, live well within my means. I can put about 2k a month away after paying my bills. + +I'm in my 40s, Single, CF in the PNW and own a house. + +As the year comes to an end I'd like to get your thoughts on my current position and where I should focus for the next year or 5. Goals have always been difficult for me, in general I'd like to become financially independent and travel a little before I reach an age where that's not possible anymore. I've had a couple financial advisors in the past and was generally unimpressed by the stock printout they handed me as their "advice". + +I've put all my finances together in what I hope is an easy to read format here.[https://imgur.com/a/qnlEL9K](https://imgur.com/a/qnlEL9K) +edit: income is Bi-Weekly vs Monthly as stated - thanks all who pointed out the error. + +I'll try and respond to any clarifying questions y'all ask.Throw away for obvious reasons plus I'm a bit nervous throwing all this out there in general. +I'm completely new to investing, not subbed to wsb but their gme thread hit the top of r/popular and I'm wondering what it means. Gamestop seems like the blockbuster of video games so I'm confused about how their stock is supposedly going to skyrocket all of a sudden. Sorry if this is not the appropriate place to ask. +Please do not allow this sub to fall down a conspiratorial rabbit hole. The posts I've seen with thousands of upvotes this morning all based on the opinions of one anonymous person, who seems unwilling or unable to provide any evidence of their claims, will damage the sub. The focus should be kept on the blatant large unreported short position on GME. That's what we're here for, isn't it? I hope I'm not in a minority of people thinking this is just attention seeking bullshit - because if I am, this is not the sub for me. +Seriously guys, this can be huge for the future! +Companies, that are shady can be fucked by us all and awesome opportunities created for all of us. We decide. +Renewable Energy companies are pushed so they can finance them selfes better, awesome products supported, coins pushed to higher highs everybody buys and holds. And it‘s decentralized and open, so its not illegal or InSIder trading. +And the average joe can benefit! Pay for medical bills, buy a house.. it could be beautiful! + +There should be a mechanism like a poll that decides in secret, which ticker will be next, and at a random time it shows the ticker and the direction so everyone of us can benefit... + +EDiT: of course this is just a discussion. No illegal actions are encouraged! +Certainly no illegal manipulation should be done. +Just a huge group of individuals who like the same dd of some of our finest retards. +[link here ](https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/36987/starling-bank-moves-into-profit) + +After hitting the break even point recently, starling are now on track to deliver a profit from here on. + +Interesting to note that their CEO cites keeping the offering pretty simple as the reason. + +I’m not sure if her long-term strategy is going to guarantee success. Rivals have been adding more features and selling points while Starling have remained pretty much unchanged since launch. While this may have guaranteed them first to the post on profitability, a stagnant offering left behind will quickly become old news. + +What are your thoughts? +First, obviously the one and only + + +* **Elon Musk Shilled Dogecoin:** + + **ATH: $0.73** + Currently down 76% from its ATH. + +&#x200B; + +* **Mark Cuban Shilled TITAN:** + + Got rug pulled. + +&#x200B; + +* **Kim Kardashian and May Weather Shilling EthereumMax (EMAX):** + +**ATH: $0.000000597636** +Currently down 95% from ATH. + + + + +* **Soulja Boy Shilled Safemars (SAFEMARS):** + +Down 96% from ATH. + +&#x200B; + +* **Faze Banks Shilled BankSocial(BSL):** + +**ATH: $0.00578273** + +Currently down 70% from its previous ATH. + + +* **Adin Ross Shilled MILF Token:** + +**ATH: $0.0017** + + Currently Down 97% from its ATH. + +&#x200B; + +* **Faze Kay shilled way too many coins:** + +**$Rich:** Down 99% + +**$SafeGalaxy:** Can't track this coin anywhere probably got rug pulled? + +**$TITS:** Down 96% + +&#x200B; + +* **Many Faze Clan members were involved in Save the kids scam.** + +&#x200B; + + These celebrities don't care about their followers/Fans they are here just to make some bag. Please stay away from them when it comes to crypto or any financial advice. + + +Source: [https://mashable.com/article/influencers-altcoin-scams](https://mashable.com/article/influencers-altcoin-scams) took some of the shitcoins from this article. +I have seen several posts claiming higher capitals are easier to get higher return than smaller capitals ([here](https://www.reddit.com/r/thetagang/comments/wyyd84/dad_has_600k_and_needs_to_make_3k_per_month/) and [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Daytrading/comments/xg99t2/say_you_have_a_250000500000_cash_would_it_be/)). I don’t get the idea behind this. My instinct tells me that larger capitals should get smaller return. I hope anyone can give me some examples of easier earnings for larger capitals. +I'm intrigued by the new opportunities that are expected in the next generation of Apple products and services. I think Apple is in the position to truly capitalize on their ecosystem and open a significant number of revenue streams. I'm going to detail them one by one, feel free to poke any holes that you may find. + +iPhones: From the rumors in the NYT, Apple has ordered up to 40% more phones over last years holiday quarter (1). This would be in the realm of 70-80 million phones. For the previous q1, we were looking at 56% of their (2) $57B in revenues was from the iPhone, ~$32B. Adding 40% to that figure would give you ~$45B. There is a mixture of phones contributing to this though, and the older model phones will *probably* not see the 40% gain. For this analysis, we're going to say that is a negligible portion of the phones/revenues though. + +The kicker for this calculation though, is that there is a rumored higher end iPhone that will be available. The 5.5" has been rumored to cost an additional $100 and possibly come with a bigger battery, higher resolution screen, and better camera. In my eyes, there are plenty of people willing to give Apple more money, and moving upmarket seems like a fantastic idea. My best estimate is this could be purchased by 20% of buyers, increasing the average selling price a further $20, from $636 (q1 14) to $656 (~3% increase). This leads to a projected revenue for iPhones of $46.5B. + +iPads: I think the holiday season is where the iPad shines, they make great gifts and they're probably too expensive to be an impulse purchase the rest of the year. However, the replacement cycle isn't that quick and there doesn't seem to be any killer features on the horizon. My best guess at this market would be flat y/y at 26 million units, or approximately $12B. + +Mac: I think the Mac line is poised for growth. They have been aggressively lowering their prices along which will make them much more appealing to people looking to get deeper into the Apple ecosystem. The continuity features look stunning to me and I think it will be one of the first catalysts in a long time to get people to upgrade their computer. Their Mac sales have been on an uptrend and I think the lower prices will help nudge consumers toward Apple's offerings. I think we'll see over 5.5 million Macs sold vs 4.8 in q1 14. However, with a lower selling price, the total revenue may only increase slightly. This would put us in the realm of $7B. + +iCloud Services: One of the things I'm most excited about in the new generation of Apple products is the new and improved iCloud. It seems like it will finally be the service people need, fully integrated into Apple's products, and all at a competitive price. With pricing tiers ranging from $1 to $4 per month and above, this could become another great stream of revenue for Apple. Without any historic data it's quite difficult to gauge what percentage of users would begin this subscription, however I think Apple's freemium model for this service (first 5gb is free) will entice many customers to embrace it. My estimate would be 20% of active iPhones will pay for this service ($1+), and 30% of that group will pay for the higher tier ($4). If anyone has any data or speculation to adjust those numbers, I'd be happy to hear. That would mean (350 million active iPhones * .2) 70 million using the service with 21 million of those on the higher tier. We'll ignore the tiers above that as they probably won't be a significant number. That would be an additional $133 million a month, or $400M a quarter. + + +HomeKit: This looks like it will be a great licensing play for Apple. The prices of many of these products still needs to come down for mass adoption, but Apple is laying the groundwork to control your home and get their cut of the profits. I think it is too early to have any idea what kind of revenues Apple can expect to see from HomeKit, but it has the potential to significantly strengthen the Apple ecosystem and provide Apple with another stream of revenue. + +HealthKit: See Above. + +iWallet (unnamed?): From the seemingly confirmed reports, Apple has managed to negotiate rates that are 15 to 25 (.15 to .25%) basis points below current transaction fees. I would assume that will be the cut Apple is going to take on all transactions processed through their new payment system. It looks like this payment system has the potential to work worldwide and hopefully won't be restricted to just a few countries. The best numbers I can find say that Visa processes over $3T a year, MasterCard does $2T, and AMEX does just shy of $1T (3). It's difficult to gauge how many of these credit card holders have iPhones, and then from there how many would embrace Apple's new service. It appears the average person spends $677 a month on each card (4). If Apple were able to get 75% of its users to embrace this on phones sold this year (we'll guess 200M phones sold this year), that would be ((150M*$677)*.0025) an additional $250M per month or $750M per quarter. This is also skewed by the fact that many people have multiple cards, and Apple customers would generally spend more than the average credit card holder. You could probably safely estimate an extra $1B+ per quarter, and more as the install base grows. On an added note, this should be one of the highest margin services Apple has. This will likely take some time to reach it's full potential as it is rumored to only work with the latest devices. + +Beats Headphones + Beats Music: Beats apparently did 1.8B in revenues last year. I don't have much insight as to how they will act under Apple so I think saying flat would be a fair assessment. That would add another 450M per quarter, although more heavily weighted toward the holiday quarter. + +iWatch/Wearable: I think it's too early to have any real idea what the financial breakdown of this new product will be. The price point is unknown, although rumored to be in the neighborhood of $400. I think something like $300 is more likely but we'll see. We'll come back to this after Tuesday when we hopefully will see what it can do and when it is expected to release. + +AppleTV: If Apple ever manages to work out the proper deals, this could be a significant contributor to their bottom line. Until then though, it unfortunately won't be. + +iTunes: iTunes has been growing incredibly, and combined with Apple's other services and software has contributed 8% of their bottom line. If it were continue it's growth it should provide about $5B in the next quarter. + +Accessories: Accessories should grow in proportion to the iPad/Mac/iPhone growth and continue to contribute 3% to the bottom line. This would give you an additional $2.2B. + +So for Q1 2015 (Holiday Quarter), based on the available data, you could be looking at nearly $75B in revenues. This additionally hinges on the iPhone 6 release date, if it were to be released later than Sept 28, it would artificially inflate Q1 2015 at the expense of Q4 2014 with opening week sales. Gross margins would be tough to estimate as even Apple has had trouble estimating them lately, but to be safe I would say something around 38%. This assumes the iWatch won't be released until next year, if they find a way to get it out before the holidays it could increase that amount by a couple billion. This also leaves Apple with some very appealing growth opportunities in services, licensing, and hardware. In a strong bull case, with the iPhone being released Sept 29 and the iWatch being sold before the holidays, and maybe an iPad Pro offering, Q1 '15 could get up to $80B+. + +A full 2015 projection would be approximately Q1 $75B + Q2 $65B + Q3 $53B + Q4 $57B = $250B. I calculated this based on Apple's general revenue pattern over the course of the year, including a bump in Q2 for when I expect the iWatch to be released. With a gross margin of 38% this would be $95B in gross profit, however with a higher priced phone in the mix, higher margin services, and the potential with licensing, I'd bump that up to 39.5%. Leaving you just shy of $99B in gross profit for 2015. After Op Ex and tax you should be left with around ($99B - $26B (Estimate)) = $73B - 26% Effective Tax Rate ... $57B net profit. + +Extrapolating from there, that would be a $9.50 EPS. If Apple were to keep its P/E minus cash ($165B) of roughly 12, it would give you a share price of $140. + +Much of this analysis is based on the NYT rumor of Apple increasing orders by 40%. If they ultimately don't increase that order or if for some reason they were unable to move all those phones, this would create a vastly different scenario. + +This analysis excludes the iPod as I think its future is questionable going forward. + +I've made quite a few leaps of faith in this, and obviously had pretty limited data to work with. If you have any suggestions or improvements, I'm happy to learn. + +(1)http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2014/07/22/apple-orders-70-80-million-new-iphones.html +(2)http://www.tuaw.com/2014/01/29/where-apples-money-comes-from/ +(3)http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-data/credit-card-transaction-volume-statistics/ +(4)http://www.lowcards.com/dummies-guide-to-credit/credit-card-statistics +What does your daily workflow look like when keeping up to date on your stocks and finding new investment opportunities? + +Please feel free to include any resources, tools, software, or strategies you'd use to help in making investing decisions. + +Thanks in advance for all the replies! +Can we please make a working platform for freelancers on blockchain so we can cut out these fee-eating MOFOs (I know, you have to pay your taxes, but you don't have to pay 24% to middlemen like Upwork and PayPal). + +I'm currently 24, have saved about 50k sitting in the bank. I'll probably slowly save my way to a 20% deposit and then buy a place in my early 30s. + +Keeping it in the bank is barely countering inflation rates. Should I buy ETFs and keep it in there? I guess my investment period will be about 5-10 years. + +Apologies if this question has been asked before. +The implication of tobacco's weight in CPI is that smokers (around 15% of the population), spend almost 25% of their income on smokes. + +I was like, gee that's high, but maybe? since less wealthy people are more likely to smoke? However the [Household expenditure survey](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/finance/household-expenditure-survey-australia-summary-results/latest-release#data-download) says raw tobacco expenditure is pretty stable through the income quintiles: Average expenditure by quintile is about $12 per household per week. + + So I can't make the CPI weight make sense. + +Any illumination appreciated. (which is to say, Got a light?) +Have we forgotten all the things that SHFs are going to use to delay MOASS? + +# Market crash + +We all have read The EVERYTHING Short DD by u/atobitt. If you haven't you should go read it right away from atobitt's profile page. + +When the market crashes, Citadel is going to make bank. Their books will look stronger which might buy them a few more weeks or months. + +# Divergence from popcorn + +Popcorn was always meant to dilute retail's buying power. It was a classic divide-and-conquer move. Thanks to u/Hopeful_Assistant196 we have a nice chart that shows that the two stocks are diverging in price. + +https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/szutzl/as_requested_by_my_fellow_apes_on_a_previous_post/ + +It's only a matter of time before the gap becomes like 20x. Until then popcorn will be used to buy SHFs another day. MOASS might launch the day after popcorn announces that they are in deep financial trouble (possibly bankruptcy?). This will be done to ensure that all holdings in popcorn go to waste and they cannot join the GME rocket in time. This will also help spread FUD among newer apes and paperhands that GME might meet the same fate. Remember that their goal is to plant the seed of doubt in your head, so that when the price goes into 1k, 10k territory you feel like securing some gains by selling a part of your portfolio. + + +# Fall of Tether + +I am gonna shamelessly link my own opinion piece on this. + +https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/sb83t6/untethered_how_gmes_nft_marketplace_announcement/ + +There's a possibility that as soon as GME fully releases a working NFT marketplace, a few small hedge funds will be thrown under the bus and GME will be allowed to climb up to 1k. But then prime brokers, mega hedge funds, and mega asset management firms step in and take the short bag onto their trillion-dollar balance sheets. This will be done to buy themselves some more time. Imagine news coverage showing that popular day traders made millions by selling their GME at 1k per share. Paperhands who don't frequent this sub will be made to doubt whether they are gonna miss the peak. Then Tether falls and a huge crash happens in the crypto markets. Paperhands are gonna shit their pants and might think that GME's NFT marketplace might also fall with the (temporary) fall of crypto markets. + +Remember that GME's fundamentals alone are gonna make it a trillion dollar company eventually. You shouldn't even blink until the price hits 15k per share. + + +**Moral of the story:** Game ain't over yet. In fact, I would argue that it is just getting started. Don't lose sight of the end goal. Get that DRS transfer initiated. Secure your investments before it's too late. Don't trust brokers with your life-changing money. + +**Not financial advice** + +*I hope our Ukrainian apes and their families are keeping safe <3* + + +Edit: obligatory "MOASS starts tomorrow". +My relationship with my parents has become troubled as of late, and as a result my parents have been frequently threatening to kick me out. My girlfriend's family has offered to let me move in so housing isn't an issue. I know that success in this situation is possible, I just need help coming up with a plan. Any help is extremely appreciated! + +Edit: wow you guys all have incredible experiences! FYI: I live in Santa Barbara, California. I do have a bike and am accustomed to long distance riding. All this information that you guys have given me is priceless, yesterday I was down in the dirt and depressed over the idea of starting a life, thanks to you guys I see it's possible. +I know this is a question better suited in r/wallstreetbets but Im kind of afraid of the answers I'll get since it's soooo.... Well you guys know. But I have seen many people throwing MASSIVE amounts of put options in SPY so why SPY over something like VOO? Why is SPY so popular to bearish investors compared to bullish ones? I have seen people buy SPY puts with 2 days until expiration date out of the money just to lose EVERYTHING and sometimes go above -100% when they use margin. +www.insightfield.com is a free search engine which allows you to do keyword based search in financial statements such as 10K filings of public companies. + +It is pretty useful for doing industry research or generating investment ideas. For instance, if you search for “autonomous car”, it will show you the 10k filings of all the companies which mention this term. This will give you some ideas about which companies are related to autonomous car. You can then follow the links to the original documents on SEC. + +It is a mini version of AlphaSense with the core feature, but free. +Sales of new video game hardware fell 33% year over year. Looking ahead to Q3, the company expects same-store sales to be in a range from down 2% to ahead 1%. EPS is seen as $0.53-0.58. The company earned $0.27 in Q2. +Please vote to keep the DRS/Computershare posts! + +No ape should be too lazy to sort by flair, sort to eliminate seeing CS flaired posts, or simply take a few extra seconds/minutes and scroll past them. DRS can NOT lose even the hint of 100% focus!! + +Locking the float is going to take everything we have. Please spread the word to the masses outside of Reddit. Please consider trading in your “other” investments. Please get out of brokers - by any means possible - that won’t let you DRS. + +This is war. + +#LOCK THE FLOAT!!! + +Edit: Right now, after collecting data from 200 apes that submitted a CSX number, the number of accounts per ape is 1.42. This reduces the 113,000 CS accounts based off of the high score to actually 79,577 unique ape CS accounts. (Maff=113,000/1.42) +I am an 84 year old woman and have no experience in the stock market, investing, anything at all! I was a public school teacher for many years, now I have a little extra money and not quite sure what the best thing to do is. i live in Minnesota if that is any help. Stocks or bonds? This is all new to me. Any help is appreciated. Thank you! +Is there anything else besides looking at how price left the zone (strong imbalance= strong zone). I am really interested in L2+Time and sales+volume profile. Currently I only use volume profile. My goal for adding something new to my strategy is to make it so that I can increase the amount of higher probability trades I take while trading less. +Just a heads up for those of you who may be unaware, perhaps you haven't been getting the emails, or ignoring them as spam, like me. Coinbase, Gemini, and Public are just three exchanges I use, and ALL are affected by this (others include Robinhood and Venmo). When you initially make an account with one of these exchanges, they use the third-party company Plaid to connect to your bank account and verify. + +Well, Plaid was accessing everyone's bank info, including transactions, "anonymizing" the data, and selling it. This is what the class action lawsuit is about. Anyone who connected their bank to an exchange or other service using Plaid before November 2021 should file a claim right now, your personal data was illegally sold. Again, you might not even remember it, you did not have to make an account with Plaid, this is just the 20 second process of using them to connect your bank. Over 5,000 apps used Plaid. + +This is my first time involving myself with a class action lawsuit, it's actually very easy. If you cannot remember or are unsure what apps used Plaid, first go to https://my.plaid.com/ and make an account with Plaid. When you make an account, it will tell you what connections associated with your phone number are on file. Click to view that list of connected apps that you've used Plaid with. + +Next, go to the settlement website: https://plaidsettlement.com/submit-claim.php + +Fill out the form, it takes just a minute. On section two, fill out the boxes using information you got from Plaid: Bank account connected/app used (coinbase, gemini, etc)/ and approximate date of connection. Plaid will not give you an exact date, but your best guess should be good enough, anything prior to November of 2021 is valid. At the end, you can select a method to receive your settlement payout. Paypal and direct deposit into your bank are accepted. + +Exact payout amounts and dates are not known, but Plaid has had to establish a settlement fund of $58 million to be divided among everyone. I can imagine that the more connections you had, the more you will get. + +The final court hearing appears to be set for May 12th. Again, make sure you file your claim before April 28th of THIS MONTH. Get your money from these scummy fucks. + +E: Since there are a lot of comments asking, this is unfortunately for US citizens only, as it is being settled in a US court. A class action suit would need to be filed in your respective countries for action there. +Long story short, I got into Penn State via the PASSS program, a program that let me trial-run a few classes in the summer via Zoom, because my grades were so bad in HS - I only qualified cus I got a 1260 on my SATs, and I was the first person in my family to go to college. I moved out of my parents' house got a 3.65 GPA in those PASSS classes, while supporting myself at the same time. I got to move into the dorms and stop working/doing school 60+ hours a week, and got a 3.93 GPA, ending up with a cumulative 3.85 GPA. + +I got kicked out due to financial issues when my parents tried to cosign for a variety of private loans, only to be denied on all of them. I'm now working 2 jobs and living with my girlfriend's parents, who have welcomed me in. I owe just under $8,000 to PSU, and have made a payment plan with them - 24 months, no interest or late fees, nothing is reported to my credit until it's all paid off. I work just over 70 hours a week most weeks, and usually can be expected to bring in around 1700~ a month - this is very conservative. My girlfriend makes almost exactly $2,000 on COVID UI. + +We have budgeted everything out with conservative income estimates. Long story short again, we both have a number of bills. She has a small amount of credit card debt remaining, student loans, and a car payment, while I have PSU payments. We also have medication payments, insurance, all of our expenses totaled. We end up with around $1,200 at the end of the month between both of us. With this $1,200, we are putting money away into a few things. + +- $500/month into our emergency expenses fund. We want 3 months of emergency expenses, as is often given as good advice. Our current expenses are around $1,700, but we expect that to reduce with my gf's bills being paid off soon, so we want our 3 months expenses total to be around $5,000. + +- $350/month into advance PSU payments. I'm putting this into its own separate fund, so that when next year's late applications arrive (I've been told by the colleges I want to attend that it's in May) I can just dump all of his money into my PSU debt and have it wiped out so I can attend. It's being kept until then in case I have a change of plans on college, or if there's an emergency. + +- $200/month for groceries. This is what we've set our goal at. + +- $150/month for emergency medical or clothing. We're setting this money aside into another separate account in case we need emergency tooth treatment, shoes fall apart, etc. this expense is only temporary, we're hoping to save $600/750 total before we stop. + +We are currently aggressively hitting my girlfriend's credit cards based on interest rates. We have set a list of priorities of what needs payment, with her credit cards being in 1st and 2nd, her car payment being in third, with my PSU savings being at the bottom. + +My main concerns are how best we can save money, what public assistance programs we can get, rent assistance, phone, internet, etc. Not only this, but how I will be able to personally secure a private student loan even if I have bad credit. My parents wrecked my credit, but I have managed to bring it up to the low 650's. Do you all think I can get good enough credit by next year to apply for one? I have currently gotten the Capitol One Platinum Card and will be using it and making payments to bring up my credit. Also, is there a way to make my PSU monthly payments affect my credit? + +Everything's just kind of a mess and I'm being thrown head first into this world. I work over 70 hours a week and barely get time to even do research on these things. I have no idea what to do, and any assistance is greatly appreciated. +tl;dr: FUD and shilling doesn't need to wear us out and divide us if we're doing it to ourselves. + +Today is July 6. We're 1-5 days past tHe AnOuNceMenT!! that never came. We're 2 days divorced from the Prophecy of the Cryptic Tweets. We're two weeks past the busted T+21 cycle (which has since likely been explained away with the stock offering.) And we're all ginned up for the *cup & handle*, the *bull pennant*, and the many other signs that are overlapping that strongly suggest action will happen within the next week or two. + +But like many Apes I personally know, and many of our more sensible number here, we're *tired*. We're not tired of money. We're not tired of waiting. We're tired of being irrationally hyped up every day being told that payoff is imminent. + +Impatience isn't killing us, it's being told day-in, day-out, with countless SCREAMING MEMES and hYpE ViDEos telling us we're special, and the tin-foil analyses of tweets and gifs and what-not that *we don't need patience.* + +And guess what? You need patience. You need a lot of it. Remember: Burry knew *exactly when* the housing market was going to crash... and it still clung to life for months. + +Instead of hyping dates, we need to hype the patience needed to reach the inevitable endgame. BUY and HODL is all that should be hyped. **FUD should be fought at every turn, but with fact versus screaming enthusiasm.** + +We are in a war. A war against cheating. A war against victimizing the lower classes. A war for our financial independence. A war to redistribute wealth. A war for the chance to have the resources to make meaningful change in society. A war to level the playing field and make the market more fair and meritorious in the future. + +But guess what? Elan doesn't win wars. The French 100 years ago can tell you this. Enthusiasm and and an exceptional spirit doesn't win the day. If you fight a war, you have to show up prepared. This is how you come prepared to this war: + +- You read and understand the DDs. +- You steel yourself against the enemy's attempts to FUD you into submission. +- You take comfort with your compatriots, and rely on them to bolster you when you doubt your purpose. +- You expect the war to last until your enemy surrenders. **There is no "the war is over tomorrow"-thinking.** You don't get to dictate the enemy's timetable. You need to tell yourself "I'll fight today; I'll fight harder tomorrow; and I'll fight until the enemy surrenders." + +The hype and the irrationality of hunting for cryptic messages in tweets and crap that is now dominating this sub is like feeding your soldiers amphetamines: you've got them wound up right now, but they'll crash hard and suffer withdrawals in the future. And at the rate we're going, that future will happen *before* MOASS. + +You're risking turning off a large chunk of the community by jumping around and whooping like monkeys instead of being calm, cool and observant like apes. Instead of wading through a pool of smooth brains trying to get wrinkles, discussing DDs or possible DDs, or laughing at the sarcasm and wit of a clever meme, we're we're more often needing to cover our ears from the screeching of people excitedly telling us how others are fucked and we're the best and WE SHOULD BE RICH ALREADY!!! + +Just stop. Just calm down. Just be patient. And encourage others to be patient as well. Explain the rationale. Do some math. Read some math. Read some theory. Explain how BUY and HODL is the way and the only way. + +MOASS will arrive when it arrives. There is NOTHING we can do to make it arrive any sooner. + +And while most/many of us wake up every day thinking today might be MOASS day, and if not tomorrow, I don't need to have 500,000 people telling me that I'm right... just for all of us to be wrong. + +It's exhausting after so many times. And while I doubt it will encourage anyone to sell their shares or change their belief, it *will* encourage them to stop participating in this community. And that's a bad thing for many reasons and may ultimately still hurt the cause. +I am starting to get worried about Air Canada ([AC.TO](https://AC.TO)) as they are retiring 767 and they are expecting the recovery to take at least 3 years. I am not sure Air Canada can survive for 3 years with earnings being cut along with pile of loans that they need to pay off. + +Would it be possible if anyone can share their perspectives on this matter? + +Thanks. +I have both [ZSP-U.TO](https://ZSP-U.TO) and [ZSP.TO](https://ZSP.TO) in my portfolio and carry the -U version mainly to benefit from the rising USD. I'm noticing that the performance between the two varies by a lot. I'm not exactly clear on why since both are invested the same. I'm assuming this has something to do with the USD vs. CAD, but I'm not exactly clear what is going on here. For example, the USD has been pretty steady against CAD for the last week or so, and today I'm noticing that [ZSP-U.TO](https://ZSP-U.TO) has gone up significantly more than [ZSP.TO](https://ZSP.TO). Can someone please explain this to me? + + +Also, I would like to move [ZSP-U.TO](https://ZSP-U.TO) to [ZSP.TO](https://ZSP.TO) soon to take some profit from the USD gain. Would journaling be the way to do this, or is it better to sell [ZSP-U.TO](https://ZSP-U.TO) and then buy ZSP.TO? +Who is still invested in the oil sector? Stocks have gone nowhere but down the past 5 years. Oil has rallied the past month yet stocks do not budge. Yet, a single slight downward movement in oil prices they automatically sell-off. Is there any hope left? What are your opinions for the next 5+ years? I own SU, CNQ, IMO. +XEC for example has had underwhelming returns over the last 5 year period. My perception is that emerging market economies including China predominantly, have grown steadily in the last decade. + +Yet XEC for example (as with other emerging Mkts ETFs) is surprisingly up and down with very little growth over the medium to long term. +I'm looking to invest $20k into a S&P 500 index fund but I'm a little bit lost. I see a lot of funds out there for different stock purchases but I'm not clear what the dividends are, or if there's a fund that members in this group prefer vs others for both overall growth and dividend payout. + +I see funds like ZSP and HXS have 28-30% growth YoY for this calendar year, but know that a lot of people are all about VFV. Looking to leverage the experience of others to find a good balance between year over year growth, initial buy in, and dividend payout. +[Q3 Results PDF Official](https://www.smartcentres.com/app/uploads/2020/11/SmartCentres-REIT-2020-Q3-Press-Release-.pdf) + +[Q3 Results Breakdown Yahoo](https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/smartcentres-real-estate-investment-trust-220900979.html) +With an aging baby-boomer population, do you guys see any opportunities with some of the retirement living stocks / health stocks / REITs in Canada right now? Some of these have still not recovered to their pre-COVID highs, so could offer both great dividend yields and potential growth. + +There has obviously been some negative press around these long-term care homes since more than 80% of total COVID-19 deaths in Canada occurred in these facilities. However, things will improve eventually and the boomer demand isn't going away anytime soon. Thoughts on the stocks below or others? + + +**Chartwell Retirement Residences REIT (****CSH-UN.TO****)** + +They are the largest provider of senior housing in Canada, with over 200 locations across Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. + +\-Pre-COVID highs of around $15.00 + +\-Potential upside of 40% from current price of $10.50 + +\-Price-to-FFO still under the average of the last 3 years + +\-Q3 / 2020 YTD results show revenues are higher for the last 9 months + +\-Overall liquidity is down a bit from last year, but still quite healthy + +\-Looks like the payout ratio is also very manageable (75%-ish) + +&#x200B; + +**Sienna Senior Living (****SIA.TO****)** + +The company owns and operates 70 senior living residences in addition to managing 13 residences for third parties; all seem to be located either in Ontario or B.C. + +\-Pre-COVID highs of $19-20.00 + +\-Potential upside of 50% from current price of $13.00 + +\-Decent cash flow, debt levels seem acceptable, and overall revenue is only down slightly for the last 9 months ending September 30th 2020. + +\-However, expenses are up for this past year, resulting in a net loss of $(0.24) a share for the last 9 months ending September 30th 2020 compared to a profit of $0.10 a share in 2019. (I realize this company could be evaluated essentially as a REIT as well) + +&#x200B; + +**Extendicare Inc. (****EXE.TO****)** + +The company has been around since the late 60s and operates over 100 care facilities. + +\-Pre-COVID highs of $8-9.00 + +\-Potential upside of 35% from current price of $6.35 + +\-Decent cash flow, good return-on-equity, but debt-to-equity seems a little high + +\-Revenues have been slightly higher for the last 9 months ending September 30th 2020. Earnings-per-share also up quite a bit to $0.41 from $0.21 last year. (I realize this company could be evaluated essentially as a REIT as well, with a payout ratio of 56% currently) + +&#x200B; + +Others: + +**Northwest Healthcare Properties** +? +On November 1, 2007 Manulife traded for $41.78 on the NYSE while Travelers traded for $48.10. + +Today Manulife traded for $20.90 while Travelers trades for $159.70. + +What the heck happened, how can one insurance company more than triple while another drops by half? +Hi, I'm dca into XEQT every 2 weeks, 47 years old....retiring at 55 with a decent pension. + +Looking to add a few more ETFs in additon to XEQT, what are some suggestions, or should I just keep adding to XEQT. + +My profile is about medium risk, I also have Bell employee stock plan, so that makes up 90% of my portfolio so far....just started TFSA last year. +I do not invest in metals as a regular investment, but as someone learning this stuff, it occurred to me that it seemed like buying gold is good as a way to park money that will move with the economy and as a result with inflation, you won't lose buying power. + +I'll explain just tomake sure it's clear: if I hold onto $100 cash for a couple of years, rising inflation would result in the $100 having less buy power. But if I were to park the cash in gold for a time, its value will rise roughly parallel to inflation, so when I withdraw it, I've essentially maintained buying power. + +Is this in any way correct? Or is this something that's correct sometimes but not always applicable? Or just wrong altogether? +Money is a very (the most ?) common reason for marriages not working out. + +Also, I think a lot of people are literally not able to adopt our mindset towards money - i.e. they cannot be changed on that front. Sure, a lot of the consumerist mindset is nurture but there might be more nature to it than we expect. If you've presented the argument to them (having lots of stuff/feeling like a baller vs. not having to work) and they'd rather choose the first option I don't think there's much that you can do. + +If you love someone despite differences in propensity to save vs. consume, it would be advisable to think long and hard about getting legally married - and to keep your finances separate. + + Investors and economists are bracing for another interest rate hike this week as central bank officials gather in Washington for their July meeting. Their two-day gathering July 26 and 27 comes as the Federal Reserve works to combat soaring inflation that has left families across the country struggling to make ends meet. + +Economists expect Fed officials will raise the federal funds rate by 75 basis points – bringing the rate to between 2.25% and 2.50%, which is where it was at its most recent high in summer 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic. + +This will mark the fourth interest rate hike of the year as consumer prices have risen at the fastest pace in more than 40 years. Five months ago, the federal funds rate was near zero percent. At its June meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee raised the federal funds rate by a more aggressive 75 basis points for the first time in nearly 30 years following an increase of 25 basis points and 50 basis points at the March and May meetings, respectively. + +"Some Fed officials left a 100bp hike on the table after the firm CPI report last week, but a pullback in inflation expectations seems to have persuaded the Committee to stick to its original plan," economists from Goldman Sachs said in a note previewing the meeting. They also said financial conditions have "already tightened enough to put the economy on a sufficiently low growth trajectory." + +With consumer prices up more than 9% from a year ago, additional rate increases are expected through the end of the year. At their meeting last month, Fed officials projected the rate would increase to more than 3% by 2023. The committee will meet again in September, November and December. + +Economists and investors will be keeping a close eye to see what guidance Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will give about future meetings. In a note Monday, Deutsche Bank said its economics team expects hikes of 50 basis points in September and November before a 25 basis points hike in December. + +Read the full article: [https://finance.yahoo.com/news/federal-officials-expected-hike-interest-174100685.html](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/federal-officials-expected-hike-interest-174100685.html) + +The US Federal Reserve is set to announce the rate hike today. The market is expecting a .75% hike but according to analysts, the possibility of a full percentage is still open. Given the current CPI at 9.1, the highest since 1981, how do you think the rate hike will be and how will the stocks react? +Basically the Splividend-Shares (20,931) have been booked in and out of my account 3 times over the span of a week. I don't know if this has been posted before, therefore I am sharing this Information as a German Ape. + +&#x200B; + +On Friday they were booked out twice and booked into my broker once. Since then they don't show up whatsoever. (1 - 2 + 1 = 0) + +https://preview.redd.it/57eq1bo7n4f91.png?width=1166&format=png&auto=webp&s=eac8d511ab7b9a0b013a7afba2fe5fb06d373b67 + +&#x200B; + +1. Today I called the German SEC (BaFin), they told me to write a complaint. Done that. +2. I contacted Gamestop Investor Relations, no response yet. (probably getting flooded) +3. I called my Bank/Broker and the employee seemed really clueless and said the addidtional shares were distributed as stock Split, not as a Dividend. He checked back with Clearstream/DTCC and they said it is a normal Split, not a Dividend. +4. And I didn't get a Date when it will get fixed. +5. They also couldn't tell me why the shares were booked in and out so many times. (sus) +6. Contacted my Broker via Twitter, their reponse(s) " Since this is account-related information, you will certainly understand that we first have to take a closer look at the process in order to give you an answer. Therefore, once again, we would like to ask you to contact our colleagues in the securities department directly. Best regards" I asked them again and said, that it's a german-wide problem and they said " please write to us or give us a call and we will be happy to review your request. Unfortunately, this cannot be done within 280 characters. Best regards". Same as when I called them. They don't know anything either +7. On July 27th I received a written letter, that my Dividend-Shares were unlocked and are now tradeable, 2 days later they were gone. So it's safe to say, even my Broker doesn't know what they are doing. +The more in look into Blackberry and Connected Cars and Unified Endpoint Management the ***more bullish I get on BB***, on top of that Reddit is filled with CONSTANT confirmation bias. To ground myself I wrote a bear case, please help me add to it, ***the stronger we can make the bear case, the more clear we will see the potential opportunity*****.** + +# Macro: + +Ivy will not be released till 2023, developers are not expected to get access till 2022 **Far too early to expect Ivy to benefit BB’s bottom line.** Without it, stock price will not moon. + +**Collaboration/partnerships** with 3rd parties (AWS, Biadu, IBM, Hyundai via Motional, Microsoft (crisis management/Microsoft Teams)) to develop technologies, products and services **may not result in ROI** + +Some OEMS and tier 1 customer have accelerated **internal development of embedded solutions** could result in fewer customer orders, loss of market share, pressure to reduce prices, etc + +COVID-19 Impact, Chip storage hitting the automobile sector resulting in revenue decrease of 16% in Q3 FY21, **could continue into the future** + +**Market is highly competitive**: IBM, Microsoft, VMware, Mobile Iron, CrowdStrike to name a few + +Technology landscape: **evolving customer requirements, high frequency of product introductions by competitors** could leave BB behind + +Maintaining key personal: success is dependent on ability to develop/retain skilled employees (executive team, R&amp;D team, experience sales people with specialized knowledge). Competition is intense, has resulted in **solicitation** resulting in higher compensation costs not offset by higher prices + +Changes in endpoints, operating systems and applications, security threats and industry standards + +Must obtain/maintain certain product approvals and certifications from government bodies and regulated enterprise customers, although BB is already ISO26262 certified (auto industry) + +BBs software runs on \*3rd party operating systems\* (Apple, Google, Microsoft, OEM op systems). **Updates to these op system with limited notice can disrupt operations**, forcing company to divert resources from preexisting product roadmap to accommodate changes + +Meeting debenture covenants + +# Financials + +Revenues have stalled, **growth is challenged** based on current financials + +**BB** (4%) **trails the average revenue when compared to competitors** **in each space** in Enterprise Software (5%) , Licensing &amp; IP (10%), Cybersecurity (10%), Canadian Enterprise Software (9%) per TD Securities equity research + +Normalized operating expenses have fluctuated although below average for last 8 qtrs + +**Hasn’t reported a profitable qtr since Q4 FY19** (Feb 2019) + +Let me know if I missed anything. + +Currently holding ~400 shares @ $12, I started buying last week, before WSB happened + +**Edit** +New points added from the discussion below and my observation.. + +**Perception: Many retail investors still consider BB a smartphone maker**, John Chen and the BB marketing team need to rebrand to change this perception. Other than their PR releases and twitter, I don’t see much else..i could be wrong.. **Although BB deals with B2B not B2C**, specifically they are niche with OEMs, governments, banks and healthcare. One could argue no marketing is needed as a result, the security industry is well aware of the best products. + +WSBs: I’ve been active in the BB community for 2 weeks now, and **ALOT of people are bag holding, ALOT, which is why I believe your seeing so many pumps**, granted BB has been killing it with their constant updates with partnerships..not sure what came first but someone had posted a chart showing the correlation between BB, GME, AMC, and they are moving in sync! + +BB Cylance (AI and machine learning-based cybersecurity solutions) **was trending down from 20% of revenue in FY20 Q1 to 10% by the end of the FY. Since then, BB stopped breaking out revenue between IoT and Cylance and now present it as one (Software &amp; Service)** +*Details don't matter but I'm a scientist who's had a portion of his life dedicated to reading scholarly articles about various topics in the pharma industry. These papers range from novel scientific discoveries in a niche field with narrow scope all the way to broad papers that sum up an era of scientific discoveries leading to the broader evolution of a field.* + +I've always thought about these two types of research papers: + +**Original Research VS Review Articles** + +***Original*** requires people with boots on the ground doing cutting edge leg work, while ***Review*** papers don't get their hands dirty as much, but do a lot more investigative work to pool different thoughts to make an accurate depiction of the evolution in a particular domain. + +Both of these types of articles are important in the forward velocity of research because Original research starts the ball rolling while Review research gets the masses to notice, which in turn creates a feedback loop of getting more interest on the topic and this more original research. + +&#x200B; + +In my industry, a lot of papers float around to see what's a hot topic in the world and know where scientist's interest are these days. A very good indicator of this is when review articles start emerging more often about a topic. It shows us two things: + +A) There is enough Original research out there to start putting together a review; + +B) There is enough of an interest out there that someone spent weeks putting together a review. + +\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +**On the evolution of GME:** + +Today I was lurking on r/SuperStonk and stumbled upon this post: + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/mwuszf/actually\_useful\_info\_you\_might\_have\_missed\_230421/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/mwuszf/actually_useful_info_you_might_have_missed_230421/) + +14k upvotes as of posting. + +&#x200B; + +Posts like these are suuuuuuuuuper important. + +&#x200B; + +For a guy who is fairly busy and doesn't have the time to read all of the details of a given study, I've always appreciated review articles because I can learn more about a body of knowledge from a summary of 20+ articles than to go and actually read these 20 articles. As well it gives you all the sub topics should you wish to dive deeper into a specific interest. I give credit to the scientists who read them all for me and put together a well thought out summary and making a consensus of it all. + +&#x200B; + +Well I'm glad to say that more than ever I'm seeing GME Review Article posts. This shows that the next wave in this story will be more and more Original posts with strong bodies of knowledge emerging. The Hive Mind metric as far as I'm concerned is very strong! + +&#x200B; + +TLDR: redditors are contributing to more review posts - summarizing several DD's of the day which makes a large body of knowledge more digestible to the average ape, making the average ape smarter and more likely to contribute to the cause; creating a feedback loop of getting more and more people to know the truth behind the swath of misinformation in mainstream media. +Now I'm not one for risk management (or any form of management), but I am having a hell of a hard time doing anything bullish or bearish. Just hear me out: + +* Gaymestronk could get cut in half or double in price in 10 minutes at any given moment +* tech stocks are bleeding like a knife wound but can have random 10% days (not to mention the hundreds of stocks with no P/E *at all* doing wild swings) +* lockdowns still doing weird shit +* gas shortage panics while michigan is trying to cut off the Canadian-US pipeline +* middle east conflicts starting up fast +* month-to-month inflation is 4.2%, fed is still keeping interest rates low as balls on a hedgehog +* memecoin values are based on hopes that a dude talks about them on a sketch show +* notable hedge funds are liquidating +* building materials are tripling in cost over the month +* and we have an actual unmet labor demand while new stimmies are being sent out + +And while all this is happening, SPY is up 39%, DIA is up 39%, Nasdaq is up over 42% over the last 12 months. I don't think many people would disagree with the fact that the market is generally overvalued right now. But, if you buy puts, you can expect those to bleed out and let some market maker run off with your money while you sit there hoping for a drop (ew). But of course you know its all built on a house of cards, so a call will either bleed or get wiped on an overnight swing. Companies can beat earnings estimates by 50% and drop the next day because it's "priced in" and mid-market companies with a huge run up will start issuing shares the second they get the chance. + +Fucking kangaroo market. I need a drink. +> Apple Inc. has enlisted one of Lamborghini’s top car-development managers in a sign that it’s stepping up work on a self-driving electric vehicle, according to people with knowledge of the situation. + +> The company hired Luigi Taraborrelli, a 20-year veteran of the Italian carmaker, to help lead the design of Apple’s future vehicle, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. Taraborrelli was most recently Lamborghini’s head of chassis and vehicle dynamics. + +- Taraborrelli oversaw chassis and vehicle-dynamics engineering + +- Apple is aiming to launch a self-driving car later this decade + +https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-27/apple-nabs-key-lamborghini-executive-to-work-on-its-electric-car +This is why they are so scared. FUD won't work anymore. They can dissolve all means of communication between apes. + +If we continue to DRS and hodl we could all never talk to each other again and we would still go to the moon. + +This is scary to them. There is NOTHING they can do to stop it. + +If this sub or reddit ever becomes truly compromised...we don't need gangnum style or any other social media platform to communicate. + +They can attempt to SLOW IT DOWN by trying to drowned out our purple circles but they can't stop us now. + +Just DRS, HODL and support GameStop in whichever endeavors you can!!! + +🟣🟣🟣Happy Thanksgiving my purple friends!🟣🟣🟣 + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/k7qfatjojx1a1.png?width=189&format=png&auto=webp&s=83a49271a4d40268f1215ff7bd8dc200b91ed917 +I live in the UK. I will be able to access my private pension from 55 (rising to 57/58) + +I plan to retire at 45 and live on 20k pa. To support this, I would need 500k going by the 4%rule + +However, if I have say 200k in savings accounts, and 300k in pensions, in theory that 300k is inaccessible for 13 years. As such for the first 13 years my funds are 200k, so the 4% rule would leave me just 8k per annum. + +How do I factor this in? Clearly if I was retiring 1 year before pension age, you'd say just group everything together. But clearly that changes at some point, as if I had 500k pension and 0k savings I wouldn't be able to retire early. + +How should I factor a temporarily inaccessible pension in to my retirement plans? +Hi r/bitcoin, it’s almost tax time! Are you prepared? + +We are three Certified Public Accountants ready to answer your tax-related cryptocurrency questions. Ask Us Anything… + +**About us:** +We are Dennis, Josh, and David from Perelson Weiner LLP, a boutique accounting firm located in New York City. Our firm is dedicated to helping high-net worth individuals, their families and their businesses, both domestic and foreign. Perelson Weiner has been named by INSIDE Public Accounting, for the third year in a row, one of the Fifty Best of the Best of firms in the United States. For more information, please visit **www.pwcpa.com**. + +**The scope of this AMA:** +2017 was an incredible year for cryptocurrency traders. We are here to educate you about US TAXATION of cryptocurrency and discuss ideas to help you keep more of your money in your pocket. + +Please try to ask your questions in a more general way, if possible. For example, “What is the difference between a short-term capital gain and a long-term capital gain and how is each taxed?” as opposed to asking “I have this coin which I bought for $X on this date and I sold it at this price on this date. How much tax do I owe?” + +**Disclaimer:** +Any accounting, business or tax advice contained in this communication, including attachments and enclosures, is not intended as a thorough, in-depth analysis of specific issues, nor a substitute for a formal opinion, nor is it sufficient to avoid tax-related penalties. If desired, Perelson Weiner LLP would be pleased to perform the requisite research and provide you with a detailed written analysis. The terms will be the subject of a formal engagement letter that defines the scope of the desired consultation services. Please send your follow up requests to **crypto@pwcpa.com**. + +**Topics we can discuss:** +-Tax treatment of transactions +-Tax treatment of forks +-Determining and tracking your basis +-Mining and related expenses +-Foreign asset reporting + + + +Edit: +**Thank you for all of your questions. This was fun. We will be back at some point tomorrow to answer additional questions.** + +Please send your follow up requests to **crypto@pwcpa.com**. +Good morning everyone, + + +In my short working life I have met many people who worked part time or casual jobs in addition to their full time jobs. Whether it be police officers who were in the army reserve or casual security guards, nurses who worked in the casual pool or agency shifts at other hospitals or physios working part time at other facilities. I even met a part time nurse who was a full time firefighter and a casual nurse who was a full time paramedic. And surprisingly a full time engineer to worked as a part time orderly simply because he was bored. + + +Point is a lot of people seem to be working extra hours in addition to their full time hours and naturally as someone who wants to increase their income I am strongly considering this path as well in the not so distant future. However I am aware that the lack of work life balance can lead to burn out, mental/physical health related issues and can put a strain on social/family life. + + +So if you work full time hours or have a full time role and work additional casual or part time hours in another rob/role; Is the extra money worth the extra time spent at work ? Discuss. + + +Thank you for your time and have a great weekend. +I need to tighten the belt at the moment and I'm looking at reducing my outgoings. At the moment I've got full comp on the car, and I'm trying to calculate if there is a point where maintaining full comp on the car is no longer worth it as the value of the car decreases. How I could work that out? +Just signed up for private health as I'm earing over 90k. Signed up with bupa, for bronze hospital cover and basic extras, total of $54 per fortnight. 26M Single QlD +I finished my Bachelor's in IT and wherever I go, employers have asked if I had worked anywhere. I have tried convincing them with the skills learned during my university. But there must be other candidates with some experience who must be getting hired ahead of me. + +As a fresh graduate I just want a job to learn + gather few hard skills + progress. Is the expectations of employers high or is it my expectation that is high? + +I am not even sure what my salary expectations should be at this point. Should I expect a minimum wage salary to get hired? + +Can anyone please help me regarding salary expectations in Junior positions or Entry level positions in IT? + +Thank you! +What would be great to know as a first home buyer? How and where to commence and how much to save for the deposit? + +P.s. for the property in Melb, Victoria +I think down, with a rebound once Scomo announces potential new stimulus plans/income supplementation but down by end of the week. I think stage 4 lockdown will come by the end of next weekend. +Hope y’all know what I’m talking about. Everything else has come back to earth mostly. Why is it still so elevated almost a year and a half later? It’s been puzzling me and has come to shape how I look at the stock market completely! +Money values are in USD. + +28 year old male. Gross income per year of 80k to 90k. Independent contractor. + +The past 7 days have been the worst of my financial life. + +Before this past week, I was only an occasional gambler. I'd buy 5 to 10 dollars in scratch off tickets every couple of months at convenience stores. Last week I discovered online casinos. I wish I never had. I started off with a mere 100 dollar deposit. Lost it. Then another 100. Lost it. Distressed about losing 200 dollars, I was determined to get it back. I threw down $500 on a deposit. I managed to hit a high on the roulette wheel of over $6,000. I thought the game was broken. How was I doing so well? Naturally, I lost all of that. I didn't think I could lose. I was wrong. + +$2,000+ in the hole later, and I am DESPERATELY chasing my losses, trying to get my money back by depositing more money into my casino accounts. This is no longer about fun or "striking it big," but about getting my money back. This has had DISASTROUS consequences. I have now maxed out a credit card of $6,000, in addition to thousands lost in my checking account. + +$10,000 to $12,000 later, and here I am, wondering what the hell happened. + +I have not told anybody about this. The shame and guilt is too great. I cannot believe I was so stupid. + +My financial situation: + +I have just $400 in my bank account. It was $2,400 this morning. It would have been $0 if the casinos didn't have weekly deposit limits. + +I have 2 checks for contract work coming in soon with a combined total of $12,200. This is enough money to last me 3 months, but here's the problem: All of this was meant for taxes for 2017. I didn't set any aside. I already owe the IRS $10k and am on an installment agreement with them. + +I have ~$24,000 in credit card debt, and $2,300 in available credit. Looking at 90% utilization. It was $18,000 before my gambling disaster. My father suggested paying $1,000/month on the highest interest card. This would eliminate all of my credit card debt in less than 30 months. + +Here's my plan: + +1. Plead with the IRS to let them add my 2017 tax debt to the previous installment agreement so I don't become homeless. This will bring the total I owe them to $20,000. I'll be paying off my car soon, so that will free up $380/month. The cost and interest rate for the IRS is comparable to a car, so I'll just pretend I'm leasing a car. + +2. Save money wherever possible. No more eating out. Halve my monthly food budget by buying groceries. Use the extra money to pay down debts. + +3. Hustle my ass off to get more work and increase my income (I'm a freelance designer). + +4. Join gambling addition online communities for accountability and keep a gambling addiction hotline on speed-dial. + +5. Never fucking gamble again. + +Thoughts on my plan? Words of encouragement? Criticism? This all feels like a bad dream that I'm just waiting to wake up from. The only thing that comforts me is that I only lost 12k before I wised up. Some people have lost way more to gambling. +I've been using the crypto.com card for a while now, and I recently received my royal indigo card. It is the purple one, with a 3% cashback and an additional 10% stake reward for holding CRO. There is also free cashback for your spotify and netflix! + +I started with the ruby card because I was new to Crypto.com and wanted to try out their services. There was also a previous 12 percent cash back offer, which I made extensive use of! If there is no special event, the cashback is set at 2%, which is also quite high. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/ipazbgzwco181.png?width=731&format=png&auto=webp&s=8760e24c9b3ee5c8b3d448157ef16e5ece1f0f6d + +After using the ruby card for 3-4 months, I decided to upgrade to the next tier card because there was a 10% stake reward that paid out weekly. I will not be sorry if I upgrade, and hopefully, CRO will rise high enough for me to upgrade to icy white. + +I had previously encountered some issues with the card, but the customer support was extremely efficient and would respond to me within 15 minutes; I believe this is something that other platforms, such as Coinbase, do not have. + +Putting customer first is essential and I believe Crypto.com has nailed it. I believe other card holders have the same sentiment as I do. +My request: If you really want to downvote a post, please provide some information why. Content creators are getting heavily discouraged about no-reason downvote waves and it hurts everyone. If you provide feedback or critics, then you help the content provider to improve. + +I am really starting to get angry about the current sentiment of this sub. EVERYTHING is downvoted instantly as soon as it's posted or commented. I go through the posts by new and 80% of the comments are sitting with 0 or -1 because of the downvoting bots or users, I can't decide. + +You see posts with 15-25-30 comments and 1-2 upvotes only and every time I refresh on them, they go back to 1 or 0, constantly downvoted regardless of the content. + +I upvoted everything so far which wasn't harassment or negative attitude towards the others, because I wanted to counter these "attacks", but it looks like a lost battle. If it's not a controversial post about moons or a sob story (I like some of them too to be honest) then it won't reach front page. + +Posts about tech or news barely reach anything. Please if you like a post support it, not just comment, because it won't get any exposure and won't reach more users. +So I posted about my issue with BoA about a month ago. To summarize, BoA allowed someone to use some sort of ID to withdraw $1200 from my checking account without my authorization. This was done via a “virtual teller” and, per BoA, did not involve the use of an ATM card or my PIN number. The amount was also $500 over my daily ATM withdrawal limit. After filing a police report and reporting the fraud to BoA they authorized a temporary credit to my account and told me that they would investigate. Per the Electronic Funds Transfer Act they had 45 days to investigate. I informed them that I had filed a police report and provided them with the case number. + +Fast forward about a month and I received a letter from BoA indicating that they had determined that this was NOT a case of fraud and that the transaction was authorized so they would be removing the temporary credit. Last week they followed through on that and removed the funds from my account. I called them to inquire about why they thought this was an authorized transaction and was told that the person on camera that withdrew the money matched the face on the ID used. Obviously they created a fake ID with my name and addresss to perpetrate this crime. I asked what I could do to appeal this decision such as coming to a branch office so they could see that I’m not the person on the video but they said that wasn’t possible. I’ve asked for the video and was also denied without a subpoena. Ultimately I convinced them to reopen the investigation because apparently the prior representative had not recorded the case number for the files police report. This time however I don’t get a temporary credit and they said that there is no timeline on when this will now be resolved as it isn’t a priority. + +I am completely disgusted with Bank of America at this point. They have allowed someone to withdraw money from my account and now essentially concluded that I filed a fraudulent fraud report. YOUR MONEY ISN’T SAFE WITH BANK OF AMERICA! With a fake ID and the virtual teller at BoA anyone can do this same thing to you with apparently little to no recourse. If you have money with BoA move it now. + +I’m not sure I have many choices left other than to sue them now. Unfortunately it looks like I’ll have to sue them in the county where the money was withdrawn which is over 200 miles away from where I live. Hopefully someone here has a better suggestion. + +tl;dr Bank of America allowed someone to steal $1200 from me and wont give it back so I have to sue them. +[https://imgur.com/a/ruIvZu6](https://imgur.com/a/ruIvZu6) + +As you can see in the screenshot BitPay is now forcing customers to register, identify ourselves and set up a wallet on BitPays website to increase their userbase --- in order to pay with bitcoins for e.g a pizza. This is some NSA bullshit. Customers whom they are siphoning out from all online stores where BitPay have been implemented into. Online store owners most likely thought BitPay was a smooth and easy way to implement bitcoin/another payment gateway. Now they will be losing customers instead. + +This is extremely shitty for bitcoins adoption and what bitcoin stands for. We are supposed to be able to send bitcoin freely to an address without being forced to register anywhere. That is exactly what a p2p bitcoin payment / transaction is: from one address to another. + +I therefore suggest that all of us: + +# STOP USING BITPAY - NEVER pay an invoice with them again. NEVER!!! + +Email all your favorite online stores who uses BitPay and ask them to immediately gateway to any of the following (in no particular order): + +* BTCPay: [https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BTCPay](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BTCPay) and [https://btcpayserver.org/](https://btcpayserver.org/) +* CoinPayments: [https://www.coinpayments.net/](https://www.coinpayments.net/) +* CoinGate: [https://coingate.com/](https://coingate.com/) +* Blockonomics.co: [https://www.blockonomics.co/merchants#/](https://www.blockonomics.co/merchants#/) +* Full list: [https://github.com/alexk111/awesome-bitcoin-payment-processors](https://github.com/alexk111/awesome-bitcoin-payment-processors) + +&#x200B; + +**I will be emailng something like this:** + +"Dear online store, + +BitPay, i.e. the company you are using for bitcoin payments, have now started to force us customers to register an account on their website and will ask us for a scan of ID, passport, selfie with passport, video recording saying random words and a proof of address in order to let us pay with bitcoins in YOUR online store. Neither I nor my friends support this and will therefore never shop here until this is changed. Would you be interested in using a payment method where you are asked to submit all of those requirements? Most definitely not. So why force us? + +I kindly ask you to immediately change your bitcoin payment gateway to any of the following: + +* BTCPay: [https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BTCPay](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BTCPay) and [https://btcpayserver.org/](https://btcpayserver.org/) +* Confirmo.net: [https://confirmo.net/home](https://confirmo.net/home) +* CoinPayments: [https://www.coinpayments.net/](https://www.coinpayments.net/) +* CoinGate: [https://coingate.com/](https://coingate.com/) +* Blockonomics.co: [https://www.blockonomics.co/merchants#/](https://www.blockonomics.co/merchants#/) +* Full list: [https://github.com/alexk111/awesome-bitcoin-payment-processors](https://github.com/alexk111/awesome-bitcoin-payment-processors) + +They are cheaper, better, has better support, offers EUR/USD withdrawals, and likeable by all in the bitcoin community. The only reason BitPay is "the biggest" is because they were first. + +There is an ongoing BitPay boycott in the whole bitcoin community. Your website will guaranteed be blacklisted on lots of bitcoin websites (with millions of users..) and marked as potential fraud in case you keep using BitPay. I can guarantee you will lose all bitcoin customers. + +Best regards" + +# This is a real serious threat. Please spread the information and upvote for visibility. The biggest bitcoin gateway is going in the wrong direction. Lets kick them out of this community for good. Last thing we want to is a company stopping the adoption and making it harder to use bitcoin. + +To all "if you dont have anything to hide whats the problem" + +1. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing\_to\_hide\_argument](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing_to_hide_argument) +2. [https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2015/04/7-reasons-why-ive-got-nothing-to-hide-is-the-wrong-response-to-mass-surveillance/](https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2015/04/7-reasons-why-ive-got-nothing-to-hide-is-the-wrong-response-to-mass-surveillance/) + +Plain stupid. These type of control mechanisms will become more and more normalized if we do not stop it right away. + +&#x200B; + +!**Edit: /r/NambaCatz shared his clean straight to the point version:**! + +I modded your letter as follows: + +*Dear Sir or Madam,* + +*You have just lost a $999999.99 customer purchase because of BitPay!* + +*Please discontinue using BitPay as your bitcoin payment processor. They have begun enforcing unfair practices on their users. In protest, I and many others refuse to use this payment method.* + +*We suggest the following alternatives:* + +*BTCPay:* [*https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BTCPay*](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BTCPay) *and* [*https://btcpayserver.org/*](https://btcpayserver.org/) + +*...* +My future wife bought critical illness insurance shortly after a friend of hers died of cancer. It's been costing her 600 a month for the past year and I've recently gotten a job in another country. This may require her to not work (since she wont have a visa) and I don't really want to pay into this ridiculously expensive bill monthly when I support her. From what I hear, if she lives until 65 or something, she will receive 100 percent of the money back as long as she keeps paying. If she cancels now (which I'm thinking of doing), she will lose what she's paid into it. + +What should I do? 600 a month is going to be like 15 percent of my monthly take home income... We are currently relatively healthy and in our mid 30's. + +Thanks! +Hello, my background comes economics and I'm interested in learning Algo Trading. I am familiar with R (basic level), but I mostly find resources for Python. Should I dig deeper into R or start learnign Python? + +Thanks in advance :) +I’m new to coding and I’m curious what language(s) is needed to work with TD API. If any will be able to work with this api then what is your recommendation for a newbie? Also, I’ve learned that alexgolec wrote a wrapper to the TD API called tda-api. What language is required or which is recommended? Thank you in advance for getting me started in a right direction. +I have my programs set up to warn me of "next earnings dates" so my hedges can avoid them. ULTA's next earning date is 12/02/21. + +But yesterday the stock dropped 10% after a "long-term-targets announcement". + +Where are the dates of those posted, so that we can avoid those potential shocks as well? +I want to set up a SQL database for remote access but I'm having problems figuring out how to design the database for maximal query speed & clarity. + +My current design has one table that stores raw prices and another table that provides the symbol detail. Naturally, the first table gets really large with thousands of symbols and I'm not sure if just splitting it up into smaller tables is best practice or there's a more elegant solution. + +I also keep a small table of (>2yrs EOD data) for intraday lookup that I update every day but then there's also a huge table for all prices history that I update weekly when I backtest. I wonder if there's a way to avoid the overlap but also keep the read/write time down? + +I'm a beginner so any tips on optimization would help too +I am interested in doing sentiment analysis of crypto market based on papers like [https://arxiv.org/pdf/1907.09369.pdf](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1907.09369.pdf) I need twitter profiles, where they discuss crypto. Technical/fundamental analysis experts like RythmicAnalyst but not only that, also casual discussion, comments everything. Do you know about list like that? +I have had no success at all when using technical indicators as inputs to my neural net. + +I have tried MACD, BB, moving averages, RSI, CCI, MFI, AO, VWAP and some others but none of them are better than just training on raw returns. In fact they all make my model perform worse (except for RSI which doesn't make it worse but also not better). + +Has anyone else had similar experiences? I'm guessing it's because a deep neural net can infer these relationships from the raw prices/returns anyway so adding them as inputs introduces no new data to the network and just further overcomplicates things. + +Edit: It could also be because I'm training on crypto instead of traditional stocks or because I just don't know enough about the indicators to use them properly. +Petition for u/jsmar18 to host all Superstonk AMA’s. I love his humility and easy demeanor that puts the interviewee at ease. But most importantly, he allows the interviewee to speak which is awesome :) + +Let’s give u/jsmar18 some love and give him credit for his humility and hard work to allow us apes to really listen and grow some wrinkles. + +**Edit: Wording. Also to clarify, I saw posts for all the previous hosts, so I wanted to give jsmar18 some credit too! :)** +**In 1st January 2020, the top 10 looked like this:** + +1. Bitcoin ($7.2k) +2. Ethereum ($130.80) +3. XRP ($0.19) +4. Tether ($1) +5. Bitcoin Cash ($204.40) +6. Litecoin ($42.02) +7. EOS ($2.60) +8. Binance Coin ($13.69) +9. Bitcoin SV ($97.20) +10. Tezos ($1.37) + +**This is what the top 10 looked like on January 1st, 2021:** + +1. Bitcoin ($29.3k) +2. Ethereum ($730.37) +3. Tether ($1) +4. XRP ($0.23) +5. Litecoin ($126.23) +6. Polkadot ($8.31) +7. Bitcoin Cash ($341.99) +8. Cardano ($0.17) +9. Binance Coin ($37.91) +10. Chainlink ($11.87) + +**And this what the top 10 looks like today:** + +1. Bitcoin ($47.1k) +2. Ethereum ($3.8k) +3. Binance Coin ($528.60) +4. Tether ($1) +5. Solana ($175.14) +6. Cardano ($1.37) +7. USD Coin ($1) +8. XRP ($0.85) +9. Terra ($89.63) +10. Polkadot ($29.91) + +**Name 1 coin that’s currently in the top 10, but won’t be there next year.** +Some of the hottest private consumer tech companies are rushing to file their IPO prospectuses so they can go public before the end of the year. + +Airbnb, DoorDash, Roblox and Wish are all expected to make their filings public by early next week, said people familiar with the matter. + +It’s already been a big year for tech IPOs, most notably in September, which was the busiest year on record for the New York Stock Exchange. + +Between early and mid-December, public investors will likely get their first crack at buying stock in food delivery provider DoorDash, e-retailer Wish and kids gaming company Roblox, according to people familiar with the matter. Airbnb is also expected to file its prospectus by early next week, putting the home-sharing company in position to hold its market debut after Thanksgiving, said two of the people. + +Filings are expected by next week, though the timing could change based on market conditions, said the people, who asked not to be named because their plans are private. + +All four companies confidentially filed paperwork with the SEC this year, setting the stage for eventual public offerings. DoorDash announced its submission in February, followed by Airbnb and Wish in August and Roblox in October. Because the virtual roadshow has become commonplace during Covid, companies only need a couple weeks to meet with investors before their debuts. + +Representatives from each of the companies declined to comment for this story. + +Despite an economic crisis, tech IPOs are red hot, reflecting a sector that has outperformed the market in the face of a global pandemic, which has killed over 240,000 Americans, while investors also navigated the uncertainty of a presidential election. Stocks rallied after Joe Biden’s electoral defeat of President Donald Trump, giving tech companies that were surveying the market further incentive to go out now, said Kelly Rodriques, CEO of pre-IPO marketplace Forge. + +The sector’s strong performance has persuaded all four companies to push forward with going public now, before conditions change. About a dozen other global tech companies could raise at least $1 billion in an offering that are preparing for 2021, according to a person familiar with the matter. + +[Source](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/12/airbnb-doordash-wish-roblox-ipos-all-expected-before-year-end.html) +Hi all + +I've seen a number of property raffles pop up in the last few weeks like this one: + +https://www.heart.co.uk/lifestyle/man-raffles-400k-house-2-ticket-lockdown/ + +I have so many questions and reservations: + +Is there anything wrong with the house? (The one linked in this post is right next to a massive transmission tower. I would be very concerned). +Why can't you sell it? +Am I effectively paying someone's bill if I enter? But the pay off is potentially worth it? + +What are people's thoughts about this? + +EDIT: Just a disclaimer that this is not my property, I am not running the raffle, nor am I associated with the person running the raffle, nor am I endorsing it or encouraging anyone to enter. I came across this on Instagram. I am just curious about what people think and whether we share the same opinions. +Hiya, + +I live in England and did a four year undergraduate degree at a University, graduating in 2021. Due to coming from a low-income background, I took out the maximum amounts of maintenance loans and tuition fee loans. This has left me with approximately £87,000 in debt plus interest. + + I make around £32,000 per year. I am deeply mistrusting of the government and believe that they can retroactively change the loan policy to screw people over. + +At the moment I am ducking my head in the sand when it comes to this debt as it is frightening. Is that stupid? Am I right in thinking this debt won't affect my mortgage application and credit score? I have no other debts, and a significant amount of money in savings which I hope to use to buy somewhere to live. +Hey there, I reached some amount of wealth where I believe I should diversify not only in broad market indexes, but as well in real estate. + +**What other tells me:** + +When talking to other wealthy friends they mentioned the houses that they have in different countries (I am EU-based), some have beach side villas, some houses in central locations, some have some offices & so on. A person that has been a long time advisors last time told me: "you should think of diversifying in real estate" and that triggered me in thinking about it more. + +**My current situation:** + +I live in a VHCOL and I am currently renting - not interested in buying where I am, it makes very little sense since I think I will stay here for a couple of more years. So the real alternative for me is to look into real estate in other countries or home country. + +**Next steps?** + +I have no time to do proper real estate viewing (especially across europe, lol!) and not even that much time (or skills actually) to go online and look at houses on these search websites. + +What do you folks do in this setting? What are your advice on this? +Throwaway for obvious reasons... + +We (mid 30s) live in NYC and are thinking of moving back to the UK. We have green cards that are 3 years old, and 2 kids, one British, one born here so dual nationality. NW is 30M. + +We're trying to figure out the value of a Green Card if you're FAT. If we could just pay some (large ish) amount of cash to keep a green card as a geopolitical put option I think we would. + +EDIT: we already have British citizenship + +The practicalities of keeping a green card are horrendous though. I plan to keep working and so will be here enough to satisfy the visit requirement. My spouse won't. But then, if I did keep a GC - I basically cut myself off from EIS due to different US Tax treatment (which helps mitigate the higher tax rates back home) and any reasonable investment options are PFICs. + +Kind of edging towards not keeping the green card right now... but am I missing something? + +Why is this fatFire relevant? Because (a) with fat money I think its worth paying for US citizenship... but also with fat money the complexity/pain of keeping the GC is way higher. +51F. I have a holdco with $20,000,000+, plus a personal nw around $3,000,000. Spend under $200,000 a year. When I die, there will be a huge tax bill (\~50%) before anything moves to my heirs. + +I have heard about a whole life product that can be funded by the holdco, for example $1,000.000 total paid $100,000 per year, but then it's paid out tax free to the beneficiaries. + +Is anyone familiar with this type of product? It seems to good to be true, mainly the part about being able to fund it through my company. + +I'm aware that in the vast majority of situations whole life doesn't make sense, but I'm thinking that if I can fund it through the company it could offer my heirs a nice bit of padding while the rest of my estate is settled. +Usually a lurker but I had a thought... + +Am I missing something or is inflation not a golden opportunity for Canada to tackle our housing dilemma? + +I know, I know, housing... popular topic around here. But hear me out. + +I know there are some ideas about how we can bring these housing prices back to earth (Rent control, increased capital gains on rentals, etc) but with politicians obviously these methods aren't popular. With residential housing representing ~10% of our GDP no politician would dare deflate this market. + +But now all the talk seems to be about inflation. As we all know Canada is an export nation relying heavily on commodities trade. With inflation coming our way over the next couple years these commodities are beginning to go up. As some of you may also know, this may not necessarily be a good thing either considering that with the rise in commodity prices comes a strengthening of CAD. We've seen this already as was posted yesterday, the Canadian government is issuing USD Gobal bonds, essentially betting on a strong CAD. With commodities and CAD rising, our trading partners may not see Canada as attractive as before due to our increasingly more expensive goods and seek alternative trade partners. + +Now for how this relates... + +Now would be the perfect time to start implementing policy to flatten housing. These policies would obviously hurt our GDP to some degree. Ideally we flatten housing prices as too not cause considerable losses in the short term to new home owners and in turn giving wages a chance to catch up in the mean time. With the rise in commodities we could offset those potential losses by leaning on commodities while we enjoy these increased prices. + +This works two fold because: +A) Housing would stabilize while wages increase as to not completely tank the entire sector and +B) with the commodities rising and housing stabilizing we could maintain a devalued currency in order to remain competitive in trade prices and retain and possibly grow our exports. + +I am by no means an expert and had this thought and wanted to open up the discussion here. +Making this post, after going through some comments in the post about ethical investments, I noticed one thing that was quite odd. Just a PSA, let's not get rattled. + +There are some who seem to think that buying a stock in a sin company aids in funding that sinful company, and likewise, buying a stock in an ethical company helps to fund that ethical company. Hence their reasoning is to enter positions into ethical companies in order to make the world a better place. + +First and foremost, there is nothing wrong with making the world a better place, as this will benefit everyone in the long run, in terms of health, finances, well being and even longevity. Also, everyone has different moral and ethical codes that aids them to choose which company is deemed ethical and sinful, and to what extent they are willing to enter a grey area. + +What this post concerns, is the idea that buying stocks can assist/fund a company. + +Majority of us, majority of the time, trade in the secondary markets. When we decide to buy or sell a stock, ethical or not, we go to our brokerage/platform, review however we like, and once ready submit our transaction. This transaction is within the secondary market, and by no means does your purchase or sale of the equity have anything to do with the company getting a piece of that transaction. This transaction is between another party, who is also trading within the secondary market. + +The idea of giving funds to the company via buying a stock, is through the primary market. Same applies for trusts, warrants, convertibles, etc. This tends to occur... say rarely and on as needed basis. Say the company is not public, they would do an IPO and sell via primary market prior to the bell rings once they're listed. If company is already listed, they would do a treasury offering, or similar. In both of these instances, you the buyer, is actually giving money to the company. Their prospectus will outline what the funds are going to be used for. Telus (T) recently did this, requesting funds late March, via a treasury offering. I forgot what it was for. The point is, primary market transactions on the same company is very infrequent - if frequent, that's a red flag as why are they always needing more capital for their business. + +But for the most part, our trades does not give the company any benefit whatsoever. + +Now, not saying buying stocks will not help. If there is enough demand for a stock, the price will rise, as others see the value. This in turn increases the valuation of the company, and in turn allows them more access to further avenues of funding. But in essence, you buying a lot of stock in the secondary market simply means someone is selling you a lot of stock in the company, and the funds you paid for the stock does not go anywhere near the company you are investing in. + +Again, just a PSA, the more you know, that's all. + +\*Edited to correct typos/grammar + +\*Added for clarification: This is a quick intro to what happens when you do a transaction, and the difference if that transaction occurs in the primary vs secondary market. Not advocating for either ethical or unethical companies to remain unbiased, as they are both subject to the same regardless of your views. TL:DR Primary market,company gets your money; secondary market, company does not get your money. +I bought some Crescent Point at $7.50. Read on the news today that the company plans to unload assets to minimize debt in the coming months. Is now the time to buy more? +Hi, relatively new investor here so I just wanted to be sure of this + +I know that Aphria and Tilray are merging soon. According to my understanding of [this page](https://aphriainc.com/tilray-inc-arrangement-faqs/), APHA stock will be replaced with TLRY. So I should probably be purchasing TLRY instead? Is this correct? +Does anyone honestly think the bottom is in? We haven't even got stats for the bankruptcies, we only have our toes dipped into the layoffs and job #s are not even fathomable how low they will go. Thousands are still employed and unsure if they will have a job next week. Even if your position is long, does it not make sense to just sell a portion of your stock for even a week to take advantage of dodging a few % of losses? Do people really think this is priced in at -30% from an outrageous peak. I feel like we have only taken a haircut on the excess that was the melt up in '19 we haven't even done damage yet or seen actual losses from reasonable highs. Canada is the most indebted nation in the G7 in household debt to GDP. 50% of Canadians were living paycheck to paycheck. 40% of Canadians have >20,000 in non mortgage debt. All the moves in deferrals and eviction freeze will only pile more debt onto Canadians. The relief funds will only pay for food and a portion of most people's rent. I don't understand how anyone could have come to this week without having sold or re-balanced anything. Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic but I think we are not at all near the bottom and I don't think you are going to miss a skyrocketing recovery if you make even small defensive moves. I just feel like doing nothing, up until this point especially, is a bad strategy. + +\-edit - household debt to GDP not national debt + +Edit 2. I feel like a lot of commenters are thinking I am saying we should all try to time the market perfectly and find the bottom. I'm not saying that at all. My point is that we are only in this first leg of the steepest decline in history and with all the inevitable bad news on the horizon, i believe it is extremely likely that there is more downside to this market so why not even sell a bit temporarily and let the dust settle for a short period as a safety measure on even a small portion of your portfolio. + +I am curious about the absolutism of holding it all when everything seems to be pointing to more downside and why you wouldn't even sell a small portion of each of your holdings for an opportunity to fend off a portion of losses and buy at any lower price. Even taking 10% off the table in a time like this seems like at least you will be extremely likely to reallocate it to something that you otherwise took a larger loss on and buy back cheaper. I am mostly curious about the absolute nature of holding it all and dont see why taking even a bit off the table for a small amount of time either to buy cheaper or to let the dust settle doesnt seem like an important thing to do in a time like this for so many people. + This isn't just normal ups and downs of the market and trying to time it. It's a major crash with tons of bad news on the horizon. I feel like the whole time in the market saying makes a lot of sense when talking about frequent trading in normal times but these once in a decade events are exceptional. +How far do you think they will raise the interest rates before finally stopping? How much will house prices realistically drop as a result? Could we actually see pre-pandemic house prices again like some people believe? (Albeit with higher monthly payments than they were back then because of the rates, but it can still be good for people with cash saved that can offer fairly high downpayments) + +Someone I know who works in real estate claims 10% drop only, but they also never predicted prices would go up 50% in a matter of only two years, and it has already dropped around 10% in a lot of places since February from what I’ve heard. + +Would it be realistic to see a 700K house in Ontario go down to 400K for example? + +I asked on r/canadahousing but that sub is desperate for a major crash and probably want to convince themselves that there will be one, so I’m not sure that they are the most trustworthy when it comes to answers. +I researched this a few years ago when Beyond Meat came out, but only started my investment portfolio this year. + +Aside from the big conglomerates, I've only found Burcon. Does anyone know of any other Canadian operations that have a public stock? (US investor here, using RH platform). +I know that within a TFSA any loss that is incurred, if pulled from the TFSA is permanently lost going forward. + +2 questions: + +1) Does the reverse also work? If I have (truly hypothetically) maxed my TFSA, lost say, $3000 on a $10,000 dollar investment, lost that room, can I "earn it back" with an investment gone right? + +2) Say I buy "XYZ" at $30 bucks a share, I lose money on it but don't withdraw. I then DCA down to $25. If I sell it all at $27 and withdraw have I incurred a permanent loss? + +Again I can't believe how ignorant I am about all this, just trying to avoid any potential big time mistakes. +# Why a Bull Thesis? + +I've been approached by quite a few investors here and elsewhere recently with the question, "Am I missing something?" The stock continues hitting new highs despite the bearish reports written by [myself](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianInvestor/comments/jipz2g/deep_dive_into_facedrive_fdv_short_thesis_target/), [Hindenburg Research](https://hindenburgresearch.com/facedrive/), and a pair of Seeking Alpha articles. Usually one could point to positive write-ups as a counterpoint, or in the case of a $5 billion stock there would usually be a plethora of analysts covering the company. In the case of Facedrive there are no analysts covering the stock and for some reason, despite an honest attempt to engage, bullish investors refuse to write more than a sentence arguing in favour of the stock. There are paid promotional articles and Facedrive does receive quite a bit of coverage on Motley Fool but neither of these outposts ever dive into the details to make a compelling case for buying the stock. They are essentially regurgitating press releases with a bunch of hyperbole (and ignoring or misusing important valuation metrics). But I wanted to take up the challenge posed by Edward Schneider in his recent SA article where he wrote, "Usually, I try to present the bullish side of the story when I write a bearish article. In this case, I cannot find one in the company’s current state." + +So I figured I would take it upon myself to write an argument painting Facedrive in the best light possible, and hopefully arrive at a valuation that somewhat mirrors its current share price. + +**The following analysis is not going to make value judgements regarding management/promotional activities/trading dynamics, etc. In fact, I am operating on the following assumptions;** + +**1) Management has the capabilities and human resources to successfully achieve its targets;** + +and + +**2) Facedrive will continue to have access to capital to pursue its growth initiatives** + +&#x200B; + +# The Verticals and Methodology + +To understand Facedrive one has to first understand the verticals. Facedrive has its origins as a rideshare platform but has quickly expanded into a number of other ventures mostly through acquisitions. Instead of keeping the newly acquired companies separate as a holding company would Facedrive has attempted to integrate each asset within its ecosystem. The overarching theme of this ecosystem is "people and planet first." It is based on ESG principles and targets a younger, more socially conscious demographic. Facedrive's valuation will ultimately be based on a sum of the parts calculation, the same way most diversified conglomerates are valued. I'll go through each of the verticals, arrive at a valuation for that specific vertical and then add them all up in the conclusion. + +&#x200B; + +# 1) Facedrive Rideshare + +The rideshare platform was conceived in 2016 and began operations in 2018. It has operated in a very competitive environment dominated by Uber and Lyft. Facedrive attempts to distinguish itself from its competitors by appealing to a younger clientele through the offering of an environmentally friendly proposition. Each ride in an ICE car will be offset by the planting of trees. There will also be an option to ride in an electric vehicle. Below is a table showing the revenues over the last 5 quarters ending Q3/2020 (Facedrive won't report Q4 until another 2 months) for the 3 mentioned companies: + +&#x200B; + +|Revenue (in millions)|Q3/2020|Q2/2020|Q1/2020|Q4/2019|Q3/2019| +|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| +|Facedrive|0.076|0.037|0.288|0.134|0.096| +|Lyft|499.7|339.3|955.7|1017.1|955.6| +|Uber|1365.0|790.0|2470.0|3056.0|2895.0| + +&#x200B; + +From the table above it is obvious that rideshare revenue has dropped substantially beginning in Q1 2020 with the onset of COVID. Facedrive appeared to initially buck this trend increasing their revenue 200% from Q3 2019 to Q1 2020. Facedrive at the time was a relatively new service and appeared to be gaining quite a bit of momentum. They were also spending money promoting their service and had formed partnerships with multiple corporations including Pearson Airport. + +The trajectory from Q1 2020 to to Q3 2020 tells a different story. Lyft's revenue dropped 48% in this timeframe and Uber's mobility revenue dropped 45%. Meanwhile Facedrive suffered a 74% decline. I believe there are 2 main reasons for this; 1) Facedrive began focusing more of their attention on new verticals they had developed/acquired; and 2) The network effect of rideshare can be so destructive if one doesn't keep up with spending/marketing. + +Facedrive tried to capture market share within the rideshare sphere by paying drivers a greater percentage of gross revenue and offering environmentally conscious options. Over the last 5 quarters Facedrive has paid drivers between 66% and 75% of revenue. This compares to Uber at 77% (Lyft doesn't disclose this metric). So there really is no incentive for drivers to choose Facedrive. And with few drivers, customers aren't encouraged to download and use the app. The end result is there are currently no EVs on Facedrive's platforms, the average wait for a Hybrid in Toronto is 25 minutes, and for a regular ICE car is 5-7 minutes. + +To Facedrive's credit at some point last year they realized competing with Uber and Lyft was a losing proposition and they stopped virtually all spending and support of the platform. Lyft trades at a 7.8 price/sales multiple whereas Uber trades at 9.7. It is hard to value Facedrive's rideshare vertical as the revenue is so lumpy and the growth rate has declined substantially. But if Facedrive can use some of their newly raised capital to re-invigorate the service by offering incentives for EV owners to use the platform then maybe they could carve out a niche within the Rideshare market. They have proven that people do respond to ESG messaging; now it is time to put it into action. **A return to high growth in a niche market (EV focused) could command a price/sales ratio of 25, more than triple that of Lyft. This would value Facedrive's rideshare vertical at $13.4 million.** + +&#x200B; + +# 2) Facedrive Foods + +Facedrive Foods consists entirely of the FoodHWY acquisition in October 2020. Facedrive did buy an e-mail list from the bankrupt Foodora Canada and launched an app to support customers and restaurants that opted in from the e-mail list. The app was active for 2 months in Q3 2020 and generated $2,000 in revenue before shutting down. In October Facedrive purchased FoodHWY and rebranded the FoodHWY app as Facedrive Foods. + +FoodHWY is actually a great success story and an example of what Facedrive Rideshare could become. Founded by Di Han in 2014 the service primarily targets the Chinese student community. There is a nice [interview](https://ottpay.com/2019/11/13/working-with-ott-pay-helps-foodhwy-expand-into-new-markets/) with Di Han from 2019 where he goes into more detail. Essentially Mr. Han discovered a market that was underserved by the main players, Uber Eats, Skip the Dishes, and DoorDash. Of note FoodHWY services "more than 80 percent of the Chinese restaurants in each city we operate in. UberEats has less than 30 percent of these restaurants." FoodHWY also now provides deliveries from local Chinese grocers. The service is still very niche, having only developed an English language version of the app last year. + +By all accounts FoodHWY's growth has been exceptional. When Facedrive acquired them they were projected to do $10.5 million in revenue for 2020. Future growth initiatives include expanding to more cities and onboarding a greater selection of restaurants. They have not added any new cities since 2019 (Facedrive implied in a recent [press release](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210125005239/en/Facedrive-Foods-Continues-on-Growth-Trajectory-Launching-in-New-Regions-and-Increasing-Delivery-Volumes-to-Meet-Demand-for-Responsible-Food-Delivery-Services) they added Scarborough but that is not a city!) and browsing the app it is clear that the majority of the restaurants are still Asian. Although there has been a marketing push recently to attract new customers outside of the Asian market. + +The focus for Facedrive Foods should be to cater to markets they know well and have had success servicing. A major risk would be take on the giants of the industry in a battle to the lowest margin. Facedrive does not have billions to spend on this war. However, one way to gain market share without driving down margins is through customer loyalty and word of mouth. Offer an unparalleled service and customers will return. But Based on recent app reviews it does not look like there will be many repeat customers. Reports of a poorly functioning app, excessive delivery fees, and long wait times will not drive sustained growth. + +Despite all this, by re-focusing on the urban ethnic student market Facedrive can build a moat. Di Han now has the corporate backing to expand to more urban centres and upcoming catalysts will by Canada's immigration policy and the return of international students post COVID. + +Valuations for food delivery services are all over the map ranging from Grubhub at 3.5x P/S to Uber at 9.7x and DoorDash at 30x. Skip The Dishes was acquired in 2016 at 5x revenue. All these companies have experienced exceptional growth during the pandemic. Since Facedrive does not disclose metrics when making acquisitions the only number for FoodHWY to go by is the expected $10.5 million for 2020. I think there really is an opportunity for FoodHWY to corner the ethnic student market in major urban centres. **Applying a best in class multiple of 30x to FoodHWY's 2020 revenue estimate gives a valuation of $315 million for Facedrive Foods.** + +&#x200B; + +# 3) Facedrive Health + +Facedrive Health consists of Facedrive's contact tracing and health monitoring wearable technology, [TraceScan](https://health.facedrive.com). Based on LinkedIn searches I estimate Facedrive Health employs more human capital than any of the other verticals. Most of the engineers at the Health division are recent grads, many of them connected to the University of Waterloo. While many of the other verticals have been on auto-pilot Facedrive Health has been aggressively expanding its team and accelerating the development of wearable technology. + +TraceScan is essentially a bracelet that uses bluetooth technology to record interactions for contact tracing purposes. Unlike the government COVID apps, TraceScan does not require the use of a smart phone; hence, they are ideal for construction sites and other arenas where carrying a smart phone is not feasible. They have completed a number of pilots, most notable with Air Canada, and generated $13,000 in revenue YTD. Most recently Facedrive outfitted the Waywayseecappo Nation and its 1604 residents. The first iteration of the bracelets retail for $30 so the Waywayseecappo order should generate another $50K in revenue. + +The biggest apparent competition for TraceScan comes from TraceSafe. The TraceSafe bracelets are disposable, much simpler, and obviously cheaper. Think of TraceScan like an Apple Watch and TraceSafe like a festival bracelet. TraceSafe has gained much more traction as they were first to market and have received big purchase orders, mostly overseas from Asia. Recently they reached an agreement with a large corporation to outfit up to 60,000 employees with their bracelets. + +Facedrive has larger ambitions though. Rather than providing a cheap, immediate solution like TraceSafe, Facedrive plans to parlay the contact tracing platform into a wearable technology that can monitor one's health and in the future execute contactless payments. An updated version of the bracelet will resemble more of a smart watch. This week they received a $2.5 million grant from the Ontario Gov't to help build out their technology. The grant will allow them to hire more software engineers and begin large scale manufacturing of the bracelets in Ontario. + +Over the coming months and years Facedrive will need to aggressively zero in on the market opportunities they plan to pursue with TraceScan. As a pure play contact tracing wearable TraceSafe has a market cap of $62.7 million. A more ambitious approach, such as the one Fitbit pursued, resulted in a buyout from Google at CAD $2.65 billion. But Fitbit sells 15-20 million watches annually and has 20 million active users on its social platform. In 2013 Fitbit raised money at a [$300 million valuation](https://www.mobihealthnews.com/20623/report-fitbit-raises-30-million-at-300-million-valuation). At the time they had $76 million in annual revenue. Google paid 1.5x revenue for Fitbit compared to its 2013 valuation of 4x revenue. Competing in the same space as Apple has a tendency to do this. + +With Facedrive's new manufacturing build out, they hope to produce 150,000 bracelets. I would expect these to be the more advanced version that retail for $40. This would result in $6 million revenue if they can secure purchase orders for the full run. It appears Facedrive is going all in with this initiative. The 68 jobs they plan to create (including software engineers) could cost upwards of $5 million annually. The build out of a manufacturing facility in Ontario isn't going to be cheap either (there is a reason why all the big tech companies manufacture their products in Asia). The $2.5 million grant is not going to come close to covering the costs to develop this wearable technology. + +Taking Fitbit's early growth stage valuation and applying it to Facedrive's potential $6 million revenue over the next 12 months would lead to a valuation of $24 million. But TraceSafe as a pure contact tracing play currently trades at 15x annualized revenue. **Until Facedrive provides more clarity on their target market for TraceScan I am going to take an average of Fitbit's early valuation and TraceSafe's current valuation. This would lead to valuing Facedrive Health at 9.5x expected revenue of $6 million, or $57 million.** + +&#x200B; + +# 4) Tally Technologies + +There hasn't been a mention of [Tally](https://www.playtally.com/#About) in Facedrive's press since it acquired an interest in August 2020 for $3 million. Most likely this is because Tally, a sports prediction and fan engagement app, is no longer supported. In fact it had pretty much ceased operations in 2019 when Nike purchased the IP behind the app for an undisclosed amount. The Tally app was removed from the app store in September 2020 and the website hasn't been updated in months. **At this point it appears the best case scenario would be to recover the $3 million Facedrive spent on its minority interest.** + +&#x200B; + +# 5) Steer Holdings + +This has been the service that I believe has been driving the stock price over the last couple of months. Promoted as an EV play I think it is more appropriate to view it as an auto financing play. Basically Steer leases EVs (the most popular being Teslas) and then sub leases them to customers through a monthly subscription plan. The advantage for the customer is that they aren't locked in for a number of years as they would be with a traditional lease nor do they have to worry about insurance, big up front payments, or mileage limits among other things. The customer can also choose a different car each month if they so desire. The major disadvantage is that the service ends up costing substantially more than a traditional lease. For example, a Model S Tesla subscription costs CAD $2595/month through Steer whereas a 3 year lease directly from Tesla would cost CAD $1563 monthly. So this is why I call this an auto financing play with the only barrier to entry being capital. + +Facedrive inherited $8.4 million in lease liabilities when they acquired Steer from Echelon. As Facedrive plans to enter the Toronto market this lease liability will only increase. Currently Steer is only available in the Washington D.C. area. They have $649,000 in subscription agreements on the books. As the average subscription is approximately $1500/month (Steer D.C. offers cheaper EV options than Teslas) , I estimate Steer currently has around 400-500 subscribers. This is after being in operation for 2 years. Both of Steer's co-founders departed when the company was acquired. I suspect it was acquired as a distressed asset that was no longer being prioritized by Echelon. Browsing the news it appears there was a lot of buzz about the service back in 2019 and then nothing until the Facedrive acquisition. + +So what is the total addressable market of such an auto financing service? There are currently multiple EV subscription services in N.A. similar to Steer but like Steer they are all pretty small and only operate in local markets. Car subscription models have been around a long time but the total addressable market is quite small relative to the leasing market. The largest subsrciption service, Flexdrive, was acquired by Lyft last year for $20 million. As Flexdrive had 8000 subscribers, Lyft paid $2500/subscriber, a valuation comparable to what Facedrive paid for Steer ($1.25 million for 400-500 subscribers). There is also [Carbar](https://www.carbar.com.au) in Australia that sold a majority stake to IAG for $16.8 million. And more recently AGL has [entered](https://next.agl.com.au/ev-subscription) the market with an EV only subscription service. + +It would make sense for large companies like Lyft, IAG, and AGL to consolidate the smaller players as this is a capital intensive business, just as the car rental business is. Besides capital there isn't really any other barrier to entry. Furthermore, the biggest competition may be from the car manufacturers themselves offering their own EV subscription model, for example [Canoo](https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a29278222/canoo-ev-subscription/) or [Tata](https://evsubscription.tatamotors.com). + +As it is now it is hard to value Steer without knowing how Facedrive plans to finance its growth. The car subscription model is always going to be a niche market but if Facedrive can successfully expand it to multiple North American hubs then it is possible to significantly grow the business from its current subscriber base. The EV market is still in its nascent stages so it makes sense that potential buyers may be more comfortable with a no hassle monthly subscription in the beginning. Margins should be better than what Flexdrive was achieving but Steer is still a long way away from being profitable. Assuming they can grow in the next 5 years to 20 cities and hit the 10K subscriber mark they might start realizing some economies of scale as well as building significant brand equity. Partnerships with the EV dealerships/manufacturers (as Flexdrive had) will eventually be necessary. 10% EBITDA margin would be a good benchmark. **At 10,000 monthly subscribers (the majority of which would be on a performance Tesla plan), that would equal $240 million/year in revenue. 10% EBITDA is $24 million. With a very agressive EV/EBITDA multiple of 15, Steer would be valued at $360 million** + +# 6) Facedrive Social (HiRide) + +HiRide consists of the HiQ trivia app and the newly launched HiPanda web application. The trivia app hasn't been supported for months and has less than 500 active users competing for weekly prizes. It is a pretty rudimentary app (questions are repetitive and there is little in the way of gamification). There has also never been an attempt to monetize the app as it is not able to handle advertising or in app purchases. + +The HiPanda web application is only available for University of Waterloo students and employees. It is designed to connect students in need with mental health resources. Facedrive really should not have announced its launch as it is obvious it is still in beta with virtually zero functionality. You can view its interface [here](https://uwaterloo.hipanda.ca/signin) + +**Until Facedrive Social grows its user base through the development of more sticky or useful platforms its value is $0** + +&#x200B; + +# 7) Facedrive Marketplace + +Facedrive Markeplace seems to have recently pivoted from selling clothing from Bel-Air Athletics to now a variety of tech offerings. There are currently 32 items available for purchase in the [store](https://www.facedrivemarketplace.com/shop/). I don't really know how to value something like this as the items appear to be just random non-branded stuff you could find anywhere else on the internet. In the first 9 months of the year Facedrive Marketplace generated $9,000 selling athleisure/casual wear. I don't see anything to suggest these new gadget offerings would do any better. Traffic to the site is driven through Google Ads and their Rideshare platform. **Until Facedrive starts generating meaningful revenue or develops a more cohesive plan for the the Marketplace, its value is $0.** + +&#x200B; + +# Conclusion + +I have tried my best to present each vertical in the best light possible, giving the benefit of the doubt when weighing risks against opportunities. I attempted to analyze each vertical without thinking how it would effect the overall value of the corporation. There are always intangibles at play as a visionary leader can add more value than all of its parts combined. Bad leadership can have the opposite effect. Discussion of Facedrive's leadership and business acumen was purposely omitted and considered a net zero for this exercise. **Using a basic SOTP (sum of the parts) valuation, I arrive at a valuation of $748.4 million for Facedrive, or $7.86/share based on 95,248,498 shares outstanding. This is the bull case.** +I'm trying to figure out what dividend ETF gave the most total return YTD. So I took the percentages of their price appreciation, added their APY yeild and subtracted their MER fee. Is this right? + +&#x200B; + +|Ticker|Name|Appreciation|Yield|Fee |Total Return| +|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| +| CDZ | iShares S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index ETF | 32.23 | 4.74 | \-0.66 | 36.31 | +| XIU | iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF | 32.93 | 2.84 | \-0.18 | 35.59 | +| XEI | iShares Core S&P/TSX Composite High Dividend Index ETF | 28.05 | 5.89 | \-0.22 | 33.72 | +| VDY | Vanguard FTSE Canadian High Dividend Yield Index ETF | 29.25 | 4.67 | \-0.22 | 33.7 | +| XDIV | iShares Core MSCI Canadian Quality Dividend Index ETF | 25.89 | 5.2 | \-0.11 | 30.98 | +| XDV | iShares Canadian Select Dividend Index ETF | 24.93 | 5 | \-0.55 | 29.38 | +| PDC | Invesco Canadian Dividend Index ETF | 23.26 | 5.3 | \-0.55 | 28.01 | +| ZDV | BMO Canadian Dividend ETF | 22.19 | 5.29 | \-0.38 | 27.1 | +| ZWC | BMO Canada High Dividend Covered Call ETF | 16.48 | 8.09 | \-0.72 | 23.85 | +| HAL | Horizons Active Canadian Dividend ETF | 18.02 | 3.25 | \-0.67 | 20.6 | +***(QUESTION is in bold near the bottom, if you don't want to read my intro and reasoning)*** + +Hey everyone. I am new to personal finance, investing and reddit (literally my first post). + +&#x200B; + +Given all of the attention the stock market has garnered over the past few months (given COVID-19 and all of the economic fallout it precipitated), I decided to take some time to learn about personal finance, investing and the stock market. I am in my late 20s and I am learned in matters of law as opposed to finance. + +&#x200B; + +Over the spring, I spent hours glossing over investopedia, youtube and other resources (including books) to learn things ranging from basic investment lingo to market cycles, central banking and interest rates. + +&#x200B; + +I opened a TSFA on Wealthsimple Trade. Besides a few swing trades and a lucky call on $WELL health Tech, I have been focusing my energy on finding good dividend stocks that are trading at a value (long positions) + +&#x200B; + +I have a decent position in $REI.UN (riocan reit); 300 shares so far, and planning to reinvest the monthly distributions. I have been consistently purchasing the REIT below 15 dollars. As of late, the shares have been trading at around 14.40s - 14.60 (nearly a 10% div. yeild. And yeah... I bought most of my shares during this recent dip). + +&#x200B; + +I live in Toronto and really see the value in Riocan. They have nice properties; mostly open-air shopping centres with essential businesses. They have also been pivoting toward residential, wit some notable projects in the works. + +&#x200B; + +I find their diligence in rent collection and navigating the governments CECRA program impressive. In Q2 they collected about 86% and projected a rise over the summer. + +&#x200B; + +They have also seized the opportunity to cut loose older tenants and bring in newer ones. For example, there is a Tokyo Smoke (marijuana dispensary) set to open up at their Shoppers World near Danforth and Victoria Park in Toronto. I think it is replacing a "The Childrens' Place" clothing retailer. + +&#x200B; + +Lastly I like that clothing retailers comprise a very small percentage of their tenants (under 2% if I recall correctly). + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +**Does anyone have any positive or negative opinions on Riocan? I have also considered Smartcentres (SRU.UN), Choice (CHP.UN) and Brookfield Property Partners (BPY.UN). I know that my reasoning for enerting the REIT does not involve sophisticated financial analysis, so I'm open to insights from more learned people.** + +**Riocan seems most comparable to Smartcentres, but I like the sustainability of RIOCAN's dividend (lower payout ratio under 100%). BPY comes off a a bit too risky given the fall in commercial rent revenue and the distribution payout. Choice's yield is low and the properties seem a bit under-diversified.** +I want to keep a spreadsheet of my multiple financial accounts, so I can see progress over time and do analytics on it. Someone said they keep theirs in a google spreadsheet, but I don't like the possible security of keeping things in the cloud. Especially because you can't password protect spreadsheets if a google account got hacked. + +What do you all do? Keep it in a password protected spreadsheet on your computer? Any other alternatives that are secure? +I'm relatively new to investing (just over a year now), but I have spent the year voraciously reading, studying and learning as much as I can. I have bought a few stocks, but I have a fair chunk of money to invest, and not really sure what to do next. +Background: +I am 53 years old, and looking to retire in the next 5 years with a very small pension. I want to max out my potential gains for retirement, while minimising risk. I really like the idea of ETFs and dividends as well. My holdings as of now are: + +XIU - TSX/S&P Index +NWH-UN - Health care REIT +ZEB - Canadian bank ETF +XEQT - Equity ETF + + +Not really sure what to do next. I plan on doing monthly adds to the funds listed above, but I feel like I should diversify with a couple more ETFs. I was thinking of utilities one like ZUT or XUT, as well as a retirement fund like VRIF. Really wanting to make the most educated buys, but I've researched TOO much now and can't make a solid decision. +Hi I have a corporation in Ontario doing about 800k in revenue this year. In previous years I was doing under 400k and was taxed at 15% and that was it. I paid myself some dividends and kept the rest in the corp. At this new revenue of 800k, the first 500k will be taxed at 15% and the rest at a much higher rate. I am wondering if someone with the corp and a similar revenue situation has some words of wisdom on how to set up the accounting and financials at this level of revenue? What would you do at 800k in revenue? I have no employees. +I am curious where the cash came from as I would imagine anyone who is investment savvy usually buy periodically when you have cash available or did you use your emergency fund? I am interested in knowing how you had cash so that I can do the same maybe in the next recession...Appreciate the sharing! +The general consensus seems to be that one should just invest in passive index funds with low fees to get the best returns of the long-term. + +1. For those of you not following this advice, is there a particular reason why you are not doing so? +2. This sub is for those "who look to actively manage their own portfolio", but what makes you think you can beat the averages of the long-term (10+ years)? (Fifteen years of SPIVA has shown active funds don't do as well.) +3. If a friend or family member asked for investing advice, what would you tell them to do? + +For myself: after playing around with stocks early on (AAPL did well, RIMM not so much), I've since gone with CCP eSeries and more recently VGRO. Generally content, regardless of the ups and downs. + +Hi guys, + +What does history tell us? + +Leading indicators, copper, other commodities, gold, bond market, are all signaling a recession even though equities have already tanked. + +Is it historically speaking safe to say most of the recession is priced in ATM given the forward looking nature of the market or no? + +Thanks. +Then you need to learn about [Survivorship Bias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias). A great example of Survivorship bias can be found in [xkcd](https://xkcd.com/1827/). +Hi my wife and I recently married and now live together. + +I currently make £1800 after tax and she makes 950 after tax. We both want to contribute to the joint account fairly and mainly proportionally. + +We cant wrap out heads around if I should be contributing double the amount to the joint account or triple, we've gone over it so many times it stopped making sense lol. + +So her £1 to my £3 +Or her £1 to my £2 + +I'm sure a fresh head will find this easy, thank you in advance! +As the title says. How would you put together your investments / business interests to make it look like you made the money yourself. + +Hypothetical of course. +Maxed out a couple cards when my cat (RIP) had cancer and during the period of time I was unemployed (please don't judge me, I'm really overwhelmed and ashamed). Got a job now, have a budget, what is my next step--what makes the most sense? I've heard people say to prioritize paying off debt first. Is that true? For what it's worth, I'm at least thirty years away from retirement and have no savings (I know it's bad). +The Federal government is paying an additional $600 per week in unemployment benefits. Because of this many are making more on employment than they do on their job. These are set to expire on July 31, 2020 although it is possible new legislation may extend this. + +There is risk of staying on unemployment. Many employers are going to be operating with less employees, so many jobs people thought they could go back to are not going to be there. When these benifits expire there is going to be a huge increase in people looking for work. If you wait till the extra benifits expire to look for work, you may find it more difficult to find a job. + +Keep this in mind when deciding what you should do employment wise. +The Winklevoss twins have done a lot for bitcoin. They could have easily sat around with their millions of dollars and did nothing - but they took an enormous risk in investing in bitcoin, going public with their ideas, and spending the last many years building successful bitcoin businesses to help the ecosystem. + +Not only that - the Winklevoss appear to be very professional as brand ambassadors to bitcoin in their discussions with news media and I'm sure that comes transfers across to regulators as they take every available financial effort to try for a bitcoin ETF. + +We are all indebted to the Winklevoss Twins for pushing BTC forward. + +No matter what happends this week - Thanks TWINS! +Back in June I got a dental exam and bitewings done. My insurance should have covered it so I thought everything was good. + +Last week I got a bill in the mail from them, so I called my insurance to see why the claim wasn’t accepted and they said the dentist who performed the exam wasn’t covered under them. + +I called the dentist office early last Monday. and explained the situation and they said they’d call me back and see what they could do and they’d call me back. They never did so I waited a few days then called them back at the end of the week and the receptionist said the billing department should have called me back and she said she’d get back to me at the end of the day. She never did so I’m going to go into their office tomorrow and talk to them since I’m not being followed up with. + +Is it feasible to fight this and try to get them to write it off? I feel like they are at fault, because the two other dentists I have seen at their office have been on my insurance so why wasn’t I put with a dentist who was especially when they’ve got my insurance information on file. For two, they had to reschedule that appointment for a different day due to not having enough coverage and they did not inform me which dentist it would be at the time. I was also not informed who the dentist was when I checked in, nor did he introduce himself by name. I didn’t know his name until I got the bill. And he isn’t listed on their website either under their staff like the other two dentists are. So while I should have done research to see if he was covered I had no way of knowing it would have been a different dentist than the other two I’ve seen and are listed. + +Does anyone have advice? + +Update : I went into the office and talked to the receptionist and their system was down so I had to leave. She did call me back later and she said that the dentist who did my exam was a stand in to help with staffing issues and unfortunately I’m responsible to pay. I said I don’t think I’m at fault since my insurance was on file, and it they could have informed me he was a stand in or at least given me his name. She agreed and said she’d see what she could do and did understand there was a mixup so at the very least she would offer a discount and she will talk to the main dentist and see what she could do and give me a call back on Friday. +* Tesla: $2+ Billion in BTC and announced they're purchasing more. Just announced Tesla can be bought with BTC. +* Elon Musk, Tesla CEO: Believes BTC is better than fiat and is protecting his own wealth with BTC. +* Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO: Believes BTC will become currency of the internet. +* Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy CEO: Believes BTC is the best hard asset in human history. +* Michael Novogratz, billionaire: 30% of his wealth in 'cryptocurrencies'. +* Winklevoss Twins, billionaires: held BTC through 2017 spike and 'crash' and still holding today. +* Barry Silbert, net worth $500m: Hodls BTC. +* Many more billionaires who I can't be bothered googling. + +Do you think they're panic selling right now or still holding like do they with every other asset they own? +I'm getting bombarded with ads for budgeting apps. Some chat bots that tell you if you can get pizza, some round up your purchases to the next pound and invest it and so on. There seems to be so many options, just wondering if anybody's had good results or changed their habits. Which apps do you use? Are there any combinations that work well? + +My limited experience so far is with OnTrees a couple of years ago and Money Dashboard which I got out the habit of using. +I applied for a job and interviewed with a company earlier this month, it all seemed pretty positive. I progressed to the reference check process where I gave 4 people's contact details. Each of them ended up doing an online reference and they called one of my references 2 weeks ago. THE reference said they had given great feedback and I don't have any reason to believe otherwise. + +It's now been two weeks and nothing. I've called twice (over a week) with no answer or call back, and I'm feeling a bit "ghosted". + + +Has anyone had this happen before? I'm awkwardly loyal with jobs, so haven't chased other roles until I have an answer on this one. +A few months ago, in a response to a thread entitled *"Bank of Mum and Dad 'one of the most critical yet least understood' factors in the current housing boom"*, I speculated that lenders were getting more predatory and selling much riskier loans to more vulnerable people: + +> Every sign is pointing towards catastrophe as soon as the RBA has their hand forced to increase interest rates. The market will eventually correct itself (no matter how much it is being propped up), and plenty of over-leveraged young families with shaky income will fall into negative equity and default. This is an impending national disaster, and I fear that the writing is on the wall. +> +> Additionally, I find it baffling that the banks are even *approving* most of these loans, with a financial trail that clearly shows [an average parental contribution to a deposit is slightly more than $89,000](https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/bank-of-mum-and-dad-contributions-hit-34b-20210317-p57bkz) was gained as a cash gift, whilst [the average home deposit in Melbourne is ~$107,000.](https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-property-news-first-home-buyer-deposit-cracks-100000/3727a997-d269-4cb9-820d-2d5cc3660bec#:~:text=Data%20from%20the%20Australian%20Bureau,recommended%2020%20per%20cent%20) This data directly implies that the average amount of savings young families, first home buyers are directly showing banks as evidence of saving habits is *on average* $18,000. +> +> Banks are signing off on this within their risk tolerance. +> +> [Financial institutions don't seem to be doing very well in the risk-tolerance sector recently. ](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9512141/Credit-Suisse-revolt-remove-risk-chief-53-Archegoes-Greensill-scandals.html) +> +> I think that there are very worrying times ahead. + +Today when doomscrolling through FB, I came across [this advertisement for a house and land package to a couple that had admittedly been turned down by "so many other builders that told them they couldn't help".](https://imgur.com/a/pLuMrCA) + +Every day, I'm blown away by the leverage in our housing market and the risky finance that people agree to to have their own slice of the Australian "dream". Maybe I'm Chicken Little here, but is this kind of thing not a warning sign of impending disaster around the corner for many young Australians FOMOing into a market that is deeply entrenched in our culture as a generationally-advised "investment", only to see mortgage stress explode at the early signs of interest rates increases? [Just today, President Biden met with financial regulators including JPOW, Gensler and Yellen ](https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/powell-yellen-to-meet-with-biden-at-white-house-on-monday-1) to discuss [how strong the financial system is](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/21/joe-biden-live-updates/), yet it seems that a [disastrous collateral and liquidity crisis has been the sword of Damocles, hanging over the heads of the US financial system for years.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/o0scoy/the_bigger_short_how_2008_is_repeating_at_a_much/) + +Only time will tell. + +Edit: I'd like to point out, as the title says, that this is entirely speculation. I am not providing cold hard evidence of events present or future, I am merely speculating on perceived heightened risk appetite conditions that lenders are accepting, whilst operating in a speculatively volatile lending environment. +I'm unemployed and have been living for the last few months mostly on my savings as a single woman in her 30s (no kids). Even with my qualifications, strong grades and a good work history (including an internship at faang), I have been unable to find any IT work as the market is oversaturated with graduates. My last job was a low-paid software engineering internship where I was earning 40k/year. + +As a jobseeker, I have access to some government subsidized tafe programs designed to help me secure work. At this stage, I am looking at for anything that offers good employment prospects and that can be completed in less than a year (I've already got a bachelor of computer science/education degree so don't want something that will take many years to finish). Ideally wanting a salary of at least 55k. Any suggestions? +This might sound dumb, but if price is fractal, why don’t more people trade on lower time frames? Why wouldn’t you? More set ups = more entries. If ur strat works on 1hr it’ll work on 1m. + +Instead having to wait 2-3 days for a set up, u could just wait 2-3 hours? + +I understand people have jobs and what not, but for the people who are full time…why don’t they all just do 1m-15m time frames +Noobie question: Why is there so many people that criticize the "beginner" traders that follow the crowd ie: try to take the same position as everyone? + +While I understand what that means on the overall market (fear and greed, FOMO; that can end you being a target to bigger traders and institutions) how does that apply to smaller markets/individual stocks? + +Isnt that the fundamental element behind supply/demand, that you want the more people to be on your side , and given that there is a limited supply (stock float), it creates momentum that gives you an opportunity to profit? By the same token if you see an amazing short opportunity but your the only one seeing it, then nothing is going to happen and you could potentially get squeezed? + +&#x200B; + +\+ a similar thing that I hear is "ppl dont want to share their strategy, else the edge is gonna disappear". + +Again, if sharing the strategy makes more ppl buy at the same spot where they buy, doesnt that make their edge increase? + +(sorry for all the questions, its really just one big) + +Edit: Thx for all the replies +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/1wp54hawkxv71.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7ecd5334a10dff285b5c37fd741500bb904e2c59 + +Please be seated, apes. Class is about to start. You two in the back. Turn down the Wu-Tang. Rick. Rick! What are you doing with that banana? Put it away. There we go. + +Now, class. Today we are going to learn about Loopring, ZK-Rollups, and Layer 2. But before we get there, we first need to talk about the blockchain, because none of this is possible without it. How does a blockchain work? Well, let’s watch a little video about it before we get into the nitty gritty of how Loopring works and why it will help our favorite company. + +[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzAuB2FG79A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzAuB2FG79A) + +Ok, so did you learn something new? Yes, that video was about Bitcoin and not Ethereum, which is what we’re going to be focused on here, but the basic principle remains. A blockchain is a chain of transactions, all connected to each other, each showing a transaction that is verified by the whole network. Now, something not exactly mentioned in the video is that verifying a block on the chain takes work. Lots of work. Crypto miners spend vast amounts on video cards and electricity to mine the blockchain, and though it takes many confirmations to prove a block in the chain as verified, only one person gets the reward. + +So, where does the money come from? Well, gas fees. A gas fee is the money required by a user to write new information to the blockchain. So, each transaction comes with a gas fee. This fee can fluctuate too, so it’s not a flat rate, which is pretty annoying. You can also pay more to get in a fast lane to have your block verified faster, which of course costs more in gas fees. + +So, this is a huge problem for using crypto, especially for a business like Gamestop. You can’t be charging customers huge gas fees that vary every minute for every transaction they make. No one is going to like that. So, what to do? + +Enter Loopring. + +https://preview.redd.it/zgtqio63lxv71.png?width=2321&format=png&auto=webp&s=6fd325b377926489a110eacce2c5db9b06a2fd66 + +Loopring provides a Layer 2 environment which—through the use of ZK-rollups—can drastically reduce gas fees. And it can do it on a massive scale already. + +So, we just used a lot of terms you might have heard but are not actually familiar with. Now pay attention because this vocabulary will be on the test. + +So, Layer 2 is probably the easiest to understand but especially once you understand that Layer 1 is simply the Ethereum blockchain itself. Think of it like the highway, whereas Layer 2 is an exit off the highway. So, Layer 2 is not on the blockchain. It’s off-world. Another analogy would be to think of keeping a document on your hard drive. You can change it all you want on your hard drive. But once you load it on your Google Drive, it’s accessible to others. + +Layer 1 is online (on the blockchain). + +Layer 2 is offline (off the blockchain). + +https://i.redd.it/yq8scydilxv71.gif + +“But I thought we wanted to be on the blockchain,” you might be thinking. Good thought, ape. I hope it didn’t hurt your wrinkles too much coming up with that. But the fact is that through the power of ZK-rollups, Layer 2 enables us to interact with Layer 1 much more efficiently on a large scale. + +Ok, so what is a ZK-Rollup? + +Before we get to the rollup part, let’s look at ZK, which stands for ‘Zero Knowledge’. But this is not the sort of zero knowledge many of you smooth-brains might have about the world. This is specifically based on a branch of cryptology that is decades old. It was originally designed for the sake of privacy, but that is not the purpose that Loopring uses it for. + +Still, let’s look at an example of how a Zero Knowledge algorithm might help sustain privacy. A great example from Matt Finestone (now CFA -Head of Blockchain at Gamestop) from [this interview](https://odysee.com/@ChrisBlec:8/chris-learns-live!-intro-to-zk-rollups:a) is that of verifying a birthday in order to purchase alcohol. So, in the US, you must be 21 to prove alcohol, and the way to verify your age is with your driver’s license, which shows your birthday. But let’s say that you don’t want people to know your birthday. You’d rather keep that private. But you need a bottle of Monkey Shoulder whisky to sip on while making dank memes and watching green dildos. Well, that’s where the ZK algorithm comes in handy. + +Think of the ZK algorithm as a black box. You insert data into one side of this box (your birthday in this example) and out the other side comes a fingerprint in the form of a string of letters and numbers. Just gibberish to our eyes, but it is verifiable proof that you are over 21. You can buy your whisky. And you don’t have to show your birthday to anyone. Just this fingerprint that the ZK blackbox has spit out, which states with 100% accuracy that you are definitely over 21. + +Ok, so that’s the ZK part of ZK-Rollups. But remember how I said that Loopring isn’t using this technology for the sake of privacy? Then what the heck is it using it for? + +The answer, my fine silverbacks, is scalability. + +What Loopring does is to feed this ZK blackbox not one piece of data (e.g., your birthday), but many, many pieces of data. Thousands. They feed the machine these thousands of bits of data (for example, 4,000 birthdays) and out comes that one, singular fingerprint. But now, instead of this fingerprint only verifying you, it verifies 4,000 apes. And while the gas fees for 4,000 transactions on the blockchain would be preposterously high, with ZK-rollups, you only need to submit this single fingerprint to a smart contract on Ethereum. Thus, the gas fee for this one transaction can be spread out amongst the 4,000 users. + +Not only is the gas fee drastically reduced, but the time spent to verify the information is reduced. If it takes 1 second to verify a new block on the chain, for example, now you don’t have to wait 4,000 seconds for all of those transactions to be written on the chain. You only need 1 second. + +Reduced time and reduced price. Not so bad, eh? + +Now, this is just a brief overview of Loopring, Layer 2, and ZK-rollups. There are a lot of intricacies and moving parts (such as Merkle trees, taking Ethereum 2.0 into consideration, and so much more), but all you need to know for the upcoming test is that ZK-rollups make writing batches of date to the blockchain faster and cheaper. + +Class, I’d like all of you to leave a comment about what you know about this topic. Or, if you have any questions, please let me know. I’d also like you to theorize, if you are able, about how Loopring’s technology would be beneficial to our favorite company. Remember, I will have no stuffing of bananas in various orifices in my classroom. + +Now, get to discussing! + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/akw7uijolxv71.jpg?width=520&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b061839913868c268f8cc96bc63f01e5f3157ec +With all of the news and commotion going around there has been a spike in new reddit users in the past few months. Subs have spiked in numbers as well. Are these numbers going up as a result in the increasing numbers in bots? Has it turned into a place for retail investors to actually band together on their favorite stocks? Or is it just a place for people to stay informed with today's news on stocks/cryptocurrency? + +This is just a general thought, but more retail investors seem to be relying on Reddit for news on stocks instead of relying on news channels, investing channels, etc. It is coming to my attention that a new generation of Reddit is forming. Not only are retail investors adding in numbers, but the big guys are joining in as well. Reddit as a whole is making history, and possibly shaping the future of the stock market. It is a marvelous thing to be apart of. + +Either what I am saying is true, or I am just as ignorant as the next guy. + +Disclaimer: I really know nothing. This is just me spit balling at what I think the future to investing may look like. +I don't know if there's something wrong with me, or if I'm a tad boring but really I genuinely find myself wondering how everybody else spends their money. I seem to get little happiness out of buying new things, but more happiness out of seeing how long things can last or how little I can buy. + +I eat out a lot, buy lunches a lot and takeaway and go on good holiday but other than that that is by far my biggest vice and despite renting in zone 1 and earning a fairly average wage, I still manage to save a fair bit. + +It's not even an anti-consumerist thing, or an evnionrmental thing, or a cash flow thing. I could buy new phones, or new clothes all the time if I wanted but it just brings me no pleasure, I actually like seeing how long I can make my suits for work last by re-stitching, or seeing how far I can get my phone to go before it completely breaks down. + +Even when I lived outside of London I just bought a crap car that I fully owned, meaning I could run it into the ground and being tied to PCP etc is like a nightmare for me, even if people know me as the guy with a slightly crap car. + +Is there any good reading on this? I'm not FIRE, I just like being comfortable and it brings me great relief that I don't need a huge amount to be happy, just some good quality essentials. 'Just enoughism?' + +There's got to be a few lurking here. Anybody else just get no high from spending their money at all? +Just a quick tip I’ve been using for years. I mentioned it to a friend the other day and was surprised they didn’t do it: + +If you are into a particular hobby and looking to buy something, search it on YouTube and you will nearly always get a Vlogger who has a discount code for an affiliated website. It’s usually at least 10% but often 20% especially if it’s a new ‘special’. + +You can obviously use the ‘Honey’ discount browser add on to automatically look for codes, but I find the later (although more time intensive) yields better discounts. + +I’ve personally save about £700 on my hobbies this way through lockdown etc. + +Not sure if that helps anyone out there. Worth trying I guess. +I was listening to [this planet money episode on social mobility](https://www.npr.org/2022/08/08/1116398427/the-secret-to-upward-mobility-friends), and it really got me thinking. I came from a working class background. Even putting money aside, there were *so many things* I needed to learn to get where I am now. Things we weren't taught in school. Things I sure as hell wasn't taught by anyone I grew up with. I didn't even know what I didn't know. If I had been taken under someone's wing and given gentle guidance towards various things, I'd probably be twice as well off as I am now. + +Have you guys done any mentoring? Are there any organizations you'd recommend volunteering with? If you haven't considered it, I'd encourage you to do so. Most of the FIRE movement, and this group especially, have knowledge (not just FIRE, but business acumen, etc) that could change people's lives with the right motivation. I especially liked the example of the personal trainers in the story. I think that sort of mutual benefit thing is an *excellent* idea. +Work hard and play hard has been my routine for the last 10 years. I go from working constantly and burning out to leaving with my family and not working for a month or so to recharge. Now with our oldest starting school we have 2 kids, I don't know what to do. Traveling only during summer and holidays sounds terrible. Home school, tutors, remote learning... Any of these options work for anybody here? My friend just takes his kids out of school which may work while they're young but not when they get older. I would love to hear anything you all have done to make it work. +We are in IT ~ 50, with 2 kids below 10. We are in Seattle. Using a throw-away account. + +My target was 7.5M for a ~200k per year income (using www.FIRECalc.com ). I'm now at 9M, thanks to recent stock run in my Trading a/c + 401k. The Trading account is now all cash, taxes paid. My wife has her own 401k, substantial savings, 529 for kids, that I'm not counting. House, around 1M, is paid off. We’ve been spending between 100 and 120k last 6 years, including 25k+ a year for nannies. Instead we’d get health insurance. Current job has good work/life balance so I'd actually make the move only after Covid is under control - so, probably not this summer. + + +So, looks like I'm ready - anything I'm missing ? + +Well, there is one thing. Since I've got tired of the rain, I want to move to a warmer place. But because of kids, I want to move to a safe place with good public schools. I was also hoping to move to a place which has similar or lower home prices compared to Seattle area. I was earlier thinking about Texas, but I'm having second thoughts after the Jan 6th events. The ease with which the mob could overrun what I'd think of as one of the safest places on earth has shaken the feeling of "it can't happen here". Since we are Asian, I now think its better to move to a place that is relatively safe for POC. So, CA and Hawaii are on top of my list now. Florida seems risky because of frequent flooding / hurricanes. + +We still need a large house with multiple beds/baths etc. Are there places in California / Hawaii where the schools are good and the home prices not too high ? Searches aren't giving the results I'm looking for. + +One place I'm considering is Sacramento, but I'd prefer So Cal nearer to the ocean. Looks like I have to pay $1M more for the type of house I want in So Cal / Hawaii, I wonder whether I would need to postpone my FatFire. + +edit : Thanks for all the comments. I'll start looking at SoCal, Florida and Hawaii. Its also clear I've to up my budget to 2M for a decent house in SoCal/Hawaii. On reflection, I think, Sacramento/Austin might have been good places if I wanted to continue to work, but not on top of my list now. +Work hard and play hard has been my routine for the last 10 years. I go from working constantly and burning out to leaving with my family and not working for a month or so to recharge. Now with our oldest starting school we have 2 kids, I don't know what to do. Traveling only during summer and holidays sounds terrible. Home school, tutors, remote learning... Any of these options work for anybody here? My friend just takes his kids out of school which may work while they're young but not when they get older. I would love to hear anything you all have done to make it work. +First: I genuinely appreciate any corrections to any of the language I use in this post. + +I have a nephew with autism who will soon be a teenager, and it’s becoming clear that to thrive as an adult he needs more help and support than he is getting. For a while now, I’ve been helping with his ABA therapy and with an intensive summer therapy program his mom found. I don’t think any of this is giving him what he needs. He’s struggling socially and his grades are plummeting. He’s not okay. + +For context, because I know “autism” can mean a lot of different things and kids can look very very different: he is in a regular class in a public school and of course has an IEP, but in my opinion it’s a joke. He barely gets any in-school support. He is a pretty smart kid, but without someone right there monitoring him, won’t dial in and actually work. His speech sounds “different” and he has difficulty with “normal” conversations — he can talk animatedly about his interests, but will walk away or not engage in other talk in the ways people expect. This is affecting his time at school because he has no friends at all and is starting to understand and talk about how other kids don’t like him because he’s weird. It’s heartbreaking. + +My partner will (fingers crossed) join me and FIRE in the next few years. I want to build supporting my nephew into our financial plans. Unfortunately he lives in an area with pretty limited resources for autism, and I don’t think his parents can move. + +Are there additional therapies we should be budgeting for? Travel therapists you’ve tried that helped? Truly excellent summer programs? Ways (other than a 529 and ABLE) to help fund a secure life for him in the future? Other things that I should know about? I’m looking for anything for him that we should think about and plan for as we finalize our estate planning and set up things for our own retirement. He is not my kid, so I in no way want to come across as criticizing his parents, and want to find if possible ways to supplement what they are doing, if that makes sense. + +Obligatory: It’s mostly there in the flair — 8 figure NW, I’m retired, my partner is still working with 7 figure income and I hope will quit in a few years. +I’m sure others have encountered this so I’m curious how you handled this high class problem. + +How did you deal with leaving one company that went on to extreme success where you had a pivotal role only to join a company that floundered? Basically leaving because you had “nothing to lose” (given your ‘fat’ status) and you wanted to take on a more fulfilling role, only to fail and realize staying in place would ha e resulted in extreme success (basically multiples of your fatfire level)? + +I know it’s a high class problem in terms of money (you either have a lot or whole heck of a lot) but it is difficult to deal with the lost opportunity from what was a bad decision in hindsight. And it is something I am dealing with right now, so I’d appreciate if you indulge me. Thank you +I just started at a new company a couple of months ago. Our team is fairly ‘new’ as there are a lot of new additions including myself. All of us are remote so we live all over the world. In order for us to get to know each other better, our VP decided to have us do an offsite for brainstorming and bonding. This trip was Monday - Thursday (yesterday). + +I need to preface this that sometimes when I travel, I don’t go number two for awhile. So this trip, we are eating what feels like every few hours. I’m getting bloated. My work clothes aren’t fitting. Somehow I still get hungry and continue to eat when offered food. Well yesterday morning, my final day, we are workshopping in our SATELLITE office. Tiny office. One bathroom for both genders. I truly do not have any sort of impending doom and think I’m going to pee or I would have made my way to the hall to use the building restrooms. But no. I end up giving birth to at least a three pound 💩 I plug the toilet. Not just plug, but my attempt at a second flush has deep brown water to the rim only being held in by the crazy bubble physics of water. + +I am literally 8 feet from my team of 10 brainstorming who all, at any point, could have their coffee kick in and feel the need to use the restroom. There is no front office staff so I lock eyes with the first local employee who happens to be Head of the f*cking Transformation Office. I ask her if there is any office staff hoping she would direct me to another human but she asks what I need. I’m forced to tell her that I need a sharpie, paper, facility maintenance, and why. I’m talking fast and constantly looking behind me to intervene anyone trying to use the toilet. If they did, they would find a toilet with no lid which just puts the whole horrific scene on display. + +I try to blame it on a potential previous user plugging up the toilet before but I can see she doesn’t believe me. I need MOASS so I never have to work with her, her team or go back to that office ever again. +A big Thank you to everyone who answered, I appreciate it. You all gave me lots to think about. 👍 I'm definitely more cautious of the idea than before, and will probably just hold. + +Edit 2. I am taking into account the taxes, and only considered selling a quarter of my Bitcoin when the price is double what I paid. +I realize that people think this is a stupid question (from some of the replies), but I disagree. I want to learn, and was interested in what other people think/do. +I am finally in the position where I only have £6800 left to pay on my plan 1 student loan, and I currently pay off about £230pm from salary. I am in a position to save each month, but given interest rates are rising to 4% for plan 1 loans and I am almost certainly going to pay it off in full, is there any reason *not* to overpay now? + +Edit: thanks so much to everyone who's responded so far. The summary of comments is that there is a split between those saying to pay it off as the psychological benefits are worth it, and those saying not to as the financial security of having accessible savings is worth the negligible difference in interest (esp. as if you do lose your job, you don't need to pay contributions anyway). + +With that in mind I'm going to prioritise my emergency fund for now to get a good 6 months of expenses saved and then start overpaying. This sub is great! +So as the title says, I've recently started making videos on YouTube full-time. Some months I earn £600, others £4k, it varies, but tends to be around £1.5k-£2k a month. + +I have literally no idea on what to do money-wise. + +Am I self-employed? Do I set up a company? Like I say, I really have no idea what I'm doing, just want to make sure it's all taxed correctly / NI / student loan repayments etc. + +I'd appreciate some advice or a point in the right direction to links where I can learn. Thank you in advance. +I apologize if this is too much on the finance side of things, but I've never been able to find a straight answer for this. In my finance class, every method we learned to valuate stocks involved the anticipated dividend. However, stocks like Apple do not pay dividends, nor have they ever. I understand that these stocks continue to go up because demand drives increases in their price, but why does that demand exist? + +It seems to me that the only value in these stocks comes from the assumption that others will value it more, with no concrete reason for these prices to continue to go up. I would appreciate any explanation for this. +Everyone's required to pay 6.2% out of their paycheck to social security. That is until they reach the cap, which this year is $106,800. So if we're going to even start to talk about how the rich get fucked with increased taxes, how about we start with discussing how anyone over that cap already gets a huge tax cut. +I am becoming more and more interested in economics, but it is difficult to find anything that is not specifically oriented towards our most recent economic turmoil. Can anyone recommend a good read that will get me on my way to understanding economic theory? Thanks for your recommendations! + +*edit - Wow, so many responses! I'll take a stab at one or two of these. Thanks to you all for your advice. + +-- + +Subscribers of /r/Economics, + +-- + +Welcome to the /r/Economics open discussion thread. This space is reserved for open discussion and/or questions on research and/or news as it relates to Economics. + +-- + +---- + +-- + +***And with that, enjoy the discussion***: +As a 32 year old guy I have to ask? I don't know a single person in my circle of influence that does. Not surprising since 'investing' in my working lifetime has been a joke. So far all major markets are lower than they were 10 years ago so Wall St. hasn't been a good bet. Even worse if you believe the current market is manipulated and not based on fundamentals. I know I can't just transfer my holdings to physical commodities at all, so that's out of the picture. Every where I turn the media, economists, politicians, and the 'older and wiser' boomers (our ignorant parents and soon to be largest voting block) agree that the future is in emerging markets and seem determined to run the dollar into the ground as they scramble to move their investments to safe havens. So with all that said as gold continues to sky rocket I have to wonder if my demographic is once again being left out of the opportunity and holding the bag? Is there any younger people out there proving my outlook wrong? +I've been looking at historical charts dated for the last 40 years. The current gold price index looks a lot like the peak from the late 70's early 80's before the market for gold stabilized @ around $400 USD. I can't helping thinking I'd rather move my money to [TIPS](http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/products/prod_tips_glance.htm) for a while. Does anyone else have an opinion on this? +I'm 25 and it's always been a goal of mine to be able to take care of my mom in her old age. She's 60 now. I'm an entry level actuary right now making 55k, but fully credentialed I should be make low to mid 100k, perhaps closer to 200k at peak earning years. + +I'm already taking the steps to FIRE as presribed in this community with just me in the picture, but if I'm also planning on providing for my mom. Are there any other considerations to be mindful of? + +My mom lost her professional license due to inactivity, is dicorced, and works under the table for around 15-20 an hour. It's a stressful job amd I don't know how long she can maintain it. Her only asset is a house fully paid for and ~15k in savings. She didn't save this money, rather it's from selling land to the government. She's not in bad health, but not in great health either. + +I'd like to pay for her utilities, taxes, and basic living expenses when she reaches retirement age. Would that be possible by giving her 20k or so a year? There's also insurance amd medical expenses to consider. + +Right now all I've been able to do is give her 100 a month so far. + +Thoughts? +Good article by schwab\*. Seemed to confirm my suspicions that passive investors are serving as a ballast in these turbulent times. The big drops are fueled by algorithmic trading and short-term speculative traders. + +My message: continue to stay the course, fellow FIRE-ees. Yes, it's hard. A few of you may think you "know" that the market is going down over next several months and that you can get out and get back in - **but you don't**. That sort of market-timing mindset is going to make the speculative traders, as a group, lag behind the long-term investors saving for retirement. Yes, there will be winners in the speculative game. There will be a lot more churn in those "winners" than in the group saving long-term. We know this from the over two-hundred year history of US markets. + +Now, I suppose it is possible that we are in a truly unprecedented time. That society will collapse. But if that does happen, there will be no safe-havens anyway. Won't matter if you are long or short, or if you hold equities or bonds. You will need a club. I think it is extremely unlikely that anything of the sort is going to transpire. + +Yes, a lot of people are going to hurt through this time. But we will get through it together. And the long-term mindset is going to be rewarded. These rewards are minted in times exactly like these. + +\* [https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/insights/content/who-fueled-fastest-bear-market-ever](https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/insights/content/who-fueled-fastest-bear-market-ever) +Hi All, + +Need some advice, I have been considering putting less into my 401K due to some financial challenges I am facing. Background I am 27 years old, I make roughly $70K per year and have been putting 20% of my pretax money into the account, I did this couple of years ago because I could afford to do it, now that is becoming challenging, due to the amount of debt I am racking up + with prices going up everywhere. I feel like I should tackle these things first before putting so much money to retirement. Some Finacial info below. + +* I put in 20% which translates to $1000 per month +* I have almost $10,000 in credit card debt (not proud of this just things happened, that forced me to do this) +* $40,000 in student loan debt +* $160,000 mortgage debt, bought a house in 2020. + +I am considering reverting back to my old 401K contribution 5% because my employer matches at that in order to help me tackle this debt, especially my credit card debt. Does this seem like a good idea? Last thing I want to do is take out a loan just to put myself back where I started, + +Let me know, + +Edit: I want to thank everyone for their thoughts on this matter, this definitely gives me a good idea of what I need to do. +Sorry if this isn't formatted correctly. I'm on mobile and very rarely post to reddit. I'm also a bit nervous about putting myself out there. + +I really want and need a job. My education is lacking thanks to previously undiagnosed ADHD. I have a GED and that's it. I don't have a driver's license(it's never going to happen for me.) My job history is very sparse due to me being an idiot throughout my 20s and drinking away the time I should have been working and saving and figuring out who I am. + +Any ideas on how I can fix my resume and make a job application look good despite this? Whenever I fill out an application or hand in my resume, I honestly feel humiliated and like no one will ever want to hire me, labor shortage or not. I've been struggling to get my life together for some time and this is really holding me back. + +Also if anyone has any ideas for earning money from home that would also help me a lot because with my lack of a driver's license and living in a rural area it would be easier. Getting transportation from loved ones is feasible, but I'd like to look at all possibilities. + +Edit: Thanks for all the great advice and encouraging comments and messages! I didn't expect this post to get any attention and I really appreciate the help! I definitely plan on taking some time to do some volunteer work to help build my resume and hopefully gain some skills while I decide on something to get certified in. There were a few suggestions on that I am going to mull over. I was feeling pretty down when I posted this and you all really came through with great advice and encouragement. +You liked that spike this morning, right? It was fun, right? How did you feel about the shorting walk down from that beautiful spike? You must have enjoyed it! Cause they are using YOUR shares to beat down the price. YOUR shares that you haven't taken from their grimey, cheating, nasty ass hands. YOU are giving them the ammo to short. Rest on that. The catalyst is you. You want change in the market, take it upon yourself to start that change. We can't yell CRIME every time the hedge fucks do their bullshit, then look away and do nothing about it. DRS your shares!!!! I want to show those fuckers that they aren't going to hold hostage WS and us peon people any more. How about you? +Well it would appear everyone’s favorite/least favorite company will **NOT BE GOING BANKRUPT**. + +With that said, a run up sure looks extremely promising. + +**For added pressure, this is also not BBBY’s special EOM announcement-nor have RC’s selling motives been made publicly clear.** 👀🤔 + +I think this positive news clearing all the FUD in the air of BBBY going bankrupt has the possibility of carrying some very real momentum that it’s been lacking in the following days. Seems obvious to the majority of us, that most uneasy apes pulled out *only* because they were afraid bankruptcy was almost imminent when RC sold (dick riding the billionaire) & that was a risk some weren’t going to take. 🐑 + +*(Pretty positive a majority of us if-not all of us, weren’t investing for BBBY’s remarkable balance sheets anyways, but that’s an entirely different story people have quickly forgotten.)* 🤡🌈🐻 + +You all must’ve forgotten what had happened to GME shortly after Michael Burry sold his shares, far too soon. Well welcome to Wallstreetbets- Everyone reacted how they did with RC selling his BBBY shares, they had all assumed that was the end of GME, that it HAD to be going bankrupt. Well guess what? It FUCKING moon’d okay, and it was all people talked about for weeks, years, to this day. Made not only money-hungry Michael Burry look foolish, but every single paper-hand who sold at a loss foolish aswell. 🤷‍♂️ + +Now that’s cleared up-all you regards can stop fighting about whose right & whose wrong. + +**One thing we can all agree on however is: if you’re playing any side of BBBY, you got massive balls.** 🍉 + +With a loan close to half a *billion* dollars, with another $150m+ cash on hand, and *maybe* even possible RC + CFO sale proceeds? BBBY now has PLENTY more time & breathing room. They’ve also currently been selling/sold real estate to acquire more funds while actively looking for a buyer for their other spin off company-Buybuy Baby, which by the way, has a whopping estimated value of 1.5 *billion* dollars (Ryan Cohen?GMErica?Dragonfly?) Desperately needing money in the near future does not seem to be an issue for BBBY no longer. Maybe some greater turn around plan is in the works after all. 🧠💰 + +So wait wait wait…the firm they hired, **KIRLAND & ELLIS,** (whose been helping companies since 1909) will NOT be used for bankruptcy as we had thought? Maybe they hired them for something else such as, **restructuring** and **rebuilding** their brand and finances? + +**Balance sheets alone did not give this company over a billion trading volume in just a few days, remember this apes**. ⚠️ + +Finances and balance sheets aside, because those never really quite mattered for a squeeze. SI is STILL absolutely sky high on this company-especially with all the (now) false FUD/puts in the last week. Bed Bath & Beyond is still one of the most heavily shorted stocks on Wall Street, just about time again to make all those short sellers repurchase their shares and drive this BBBY up further. Officially not going bankrupt and with 1500+ new jobs *currently* listed. OPEX + REG-SHO & at an already impressive 67.31% discount, paired with the current attention BBBY has amongst the media and apes, things are looking *very* interesting. Only time will tell if another, more revengeful, squeeze will be sqoozed. 🚀 + +Regardless if you’re bullish or bearish on BBBY, you have to admit amongst a sea of bad news, this is **GOOD & reassuring** news for the company & it’s shareholders. ✅ + +BBBY’s major sell off/Dip to FUD and RC selling has already happened, so what’s logically next, a possible correction upwards? what other terrible news could even be left? Realistically one of the worst things to drive a stocks price down would be immediate bankruptcy, which is now ruled out. Who doesn’t own 10% of the company to dump anymore? What company is no longer going bankrupt? It sure seems like the major bear hypothesis is gone & now there should be way more buying pressure with way less risk. -20% or +1000% I personally like the sound of those ratios. 🍀 + +**TDLR; BBBY will *not* be fighting bankruptcy in the coming months & will now have cash on hand for a *possible* turn around.** + +What’s everyone’s thoughts & opinions for a continued squeeze/bull case? + +Read the publishing for yourself below~⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ + +[https://www.wsj.com/articles/bed-bath-beyond-clinches-loan-deal-11661301078](https://www.wsj.com/articles/bed-bath-beyond-clinches-loan-deal-11661301078) +⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️ + +**SQUEEZE PART 2 INCOMING?** ⏰ + +**DID RYAN PAPER-HANDS COHEN SELL TOO EARLY?** + +**WE’RE STILL GETTING WATERMELONS!?!?** 🍉🍉🍉 + +#Edit 1: HOLY MOLY! BBBY IS CURRENTLY UP 20% IN THE GERMAN PRE-MARKET 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 + +#EDIT 2: HOLY MOLY GUACAMOLE! BBBY IS CURRENTLY UP 40% IN US PRE-MARKET🍉🥳🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 +I don't think I need to explain all over again why Tether (USDT) is the shittiest of all stablecoins. It's not backed-up by cash or cash equivalent, it operates as a unregulated money printing machine and the company behind it [hasn't even answered to basic questions](https://tokenist.com/tether-didnt-even-show-up-to-cryptos-biggest-regulatory-hearing-yet/) from the US Congress, which sounds shady as fuck. + +But here's a good news : **Tether dominance in the stablecoins market is free-falling**! + +Exactly a year ago, Tether amounted to about 75% of this market. This ratio has now fallen below 50%, and [currently sits around 48.69%](https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories/stablecoins). That means that more and more people are using more solid stables, such as USDC, Dai or UST, to buy or sell tokens. + +Why is this important for the ecosystem? Because if Tether maintains a high dominance and crashes, as it will inevitably do, most trading pairs will become illiquid, and that would create a panic and a "bank run" from investors trying to cash out their USDT. This scenario wouldn't be possible with more solid stables, because they have an actual working mechanism for those who want to redeem their deposits. + +Let's make 2022 the year we finally leave Tether behind! +Right now, proof-of-stakes networks are becoming more and more centralized, because the \*\*same validators\*\* are validating transactions in multiple different blockchains. This has been happening for quite a while, but lately, it's becoming.... weird. + +&#x200B; + +Let me show you guys a few examples: + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +**1.Figment validator** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/bo8ol9szbdd81.png?width=352&format=png&auto=webp&s=77312932396482b80cb81e60bd35989c7c41dd87 + +https://preview.redd.it/uewi85u1cdd81.png?width=322&format=png&auto=webp&s=762c470a1f455351668b5b5991c076d805fa5957 + +**2. stakefish** + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/5mei1yh2ddd81.png?width=387&format=png&auto=webp&s=985e779c6d6c00f9e60c7c923603788d463cd095 + +&#x200B; + +**3. Polkachu** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/wr720uk9edd81.png?width=1230&format=png&auto=webp&s=7f145d49e88efa64780c96117b363577b889a6f3 + +&#x200B; + +**4. Everstake** + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/dk7tdm2yedd81.png?width=583&format=png&auto=webp&s=0b3bd897e8b4eba173d79b206a9f3ce7fe99697f + +**5. Forbole** + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/qsezgv4ggdd81.png?width=480&format=png&auto=webp&s=9c88d08752dada4f0c78bce601d26928bc88e986 + +**6. Infstones** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/5koe8d0midd81.png?width=1101&format=png&auto=webp&s=59aab784aa27bdd28da1bdd61916c5b726cc2883 + +**7. Stakely** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/n32yq632jdd81.png?width=499&format=png&auto=webp&s=780194194112a69e7513dba85b06a1bb1d08ce3d + +&#x200B; + +**8. Staked us** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/oel9ismyjdd81.png?width=1055&format=png&auto=webp&s=3170ab709f024487eccc08b09c0d5be421ad04f4 + +https://preview.redd.it/3ytupqh3kdd81.png?width=804&format=png&auto=webp&s=aa43879633b3d31d807178c3008fe06516794ae2 + +https://preview.redd.it/vjdg59k4kdd81.png?width=739&format=png&auto=webp&s=becf1bea15a4fedd0dec15380b6c6a820b476ebd + +https://preview.redd.it/g9zokhr5kdd81.png?width=747&format=png&auto=webp&s=46fc3bd51e8f0a87d5db5e79c177a085464f05ba + +**Are you guys following the pattern ?** + +Right now proof-of-stake is becoming more and more centralized, not the blockchains itself, but the validators. The **same validators** are validating across multiple different networks - and it makes sense, after all, they can have dedicated hardware/marketing team/etc just to do that, and honestly, probably it is extremely profitable. + +And it creates one huge problem: + +**We became dependent of a few set of people/companies that are validating transactions across multiple blockchains** + +And why is that a problem ? Well, first off, it becomes more and more a system we need to trust. A secondly, it stops being \*\*censorship resistant\*\*. You see, if govs across the world just wanted to delete bitcoin or monero from existence, they couldn't. They would be able to tank the price, probably, but they wouldn't have that much of an effect, because it would be very hard to keep looking for miners across the world, if not impossible. + +But validators... it should be decentralized, but it is not. You can easily see where most of these people live and honestly, you can easily track basically all the validators of a network from their websites, specially governments. It becomes so much easier from governments to become able to interfere with the blockchain and, just like that, **the censhorship resistance aspect of the blockchain technology no longer exists.** + +I know you wouldn't be able to just "delete" the blockchain by going after the validators. But you could have so much impact in basically.... **all proof-of-stake blockchains by doing so.** + +Anyways, english is not my first language, so i'm sorry for any grammar mistakes.I just wanted to share this with you guys and get some opinions on it. +My sister and I are just starting to talk about possibly pooling our deposits together to buy a place, to enter the property market quicker. We'll probably be treating it as investment property, but also as a place we can both live if the shit ever hits the fan. + +I'm aware of all the obvious pitfalls that come with co-investing, but would love to hear any thoughts or stories at all. TIA! +Similar to the 'Budget Repair Levy' that was legislated in prior years that was taxed on the highest tax bracket. + +By the looks of how much stimulus is being piped into the economy I don't see why 5% would be unimaginable. +While you can get fixed for short-term (1-7 years) mortgage products in Australia are always variable over the 30 year period. Why? + +From a financial solvency perspective it makes very little sense. While you can approve an applicant for a mortgage with rates at 3%, they may be far less solvent if rates were to rise to 7% in 15 years time. + +It seems from a regulator's perspective, and even an investor's perspective, these products are far riskier than the alternative. + +Why do Australian banks not offer fixed 15/20/30 year mortgages like their American counterparts? +The user Hakim619 on LBC bought $4500 worth of bitcoins from me. He went to a Bank of America branch and deposited the cash. He sent me a copy of the receipt and I then checked online to confirm. Everything seemed to be in order so I went ahead and released the coins. Shortly after I released the coins Hakim619 asked the teller for the money back and he got it. BoA and most other banks have a policy where you can get the cash deposit back if it's the same day and you still have the receipt. They say the reason for this is encase you made a mistake on the deposit. I got the same response from two different branches and the person I was working the dispute case with. + +***UPDATE*** + +I went in to a local Bank of America branch this morning and put $100 cash into my account using only my checking account number. The tellers did not know who I was and didn't ask for any other information. Later in the afternoon I went back to the branch to try to see if I could reverse the cash deposit. I went to a different teller this time and asked for the $100 that I deposited back. I gave them the receipt and told them I think I put it in a wrong account. No questions were asked and the teller started to process my request. In a few minutes I had the $100 and the teller kept the deposit receipt. + +At this point I asked to speak with the branch manager. I explained what I just did and the manager was very surprised that the teller did that. I was told that the teller shouldn't have done that. I then went on to explain how the same thing was just pulled on me and I lost $4500 because of it. She was very took back about what I said and right away started to help me get my funds back. + +The first policy that she looked up was very vague on whether or not a cash deposit reversal was allowed by a non-account holder. She thought that was odd since everything dealing with money handling is very explicit. She then spent the next two hours calling case workers, fraud handlers, branch managers, and regional managers. +At some point around the two hour mark while the branch manager was on hold she decided to look up policy in a different spot. In about 30 minutes she was able to find a section that describes exactly what the teller is supposed to do when dealing with cash deposits. + +There is a line in that section that states that after the cash has been added to the account holders account it can not be taken out with out permission from the account holder. BINGO! We now have written policy that states that the teller was not supposed to do this. + +It is now about 4pm and this bank manager is calling people like crazy to try to get my money back. At one point she has three lines open with people on hold that are dealing with my case. + +At about 5:45pm she says it would probably be best for me to head home and she will keep working on it. At this point I feel good about getting my money back but i'm still worried it might not happen. +At 6:30pm I get a call from her saying that the full amount has been deposited into my account. + +TL;DR + +It's pretty easy to get a cash deposit reversed + +but...BoA isn't supposed to do a cash reversal with out the owners permission. + +I got my money back. +Payable March 23; for shareholders of record March 9; ex-div March 8 + +I have 3/19 CSP on RKT with strike of $19. The stock price had increased by about $2 after the announcement. + +What can I expect to happen after the ex div date? Stock price came back down by the dividend amount? IV crush? + +Should I hold my CSP before March 8? Currently worth 50% of max premium +Hi All, + +I have seen this stock in a recommended list many many times with its current high dividend yield. I looked into it twice and shied away both times. I'm curious as to why it's considered a good buy with so much debt. Their current liabilities is almost twice as much as their current assets, and their long-term debt is also twice as much as their equity (with goodwill and intangible subtracted). + +I talked to two of my friends (we all just started investing), and they think perhaps it's because Enbridge is almost like a monopoly, and that with lots of plants and stuff, it's inevitable that they have such huge debt. + +Is this normal for the energy sector? Or is there something makes them great that I don't know? Thank you for your time reading and I look forward to any insight! +Being a new investor I have not experienced a market correction/crash of any kind however, I would like to start edging towards some sort of correction or pull back of the markets in the near/medium term. + +I looked at some gold ETFs to add however I also been thinking of short ETFs. + +So here is a couple of 🇨🇦 &🇺🇲 Short ETFs I'm looking at towards adding 2 or 3 to my portfolio + +HIX - TXS 60 large cap Daily inverse + +HIU - S&P 500 Daily inverse + +HSD - S&P 500 X2 Daily Bear + +RWM - Short Russell 2000 small cap US companies + +SRS - Ultra Short real star X2 US + +HED - TXS Capped energy X2 daily bear +(As much as oil has been going up, I think at the ETFs price right now it wouldn't be a bad investment as Oil prices could retract at any moment with an OPEC anoucement or similar situation) + +Again new investor, so feel free to share any thoughts or any other recommendations. + + +Tks👍🏼 +It's been a heck of a December and as someone in their first couple years of investing, it's big ol pill to swallow. + +I've got a fairly diverse, CCP-like group of holdings and I've been on the sidelines for a couple months. + +Average down on something like TD or BMO? + +They're too big to fail and 2025 me would probably appreciate having gotten in at a smokin price. + +Thoughts? +I only own stocks/ETFs and have never owned any bonds. When people say bonds are low, are they referring to the yield? Or the cost of buying the bonds? (…or both?) + +I keep hearing bonds are not doing great right now…like stocks, does this mean it’s a good time to buy and add bonds to my portfolio? + +Also, what are the benefits to buying Canadian bonds? Is there a certain account I’d want to put them in? (TFSA, RRSP, Margin?) + +Thanks and sorry for the total noob question! +Rebalancing your portfolio involves selling part of the positions that have risen over time and using the money to buy other positions that have either fallen or remained around even. This “re-balancing” lowers the risk of having too much money in one single stock or ETF and ensures your portfolio is diversified across all positions. + +And we have a tool that makes rebalancing easy: Passiv. + +Passiv links to your Questrade account, monitors when your portfolio needs to be rebalanced and notifies you. + +With Passiv, you can: + +* Set target allocations for every security in your portfolio + +* Receive notifications when dividends or cash contributions arrive in your account + +* Rebalance or allocate cash with one-click trading + +* Exclude stocks from your allocations, so you can rebalance the securities you want while leaving your other positions intact +We all know the mantra of buying low and selling high, but when we're hitting record highs every day, what's the course of action? If you're a long term investor, do you keep buying despite the highs, hoping that today's highs will be next year's lows? I find myself not buying much of anything at the moment because I bought so low not long ago. Thoughts? +My expectations are to buy VCN and hold for 10 years with DRIP. My assumption is that Canadian equity will pay approximately 9% annualized average rate of return over the next 10 years. With this long duration, I believe it's rational +This should be a huge black eye for this company - even me, a nobody sitting in Canada, understood how protectionist and difficult the French government is with foreign takeovers, *especially* with such a large, well known entity (like Carrefour). Couche-tard didn't know they'd be facing this resistance, and now they're abandoning their efforts already? Utterly embarrassing IMO. + +Now we shall see if the stock rebounds to where it was pre-announcement (I bet not) + +* * * + +Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. and Carrefour SA broke off talks on a proposed US$20 billion deal in the face of strong opposition from France’s finance minister to the tie-up, according to people familiar with the matter. + +The decision to halt negotiations came after top executives of the Quebec-based convenience-store operator flew to Paris to offer the government several sweeteners: billions of euros of investment in Carrefour stores, no job cuts for at least two years and dual stock listings in France and Canada. + +It was not enough to persuade Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who told executives in a private meeting Friday he was standing by his position that a takeover would be bad for France. Earlier, Le Maire said on BFM TV: “To sum up: it’s a no. A courteous no, but a no that is clear and definitive.” + +Couche-Tard executives are flying back to Canada after the failed talks, the people said. While discussions are on ice for now, they could be revived later if the government changes its position, they said. + +Representatives from Carrefour and Couche-Tard did not immediately reply to requests for comment. The decision to stop negotiations was reported first by Reuters. + +A merger would have created a retail powerhouse, combining Couche-Tard’s North America-focused network of 14,200 convenience stores with Carrefour’s sizable European operations, which include hypermarkets and smaller outlets. Carrefour has more than 7,000 convenience stores and gets almost all of its revenue from Europe and Latin America. + +Couche-Tard, Canada’s largest retailer by market value, faced hurdles from the outset for its offer of 20 euros per share. Le Maire signaled that even if both parties agreed to the transaction, regulators might still block it. Carrefour shares fell 2.9 per cent to 16.61 euros in Paris on Friday. Couche-Tard rose 4.8 per cent to $37.98 in Toronto. + +Political Implications + +For French President Emmanuel Macron, the political stakes are high with local elections later this year and presidential ones in 2022. The campaign is already on, with his handling of the pandemic making him open to criticism. The loss of a well-known French company to a foreign takeover could fuel nationalist Marine Le Pen, his primary rival for leadership. + +France has often objected to foreign attempts to take over its blue-chip companies -- frowning on talk of an approach from PepsiCo Inc. to yogurt maker Danone SA in 2005, for example. + +The bid for Carrefour was especially sensitive because it is France’s largest private employer. On top of that, the pandemic has thrust jobs and the nation’s food supply to the top of the political agenda. + +Some Couche-Tard analysts had questioned the deal’s strategic rationale and said it wouldn’t create significant cost savings as there’s little overlap between the two companies’ store networks. Both retailers’ bonds had slipped on concerns that the deal would swell the combined company’s debt burden. + +The brutal ending marks the second time in nine months that Couche-Tard has come close to a major takeover, only to see it fizzle out. + +In April, the company cited the pandemic as a reason for walking away from a US$5.6 billion proposal for gas station chain Caltex Australia Ltd. (now known as Ampol Ltd.), ending a six-month pursuit. Its largest acquisition to date is Texas-based CST Brands Inc., a rival chain it agreed to buy in 2016 for about US$4 billion. + +https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/couche-tard-and-carrefour-said-to-abandon-takeover-talks-1.1549409 +Do you glance at the company's chart and P/E ratio or do you find yourself poring over their financials and 10k? + +I've been trying to hone in on things like revenue growth, gross margin, and shares outstanding, but I'm curious what process has worked for others. I suppose the best process done inconsistently is always going to lose to an average process done well? +Hey Guys, + +I am very new when it comes to investing and 2019 is the year that I'm going to really ramp up this part of my life. I've read the book, "Millionaire Next Door" recently and I am around 90% done reading "Millionaire Teacher". These books provide a compelling argument that essentially a CCP-like portfolio model of investing in total stock market & bond market index funds is the best way to invest in the long run if your goal is to accumulate wealth. Are there any downfalls or gotchas with this method? The statistics these books provide seem to give a solid argument. Is speculation a luck-based game in which variance will kill long-term growth/profits more often than not? +I want to add telecom in my portfolio for long term investment, but I am having a hard time choosing between the two. Which one would be better for long term? +There's a massive shortage of industrial space right now in Canada. Any idea as to why DIR.UN and GRT.UN are down so much recently? I would think they would be less impacted by interest rate hikes than residential reits. There is so much demand for industrial/logistics spaces right now, specifically in Canada, due to supply chain issues. Industrial REITs are beated up bad for some reason. Europe maybe? +Being a new investor I have not experienced a market correction/crash of any kind however, I would like to start edging towards some sort of correction or pull back of the markets in the near/medium term. + +I looked at some gold ETFs to add however I also been thinking of short ETFs. + +So here is a couple of 🇨🇦 &🇺🇲 Short ETFs I'm looking at towards adding 2 or 3 to my portfolio + +HIX - TXS 60 large cap Daily inverse + +HIU - S&P 500 Daily inverse + +HSD - S&P 500 X2 Daily Bear + +RWM - Short Russell 2000 small cap US companies + +SRS - Ultra Short real star X2 US + +HED - TXS Capped energy X2 daily bear +(As much as oil has been going up, I think at the ETFs price right now it wouldn't be a bad investment as Oil prices could retract at any moment with an OPEC anoucement or similar situation) + +Again new investor, so feel free to share any thoughts or any other recommendations. + + +Tks👍🏼 +So were looking into helping my father in law properly invest his rrsp. He makes alot of money but he is poorly set up for retirement. He has about 100k in his rrsp that is invested as "safely" as possible and I dont really think it grows much, if at all. I'd like to help him properly invest it for growth.. but also maybe have some decent safe dividend returns so he can boost his monthly income equivalent to a couple hundred bucks a month maybe. Any suggestions? I pretty much swing trade so this isnt my forte, although I think with some opinions on some decent stocks I can figure out a decent plan for him, especially one that's much better than what hes doing now. Thanks! +Crayons: +[https://imgur.com/a/MKYqgeZ](https://imgur.com/a/MKYqgeZ) + +I was looking at the spy chart last night try to make sense of levels - and a series of double bottoms jumped out me on the daily chart, so I googled the dates - and they all align to negative stimulus news. + +Examples: no second stimulus yet, stimulus pushed back, stimulus talks delayed etc. etc. + +So this market sell off - in my opinion (not advice, just speculation) - is yet another instance of fake out/chop before the next leg up on Spy. + +Now that we have stimulus: +[https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/stimulus-update-us-relief-bill-03-06-21/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/stimulus-update-us-relief-bill-03-06-21/index.html) + +I anticipate market go uppies: + +TLDR: +Stimulus = Printing of money = debt = lower yields. +Fed put the ball in senates court by not introducing yield control - but rates should drop as free money becomes more available. +Look up different options. College, community college, trade school, military and so on. See what will work best for you. + +Start a fun spending fund and an emergency fund. Even if both are $5 every month. Saving money back early is needed. + +See different health insurance, car insurance, internet providers and so on. See what ones work for you. You are allowed to change them. + +Apply for financial help, even if you don't think you qualify. Too often people do qualify but they think that they don't. + +You don't have to keep buying the newest thing. Look at used items, look at yard sales, thrift shops, second hand stores, etc. Use coupons more often, see when grocery stores have their deals, see what grocery stores are the cheapest in your area, etc. + +See what bills you need and what ones you don't. Do you need your cable bill or can you get a Roku or a similar device? Cutting the cord can be one less bill you have to worry about. Can you get rid of your home phone and just use your cell phone? And so on. + +Learn to cook if you don't know how. Eating out can get expensive. You don't need expensive cooking equipment at first, cheap stuff can work just as well when you're first starting out. + +If you're a student use your student discounts. You can often get discounts for groceries, the movie theater and so on. Places often won't promote the idea of student discounts, so you will often have to research what your student discounts will let you do at different places. If you have certain health insurance that has special benefits and discounts, don't be afraid to use them. + +Libraries offer free entertainment. Use their computers, their DVD's, their CD's and their books. + +Sometimes museums, zoos and the like will have a free day. So keep an eye out for those. Go to the park to take walks, jog, etc. + +You can buy fun inexpensive stuff: Board games tend to cost anywhere from $13 to $20, you can get a dart board for $20-$25. You can get corn hole for $20. A yoga mat for $20 or less. You can buy inexpensive exercise equipment, Cards for $7 or less, etc. Of course, it depends on where you live, some things might be more expensive, but you get the general idea of it, that you can buy fun inexpensive stuff. + +Don't get the first vehicle that seems amazing. Search around, research different prices and from different years. It might not be the brand you want, or from the year you want it to be, but it can still be a good vehicle as long as you take proper care of it. + +Get your own tools. Nothing fancy is needed. Learning how to do simple fixings can help you save money in the long run. +You have probably seen a bunch of posts that share their experience changing from plan to Book in their Computershare accounts. + + +Here are a few: +\-[Plan and Book are not the same](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/zvbzau/plan_and_book_are_not_the_same_book_is_king/) + +\-[...Change shares to Book](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/zw0tnn/reminder_everyone_change_shares_holdings_to_book/) + +\-[Ryan Cohen is the Book King](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/zv6zwz/ryan_cohen_is_the_book_king/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) + +\- [Plan v.s Book](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/zscizw/laying_the_dspp_plan_vs_book_debate_to_rest/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) + +&#x200B; + +You might notice a pattern on pretty much every pro book post....a comment gets pinned: + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/wmqt21bl5h8a1.jpg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84813df2b7ed0a1c6a9c0a6ac833ad0a54a143b8 + +But on posts that say "book and plan are the same" in a round about way do NOT get this message. Few examples: + +\- [The Creation of GME Class A Common](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/zw73mu/the_creation_of_gme_class_a_common_shares/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) + +\- [Fractionals are safe](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/zvss42/all_plan_shares_including_fractionals_are_safe_in/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) + +&#x200B; + +Now, I am just one person in this community but it seems like there is some sort of "agenda" to prevent apes from switching from Plan to Book. + +I made a post asking if the community should be making the decision if those pinned posts should be put on almost every pro book posts. It got immediately removed accusing that the pro book people have an agenda. Yet, "book and plan is the same" posts don't get neutral informed pinned comments. + +https://preview.redd.it/h3hk8yd87h8a1.jpg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e2ffd72cb330866df6de04ac8f5234a757281925 + +Just wondering if this can be discussed as a community instead of having it buried in mail and not even replied too. How is "Pro book" an agenda? + +This is not opinion. It is mathematical fact. There is really no way around it as long as we make two assumptions. +1.) There will be a maximum of 21,000,000 BTC ever. If there is less (which there is) this only proves my point further. 2.) The population of earth stays at 7,700,000,000 or increases. If the population were to decrease then my numbers would be off a little but it will still hold true. +With those assumptions, the fact is that if you own 0.25 BTC now or in the future... that you own more Bitcoin than 99% of the world. +This is not arguable. There are a maximum of 21,000,000 coins so let’s pretend they are all available. None are lost or in Satoshi’s wallets. +21,000,000 / 0.25 BTC = 84,000,000 +That means there are 84,000,000 segments of 0.25 BTC available. +84,000,000 / 7,700,000,000 = 0.010901 +So as long as you own 0.25 BTC you own more bitcoin than 99% of the world. You are in the top 1%! +And in reality, we know that only 18.5m have been released. And 1m is in Satoshi’s wallets and they say 3m has been lost. If that’s the case then lower the 21,000,000 to 14.5 million and you would only need own 0.20 BTC to have more than 99% of the world. +Again, there is no getting around this. It is fact. It doesn’t matter if 1 person had the other 20,999,999.75 bitcoins. Your 0.25 BTC means you own more than 99% of the world. You would not necessarily be in the top 1% of bitcoin holders. You simply own more than 99% of the world. It is impossible for you to fall out of that number if you have a quarter bitcoin. +0.25 and HODL + +If you have 0.25 BTC at the moment, you have the equivalent of 8000$ in a savings account. +The average American has about $4,500 in savings. +By 2026, BTC will likely be over $100,000, putting that 0.25 BTC at $25,000. +So, long before all the Bitcoins are mined (around 2140), that small amount of BTC (0.25) will exceed most American savings by factors of 10 or 100. +By 2031 (about 10 years away), you'll likely have a comfortable nest egg for retirement ($250,000), assuming you own your own home, have a good 401k retirement plan and medical coverage. +If you have 0.25 BTC, you're a very lucky person. But don't let it go to your head. Live modestly, eat healthy and keep fit. +No one enjoys regular visits to the hospital, even if the doctor is a nubile blonde who does amazing things with her glove. + +According to markets research. “ The cryptocurrency market, this market was valued at USD 541.0 Million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD 2,902.0 Million by 2023, at a CAGR of 32.31% between 2017 and 2023. The cryptocurrency market is witnessing significant growth because of the benefits of compliance-free peer-to-peer transaction, cross-border remittance transfer, and increase in use cases, as well as some macro drivers such as volatility in the stock market and fluctuating monetary regulations in different countries. The growth of the cryptocurrency market is further propelled by the transparency and immutability of the distributed ledger technology and benefits such as faster transaction and reduction in total ownership cost.” +This clearly indicates that the various benefits of cryptocurrencies coupled with the fact that it acts as insurance against national economic failure has helped it find many takers. It would not be far-fetched to see cryptos fast becoming the currency of choice in 2030 as it epitomizes personal freedom. + +https://twitter.com/0xbitdani?s=11 +Hi all, so in my country the capital city is targeting to triple the population in the coming years and yes “I can see it happening” in a fast base. + +I would like to take the opportunity and start investing in the stock market for a long term. + +Imagine a small city is growing, what do you think people will need in the future, what products or services will have high demand over the next years? + +What sectors will grow as population growing? I’m thinking about health sector that’s a need what else can you think of? + +Thank you so much. +I’ve had a Betterment account for about 2 years now and my allocation was 90% stocks 10% bonds for the most part. +I just made an Ellevest account which made my allocation 55% stocks 44% bonds 1% alternatives. + +Im 25yo and my goal is to retire earlier than 65. +Any thoughts on allocation and best investing apps? +I have never posted on reddit before and I don’t even know if this is the correct subreddit but I am feeling completely alone. I’m a 22 F currently full time in college working 30-40 hours a week and am having trouble breaking even. + +Whenever I try to go to any of my friends or family about it they go “well that’s what they were talking about when they said college kids eat ramen noodles every day.” Or “well all college kids are poor.” + +Are all college students having to apply for food stamps because they have to choose between gas to get to work and feeding themselves? Are they working 30-40 hour overnights to be able to afford rent and gas and a car to put that gas in, while also being enrolled in 17 credits? + +I grew up slightly above the poverty line and my family struggled with bills and paying for food for all of us. I took time off of school after high school to save up to be able to afford a car and an apartment (sharing it with 3 strangers) in a city an hour away from my home town. + +I haven’t stopped working since I was 15 years old and could begin working. I am currently working at an emotionally exhausting emergency veterinary hospital anywhere from 2-4 nights a week. I usually work Saturdays and Sundays so I can go to class during the week and focus on school. I have had to pick 1-2 extra shifts up at work during the week because I cannot afford my bills without it and my grades see it. + +I feel like I am drowning and there is no escape. I budgeted and I still don’t have enough money monthly. I canceled any subscriptions I had, I’ve been trying to shop at cheaper grocery stores like Aldi and have stopped spending any extra money on fast food or useless things. I don’t know what else I can do. I cant afford to work full time while being in school but it’s looking like I might have to. + +I’m so afraid I’m not going to be able to achieve my dream of going to vet school because I had to worry about whether or not I could afford to feed myself during undergrad. + +I don’t know how to stop feeling bad about myself being poor and to stop being angry at others who have more than I. + +Any advice appreciated. +Hey guys, just wanted to share what I’m doing to set myself up. I’m betting it all on Bitcoin. + +I’m getting my CDL next month and will start trucking full time and use my income to only buy Bitcoin (and pay a car note). I’m young and have no responsibilities so I’m taking this risk. + +I’m leaving school, leaving my gf, leaving family behind. I’ll be on the road 24/7, I need to stack as much as possible. HODL strong boys 💪 +So I've almost made it. I've been very fortunate. Here's my story. I'm 36 and spent the last ten years working as a lawyer. During that time, I lived frugally, invested well, and was paid more than I deserved. It was always my plan to live cheap, save a lot, make a lot, and retire early, before I ever heard of "financial independence." I never planned on working past the age of 45 or even 40. This year, I feel like I will be there. Sometime around the middle of this year, my investments will be at about $3 million, nearly all held in stock index funds. I have little doubt that I can live on that indefinitely at a 3.5% withdrawal rate. + +But am I crazy for quitting now? I'm in the fortunate position of making more money now than ever. If I hang on for another year, I could probably be at $3.5 or $4 million, assuming the market doesn't crash. If I work for two or three more years, I would likely hit $5 million in savings. If I quit now and later decide to go back to work in a few years, my current job will not take me back. I would probably be able to get work as a lawyer paying about 1/4 to 1/3 of my current pay. But I hate my job. Lawyering is a pathological profession. + +So, am I crazy for quitting now, when I could increase my nest egg significantly if I just hang on another year or two? I need a sanity check. +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +There were a lot of comments requesting more details on the methods I used to train the [AI](https://preview.redd.it/z0ozu0erlvu61.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd8729045defc6bfc4c330fe160770fd70df4a82) discussed in [my recent DD post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/mvdgf5/the_naked_shorting_scam_in_numbers_ai_detection/) . Here I will provide all the key details and also discuss some of the potential challenges and biases with the approach. I'll try to make it as approachable as possible for anyone interested. + +# The problem + +One way that a naked short seller can 'resolve' their FTDs without actually covering is through options fuckery. Deep in-the-money (ITM) calls can be bought and exercised immediately to acquire the shares and close the FTDs. [The SEC published a paper on this ILLEAGAL practice](https://www.sec.gov/about/offices/ocie/options-trading-risk-alert.pdf). Read this paper if we really want to understand how these tricks are used by shorts. + +[Other great DD has been posted showing when Deep ITM volumes have been used to cover FTDs](https://www.reddit.com/r/GME/comments/mhv22h/the_si_is_fake_i_found_44000000_million_shorts/). + +I will focus on some of the work by u/dejf2 but a number of other apes have been checking and reporting back on weird deep call volumes. Here is an example from u/dejf2: + +&#x200B; + +[APR16 12C - 24052 contracts traded while Open Interest changes by 3 - between FEB 25 and MAR 12, or 2.405m FTDs reset.](https://preview.redd.it/scrfet02ivu61.png?width=652&format=png&auto=webp&s=46357942e3ddde4e070a9094133bd0c77e5afae5) + +This is one hallmark of fucky options trading. Volumes way way larger than open interest and very little increase in open interest. + +>BuT bRoCCaAa tHeSE cOulD bE fRom noRmAL tRAdInG oR arBItraGe! + +Do you really think the same 500 contracts changed hands an average of 48 times in just over a week when there was zero volume on previous days? And then if new contracts were bought can you explain why not a single one of these contracts was held longer than a day? + +Neither of these explanations make sense of this. The activity in this example was on strike prices that are more than 90% lower than current GME price. + +Also look at Mar 11. 1 trade made of 1350 contracts with an open interest of only 533 and not a single increase in open contracts the following day. The same is seen on March 4th. + +Take a look at more of u/dejf2's posts to understand his findings and how he identified deep call fuckery. + +# What is an AI and why do I need it? + +When people talk about AI they are really talking about machine learning. It doesn't matter if they're Google translating all the world languages. Or DeepMind (also owned by Google) training a machine to learn how to play chess or GO and beat the best players in the world. All of these methods come under the umbrella of machine learning. So what is it? + +https://preview.redd.it/z0ozu0erlvu61.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd8729045defc6bfc4c330fe160770fd70df4a82 + +Machine learning combines statistical modelling and computer science advances into a framework that allows algorithms to learn from past events (often labelled data) and then predict future observations. + +Many type of machine learning algorithms and approaches exist. A common distinction is between [classification versus regression](https://machinelearningmastery.com/classification-versus-regression-in-machine-learning/). Identifying cases of Deep ITM options fuckery falls under the classification set of problems. + +The main reasons for wanting to build a classifier rather than label everything myself are as follows: + +1. Once trained the classifier can label further data instantly +2. Given a good enough training dataset future labelling will not have the problem of human error when distracted or going through thousands of rows of data +3. The ability of the classifier to train and then be tested on unseen data provides a way to sanity check the labelling scheme used - if an inconsistent labelling was performed then model performance will be poor. + +# A method for classifiying Deep ITM call fuckery + +I want to state this very clearly at the start. The goal when building this model was not to create the bestest most amazing of all classifiers ever. I wanted something useful. Something reliable. Something interpretable. And also something quick because I'm not spending all my time squeezing an extra 1-2% accuracy out of a model that is already useful. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/0zefhqblpvu61.jpg?width=850&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=320d2ee18aa4d638c8a73eb82338ddb0b9fcd40c + +Here are the main steps required to train a classifier: + +1. **Get data**: Gather historical options data with as much granularity as possible (I got end of day data for all strike and expiry's) +2. **Select training data**: Select a representative subset of the data to be used for training the model +3. **Hand label the selected data**: 1 for suspected fuckery; 0 for normal or uncertain trading. +4. **Examine biases**: Once labelled it is important to check for things like imbalances in the dataset (e.g. fewer fuckery examples to normal examples). +5. **Develop features**: This is the secret sauce. After all the experience you gained while labelling the data try to create features that capture the key criteria used to make the label. Make sure you develop other features that could model other potential biases (e.g. strike-price to share-price ratio). +6. **Split data**: Divide the data into training and test sets ([I am not using a validation set](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Training,_validation,_and_test_sets#Validation_dataset) because *I can't be fucked with optimising all hyperparameters*). Use [methods that can account for biases](https://imbalanced-learn.org/stable/references/generated/imblearn.ensemble.BalancedBaggingClassifier.html) if needed. +7. **Train models**: Use the training dataset and the features you created to train the model. This has multiple steps which I'll detail below. One thing to remember is to normalise your data before training. Multiple models can tested to see which one works best. Also a good idea to do [feature selection](https://scikit-learn.org/stable/modules/generated/sklearn.feature_selection.RFECV.html#sklearn.feature_selection.RFECV) to make sure all the information you give the model is helpful. +8. **Test models**: Apply the trained models to the separated test data. *It is absolutely critical that the test data was never previously seen by the algorithm -* [avoid data leakage](https://machinelearningmastery.com/data-leakage-machine-learning/). +9. **Model selection**: If multiple models were tested (different algorithms or hyperparameters) use an unbiased score to select the best ones. Many different scores exist but [F1-score is a good place to start](https://scikit-learn.org/stable/modules/generated/sklearn.metrics.f1_score.html). +10. **Model prediction**: If you are happy that you have a classifier that can predict data almost as well as you could yourself (high accuracy score, few biases etc.) then apply the model to your whole dataset, including all the data you didn't label at the start. Make sure the *exact same feature development and normalisation steps are applied* to the new data before prediction. +11. **Explore the results**: You now have labels for all your data thanks to the initial effort you put into labelling the training data and then training the classifier. If you did it well the classifier might label data as well as you (or even potentially better). Plot your results and interpret the findings. + +# My methods + +**Get data**: Historical options data was gathered from an online data supplier. Market chameleon is a good place with a free trial. I paid another service for over a year's worth of GME options data. + +**Select training data**: I selected all data from Jan 20th - Feb 20th. This includes the Jan mini-squeeze and a lot of the days with known fuckery based on other DD. I only included data where strike price was less than 70% of the share price. This might miss some fuckery but I preferred to be conservative here. I had a total of 10204 rows of data in my training data. + +**Hand label the selected data**: I followed a labelling scheme similar to what was done in past DD's and the examples I have above. + +Note: *This is the key step where we might be getting biases. The model can only perform as well as the labeled data I give it!!* + +Here are some examples of data I chose to label as suspicious or normal/unknown: + +[Volume similar to or larger than open interest for multiple day in a row with no change in open interest. After this activity all open contracts are exercised and open interest drops to just 5 contracts. No one is interested in any trading after the suspicious window.](https://preview.redd.it/qkzeg9drvvu61.png?width=1394&format=png&auto=webp&s=5c85ac5669ec5c7b2b6a0787b873327f71119c18) + +[Expiry dates in Jan 2022 but multiple days of massive trading volumes and successive decreases in open interest. Why are so many contracts being exercised when the have 1 year left till expiry?? Thousands of contracts were opened and immediately exercised. No interest in these calls or changes in open interest once suspicious activity stops.](https://preview.redd.it/8ebi5hx8wvu61.png?width=1400&format=png&auto=webp&s=114e7fb7ddd274b4711fbad2d8bda17cedbb2641) + +[Some smaller every day instances of opening and exercising contracts immediately. Zero open interest at strike price of 2.5$ then a small number of contracts are opened and the exercised on the same day or the following day. ](https://preview.redd.it/5jupe3bezvu61.png?width=1400&format=png&auto=webp&s=cf97414f1be5f5d5d4ef4602cd83d795cc23d700) + +Using this labelling scheme I almost certainly include some activity that is not from hiding FTDs. I will also miss some FTD hiding activity because sometimes it can just blend in with normal options trading. + +*I expect the timing and distribution of classified Deep ITM calls to be accurate but the exact values to have some uncertainty - perhaps +/-20%*. + +**Examine biases**: 1006 of the 10204 labeled rows were identified as suspicious. This number is massively skewed!!! If our classifier labeled all data as 0's it could get an accuracy score of approx. 90%. This would not be very useful. This is an [imbalanced classification problem](https://machinelearningmastery.com/what-is-imbalanced-classification/). I won't go into all the details here but one way to help the model deal with this is to reweighs the training set so that there are an equal number of 1 and 0 labels to train on. I used a python tool box designed to help with the problem and a technique called [BallancedBagging](https://imbalanced-learn.org/stable/references/generated/imblearn.ensemble.BalancedBaggingClassifier.html). + +**Develop features**: This really is the secret sauce. I don't want to divulge too much but I used the information contained in the example tables and different combinations (interactions, ratios etc.). The basic idea is that all the relevant information that was used to label the data manually is contained in the different features for the algorithm to use. + +**Split data**: I reserved 30% of the labelled data for the test set and used the remaining 70% for model training. *I purposefully did not choose to use a validation set because I cannot be fucked with tuning all the model hyperparameters for an extra 1-2% accuracy when I already have something useful*. + +**Train models**: I used Scikit-Learn to train my models. [Here is a good classification tutorial with example code](https://scikit-learn.org/stable/auto_examples/classification/plot_classifier_comparison.html). I used a [recursive feature elimination and cross-validated selection (RFECV) of the best number of features](https://scikit-learn.org/stable/modules/generated/sklearn.feature_selection.RFECV.html#sklearn.feature_selection.RFECV). Of my initial 14 developed features 12 had statistical support for the model. The two poor performing features were removed. + +For the model training I used the [BallancedBagging-Classifier](https://imbalanced-learn.org/stable/references/generated/imblearn.ensemble.BalancedBaggingClassifier.html) to help with data imbalances and wrapped this around 8 different commonly used classification algorithms. + +**Test models**: All testing was performed on the hold out test dataset. The algorithms had never seen this data before during training. Here are the accuracy scores for the different classifiers: + +* Nearest Neighbors - Score: 0.88 +* Linear SVM - Score: 0.79 +* RBF SVM - Score: 0.88 +* Decision Tree - Score: 0.91 +* Random Forest - Score: 0.91 +* Neural Net - Score: 0.89 +* AdaBoost - Score: 0.91 +* Naive Bayes - Score: 0.74 + +I used standard model tuning parameters as I wanted to avoid tuning all the different models. Because of this some models might perform poorly simply because they were not optimally tuned. Other models like the neural net might just need more data to perform optimally. + +**Model selection**: All models performed reasonably well but I chose to use AdaBoost as it had the highest model performance of 91% (comparable to Decision Trees and Random Forests) and I like the theory behind the model. + +Here is a performance graph called an ROC-curve: + +[ROC-curve for the AdaBoost-BalancedBaggingClassifier. The model had very good performance on the test set with an AUC of 97&#37;.](https://preview.redd.it/f1gi8lgw4wu61.png?width=1800&format=png&auto=webp&s=cda34cb26f48943e227a35442e58df14ab1d9305) + +**Model prediction**: The trained AdaBoost-BalancedBaggingClassifier model was applied to all the other options data I had. I made sure to use the exact same strategy of generating features and normalisation before model predictions. + +**Explore the results**: Ta-daaa!! We have some nice results automatically predicted for us by our trained classifier (AI): + +[AdaBoost-BalancedBaggingClassifier labelled Deep ITM call fuckery with overplayed FTD data. These plots were made using seaborn.pydata.org](https://preview.redd.it/hcstg57b6wu61.png?width=4500&format=png&auto=webp&s=d04cd1e8580fb50d1c68e44506cb839c74bbaf2d) + +# Conclusions and potential biases + +Lets start with the potential challenges and biases: + +* Only suspicious data from 2021 was labelled +* Some normal options trading might be included in the manual labelling and automatic classification +* Some FTD hiding might not be picked up by the manual labelling and automatic classification because it is too well hidden in potentially normal looking volumes +* If any fuckery was happening at strikes >70% of share price I ignored them +* The model could be further improved with more tuning + +Does any of this present a major challenge to the results? NO! + +The classifier is still useful even if we cannot label the illegal activity with 100% accuracy. We might miss some, we might overestimate others. Overall the picture is still useful and we just have some uncertainty in the exact numbers we see. All models have uncertainty. + +Could this work be improved upon? Of course. If someone could get more detailed data than end of day summaries we could remove a lot of the bias. We could relabel the dataset (but it would take much longer) and build an improved model. However 91% accuracy as compared to the best hand labelling scheme we have so far is pretty damn good. +By then [you won't have to "cash out''](https://gyazo.com/e0a60a34cf54c0041e35d11c513803c6). + +And the ones saying: "You should be taking profits" ...get it even less. + +Here's my projection: + +> As many smart people like Mr. Saylor and Mr. Musk have pointed out, it's very irresponsible for any individual or business not to own any Bitcoin. +> +> People who don't own any Bitcoin will be laughed out and shamed as fools and ignorants. +> +> People hate that, so they will come in slowly... then all of a sudden. That's when the next FOMO "bubble" will come and will take Bitcoin over 300K on this current cycle, to then maybe "crash" back down to around 90K (although with all the institutions lining up , and then later governments also buying, I doubt we see over 30% corrections any more). +> +> The next halving/cycle will take ir over 1 million, following the S2F chart as it always has. + + So **I will NEVER sell my Bitcoin** for worthless, ever-depreciating, printed-to-infinity government coupons/IOU's... and pay enormous taxes that go to kill children on the other side of the world on top of that. +> +> For the first time ever we have real independent money, that I alone can decide where to spend and how to use. If for whatever reason I need fiat to buy something from somebody who refuses to accept Bitcoin (I wouldn't buy from them in the first place), I would borrow against my BTC as last resort option. We have that option already with many lenders, the one I trust right now due to the people behind it is Blockfi. +> +> Selling Bitcoin it´s like selling prime real estate you owe in Manhattan. You never sell that, neither your children and grand children. It's meant to be kept for ALL generations to come, forever, till the end of times. You can borrow against it, use it as collateral. +> +> You never sell something that will keep appreciating in value forever. + +> "Not selling to fiat and hodling Bitcoin *IS* taking a profit". +Sup, + +It’s been posted in here plenty of times regarding the APHA - TLRY merger that when the merger goes through, one APHA share will be converted to .8381 TLRY shares. My question is... will we see the prices of APHA and TLRY naturally come close to this .8381 conversion rate closer to the deal? Currently .8381 of TLRY would come out to $35.49, and APHA is trading at $23.45. + +Will we likely see some natural or manipulated movement close to this price ratio, either in APHA rising or TLRY falling? Seems like this can’t just be a free money glitch, no? If anyone has experience with similar deals in the past insight would be appreciated! +Another normal day of market manipulation at LME, seems like they really can't play by the books. + +Let's see what fuckery they did this time... + +[\\"System error\\" or systemic risk🤔?](https://preview.redd.it/we0k4xibeqn81.png?width=835&format=png&auto=webp&s=d9baa7f404c5561339a569994ceb4b3f726afed7) + +[\\"Technical\\" Glitch...sure. Maybe more like shorts getting wrecked glitch.](https://preview.redd.it/dgyzcrdieqn81.png?width=835&format=png&auto=webp&s=48edcf0e87dcc4f1fc536f605af0668daf86349b) + +[I wonder how they want to \\"resolve\\" that bet. Great question if you would ask me.](https://preview.redd.it/1twd1zgoeqn81.png?width=802&format=png&auto=webp&s=f41e58df7327cf10b41f3a1da16bd33b85a7059e) + +[Big Banks getting upset...poor guys](https://preview.redd.it/2gfmpfm4fqn81.png?width=801&format=png&auto=webp&s=517c1f04548bcaacea9c1b247aa7f53e44fff96d) + +Source: [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/16/metals-lme-suspends-nickel-trading-once-again-on-systems-error.html) +So this will be a fairly short post. I am currently watching a video where some dude says now that he hears echoes from 2008 today. This got me wondering.. was life for an average person that good before the 2008 financial crash? I have no memory that the 2000 to 2010 decade was anything special. But I was also a kid and teenager during this time.. and lived in a very small town that tbh is outside of reality (not in a good or rich way). + +Would also be interesting to hear from someone who did far better back then compared to now. + +And, which sector didnt plummet in the 2008 crisis? +I bought 4 tsla at $232, it is my first and only individual stock I've ever purchased. Only ever put money in my targeted retirement. With tsla jump to $420 I feel Like I hit the jackpot (funny $$ to most you guys probably). Obviously no one knows for sure what it will do but I feel like the smartest thing to do is just cash out while it's high. Thoughts? Regrets from your beginnings? +In my previous topic I discussed how I want to move my grandfathered IRA from Edward Jones due to the management fees (1.5%) and the poor performance (11% growth past 12 months, far lower than all my other self managed investments). + + +Several recommendations were made to transfer my IRA to a Fidelity account (no maintenance fees) and build my own portfolio. + + +Good advice, but now the question becomes, how do I find the right investments? Specific questions: + +* Where is the best "lazy portfolio" to copy based on my goals? + +* If I were to buy significant amounts of single stocks I plan to hold for a long time, should I be doing that in my Fidelity account? Currently I just use Robinhood for my personal stock purchases, but not sure if that makes sense if I were to buy 10K-20K of Amazon or something like that. + +* I like a local touch, if I were to find a local CFP to review my decisions, could I find any that offer flat fees? I thought this how they usually operated but the few I have researched around me tend to take cuts on the portfolio similar to EdJo (1.5%) though they are at least transparent by not taking additional commissions on things they are pushing. + +* What everyone's favorite website/tool to compare and review various stocks, ETF's, mutual funds, etc? + +* Could someone point me to an analysis on the risks of buying ETFs? Everything I have seen from my reading at bogleheads, listening to various podcasts, browsing the subreddits seems to push this as the way to go. Certainly there is some drawback to consider? + + +I appreciate any advice and suggestions! + +Personal info if helpful: +-No debts outside of Mortgage and Student loans (3.5% and 2.6% rates, respectively) +-12 month cash reserve met +-Plan to retire in 25-30 years +-Currently maxing 401K +-Can invest at minimum an additional 10-15K per year on top of the 401K contributions +-Based in US + +Edited. ETF instead of FTE +Hi Everyone, + +My dad is 70, and I'm not the most knowledgeable when it comes to mutual funds. He sent me this link of the funds prospectus where he just moved 40% of his assets. + + +https://pex.broadridge.com/summary.asp?cid=Lplpst&fid=353496508 + + +Also, he's not the most savvy when it comes to reading up on investments and is easily sold by what his advisor tells him. I tried reading more articles about the company and their performance but there seems to be a lot of mixed info out there. +Are Franklin Templeton and this fund safe for him, or is he really underutilizing his assets? + +Thanks for any help! +My mom's received a bit of money (under 100k) when her mom passed away and she spoke to her financial adviser at Fidelity about what she should do with the money. They are trying to convince her to buy a variable annuity. + +Their reasoning is that it gives her tax-deferred growth on this money and on any money that she is forced to take via required distributions. + +I am wondering why she wouldn't just pick some good mutual funds and pay taxes on the growth when she sells and get effectively the same thing, but not have a life insurance plan with surrender fees etc. + +Can anyone help me understand the pros and cons of such a product? I am meeting with Fidelity today to discuss. Please list facts that I can argue rather than "annuities are always bad!" + +Some facts for you: + +* She is retired, above 67 +* She still works on occasion (she might make more than 6500 and can thus contribute that amount to a Roth IRA instead) +* She has 30 days to reverse course on this product +* She wants to invest this inheritance because she isn't in need of the cash currently (other investments and SS) +* No debt, house paid off +* Lives on very little which is good because other than SS, her investments aren't a lot + +Thank you, Reddit! I just want whatever is best for my mom and it may even be a variable annuity. But I don't want her tricked into something for which all I have heard about is negative. +I'm just curious everyone, how many millennials are planning to buy a home in the next 3 or 5 years? We always hear that millennials consumer behavior will doom them for bad savings for the future, meaning they do not have enough for a down payment on a home. How many millennials do you know are actually planning to purchase? or is our demographic still not ready yet? +Hi all, +I’m a new user here and was just seeking some advice. I’m in my mid-twenties and have about $10K in credit card debt. I plan to have it paid off by the end of the year, but was wondering about what to do after. + +The average APR of all the cards are about 26.28% +My score is low 600s now, but will peak ~780 once all the debt is paid. +I’ve never missed a payment or had collections/derogatory marks. + +My oldest account is about 6 years old. + +I was wondering once all the debt is paid, should I close the old cards and attempt to reapply for a better/lower interest rate? + +I don’t plan on going into debt like this again as it will be better managed but I wanted help deciding should I just keep the current cards or close them and try for new/better ones. + +TIA. +I’ll keep it short and sweet. We have a little under $70,000 in a taxable account just invested in an S&P 500 ETF. It is basically even right now. We bought a used Ford Explorer a couple months ago at $17,500 with a 7.7% interest rate on a 6 year loan. The payment is only $351.42 a month, and as it sits we put around $3,000 a month into retirement accounts and another $1,500 a month (minimum) into the taxable account. So, as the title states, should we pay off car loan by selling stock or pay the note and continue investing? +Hello all, + +I come from a very poor family and I was never taught any lessons in personal finance. I have taken some initiative to begin teaching myself using this sub but I was hoping to get some pointers to help get my mind in the right place as I continue to learn. + +*Salary (starting Job next week): 80k in Georgia.* + +*Monthly take home (post taxes): \~$4,777* + +*Student Loan debt: 25k (first payment of $200 due next year)* + +*3-year Personal Loan (First payment due with my first work check): 15k @ 23% interest* + +*Credit Card Debt: 9.5K @ 22-25% interest rate* + +*Cash: 2k* + +*Monthly bills (I live at home for free and will continue to until I am able to afford to move out.): $400-500 for help with misc. bills* + +*Credit Score: 650* + +I am nearly 50k in debt and I am not sure how I should go about attacking it. I also want to begin investing but I am not sure if now is the best time as I have all this debt to take care of. Any advice about what I should do/be focused on right now would be great. + +Thank you! + +Hello all, + +So I have two accounts with vanguard. A regular brokerage account and a Roth IRA brokerage account. I recently funded my Roth IRA and have the money in a target retirement fund. I understand many people invest in mutual funds within the Roth IRA as well. My question is this: would it be better to invest in mutual funds in my regular brokerage account? It seems ok to keep investing within my Roth IRA in the target retirement fund and invest in mutual funds or ETF’s within my regular brokerage account. Thank you all in advance. +Hello guys! + +I recently sold my house for a 65k (before capital gains) profit. I have heard conflicting reports on whether I have to pay capital gains or not because I am military and got orders but for now I am going to take it as a 55k gain for investing. + +I am still in the military, stationed overseas until the end of next year so it would be a headache to dump it back into real estate right now. I have put some money into stocks (under 2k) and plan on slowly adding more as I figure out what to invest it. My emergency fund is fine and I don't have any debt now so I'm really trying to push myself to invest into something. For reference, I am 23 years old and contribute 5% to my roth TSP only because that's the amount the military matches. My short term goal would be to buy another house in the next 4-5 years. My LONG term goal is to build my own house one day within the next 10-15 years. + +Does anyone have any advice on where to start? +A part of me wants to live in a cabin in the woods farming, hunting, fishing and another part wants to have a high paying career, have cool toys, and retire early. What is some advice I can get? Not sure what path to take in life or how to find my passion. +Sundaeswap swap has recently released their work around for the fact that UTXO currently cannot run a permissionless, decentralized AMM DEX (like Uniswap). Items of note: + +-the Sundaeswap team determined that the entire Cardano chain, without any other dApps competing for resources, will have slower **PEAK** tx speeds than half the **AVERAGE** tx rate used by one dApp on ethereum. They compared cardano's peak to the average rate on Uniswap v3 (but didn't count v2). Cardano will have options to speed that up in the future, but they are not ready yet (see second link below). And even then, cardano will still be slower than ETH, the slowest layer one chain that anyone has ever heard of. [See u/grimmergrimmergrime 's comment for an estimate of v2's speed: https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/qnjmby/cardano_is_coasting_into_an_iceberg_the_crew_are/hjhhfz5?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3 ] SS swap claims a theoretical max tpm of 3800 is "impressive." 3800 tpm is an unverified max, and it is INCREDIBLY slow for a L1. For example, it's about 160x slower than Cosmos' max tpm. + +-They accurately explain why all the other proposed solutions create vulnerabilities, weaknesses, market inefficiency, attack vectors and centralization that Uniswap type AMMs do not have + +-They propose to add a novel, gated and "trusted" application-specific proof of stake layer with untested incentives (and untestable due to the lack of direct fee incentives on a testnet). They have determined that the best way to avoid the UTXO concurrency dilemma is to appoint third party aggregators to execute all of the orders, and "[t]he first step is choosing trusted members of the community to run them." So much for having the most decentralized chain. + +-They rate every solution to this problem, including their own, as requiring more development work and creating more "surface area [that] needs to be audited" than Uniswap. So much for the advantage of UTXO being easier to audit. + +:https://sundaeswap-finance.medium.com/sundaeswap-labs-presents-the-scooper-model-678d6054318d + +Meanwhile, Cardano devs are finally getting serious about starting the public conversation around why txs fees are necessary to avoid catastrophic network congestion, why cardano needs decentralized development, and the mistake of not having a longterm roadmap and pursuing layer 2 solutions sooner: + +https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3dc6zG9EjWE +Japan stock market chart https://imgur.com/e4dGc9R + +30 years later, still no new highs. They lowered interest rates to 0 by the year1999. They even went negative interest rates. + +Japan printed tons of money, here is there money supply chart https://imgur.com/ItGF96I + +Why did it no hit new highs, how did it not create stock&assset inflation? Their housing market is similar to the stock market chart, i believe too. What gives? +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +So I’ve noticed a ton of you crayon eating degenerates posting CLOV yolo’s and positions. I understand a majority of this sub has learning disabilities but I still can’t wrap my head around why you guys like this stock. Their financials are pretty terrible, their product is pretty bad and other than Chamath there’s pretty much no institutions bag holding this stock. Is it just a GME/AMC type thing where you guys are buying for no reason other than the name? + +Genuinely wondering how people rationalize holding CLOV. +Hi fellow apes! + +I'm hoping that one of you kind souls can help me confirm that a buy actually hit the exchange when my broker tells me it did. They would only give me the info over the phone and claim they can't provide me written verification of the transaction occurring on-exchange. I would greatly appreciate confirmation from one of you fine folks with tick-by-tick data access perhaps, or also any feedback from wrinkle-brained Canadian apes on how to get my broker to provide me confirmation in writing (they only give me the standard "receipt" that's generated with time/price/quantity, but no proof of where the shares came from) + +The trade in question supposedly executed as follows: + +*Exchange: NYSE* + +*Date/Time: 11:12:11AM EST on Sept 16, 2022* + +*Price: 75 shares @ $28.1999* + +*Stock:* ***GME***\*, of course.\* + +Any assistance that anyone can provide me would be greatly appreciated! Much love. + +&#x200B; + +Ps. The shares will be DRS'd along with a few others once the trade is settled tomorrow. + +&#x200B; + +Edit/update: dlauer himself has confirmed the trade was completed at the time claimed, but that it was routed off exchange, rather than on the NYSE as my broker claims - awaiting a screenshot of his data but I am inclined to believe him. He also noted that you can't trade out to four decimal points on-exchange. + +Just got off the line with CIBC - they're going to "maybe" give me a written confirmation of everything, but are maintaining that the order was routed to NYSE. The reason it was a "maybe" is they claim everything covered under IIROC rule 3816 is similar to what they already provide on a trade confirmation. Didn't have anything to say about not being unable to trade out to four decimals on-exchange. +I was under the impression that the financial markets would come to its senses but that is where I messed up. Are there any other Bears out there? How are you doing? +I'm so sick of seeing "luxury apartments" renting for astronomical prices. I mean, who even has that amount of money? They're popping up everywhere and I can only imagine they're mostly vacant. + +I say this as I'm moving to a new location, have taken a significant pay cut to do something that I hope I'll be happier at than previous job, and the income I'm being paid doesn't even come \*close\* to covering the cost of living in the area in which I'll be living. Thankfully, my partner secured a job in the area last year and he's being paid well, so I won't be completely destitute because I have someone to cut the costs with. But even so, with the amount of money I'm making, the thought of going halfsies on an apartment that costs more than $1400/month (not including utilities) makes me cringe. In addition, I have to move my son with me -- he's considering getting a job once we move so he'll have his own spending money as I've told him our budget will be tight. + +How do these so-called luxury apartments stay in business? Who has this money? None of this makes sense to me and has caused me to have extreme anxiety about my move. In short, I'm forced to either stay at a job that is robbing me of my vitality to ensure financial freedom or make a move that impoverishes me financially but gives me back some of my vitality and freedom. +I opted for a throwaway account because I wasn't sure how this would be received in the somewhat conservative /financialindependence. I'm also aware it does not directly relate to financial independence but I thought this was an interesting question that many FIers are in a position to address + +So as in the title, are any of you tempted to get rich? I'll explain what I mean by this because on the face of it, it may appear a little ridiculous. + +Many people here in /r/fi are sitting on some pretty tasty portfolios. This is as a result of hardwork, dilligent savings and a fairly frugal existence. When one is sitting on such a portfolio (700k, 1 mil or higher) the world is your oyster (age dependent) this money can allow you to do almost anything you want. For many of you this is the dream of FIRE, go travelling, invest your time in a hobby, save the kids in Africa etc. But maybe, just maybe you could use that money to hit the big time. + +This is particularly relevant to certain demographics that we often see on this sub + +e.g. +I'm 32, do computer science for a startup, 1.4 mil portfolio + +40, married doctors, 600k combined income + +46, wife 2 kids, 2.6 mil portfolio + +You get the picture, high salary, lots of cash, but most importantly of all nice and young. We all know time is your friend. + +The question is are any of you ever tempted to crank up your risk levels to shunt you into the category of 'rich' or 'high net worth'? After all some of you are already very close. + +It's a calculated risk, think about it. If you are under 40 sitting on 1 mil plus what's going to happen if you drop 500k on a high risk business or some stock options? (i'm not talking about some ridiculous OOM stuff, but say something that gives leverage at 5-6x with a decent chance of success) the way I see it there are 2 possible outcomes. + +Either + +1. You make a killing and have potentially significantly increased your stash +2. You lose 500k + + +But hey, money is just money. You're still fairly young, still earning a high salary, still have a pretty big portfolio. You don't have to worry about unexpected bills because you have an emergency fund, the house is still paid off. Chances are you can make back even a large loss fairly quickly. If not then you can probably have your company pension/state pension/social security help soften the blow a little. Essentially how bad is your life really going to be? + +Obviously getting rich is a little less simple than this, but the way I see it many of you are already in the perfect position to achieve this. You have a good attitude to money already, know how to make it work for you, can live a frugal existence and already have tonnes of cash on hand. So have you ever been tempted to crank the lever to max and see what happens? (you would obviously have to hedge your downside risk) but who knows where you could end up. + +Many famous billionaires were once **dirt** poor, what's stopping you from being them? The way I see it a lot of you are most of the way there already. + + +Please discuss + There's many little gems in here that will jack your guys's tits because after a year have come true! Of course that's the case because DFV is a time traveler but if you look At 0:30 there's the phone (supposed to be GameStop's phone) with the names edited and look whose name is on the right column, 3rd down... + +Also, DRS your shares and tell your friends and family. + +https://youtu.be/cIoajswdMTk +So yesterday I was kinda shilling for Safemars and I made about 4x which is great but I noticed that despite getting almost 10 new holders a minute the price is not going up, after digging a little more I found the dev has split a big chunk of the supply into multiple addresses and keeping his main address idle so everyone thinks the dev is holding but actually his selling through the other adresses in a slow pace and controlling the price, and when i posted this on the group I got banned. So take care guys. +Hi everyone, bit of a background: +I’m a single mum raising three kids, i live in one of the big cities. I finished uni and started working in 2019 part time but also kept my casual job so essentially I work 2 jobs, altogether I earn just under $60k pa. I have a HECS debt and I try to save as much as I can. I’m renting atm hoping to buy a house for my kids someday. +I feel like I basically live from hand to mouth, what with all the bills, but I do manage to save a small amount every payday. +My old car is on its deathbed. It is 21 years old and in need of so many repairs that I absolutely need to replace it. I’m not very knowledgeable with cars or anything but I would love to have a nice little zippy car that works and doesn’t give me anxiety every time I’m stopped at a red light. +I could get a novated lease on a small new car but I think that’s an expensive option especially for someone in my shoes. +The second hand car market is absolutely crazy at the moment and even though everyone says buy a car that your ego will allow you to drive, I honestly do not want another rust bucket for the next few years. +I guess I’m asking for ideas and advices on how to manoeuvre this situation. I also do not have anyone that could help me check out if a car is sound mechanically or offer any advice in that respect, that’s why I’m here to see what you financially savvy people would do in my situation. +Also please excuse my English. +Thank you. +(Just some personal anecdotes that I found interesting). + +I’ve just spent the last 2 weeks touring various Chinese cities and spoken to different people in different wealth brackets about buying property overseas, such as in Vancouver, Toronto or Sydney. + +I’ve been speaking with various people from upper-middle class income brackets. Certainly not the elite, but those regular people working in Banking, Finance and Tech. + +Some personal findings of mine where; +(1) Property Prices in Tier 1 Chinese cities (Beijing/Shanghai/Shenzhen) are higher than in Australia. Regular looking apartments about 20-40 years old in a regular part of town sell for around $2-3 million Australian dollars. They have seen the boom prices and view Australian property as cheap. Especially when they can buy a landed house vs an apartment in Beijing/Shanghai/Shenzhen. The Chinese love investing in property. They see it as a tangible investment. + +(2) Those that rode the Chinese property boom over the last 10-20 years own multiple properties. Because of the once in a 100 year boom in China, those with the insight to buy 5-10 properties in the early 2000s are now very comfortable. The properties have grown 10-20x over the last 15 years. Meaning those that bought a few investments often have over AUD$10 million cash to splash around. Remember, these are middle class people. Bank branch managers and project managers in Tech, etc. + +(3) White collar salaries are often higher than in Sydney/Melbourne. A few bank managers I’ve spoken to are in their mid-thirties, on the management pathway, and earning around AUD$180-$200k a year. And income taxes are only about 10%. This was in the city of Shenzhen. While a few people working in tech (such as Baidu or Alibaba), white collar jobs, project managers, dev team leaders, etc. they are earning between AUD$170-210k a year in Beijing. + +(4) The Chinese don’t like personal debt. So they save till they have 50% down payment on a house. So they don’t find it bothersome to pay for a house entirely in cash. + +Just some personal findings. Granted, I was speaking with the top 5%-10% of income earners, but with the population the size of these large cities. There is a lot of cash to splash and invest with. + +Edit: these are just my casual findings. Not sharing any personal opinions. +Government employee, wages. +Share portfolio - ETFs +Common deductions (indemnity insurance, profession registration etc) + +Quoted $268. Does that sound reasonable? Appreciate the sanity check. +Curious what the AusFi brains trust thinks. These ETFs have performed very well so far. + +These ETFs are fascinating products for a number of reasons: + +*The basis for "sustainability" that betashares uses is surprisingly lax. Good consumer reports seem to be enough to qualify a company as "sustainable". So their holdings include Apple, Nike, Telstra, which strike me as out of place in a sustainability portfolio. + +*I suspect the consumer demand for these ETFs is inflated by some mix of climate action and climate guilt rather than speculation about the value of sustainable practices and industry. On the one hand, this looks eerily like a bubble. On the other hand, our collective climate guilt might well be strong enough to sustain demand and still inflate returns to the point that it's worth investing regardless of the underlying fundamentals. + +*Are there alternative ETFs tracking companies that are not merely carbon-neutral but are actually carbon-negative? Or companies that stand to profit as we work towards becoming carbon-negative? I'm thinking about Apple and Nike -- these are not companies that would thrive on being carbon-negative. It would actively hurt their margins. + +It's an interesting space with lots of moving parts. Trying to get my head around it all. Looking for perspectives from the savvy folks in this community. +I am currently in 35k debt. + +Initially I had a secure job earning 40k per year for 5ish years. I financed a Holden Cruize and still owe around 17k on it (I was stubbon at the time). The remaining owed are due to me starting up a business and being loaned capital by the bank plus family. Before I started the business I didn't have too much trouble. I paid my rent (400pw) and bills just fine. + +The past year and a half my Employer ended up not being able to pay me, or paid me inconsistently. Eventually owing me 50k+ in unpaid salary. He is no longer paying me and I am still listed as employed there. I am currently undergoing litigation in attempt to make a claim against the company. Also FEG will only pay up to 10 weeks and that can take up to 6 months to approve according to them. + +So technically I am unemployed, with the lawyer unsure whether or not working will impede the case. The bank and car lender have been on my case a fair bit lately even notifying them on the situation. I am waiting for god knows how long to get any money in the claim+feg. It could be a long time while this debt builds up. + +I have been unsuccessful in search of cash in hand jobs to attempt to make money to cover bills. I'm wondering where I should go from here. + +The main issue is mainly the car, it's really screwing me over. I was wondering if it were possible to sell the car for an amount near to it and then perhaps buy a cheap second hand corolla as a replacement. + +If anyone has any advice I would love to hear it. +So much time is spent on this sub wondering which billionaires are for us, which are against us, which ones are going to come save us, and which ones are passing us secret messages in the bar codes of children's books, smdh. IMO, there is only one catalyst, DRS. Which means there is no rich guy riding in on a beam of light, like Gandalf arriving at Hellman's Deep. It means the savior you are looking for is the ape smiling back at you in the mirror with bits of crayon in his teeth. When MOASS cum, I'll know it came because of us, not Elon, or Icahn, or even RC. Personally, I don't believe that any human should have billions of dollars, especially in a world where so many have so little. So I'll spend my remaining years giving my tendies away to worthy causes, instead of hoarding wealth and power like some slutty dragon in a cave. Buy, DRS, HODL. 🦍🤝💪 +He was talking about money in the world and how it evolved from salt to the papers that we use today and for which there is gold, so it is the best barter system used by mankind, when I asked him about his opinion on cryptocurrencies, he said, “Cryptocurrencies may disappear within one day and may disappear in a moment if internet go down but not like the money that exists today, as the banks have branches all over the country where you can not only disappear and you cannot lose your money that simple" +Not sure if this is where I should post this but here it goes. I'm 35 years old and I haven't filed taxes in about 7 years. I would always go to the accountant my folks used and he would handle everything for me and my folks for like $125 or something. Several times we ended up not doing it on time and having to do two years at once. So when we didn't go one year, no big deal. And it just kept not being a big deal until suddenly it's 7 or 8 years later. I'm sort of paralyzed at the idea of it all and just keep burying my head in the sand the last couple of years. The IRS hasn't ever said anything about it, but it's this weight that kind of hangs over me that I need gone. + +I don't know if I should go talk to guy my folks used (if he's still doing it) or go to big tax company or get a lawyer or what. I never did anything complicated, just basically hand over my stuff from work and go about my day. I make about 40k now up slowly from 35k or so back then. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. + +Edit: Filed a tax return. Not haven't paid taxes. Sorry for my poor verbiage. +Pizza24 is an online pizza delivery service. Local pizzerias can join up and Pizza24 handles orders and payment processing. They currently have over 300 restaurants across Sweden, with more joining up. + +A few weeks ago, I emailed them and asked if they would consider accepting Bitcoin. Today I got this response (loosely translated from Swedish): + +>Hi <throwaway2346237's real name>! + +>Starting today, we will accept payments in Bitcoin. So now you can order your pizza and pay with Bitcoin. + +Here's their site, notice the Bitcoin icon next to Visa, AmEx, and PayPal: +http://pizza24.se/ + + +**EDIT**: Update: Tried ordering a large pizza, did not work. The site registered my payment, but still claimed that the payment failed. The support phone is closed, but I've emailed them and will be calling them in the morning. + +I guess they are having teething problems, and I advise everyone to not order until they are sorted. + +**EDIT2**: I contacted customer service and got a full refund. They claim the bug is now fixed. I'm trying again the next time I feel like pizza. + +**EDIT3**: Tried again today (two days later) and it went well! Delicious pizza, delivered to my door on time. They wait for two confirmations, which seems a bit excessive. All in all, a satisfying experience. +Battery metals/electric vehicles/energy storage is getting a lot of hype right now, and rightfully so. With that in mind, I want to share my DD on one of the best long-term mining plays out there; Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (OTC: NMGRF). I recently had the opportunity to speak with Nouveau Monde’s Director of Investor Relations (we’ll refer to her as DIR) and she had some great insights that I think are worth sharing. NMGRF closed at $1.59 on Friday which I see as a really solid entry point. Adding to it’s long-term growth potential, there are two major competitive advantages that set NMGRF apart from the rest. Let’s get this bread. + +Agenda: + +1: Company Background + +* Value propositions + +2: Industry Review and Forecasts (Graphite specifically as well as Li-Ion Batteries) + +3: Core Projects + +* Matawinie Graphite Mine +* Battery Anode Factory + +4: Conclusion & Risks + +**1: Company Background** + +I’m going to kick things off with the fancy, profile lingo from Yahoo Finance: "NMGRF engages in the acquisition, exploration, evaluation, and development of mineral properties in Quebec, Canada. The company primarily explores for **graphite**. It owns a 100% interest in the Matawinie property that includes 319 mining claims covering 17,585 hectares situated to the north of Montreal, Quebec”([Source](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NMGRF/profile?p=NMGRF)). Most importantly, it is also set to become a key player in the global energy revolution as it develops the only fully integrated source of green anode battery material in the Western Hemisphere" ([Source](https://nouveaumonde.group/about-us/#our-value-proposition)). + +Long story short - They’re a graphite mining company with two major projects; an open-pit graphite mine and a battery anode factory. + +**Value Propositions** + +Before discussing these projects and the graphite industry as a whole, I want to outline the aforementioned competitive advantages: + +VP1 - Fully-Integrated Supply Chain + +Combining their graphite mine and battery anode factory, NMGRF has the only fully-integrated graphite to battery supply-chain in the Western world. This exclusive position allows them to earn revenues from any stage in that value chain as they can supply graphite in various forms. For example, they can sell graphite concentrate to refractories (which use it as a lubricant) or use the concentrate to manufacture battery anodes and sell those directly. + +VP2 - Sustainability + +As the title states, NMGRF maintains world-renowned environmental standards. These include clean water standards, tailing management, and most importantly, **carbon neutrality.** This is especially relevant because one of the largest concerns with graphite production is its environmental impact. + +**2: Graphite Market** + +Before discussing Nouveau Monde in detail, let’s get a better understanding of the graphite market. There are two forms of graphite; natural and synthetic. Natural graphite is mined (this is what NMGRF produces) and synthetic graphite is produced from petroleum coke or coal tar. Consequently, “Graphite is only produced by crushing and then roasting a mined product or as a byproduct of coal mining or oil refining” ([Source](https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/graphite-the-biggest-threat-to-batteries-green-reputation)). As a result, all graphite production comes with a large carbon-footprint. Synthetic graphite, however, is both more expensive and more environmentally costly to produce. + +Despite this fact, synthetic and natural graphite are still competing for space in the battery anode market. To date, synthetic graphite’s lower electrical resistances and greater consistency led to more advanced technologies ([Source](https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/graphite-the-biggest-threat-to-batteries-green-reputation)). However, as the EV market continues to boom, there is likely to be a growing focus on the source of raw materials and, specifically, their environmental impacts. Consequently, more recent forecasts suggest that natural graphite will dominate battery-anode production. By shifting their focus to natural graphite, battery manufacturers can reduce production costs and lower emissions ([Source](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/05/13/2033097/0/en/Synthetic-Graphite-Market-Growth-Trends-and-Forecast-2020-2025.html#:~:text=%2D%20Synthetic%20graphite%20is%20used%20as,graphite%20at%20over%2099.9%25%20purity.)). Additionally, the leading producer of these metals is currently China ([Source](https://clearpath.org/tech-101/supply-chain-for-lithium-and-critical-minerals-is-critical/)). Importing these metals comes with steep monetary and environmental costs as well. In turn, any company that produces high-grade graphite in a sustainable manner AND is in close proximity to graphite buyers is destined to be highly sought after (Enter Nouveau Monde). Finally, the Biden administration has even stated that they will be evaluating the United States' current reliance on China for these metals ([Source](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/18/biden-to-order-supply-chain-review-to-assess-us-reliance-on-overseas-semiconductors.html)). Who knows what the tangible impact of that scrutiny will be, but it is still worth noting today. + +If you're not familiar with the composition Lithium-Ion batteries, graphite is one of the most critical metals. As a result, because of the expected growth in the EV and energy storage markets, graphite demand is also expected to skyrocket. Per the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Storage Market Report, Lithium-Ion batteries are expected to capture the majority of energy storage growth in the next decade. As the chart shows, this demand will be heavily driven by transportation (Electric vehicles). + +[https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/sites\/prod\/files\/2020\/12\/f81\/Energy&#37;20Storage&#37;20Market&#37;20Report&#37;202020\_0.pdf](https://preview.redd.it/fwrvvqxrhbk61.png?width=1074&format=png&auto=webp&s=4b2a3e7af540a1ca0674f1d4bf9d06bee856a2d0) + +&#x200B; + +I'm not going to do a deep dive on this space because it's already getting a lot of hype. Just know that the expanding production of electric vehicles and stationary energy storage in North America and Europe will drive demand for graphite. However, if you haven't started researching this market, you should. Now, in addition to Li-Ion battery production, graphite is critical to a number of other industries. + +[https:\/\/www.alliedmarketresearch.com\/graphite-market](https://preview.redd.it/vp7lx772ibk61.png?width=1356&format=png&auto=webp&s=f251ed543005d98d1ede4256f4cc30ee328ef590) + +Per the DIR, Nouveau Monde expects to be a player in most, if not all of these spaces. For example, they’re able to sell expandable graphite to construction (where it is used as a fire retardant), and graphite concentrate to be used in hydrogen fuel cells and refractories. + +Regardless of industry, manufacturers will need access to an environmentally-friendly mine and/or anode factory within close proximity. + +**3: Core Projects** + +Now that we’ve outlined the potential of the graphite industry as a whole, let’s see why Nouveau Monde stands out. + +**Matawinie Graphite Mine** + +The Matawinie Graphite Mine was approved by the Quebec government just a few weeks ago (February 10) and is set to become the largest graphite mine in the Western Hemisphere ([Source](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/key-milestone-reached-nouveau-monde-080000062.html)). Now that they’ve received the necessary permit, they plan to finish construction by mid-2023 (Originally, they were planning for early 2023, but Covid-19 delayed permit receipt). This time of completion does imply that they will be operating at full-capacity production (100,000 tons of annual graphite concentrate). For context, this is the largest graphite mine in the Western hemisphere and slightly below ⅓ the capacity of the world's largest graphite mine ([Syrah Resources Balama Mine](http://www.syrahresources.com.au/overview)). The Balama mine is expected to produce 350,000 tons annually, however, it has been set back due to Covid-19 and is not currently operating at full-capacity ([Source](https://www.miningweekly.com/article/graphite-output-to-bounce-back-by-2024-after-2020-dip-2021-01-07/rep_id:3650)). Syrah is also planning to build a battery anode material factory that will offer them a fully-integrated supply chain. + +As I stated earlier, the size and location of the mine give Nouveau Monde an excellent opportunity to provide graphite to North American and European markets. As these regions continue progressing towards electric vehicles (the announcements from [GM](https://apnews.com/article/gm-electric-vehicles-auto-industry-9308f9f3fcfbc1cffd0f9d18864dbcca) and [Jaguar](https://apnews.com/article/technology-birmingham-england-f91c5ee326a260b8ad36404efe577aaa) being prime examples), there will only be more opportunities for NMGRF in the battery market. + +Finally, the Matawinie project will be the first open-pit mine to use an entirely electric fleet. This operating model represents a reduction of 300,000 tons of CO2 emissions over the 25.5 year lifespan of the mine. The reduction of significant input costs is also expected to raise profit margins in the long-run. + +**Advanced Materials Plant** + +To optimize savings across the value chain and ensure full traceability of products, Nouveau Monde has established a vertically integrated business model to bring battery anode materials and advanced materials directly to the market. ([Source](https://nouveaumonde.group/operations/#advanced-materials-plant)). + +The facility’s location in Québec will allow it to leverage the region’s vast hydraulic resources. Per DIR, Nouveau Monde is receiving hydro-electric power from Hydro Québec at a rate of roughly $0.03 per kW. This is an especially attractive price - the world’s average rate is around $0.05 per kW ([Source](https://www.hydroquebec.com/business/customer-space/rates/rate-l-industrial-rate-large-power-customers.html)). The electrification plan that leverages clean and renewable hydropower paired with their distinctive transformation processes will enable the production of anode material with a greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint up to 50 times smaller than that of common spherical graphite. In addition to reducing their emissions at the source, Nouveau Monde is finalizing its GHG emissions monitoring and compensation strategy for both direct and indirect emissions. Through the purchase of verified and certified carbon credits, and investment in carbon sequestration projects in nature, they will attain carbon neutrality as of 2021. ([Source](https://nouveaumonde.group/sustainability/)) + +To reiterate - carbon neutrality is possible because of their hydroelectric power supply and their unique transformation process. Electricity is being supplied by Hydro Québec and their transformation process is the brainchild of a [world-class R&D team](https://apnews.com/press-release/globe-newswire/alternative-and-sustainable-energy-renewable-power-generation-products-and-services-automobile-parts-manufacturing-asia-47f5e0613a3f2c2734d4e0fbbbc5bbba). Investment in this cutting edge research keeps NMGRF at the forefront of sustainability and, in turn, profitability. Per the company website, this operating model allows them to produce 99.5+% pure advanced materials. + +This environmentally-friendly process comes with one beneficial caveat; it’s optional. Per the DIR, NMGRF’s unique value proposition is that it can offer a carbon-neutral product if client’s are interested in paying a premium. Any client that would rather reduce costs for a less sustainable product is able to do so. + +**4: Conclusion - TL;DR** + +Anyone investing in the EV space cannot ignore Nouveau Monde Graphite. The company operates a fully integrated supply chain of graphite through their open-pit graphite mine and battery-anode production factory. The graphite industry is expected to continue growing as demand increases from Li-Ion batteries, stationary energy storage, and more. Unfortunately, one of the biggest concerns of graphite production is its environmental impact. This is where NMGRF shines as it’s operating model allows them to produce battery-anodes with a carbon-neutral footprint. In conclusion, their fully-integrated supply chain, the company’s proximity to North American and European markets, and their sustainable operating model suggest that Nouveau Monde is an excellent investment for the long-term. + +**Risks** + +Synthetic Graphite: While natural graphite has a plethora of applications, a decrease in the amount of natural graphite used in Li-Ion batteries could be detrimental to NMGRF. + +Syrah Resources: Despite having higher expected output, Syrah resources currently has a market cap of $376 M to Nouveau Monde’s $593 M. In the long-run, if the graphite industry grows at the rate it is expected to, these valuations shouldn’t make a difference. + +Financials: At the end of the day, this is still an unprofitable mining company. As a result, the financials are not particularly attractive. While the DIR was confident that NMGRF will not be deterred from reaching full-capacity production by 2023, there is always a risk that the firm will run out of capital prior to achieving operation. + +This is not financial advise. I am not a financial advisor. Do your own DD. +Very few people in my life really understand my joy, but I know you all will. I’m 26 years old, and for the first time in my life I got approved for a lease with only my information. No co-signer, no guarantor, nothing. Sure, it’s one room in a 4 room apartment, but it’s MINE. + +Tomorrow starts day one of working 3 jobs all summer to pay off all my debts (except my student loans) and get my credit up. It’s going to be hard but this lease is a big win. I can do it. +All, I bought GME, AMC, BB, and NOK with the rest of the WSB family to fuck the system and the system fucked us. It’s obvious for all to see. Frozen trading where the only option is to SELL? FUCK YOU. I hope that the class action lawsuit is so nasty that multiple hedge funds declare bankruptcy and personal assets are seized — because, to be clear, the effort by shorting GME 140% of the shares was to put 50,000 people out of work in the middle of a pandemic by shutting the business. It feels personal. It should fucking hurt, really hurt, the perpetrators. + +“Retail investor” is such a demeaning phrase — as opposed to “Inside trader?” Suck a fat 🍆. + +Look, I’m writing this in Bitcoin chat not because BTC is incredibly equal amongst its owners (it clearly isn’t), but it Absolutely is an alternative. + +I went into this year bullish for equities and I still am; however, when free markets force liquid losses from the common man — when asset bubbles have made the already wealthy obscenely filthy rich — and then they bitch about the rules of their own game? I’m fucking out. + +I’ll keep my stocks and inflate them with my already inflated dollars and then happily increase my Dollar Cost Average rate of investment into BTC. + +Because equities aren’t equal, though they should be. + +Free markets aren’t free, though they should be. + +At least crypto, while it might not be free or equal — is fucking MINE. Finally, ownership over an asset that we apparently can have control over. + +Damn, I’m angry. Fucking livid. And that’s why I’m digging into BTC harder than I ever have. + +The system needs a good fucking. Shall we? +Rick Falkvinge on Segwit ([YouTube link](https://youtu.be/FJaqLiQ_-X4?t=26m58s)): + +&nbsp; + +"Well, I just think it's a dead-end. **It's over-engineering. Proponents of Segwit have tried to sell it as a scaling solution and/or a fix for malleability.** But, first of all, you have to determine what is it a fix for? Why does this technology exist? + +What problem are you trying to solve? **If you're trying to solve scaling, it's a horrible solution. And when you point that out, proponents say-- will tend to draw that back-- 'No, that wasn't ever intended for scaling. That's just a side bonus. It's meant to fix malleability.**' + +Then you take a look at the code. And you realize this is a three-digit amount of lines of code to the hypersensitive consensus logic. And that's not required to fix malleability. + +What's needed to fix malleability is just the past block [n], if enough nodes have agreed, then you're not allowing non-canonical formats of transactions. You don't need over 100 lines of code for that. + +Segwit is *extremely* over-engineered to fix either malleability or scalability. + +And frankly, if you're looking at history, over-engineered solutions do not have a future. It's just that simple. As in, I see patterns-- I look at what's happened in the past. Which is why I'm skeptical to Segwit. + +Yes, malleability will solve itself sometime in the future. + +You need to add to this Segwit doesn't just need all miners and nodes to upgrade (or at least a majority of them), as in miners who don't upgrade will essentially be degraded to SPV for Segwit. It *also* needs all users to upgrade to start using Segwit transactions, which means that not only does all software and hardware need to upgrade, but all users. **Which means we're looking at a roll out of 2 years-- 3 years... which means we'll be in a completely different landscape.**" + +&nbsp; + +*the Host says: "But it's a soft-fork, so it's not very dangerous"* + +Rick: "I would disagree. When you're causing nodes to lose their validation capability, you *are* introducing hazard into the network. **I think this difference between a "soft" and a "hard" fork is largely an artificial one used to politically justify some changes and discourage others**. + +I mean, Lightning Network is an interesting technology, but I think it's over-engineered. I think it's too little, too late. I think Bitcoin needs to scale sooner than what the Lightning Network will allow. And I'm seriously concerned about that." + +&nbsp; + +https://youtu.be/FJaqLiQ_-X4?t=26m58s +Keep it friendly and civil; this is not WSB and automod will censor your posts at will for unsavory and unfriendly remarks. Try to keep bragging to a minimum; remember every dollar you make is a dollar someone else lost. +So I'm trying to understand how margin works. + +Say I have 100k cash in an account. + +Say I put all 100k in SPY. + +My broker (Robinhood) says there is a 25% maintenance requirement. + +So does this mean that I can sell cash secured puts using 75k worth of collateral? + +Will doing this charge me a margin borrowing fee or will this fee only be applied if my short put goes ITM and I end up being assigned? + +Just so no one asks, I'm not selling puts on meme stocks. Just trying to figure out if I can sell (in my opinion) safe OTM puts while also being fully invested in SPY. +Hello, I'm new to thetagang. I've been familiar with options for several years, but only recently started trading. + +I've been lurking, reading and studying before placing my first significant trade, and made the following trade today. + +**WHAT I DID**: + +(VTI current price 179.47) + +SOLD 20 contracts of 21 October VTI Calls at 194 strike at .92 and received a premium of $\`\`1840.00 + +BOUGHT 20 contracts of 21 October VTI Calls at 198 strike at .45 and paid a premium of $900.00 + +This credit spread on VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market Return) yielded $940.00 premium on options that *could* expire in 21 days. + +**WHY I DID IT**: + +* I believe VTI tracks the return of the total stock market. +* I do not believe there will be any reason for a significant rise in the total market in the next 21 days. +* There would need to be over an 8% percent rise in the total stock market in the next 21 days to take my 194-strike calls ATM. +* My thinkorswim has a probability analysis function that offers the probability of a certain security hitting ITM. (I'm not sure how much I should rely on this) +* The (alleged) probability of VTI hitting ITM (194) before October 21 is 14.98% +* The (alleged) probability of both calls expiring is 85.02% ***(Keep $940 premium)*** +* The (alleged) probability of VTI going ITM to 198 (my top call) is 9.54% ***(Lose $7060 after covering*** *(($8000-$940 premium))****)*** +* The (alleged) probability of VTI going ITM between 194 and 198 is 5.44% + * If they expire/exercise in this range, the range of results could be +$940 at 194, and -$8000. The median of this range is -$3530, after adding the $940 premium, we get -$2590. Therefore, 5.44% (***Lose, at median value, -$2590, if we hit within this range.)*** + * **EXPECTED VALUE OF THE TRADE:** + * .8502($940) + .0544(-$2590) + .0954 (-$7060) + * $799.19 + (-$140.90) + (-$673.52) + * ***Expected value: -$15.23*** + +After running this expected value calculation, I am questioning the wisdom of this trade, since statistically, it's a loser. However, I devised this quick calculation using the median of the ITM range. It could be flawed. However, the probability of keeping my $940 premium is 85.02%. + +This would be a return of $940 on my portfolio of $50,000 within 21 days: 1.8% in 21 days / 37.68% annual, $7060, or 14.1% of the total brokerage account value, at risk of loss. + +Since making this trade this morning, I have a net profit of $285.00 on the position. + +* Is this *thetagang?* +* Is my expected value calculation flawed? +* Should I make trades where the expected value is positive? (I realize how stupid this sounds, but I'm curious if my above analysis is flawed) +* Do I have too much at risk? +* Should I close this trade since I've made 1/3 of the expected 21 day profit in 1 day? (I'm thinking yes) +* Should I re-do this trade with a spread that has a positive expected value (I'm thinking yes) + +Help me thetagang better, thetagang. I'm trying to do the math and think these through and not YOLO. +Keep it friendly and civil; this is not WSB and automod will censor your posts at will for unsavory and unfriendly remarks. Try to keep shit posting and bragging to a minimum. +I see that people often recommend 45 DTE and .30 delta. Most options I've looked at seem more profitable by selling weeklies. Example, RIOT next week with delta .3 gets 1.55 premium. Do that 6 times for a total of 9.30 compared to selling one time 42 days out with a .3 delta for 3.65. + +I've been trading for over 10 years but I'm fairly new to theta gang and just curious why choose the 42 day instead. Is it because of the profits from the much higher strike? +I see this question come up all the time. So here's my unsolicited wisdom and advice. Guaranteed to be true or your money back. + +This is about rolling your covered calls. + +First of all, you should always have an idea of what you might do in various future scenarios, before you get into a trade. Make a plan and stick to it. But you're not perfect, and neither are your boobs. We all work with what we have. + +And yes, smart money says judge your position by its current market value and whether or not you have some place better to put that money. But my crystal ball works as well as yours does. If we all knew for sure the best place to put our money, then that's all we would do and this shit would be super easy. So that advice always struck me as misguided for the average boob. + +So here's when this boob rolls and why. + +My overarching goal in this game is to own as many shares as I can get my stupid hands on. In quality companies. So, generally speaking, I don't want to sell my equity. I want what I bought to make me money. + +Let's say that I sold a call, and now that short is in the money. My personal current examples of this are MOS, Roku, MSFT, NVDA. There's a couple others but you get the point. What can I say, last month was a bitch and I kept selling calls. + +My personal ideal premium return profile is anywhere from a quarter of a percent per week to 1% per week. ymmv. I wish I could get 1% per week on all the stuff I want to own, but that's not realistic, cause much of what I own are solid companies with lower volatility. + +So when I roll, what I look for is this: How many weeks did I need to go out, and how much money is that making me? + +If I get a measly five bucks for the rolled transaction. But it means I can go up a dollar in strike, that means I'm trying to make another 105 bucks x many weeks later. + +So I look at that 105 bucks against the current value of the stock, and what I paid for it. + +Does it meet my return profile? In this example, 105 bucks is roughly a quarter of 400 bucks, aka $40 stock. Adjust the math for the underlying, and what you paid. + +In other words, if the stock cost me $40 each. And I can make an extra hundred bucks in a month, by either rolling the same strike for $100 credit for 4 weeks, or rolling up one dollar strike for 4 weeks for 5 bucks. That hits the lower end of my target, aka a quarter of a percent per week or 1% per month. So I'll do it. + +And if I can't, I'll take the profit, stick to my strategy, and make the next trade when it makes sense. + +This has been an unsolicited booby advice session. I hope you found it useful. +Keep it friendly and civil; this is not WSB and automod will censor your posts at will for unsavory and unfriendly remarks. Try to keep shit posting and bragging to a minimum. +Keep it friendly and civil; this is not WSB and automod will censor your posts at will for unsavory and unfriendly remarks. Try to keep shit posting and bragging to a minimum. +I’m somewhat new to the wheel. I’m looking to make the maximum profit without shooting myself in the foot. I have a $40K account used just for investing. What percentage of my account do you suggest I use to wheel vs keeping in cash. +Keep it friendly and civil; this is not WSB and automod will censor your posts at will for unsavory and unfriendly remarks. Try to keep shit posting and bragging to a minimum. +I have been trading options for more than 5 years now and have had my share of ups and downs, but this year already have almost $50k in losses in my options trading account. I am in a fortunate enough position that I can absorb this loss amount easily, but I can't help think of all the other ways (buy and hold) I could have deployed this money. I mainly trade Credit spreads and CSPs (0.10 delta or less usually), but this year due to the market volatility have been on the wrong side/direction most of the time. This is frankly demoralizing, feel discouraged to even consider any more theta trades. +I am looking to hear from people who were able to recover from setbacks and what strategies helped them? + +Edit: Thanks all for the responses. I guess I need to step back and take a hard look at my risk management and keep emotions out. Gonna take baby steps. Looking back at some of my credit spread losses, I realized if I had not done anything at all to those positions, I would have minimized my losses (or even profited in some cases)! Expensive lesson learnt :-/ +Just realized credit spreads and debit spreads have theoretically the same profit/risk ratio, but in practice may differ. + +As you all know, there exists a spread between the bid and ask price, which means you have to eat this spread whenever you open up an options spread. + +Now, because credit spreads can either expire worthless in which case you earn profit, you dont have to close them again which equals less transactions, less times you have to eat the spread, and less commissions you have to pay. If they expire ITM in which case you’re at a loss, you have to close them again, but you wouldn’t have opened them in the first case if you were expecting a loss. + +Debit spreads on the other hand require them to expire ITM, in which case you profit and in which case you have to close them again. This incurs the aforementioned costs which were previously evaded. If they expire OTM ditto. + +Am i missing something here, and are there any other parity strategies out there which should be preferred over the other? +Not a DD, just looking for someone smart to explain.... + +So I have been selling Cash secured calls for ARKK for some time, I have never seen a week (or recently day) in which ARKK was in greens... + +Looking at the fund's holdings it has some forever green stocks in tech like tesla and some stupid ones like zoom which was good short-term but they held/are holding it for a long time... Now they have taken some position in Robinhood, I might be missing some really weapons-grade autistic analysis and decisions here... but why? + +I am a bit smooth-brained to understand this but, does anyone see an upward to ARKK? +I go back and forth between which I like more. Getting paid for having cash or getting paid to sell at a profit? Tough to decide, but the premiums seem a little juicier on the CC side. Plus the dividends. Thanks to this whole sub for showing me the way. +Keep it friendly and civil; this is not WSB and automod will censor your posts at will for unsavory and unfriendly remarks. Try to keep bragging to a minimum; remember every dollar you make is a dollar someone else lost. +Ok thetagang! I thought it would be interesting to do an end-of-month round up. + +If interested, post your monthly %return, the number of contracts you traded, your % winning trades, current portfolio greeks, and/or whatever other metric is interesting to you. Along with your overall sense of how things went! + +Note - if your return is something obscene, maybe post a screenshot or something to back it up. + +I'll go first - got a bunch of stuff still open but here's April: + +April cumulative return: 3.12% + +Contracts traded: 181 + +% of trades that were winners: 58.62% + +**Portfolio greeks as of right now:** + +beta-weighted delta: 1.25 + +theta: 3.31 (really small now that I notice it. gotta fix that) + +gamma: -38.34 (it's fine, this is fine, everything's fine) + +vega: -14.18 + +This was my first month with tastyworks as my broker, trading nothing but options. I was with etrade for a few years before this trading stocks exclusively, then some options, then went off the deep end on options, bought a bunch of books, watched all the videos I could find, and took my portfolio to tastyworks. I'm really enjoying trading and learning as much as I can, and sharing knowledge with people here. I know this is a smaller sub than r/options but I kinda like the niche thing, and I think I see the collective options IQ of this place increasing on the daily. + +Favorite trade of this past month was my XLU iron condor. It took me for a ride and being able to close it for a profit recently was very satisfying. + +Annnnnd go! +Keep it friendly and civil; this is not WSB and automod will censor your posts at will for unsavory and unfriendly remarks. Try to keep bragging to a minimum; remember every dollar you make is a dollar someone else lost. +I have a portfolio of 10 QQQ lots and 10 SPY lots and some lots of various blue-chips (MSFT, VISA). So a relatively large portfolio of 1M approximately. I am newish to options and so far I am having good success with selling covered calls (45DTE/GTC at 50%/manage at 21-15 DTE/delta selected to target annual return of 7%/roll up and out as necessary). Basically standard Tasty Trade mechanics. I am now looking for other strategies to add on that can allow me to target an extra +3% annualized. Some characteristics of the strategy I am looking for: + +1. Still allows me to remain long SPY/QQQ (does not involve me going to cash to sell CSP etc.) +2. Defined Risk. +3. Not the obvious advice of just bringing in my CC strikes to 10% annual (I am considering this separately) +4. Built in dead mans switch in the strategy. If I go into a Coma for 6 months and never log in to my account, the portfolio should not get margin called even if the market drops by 75% and then recovers (as is the case with covered calls). + +What are some simple strategies that I should look into that could get me there? +I get my money this week, and am going to use ThinkorSwim. My question is, with the day trading rule, what sort of theta strategies can be accomplished with a starting account balance of $1,000. Thanks in advance! +This is for what all of the people saying, "IV low stonks high what do???" Here is a pretty simple idea, one that is for some reason not talked about in this subreddit's wiki. And that is buying calendar spreads. What is the motive for this? Simple, both theta and vega are positive with this play. This means that your position will benefit from the passage of time and/or an increase in volatility. + +Here's an easy example with SPY. Options quotes are midpoints taken on 6/23/2021 9:32 ET. + +7/23 423P: $5.47 +Delta: -0.488, Gamma: 0.029, Theta: -0.097, Vega: 0.492 + +9/17 423P: $11.86 +Delta: -0.494, Gamma: 0.014, Theta: -0.073, Vega: 0.822 + +When we are long a calendar spread, we sell the option with fewer DTE and buy the option with greater DTE. To calculate the greeks of our total position, we subtract our short from our long. + +Overall position: Long 9/17 423P, short 7/23 423P +Delta: -0.006, Gamma: -0.015, Theta: 0.024, Vega: 0.33 + +This is just an example, and I did not actually initiate this position myself. Depending on what happens in the market, you have a lot of different options (no pun intended) to close out or continue the position. One idea is that if the option that you sold expires out of the money, you can simply sell another option to effectively roll the trade forward. If at any time IV spikes, you can just close out the position for what is going to be a significant profit. + +**Disclaimer:** This post is not financial advice, but was made for educational purposes. I am learning about options just like all of you. +We've had months of gains on gains..Now we finally get two red days and people are freaking out. + +There is no crazy news for this downturn..itll be fine. + +The big dogs took profits and are trying to shake off those new fleas. Think about all the people who just got into stocks and bought Tesla at 500+ or whatever now selling 411. + +Its the end of summer and a 3 day weekend. + +A lot of you were looking for a dip to buy into X or Y. Well, here you go. Stock Market doing a flash sale for you. +We’ve had our house up for sale through estate agents for the last 2 weeks and have had two offers in. The first is through the estate agent, is for asking price and is a lady who is renting currently and has said she can move as quickly or as slowly as we require. + +The second offer has come privately from a neighbour two doors down. He already owns that house and his father owns the one next to us. They’re wanting to buy our house so another family member can move in so the whole family is around the mum who has had medical problems. Their offer is 5k under asking price (which is pretty much the same as our estate agent fees) and they too have said they can move as quickly or as slowly as we need. + +We’ve spoken to the estate agent and she’s said that if we sold privately there would be no fees (which surprised me but not going to question it!). In monetary terms the offers are pretty much the same so currently the offer through the estate agent looks the best as we wouldn’t have to manage the sale as much. + +That said, if we sold our house to someone else, the neighbour wouldn’t be able to have their family member living directly next to their mum so we’re in a unique position where we can go back, tell them we’ve had a better offer and ask them if the offer they’ve given is their final offer. + +Before we do that we want to fully understand what the advantages and disadvantages of selling a house privately are. Apart from the obvious one of not having to pay estate agent fees are there any other advantages to selling privately? + +What downsides are their to selling privately? What should we be wary of and what should we do to protect ourselves during the sale? + +Apologies if this is posted in the wrong place but there’s some really knowledgable people and it would be great to get your input. +I will preface this by stating that I opened a stock brokerage account around 4 months ago, so I am quite new to this. + +Would it be a wise or idiotic decision to have one's entire stock portfolio based on the Big 5 Canadian banks? (CM, BMO, BNS, RY, TD). Or should I be focusing on other Canadian stocks like Canadian National Railway, Enbridge and Telus? + +I have seen a lot of talk regarding the Big 5, and how they are essentially "invincible." I have also read that if one of the Big 5 banks collapses, it means the Canadian economy is collapsing; so what are the odds of that happening. + +My plan is to just buy the Big 5, reinvest all of the dividends and buy additional stock every year. I am 25 at the moment, if that makes any difference. + +Am I retarded or does this seem like a sound plan? I am into investing more so for dividends rather than capital gains. My long term goal is to retire early, and live off of dividends. +I created a TFSA and have been trading with it for the past few weeks until I was just notified that for tax reasons dual residents should not be using TFSA's. Does anyone have any information on this, and what the best method to resolve this is? I have some stocks that I would really like to hold long-term, and I would rather not have to liquidate all my holdings if I do not have to. + +Thanks in advance to anyone who can help out and give me some clarity on this. +Canadian banks have been considered a great investment for the last decade however there seems to be a multitude of headwinds in the horizon. I’ll do my best to state the bear case: + +Commercial delinquencies are rising. These are very much tied to oil investment these have generally been low delinquency low risk loans for commercial segments of the banks. With our oil prices at the levels they are there doesn’t seem to any improvements on the horizon. + +Housing bubble: very much tied to the economy. Not much to say here other than we’re probably at peak market. A flat or soft landing is the BEST CASE. Anything else spells trouble for the banks. + +Fin-tech: Canadian FI are big by design and as a result slow to react to changing trends. As fintech companies continue to disrupt financials around the world its only a matter of time before technology like Robin Hood, peer to peer lending, Amazon pay will arrive to Canada. + + +Obviously this is speculative, but it seems like the best days of the banks are behind us. I know this goes against the grain here, but I’d love to hear the counter arguments. +i just started to invest on my TFSA account ($1000). right now my focus to invest in the eft. +my portfolio is +XEQT-40% +ZSP- 30% +TEC-15% +ZCLN -15% + +any thoughts/advice on my portfolio. +thank you. +i just started to invest on my TFSA account ($1000). right now my focus to invest in the eft. +my portfolio is +XEQT-40% +ZSP- 30% +TEC-15% +ZCLN -15% + +any thoughts/advice on my portfolio. +thank you. +I currently have a lot of my portfolio in Canadian banks, with TD being my largest position. We're not talking about crazy high numbers here, but still important numbers for retirement and HBP. + +That said, TD just announced today they will be offering $3bn in NVCC Subordinated Debentures ([here](https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/td-bank-group-to-issue-nvcc-subordinated-debentures-857729473.html)). From what I understand, NVCC subordinated debt converts to shares in the event of a company's non-viability. I'm not very informed on this particular form of security, and was hoping that someone here might be able to explain to me: + +1. What exactly does this mean? + +2. What kind of impact on market cap/share price do you tend to see after the issuance of these securities, historically speaking? + +3. Does this imply a lack of confidence from the company's perspective as a future going concern? + +4. Anything else you might be able to add? + +I appreciate it. Thanks +Title pretty much tells it all. I found out that Direct Investing, the trader I use, doesn’t buy or sell European stocks. I was wondering what was a good investment company to go through. Also what kind of price tag I would be expecting, and can I add them to my TFSA. Thanks for any help. +When my son was 15 I added him as an authorized user on my Visa card, thinking it would build his credit score. I use the card for work, my portion is commonly 8 or 9k/month, he usually charged 25 or 50 a month. Now he's 19 and in college (if sitting around the house "tele-learning" is college). His Vantage score is 761. He's applied for his own credit card and got denied. The reason given is his application shows a couple thousand a year income and a monthly Visa bill of 9k/month for the last 4 years. + +He's applied at Chase, BofA, and Wells, which all offer college student credit cards. He's called all three after being denied, all three can't grasp that they're including the parent balance, not his own. + +I cant be the first guy to do this, is this how it works? Did I screw up added a minor as an authorized user? Any suggestions? +With Evergrande news and rapid inflation and money printing and all the other myriad huge systemic issues that are currently mirroring the 2008 crash, I’m getting worried. + +Convince me that I’m wrong and that a crash won’t happen in the next 3-6 months (during the same amount of time that the crypto bull run will continue to make huge profits IMO). + +What say you? Why should I believe that when the broader markets crash, it won’t take crypto with it and ruin the party? Is there something I’m missing? Are we not on the cusp of some very serious shit about to go down? + +I believe in crypto 100%. But I believe it cannot keep pumping when the broader economy inevitably tanks. +(M25, England) - I have had jobs with 4 different employers in which I've paid pension contributions out of my salary. + +I don't expect this contributions to be huge, but I don't want them to get lost in the annals of time before I retire. What's the best way of: + +1) Finding out what the value of these pensions is? + +2) Keeping track of the pension provider to make sure they're not going bust etc.? + +Also, is there any value in consolidating those pensions into my current one? I don't expect to be leaving my current role any time soon (fingers crossed). +Do you have any trading terms or phrases that you just think sound awesome for whatever reason? + +I'll go first, mine is "the five minute nine" and I like to yell it out when the 5 minute candles respect the 9 EMA keeping me in a trade. + +Is this just me or does anyone else have specific trading phrases they like? +It is one thing if you are having a hard time, but don't let family or friends put doubt into your psyche. +If you truly cannot do it figure it out yourself. Most of the people that give "advice" are doing it out of caring sure. +But if this is what YOU want to do. Block them out for a bit and keep moving forward. My best friend and both parents said I should avoid day trading for the risk and blah blah. I hated my best friend for a good year or so while i was sucking, till i proved him wrong. +If you end up quitting, fine. But really give it a minimum 2 years of full effort before doing so. + +My first year i lost half of my portfolio that i worked so hard for doing general contracting work. The second year i got about half of what i lost back, this is where things clicked. Year 3 and 4 are when the account went off. + +What do they know? Have they accomplished what you are attempting to do? +Anyways folks, some of you will make it, some of you wont. +Ignore the negativity. + +General advice YMMV(for stocks only, im a crypto/forex noob): +1. screenshot the trades you missed and the trades you made (gain or loss) so you dont make the mistakes again(loss aversion and positive pattern recognition) You want as much data as possible to review later +2. DO NOT trade the first 20 minutes of market open. Patterns have not formed up yet, after a few reps then yeah you can trade first 20. Im still up at 8:30 EST for research but even now i typically wait till 10:00 EST for my first trade +3. every weekend go back to the screenshots you made. Likely you will make the connection that certain patterns work for you and the same pattern will pop up eventually through the week. +4. lower your expenses to the minimum possible. you get less stress an can put more focus on trading +5. P r i c e A c t i o n, volume is king, but price action and getting good entries lets you at least be a little sloppy and not be punished as bad as if you got a bad entry and the pattern fails. Look up videos etc. free content is the best content. +6. If you can only go part time, it sucks but go back and look at your watchlist and see what happened to the tickers during the hours you were not there and then take screenshots. Sometimes patterns form up mid day or during power hour. +7. Stay away from courses for the most part. they don't really have in incentive to REALLY teach you how to trade because then they lose out on their monthly money a new trader is paying them. If you really like one of them sure try it I guess. +8. DO NOT beat yourself up too bad. This is the hardest skill to become proficient at and no one just comes out of the womb a trading savant. I lost half first year so... dw about it. Just relax. + +Good luck. Trade like Kings. +So I have been doing some research and have come across many different YouTubers that explain how to day trade. One of them is Ross Cameron. Have you guys ever worked with him? Do you think he’s a scam? + + +Any YouTuber you suggest I follow? +Let's be real here, I cringe every time I see someone come here (more than likely from WSB) talking about "Paper Hands" and how they feel shame about it. + +It's pure and utter NONSENSE!! + +NOBODY, and I do mean 'NOBODY' should be telling YOU what and how YOU should invest YOUR MONEY. PERIOD! + +If you sell a stock and make a profit on it - great!If you sell a stock to reduce more losses - just as great! + +Anyone telling you how you should have "Diamond Hands" has a stake in the game and they NEED people who don't know better to play along so THEY don't lose money. Do you honestly think they care about you? + +Come on people! +rant.end(); <edited because my 'code' was wrong> +Do you have any trading terms or phrases that you just think sound awesome for whatever reason? + +I'll go first, mine is "the five minute nine" and I like to yell it out when the 5 minute candles respect the 9 EMA keeping me in a trade. + +Is this just me or does anyone else have specific trading phrases they like? +I must admit they’ve had me chasing my tail the last few sessions. + + +Thoughts on why the market is suddenly upset? +Difficult to figure given the reaction yesterday. +I am, by no means, a pro trader. + +Every day, I learn something. My journey started in 2020, and I am not there yet. + +However, I have talked to over 50 daytraders during this time and asked for help/advice/guidance. + +Here is what I have found: + +* There is NO SECRET SAUCE: no indicator can make you rich. +* Day Trading is more about Personality: We trade differently. even, in real-time, if 2 people are talking live with each other, the way they perceive Price Action will be different. And those small differences matter. +* Sharing/Giving: Not everyone wants to share. I recently talked to a so-called "successful" trader and this is what he said, "I have a secret code that helps me take 90% profitable trades". To me, that is a red flag. Run! However, there are some genuine people out there who want to share because they believe sharing helps learn more, and improve. + +These are just my thoughts. Please share yours. +Hi all, +Currently have a baby napping on me so excuse the poor formatting. +I currently have next to no pension pot. Before maternity leave I was earning £35k a year doing an admin job. Employer contributes the minimum 3%, I have been adding 5%. +I will be droping down to 3 days per week when i return to work to balance childcare= £21k p/a. +Money is tighter than ever and I worry about my inability to bolster my pension fund. +I understand its a case of having a cake and eating it- not wanting/able to pay in more but wanting to have more in the pot. +I guess I'm looking for reassurance, it's a time in my life where money is tight and my ability to work more is limited. Can anyone relate that has since managed to put more money into theirs? Any tips or advice? + +I enjoy my job and the flexibility it provides, particularly since having a baby, is fairly invaluable but it's not one that I can easily increase my salary in. + +I think comparison is kicking in too as my siblings are fairly big earners/firefighter with a good pension/married into money 😅 I feel this sub has quite a few high earners and that's adding to my feeling of inadequate earnings. + +Sorry for the ramble and thanks for reading. +From, +A very tired anxious Mum +Even though I work as an engineer and make a decent living, I am going to work this weekend washing windows to make extra money. Why? Because I want to make extra money while Bitcoin is cheap so I can buy more. Why? Because I want to buy an honest currency that can’t be inflated into oblivion by some bloated inefficient government or central bank.I want to provide for my family the best I possibly can because I love them. Bitcoin is a hard currency that I believe in. It makes me want to earn more, save more, and work harder. Bitcoin is awesome! +I jumped on the train like everyone else, but began to notice a lot of malice and discord between people who think differently about the future of these meme stocks. + +The important thing people need to remember is everyone on here is a stranger. We joke and talk shit which is fine and all, but you have no idea what people are doing outside of what they commented. The majority of people here are likely in it for themselves. You don't know what their motivation is, be it telling people to buy/hold for those looking to cash in, those who "just like the stock", or those that say sell because they are "shills" or have some other ulterior motive. Maybe they are trying to look out for you. Maybe not. + +At the end of the day stop letting emotions and the temperature of this and other subreddits dictate your choices. What happens here might influence the market, but I've seen too many posts about diamond hands and monkey grips with the stock continuing to decline to think we have any significant role in what happens with the price. Don't put in what you can't risk to lose; it isn't worth it. + +TL;DR - If you want to buy - buy. If you want to hold - hold. If you want to sell - sell. But for fuck's sake be careful. +Apes, + +I am not a shill or here to spread FUD. I am here to help prepare you mentally for what may lay ahead. + +We’ve seen a heavy increase in puts. Last time this happened in March, we saw a massive short attack follow. This is not an uncommon tactic. + +Many of you have held through hell and high water; but price psychology is a thing and hedge funds WILL try and break us. Right as things are looking to be ever more in our grasp and that desert oasis is jusssssttt coming into view - they will come at us hard. Call it their last stand or whatever you want. + +But from boomer experience, I can tell you that when you think all hope is lost, and the ship is sunk, that paradise is actually ever close on the horizon. + +I don’t have a crystal ball and I can’t guarantee this will happen, but I hope if it does we are mentally prepared. This will allow you to face your fears with confidence knowing that you’re a god damned diamond handed ape. Hold strong. + +💎🤲🏼🦍 + +Edit 1: so special thanks to silverbacks like u/c-digs and others for doing the work in the trenches on the rule changes. + +Edit 2: I wrote this originally just before 004 passed so I think it’s crucial to read it again. + +Edit 3: This post from u/c-digs from yesterday touched on what I said here and is worth your time. I implore everyone to read it. + +https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/ngnjms/expect_the_unexpected_how_the_squeeze_may_unfold/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf +It is by far the number one problem my wife and I have. We live in an expensive urban area and are lucky enough to have a lot of friends, but that just means every weekend night and 2-3 weekday nights we have invites to go out. + +We do invite people over to hang out a good amount to try and cut back on our own costs, but we can't do that every night. Plus our apartment and most of our friend's apartments are pretty small. We do try to say no, but that can be tough because of peer pressure and the fact that we enjoy socializing. + +We don't really buy much other "stuff" so it really is our biggest hurdle for saving money (aside from my wife's absurd student loan debt but that's a different story). + +Anyways, just wanted to hear if anyone else struggles with this and if they figured out how to strike a balance. I realize there are several simple solutions like: + +* Just say no. +* Make new friends. +* Try to suggest cheaper activities. + +We do try all of that, but it is very hard to stick to it. +Had a falling out with a friend last week and one of their last comments were "look at you, still living at home" - of course I laughed but it got me thinking, who else is still saving up to be FTB's? +Do you guys know of any assets that are negatively correlated to the S&P 500 over long time periods but have positive returns? I'm looking to further diversify my portfolio. + +Note: I'm not looking for assets that are not correlated to the S&P 500, I'm specifically looking for assets that are negatively (if possible almost perfectly negatively) correlated to the S&P 500. I'm not looking for short positions either. Simply assets (stocks, bonds, etc...) that are different from the S&P 500 but negatively correlated to it. +Sparing the reference to one in a million investors like Buffett, I have been trying to find out why beating the market is so difficult from a core principles perspective. + +Theoretically, it shouldn't be that hard. The market return is an average of stocks going up and down. Some go up, some go down. For instance, if I mirrored a portfolio of the SPY holdings, I will have 500 stocks in various amounts. Some of these will do better than others. For active portfolio managers whose full time job it is to manage funds, all they would have to do is identify one stock that may not match the SPY and either sell or buy more of that. And yet it is notoriously impossible for any fund to ever beat the market consistently. + +For example, right now stock xyz seems to be increasing its debt. Company ABC is paying down its debt. I think that means ABC will do better so I sell some xyz and buy more ABC. It seems simple but obviously it isn't as no active funds ever beat the market average consistently. + +Why is beating market return so difficult? +Hey there r/eupersonalfinance! + +In advance, thank you all for your contributions here, the ideas of r/personalfinance are huge but mostly not applicable here, so big ups for translating the stuff to the EU! + +Now to my question to you guys: What is the best way of long-term saving / saving for retirement in Germany? + +Apart from the mandatory Gesetzliche Rentenversicherung, the government subsidized programs don't seem to make too much sense (too many penalties for the low tax advantages) and won't really be applicable for anybody planning to spend some years living and working abroad. + +What do you think about those programs? Is regularly investing net-income via e.g. a Sparplan the most reasonable way to go there? + +Financial planning is really almost non-existent in education, yet as a youngster soon entering the job market any advice (especially from fellow Germans here) is greatly appreciated! +I'm 21 years old and I'm about to get my first job. Also I'm making some money on the side. +Naturally I'm thinking of starting investing in well... Anything that can make my money multiply. Thing is my knowledge is pretty limited. Apart from maybe knowing what stocks and mutual funds are there's not much else(I should mention that on the PERSONAL finance level I think I educated myself pretty good). I was thinking of investing in mutual funds because they don't require much knowledge and seem like a balanced risk/possible reward ratio and also because it doesn't require absurd amounts of money to get in. + +I'm not asking what I should invest in. I want to UNDERSTAND investments. I want to educate myself on investments. Why does the market move the way it does? What are my options? ETFs, stocks, bonds? Maybe gold? What are the ups and downs of each? What about other opportunities? What are the main red flags to look for in a company before investing? What about taxes and legal stuff?( I'm from Romania so there's not so much info on legal stuff really) + +Where would I even start about this? I'm talking any type of resources. Books, YouTube videos, blogs, whatever. From my research I stumbled upon 3 books which I found interesting and will probably buy: Smarter Investing, The Intelligent Investor and The Little Book of Valuation. What should be my starting steps in investing? +I'll start saying I only have basic knowledge in investment and stocks. + +I am with ING in Spain, and they have a service called MyMoney Coach, which an automated process where they ask you how much money you want to put away from your current savings, how much each month, determine your risk profile with a few questions (would you be willing to lose XXX if you could earn YYY type of thing), and they lay out a plan for you to invest (or rather, for them to invest for you). + +In general terms, how reliable is this? The plan they laid out includes a lot of different investments with different risk levels. Assuming one could do better with sufficient knowledge, is this service still OK for someone who doesn't have it? + +Thanks. +I am a student and I just started doing my internships in several law firms in Western Europe. Now my boss from a very small law firm in France often mistakes the internship indemnity/salary that the firm has to pay at the end of the month (so that they don’t have to pay social charges) and I get less than written in the contrat (they pay me by hour, written in the contract) This has being very frustrating. + +Coming from an Asian culture and being a woman much younger than my boss, I found extremely difficult to talk about money and the fact that I will disturb my coworkers. To be honest, having lived in France for several years, I found people here rarely talk about money either. Any advice on how people talk (in a better and constructive way) about money? +Thanks! +Hello all, + +I am doing some paper exercises on bonds- really new on bonds. I have found for example the following: NL0000102234 - [NEDER4%15JAN37 % 161.88 (euronext.com)](https://live.euronext.com/en/product/bonds/NL0000102234-XAMS/market-information) . Could someone explain how much do I gain/lose by buying this bond at the current market price and how do you calculate this. I have also read sth about dirty/clean prices. What is this and how do you use this info for your investment? +Hello, + +I currently own an emergency fund, a daily account for personal stuff and some high-risk investments. I am looking for a low risk investment for 20.000€ which is better than my 0.8% "Tagesgeldkonto". I don't need to touch the money for the next 10-20 years. +Is a 75/25 MSCI World & Emerging Markets really the best idea? Is it possible to buy Vanguard ETFs here in GER as a one-time order? + +Thanks in advance! +Hi, + +First off, let me just say I live in Austria. + + +I'm not at the end of my wits and do have some degree of comfort in my life, but I really need to pay off this loan because I also do feel a shit ton of discomfort at my current job and would like to properly invest in myself and maybe formally educate myself a bit more. +So, a short breakdown of the monthly expenses going on now that can and should be gotten rid of: + +1. Big loan - €13k, €260-ish monthly with and interest rate of 8% getting added 4 times per year. +2. Monthly installments for furniture - €50 per month. €2k to go. +3. Phone, also paid monthly - €11. just under under €300 to go +4. Savings account contains about just above €700 on it - takes 40€ per month from acc. I could use this to pay off my phone and a bit for the furniture which would allow me to go a bit aggressively towards the hefty loan. +5. Insurance (injuries and the like) - €18 monthly (lasts as long as the loan lasts) +6. Insurance for the loan in case I can't pay it off or anything happens to me - €10 monthly. Don't really need this... + +Now all of these can be dealt with but I need a system. Should I go from smallest to largest or largest to smallest? + +Thank you. + +Edit 1: +Ok, the savings aren't to be touched. I do have one thing going for me though. And that is, I get a double paycheck twice a year. Urlaubsgeld (vacation money) and Weihnachtsgeld (holiday money) or something like that. I'm still in for Weihnachtsgeld and it is a hefty sum, which can practically obliterate the 2 small loans. Should I use it for that or the bigger loan? + +Edit 2: +So, there's also one more option. I could try and go to another bank and negotiate with them, to take over the loan and give me a better interest rate in exchange for me being a client there. I could also ask for a smaller monthly rate and transfer my savings there...what do you think about this? + +Edit 3: +I have been living in Austria for about 4 years almost, and my nett income per month is €1900. Plus/Minus 100-200. Depends on if I work overtime and/or Sundays, holidays and the like. + +Incremental update 1: +1. I called my ISP and cancelled my cable and downgraded my internet speed. I also contacted my insurance agent and cancelled one of the things that I was paying for, but don't actually need. With just these 2 moves, I'm set to save €35/month or rather redirect towards paying the loan. +2. I set up a meeting with my bank to talk about renegotiating the interest rate and the 2 insurances I have with there. But the lady at the bank is going on vacation and she's not coming back until mid September. So, patience I guess. +3. I used online banking to categorize expenses and get a feeling about what was happening there through the month. The amount of insight I've gotten in my finances and the "holes" through which my money is leaking makes me feel like a doofus because I've let it go as bad as it did. But it also gave me positivity and energy to finding more ways in which I can cut my losses and pay the loan off faster. + +Update 2: +Have been informed I don't have an 8% interest rate but 6.5% because of those 2 insurances, which can only be gotten rid of after the loan had been paid of in full, because they're directly connected to it. I then tried refinancing the whole loan to make my interest rate a bit lower and she said that it isn't possible. +I did however find out that I can pay the whole thing off before the natural cycle runs out, to no additional cost. + +So, here we are. I was thinking about contacting another bank to ask what could be done if I switched there, but instead I'm just going to do my best to put every extra cent I have into paying this out. I just got my paycheck for august and immediately gave 400€ to my personal savings account. I'm going to do this every month until I have 4 months (at 2 months currently) rent saved up and some reserve, and then I'm going to pay the rest toward the loan. Also am exploring other ways of maybe accumulating assets. +I regularly receive RSUs (restricted stock units) as compensation and I'm not sure what to do with them. Originally I didn't sell at all, later I sold some, and I'm currently having a more principled approach of selling such that this stock is not over 20% of my equities. Whatever I sell + part of cash salary I put into VCWE. + +I understand and agree with this common argument: "If I give you cash, would you buy that stock? If no, then sell immediatelly". However it's not as simple as that due to tax - since I didn't sell from the start, I live in Germany where you sell the oldest stock first, and the stock went up - I'd have to pay quite a bit of tax if I was to sell. So the common sense 'sell' argument battles against the deferred tax effect. + +I guess there is no correct answer without knowing the future, but maybe there are some additional arguments to consider, and some answers can be more wrong than others :) , e.g. "don't sell anything at all" would be bad (though historically would have been the best :) ) + +Relevant other info: I've got my nest egg and equity which is currently 20% the RSU and 80% VCWE. I can survive the potential loss of job and 20% RSU if the company goes down, of course I would very much prefer not to but I've got a good cushion. So this post is not about avoiding the worst case scenario (in that case - sell all RSU and buy VCWE) but making a smart investment decision. +I'm living in a Eastern European country, earning on average €2000-€2500, sometimes more. Spending around €700 / month including rent which is €185 / month for me (sharing it with my girlfriend). + +My portfolio currently looks like this to which I'm contributing monthly with approximately €500 in the ETF category to get it to 20-25%. + +Bonds and CD's : 71% + +Individual stocks : 16% + +ETF's: 8% + +Crypto: 5% + +I'm expecting an annual return from my investments of around 7-8% in 2020. + +I could pay a down payment of 60%-70% for the type of apartment I'm currently living in if I would liquidate my investments and the monthly mortgage rate (probably around 5% interest) would be 139 EUR / month which I would split with my girlfriend, so roughly around 70 EUR / month. + +I've been thinking about this and couldn't come up with an answer mostly because I feel real estate is extremely inflated at this point due to years of QE from the ECB and having the impression that a recession is around the corner and I would feel bad to pay a large sum for an apartment only to lose 30% of its value within a year or two. + +What do you think? +I'm not sure if this question specifically was asked already, if it was I apologise in advance. +So, my question is about the potential double whammie taxes. I have an accout with IB, specifically IBCE (IB Central Europe. I am a tax resident of Slovenia. +Lets say i wanted to buy a German stock which pays out dividends. From what I can see I am subject to a German withholding tax for dividends which is about 26%. Then I hold this stock on IB and then I have to file a tax report with Slovenian authorities. So, firstly, I get hit with 26%German tax on dividends which is a withholding tax, and then I get hit again with the Slovenian tax of 27,5% on that remainder. So basically nearly 50% of my profit is gone. +If this is true then dividend investing is... bad. +Am I missing something, do i have to file an extra tax report somewhere and basically prove I paid taxes somewhere? +Do keep in mind that I am not planning on having a lot of money invested in say German stocks, but I was wondering if it was at all worth the effort. +Thanks in advance +Hi, I just started investing around a couple of months ago through Degiro in two distributing ETFs each tracking the MSCI World index and the MSCI Emerging Markets index, from Degiro's commission-free list. My investing strategy is to keep investing every month for at least 20 years to facilitate my retirement. + +I discovered the concept of Stocks and Shares ISAs like Vanguard's and I was wondering if it would be worth switching to something tax-free like that? Would it make a big difference in the long term all fees considered? Thanks. +Hello everyone, does anyone know and / or have experience with the following: + +\- You are a citizen in a EU member state + +\- You build your portfolio out with Ireland domiciled Accumulating ETFs (ex iShares MSCI World Core UCITS Acc ETF). + +\- You then move to the USA and become tax resident there. + +**What sort of taxation is expected on dividends?** + +15% regular withholding since u own an ETF in IE? xx% marginal tax rate on top of that? no tax since it's accumulating? Some other special tax rate? + +Thank you! + +&#x200B; + +EDIT: Just want to mention that I got to like page 3 of google with this and no relevant findings +Greetings,So market in NL went apeshit - low supply + low interest rates (currently in 1.1-1.4 range). Places that were like 350K last year are going for 450 if not more. Overbidding doubled from 10-15% and some people are just dumping 150K just to get the place. Social housing is being aggressively targeted to make space for new built condos which if they are central are for rent only. Average rent where I live is 1200 for 1 bedroom. Amsterdam is 1300. Both without any utilities. + +I wonder is it the good idea to jump in or there are signs that this could be a liability?My take on it is that long term 10-15 years - it's a good idea and worst case I can rent it out and relocate to a cheaper place in EU. My income is pretty good by local standards (70K) and my industry is likely to do well in coming years (IT). + +I'm here for some perspective on what housing market in NL and EU could do in next 10 years. From where I stand it seems like that politicians are content with things as they are cause banking sector is doing great and they can always blame COVID/immigrants for housing squeeze and just kick the can down the road to their likely rivals (who could also be blamed if they win)Looking at overall population density and short supply - nothing is likely to change even in 10 years if they start building today. Even if peasants revolt (which is already starting to happen)But again, that's based on my limited research and I don't really follow local news. So curious about more informed input from any NL residents or folks with enough experience on the subject. +There are a few threads on this sub about VWCE/VWRL vs. the new V3AA. I understand there are pros and cons of choosing either, mainly related to not having small-caps in VWCE/VWRL and the ESG filter in V3AA. + +Now my question is what if I just buy both i.e. instead of spending, let's say 1000/month, on one of these I just have two monthly plans for 500/month each. What are the downsides of this approach? Am wondering cause no one seemed to have gone for or suggested that in those threads. +Hello everyone, + +I’m legally resident and working in Germany as a nonEU citizen. + +I’m thinking to open an account in another EU country where banks are safe and providing good quality of service and accept nonEU citizens residing and working legally in Germany as customers. But I don’t know about much about banks in other EU countries because of language barrier. + +I’m only looking for a way to keep my money safe in a current account (in a bank with good credit ratings in a financially stable country in EU) and use it hassle free. (For example buy things with visa/Mastercard debit, do groceries, transfer money to loved ones with SEPA or SWIFT, receive salary, use it for online shopping with Apple Pay, withdraw cash or deposit cash, use internet banking or mobile banking.) + +I’m not interested in investments, credits, credit cards, loans, interest based saving account, trading, crypto currency. I just want my money to be safeguarded in a financially solid institution with easy access to my money and I’m open to the idea of paying a fee for this service. I would appreciate easy foreign currency transactions because sometimes I need to buy keep or sell other currencies as I frequent travel. + +I will appreciate any advice but please don’t recommend banks in Germany, neobanks or fintechs. I’m looking for bricks and mortar EU banks. Thanks. +The ETFs are the same in that they are both accumulating and in USD. + +I use Trading212, and what I noticed is that on VUAA the spread is way higher than on CSPX. + +On VUAA there is 62.528 / 62.632 for sell / buy vs 348.92 / 349.00 on CSPX. I guess that might be because of a lower popularity (turnover) of the vanguard one? + +But I've also heard opinions that vanguard is generally quite recommended for etfs. + +So, what is the better choice for a long-term etf investment? + +As a side note, there is also VUSD, but it is distributing, so I suppose it's worse than an accumulating one? +Hi all, + +I've saved about €2000. I'd like to either invest it in something or put it in a savings account. There's a mutual fund (Bloomberg Code: BNPIICFT Index) that a local bank offers. Would that be a good investment? + +Most savings accounts offer an interest rate in the 0.01 - 0.03% range which (*I think) is too low and with inflation is actually going to make me lose money. + +I need advice on what to do with the money. If it stays in my spendings account I'm gonna be tempted to spend it. Starting next year I will hopefully be able to start saving a certain % of my paycheck. + +Note: I'm in my early 20's living in Bulgaria, EU. +*First off, sorry this is long. Tl;dr at the bottom. Using a throwaway because of all the details.* + +I've been lurking and learning for a long time on here, but even now, I am still not sure what to do in our situation given the citizenships, goals, and job security. I just need some perspectives from people who get this stuff. + +**So what do you think? Should our money be handled differently? Can we reasonably take on a mortgage this size given our situation?** + +**Details**: + +I'm an EU & American citizen (46 yr old) and my partner became Austrian (37 yr old) in ~2010. We live in Vienna, Austria. + +**In bank:** €170k + +**Income:** €7k/month *(that's after tax/insurance/pension)* + +**Monthly costs *(rent, food, utilities, life)*:** ~€2k. + +**Invested:** I have money invested in the US (~$200k) and plan to let it just grow for retirement. My job also has a pension plan that I contribute to each month. Between those two and social pension for my partner, retirement is stable. + + +**Situation:** + +We plan to stay in Austria and want to buy a flat in Vienna asap, but are still looking. We expect it to take 1-2 years to find and move into. Prices are around €500-650k for a pretty well-located place that is in good shape. My parents said they might be able to loan us ~€100k, which we'd have to pay back (with little or no interest, though). + +We're also trying to have a baby. We're getting old and biologically can't wait any longer. So we expect costs to go up to ~€2.5-3k/month while it's a baby and slowly a little more as the kid gets older. + +Lastly, job insecurity: I am the main breadwinner by far at the moment; my partner is starting up in web dev and we're hoping that will be solid in 1-2 yrs. My contract is pretty secure until 2028 and there is a small possibility of an added contract after that until 2031. There is the tiny, rare possibility that my contract isn't prolonged at some point during those first 7 years, but either some absolutely absurd global events would have to happen or I'd have to mess up royally. Neither of which are likely. The last extension between 2028-2031 has a 30-40% chance of happening. + +After that, my job is done, and I will have to find a new one. For a non-native in Austria, it's a rough market, and if I get lucky and find something, it could easily mean my income drops to €1-2k/month given the market here. There is a possibility that I could land another high-paying contract at one of the few similar employers in Austria (and then would earn more than I do now), but I don't want to assume it because competition is fierce and has a lot to do with timing, connections, and luck. And I also don't know if I want to stay in this line of work; it's often stressful and cutthroat, ugh. + +So, that's the situation. + + +**Now for the questions.** + +I know money just sitting in the bank is a terrible idea. But I don't want to tie it up with investing if we're going to buy a flat in 1-2 years (or sooner). Or is there something I am missing in my thinking here? Plus, investing in Europe as a US citizen is way trickier from what I've read so there's that additional barrier. + +And for a flat: is taking on a mortgage for €500-650k a terrible idea? We'd put down €100k from my parents and ~€150-175k ourselves (depending on how long it takes us to find a place and can save in the meantime). Interest rates are generally around 2%. + +**Is a mortgage like that a bad idea if my job security will run out in 7-10 years, we have a baby, and if we're unsure if my partner's web dev work pans out?** + +**What would you guys do in our shoes?** + +Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer! + + + +*Tl;dr: EU/American & naturalized Austrian in Vienna want to have a baby and want to asap find and buy €500-650k flat. ~€170k in bank, income ~€7k/month, monthly costs ~€2-3k, add'l retirement $/€ invested in US & EU/job pensions. Majority of income secure only until 2028, maybe 2031, then unknown job situation. Should money stay in bank now for buying flat or go somewhere else? Is mortgage for €500-650k in our situation realistic?* +Hello everyone. I am 33 years old, tax-resident of Romania. I work as a freelance consultant and have around 180,000 euros sitting in a bank account. My yearly net earnings are about 100,000 euros. Thanks in advance for your answers. + +\- This is the investment allocation I am thinking about but I would like to hear your thoughts. + +* 15,000 Emergency fund +* 25,000 Yearly expenses +* 60% equity index funds +* 10% fixed income +* 15% real estate +* 15% business venture(s) + +\- Equities only vs Equities/fixed income. Equities only are generally best for long term investing but fixed income shields you from the behavioral impact on your investment patterns? e.g. stop investing during crisis + +\- According to [this ](https://ofdollarsanddata.com/even-god-couldnt-beat-dollar-cost-averaging/)article, lump Sum investing is better than DCA and there is no point trying to time it? Given the current state of economy should I still just go for it? + +\- In the next couple of years I would like to make some investments. Does it make sense to keep that amount in cash or bonds or ETFs and then cash it when needed? + +* put down a down payment for a mortgage, about 40,000 +* Invest in a business venture about 40,000 + +\- Any specific broker you suggest? I understand that DeGiro and IB are good option. According to [this ](https://thepoorswiss.com/degiro-vs-interactive-brokers-european-portfolio/)article DEGIRO Custody or Interactive Brokers Tiered (>100.000e) would be good options for accumulating portfolios. + +\- As a Romanian tax-resident my understanding is that it is best to choose a Non-US domiciled ETF. Dividend tax is 5% and capital gains tax is 10%. Are accumulating index funds best or is it the fact that it's lazier that makes it better? + +\- The common debated portfolio of accumulating index funds is [FTSE All-World UCITS](https://www.justetf.com/en/etf-profile.html?query=Vanguard++FTSE++All-World++UCITS&groupField=index&from=search&isin=IE00BK5BQT80#overview) vs [iShares Core MSCI World ETF](https://www.justetf.com/en/etf-profile.html?query=ishares++core++msci&groupField=index&from=search&isin=IE00B4L5Y983) \+ [iShares MSCI Core Emerging Markets IMI ETF](https://www.justetf.com/de-en/etf-profile.html?query=IE00BKM4GZ66&groupField=index&from=search&isin=IE00BKM4GZ66) (88% + 12%). The latter has lower TER but 2 transactions (monthly). Any justifiable preference? +I am interested in purchasing a property owned by us bank na trust +The property is on auction and is not sold for 7 consecutive months its occupied and being managed by a rent management firm there are tenants living there so thats probably why its being auctioned and not on MLS + +I dont have the entire money in cash but my loan officer told me if im able to pay over 20% in down theyd waive the appraisal and approve the mortgage (iam pre approved). + +As i can not enter the auction coz its cash only i want to reach out to the US bank trust to see if they’ll wanna sell it yo me directly.. you think this would work? Any tips? On how to get to them. PS: as you might have guessed..im a rookie! +Is there a primer or post somewhere on why you would invest in real estate as opposed to just putting your money into an index fund and watching it grow for 30-40 years with minimal cost? + +Interested in getting into real estate as another form of investment, but I can’t justify it based on what I’ve learned about the rate of return on long term investments in the stock market. +I'm in CA and looking at buying a 4-8 unit property in the midwest. Timeline is about 9-12 months. I have no ties to the area or know people out there. Any advice on where to even start? Do I just search loopnet, cold call realtors, post here or biggerpockets forum.... + +Will probably be in for about $150k capital and willing to go up to about $500-600k of a purchase price. + +Any advice? +Pretty much the best ratios im finding have a store front on the first floor. Is it harder to get rent from a buisness? Is it hard to get rented? +Im seeing duplex's with a 7/11 size store under +What has your expirance been like? +Should I try to shoot for 0 taxable income, or is it okay to have negative taxable income because schedule E losses carry over to the next year? + +Also, do schedule E losses affect W2 income? + +Thank you. Apologies for the basic questions. Just want to see what you all are doing in this space for maximizing returns. +This has whole deal has been one huge headache after another. Basically the seller bought this and did a cosmetic flip, I’m guessing they knew about these other issues s decided not to fix them and hoped the new buyer would not notice. + +The inspection found all electrical to not be up to code, utilities were not split as they told us they were and the whole house was running on 60 amp line from the city only getting 120v on one breaker box. They also did not have any heat source in the front unit. They agreed to fix all of these issues including getting the electric metered separately, and install a mini split In the front. That work is being done and will be inspected again upon completion. + +We then sent over the request for repairs and went through a long negotiation on each item there. The VA then sent a tidewater notice warning that they did not see the value and proof needed to be provided. The sellers freaked out and acted like they were going to walk every day for almost a week until the appraisal came back, it came back a value so I thought we were finally good. My agent had an issue getting a pipe inspection done in the beginning so that was the last hurdle to clear and then we were set to close next week. + +The pipe inspection turned up an offset pipe in the street 6ft from the city’s main line, and some root intrusions. They quoted 40k to fix all of it. + +We sent over the proof and requested a credit, they said they would give 15k that’s it, they also told my realtor they have an all cash offer and want to walk. I don’t really get why that matters at this point since we have jumped though all the VA hoops and are ready to close, also don’t they have to disclose this to the new buyers? I can’t imagine they would be OK with it. + +I’m at odds what to do, I am paying 40k over asking (1.4), but I do have a Tennant lined up willing to rent one unit for 4K and my partner and I will live in the other. With paying nothing down knowing what I can get for rent makes this all seem very doable for me. With the low inventory of doubles in the area I don’t know when another deal would come my way specially knowing I got a 2.5 interest rate for it. When do you guys know when the right time to walk is? + +Thanks for an advice. +First time landlord currently looking for tenants. I get calls everyday from "businesses" that want to rent from me and offer above my listing price. It's clearly scams or just call centers gathering leads to sell. + +What's their end game? +I’ve been looking at the market for quite a while now and I am ready to make my first purchase. I’m looking to buy a rental property in NYC (not manhattan of course). Any thing to look out for or any key indicators a property is a strong buy? Thank you +Would be nice to know I am not the only one taking a shellacking this year. + +I have had a rough year with HVAC systems. 4 properties and all 4 required some sort of major AC / Furnace repair. I can do all kind of basic repairs.... but HVAC is an area I am not familiar with so I hire outside help. Most would have constituted as an emergency.... AC breaks at hottest days of the year.... Furnace goes out with severe cold temperatures. Not something I can "price" around. + +(most recent $3000k all in) furnace replacement due to emergency. Unit was one of a kind model and no replacement parts available... had to have contractor replace ASAP... also had to buy temporary electrical heaters to keep property habitable. + +I dont think I have had a good 2-3 months stretch without a major issue this year. My properties are in really good shape (B housing). Im thinking just bad timing. Trying not to get discouraged. Anyone else have some hiccups this year? +I'm 17k deep in repairs and maintenance after buying this property less than a year ago. + +- Basement Waterproofing 6k +- Appliance repairs and replacement 700 +- Roof Repair 6k (only 3 years old) +- Plumbing Work 3k +- Bathroom Repair 2k + +Thought I was buying this thing turnkey. This has been such a pain in the ass. The previous owner clearly just renovated it just enough to sell it. My inspector fucked me. Do these problems get better with time or much worse? +The reason is silly - I have a neighbor who is SO good about saying hello using my name. It has been too long now... I SHOULD know his name. :) I would love to figure it out! Google isn’t helping. +So the general consensus among people right now is that the FED is not going to hike the interest rates in the near future. What baffles me a bit is that this has been considered as a very good sign for the markets. But that means that the economy is not strong enough to sustain any more rate hikes. Help me understand why the stock market is rising on essentially the news that the economy is not as strong as it seems. +So for a little inductive context: My salary (way high on the spectrum) is not even 20k. 52% annual inflation. I’m not even in one of the worst ones. People can barely manage to survive in most cases. And people here talk about percentages of adoption? My god they need to get their heads out of their asses. I really wish you make loads of profits in crypto; then please allocate some of that to a trip to latin america and see how things are. We lose perspective behind a screen all day and it couldn’t be more obvious when you read some of the things here. Wishful thinking doesn’t even cut it, it is just pure dissociation from reality. Rant over. + +Update: Just wow. The entitlement of some people. I invite anyone to check the comments. You have two things: 1) actual Latin Americans saying “same bro” __and__ 2) people from the USA/EU telling us we just don’t know about the actual place we live in. Astonishing +I noticed that everytime my buy order goes out I’m automatically down 20 dollars for no apparent reason. I’m still a demo account so it’s no real worry but I would like to know if that’s normal. And idk if it helps but I use oanda + +Edit: to clarify I don’t use market execution and I know for a fact what price I place my trades in (I write it down) +I was thinking of a way to trade the brexit vote without getting hit by high options premiums etc. Let me know what you think of my retarded strategy. + +Open two accounts, with 1k in each. 1:500 leverage. Open all in short GBPUSD position in one, and long GBPUSD position in the other, right before the vote. Afterwards one account should get blown out, and the other should at least more than triple. + +thoughts? +I know it may sound dumb but I just wondered. + +By gut trader I mean someone who uses no indicators and just trades of base on his gut feeling, looking over the chart (trends and candle patters), and risk management. No news trader, no Fibonacci and no random/blind trade. +EDIT: Trading 80% account per trade. + +What about $750K at 50X leverage? + +To clarify, I know 80% sounds like suicide, but please entertain the idea. Don't focus on the risk I'm taking on using 80%. Just on whether or not that could move the market. + + +If this idea is complete and utter stupid nonsense, please give me examples, comparisons and analogies as to how idiotic this is. + +Literally, I'm respectfully asking you to insult my intelligence on this one. I understand rule 5 says not to, but in this case, let's just assume everyone is attacking the idea rather than the person. Nobody will be offended. + +Thanks for any and all responses! +Hi all. I have been given an prop account which has given me a leverage of 1:500. I have only used accounts with leverage of 1:100. Would this be a problem in terms of strategy . I only risk 1% with a reward of 2-3% per trade and my pips vary from 3-15 at a time. Thank you +Hi, + +I'm 20 years old and looking at getting into Forex Trading as i have always been interested in things like the Stock Markets. Maths and Statistics have always been my strong point. I work full time so don't have the chance to be constantly on the graphs. I am a very driven, hard working guy and I am constantly wanting to learn and further improve myself + +The only thing is, I have no idea where to start with Forex and opening my own positions. I'm wondering if there are any decent books or other tools on the internet that yous could recommend thatd give me a greater, more in depth in sight into Forex. + +I've been doing loads of research recently on youtube/google, and understand things like lots, pips, leverage, candle stick charts and things like that, but i have no idea what to look for when opening a position. + +I don't have a spare £1000 laying around (wish i did) to pay for a course right at this time, however if things progress with trading then I may look at this. + +I have an account at the moment on MT4 (opened with 100£, i know its not loads, but just while i get to grips with things, then i may deposit more). However i have been using a free week trial with some people who provide signals, but i am down 20£ at the moment (i know you cant win them all). But i have been reading and people strongly advise against using Signal Providers as its a 'scam', and in turn encourage learning to trade yourself, and this is what i would love to do (sod working for someone until I'm 60) . + +Any help would be greatly appreciated, and apologies for lengthy essay. +I was holding a BUY for EURUSD for about 2 weeks just waiting until it shot up again, low and behold right before the HUGE uprise a couple minutes ago i decided to close everything at a 50 dollars loss. + +Opened up about 5 trades to sell and currently losing around 165 dollars. + +Woah is me. + + +I even posted [THIS](https://www.reddit.com/r/Forex/comments/5j8n6w/anyone_longing_the_eurusd_pair/?ref=search_posts) +New trader here, just busted my first account because of the crazy hype on aud/jpy. +Well, i did learn a few things that is a fact. But it cost me a minimum deposit... +What makes you keep/continue trading when you bust your account/have a heavy loss? (Besides the people that trade for living, but some tips regarding this topic would be nice too) +Long post possibly ahead, but I really, really appreciate your time and attention. + +I have started studying Forex since 6 February of this year. I am determined to learn Forex trading because my day job is just that awful. In my country, $500.00 is already a very livable monthly earning and I earn almost more than twice that from my day job. I currently have $3,000 cash, a third deposited in my forex trading account and my equity is effectively double that because of the broker's bonus. My goal is to be able to make even just $500.00 a month until I'm able to grow my equity slowly and learn to trade better. I plan to achieve that by July this year and become a full-time day trader. By then I will have a years' worth of living expenses (from my salary alone). + +I enrolled in a reasonably priced course that teaches mainly market structure and price action strategy. Using their strategy, my current win rate at live trading is 50% and I have identified my errors in trading such as trading against the trend and setting a too tight stop-loss. I am very strict in my risk management that I even risk less than 1% of my equity. I have been fortunate enough to find a signal that earns a bit consistently and "buffers" my bad trades. From his trading history, I expect my equity to grow 40% monthly, which the signal has done so far for 2 months now. + +I used to just spend my free time playing video games but now I really got into studying forex; reviewing the course materials I availed of, reading a few trading books, watching YouTube videos, and staring at charts analyzing. + +Now my question is: how am I doing as a trading novice/learner? Do you think that my plan is feasible? Do you have recommendations on how I can continue on the path to becoming at least a meagerly profitable trader? + +I really appreciate all your responses and I want to thank you very, very much. I wish you all the best! +Hi guys, + +So we've all heard this at one point of another. +It just got me thinking - when we look at the price of a pair at any given point, there will be buyers and sellers, right? + +So essentially, what moves the price is whichever movement has the more strength... right? + +Eg. GBPJPY @ 184.000. 60% buy bias = price will start moving up because there are more buyers than sellers (184.000 -> 184.120)? + +So basically, to make everything as simple as possible - just buy or sell in whichever direction has the more strength? + +I understand it's a pretty simple question but... dunno, seemed important to get this clarified. + +Cheers. +I hear traders who trade 15 minute charts do that all the time. I’m really just trying to know why, not that confused but slightly confused. I mean I understand that by looking at major timeframes, you get a better sense of what’s going on in the market?….. is that it? + +Thank you +http://imgur.com/rUUafrF +There's my balance/equity curve. + +I've been demo trading for a while now, and notice I'm really eager to stick to long-winning positions. Some of these trades are a week old and are about 150% the size of my initial starting account! (eg. I started the demo with 1k, the trade's profits alone are now about 1.5k). + + +Should I be 'cashing out' more? I do trail my stoploss etc, but my equity curve looks hilarious like I'm getting poorer and poorer. + + +I’ve been watching ICT for the last month or so but the last strategy i was studying was supply and demand. I like S&D because its simple and it works but ICT explains how the market actually moves and where it wants to draw to, and he says supply and demand does not work. Just curious on what you’re thoughts/experiences are with trading supply and demand and also your experiences with ICT/Concepts. +Hey! + +I noticed a large spike down towards my TP but it did not close out my trade. The large spike happened exactly at 7 feb 00:00. Is this just the widening of the Spread for the new day? Is this common in forex? I am sorry if this gets asked a lot here. + +Thanks for helping this newbie out! + +https://i.redd.it/pou2ntkn42f21.png +If big banks are buying currency as an investment, I assume they will be buying large amounts at a certain price. + + I take it that is why there are large price jumps at important pivot points. + + I just wonder, if this is indeed the case, how many times a week do the banks make substantial sized bids on currency? How large are the orders they place? Are these pivot points easy to identify? + + +I don't know much about the finance industry and their investment strategies. The only knowledge I have of forex is some price action signaling ideas and what I've read in some fx news bits. + +I would figure though, if you can find pivot points that banks will buy at, you can tag along with the momentum of the price movement. + + + + + + + + +*** I'm pretty jaded right now. This is a personal rant from a beginner with little substance to actual trading. If you don't care to read it, please skip this post. *** + +I'm not sure if I was as prepared as I should have been before I started trading. I made a practice account and have studied and practiced hard for 3+ months before putting real money in. My practice account is looking great with profits. This all changed when I started trading with real money. + +It seems that every time I look at a trend, make an informed decision including news, etc. As soon as I buy or sell, it will jump the opposite direction within seconds, instantly leaving me with a (sometimes huge) loss. If I try to ride it out, I just lose more. + +Example: I lost close to $400 this morning in 10 minutes on 1 trade after seeing a 4 day downtrend on USD/CAD. I put my sell order for 35,000 at 1.28575. Well at 1.28562 it decides to shoot way up. I tried to ride it out and decided this wouldn't be a huge spike upwards.. It was. It went up to 1.29703, over 100 pips. So, I took my losses and bought. I happened to buy at 1.29700, 3 pips before it fell again. I don't know what I'm doing wrong but it's pissing me off horribly. I know this is the risk that we all take when getting into Forex but I can't believe I hit the end of a 4 day trend within seconds. + +*** Edit: I want to thank you all for your advice. I took it slower and more carefully yesterday and ended up with a $45 profit! I have a lot more to learn but y'all have been extremely helpful. This is a great community and I just want to say thanks! *** + +All I'm trying to say is I respect anyone who can make money with this. I've lost $1200+ of my $1800 that I started with in 4 days, seemingly on flukes, possibly due to bad decisions. I'm going to take a break for a few weeks and try to see where I've gone wrong. Any suggestions would be helpful. + +Good luck to you all. Thanks for letting me rant, I'm so pissed off right now. +Looking for any advice or recommendations between CMC Markets and Oanda + +Read reviews ...both seem ok ..but reviews are reviews. + +Would love to hear if anyone has had any experience with both or any of them. + +Thanks +.. I am sure you guys have heard it as you must be very knowledgable and must be hearing about scams and so forth so to me it sounds like so far its a MLM company which my mentor told me to steer clear of.. It sounds like it gives forex signals but most of people just flex on the iG. and say funny stuff like forex money ohh my god im so rich and i know what it is but it still sounds interesting because i believe forex is legit.. just maybe this isn't +My friends told me that its easy all you have to do is pay like 250$ to imarketslive and then you put an investment into your account and then they help you and tell you what to buy and then you go from there. Please somebody help me with this. +Is there any forex trading platform that isn’t trading CFDs? Or every forex broker is using CFDs? Such a newbie question, I know, but we all gotta start somewhere! + + +Hello, + +I've been testing forex strategies now for about 3-4 months using expert advisors. So that my testing is as rigorous as I can make it I've used all 28 major pairs over the past 10 years to backtest and for the ones that seemed to work alright I recorded their profits on each year to get a view of the drawdown. + +As a quick note, the only strategies that were at all profitable were on H4 and Daily TF minimum (although H4 experienced larger drawdown and volatility) and risked a maximum of 2% per trade (normally less than 1%). + +In total, I've tested probably over a hundred strategies now and several hundred indicators as well (I got into this through no-nonsense forex) yet out of those I only have found a single strategy that is consistently profitable on a yearly basis and that still can have quite bad drawdown periods. + +So I am confused because (except for some chart patterns that would be hard to program) I have tested most of the strategies that I've seen other people using and they don't seem to work, so I'm not sure how people are turning profits. + +TLDR I can't tell how anyone is making money when almost all the strategies that I've tested just don't work +The question is simple, is it posible? From where I'm, a good monthly income would be in the range $1500 - $2000. I have managed to make $1000 with $30 over an extended period of time. So I figured that if I can use those 1000$ to continue to trade instead of withdrawing them I can have a chance at earning enough to make it my monthly income. What do you guys think? +So I'm still a beginner testing many strategies, but the wick rejection strategy is the one that appeals to me the most right now. I think it might be one of the best strategies for beginners. + +I would love any tips from people who might already be using wick rejections a lot to read the market, and any videos or books about this strategy would be much appreciated. +Shares down 7% so far, and they haven’t even cut the dividend yet. + +https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-20/ge-cuts-2017-profit-forecast-as-new-ceo-battles-deepening-slump +Hi all, +Soon to be 30, only a few months away... (argh!) + +I currently work as a frontend web developer and earn £42.5k annually. + +I have a modest emergency fund of around 2 months living expenses (\~£3000). + +I used to work for a large automotive company and whilst there, I contributed to a pretty decent pension scheme (I put in 6%, they put in 10%). The scheme was with Scottish Widows, but I've since moved it into a Vanguard SIPP. I don't actively contribute to this pot at the moment. + +My current place of work is a startup, so whilst I have some very cheap initial shares in the business, another feature of startups is pretty crappy pensions. + +Our business is enrolled in the government Nest Pensions, with bare minimum contributions. + +I contribute 4% of my earnings and my workplace tops up 3%. There are no additional contributions to be made on the employer part unfortunately. + +**Currently my accounts look like this** +\- **Speculative investment in Crypto:** \~£600 +\- **Emergency Fund**: \~£3000 +\- **Vanguard SIPP**: £38,000 (I no longer actively contribute to this) + 70% of this invested in the FTSE Global All Cap accumulation fund + 30% of this invested in the Lifestrategy LS100 +\- **Vanguard SS ISA**: £12,000 (I contribute anywhere between £400-600 per month into this) + 70% of this invested in the FTSE Global All Cap accumulation fund + 30% of this invested in the Lifestrategy LS100 +\- **Current Workplace pension**: £3000 + 100% of this invested in the NEST Higher risk fund + +On the basis of this, I know I want to top off my emergency fund, up to more like 4-6 months expenses, but beyond that I need some advice. + +\- Should I be adding to the Vanguard SIPP rather than the SS ISA? +\- Or splitting this at least? £250 into each? + + +Any other thoughts or advice? Thanks in advance :) + +Edit: Sorry forgot to add. + +My wife and I do own a property, albeit with a mortgage. £170k and 22 years remaining. +Hi all, +Soon to be 30, only a few months away... (argh!) + +I currently work as a frontend web developer and earn £42.5k annually. + +I have a modest emergency fund of around 2 months living expenses (\~£3000). + +I used to work for a large automotive company and whilst there, I contributed to a pretty decent pension scheme (I put in 6%, they put in 10%). The scheme was with Scottish Widows, but I've since moved it into a Vanguard SIPP. I don't actively contribute to this pot at the moment. + +My current place of work is a startup, so whilst I have some very cheap initial shares in the business, another feature of startups is pretty crappy pensions. + +Our business is enrolled in the government Nest Pensions, with bare minimum contributions. + +I contribute 4% of my earnings and my workplace tops up 3%. There are no additional contributions to be made on the employer part unfortunately. + +**Currently my accounts look like this** +\- **Speculative investment in Crypto:** \~£600 +\- **Emergency Fund**: \~£3000 +\- **Vanguard SIPP**: £38,000 (I no longer actively contribute to this) + 70% of this invested in the FTSE Global All Cap accumulation fund + 30% of this invested in the Lifestrategy LS100 +\- **Vanguard SS ISA**: £12,000 (I contribute anywhere between £400-600 per month into this) + 70% of this invested in the FTSE Global All Cap accumulation fund + 30% of this invested in the Lifestrategy LS100 +\- **Current Workplace pension**: £3000 + 100% of this invested in the NEST Higher risk fund + +On the basis of this, I know I want to top off my emergency fund, up to more like 4-6 months expenses, but beyond that I need some advice. + +\- Should I be adding to the Vanguard SIPP rather than the SS ISA? +\- Or splitting this at least? £250 into each? + + +Any other thoughts or advice? Thanks in advance :) + +Edit: Sorry forgot to add. + +My wife and I do own a property, albeit with a mortgage. £170k and 22 years remaining. +>**Shares of** [**Deere**](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=DE) **dropped on Wednesday after the manufacturing company issued lower guidance as trade tensions continue to slow equipment purchases by farmers**. +> +>The Moline, Illinois-based company **said it now expects net income of $2.7 billion to $3.1 billion in fiscal 2020, lower than average analyst estimates of $3.5 billion for the year, according to Refinitiv.** +> +>**Deere said it sees agricultural equipment sales falling between 5% and 10% in fiscal year 2020. Construction equipment sales are expected to decline as much as 15% next year**, the company said. +> +>**“Lingering trade tensions coupled with a year of difficult growing and harvesting conditions have caused many farmers to become cautious about making major investments in new equipment,” Deere CEO John May said in a statement.** +> +>Deere reported an adjusted profit of $2.14 per share for the third quarter, down from $2.30 per share last year. That compares with average analyst estimates of $2.13 per share, according to Refinitiv. +> +>Shares of Deere fell nearly 4% in premarket trading on Wednesday. +> +>The U.S. and China have engaged in a trade war for a year and a half. Punitive tariffs that the two countries slapped on one another’s goods have taken a bite out of the world’s two largest economies. The U.S. manufacturing particularly experienced weakness as a key gauge for the sector started showing contraction a few months ago. +> +>“John Deere’s performance reflected continued uncertainties in the agricultural sector,” May said.“General economic conditions have remained favorable. This has supported demand for smaller equipment and led to solid results for Deere’s construction and forestry business, which had a record year for sales and operating profit.” +> +>*— Reuters contributed to this report.* + +&#x200B; + +[CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/27/deere-reports-lower-quarterly-earnings.html), [DE share price](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DE?p=DE&.tsrc=fin-srch) +Please use this thread to discuss how amazingly cheap you are. How do you keep your costs low? How do become frugal without taking it to the extremes of frupidity? What costs have you realized could be cut from your life without pain? Use this weekly post to discuss Frugality in general. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are more relaxed here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +Hello apes, been lurking here for awhile, still hodling. I tattoo for a living and deal with many different people from all walks of life and professions. Well, I had an appointment with a gentleman who used to be a personal fitness trainer. When COVID came along he and many others in his profession had gotten hurt bad. He decided to change his profession and became a phlebotomist. After a couple of hours of tattooing we started to talk about the stock market and how everything was all fucked up. Somehow GME came up, he even thought it was over and then....POOF, he belted out "you know one of my old clients from when I was a fitness trainer is 1 of 5 very important people who work for Shitadel and Kenny boy, she does data analysis, projections, and creates the algorithms they use". Even mentioned her apt office looked like something straight out of a Cyberpunk movie. Pardon my smooth brain if I'm not getting some of the Jargon correct. In conversation she mentioned to him that she was the one that actually created the "short everything" algo, if that's how it even works. Regardless she only created it on her own time and had no intention of using it. When her bosses learned what she was doing they asked her about it and she explained what she did, but told them under no circumstances should they ever use it because she knew what could possibly happen....almost as if she created a MOOOOOOONNSTTEEEERR. Well folks.......those dumbasses used it and we all know it blew up in their greedy little fucking faces. She even mentioned Kenny boy had her stay at one of his apartments and would not let her leave until she helped figure out how to fix it. She also mentioned that in so many words, not hers but...."THEY ARE FUKED". My mind was officially blown. Received a good dose of confirmation bias I was not expecting. What are the fucking odds of hearing this info from a random client whose profession took him to many peoples homes. It helps that I live and tattoo in Chicago, but man that was really interesting. Thats all I have everybody. Take this with whatever grain of salt that you want, but all this confirmed to me more was that HEDGIS ARE FUK!!!!!! + +BUY, DRS, HODL + +Enjoy the rest of your week +**EDIT: March 3 2:19... I made a mistake when taking the screen shot on GME March 19th. This wasn't a conspiracy....** + + + +On March 19th 2021 is another rare [Quadruple Witching.](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/q/quadruplewitching.asp) + +This is a once in a quarter event where stock futures, stock options, stock index options and stock futures all expire simultaneously. This can, by it's nature, create huge volatility. + +Let's have a look at a REAL company and the outstanding call contracts with the most open interest. + +**$TSLA - March 12th** + +https://preview.redd.it/9xjjuubzslk61.png?width=895&format=png&auto=webp&s=c5f06eb2864db2d74413a7ac363616ee08490162 + +**$TSLA - March 19th** + +https://preview.redd.it/6axzlgzuslk61.png?width=903&format=png&auto=webp&s=7ba2b4b3ba2f7007daf0142f445b69e489e3c6cb + +**$AAPL - March 12th** + +https://preview.redd.it/kdz8yh44tlk61.png?width=893&format=png&auto=webp&s=8c3f50958ee080049817c0fd21105ec97949dae7 + +**$AAPL - March 19th** + +https://preview.redd.it/h1ij5187tlk61.png?width=893&format=png&auto=webp&s=1193edf3bebf67f834584475b49df51e7ea18414 + +OK, so these are mega-caps and we're seeing a 10x increase in options contracts on March 19th. + +And let's try a less sexy-big stock + +**$WMT (Walmart) - March 12th** + +https://preview.redd.it/3zo5ff4itlk61.png?width=887&format=png&auto=webp&s=cfc0bfd7db1bc086b604a66febc56adad80ac796 + +**$WMT (Walmart) - March 19th** + +https://preview.redd.it/vl80croltlk61.png?width=913&format=png&auto=webp&s=41a201a7b547dcfcb3112a0ad8d4aea7bc7a2d00 + +**OK, now check this out:** + +$AMC - March 12th + +https://preview.redd.it/lsadk2lqtlk61.png?width=905&format=png&auto=webp&s=7df76e9ca51e167d61135cc175e981a4a2b25542 + +**$AMC - March 19th** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/hv0dds3ttlk61.png?width=885&format=png&auto=webp&s=848a686a932102bf6ee8c908977254f673c914d5 + +AMC have more options calls than TSLA right now for March 19th and over 10x Walmart. They have about 50% APPLE (Ok you know how big Apple is guys?) + +**$BB - March 12th** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/ngn69q7ztlk61.png?width=899&format=png&auto=webp&s=c8052e3ea7cfcd7ff18e58f022e036ef5a2aae88 + +**$BB - March 19th** + +https://preview.redd.it/chs3uef2ulk61.png?width=907&format=png&auto=webp&s=0b5681781d3658f34212bfa0107d299b808a06c8 + +Huge call volumes on Blackberry but people are really wanting to see this north of $20! + +**$NOK - March 12th** + +https://preview.redd.it/iplwqwc6ulk61.png?width=883&format=png&auto=webp&s=484cccdbe85fba3bcf745dfed4ee91b0e9766ed6 + +**$NOK - March 19th** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/czhr2h7eulk61.png?width=903&format=png&auto=webp&s=1934d71b486449e8a7c8e3eb77f85a9798f3627e + +YES, that is 127,885 contracts at a $5 strike. HUGE. If this hits $5 it could just as easy keep going. + +**$GME - March 12th** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/mpvljrfjulk61.png?width=899&format=png&auto=webp&s=2ab7daf14ae533509096519b696aed0de1486926 + +**$GME - March 19th** +EDIT @ 2:18 Pm March 3 +**Apparently when I took this screenshot it didn't show the $800 calls... This was not a conspiracy or photoshopped... Anyone can validate the data.** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/wmjfoep06vk61.png?width=921&format=png&auto=webp&s=61a5e966fc9b47e5e34a90e50f851728317c03a7 + +Not massive interest here but respectable. + +**$RKT - March 12th** + +https://preview.redd.it/xm5pzkbsulk61.png?width=889&format=png&auto=webp&s=d19da1ad911088f2d0771ce8a4154aba8b9a6525 + +**$RKT - March 19th** + +https://preview.redd.it/4kfo2e3vulk61.png?width=885&format=png&auto=webp&s=195e410dc839557c634fd77df73f77bff4a4d596 + +\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\***TLDRish** + +The theory: Get on your tin foil hats.I think 'someone' or many 'somepeoples' have discovered the incredible power of near-term options and their influence on the upward volatility on price. + +As more options are bought near-the-money it causes a delta spike as market makers buy shares to hedge. This normally isn't enough to do much- but add in some magical ingredients including but not limited to: highly volatile stocks, heavy retail interest, significant short interest, a small float, inclusion in ETFs, INDEX FUNDS and other FUNDS. + +As the price rises close to the strike price we also see some gamma spiking. Personally I think we saw delta hedging yesterday on Blackberry. Huge volumes around 11am. + +So, PEOPLE, have discovered that just buying these heavy options, especially around volatile times, can influence the price likely more dollar-for-dollar than just buying the stock. It might be that many WSBers are literally in the right place at the right time. + +**What does it all mean?** Hang onto your bananas. This thing is bigger than us. If the prices on some of these stocks rise they will need to be re-calibrated for weight for inclusion in their index funds. This creates a lot of buying and selling which exasperates the volatility further. The more volatility the more market makers have to hedge. + +I think we are in for a once in a life time historical volatile ride. If you hold stock, you can ride it out and better time it. If you hold options you are really hoping your timing works well. + +Something BIG is going to happen leading up to March 19th and the way the call contracts are organized creates a kind of series of landmines just waiting to be tripped. Each mine sends the price further and more volatile. What's more interesting is these stocks all seem to be related in a basket by the algo-computers. This does mean there is some degree of echo where what happens in AMC affects BB for instance. It might mean we see some double feedback happening as well. We did see it originally in January (and no one has been able to explain exactly WHY yet). I think January was a test... A proof of concept. The real prize is March 19th. + +**GOOD LUCK...** + +Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. This is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The thoughts herein are my own. Do your own research. Do something nice for someone today. + +Positions: I have some BB, NOK, calls and want to pick up some RKT calls and YOLO today. They're way up pre-market and looks like it's going to be expensive... but I particularly like this one due to the high insider ownership, stagnant pricing, low float, reasonable price volatility. This ones just primed. + +**OOF, just cheeked $PLTR March 19th and it's massive too.** + +A lot of moon landings coming! + +https://preview.redd.it/bfmpnvks2mk61.png?width=895&format=png&auto=webp&s=68e770c819e38af3b605bb07d2268557a4d5756d + +On a last thought... What if GME is the catalyst for the next major crash by it's revealing of naked-shorts and fails to deliver? 2008 was all about Wall Street greed with mortgage backed securities... 2021 could be all about naked shorting and naked options writing... All meaning wall street has done it again by absorbing insane amounts of risk pursuing profits. This might all come to a head and create some systemic change that will benefit all. Damn, I'm feeling rather noble now about my own pursuits. + + +**EDIT: March 3 2:19... I made a mistake when taking the screen shot on GME March 19th. This wasn't a conspiracy....** + + +I don't know a lot about investing and don't tend to follow the markets much. I'm trying to decide what's best to do with my money, and what professionals if any I should consult. + +I'm 40 years old, divorced with 50/50 care of two kids and own an apartment worth around $1m outright. I also have around $150k in high interest savings and $80k in VAS ETF. + +After a career change, my current salary is around $80k. I expect it to increase to around $100-120k over the next 2-3 years. + +I currently spend as much as I earn after tax, and expect to spend around that much for the foreseeable future. I may make some renovations to my apartment in future years. I don't currently salary sacrifice to super. + +Questions: +1/ how much more of the cash should I shift to ETFs, or what other "simple" investments should I consider? +2/ Should I salary sacrifice, and supplement my income from my savings? If so how much? +3/ Should I talk to a financial advisor about all this? Are they just there to sell managed funds and collect commissions, or will they have helpful advice? + + +Here is a couple of stocks that might be worth your attention this week. This is part 2 of 2. + +This is not a sponsored content. I'm just sharing my thoughts with you, hoping you're going to enjoy it. + +This short list was compiled with help of various sources of data, including Buy recommendations from several renowned stock data providers and analytical services. This is why I’m calling the approach a **consensus strategy.** The stocks I’m going to present you below are generally believed to outperform the stock market in the coming months, they have a consensus recommendation of Buy, their fundamentals are scored considerably better than most stocks and their average target price by stock analysts is above current market valuation. + +In order to consider buying the stock’s shares, the following criteria need to be satisfied: + +* **TheStreet score**: A+, A or A- +* **Zacks Rank**: 1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) +* **Weiss Ratings recommendation**: A or B +* **Yahoo Finance recommendation**: at least mixed Buy/Hold +* **MarketBeat recommendation**: at least mixed Buy/Hold +* **Yahoo Finance target price**: min. 5% higher than current price +* **MarketBeat target price**: min. 5% higher than current price +* **Piotroski F-Score**: min. 4 +* **Moody’s Daily Credit Risk**: 1 to 6 +* **InvestorsObserver Overall Score**: min. 50 + +**Note**: Descriptions of those criteria are provided at the end of this post. + +If you decide to buy any of the below stocks, you might want to consider the following selling conditions (at least one of them should be satisfied): + +* price is higher or close to target +* profit is in range 20% – 30% +* loss is higher than 50% +* TheStreet recommendation is changed to Sell +* Weiss Ratings recommendation is changed to Sell +* Yahoo Finance recommendation is changed to Sell + +**Let’s now take a look at the stocks I’ve identified with this strategy today.** + +&#x200B; + +**FIRST AMERICAN FINANCIAL CP (FAF)** + +**Sector**: Finance +**Industry**: Specialty Insurance +**Description**: First American Financial Corp. operates as an insurance company. It provides title insurance and settlement services to the real estate and mortgage industries. The company operates its business through the following segments: Title Insurance \&amp; Services and Specialty Insurance. First American Financial was founded in January, 2008 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, CA. +**Dividend**: First American Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.69%. FAF’s most recent quarterly dividend payment was made to shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 15. The company has grown its dividend for the last 1 consecutive years and is increasing its dividend by an average of 7.32% each year. First American Financial pays out 33.76% of its earnings out as a dividend. +**Current valuation**: $64.85 + +**Valuation of entry parameters:** + +TheStreet score: A- +Zacks Rank: Hold +Weiss Ratings recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance recommendation: Buy/Hold +MarketBeat recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance target price: $74.8 +MarketBeat target price: $73.00 +Piotroski F-Score: 8 +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk: 4 +InvestorsObserver Overall Score: 52 +Yahoo Finance 1 year change: 15.34% + +&#x200B; + +**FACEBOOK INC (FB)** + +**Sector**: Technology Services +**Industry**: Internet Software/Services +**Description**: Facebook, Inc. is focused on building products that enable people to connect and share through mobile devices, personal computers and other surfaces. The Company’s products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Oculus. Facebook enables people to connect, share, discover and communicate with each other on mobile devices and personal computers. Instagram enables people to take photos or videos, customize them with filter effects, and share them with friends and followers in a photo feed or send them directly to friends. Messenger allows communicating with people and businesses alike across a range of platforms and devices. WhatsApp Messenger is a messaging application that is used by people around the world and is available on a range of mobile platforms. Its Oculus virtual reality technology and content platform offers products that allow people to enter an interactive environment to play games, consume content and connect with others. +**Dividend**: NA +**Current valuation**: $360.33 + +**Valuation of entry parameters:** + +TheStreet score: A- +Zacks Rank: Hold +Weiss Ratings recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance recommendation: Buy +MarketBeat recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance target price: $386.47 +MarketBeat target price: $402.76 +Piotroski F-Score: 7 +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk: 1 +InvestorsObserver Overall Score: 79 +Yahoo Finance 1 year change: 7.33% + +&#x200B; + +**FEDERAL SIGNAL CORP (FSS)** + +**Sector**: Producer Manufacturing +**Industry**: Trucks/Construction/Farm Machinery +**Description**: Federal Signal Corp. engages in the designed manufacture of products and integrated solutions for municipal, governmental, industrial, and commercial customers. It operates through the Environmental Solutions Group and Safety and Security Systems Group segments. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Oak Brook, IL. +**Dividend**: Federal Signal pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.90%. FSS’s next quarterly dividend payment will be made to shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 1. The company has grown its dividend for the last 1 consecutive years and is increasing its dividend by an average of 4.55% each year. Federal Signal pays out 21.56% of its earnings out as a dividend. +**Current valuation**: $39.81 + +**Valuation of entry parameters:** + +TheStreet score: A- +Zacks Rank: Hold +Weiss Ratings recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance recommendation: Buy +MarketBeat recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance target price: $45.33 +MarketBeat target price: $44.00 +Piotroski F-Score: 4 +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk: 6 +InvestorsObserver Overall Score: 56 +Yahoo Finance 1 year change: 13.87% + +&#x200B; + +**GAMING & LEISURE PPTYS (GLPI)** + +**Sector**: Finance +**Industry**: Real Estate Investment Trusts +**Description**: Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc. is engaged in acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple net lease arrangements. It operates through the GLP Capital and TRS Properties segments. The GLP Capital segment consists of the leased real property and represents the majority of business. The TRS Properties segment includes Hollywood Casino Perryville and Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA. +**Dividend**: Gaming and Leisure Properties pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.56%. GLPI’s most recent quarterly dividend payment was made to shareholders of record on Friday, June 25. Gaming and Leisure Properties pays out 77.68% of its earnings out as a dividend. +**Current valuation**: $47.86 + +**Valuation of entry parameters:** + +TheStreet score: A- +Zacks Rank: Buy +Weiss Ratings recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance recommendation: Buy/Hold +MarketBeat recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance target price: $51.08 +MarketBeat target price: $50.25 +Piotroski F-Score: 7 +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk: 4 +InvestorsObserver Overall Score: 60 +Yahoo Finance 1 year change: 6.73% + +&#x200B; + +**HAWKINS INC (HWKN)** + +**Sector**: Distribution Services +**Industry**: Wholesale Distributors +**Description**: Hawkins, Inc. engaged in the distribution, blending, and manufacture of chemicals and specialty ingredients for a wide variety of industries. It operates through the following segments: Industrial, Water Treatment, and Health and Nutrition. The company was founded by Howard Hawkins in 1938 and is headquartered in Roseville, MN. +**Dividend**: Hawkins pays an annual dividend of $0.49 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.33%. HWKN’s next quarterly dividend payment will be made to shareholders of record on Friday, August 27. The company has grown its dividend for the last 1 consecutive years and is increasing its dividend by an average of 2.64% each year. Hawkins pays out 25.39% of its earnings out as a dividend. +**Current valuation**: $36.80 + +**Valuation of entry parameters:** + +TheStreet score: A +Zacks Rank: Buy +Weiss Ratings recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance recommendation: Buy +MarketBeat recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance target price: $44.0 +MarketBeat target price: $44.00 +Piotroski F-Score: 8 +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk: 6 +InvestorsObserver Overall Score: 51 +Yahoo Finance 1 year change: 137.84% + +&#x200B; + +**ICON PLC (ICLR)** + +**Sector**: Health Technology +**Industry**: Pharmaceuticals: Other +**Description**: ICON plc operates as a clinical research organization, which engages in the provision of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. It specializes in the strategic development, management and analysis of programs that support clinical development. The company was founded by John Climax and Ronan Lambe in June 1990 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. +**Dividend**: NA +**Current valuation**: $235.92 + +**Valuation of entry parameters:** + +TheStreet score: A- +Zacks Rank: Buy +Weiss Ratings recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance recommendation: Buy +MarketBeat recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance target price: $251.42 +MarketBeat target price: $251.00 +Piotroski F-Score: 6 +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk: 2 +InvestorsObserver Overall Score: 80 +Yahoo Finance 1 year change: 6.57% + +&#x200B; + +**IDEX CORP (IEX)** + +**Sector**: Finance +**Industry**: Investment Banks/Brokers +**Description**: Indian Energy Exchange Ltd. Engages in power exchange business and provides an automated platform for trading of electricity and related products. It enables trading and price discovery of electricity and related products with risk management for participants of the electricity market. The firm’s products include day-ahead-market (DAM) electricity contracts, term-ahead-market (TAM) electricity contract, Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) and Energy Saving Certificates. The company was founded on March 26, 2007 and is headquartered in Noida, India. +**Dividend**: IDEX pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.95%. IEX’s most recent quarterly dividend payment was made to shareholders of record on Friday, July 30. The company has grown its dividend for the last 1 consecutive years and is increasing its dividend by an average of 11.31% each year. IDEX pays out 41.62% of its earnings out as a dividend. +**Current valuation**: $227.11 + +**Valuation of entry parameters:** + +TheStreet score: A- +Zacks Rank: Buy +Weiss Ratings recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance recommendation: Buy/Hold +MarketBeat recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance target price: $242.25 +MarketBeat target price: $239.50 +Piotroski F-Score: 5 +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk: 2 +InvestorsObserver Overall Score: 69 +Yahoo Finance 1 year change: 6.61% + +&#x200B; + +**JOHNSON & JOHNSON (JNJ)** + +**Sector**: Health Technology +**Industry**: Pharmaceuticals: Major +**Description**: Johnson \&amp; Johnson is a holding company, which is engaged in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field. It operates through three segments: Consumer, Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices. Its primary focus is products related to human health and well-being. Its research facilities are located in the United States, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. +**Dividend**: Johnson & Johnson pays an annual dividend of $4.24 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.44%. JNJ’s next quarterly dividend payment will be made to shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 7. The company has grown its dividend for the last 59 consecutive years and is increasing its dividend by an average of 6.23% each year. Johnson & Johnson pays out 52.80% of its earnings out as a dividend. +**Current valuation**: $173.82 + +**Valuation of entry parameters:** + +TheStreet score: A +Zacks Rank: Hold +Weiss Ratings recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance recommendation: Buy +MarketBeat recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance target price: $187.39 +MarketBeat target price: $190.38 +Piotroski F-Score: 7 +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk: 1 +InvestorsObserver Overall Score: 62 +Yahoo Finance 1 year change: 7.81% + +&#x200B; + +**LAM RESEARCH CORP (LRCX)** + +**Sector**: Electronic Technology +**Industry**: Electronic Production Equipment +**Description**: Lam Research Corp. engages in manufacturing and servicing of wafer processing semiconductor manufacturing equipment. It operates through the following geographical segments: the United States, China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan. It offers thin film deposition, plasma etch, photoresist strip, and wafer cleaning. The company was founded by David Lam on January 21, 1980 and is headquartered in Fremont, CA. +**Dividend**: Lam Research pays an annual dividend of $5.20 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.86%. LRCX’s most recent quarterly dividend payment was made to shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 7. The company has grown its dividend for the last 3 consecutive years and is increasing its dividend by an average of 38.36% each year. Lam Research pays out 19.09% of its earnings out as a dividend. +**Current valuation**: $599.8 + +**Valuation of entry parameters:** + +TheStreet score: A +Zacks Rank: Hold +Weiss Ratings recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance recommendation: Buy +MarketBeat recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance target price: $728.43 +MarketBeat target price: $713.94 +Piotroski F-Score: 7 +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk: 6 +InvestorsObserver Overall Score: 65 +Yahoo Finance 1 year change: 21.45% + +&#x200B; + +**MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL INC (MDLZ)** + +**Sector**: Consumer Non-Durables +**Industry**: Food: Major Diversified +**Description**: Mondelez International, Inc. engages in the manufacture and marketing of snack food and beverage products. It operates through the following geographical segments: Latin America; Asia, Middle East, and Africa; Europe; and North America. Its products include beverages, biscuits, chocolate, gum & candy, cheese \&amp; grocery and meals. Its brands include but not limited to Nabisco, Oreo, and LU biscuits; Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk, and Milka chocolates; and Trident gum. The company was founded by James Lewis Kraft in 1903 is headquartered in Chicago, IL. +**Dividend**: Mondelez International pays an annual dividend of $1.26 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.01%. MDLZ’s next quarterly dividend payment will be made to shareholders of record on Thursday, October 14. The company has grown its dividend for the last 8 consecutive years and is increasing its dividend by an average of 13.53% each year. Mondelez International pays out 48.65% of its earnings out as a dividend. +**Current valuation**: $62.59 + +**Valuation of entry parameters:** + +TheStreet score: A +Zacks Rank: Hold +Weiss Ratings recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance recommendation: Buy +MarketBeat recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance target price: $69.17 +MarketBeat target price: $67.90 +Piotroski F-Score: 7 +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk: 1 +InvestorsObserver Overall Score: 68 +Yahoo Finance 1 year change: 10.51% + +&#x200B; + +**OPEN TEXT CORP (OTEX)** + +**Sector**: Technology Services +**Industry**: Packaged Software +**Description**: Open Text Corp. engages in the design, development, marketing and sales of enterprise information management software and solutions. It includes customer experience management (CEM), digital process automation, business network, and enterprise content management, discovery, security, and artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics solutions. It also offers consulting, managed, and learning services. The company was founded on June 26, 1991 and is headquartered in Waterloo, Canada. +**Dividend**: Open Text pays an annual dividend of $0.38 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.72%. OTEX’s next quarterly dividend payment will be made to shareholders of record on Friday, September 24. The company has grown its dividend for the last 7 consecutive years and is increasing its dividend by an average of 12.35% each year. Open Text pays out 13.57% of its earnings out as a dividend. +**Current valuation**: $52.62 + +**Valuation of entry parameters:** + +TheStreet score: A +Zacks Rank: Hold +Weiss Ratings recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance recommendation: Buy +MarketBeat recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance target price: $56.95 +MarketBeat target price: $60.00 +Piotroski F-Score: 6 +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk: 6 +InvestorsObserver Overall Score: 57 +Yahoo Finance 1 year change: 8.23% + +&#x200B; + +**QUALCOMM INC (QCOM)** + +**Sector**: Electronic Technology +**Industry**: Telecommunications Equipment +**Description**: QUALCOMM, Inc. engages in the development, design, and provision of digital telecommunications products and services. It operates through the following segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT), Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL), and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The company was founded by Franklin P. Antonio, Adelia A. Coffman, Andrew Cohen, Klein Gilhousen, Irwin Mark Jacobs, Andrew J. Viterbi, and Harvey P. White in July 1985 and is headquartered in San Diego, CA. +**Dividend**: QUALCOMM pays an annual dividend of $2.72 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.87%. QCOM’s next quarterly dividend payment will be made to shareholders of record on Thursday, September 23. The company has grown its dividend for the last 1 consecutive years and is increasing its dividend by an average of 4.69% each year. QUALCOMM pays out 81.44% of its earnings out as a dividend. +**Current valuation**: $145.03 + +**Valuation of entry parameters:** + +TheStreet score: A +Zacks Rank: Buy +Weiss Ratings recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance recommendation: Buy +MarketBeat recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance target price: $171.44 +MarketBeat target price: $167.54 +Piotroski F-Score: 7 +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk: 6 +InvestorsObserver Overall Score: 70 +Yahoo Finance 1 year change: 18.21% + +&#x200B; + +**QORVO INC (QRVO)** + +**Sector**: Electronic Technology +**Industry**: Semiconductors +**Description**: Qorvo, Inc. engages in the provision of development and commercialization of technologies and products for wireless and wired connectivity. It operates through the following reportable segments: Mobile Products and Infrastructure & Defense Products. The firm’s products include amplifiers, control products, discrete transistors, filters \&amp; duplexers, frequency converters \&amp; sources, integrated products, optical components, passives, power management products, switches, and wireless connectivity products. The company was founded on December 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Greensboro, NC. +**Dividend**: NA +**Current valuation**: $188.32 + +**Valuation of entry parameters:** + +TheStreet score: A- +Zacks Rank: Buy +Weiss Ratings recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance recommendation: Buy +MarketBeat recommendation: Buy +Yahoo Finance target price: $208.26 +MarketBeat target price: $205.14 +Piotroski F-Score: 8 +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk: 6 +InvestorsObserver Overall Score: 74 +Yahoo Finance 1 year change: 10.59% + +&#x200B; + +**Now, a few words on the criteria I’m using and sources of data.** + +**1. TheStreet score** + +The first filtering step is to get stocks with Buy recommendation at TheStreet stock screener. I’m only keeping stocks with A+, A or A- rating (top ones), although A-, B+, B and B- are Buys as well. + +From thestreet.com: + +***A (Excellent)*** *– The stock has an excellent track record for maximizing performance while minimizing risk, thus delivering the best possible combination of total return on investment and reduced volatility. It has made the most of the recent economic environment to maximize risk-adjusted returns compared to other stocks. While past performance is just an indication — not a guarantee — we believe this fund is among the most likely to deliver superior performance relative to risk in the future as well.* + +And about the methodology: + +*TheStreet Ratings’ stock model projects a stock’s total return potential over a 12-month period including both price appreciation and* ***dividends***\*. Our Buy, Hold or Sell ratings designate how we expect these stocks to perform against a general benchmark of the equities market and interest rates. While our model is quantitative, it utilizes both\* ***subjective*** *and* ***objective*** *elements. For instance, subjective elements include expected equities market returns, future interest rates, implied industry outlook and forecasted company earnings. Objective elements include volatility of past operating revenues, financial strength, and company cash flows.* + +**2. Zacks Rank** + +It is required that the Zacks Rank is Hold, Buy or Strong Buy (so we’re avoiding stocks with Sell and Strong Sell recommendations). The Zacks Rating utilizes a completely different system, based on company earnings-related data, in particular earnings estimate revisions and earnings surprises, to predict profitability of holding the company’s shares. + +**3. Weiss Ratings recommendation** + +We’re only keeping stocks with Buy (B) or Strong Buy (A) recommendation. + +Wjat are these scores? This is what I found at their website: + +*“A” Rating:* ***Excellent.*** *The company’s stock has an excellent track record for providing strong performance with lower-than-average risk, and it is trading at a price that represents good value relative to the company’s earnings prospects. While past performance is no guarantee of future results, our opinion is that this stock is among the most likely to deliver superior performance relative to risk in the future. Of course, even the best stocks can decline in a down market. But our “A” rating can generally be considered the equivalent of a “****Strong Buy****“.* + +*“B” rating:* ***Good.*** *The company’s stock has a good track record for delivering a balance of performance and risk. While the risk-adjusted performance of any stock is subject to change, our opinion is that this stock is a good value, with good prospects for outperforming the market. Although even good investments can decline in a down market, our “B” rating is considered the equivalent of a “****Buy****“.* + +**4. Yahoo Finance recommendation and target price** + +It is required that the Yahoo Finance stock recommendation is at least mixed Buy/Hold from experts. Additionally, the predicted target price (average, from experts) should be at least 5% higher than the current one. + +**5. MarketBeat recommendation and taget price** + +Similar to Yahoo Finance, it is required that the MarketBeat stock recommendation is at least mixed Buy/Hold. Additionally, the predicted target price (average, from experts) should be at least 5% higher than the current valuation. + +**6. Piotroski F-Score** + +The Piotroski score is a number between 0-9 that reflects nine criteria used to determine the strength of a company’s financial situation, including profitability, leverage or operating efficiency. Zero is the worst value and nine is the best. As we can read in Piotroski's paper from 2000: + +*In addition, an investment strategy that buys expected winners and shorts expected losers generates a* ***23% annual return*** *between 1976 and 1996, and the strategy appears to be robust across time and to controls for alternative investment strategies.* + +It is required that the score is 4 or higher. The values were retrieved from gurufocus website. + +**7. Moody’s Daily Credit Risk** + +Moody’s Daily Credit Risk Score is a 1-10 score, which provides a forward-looking, one-year measure of credit risk. It is updated daily and takes into account day-to-day market movements compared to a company’s liabilities. + +The value is retrieved from Business Insider's website and is expected to be in the range of 1-6. + +**8. InvestorsObserver Overall Score** + +The rank has a value in between 0 and 100. It takes into account both **technical** analysis and **fundamental** stock data. An Overall Rank of N means that a given company is rated above N% of stocks, therefore the higher the number, the better. My requirement is that the company has InvestorsObserver Overall score of at least 50. From their website: + +*The Overall Score combines our two technical scores (Short Term and Long Term) with our Fundamental Score into one metric. This makes our overall score a great place to start when evaluating stocks, regardless of your investing style.* + +*A low score doesn’t necessarily mean a stock is likely to go down, just that our system doesn’t think there’s much of a bullish case for it.* + +Please note that the company profile data (short description) was taken from tradingview website (sometimes I shortened it) and dividend data was retrieved from MarketBeat. + +I hope you enjoyed the reading. What do you think about this stock selection and the strategy? Feel free to leave a comment below. + +*Michael* + +Disclosures: + +* What you see here is my personal opinion, my own investments and should not be treated as investing advice +* I’m an amateur investor +Yes you read my title right. this market crash and burn is the best thing to happen to crypto for a while. + +sure most of us are down over 30%. sure it sucks seeing your investment of hard earned money (or not in some cases) capitulate. + +however that being said, the joy of watching all the armchair experts who have been in the space for 5 minutes lose their shit is simply priceless. + +call me evil, an a hole, machiavellian or whatever. but I am enjoying this moment of big old humble pie. crypto has been trending towards a meme, just another fad in pop culture. something you become a part of cos its cool, not because of the tech, disruption or any logical reason. + +we are going to see a lot of noobs and dweebs get cleared out from this space. + +we are also going to see a lot of scam coins, shitcoins, and downright terrible project disappear for the better. + +this is the massive clean up we have needed for some time. the markets, and I mean ALL markets have been frothing for some time now. + +if you truly understand and believe in crypto you will stay, and I will see you in 6 months time on the other side. + +to all the obnoxious morons who thought they were so clever getting into crypto for the culture, GOODBYE!!! and good riddance. +After looking at the the eligibility, it doesn't look that complicated. You only need to invest £2,000,000 in any approved fund (including government bond). Many other countries require that you also start a business and employ people which means you actually have to work. + +Has anyone else looked into getting an investor visa + path to citizenship in the UK? What are the pros and cons? Why did you choose to pursue or not pursue the visa (for the UK or other countries)? +I'm interested in hearing how much time you all devote to finding the next high paying job and perfecting your craft vs. time you devote to side projects/sources of passive income. + +I am 25, make ~150k and sock away over half of that. I definitely need to make more to retire with the lifestyle I'd like. It feels like most people who are successful in terms of net worth achieved that success by owning or creating the right assets that the market deems to be valuable. + +What are your thoughts on using energy to get better at my job and earn more vs devoting energy to something more entrepreneurial and creating value that way? Apologies if this is vague, but this is more of a theoretical question. +[Implied Returns For 2018: What Happens Following Low Market Volatility Years To Stocks, Bonds & Gold](https://timemoney.com/implied-returns-for-2018-what-happens-following-low-market-volatility-years-to-stocks-bonds-gold/) +Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists said they now expect the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to 5%, higher than previously predicted. + +**The central bank will lift its benchmark rate to a range of 4.75% to 5% in March, 25 basis points more than earlier expected,** economists led by Jan Hatzius wrote in an Oct. 29 research report. + +The route to the new peak includes increases of 75 basis points this week, 50 basis points in December and 25 basis points in February and March, they said. + +The economists cited three reasons for expecting the Fed to hike beyond February: **“uncomfortably high” inflation, the need to cool the economy as fiscal tightening ends and price-adjusted incomes climb, and to avoid a premature easing of financial conditions.** + +Source: [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-30/goldman-sachs-now-sees-fed-rates-peaking-at-5-in-march](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-30/goldman-sachs-now-sees-fed-rates-peaking-at-5-in-march) +I remember reading a comment a while back about an individual that experienced significant improvement in job performance, including a promotion or two, after reaching FIRE. This person stated once they achieved FI (may not have been 100% FI, but they were not worried about being fired), they began to give honest opinions to superiors even if the opinions were unpopular. I found it very interesting that caring about job security less probably increased that user's job security and compensation at the same time. So, I was wondering if anyone has any similar experiences or stories. Thanks! + +Edit: Thanks for all the great responses! +Hear me out before downvotes: + +I would love to stick with the core developers. I keep reading guilt tripping post after post about how everyone else sucks and the core Devs do all the work and so on. I even agree with these statements. That conversation with Toomin was facepalm worthy. But I simply can't understand then why Core is so damn hardheaded about this issue. The blocksize proposals have literally come as low as they can get. It started at 20mb increasing over time to 8gb in the future, then dumbed down because China said 8mb was the best they could do, then it shrank again, then again, and now people are simply asking for a 1mb increase to handle the current increase in traffic and move us forward. Yet to JUST get this compromise we are still forced to hard fork *both the development and the blockchain.* Everyone says how bad it would be to do this and yet *core has not given a millimeter in this so called "compromise"*! + +Why!? What is 2mb going to do to drastically centralize or destroy bitcoin? Why are we STILL fighting over this and having to oust the entire development team to get *any blocksize increase at all?*. + +The Core developers have it *entirely* in their power to prevent the move to classic and the risk of having someone like Toomin be in charge of anything. All they have to do is prove that they will listen to the community and the miners. If they increased the blocksize themselves, to the widely agreed upon and clearly not bandwidth straining size of 2mb, **this issue would be over.** + +If the hard fork comes, and the Toomins turn out to be inept and there is some blatant problem with no developers to work on it. I'll find it very difficult not to be mad at Core for letting it happen when the power to prevent it was literally laid in their lap. If Core wants to stay, prove it by actually listening. +I'm looking to get a understanding of modern economics, not from a historical perspective. Have the general underlying concepts changed much in ~45 years? + +More details on the book can be found [here](https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1171294) +Consider a normal trade. A Seller can make a widget for 5 dollars. The market price is 10 dollars. A Buyer is willing and able to pay 20 dollars for that widget, which is a bargain because it only costs 10. The trade occurs at 10 dollars and the Seller makes 5 dollars profit, and the Buyer has 10 dollars surplus. In other words, the trade created 15 dollars of value to the economy. + +Now consider another trade. A seller can make a widget for 5 dollars. The market price is 10 dollars. A very poor Buyer is willing to pay a million dollars for this product (it's a life-saving or otherwise super valuable product) but he is only able to pay 9 dollars. The trade does not occur, and the economy loses out on 999,995 dollars. (That's $1M-10 for buyer's surplus plus 5 for seller's surplus.) + +Has anybody answered this paradox or are markets just inefficient? +I'm not saying we should all start hoarding gold under our mattresses but the media acts like economic growth, or lack-thereof, is entirely due to politics when it seems that it's more due to macroeconomics. I'm just very confused right now because everyone arround me is dumping cash into the market and I'm trying to be cautious because I think there is going to be another recession in the next few years. Am I misunderstanding the business cycle? We came back from the last crash slowly but it's been almost 11 years since then. +I'm currently writing my personal statement for University and hope to apply to do Economics, at St Andrew's University. I've seen 2 personal statements that talk about reading a couple Economics books and were both offered unconditional offers. I have the right grades to get into St Andrew's but I know it's extremely competitive so I am trying to increase my chances any way I can. + +I'm looking for some economics books that are a bit controversial and debatable so I can easily form my own opinion and talk about Economics outside my school curriculum to show how passionate I am about Economics. + + +1. Business + +Does this help at all for an entrepreneur who starts companies like media companies or tech companies? + +2. Creatie pursuits + +Certain academic fields like philosophy or psychology help creative fields like artists or designers or filmmakers what about economics + +3. Does it help with anything outside of its specific job field? +I'm not an economist, but took some econ electives in college, and have an continuing personal interest in the science even if I don't intend to peruse it as a career. + +Accordingly, I'd like to have a better grasp of economics. That said, while I have every respect for the science, and I won't be approaching it with a lazy attitude..considering that it is a personal interest only and I am a busy guy with many other interests and hobbies, I'm also not looking to develop the economic maturity of a professional. Opportunity cost being so important in econ, I'm sure you can understand this. + + +In my experience, having "done the work" in other mathematical sciences, one can usually get an *acceptable* grasp of concepts without formally working problems. Often, reading textbooks, thinking about how equations would change depending on the situation, etc, is enough by itself to to provide a *decent* degree of insight into the important concepts, even if not as significantly as someone who's really put the time in. And certainly above the level of pop-sci. + +In your opinion, is this probably probably true for economics as well, or do I need to find another approach for a causal study? +The title says it all. Or you can recommend a separate book for International Trade and a separate book on International Finance/Macroeconomics. + +Thanks! +Full disclosure I know next to nothing about economics, so I'm probably about to embarrass myself... + +I was reading about the [Venezuelan bolívar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelan_bol%C3%ADvar), which is incredibly devalued at $0.0000083 USD to 1 bolívar. What struck me as odd is that there seems to be a lot of coins in circulation, some of which are only worth fractions of a bolívar. I assume they were circulated when the currency had more value, and have since lost their value. These coins literally aren't worth the metal they're made of. + +And that got me thinking. Why not pay people for their physical currency, say 1.10 bolívars (wireless) per 1.00 bolívar (cash), and then recycle the metal and/or paper? Surely the raw material is worth much more, so you'd be getting an excellent deal on it, and the sellers would make a profit as well. + +I think this would have the added benefit of removing cash from circulation, which should make the bolívar more valuable (though I'm not sure if that's right, since you'd be adding digital currency to the system. Maybe the opposite is true?). + +Anyway, does this make any sense or am I missing something big? Feel free to school me on economics! Thanks for reading. +E.g. when the economy is "bad," why aren't there necessarily certain things we can do to make it better? Which parts of economics are deterministic, either literally or statistically? +Hey everybody, I have this question that is bugging me and I can't seem the find the answer both online and offline. + +Long story short I heard from a friend of mine who has a soild maths background, that there is a certain model from physics about heat is eerily similar to one used in economics. + +If this question is more suitable in the physics reddit then I will move it there. But my question is, does this even exist? Or am I getting it wrong and it's another model that could be used? Are there any other models that have found use in the field of econimics? + +I apologise for the noob level of my knowledge in economics, I study art :). +Hi! + +I was wondering if someone could discern a relationship between the recent stock market crash and tax cuts. Possibly, if there might be a perceived human behavior that resulted from the tax cuts that resulted in human action in the stock market. + +If possible can you link literature to understand this, or help me search for literature about this. I'm relatively new to the economic space and want to learn more. Thank you! +Is it possible to gain admittance based just on your research without the consideration of all other application factors *(GRE, Transcript, Letters of Recommendation)*, if so, what criteria can be used to measure how effective your research will be in the application? *(ie. Professors engaged in related research, exposure of research, recognition for research, etc.)* +Hi all, + +I'm really sorry for the provocative title, I didn't know how else to phrase the question. + +So I have a question that's been on my mind since high school. I have often found that my classmates who were mildly interested in economics studied the discipline because of its importance in making money and understanding business. I often sensed a feeling of complacency from them about "greed, selfishness", etc. I never really investigated the validity of those feelings I had in a deep way, so I don't want to make it sound like my classmates were greedy or immoral. I, in general have just associated a study of economics with a bad image of CEOs, right-wing politicians, etc, who seem to have no concern for the well-being of working class people. + +So, I've always been really interested in economics, but this hazy feeling that I have that I don't really understand has always stopped me. I'd like to pick up McConnell Brue's text and read through it, it seems exciting. I am afraid though it will reveal some inconvenient truths about human nature. + +Do you think this bias is a completely wrong interpretation of economics - that the consequences of possessing "economics-mindedness" lends one to be more selfish, or, do you think that it is true, but that I have to get over it, or address my own biases about ethics, and maybe come to understand the validity of many conservative positions? Or, do you think that a critical study of economics will actually lead to greater efficiency and practicality in understanding and solving large political problems, and that a belief in social welfare will actually be strengthened by studying economics? + +Thanks! +Just wondering what the flaws with the IS-LM model were and why especially in central banking but economics in general the IS-(phillips curve)-(monetary rule) 3 equation model is more preferred? +Why would prices increase? Wouldn't demand (and therefore prices) decrease following legalisation, since people no longer need to travel to Colorado to consume marijuana legally? +What would be the effects on climate change, immigration, culture and/or standards, the difference between rich and poor, etc? +Would it be a good thing? +Like I said in the title I'm taking microeconomics this spring semester but I took Macroeconomics last summer. I'm certainly rusty so I would like to review before I start the course. I still have the textbook from the course it was title "Principles of Macroeconomics 8th edition" by Gregory Mankiw. What chapters/ concepts should I review? If it matters I made a A in the course. + +Thanks! + +Edit: Disregard the post. Thanks! +Serious question, I'm not a economist but what I know about the interest rate mechanism is lower the rate to stimulate the economy and the employment. Central banks are raising the rates to pump the brakes on the inflation. Now, money is being printed, is it gonna create inflation? Unemployment will be at around 20% worldwide but the interest rates are to the floor already. What can go wrong? +Take for example the mineral wealth of a single asteroid, Psyche. + +Psyche is a solid ball of iron 200 km in diameter (100 km in radius) +It therefore has a volume of 4.19×106 km^3, or 4.19×1015 m^3. + +Iron has a density of 7,300 kg per m^3, or 7.3 metric tonnes per m^3. + +Psyche therefore has a mass of about 3 x 10^16 tonnes of iron. + +Total worldwide steel production in 2015 was 1,622.8 million tonnes, or about 1.6 x 109 tonnes. + +Psyche therefore represents 187,500 years of steel production at current rates. + +Further suppose that that technology will soon exist to extract iron via asteroid mining and make steel. + +However, given the massive overabundance of Psyche's iron supply, can the market price per ton of steel radically fall to the point where it no longer is profitable to mine Psyche in the first place? + +Is this a Catch-22, where the fall in market prices prevents the mining operation in the first place? +I should preface by stating that I know very very little about economics, but that I've recently been listening to a lot of talks on Youtube by Milton Friendman and Thomas Sowell (amongst other bits and bobs). Obviously the two are extremely pro free-market and want to see as little government as possible. +I was wondering if I could be pointed to prominent economists who might disagree, specifically ones I might be able to listen to on Youtube. +Thanks +I studied econ in the past and have a firm understanding of the basics. I'm looking for a slightly more advanced book as a way to help refresh my knowledge. I'd like to stay away from textbooks and would much prefer something more passive like a novel. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. +I've been getting interested in economics recently,and though I have a long time before I go into college,what can I do with an econ major. I would preferably like something with math and that holds greater meaning. What econ jobs are in the market? +Here, I'm thinking of the pharmaceutical industry. A lot of western diseases could have been non-existent if people ate a lot less meat or stopped smoking cigarettes (heart diseases and cancer). I'm trying to understand if the government could have an incentive to keep us a little sick to spark the medicine industry. Or if that incentive is only through paying politicians. +The Nordic countries all have very small populations and they have amazing development, some say they are more developed than the us. + +Meanwhile India has a gigantic population and has severe poverty issues, most of Latin America have a similar dinamic (Brazil, Mexico). + +So the question is, are smaller populations better? Was Thanos right? +Hey I am having a hard time visualizing this one, help would be appreciated. + +&#x200B; + +What would be the affect on the usual supply and demand graph for the labor market, if the government garunteed 15 an hour jobs to everyone, and where would the deadweight loss be? I would appreciate a link to visual representation. The way I am visualizing it has the demand a flat horizontal line at 15, and for supply it is a straight vertical line representing the work force. Not sure if that's correct tho. + +&#x200B; + +Thanks a lot this graph would be pretty relevant in politics today. +If a regulation raises the cost of production and shifts the supply curve to the left, couldn't the wage rates in that particular industry decrease? Workers would be competing for a scarcer amount of job openings. Wouldn't that result in a sort of bidding war downwards for the job? In other words, instead of using higher prices to "survive" the additional regulation costs, companies rely on lower wages to cover the regulation cost. +OK, so let's say Bob's lemonade stand will be $10,000. + +He has $5,100. He raises the $4,900 through stocks but retains ownership of the company because he has 51%. + +He makes $100 a day. After 100 days he breaks even. Pretending there is no operating costs, every day after this is profit. If he got the loan from the bank, he could have paid it back and then just collect the profit. But, is he legally required to put the rest of the money into expanding the business? + +I don't understand how stocks seem to affect the business. They seem to be on a secondary market. The only way it makes sense is if Bob is legally required to split the $100/ a day profit into dividends- $51 for himself and $49 for his stock holders. + +So, is it that companies have a choice to either invest or pay dividends- but if they choose to pay dividends, the amount is regulated by law? Would this amount be equal to the profit divided among the stock holders? +Hello r/AskEconomics, I worry about the liveliness of this sub but I don't really know where else to ask for assistance. I'm currently an undergrad in my third year pursuing a double major in mathematics and economics. Unfortunately, my program doesn't offer much in the field of mathematical economics, but in the very limited reading I've done about the field, it seems very interesting. I have economic mathematical experience in any principle concept as well as simple optimization, but I know there's a lot more out there and I just don't know where to start reading. + +I know I want to go into a graduate program in economics but I don't know what economics sub-field I'd like to specialize in. In terms of pure mathematics, I have experience in calculus, set theory, group theory, linear algebra, differential equations, and other undergraduate level maths. I'm just looking for authors or papers to get me started in the field. Anything fundamental, interesting, or important would be great. I can't stress enough that I don't need to be able to understand the material wholly so feel free to throw me challenging reads. + +Thanks a ton in advance and I look forward to reading any recommendations! +Title. + +Would just like to know the hard facts/statistics supporting these claims, if there are any. I know politicians love to just throw claims like this around, but I'd love to get deeper into it. + +Also, if you could explain it in layman terms, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks! +My writing prompt: +PAPER PROJECT: You are required to examine the connection between economics and some form of +arts/entertainment – film, sports, art, music, theatre, literature, or other. One approach is the dual focus of +how economics narrates through theory and models, and how arts/entertainment constructs and conveys +economic narratives – this is the primary approach of class topics one through eight. +why is bank Reserve Requirement still 0%? The Federal Reserve seems to be entirely preoccupied with raising interest rates and selling off its Bond portfolio, and yet they do nothing about increasing bamk reserve requirements to the traditional levels which would strengthen the banks. Given that a recession is becoming more and more of a distinct possibility wouldn't it make a lot of sense for banks to be healthier with some required reserves? +This is my assignment. To defend Say's Law. I've been sitting for an hour but I can't think of something that'll help my argument. An argument that I don't even believe in, I must mention. I wouldn't ask for help for assignments but my final grade depends on this, and I need quick answers because I am totally blank. + +Thank you! Anything decent will help. +Ive been reading about the Golden Rule Savings Rate which says there is a happy medium between savings and consumption. This makes sense at face value if all savings were going increasing stock but doesnt a lot of that money go to other types of investments? I understand that there should be diminishing returns for savings but in a global economy how true is that in practice? Also isn't money spent on investments better for long term growth than shear consumption? In summary why and when is too much money going towards investments a bad thing? +I have a communist friend who generally blames capitalism for everything bad in the world. The other day she said that China is the most capitalist country in the world to which I countered that China has massive restrictions on foreign investments and ownership. She then told me that this is state-capitalism, whicj to me sounds like an oxymoron. + +Tl;dr: Is state-capitalism a valid term acknowlegded by economists? +I looked up prices for bread in 1980, and saw that it was around 50 cents for a loaf. + +I looked up prices for this year, and it's around $1.50. + +This is at [https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/APU0000702111;jsessionid=E9F0E2A4DA9F63FC2A0B5719F9A3585A](https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/APU0000702111;jsessionid=E9F0E2A4DA9F63FC2A0B5719F9A3585A) + +Now, when I go to ANY of the grocery stores around here, a wealthy suburb of Washington DC, and they all have generic bread for less than $1, with several chains below that, like 70 cents for a loaf of white bread at Aldi. And this is for 20oz loafs (which seems to be the standard for generic white bread), not just the 16oz loafs that the BLS measures. + +Are people paying that much more for generic bread in the rest of the country? It seems like a big discrepancy in measuring inflation if the price of the most basic product can't be determined. +Hi guys, + +Was wondering with all the record high housing prices around the world, what if we were to ban what I have called ‘debt landlordism’. This is the idea that you wouldn’t be allowed to get a mortgage on a home if it will be used as a rental property. + +You will only be eligible for a mortgage - if you qualify of course - for a primary residence. + +What would be the economic consequence of doing this? + +As far as I see it, housing prices would be more affordable. + +This is because there would no longer be cheap credit being granted to landlords to buy houses so that their tenant pays for the mortgage and they pocket the difference. + +Very few landlords will be able to ‘landlord’ without such a debt strategy as they lack the cash. So this would lead to less demand side financialization of houses and thus more affordability in the long term no? + +My other policy would be that anyone having ‘debt landlord’ properties currently would be grandfathered. It wouldn’t be fair to harm those that simply made money from housing when it was legal to do so at the time. Not trying to advocate for authoritarianism here lol. + +Thanks in advance. +I've often heard it said that putting money under your mattress is bad for the economy, in that it takes money out of the financial system, it cannot be used. In the same way, is investing gold not the same? It locks that capital up, it can no longer be lent and reinvested and put to work. + +Is my understanding correct? +Do the laws of supply and demand apply to the housing market? + +Is the supply of houses elastic or inelastic? + +Can the number of houses built annually in the US be doubled in the next year? + +Thank you in advance. +Hi! So I'm working on an amateur research (basically a semester project) about COVID-19, inflation and industrialization. The main goal is to show that there is a causation-correlation between inflation and industrialization, and thus, according to the core-periphery structure, periphery countries will have a harder time when dealing with inflation, specially with COVID-19. + +To prove this, we were thinking about doing some cointegration tests between time series of inflation and industrialization. The thing is that we don't have an idea if there is such thing as an industrialization index. As far as I know there's the Industrial Production Index, but of course, this doesn't tells us about a cuantitative way to measure industrialization itself, but the industrial capacity and production. + +I also was thinking about doing a linear regression to know the impact of secundary sector on my country's GDP, but then again that would just be showing me the amount of incidence. + +Is it better to simply take the definitions of core-periphery theory and accept countries like mine (Mexico) are semi periphery and thus it has a mid industrialization capacity? Like, yknow, just playing with the theories to make my things look right, as a good economist hahaha. +Is this due to some genuine taxonomical difference between the two systems and real capitalism having never been tried or is it just a way of not having to actually defend the economic system you support? +In economic history it seems that shielding domestic industry from cheap imports by tariffs is one of the requirements for industrialisation. In England the calico acts "protected" domestic industry from cheap Indian textiles, which gave domestic produces the opportunity to invent the machines that led to the industrial revolution. It seems this policy was very successfull for England. + +However, 2 centuries later the same policy seems unsuccessful in Latin America. Brazil and Argentina for example never developed a car industry that was able to compete internationally with American or German companies even though their domestic market is shielded by high tariffs. + +Can these policies be compared 1:1? And if so, what changed in the two centuries? +I let my computer crunch data and in return I get rewarded (paid?) in a cryptocurrency (gridcoin). Who or what decides the value of this currency? I've asked where this money comes from on cryptocurrency subs but the answers I'm getting just confuse me more. + + +I'm interested in policy that would reduce income inequality in my state (MA). I have two [questions based on this amazing report regarding the EITC from Vox.Com](https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/9/13/16301644/ro-khanna-eitc-wages-democratic-agenda-working-class): + + +* What are the advantages/disadvantages of an EITC *VS* a higher minimum wage in reducing income inequality? They both have the exact same net effect in giving the worker the same amount of money, except that the higher min. wage employee receives his money in a predictable revenue stream, but the person receiving an EITC gets a lump sum of money from Uncle Sam after they file their taxes (and assuming that they get a slight refund). + + +I'm speaking about Friedman's graphs in [this video](https://youtu.be/NgSqZKx0mNI). + +He's juxtaposing two functions, one of CPI and and other "quantity of money per unit of output". This latter unit is unclear, so I tried to find how Friedman actually went about measuring it. Someone was kind enough to cite it in a stack exchange post: + +https://economics.stackexchange.com/questions/42873/what-exactly-is-quantity-of-money-per-unit-of-output + +So if I'm not mistaken, the quantity of money per unit of output is M2 divided by real GDP.. so M2 / RGDP. + +Except.. *how does one measure real GDP*? The answer, of course, is that you take nominal GDP, herein NGDP, and divide it by the GDP deflator, D. So the equation above becomes M2 / (NGDP / D ) = M2 * D / NGDP. + +Except.. D is a measurement of inflation. It's not exactly CPI, but it covers much of the same ground as CPI, and it's easy to see [that these two variables are strongly correlated](https://www.atlantafed.org/-/media/images/blogs/macroblog/off-site-images/090208lg.jpg). + +So.. did Friedman really just point out that when you take two functions, both heavily weighted by inflation coefficients, they correlate? Isn't this a totally uninteresting thing to even note? Isn't it deeply flawed reasoning, even misleading, to suggest this correlation has meaning other than "similar things are similar"? +If instead of abandoning the gold standard and adopting countercyclical fiscal policy, let's say the US stays on the standard and continues its austerity into the 30s. The European powers do the same, but the trade wars of the early years are still ended by the London Conference of '33. How much longer would the recover be? I know that the global economy eventually recovered from the Long Depression and banking panics in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but those probably would have been faster with the tools we have today. + +&#x200B; + +I know that this is a very speculative question and that there is no real answer to this. Econometrically, it would be very hard to estimate (I guess maybe an IRF model could help), and subject to a wide amount of variation based on initial assumption and model types. I just want an answer as to what extent the estimates for recovery might differ. Thanks! +Ok, I'm not sure I'm expressing myself clearly in the title, but let me try one more time now. + +I'm a junior economics major and lately I've been in a sort of crisis because I feel like I'm not sure what economic ideas I believe in anymore. Don't get me wrong, I love reading anything that has to do with the subject. Thing is, I just feel like, for somebody as skeptical as me, it's tough to remain convinced of anything I learn. I used to blindly agree to mainstream econ when I first started studying this, but then I was introduced to different schools like Marxism, the Austrian School, New Keynesianism etc. and it made me realize things are not as simple as I supposed they were. Now, however, I feel like I don't have the tools to discern what is good and bad economics. Sure, I know marxist theory or austrian theory are not exempt of criticisms, but neither is orthodox economics. And what's worse is that I feel I'm not capable of criticising them on my own: I always depend on somebody else's analysis of the state of modern economics, his/her interpretation of Marx and Von Mises, etc etc.; so I don't know how much to trust their opinions either. + +And I look around me and it seems as if everybody I study with just CHOOSES what to believe in (Austrian/Keynesian/New Classical/etc) instead of deeply analyzing all theories and accepting what seems to be the most rational school of thought for them. + +So in summary, what is there to do for me? It's like there's a counterpoint for every argument and I'm not capable of sorting out on my own which is more reasonable. Is there anything I could read to find out what different methodologies each school of thought uses, where exactly do they differ and how scientifically valid are their theories? + +I'm not sure if I'm asking for too much, but I'd honestly appreciate any kind of response. +So I recently started reading about the Austrian School of economics, and while I saw plenty of critique of the school, I came across one interesting note. + +[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1536-7150.2010.00751.x](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1536-7150.2010.00751.x) + +This study found that the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, one of the more notable journals in the field, ranked 33rd in terms of academic rigor, while 57th in credibility amongst peers. + +While one study on academic rigor doesn't definitely conclude how merited the study is, it is an indicator. That said, the amount of criticism from peers is also extremely noteworthy, and should not be dismissed either. + +I understand that this is an unconventional question and study for the sub, but I would like this to further my understanding of the reasons this school is so widely criticized, and how merited those claims may be. +Realistically, are monopoly profits zero in the long run? It seems as though monopolies in the actual economy really thrive typically. I know a lot of assumptions/theories in economics are pretty much only theoretical so I was wondering if this was the same. Thanks! +I understand occasional loans taken for particular investment in infrastructure. + +But I don't understand the situation when countries take loans all the time, and also have to pay off old debts all the time, and then (since there is interest rate), they get in a situation when each year they spend more money on paying old debts than they get from taking new ones. So each year they lose money. For example in year X, they take a loan of billion dollars, but in the same year, cumulative due payments that they have to make for old loans is 1.2 billion dollars. And this is the chronic situation. + +To me it seems completely irrational. + +But then, on the other hand, this could still be fine if you take inflation in the account. I mean if the payments for the loans are fixed and not adjusted for the inflation, then each year in fact you pay less for the old debts. If the inflation rate is higher than the interest rate, then you might even profit (in real terms, not nominal) + +But, I find it hard to believe that interest rates are lower than inflation, because if this was the case, then, how could the creditors profit, like World Bank and MMF? +What is the economic explanation for recent Russian ruble’s strength? + +This situation is quite unique so I wasn’t really able to find a lot of information on it. Also, most people talk with some political motivation about ruble these days. Its supporters say it’s strong because Western economies are crashing while Russia is prospering. Its opponents say that this is due to government intervention etc. I understand these could be valid reasons too though. + +My personal theory was that this is due to illiquidity. Since Russia is as sanctioned as it gets, they cannot really import anything from the USA or Europe whereas Europe pays for gas in rubles now, for instance. This creates an imbalance but this imbalance is not because Russia doesn’t want to buy anything from Europe, it’s because they simply can’t. + +Can someone provide a more holistic and unbiased explanation of recent ruble performance? +The 10 year TIPS yield is -1%, 10 year JGB is 0.1%, or for an extreme example, the 1 year German bond is -.7% while inflation is >2%, so the real yield is likely ~-3%. How do economists justify continuing to use positive discount rates, let alone ones above 2%? And are there any estimates of the social cost of carbon with a discount rate of -2%? Or if we're going to accept being off by 5% in the other direction, how about a discount rate of -7%? + + https://news.stanford.edu/2021/06/07/professors-explain-social-cost-carbon/#Presidential-Estimates see question 7 +Would a Universal Basic Income such as the Freedom Dividend advocated by US presidential candidate Andrew Yang have a positive effect on US GDp growth rate, or would it cause more harm than good to the US economy? (Extra taxes, inflation etc.) + +See this for reference: [https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Andrew-Yang-such-a-long-shot-candidate-despite-pushing-something-so-populist-as-a-UBI-Universal-Basic-Income](https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Andrew-Yang-such-a-long-shot-candidate-despite-pushing-something-so-populist-as-a-UBI-Universal-Basic-Income) +Many countries with high HDI (Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium) also have a high tax burden, usually near 50% (some are even higher). Meanwhile, countries with a low tax burden usually have lower HDIs. Is a heavy taxation the secret to provide free and efficient public services, as well as a high quality life? +Source for the tax rates: +https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_tax_revenue_to_GDP_ratio +As someone who’s mostly involved in the US stock market as a retail trader and been watching US economy closely, I’ve been under the impression that growth in the US economy since 2008 is representative of the world as whole. I’m surprised to find that almost all economic factors of almost every developed country I’ve seen is showing profound stagnation. In fact, most of the economic factors like gdp per capita shows that almost no country except the USA (with some notable exceptions like Singapore and to the lesser extent Germany) has not recovered since the Great Recession - in fact, how is the Great Recession over? Sure we haven���t had two consecutive negative gdp quarters in a row maybe, but the economic data from the EU is horrifying, as if the situation is not too dissimilar to the 2008 recession. On a percentage gdp basis that the USA shrunk in 2008, EU countries have experienced that and even larger recessions more than a few times since 2008 (notably around 2014 - wonder if that was caused by commodity price collapse or anything else). With so much media attention being concentrated on the USA I feel like this gets overlooked in popular media, what are some explanations for the “lost decade” in the EU and much of the developed world? And what should we expect going forward? +I've read of the signalling theory of education, which claims (if I understand) that income disparity between educated and non-educated people a. is explained primarily by pre-existing qualities college admissions select for, b. is explained by employers' beliefs in the superior abilities of college graduates, and/or c. is explained by the use of college as a 'sorting mechanism' that roughly selects along criteria of aptitude and socioeconomic status, as a necessary way of 'fairly' and inconspicuously sorting the population into working class and middle class. + +(Forgive that run-on sentence.) + +Either way, human capital is viewed as a fairly insignificant part of the equation. + +Is this view reasonable to economists? Is the logic sound, or has it been clearly disproved? Do many economists believe this theory? Is this theory contested, or generally agreed on in the field of economics? + +Thank you very much. +So I've seen a lot of recent arguments regarding TPP in the various other subreddits I frequent and I was wondering what the general Economic consensus is about TPP? + +Also is it true that corporations can sue Gov'ts for lost profit? +In the U.S. inflation is up in many categories. Covid has caused many jurisdictions, local, state and federal to create barriers to evictions and to raising rent during the pandemic. At some point, in some way, those are going to end. What will happen to inflation then? + +Will the evictions cause more housing availability and decrease upward pressure? Or, will the ending of moratoriums cause an increase in upward pressure as landlords try to keep up with general inflation? +How would the economics of our country change if everyday, every citizen donated $1 towards a pool. And every day a new person would become richer by the toon of 325 million? +I'm a college student trying to learn more about the current macro environment. + +There seems to be a big split between opinions of academics and twitter/youtube/podcasts. + +Academics (krugman, stiglitz etc.): Stimulus is a GO and inflation won't happen. USD not threatened and everything will be fine. + +Youtube/Fintwit/Podcasts (Macro Voices, Real Vision etc.): Threat of the dollar, inflation coming, possibly even cryptocurrencies. + +Now I know that most academics are Keynesian so it makes sense that they think that way. + +On the other hand, youtubers want more views so they try to hype everything up. + +That being said, there has to be truth on both sides right? So I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. Things won't be as great as academics see the stimulus as while it also won't be the end of the world like youtubers/podcasters say. + +What are your thoughts???? +I was listening to a podcast today called, "Beginner's Guide to Neo-Liberalism" and they discussed the (very general) beginning to Neo-Liberalism. + +They seemed to indicate that Keynes was a proponent of more government involvement in the economy than Hayek. (I'm being very general here...) + +They also seemed to indicate that Reagan and Thatcher brought about an age of Hayek and more of Hayek's philosophies rather than Keynes. + +My understanding was that the time period (with Friedman) was more about Keynes and the effects that we see today are more a result of Keynes economic philosophies. + +Am I wrong? +I’m currently reading Stephanie Kelton’s book on MMT “The Deficit Myth”, which of course is a book that supports MMT. + +As a follow up to this book, I’d like to read some reputable critiques of MMT, either another book (or books) or recommended research articles that argue against MMT. + +Thanks! +I lurk on r/economics and often see comments about how stock market isn't reflective of the wider economy. + +But in my head stock market does well when businesses listed in the market do well, which only happens when consumers are confident about their finances and are willing to spend on items rather than hoard cash, which only happens when the economy is doing well. + +I don't have much knowledge of economics by any means so happy to learn. +I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this with no success. + +I understand that ‘wealthy’ is a relative term but in this context I’m using it to refer to a high standard of living. From an economic perspective can the entire world achieve that or is it necessary for some of the world to have a low standard of living? + +In particular I’m wondering about wealth creation through mechanisms such as the stock market. If everybody in the world were investors in a bullish market would the global increase in wealth have any effect on overall quality of life or is it all relative, ie poor people would still be poor even though they had more money? + +I might not be thinking about this in the correct terms but I’d love some insight! +By economic collapse I mean for example a country failing to pay debt, hyper-inflation, having to write off and create a new currency e.t.c. + +I seem to remember east germany had hyperinflation for a while and I know that's an ongoing thing in some south american and african states, but I haven't heard much about what happens afterwards and how an economy can rebuild? +I recently read that the value of the UK illegal drugs market was £4.4 billion in 2014 (retail value). Where there is demand for a product/service, somebody is always going to supply it however if the government decided to legalise the supply of drugs, placing a tax upon it would this be beneficial to the economy? or would the negative effects from such a policy outweigh any benefits? + +Also i read that the legalisation of drugs would benefit organised criminals however i do not understand why this would be the case, does anybody have any insight? +I’m aware that a mounting body of research shows that raising the minimum wage doesn’t cause unemployment, but my understanding is that this is because of employer monopsony power and the fact that wages are driven *lower* than market equilibrium due to a lack of a competition in the labour market. + +Supposing that minimum wage was risen above this market equilibrium level - say to $25 an hour - the conventional wisdom would be that this would cause unemployment. + +But my understanding is that employers demand for labour is quite inelastic because it arises due to consumer demand for goods and services. Can employers demand less labour if consumers still want those goods and services? Assume wage push inflation is zero for the purposes of my question. I’m just trying to understand. +There is a major debate in my country (Brazil) about the likely Implementation of financial education in public high schools, some are pro, some are against, but no one shows actual studies on how financial education/literacy impacts society, what does it bring, what is its limit, and other questions. + +So, the economic literature brings any work on the subject? I imagine that it is not a rich field since it is not a popular course for schools worldwide... +I have friends from Nigeria who say that the people there value education a lot, but the government doesn't care about the people; the government only cares about filling their own pockets. What if the government actually cared? How much could Nigeria's HDI improve if they followed the model of, for example, South Korea after WWII (taking them from one of the poorest countries to one of the richest in 60 years)? Is this possible? +I have a theory that developing countries don't actually grow at the speed of gdp growth reported, but their formal economies do. Their economies are heavily understated to begin with. For instance in the case of India I Think its actual gdp is 50% bigger but its all informal. People work without being registered with an agency of tax people etc. Mostly street vendors with no paper work. People give loans to each other because of knowing and obv no paper work registered. So When India reports 7% growth in a given year what actually happened was it really only grew 5%, and 2% came from informal sector becoming more formalized. Like a shopkeeper registering his/her shop, or hiring domestic help via agency rather than through word of mouth etc. More loans being taken from banking system rather than shadow banking. etc. +I know they have fairly unconventional views on monetary policy, but only George and a few other contributers to the blog have been able to not set of my internal "BS" alarm. + +Is my BS alarm wrong? Or are they fairly reputable despite their unconventional views? +In the ‘End of Alchemy’, Mervyn King mentions that the gold standard was eliminated due to its inflexibility. Fiat currency- on the other hand- had greater flexibility and could be printed during times of war/recession. + +Why is this? How exactly does inflation help? + +It’s coming from a theory I kind of remember from my college which says that in a perfect market , the net profit will approach zero (no barrier to entry) + + +Hi AskEconomics, + +I’ve been a lurker to Reddit for some time now but have never actually made an account until now. I saw the Reddit Economics Network and got prompted to join in on the discussion. + +On the r/economics recommended reading list is the book “The Makings of an Economist”. In said book there is a transcript from a 2003 interview with Harvard Econ grad students in which they state: + +>“John You asked a question about micro foundations. In our class, for example, there are one, maybe two, people out of thirty who worry about such things. I remember quite distinctly a conversation with Ed Glazier when I came here to visit before I enrolled. He said that it is really questionable to require students to take two semesters of macro now that macro is just another subfield of micro. This turned out to be an accurate reflection of the status of macro at Harvard now. It is the equivalent to IO. +> +>**Do you think Harvard is different than other places, or do you see this as a general trend in the profession?** +> +>*Rich* I think it is a general trend in the profession." + +Granted this interview was something close to 16-17 years ago, but I was wondering on how relevant this line of thought still is? In my undergraduate macro classes we discussed GDP, monetary policy, fiscal policy, AS/AD models, the Philips Curve, the labor market and sticky wages, and other macroeconomic topics. Now maybe it’s because this is the introduction level that relies on models with assumptions, but the macroeconomics that they taught felt relatively separate from the introductory microeconomics I was taught. Could it be because of the simple models as mentioned below? + +>"*Gordon* We have a pedagogical problem in that the simple models don’t fit well empirically and have normative implications that are far to one side of the subject. I think Ec 10 teaches the simple models because they can be reduced to graphs and have historical importance. Then later on, the course does secondarily address situations that don’t fit the models. +> +>*John* If you were to do a survey of the students at the end of Ec 10 and ask them about the normative issues, and what the politics of the course was, you’d get a set of answers that would not match the views found in a similar survey of the faculty of the department; you’d find that 90 percent of the faculty don’t hold the normative judgments that the students come away from the course with. What happens is that you learn some basic ideas in Ec 10 and then you spend the rest of the time learning the nuances. For example, the students learn models in which price +> +>controls and regulations are bad, which obviously is not always true. But you have to start somewhere. My view is that there is a little bit too much of a tendency to sell the models as policy-relevant than there should be. +> +>*Angella* At the beginning there tends to be a big emphasis on efficiency rather than distribution issues, because it is much easier to talk about efficiency than it is to get into the difficult issues of distribution. In terms of what students believe at the end of Ec 10, I actually had one student say that if there is only one thing that she can conclude from Ec 10, it is that she is never going to support having subsidies for anything. +> +>*John* I don’t agree that there is something inherent in the models that is necessarily normative. It depends on how your section leader presents the material. There are things you can emphasize in the traditional theory that give you a liberal policy prescription. So I think that a big part of the conservatism comes from the parts that the professor in Ec 10 emphasizes. He talks about the bad effect of minimum wage laws on unemployment. I don’t think he mentions the Card and Krueger work that empirically shows that this may not be true. That’s his choice." + +Is macro still seen as a subset of micro in current academia? Also, how relevant is introductory economics to today’s modern economic thought/consensus? Anything else to consider? + +Thanks! +Based on this: + +https://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2017/09/unwinding-qe + +There's a line that reads "To raise interest rates, the Fed must immediately pay more interest on the reserves it has created", but I'm not sure where these interest payments go. In my head, QE is something like: + +* Money created / made up - added to Fed balance sheet +* Money traded for less liquid assest in the market - e.g. treasuries +* Fed now has balance of cash and treasuries +* Market has more liquidity + +Who gets the interest payments on the made up cash? Is it owned? + +Also, as more of a side question, is it right to conclude that given this roundabout trading, we've effectively turned treasuries in the market into cash? + +Let me know if I've got the whole concept wrong. Thanks, +I'm a college student trying to learn more about the current macro environment. + +There seems to be a big split between opinions of academics and twitter/youtube/podcasts. + +Academics (krugman, stiglitz etc.): Stimulus is a GO and inflation won't happen. USD not threatened and everything will be fine. + +Youtube/Fintwit/Podcasts (Macro Voices, Real Vision etc.): Threat of the dollar, inflation coming, possibly even cryptocurrencies. + +Now I know that most academics are Keynesian so it makes sense that they think that way. + +On the other hand, youtubers want more views so they try to hype everything up. + +That being said, there has to be truth on both sides right? So I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. Things won't be as great as academics see the stimulus as while it also won't be the end of the world like youtubers/podcasters say. + +What are your thoughts???? +**https://np.reddit.com/r/Stellar/comments/7rkco2/stellar_lumens_xlmstr_investment_in_my_humble/** + +Hello, I am writing this post for everybody interested in Stellar network/XLM investment and I am going to present you my point of view on Stellar. Please do not care about my English, as it's not my native language. I am new to Reddit, but I have been a huge fan of crypto since a few months and before putting my money in any coin I make a solid research everytime. This is what convinced me to invest in Stellar and may convince you as well. + +**In my opinion XLM will be huge due to many reasons:** + +**1.** FairX exchange is being built on Stellar network. This exchange will be released probably in Q1-Q2 2018 and will allow you buy cryptocurrencies instantly with fiat currency. In may opinion it may just kill Coinbase because: + +**a)** you will be able to buy much more cryptocurrencies than just 3 (Coinbase) +**b)** Stellar network processing rate is 1000 operations per second (so they probably won't suspend deposits/withdrawals/transactions like on many other exchanges +**c)** Stellar network transaction fee is a fraction of a cent (0.00001 XLM) e) You won't have to pay any extra bank fee for conversion to EUR/USD from your local currency unlike on Coinbase + +**2.** It has IBM's support, which is a major IT company. I really doubt that they would back up/invest in something that isn't worth it. + +**3.** Stellar's team is full of great names, for example + +**a)** Jed McCaleb who is a: +-co-founder of RIPPLE and probably still holding a few billion XRP coins, +-co-founder of Mt. Gox - one of the biggest BTC exchanges from the past, +-creator of eDonkey - big file sharing platform +**b)** Stellar is being backed up by advisors such as: +Patrick Collison - CEO of STRIPE +Matt Mullenweg - a founder of WORDPRESS.COM +Naval Ravikant - CEO and co-founder of ANGEL LIST + +**4.** In my opinion Stellar is very undervalued project. It's somehow similar to Ripple, but still doesn't have as much attention as it deserves. Once they will announce new partnerships/customers people will start to see, that Stellar has great potential as I am trying to show you now. It's worth noticing that XLM has 2x less coins in circulation than XRP at this moment, that means that if we reached Ripple's market cap, the price would be 2 times higher. + +**5.** It's now in top 10 coins, so it's gaining more and more attention and investors. I see a hundreds of newcomers everyday on Telegram group and Reddit, Twitter etc. and as you probably know that if more people know about it, the more money will be pumped in it. Newcomers are more likely to invest in something in top 10 rather than something with small market cap. + +**6.** Ripple and Stellar use similar code and fundamentals of these two projects are similar in some aspects, anyway Ripple is more for banks, when Stellar is more for people and companies. I met some people that are against banking systems and that's why they entered crypto world. Even though they see potential in the value of XRP they won't invest in it, just because it's very related to banks. They have their rules. + +**7.** They had a significant number of meetings in December 2017 in Dubai, Singapore, Abu Dhabi etc. it may just be a sign there is something big going to happen. + +**8.** ICOs - something that Ripple can't provide. ICOs can be built using Stellar. Recent ones are SureRemit, Mobius and Ternio. + +To sum up; I wouldn't expect XLM to go in double-digit this year, but I think that $3-4 is reachable as far as crypto market won't crash due to any reason. Just buy, hold and forget about it for a while. Check the price in Q3-Q4 and in my opinion you will be surprised. I could point some more reasons why XLM is a great investment, but I picked up the most important ones in my opinion. +I am not any kind of professional financial adviser and I am far from that, I just wanted to present you my thoughts about Stellar. Thank you for reading! :) + +**BTW: The roadmap for 2018 is going to be released this month on 25th. It may bring us even more fantastic news/facts, so stay tuned :)** +Saw a post claiming otherwise, but modern life suggests the opposite: doctors specialize, lawyers specialize, dividend investors specialize, even Warren Buffet specializes (aka his "circle of competence"). + +And it's true that *adjusting to changing market conditions* is a good general advice and I interpret this to mean, "take caution", but said poster was advising one to increase the tools in his toolbox, i.e. trading *different securities, strategies, and time-frames* as if commodity/futures/equity/bond traders care to or even should cross-train which is akin to asking a dermatologist to also specialize in neurology and surgery. + +Well, here's N = 1, it is 1 nonetheless: + +In **"bullish" 2021**: I sold weekly naked PUTs at 0.06 Delta for 5 months ending with a 10% gain or $720. Also sold weekly CSPs at 0.11 Delta for 7 months ending with a 15% or $6K. + +Now in **"bearish" 2022 YTD**: naked PUT account is up $290 and CSP account is up $1250, multiply each by 6 (2mo x 6 = 12 mo), I'm on track for $1700 and $7500 gain by EOY, respectively. + +Tl;dr: as long as I continue to sell my 0.06-0.11 Deltas, i.e. being a *one-trick pony*, regardless of market conditions, I will continue to maintain my 100% win rate. +Saw a post claiming otherwise, but modern life suggests the opposite: doctors specialize, lawyers specialize, dividend investors specialize, even Warren Buffet specializes (aka his "circle of competence"). + +And it's true that *adjusting to changing market conditions* is a good general advice and I interpret this to mean, "take caution", but said poster was advising one to increase the tools in his toolbox, i.e. trading *different securities, strategies, and time-frames* as if commodity/futures/equity/bond traders care to or even should cross-train which is akin to asking a dermatologist to also specialize in neurology and surgery. + +Well, here's N = 1, it is 1 nonetheless: + +In **"bullish" 2021**: I sold weekly naked PUTs at 0.06 Delta for 5 months ending with a 10% gain or $720. Also sold weekly CSPs at 0.11 Delta for 7 months ending with a 15% or $6K. + +Now in **"bearish" 2022 YTD**: naked PUT account is up $290 and CSP account is up $1250, multiply each by 6 (2mo x 6 = 12 mo), I'm on track for $1700 and $7500 gain by EOY, respectively. + +Tl;dr: as long as I continue to sell my 0.06-0.11 Deltas, i.e. being a *one-trick pony*, regardless of market conditions, I will continue to maintain my 100% win rate. +New to this group but not new to budgeting. Looking for thoughts on the below scenario. + +In September 2015, my husband and I had 3 kids and $116,324 debt. + +Now, we have 4 kids and $53,000 debt and only that high because we had to buy a new to us car for $13,000. + +We also max out retirement now and have another $15,315 for a new home. We need $45,000 total. We can do $30,000 in 6 months if we have a no spend 6 months. + +We will still have $400/week for spending (gas, food, necessities). We just will have zero for eating out, clothing, etc. If an emergency comes up, we can use the house savings. We are planning to buy summer 2020. +I sold my puts and closed my shorts. I don't care anymore. I am never challenging the federal reserve of this country again. Everything is a facade. This market is not real. It's all artificial. I'm going back to S&P index funds for 20 years strategy. Fuck this, I'm out. It was fun bears. +Haven't been in-store a long time, like since way before the mini-sneeze. Popped in 30 min after opening. Store looks nice. I got a red Pizza Planet hat for myself, because I love Toy Story, and some Halo socks for my girlfriend. + +There was one lonely young employee there. I talked with her a while. + +She confirmed for me that corporate was sending its people through the stores to see how things run in retail. I'm happy to hear that. + +I didn't have the heart to ask what she was making for wages. But I did ask her what she thought of her work. + +She said she tries to be proud of where she works. That seemed half hearted to me. I asked what bugs her. + +She said "Well, the company upcharges a dollar or two for items sold in-store that go for less online." + +I didn't think that was such a big deal. What's a dollar? She said "Kids come in. They look online at prices and they only have so much to spend. Sometimes I can't get them what they want because of the upcharges." + +That hit me in the heart because I remember looking longingly at everything in GameStop as a kid and not being able to afford any of it. We were on food stamps, there was no GameStop money. + +I know you all are doing a lot of gift cards for employees, and pizza, and such + +Maybe the next time you pop into a retail store, you could buy a preloaded gift card, and ask management to keep it in the register for things like that. A lot of kids will get what they want for just a little money. They're short a few bucks each, you know? Not a lot. + +I'm gonna call the store back and see if I can do that. I'm also going to send this post to Ryan Cohen and see if I get a reply. Doesn't seem right to short these kids. Shorting is bad. + +Thanks for reading. I still love this company and I love you guys for being shareholder activists. I hope you see the opportunity here. +I was reading through the recent thread on here asking when you realized you would never be “rich” and found myself fascinated at the responses indicating very different opinions on what “rich” means. + +So….what does being “rich” mean to you? +Please just give me advice, I know I'm stupid already, no need to tell me. + +I am 20, bought a brand new car for $18K (came out to $21after taxes and whatnot). I am a first time buyer, my parents don't have good credit and I couldn't get a cosigner. So my dumb ass agreed to an 18% interest rate. Payments are about $450/month, but I am paying $1000 to try and pay it off faster. I live with family and have basically no other payments besides my car insurance and phone bills. + + I have only had this car a couple months And have already paid over $1,000 in interest. FUCK. ME. My old car was 20+ years old, so it's nice to have a reliable car now, but the payments are not worth it. I financed with the dealer. I bought a cheap motorcycle last March and financed it at my CU to build credit, even tho I could've paid with cash. I have all of the money already in a separate account for the motorcycle. I'll have it paid off in March. + +This means I'll have a year of history with my CU and then they'll let me take out an auto loan for a little lower interest rate. It's probably still pretty high seeing as I don't have a cosigner and am still a first time buyer. + +Please help me get out of this mess. Is it worth it to just sell this car and buy a used one? Or did I screw myself and just have to play damage control now? +I have the luck to be in a situation where I have filled-out registered accounts and a stable, guaranteed salary. I'm 90% invested in CCP --- I'm looking to gamble with the other 10%. + +&#x200B; + +What are top 3 short-term buys for 2019? +The people who were 100% cash going into March, did you buy the dip or miss out? + +Anyone sell at March lows and never buy back in? + +I was 100% cash going into March, I only managed to deploy 40% of my cash during the initial covid drop, I did another 40% during the election dip in November + + +my best plays and largest holdings: + +XSP - up 65% + +XIN - up 50% + +XIU - up 51% + +BNS - up 58% + +ZEB - up 52% + +ZDJ - up 21% + +T - up 21% + +XEH - up 20% + +my most prized play: + +BRK.B - up 44% + +overall, I have about 36k in gains, and don't plan on selling anything +I’m newer to investing and over the last 4/5 months I have become increasingly more cautious about increasing my current positions or starting new ones since everything is trading at all-time highs. + +My main strategy is dividend investing. Is this something to only worry about for short-term or growth portfolios? + +Interested in your thoughts. +I've been with Questrade ever since I started investing but lately was wondering if the higher fees at different brokerages may be worth it? + +Ie. a better platform, news, research, etc. stuff along those lines. + +I don't know if it's just because I've been with Questrade for so long that I'm getting bored of it, but I've heard that something like TDDI has a way nicer platform and more things available for investors in terms of setting goals, research, news. + +Anyone have any experience on if it makes sense to switch from Questrade to somewhere else? +I saw recently saw this article online and I was not surprised to see Canada listed at one of the top countries with highest housing bubble risk. + +[https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-countries-with-the-highest-housing-bubble-risks/?fbclid=IwAR1XWNd3n3HzId7MJMLz\_SE\_POBnPqiFyLIqmOIQ3wOOedM135lEPqooHmo](https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-countries-with-the-highest-housing-bubble-risks/?fbclid=IwAR1XWNd3n3HzId7MJMLz_SE_POBnPqiFyLIqmOIQ3wOOedM135lEPqooHmo) + +&#x200B; + +Edit : What do you think about housing market in Canada and what do you think about investing in Real Estate / REIT ? + +&#x200B; + +Thanks all +I've seen this question come up a bit on this subreddit and thought I'd share what I found. I'm not sure when it was added, but I just looked at the iShares PACC form and XEQT is available now! + +[https://www.blackrock.com/ca/investors/en/literature/forms/pacc-enrollment-document-en-ca.pdf](https://www.blackrock.com/ca/investors/en/literature/forms/pacc-enrollment-document-en-ca.pdf) + +For those that don't know, PACC means pre-authorized cash contributions. You can use it to automatically withdrawal from your bank account and purchase shares of an ETF. It lets you put your purchasing on autopilot. + +Go forth in automating your investment contributions :) +I heard a podcast recently where the person said they have the same companies in both. But I don’t. My RRSP is all ETFs. My TFSA is all individual stocks. + +What do you do, and why? +I am a Canadian expat, living indefinitely in the UK. I am non-resident in Canada for tax purposes; this has been the story for a couple years now. I have been constantly on the look out for similar stories and online threads, and I think they're getting more common (see some example links below). + + [https://www.reddit.com/r/PersonalFinanceCanada/comments/77ojoj/advice\_regarding\_roboadvisor\_and\_brokerage/](https://www.reddit.com/r/PersonalFinanceCanada/comments/77ojoj/advice_regarding_roboadvisor_and_brokerage/) + +[https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianInvestor/comments/9duru3/non\_resident\_of\_canada\_tfsa\_wealthsimple/](https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadianInvestor/comments/9duru3/non_resident_of_canada_tfsa_wealthsimple/) + + [https://www.moneysense.ca/save/taxes/investing-canada-living-abroad/](https://www.moneysense.ca/save/taxes/investing-canada-living-abroad/) + + [https://blog.wealthbar.com/financial-advice-for-canadian-expats-who-want-to-invest/](https://blog.wealthbar.com/financial-advice-for-canadian-expats-who-want-to-invest/) + +Many of the threads go through some discussion before trailing off though, and I haven't quite found the ultimate solution yet; I don't have the millions to justify a $1,000-$4,000 investment "specialist" -- and when I have had preliminary discussions with specialist advisers who claim to be experienced with Canadians living in the UK, I was the more knowledgeable about the UK tax situation! + +Anyways... + +(A) From existing discussions, I know Wealthbar to be the only Canadian robo-advisor option I have. I appreciate the simplicity of this option, but refer to item (2) below, which applies even if I choose the roboadvisor option. + +(B) If I want to manage my own passive portfolio, I can continue with Questrade -- but I have a certain amount already in a passive portfolio in a TFSA account, and more sitting as cash in a non-registered account. Going about things this way (managing my own): + +(B.1) I need to figure out a good re-allocation strategy, which may include selling all the existing assets and starting from scratch. + +(B.2) I would like to confirm that the process I am doing to calculate incomes, dividends, foreign taxes paid, capital gains/losses, etc. is correct, in the context of my UK tax filings -- I have been doing them myself, because there aren't any tax specialists that are capable of it for a reasonable cost. Figuring it out on my own in the past couple years, my Canadian investment incomes have been substantially less than my understanding of the UK personal allowances... So it seems silly to pay someone £2000/year to tell me I owe nothing; or even if I'm slightly wrong, to simply tell me I owe £10-£100; and then to tell me that I have to come back for another £2000 fee next year! + +&#x200B; + +In closing, I'm casting out a line again, for any new insight on the points above. My case is definitely not that unique anymore. This will be helpful to other financially-savvy Canadians who have decided to take a long-term adventure abroad, living and working; and the UK is the third most common destination for Canadians living abroad... + +&#x200B; +I had my fair share of losing money, trading capital drawdowns, busting my own trading capital many times before finally learning from past mistakes to become a better trader and stop do stuff like it's a mf casino. + +I don’t want to share with you something that you all heard so many times (yep, I haven't lost my fate in humanity) like avoid margin trading or invest in mutual funds. I believe I have some wisdom I wish I had from the beginning. + +1. Trading is just 5% theory and 95% about emotional control, risk and money management, overcoming one’s greed, having strict stoploss and targets predefined before taking a trade. +2. Don’t follow advice from forums blindly. Build your own map of the world. Each of us learn to trade at our own pace and don’t get discouraged if you find that after a few years, you’re still struggling to master the ‘money game’. You can keep in mind different advice from experienced players (e.g. I recommend this qooore app and it's discord community), *but it's vital for the final decision to be yours*. +3. Accept losses and do not make investment decisions based on emotion Especially greed, fear, or panic. Yep, you didn’t buy Betcoin (lol couldn't resist) at 3,000$ because you didn’t know back than what direction the price would take. No regrets. Keep yourself focused on here and now, move ahead +4. Know yourself. What is your current financial situation? Why you are investing? For what purpose the investment is being made? This will automatically answers questions such as how long you are investing for. The other important aspect is how much risk you would normally want to take. Keeping both in mind, assess your risk carefully. +5. Never forget that for investing, time is your best friend - and greed is your worst enemy. Patience is a requirement in stock trading. There are no short-cuts or ‘holy grail’ when it comes to stock. And you only need to have couple of strategies but those should be well tested and made perfect over the period of time. + +To me, trading is a skill that requires 3Ls - ‘Life-Long Learning”. + +Stay humble, be honest and willing to admit your mistakes in trading and don’t try to rationalise and explain mistakes away, and always remain teachable and never think you’ve ‘arrived’. +^(Including but not limited to;) + +|**Name**|**Organization**|**Summary**| +|:-|:-|:-| +|Ken Griffin (CEO)|Citadel|Market Maker that actively participates in illegal naked short selling, lied to Congress under oath about ever having communicated with Robinhood| +|Frank La Salla (President, CEO)|Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC)|Own Cede & Co., the behind-the-scenes owner of all assets in the markets, have allowed illegal naked short selling for years, possibly decades| +|Robert Druskin (Non-Exec. Chairman)|Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC)|Own Cede & Co., the behind-the-scenes owner of all assets in the markets, have allowed illegal naked short selling for years, possibly decades| +|Michael Bodson (Former CEO, 2012-2022)|Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC)|Own Cede & Co., the behind-the-scenes owner of all assets in the markets, have allowed illegal naked short selling for years, possibly decades| +|Rostin Benham (CEO)|Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)|Removed all reporting requirements for swaps until 2023| +|David Inggs (Board of Dir.) & Citadel (Global Head of Ops.)|Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) & Citadel|Obvious conflict of interest| +|Hester Peirce|Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)|Multiple votes against proposals [in favor of retail traders](https://twitter.com/hesterpeirce/status/1461074740089606149?lang=en) and [HF transparency](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/sdc0ce/hester_peirce_voted_no_today_for_hedge_fund/)| +|Steve Cohen (CEO)|Point 72|Global asset management company that actively participates in illegal naked short selling| +|Jeffrey Yass (CEO)|Susquehanna|Trading firm that actively participates in illegal naked short selling| +|Doug Cifu (CEO)|Virtu|Market Maker that actively participates in illegal naked short selling| +|Robert Colby (CEO)|Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)|*sElF rEgUlAtEd OrGaNiZaTiOn To ReGuLaTe BrOkErAgEs AnD eXcHaNgEs*| +|Andrej Bolkovic (CEO)|Options Clearing Corporation (OCC)|Allows shorts to avoid closing and roll FTDs via options manipulation| +|William Capuzzi (CEO)|Apex Fintech|Clearing Corporation instructing brokerages to turn off buy button in Jan 2021| +|Jim Cramer|Mad Money/CNBC|Engages in market manipulation on a daily basis, involved in short and distort schemes like [Dendreon](https://www.sec.gov/comments/s7-08-09/s70809-4614.pdf) from late 2000's| +|Marc Rowan (CEO)|Apollo Management|American Private Equity firm with $512B AUM| +|Gabe Plotkin|Melvin Capital|Restricted buying of certain stocks in Jan 2021 in coordination with Citadel, Provides free trading by selling PFOF to comapnies like Citadel| +|Vlad Tenev|Robinhood|Restricted buying of certain stocks in Jan 2021 in coordination with Citadel, Provides free trading by selling PFOF to comapnies like Citadel| +|Jamie Dimon (CEO)|JP Morgan Chase|Took $[2.3B](https://www.warren.senate.gov/oversight/letters/warren-booker-maloney-blast-jpmorgan-chase-bank-of-america-and-wells-fargo-for-continuing-to-profit-from-overdraft-fees-that-target-low-income-americans) in overdraft fees in Q4 2020| +|David Solomon (CEO)|Goldman Sachs|Can't [afford](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/xbzveu/goldman_sachs_cant_even_afford_coffee_for_their/) coffee| +|Brian Moynihan (CEO)|Bank of America|Charged [$1.14B](https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-bank-overdraft-fees-costing-consumers-billions/?leadSource=uverify%20wall) in overdraft fees in 2021| +|Jane Fraser (CEO)|Citigroup|Charged $[15.45B](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/24/business/citigroup-overdraft-fees-banks.html) in overdraft fees in 2019| +|Charles Scharf (CEO)|Wells Fargo|Charged [$1.41B](https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-bank-overdraft-fees-costing-consumers-billions/?leadSource=uverify%20wall) in overdraft fees in 2021| +|Noel Quinn (CEO)|HSBC|Fined $[85M](https://www.reuters.com/business/hsbc-fined-85-mln-anti-money-laundering-failings-2021-12-17/) in 2021 for anti money laundering failings| +|François Villeroy de Galhau (CEO)|Bank of International Settlements|The BIS is to global finance as the DTCC is to the stock market, more to come\*| +|Agustín Carstens (General Manager)|Bank of International Settlements|The BIS is to global finance as the DTCC is to the stock market, more to come\*| +|Christoph Schweizer(CEO)|Boston Consulting Group 💩(BCG)|Directly involved in bankrupting companies by planting malicious executives| +|Rich Lesser (Former CEO, 2012-2021)|Boston Consulting Group 💩(BCG)|Directly involved in bankrupting companies by planting malicious executives| +|Michael Milken (Former employee)|Drexel Burnham|Served 22 months in prison in 90's after pleading guilty to 6 felonies, coined the term 'junk bond', [friends with KG](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iDDDRfZ0I0&ab_channel=Citadel)| + +Will update with suggestions +If you have $200-250K in cash, what is the smartest way to make that money provide regular, recurring income without investing it back into stocks or other securities? + +My ideas: + +1) Buy a duplex for cash in a modest neighborhood with lower, but consistent, rents + +2) Buy a small condo for cash in a trendy area and try to rent it long-term (if allowed by assoc.) + +3) Buy a small condo for cash in a trendy area and try to Airbnb it (if allowed by assoc.) + +4) Buy a small commercial property and try to lease it out to a small business + +5) Start a business (don't have one in mind) + +6) Invest in someone else's business + +What other options are there to make cash work for you? Do you all think one of these makes more sense than the other? + +Thank you in advance! +At the very least we can stare at the daily short sale volumes that come out each day. Below, in italics, I've pasted information directly from [FINRA's website](https://www.finra.org/filing-reporting/trf/trf-regulation-sho-2020) that tells what we're actually looking at, and I **TLDR the paragraphs in bold** below because crayons are tasty. NOTE that my previous post I completely fucked up how I did afterhours short volumes using this same data, but everything here SHOULD BE CORRECT, as reported by FINRA. And here's the [LINK TO MONTHLY SHORT SALE Files for FINRA](https://www.finra.org/filing-reporting/trf/trf-regulation-sho-2021) , whenever it actually comes up. + +&#x200B; + +*" Pursuant to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission request, FINRA makes short sale trade data publicly available for off-exchange (OTC) trades in exchange-listed securities reported to FINRA’s Alternative Display Facility (ADF) .  FINRA makes two types of files available: (1) Daily Short Sale Volume Files; and (2) Monthly Short Sale Transaction Files (collectively, the Short Sale Files). "* + +&#x200B; + +* **Publicly traded stocks(GME on the NYSE) can be traded "upstairs" but have to be reported.** + +&#x200B; + +*" The Daily Short Sale Volume Files provide aggregated volume by security for all short sale trades executed and reported to a TRF, the ADF, or the ORF during normal market hours for public dissemination purposes (i.e., media-reported trades). There are individual files for the volume associated with trades reported to each TRF (FINRA/Nasdaq Chicago, FINRA/Nasdaq Carteret, FINRA/NYSE), the ADF, and the ORF. There is also a file entitled "Consolidated TRF/ADF Daily Short Sale Volume Files," which combines the volume for trades in exchange-listed securities reported to the TRFs and the ADF.*" + +&#x200B; + +* **Daily Short Sales files only contain how many short sale trades were done that day.** + +&#x200B; + +*"The Short Sale Files are not consolidated with exchange data. To obtain a complete picture of the short sale volume to total volume for a particular exchange-listed stock, market participants must combine data from the separate files for each of the TRFs and the ADF, as well as from each exchange. "* + +&#x200B; + +* **Short sale trades done on NYSE for instance, are NOT in these files** + +&#x200B; + +*" The Short Sale Files do not—and are not intended to—equate to bi-monthly reported short interest position information. The short interest data reflects aggregate short positions held by market participants at a specific moment in time on two discrete days each month, while the Daily Short Sale Volume File reflects the aggregate volume of trades executed and reported as short sales on each trade date. "* + +&#x200B; + +* **The GOOD STUFF is in the Monthly Short Sales files.** + +&#x200B; + +*" The* ***Short Sale Files exclude any trading activity that is not publicly disseminated.*** *As a result,* ***some offsetting buying activity related to reported short selling would not be reflected in the Daily Fil****e and may result in the appearance of a higher concentration of short sale volume to total volume. "* + +&#x200B; + +* **These files DO NOT contain everything from "upstairs" if they didn't report it!!!** + +&#x200B; + +So let's plot all the information available for 2021, from each of the daily short sales files. + +[Figure 1: GME Short Volume from FINRA's Daily Short Sales Files for all of 2021, as of February 9th. Note the y-axis is logarithmic to be able to see \\"short exempt\\" sales.](https://preview.redd.it/tw20qp754kg61.png?width=801&format=png&auto=webp&s=6cab52acafe127e31edeee4eef18a4e4c4939730) + +And below I've summed up across the specified days that the Monthly report usually covers. + +&#x200B; + +||*Jan 1st-15th*|*Jan 16th-29th*|*Feb 1st-9th*| +|:-|:-|:-|:-| +|**Short Volume**|84,529,878|155,033,361|79,236,275| +|**ShortExempt Volume**|1,119,003|3437532|4,306,437| +|**Total Volume**|193,791,490|415,527,741|146,617,603| + +&#x200B; + +**TLDR: These are objective numbers from FINRA, fuck the shills and bots, and remember every time you feed a troll 3 times they get $5.00.** + +Edit 1: 9:09pmEST finra-markets.morningstar reports **78.46% Short Interest** [Morningstar reports 78.46% Short Interest](http://finra-markets.morningstar.com/MarketData/EquityOptions/detail.jsp?query=126:0P000002CH) , still waiting for full public [FINRA Monthly Short Sale File](https://www.finra.org/filing-reporting/trf/trf-regulation-sho-2021) + +Edit2: [Institutions](http://finra-markets.morningstar.com/MarketData/EquityOptions/detail.jsp?query=126:0P000002CH) hold **206% of shares,** reported on same page with **78.46% SI** + +**Edit TIMER:** [**FINRA Monthly Short Sale File**](https://www.finra.org/filing-reporting/trf/trf-regulation-sho-2021) **still not out... 10:06pm** +Hi guys I’m 23 years old and married. I am buying my first house and had a question. I have the money for 20% down. Should I do this or should I invest the money in my retirement and only put 3.5% down? It will up my monthly payments by about 300 dollars. In the long term putting the money in retirement would make more over the house. But the higher mortgage payment makes me worry more. What are your thoughts? Some more info below + +Income- 90k (will drop in 3 years because wife will stop working. Will probably be around 70-80k then) + +20% down mortgage payment - 1300 +3.5% down mortgage- 1600 + +I’m an accountant + +The house is $292,955 + +Edit: mathematically speaking if I put 3.5-5% down and invest it in retirement it would net me over 600k more in retirement. The loan would cost me 75k more or so to not do the 20%. Seems like a no brainer? +For the first 15 days of June... + +SYD: -0.02% + +MEL: -0.06% + +BRIS: -0.26% + +ADE: -0.14% + +PER: -0.36% + +5 CITIES: -0.11% + +Data: +https://bit.ly/2MTQIWp + +https://www.corelogic.com.au/research/daily-indices + +https://www.corelogic.com.au/research/back-series +Handed in my last assignment on Sunday and I'm officially done with a graduate diploma in financial advice. Here are some questions that I'll pre-emptively answer. Now I'm not exactly a high distinction student, p's get degree's baby. But I though this community would enjoy reading this post. + +**Where did you study?** + +TafeNSW, I did consider UTS but TAFE was cheaper for the same course structure. + +**How much was the degree?** + +I think it's $19,700 in total. It cost me around $2,200 a subject and it went on HECS. I had to repeat a subject because I missed an exam for one (there were two subjects with similar names in the timetable). I think UTS was around $4,500 a subject when I looked. + +**What subjects did you do?** + +* ethics +* retirement + estate planning +* super & insurance +* tax +* investing +* corporate law +* behavioural finance +* applied financial advice + +behavioural finance was my favourite subject, it's basically how irrational we are with money. I've also enjoyed the more psychology based subjects. When I was studying my under graduate (computer science) my favourite subject was human computer interaction. + +**What will you do now?** + +I'm going to continue working in tech. To become an advisor I need to do a professional year of development. Basically I need to intern for a year under an existing adviser. Now starting salaries for advisors aren't as bad as my starting salary in tech was but it's up to a 50% pay cut. + +I get paid more in tech and I want to maximise my savings in the short term. Eventually I want to build a mobile app that helps people with their financial literacy and have that feed into an advice business but I want to save up enough cash to pay myself for a year where I'd like to focus on building this platform before I make this career change. + +**Why does financial advice cost so much?** + +Mostly compliance. The average cost of advice is about 5K and that's because it can take a week's worth of effort spread across at least 2 people to prepare all of the docs for arse covering purposes. A statement of advice (SOA) is a the main document you'll get and can be 30 to 80 pages long. Now hardly anyone is going to read it all. + +My last subject I prepared this [sample SOA](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ph4TodM9o3txNpIj2SoAd27gOVvjv79jltoqD7JzMjc/edit?usp=sharing), my fake client was a 28 year old female tech professional on 78K a year with 3 super funds. She lived in a share house and had just finished paying off her student debt and wanted next steps. You can check out the [recorded SOA walkthrough with the client](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FHK3Y_B_xLsPaAenmujviGuENJsBW_4V/view?usp=sharing) if you are curious (my class mate role played my fake client). + +It was pretty straight forward advice: + +* consolidate super +* build up an emergency fund +* Get life insurance +* Maximise first home savers via super +* Build up house deposit +* Pay off mortgage as quickly as possible via an offset account + +There is talk of changing to SOA requirement in the future. Hopefully there'll be plenty of other changes in the industry to come. + +**How do I learn more?** + +you can access my [2019 version of the masters financial planning guide here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FgMc1mkMx5-H0vr37tL1WLzA3E1QEKKK/view?usp=share_link), this is the main textbook that tied all of these subjects together. It's a bit dry and [there's updated version](https://shop.wolterskluwer.com.au/items/10076400-0008S) you can buy online. I'd often print off chapters and upload them into pdf to voice app like [voice dream on iOS](https://apps.apple.com/au/app/voice-dream-reader-text-speech/id496177674). I also explored making a [python script to convert text to speech](https://bughuntersam.com/converting-pdf-to-audio/) but I soon got to google's free API limit for text to speech and needed to figure out how to pay for it. + +Otherwise the community here has been a great learning resource for me. I still get answers wrong, misunderstand things and there's still more to learn. The community here quickly lets me know if I'm not quiet right. So thank you +As I look at apartments and units, everyone is quick to chime in reminding me about "strata" and the things I can and can't do but no one has told precisely what it is. + +I understand it's some kind of fee for upkeep of a set of units. + +Does that mean I can't build a pergola? Paint? Rip up the garden? +I made a program that will compile the most Discussed Penny Stocks on Reddit and tracks their DDs + +*Not all blind mentions are counted, only discussion centric and DD mentioned are counted* + +**Scroll to the right to view full table** + +## Data + +|Ticker|Mentions|Name|Industry|Previous Close|DD|5d Low|5d High|1d Change (%)|5d Change (%)|1mo Change (%)| +|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| +|DFFN|6|Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Inc.|Biotechnology|1.24|[$DFFN Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Potential to Move Higher (Currently 1.25) (DD)](https://reddit.com/lilxqa)|1.09|1.54|13.76|\-6.06|1.64| +|TAKOF|2|Drone Delivery Canada Corp.|Computer Hardware|1.65|[Explained like im 5 why im bullish on TAKOF. Drone Delivery Canada.](https://reddit.com/ljdaft)|1.38|2.01|\-2.08|13.79|133.71| +|ARBKF|2|Argo Blockchain plc|Capital Markets|2.72|[$ARB/$ARBKF - ARGO Blockhain DD](https://reddit.com/ljpqxl)|1.49|2.74|36.68|61.9|70| +|GRST|2|Ethema Health Corporation|Medical Care Facilities|0.0075|[GRST - Ethema Health Corporation - The massive upside potential drug and alcohol treatment facility - Huge DD](https://reddit.com/lik7qo)|0.00434|0.0084|\-6.25|63.04|150| +|AITX|1|Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions Inc.|Computer Hardware|0.2368|[$AITX DD : Current Legitimacy and Implications of Holding Long Term](https://reddit.com/ljt0gf)|0.159|0.2899|\-8.71|48|719.38| +|NBY|1|NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.|Biotechnology|1.19|[NBY - Buy while it's low, product going to shelves soon and they discovered their product kills COVID-19 on hard surfaces...](https://reddit.com/lioakr)|1.03|1.26|4.39|14.42|22.68| +|BRRN|1|Born Inc.|Specialty Industrial Machinery|3.785|[Is BRRN merging with Alkeon creators inc?](https://reddit.com/lj3j0j)|3.13|4.5|\-7.23|16.46|\-1.69| +|SND|1|Smart Sand, Inc.|Oil & Gas Equipment & Services|2.87|[Why I believe in SND as an Oil Play](https://reddit.com/lj1q73)|2.07|3.12|8.55|38.65|40| +|NAKD|1|Naked Brand Group Limited|Apparel Manufacturing|1.44|[This is how I expect NAKD to play out](https://reddit.com/lir7oi)|1.1|2.18|9.09|18.52|183.97| +|DPW|1|Ault Global Holdings, Inc.|Electrical Equipment & Parts|5.66|[$DPW The BTC/EV play everyone is missing](https://reddit.com/lipe9d)|4.67|5.83|11.42|18.66|27.19| +|CTMX|1|CytomX Therapeutics, Inc.|Biotechnology|9|[$CTMX - CytomX Therapeutics: A BioPharmaceutical Company thought to be overvalued, now realized to be undervalued set on a 300%+ return course.](https://reddit.com/lillz0)|8.048|9.32|8.96|9.09|17.49| +|CLBS|1|Caladrius Biosciences, Inc.|Biotechnology|2.33|N/A|2.06|3.05|10.95|2.64|43.83| +|GLBS|1|Globus Maritime Limited|Marine Shipping|5.95|[GLBS is definitely something worth checking out guys.](https://reddit.com/likevh)|5.7|7.14|\-2.62|0|\-14.88| +|NOSUF|1|Nerds on Site Inc.|Information Technology Services|0.0532|[Why $NOSUF is criminally undervalued](https://reddit.com/lijmxd)|0.03269|0.0565|15.65|62.74|40| +|CBDL|1|CBD Life Sciences Inc.|Drug Manufacturers—Specialty & Generic|0.01|[$CBDL - Partnership with Amazon in final stages](https://reddit.com/lija15)|0.0039|0.0198|\-16.67|138.1|566.67| +|MMEDF|1|Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc.|Biotechnology|4|[Predicting trends in emerging markets. From cannabis to psychedelics. History, milestones, and a speculative look at MindMed ($MMEDF).](https://reddit.com/liivhc)|3.38|4.18|\-0.5|10.5|41.04| +|TLGN|1|Totally Green, Inc.|Pollution & Treatment Controls|0.186|[TLGN - green play flying in stealth mode](https://reddit.com/liipsa)|0.039|0.25|116.28|132.5|272| +|ABEO|1|Abeona Therapeutics Inc.|Biotechnology|2.96|[Weekend Play: $ABEO](https://reddit.com/liib6q)|2.62|3.79|\-10.84|10.86|60.87| +|SOS|1|SOS Limited|Software—Infrastructure|7.44|N/A|3.26|7.76|35.77|77.57|195.24| +|HITIF|1|High Tide Inc.|Pharmaceutical Retailers|0.6149|[\[DD\] $HITIF, the vertically integrated PROFITABLE weed stock with MULTIPLE revenue streams!](https://reddit.com/lja9ek)|0.579|0.886|\-5.4|\-10.87|188.73| +|GTLL|1|Global Technologies, Ltd.|Conglomerates|0.02295|[GTLL - Big gains ahead?](https://reddit.com/ljqu9l)|0.0125|0.0359|\-12.07|20.79|2450| + +## Source Code + +[GitHub](https://github.com/iam-abbas/Reddit-Stock-Trends) + +## What's more + +I will post this thrice a week. I am working on a web app that can access this data in real-time with additional filters. If you want to support this consider [buying me a coffee](https://buymeacoffee.com/abbas). + +## This is not financial advice. It is only meant to help you do your own DD +In an effort to keep the "main sub" a little cleaner in regards to "low effort posts," this will be a catch all for the simple questions that get asked on a regular basis. + +We want to help new investors/traders. That's definitely one of the main goals of this community. We don't want to run people off, but at the same time we want there to at least be some sort of standard to what constitutes "low effort." We wish to differentiate between legitimate, detailed questions predicated upon at least a base level of due dilligence and questions that may be better served going into an "other folder," so to speak. + +Also to note, anything that fits the description of what goes in this thread will be deleted from the "main sub," so there may be a learning curve of people wondering why their posts are getting deleted. This new format sticky thread will be auto re-posted daily so as not to get too cluttered. + +The following is a list of what is relegated to this "catch all" thread, and is subject to change based on the needs of the sub: + +1. What broker should I use? +2. What do you guys think of "XXXX" stock? +3. Should I buy or sell "XXXX" stock? +4. Any threads with ZERO DD +5. Anything that would have gone into the "any stocks go here" sticky thread (cryprocurrency is still banned) +6. Any questions you think might be "stupid" questions +7. Any post requesting people's thoughts on your thoughts +Hi everyone, sorry for the long post but my wife and I are in some dire need of advice and am hoping all of the educated minds in here can offer an opinion. + + Unfortunatley, my wife and I were dealt a pretty crappy hand in life. I haven't worked since the beginning of 2019 due to a birth defect that ravaged my body. I've had multiple surgeries (including major thoracic) to correct it and am now stuck in chronic pain for what will be the rest of my life. I was a high school teacher before this and there is no way the pain would allow me to do that due to it being incapacitating 24/7. 10 minutes on my feet turns into excruciating pain. I currently go in front of a judge on Tuesday for disability. I have been teaching online for short periods of time, but the money averages to about $11.00/hr. and I can't do much. At the end of 2019, my wife was diagnosed with Grey Zone Lymphoma, which is a rare type of cancer. Luckily she went into remission back in March and went back to work but after taxes and insurance costs she makes about $25,000 a year. + +This is the only income we have. We both own cars and will probably sell hers, but we owe more than its worth. Same with my vehicle, but mine is more reliable to get us around so we are looking to keep it if possible. We cannot afford rent anymore and are now struggling with buying groceries. Our credit cards are maxed and haven't been paid in months, our medical debt is outrageous and we can't pay student loans. We luckily rent from her grandfather and he hasn't been asking for rent, but doctor's say he will likely pass away within the next year due to his multiple heart attacks. In his will, is to sell the home to family up north who are looking to sell it and push us out. Once that happens, we will likely move back in with our parents at 28 years old. + +We are absolutely lost at what to do. Is bankruptcy the correct option in this scenario? We have thought about waiting to see if I get approved for disability and agreeing to a settlement with whatever the backpay is. However, I am not confident I will get approved at first and if I do, the backpay may not be enough. I have always been a hard worker. I worked full time while completing my Bachelor's degree in just 18 months. I had taught for 4 years and was (not to brag) a pretty great teacher. I was very proud of this and have been incredibly sad that I cannot continue to do what I love.. Can you offer me any advice on what steps I should take next financially? + +Thanks! +With FINRA on the frontpage for another ridiculous fine, I remembered how I once heard that Dave was on a FINRA Committee for Market Regulation. this was briefly mentioned in his AmA from over a year ago. [https://youtu.be/AYct0XX0uTU?t=7m41s](https://youtu.be/AYct0XX0uTU?t=7m41s) + +after that I never heard from it again so I [looked it up](https://www.finra.org/about/governance/advisory-committees#mrc) + +https://preview.redd.it/zqk87zd630591.png?width=1272&format=png&auto=webp&s=17039d8826e2ce5ed2d8da066959ef8162d531e2 + +8 members including Dave representing a company called Mile 59. + +I was surprised to find another company of his that I never heard before even though Dave is so active here. [https://mile59.com/](https://mile59.com/) there's dave's pic when you scroll down, it checks out + +https://preview.redd.it/jay679rt50591.png?width=1014&format=png&auto=webp&s=3fd81caa530c88deea28c364a99bbacaf37fe9bb + +The site is dated 2019 and here's how Mile 59 describes itself: + +>We help firms achieve Best Execution with this unique combination of a qualitative understanding of market structure and internal firms’ processes, along with a tried-and-true quantitative approach that has yielded significant benefits for our clients. Our approach and process has been developed with an understanding that each firm is different, has different priorities for execution and different order flow dynamics. We identify the appropriate benchmarks and metrics for each individual firm (or portfolio), and help to build research studies and reports around those. We are able to take a holistic view of each firm, and help them identify internal and external inefficiencies; from portfolio management to broker relationships, and from trading to legal and compliance. Our primary focus is trading and execution. +> +>We have not only built our own analytics platform for customized studies, but through our work with the AlgoFinance project, we have developed one of the most advanced simulation environments, capable of combining quantitative and qualitative results under a single unified framework. This unique approach which combines advanced analytics with a deep knowledge of market microstructure leads to better outcomes for asset managers. + +and + +>At Mile 59, we’ve helped dozens of asset managers, of all sizes (from $1B to $1T of AUM), adopt a Modern Approach to Best Execution. This is a forward-looking, future-proof approach that ensures these firms have adopted the absolute best possible practices given their size and trading activity. It means understanding what your peers are doing, and leveraging our expertise and exposure to many different firms in the industry to understand how to adapt peer best practices to a firm’s unique trading style and strategy. It means leveraging quantitative analysis of order routing data, which is often much harder than just buying some TCA software. +> +>It means realizing significant cost savings from optimizing order routing decisions and broker relationships. + +Mile 59 advises financial firms on algorithmic order flow, best execution, machine learning. The site lists a number of projects with pretty big firms: + +>Best execution procedures and ongoing quantitative analysis for $20B+ equity-focused hedge fund. +> +>Best execution procedures, ongoing Best Execution committee preparation/attendance and customized quantitative analysis across multiple asset classes for $15B+ hedge fund. +> +>Compliance consultant for $100B+ Quantitative Trading Firm regarding best execution procedures, Market Access Rule 15c3-5 and other compliance monitoring for adherence to best industry practices + +They're involved with blockchain too and have worked with another crypto exchange in the past. + +>Advising decentralized ERC-20 token exchange on US markets regulation, including FINRA ATS and SEC registration requirements. +> +>Advising financial services blockchain startup focused on custody and clearing. + +I had no idea Dave already worked in crypto professionally, does anyone know which ERC-20 token exchange and blockchain startup this is referring to? + +Another thing Mile 59 does is advise Congress and Regulators on critical market structure issues regularly. + +https://preview.redd.it/zlliak2v70591.png?width=1290&format=png&auto=webp&s=afc6ef69cf1defdded582476deb791b986ed9c5a + +I'm wondering with all these connections to politics and finance, have there been any interactions or conversations about GME and Ape DD, since Dave is in an incredibly unique position to bring up posts like The Everything Short, House of Cards, DRS DD, to his peers at the FINRA committee or even Congress and maybe get a real response. + +Also, does anyone know what Mile 59 and the FINRA Market Regulation Committee have been doing for the past 2 years? I couldn't find anything recent, no results for [Mile 59](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/search?q=%22mile+59%22&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all) on superstonk and the [Committee](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/search?q=%22market+regulation+committee%22&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all) was never mentioned again after Dave's AmA. + +apologies if this is old news, I'm only discovering this now and have a lot of questions 🦍💪🦍 +The S&amp;P 500, on a trailing basis, now has a 27.4x price-to-earnings multiple. Only 0.4 per cent of the time in the past 70 years has the multiple been so rich. On a forward 12-month basis, only 0.1 per cent of the time has the market been more extreme than its current 23x. As for the Nasdaq, it, too, is in the top one per cent of valuation rankings ever recorded. What would it take for you to sell out of the market? Valuation, vaccine delay, correction x%, election outcome, etc. +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. + +https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/08/sec-has-reportedly-made-inquiries-to-tesla-over-elon-musks-tweet-abou.html + +Former NYSE President Thomas Farley "Dear @SEC_News, this is an easy one: ask TSLA to show you the agreement(s) signed by their funding source(s) by 5pm EST that demonstrates the funding is “secured” and “certain.” If there is no such agreement, require a statement by 5:30pm. Inspire market confidence." +Earnings per share: $1.35 vs. $1.75 per share, according to Refinitiv estimates + +Revenue: $20.25 billion vs. $21.47 billion, per Refinitiv + +https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/06/disney-fiscal-q3-2019-earnings.html +I saw some things on the front page today about the new google fiber internet/tv service that was launched in Kansas City which claims to be 100x the speed of current internet providers, and much cheaper. I did some research on the product and it seems like something that could eventually be huge. + +I am not looking into buying Google stock. I am asking the r/investing community what you guys think about how this will effect current internet service providers, and what services related to this you think would be worth investing if this goes nation wide. + +Edit: As much as I appreciate the downvotes with no comments, I would appreciate you letting me know why this was a bad question. + +Edit: [Overview of Google Fiber](https://fiber.google.com/about/) + +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +# My New Post(s) Will Be Nuclear Weapons, but before it goes live: 1) Definitive Explanation of Over-voting at the Annual GME Shareholder Meeting in 2021 (I still see people who don't understand it), 2) An Important Question About Shareholder Voting Rights for Computershare AMA Part 2 + +*** + +## 'Till I Collapse + +&#x200B; + +My new post will be a double post (two in a row basically simultaneously posted) and I guarantee that they will be nuclear weapons. There will be no urgent call to action, pure facts one right after another with no propaganda, no desperate need to persuade anyone to do anything since market manipulation is illegal. Sorry for the announcement instead of just simply going live with the posts: I needed to reestablish some facts about the over-voting at the annual GME shareholder meeting in 2021 (which will be an important part of my new posts) since I still see people (or shills) who don't understand it. + +&#x200B; + +I am still not sure when the new posts will go live because the amount of work that's needed to make them happen is so preposterous, and I am putting in excruciating hours of time into it to make sure every fucking word is correct and that it is done in a high-quality manner without market manipulation, which is illegal under SEC guidelines. I am hoping for first half of December. My posts would have been impossible without Queen Kong, Lucy Komisar, Wes Christian, u/dlauer, u/atobitt, u/Criand, u/broccaaa, u/thabat, all apes. + +&#x200B; + +I have one shot at this, and I want to get it right for maximum impact. Every day that America does not understand the ideas of Dr. Trimbath, u/atobitt, etc. is a day that my job isn't done. After these nuclear weapons drop, I will make a post even better after that. I will double my GME position in Computershare: then triple . . . ad infinitum (just like a failure to deliver that is rolled over ad infinitum). I will not stop 'Till I Collapse or MOASS or GME becomes the biggest company in the world in market cap or this country gets renamed GMERICA. + +*** + +## My Question for Computershare AMA Part 2 + +&#x200B; + +The main reason for this post today (not my upcoming posts) is to bring attention to shareholder voting rights. It would be nice if my question could be included in the Computershare AMA part 2. Even if the question is not included in the AMA part 2, I wanted to bring attention to this issue about shareholder voting rights for the upcoming 2022 annual shareholder vote. Whether or not my question is included in the AMA part 2 won't affect whether I drop my new posts (it would help though). + +&#x200B; + +Here is my question for the Computershare, Paul, or whoever will be representing Computershare: This is a follow-up question to the question in AMA Part 1 asking what will happen when the entire GME float is direct-registered to Computershare. **If at least 76.49M shares of GME (or whatever the shares outstanding is) are direct-registered to Computershare at some point, and every single one of those people vote at the annual shareholder meeting, will it show on the record (that must be made public) that at least 76.49M votes were counted?** Voting is one of your guaranteed rights as a shareholder of a company, and Computershare guarantees that if you hold your shares with them. + +&#x200B; + +The answer Paul gave in regards to direct-registering the entire float was the following: + +&#x200B; + +*That is a really good question, I think it is, at this point in time, a hypothetical, but it’s a very important hypothetical. So it’s right for people to ask. It’s really, I think, unprecedented in a public company since where the company is transacting on the marketplace so I’m sure that that trigger point or even surely before that trigger point there will be discussions amongst the company, the exchange, the DTC to talk through what the ramifications of that outcome really ought to be.* + +&#x200B; + +*Jsmar18: ok. That's very interesting. So the conversation would very much be, basically be discussed between parties who have an interest in this.* + +&#x200B; + +*Paul: Well I think the regulatory organizations would have a look at that because, if I'm understanding your hypothetical correctly, you’re saying if every share is registered on the books of the company, which it is today, because one of the large shareholders is Cede, but if Cede goes to zero, and there are third parties that hold every issued share, i think your question is what is the status then for everyone who has a share in their brokerage or bank account and what happens to trading and that will be an interesting set of discussions if and when we get there.* + +*** + +## Definitive Explanation of Over-voting at the Annual GME Shareholder Meeting in 2021 + +&#x200B; + +If our financial system was transparent, honest, and fair, one potential way the world could have known how much of the available public float was bought by investors in Gamestop was by the voting in the Gamestop shareholder meeting. Unfortunately, with the way the counting of votes is conducted, the true number of votes may never be known. The number of votes a shareholder has corresponds to the number of shares she or he owns. The votes were counted up until 4/15/21. If the total number of votes exceeded 70 million, then that would have confirmed that there were no authentic, legitimate shares of Gamestop available to be bought. This is the number of total votes counted: 55,541,279. Each vote represents one share of GME. The public float was 54.75 million shares, and the shares outstanding was 70.03 million shares in April. + +&#x200B; + +The reason why the over-voting at the annual GME shareholder meeting in 2021 does not definitely prove that apes own the public float is because this includes the shares / votes by company insiders; furthermore, you cannot distinguish between shares / votes held by company insiders VS shares / votes held by everyone else. This does not necessarily mean that apes do not own the float. + +​&#x200B; + +https://news.gamestop.com/node/18956/html + +​&#x200B; + +https://web.archive.org/web/20210413235152/https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/gme + +​&#x200B; + +Keep in mind that that's a huge undercount of the vote and number of shares that people own internationally. The potential Gamestop short squeeze is known worldwide. Not everyone voted, and not everyone can vote because certain brokerages simply don't allow it (especially international GME holders). The vote itself is bogus as Wes Christian said because they just throw out votes that exceed the number of shares in the public float. For example, if 531 million shares of GME were bought globally, the vote at the shareholder meeting would only account for roughly 55 million votes and the rest of the votes would be disregarded (which is exactly what happened this year). + +​&#x200B; + +Journalist Lucy Komisar asked Wes the following question on behalf of redditors: If proxy votes far outnumber the float, how will that be handled by regulatory agencies? + +​​&#x200B; + +Wes Christian's answer is timestamped here: 01:22:27 - 1:24:00. Here is the full interview with Wes Christian's answer, and the YouTube link starts at Lucy's question: https://youtu.be/q8-JO3g5bm4?t=4947 + +&#x200B; + +For more information about this see Queen Kong's section about in *Naked, Short, and Greedy* about over-voting. She also explains it here in this tweet: + +https://twitter.com/SusanneTrimbath/status/1389310436663730176 + +*** + +## Ignorance Is Bliss for You, But You Make It Hell Earth for Everyone Else + +&#x200B; + +I came to this conclusion a long time ago, but even after 11 months I still think u/atobitt will go down in history as top 3 most important reddit apes in the Gamestop saga, and it will be so fun to see him in the official documentaries. The crazy thing about u/atobitt is that the majority of his DD was already publicly available for anyone to discover: he simply gathered them together in reddit post, interpreted the esoteric information in a way that apes could understand, and promoted them. + +&#x200B; + +The fact that u/atobitt has not appeared in any mainstream media outlet is a travesty. It is extremely frustrating that even when Computershare makes mainstream financial news, the narrative is still twisted into something untrue or misleading or other stocks besides GME are mentioned. If the American people are too ignorant to complain or protest about the dark pools, naked short selling, failure to deliver, PFOF, Citizens United, etc., the loopholes that the criminals exploit will never be closed. It boggles my mind that Dr. Trimbath has not been invited on any mainstream financial news networks except this one 9 months after the buy button was turned off: + +https://youtu.be/bLo03-mUpIQ + +&#x200B; + +Why People Vote Against Their Own Interests + +https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2016/11/08/heres-why-you-may-vote-against-yourself/?sh=4796399b25fa + +&#x200B; + +On Wikipedia, the terms "red pill" and "blue pill" refer to a choice between the willingness to learn a potentially unsettling or life-changing truth by taking the red pill or remaining in contented ignorance with the blue pill. Dr. Trimbath tweeted, "It isn't easy to take 'the red pill.' When people ask about my work I start by telling them that finance books stop at 'company does an IPO, issues equity, gets capital...& lives happily ever after.' My work is the rest of the story." + +https://mobile.twitter.com/SusanneTrimbath/status/1461508930241118212 + +&#x200B; + +In the short-term, it's extremely depressing and helpless to know how manipulated the market is. Now that I have taken the red pill, I am not letting 20 years go by like legendary Dr. Jim DeCosta without a change in the world. I will not stop 'Till I Collapse or MOASS or GME becomes the biggest company in the world in market cap or this country gets renamed GMERICA. + +&#x200B; + +Some people are not simply ignorant: some willingly and knowingly take the blue pill and forever shut out the possibility of learning anything new or life-changing. I have enough wisdom to know that there are a lot of people who will go to their grave with this mindset. To them, I say fuck you because ignorance is bliss for you, but you make it hell on earth for everyone else. I am not trying to reach some Charmin Ultra Soft toilet paper-handed Portnoy bitch. I have nuclear pasta hands, and I want the world to know why. + +&#x200B; + +It's extremely apparent to me when I hear these congressional hearings that these politicians don't have the slightest clue what's going on . . . never mind the ones already bought and paid for. Even politicians who are trying to help the average American citizen win against the banks, hedge funds, and other financial institutions talk about frivolous shit (confetti on Robinhood, gamification of stock market, etc.) instead of talking about abusive naked short selling. These politicians wouldn't know about buy-writes, married puts, [offshore swaps transactions](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/pc0zhv/swapping_regulations_for_offshore_risk_the_full/) if their lives depended on it. When it comes to these politicians, either ignorance, willful ignorance, corruption, or some combination of those three are at play, and it is up to the American people (as always) to understand the problems and to make our voices heard. + +&#x200B; + +If you try to go to DTC, SEC, FBI, US Congress (+state reps and senators), DoJ, IRS (+state dept's of revenue), several state and federal district courts, media (mainstream and otherwise), academia, published 2 books . . . and no one will arrest the criminals engaging in abusive shorting of the market, who can you go to? The American people are the only ones capable of bringing about great change in this nation. + +https://twitter.com/SusanneTrimbath/status/1461517948791652352?t=Y7XF7PUiy9bw0sDbAbnYOw&s=19 + +*** + +## My New Upcoming Posts or I Just Thought It Was Some Cold-Blooded Shit to Say to a Motherfucker . . . + +&#x200B; + +One of my all-time most hated quotes is the following: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough" or "If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself." The fact that this quote appears in more than one form with slightly different wording makes me think that Einstein never said this. If you Google it, there are some sources that say exactly this: that this quote was incorrectly attributed to Einstein. You can't possibly explain the entirety of quantum mechanics simply, can you? Albert Einstein is so intelligent to me that it seems like aliens from a Type II or Type III civilization uploaded information to his brain. There are still ideas from the general theory of relativity still being proven true *now*, like with the LIGO experiment. Quantum mechanics is so complex that some say that if you understand quantum mechanics then you don't understand quantum mechanics. This is the way I feel about the stock market sometimes. + +&#x200B; + +Despite everything I just said, here is Brian Cox casually explaining quantum mechanics in under a minute. After his explanation is done, he ends his statement by saying "That underlies everything else. You can get the rest from that. What's the probability that a particle will move from A to B? That's it." If you search for explanations of quantum mechanics on YouTube, some of the shortest videos will still be several minutes long. This is the only explanation of quantum mechanics I have seen in under a minute. + +https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcfQkxwz4Oo + +&#x200B; + +To be clear, most apes who have been following GME since the buy button was turned off should already know everything in my new upcoming posts. In fact, almost everything I will say in my new posts will have been said before (maybe better than I will say it). At the same time, I will be giving you some thing(s) no one on any GME subreddit has done before (that I know of). + +&#x200B; + +Thank you to everyone who has ever given me a reddit award or an upvote. I appreciate all of them, including the free silver awards. Some of these awards are expensive as hell, so I see you whales giving platinum, superdiamondgrip, jacked to the tits, etc. To be honest, the support and generosity of this community towards each other and those less fortunate is something I have never experienced on the internet before . . . ever. I have given more reddit awards here than I have ever done anywhere else. No child in any hospital will be without Gamestop products after MOASS as long as I am around. To be honest, your support and this community as a whole keeps me going. The Knights of New are some of the most important apes in all of r/Superstonk or any GME-themed subreddit. + +&#x200B; + +I am going dark on this account (for real this time lol) until my new posts go live. +If you’ve looked at the market this year even just once you’d say “wtf is going on” why is everything (including shitty companies) up when if we take a look at what’s really going on in the us with their excessive money printing and serious social insecurity. And yes people will make the argument “the stock market is based on the future” but really man... We’re really expecting every company on the stock market to rebound from covid within the next year... I don’t think so and I’m pretty sure no one thinks so either. I feel like everyone is way too optimistic AND they/we all know this. Soon people and companies with deep pockets will be taking alot of their money out the markets because they know this shouldn’t be happening but since it is they’re just taking advantage of it to make ALOT of money. Once these people and companies sell, so will the regular investor because stocks are gonna be falling hard. + +Basically what I’m trying to say is I feel like everyone knows we’re all too optimistic and once that one bad catalyst comes market is gonna to take a nose dive + +*** Please don’t be toxic if you comment (this isn’t WSB) I just want to have an actual conversation and see everyone’s opinions and reasons why they think all this going on is justified or not, etc... *** +Just as the title suggests.. + +Tldr: Mad.. these laws stop nothing illegal from happeing. + +I am particularly fucking angry about this. As someone who has been devoted to the idea of "banking the unbaked" and working with various projects throughout the ecosystem in doing so. This idea that within the imaginary bounds that the EU calls itself, any asset holder must present KYC is absolutely fucking absurd. + +I site specifically, the immense amount of time, money, and dedication that myself and others have put into these projects. One in particular that is close to my heart is Stellar.. +Stellar Lumens has given the opportunity of a banking and an on and off ramp for international remittance for some time now. (not forgetting good old Bitcoin, as well as other cryptos for what it's worth.) +But projects like Steller aim to allow users with no ID, no smartphone, no address, have access to these new financial technologies and do so easily. + +This obviously becomes a big issue now, as any user or entrepreneur that was using these tools, must now go through a seemingly impossible amount of red tape, to prove their identity. + +Make no mistake about it. These "laws" do not keep anybody from laundering money, nor funding any type of nefarious projects. All they do is hamper or stifle the ability of their citizens to use the tools out there in cryptocurrency. + +Crimes will still happen. Infact maybe even more so, as criminals realize the importance of being secret now, and will surely realize how untraceable the cash they rob off of innocent civilians at weapon point is non traceable, regardless of jurisdiction. +All the shady things online that people hate to admit happen, will only accelerate, as people will huddle to privacy coins, increasing their value and marketshare, and allowing truly private tech to flourish to everyone's needs or wants. +This is exactly the type of thing someone like myself did not want to happen. +As much as I love the idea if XMR and privacy coins, I do realize that there are some nefarious outlets for its technology. Now there are also, some extremely positive redeeming outlets for its tech and I will start accumulating some more now due to them. + +So bravo, EU parliament on being so fucking stupid. Bravo on excluding yourself and your good citizens from thriving in a new world. Bravo on rewarding those that knew this would happen, and proving them right all along. + +Your 'territory' is in the process of being blacklisted from the rest of the world in regard to the 2 trillion $ market that is growing in front of you. + +You really don't know what you're doing, and it's obvious. + +《☆》 +https://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/Intel+%28INTC%29+Stock+Pops+on+Upgrade+to+Outperform+at+Northland/19421880.html + +Now they're getting it. It was intensely obvious to me that Intel was extremely undervalued at 9-10x PE as a key provider in the growing cloud and edge space already, and even a moderately successful GPU lineup could add billions of dollars of growth to the company. + +Still looks cheap af to me, and it provides a yield. I'm going to keep getting it here, I think 2023 will be a big year for them. + +Look at Microsoft and Satya to see how a good CEO can turn around a company full of smart people that were just mismanaged for a while. Looks like Pat is more open to Intel embracing other ISAs, using other foundries, and selling capacity in their own foundries, even licensing x86, this flexibility is all good to me. Much different than the whole x86 or bust mentality that led to busts like Larrabee. +LOS ANGELES, CA / April 19, 2021 / Social Life Network, Inc. (OTC: WDLF), announces today that it has filed a $40,000,000 complaint against a convertible debt funder for multiple alleged federal securities laws violations. + +The complaint may be accessed at our website via the following link: + +https://www.socialnetwork.ai/LGH-filing.pdf + +"Our management team has been focused for months on researching and identifying the [alleged] illegal securities activities referenced in the complaint that damaged our shareholders," said CEO Ken Tapp. "We need for our shareholders to know that we will not relent in our efforts to identify and pursue those who have engaged in illegal securities activity of our stock and preyed upon the retail shareholders supporting the growth of companies like our own." + +https://www.socialnetwork.ai/press-releases/social-life-network-otc-wdlf-files-40-000-000-complaint-in-the-united-states-district-court-for-the-southern-district-of-california +I've been lurking here for a while and I've never actually posted but one thing I've noticed is that there are people who just straight up bash bitcoin saying this and that and that their other coin is better and blablabla. + +These people don't understand (yet, but they will) that it's not important which coin is better at this stage. It's a fucking revolution against the corrupt banking system that's been going on for centuries, concentrating humanity's wealth within a couple hundred families. + +Now isn't the time to be divided in the crypto space, it's time to be UNITED. We are going to be legends in 50 years. The pioneers of a new financial era. + + I don't know if bitcoin will always be king but one thing I do know is that decentralized money will take over the fiat system. I've been into stocks for as long as I can remember and I'm now convinced, crypto is the way! + + Brothers and sisters, we are all early adopters so let's support one another. Be kind with each other and let's surf this huge wave of positivity and change together. Stay stong and HODL through the storm. +You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today +And then one day you find ten years have got behind you +No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun. + +Ya know after I found out I had a terminal brain tumor this became much more understandable. + +Edit: Good morning, I'm trying to respond to everyone personally but I just woke up. Also thank you very much for all of the positive comments both to me and each other. I can't work a traditional job but this works :) + +This post received a bit more attention than I expected wow. I'm trying to respond to everyone so if I missed you it was not intentional positive or not. +Amazon announces 20-for-1 stock split, $10 billion buyback https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/09/amazon-announces-20-for-1-stock-split-10-billion-buyback.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.CopyToPasteboard + + +Edit: Amazon up 9 percent on news lollllll + +Double Edit: They are also raising their buyback to 10B +The checks have a picture or unprofessional image and don't include the hours worked or how the taxes were deducted. She is supposed to get 401K benefits but apparently the boss takes care of that and she's never seen it. Is this illegal? She works for a small dentist office as a receptionist and her boss is the owner and runs the entire office. + +Edit: she works about 30 hours, doesn't get any benefits that I can see, and she gets paid just above minimum wage. +Hi, +I've heard many people say that they first practiced investing in the stock market with virtual money (ie pretend money) for a few months to see how they would do if they did it for real. + +So I was just wondering if anyone here knows any websites that would allow me to do this? +What are the raw materials? Financials? Healthcare? Tech? Cyclicals? + +In light of the impending taper, I'm leaning toward more "boomer"-type equities next year rather than technology. If another opportunity arises, I will increase my exposure to cyclicals and re-opening trades, as well as to tech growth stocks. + +Financials, on the other hand, continue to be touted as a terrific investment opportunity, but I'm still going to hold out on that and stick with industrials and even materials. + +I believe that homebuilders will continue to outperform in 2022, and I expect this trend to continue. + + +Place your predictions here:[https://predictany.com/tournament/](https://predictany.com/tournament/) +I just [read](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/03/amazon-increases-the-price-of-prime-nearly-17percent-to-139-per-year.html) that Amazon is increasing Prime to $139 a year. + +The last price increase was from $99 a year to $119 in 2018. + +How would I figure out if it is worth it for me to keep it? + +I could look at the number of orders I had in the past year, but I have no idea how much each order would have cost me in shipping without Prime. + +--- + +**Edit:** + +--- + +* $139 per year is about $11.58 worth of shipping a month +* Month to month subscribers will pay $189 a year +* Last I heard, without Prime, Amazon offers free shipping on orders of at least $25 +* The only other Prime service I use is Prime Video which I could live without and not miss at all + +HTH + +Interesting discussion! + +--- +New to investing here. I'm just here to learn and hear about your suggestions for 2021. My suggestions are only based on what I've read on the internet. So, they may be inaccurate. Correct me or educate me if so. After doing some research, I think these stocks will give great returns for 2021: + +-Air Canada: (Too big to fail. As the covid-19 vaccines are on it's way, I think Air Canada will get back up ~40% from it's current price per share) + +-Suncor energy: ("The share price of Suncor Energy (TSX:SU)(NYSE:SU) is down significantly in 2020, but a rebound in Suncor stock could be on the way next year.") (Yahoo Finance) + +-RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust: (It was a hard hit in March. But I think REITs are expected to be at their normal levels post-pandemic) + +-Descartes Systems Group Inc: (Takes care of the logistics behind companies. I think it will continue to increase through 2021 due to loads of supplies of the covid-19 vaccine imported to Canada) + +What do you guys think? And what are your top picks? + +Thanks! +I visited an old friend this past weekend, and he mentioned that his 12 year old son has taken an interest in stocks (I think he's been watching BB.TO). I'm not sure exactly how much he knows about it, but figured it's worth trying to further encourage this interest in the markets. I suggested that it would be neat for my friend to purchase a small investment for his son for his birthday next month, and he agrees. My friend doesn't have any experience with investing, so my suggestion was that he buy his son $100 worth of a TD e-series fund, which would be simple enough to set up and purchase in a TD Mutual Funds account (in his TFSA) converted to an e-series account. Since it's only $100, which I believe is TD's minimum purchase, I thought their U.S. index - e (TDB902) would be a good starting point since U.S. large cap companies have international exposure. + +My hope is that this might entice the boy to learn the basic concepts about couch potato index investing, and if he shows a continued interest, over birthdays and Christmases they could eventually purchase for him a small balanced portfolio of e-series funds. When he hits 18 they could cash it out and let him manage it himself. + +Is this a good approach? I figure buying e-series funds would be simpler for my friend than setting up a TD DI account and buying ETFs or stocks, which require more knowledge about how trading works. +I think we can all agree that the market's a bit unpredictable at the moment. I'm personally convinced that a second wave will hit in the fall, when people become more relaxed and cold weather comes back. I think it might be a good move to put my cash reserves in gold rather than taking advantage of that terrific 0.25% Tangerine savings account interest rate. + +I'm not new to investing but I've never been serious about investing in a physical commodity. I've found a few tickers for gold but they all seem to be for mining companies and not for the actual precious metal. + +My question for everyone is - how do you invest in actual gold? I'm using Questrade at the moment. + +Bonus question: is this even a good idea? +Planning to buy a condo in the near future and (what seems like) a great deal has come up in the building I currently rent in. I’d love to put an offer in but also want to make sure I do it tax efficiently. I recently received a bonus from work and deposited it in my RRSP with plans to start looking after the 90 period, then withdrawing and using it as the down payment. I’m hoping to get some input on whether I can use funds from my non-registered account for closing, then withdraw from the HBP after closing on a property to replace the funds I withdrew from the NR account. What do you think? +Given the rapid stimulus packages and lowering of rates, do you think this is the beginning of recovery or a dead cat bounce? What's your rationale? I genuinely enjoy hearing people's opinions. I'm leaning towards thinking we're still on the way down. I think as cases continue to spread and more things shut down, people will continue to panic. +I've recently accepted a role with a significant pay increase, that (combined with my partner's recent raise) will take our household income up from $130k to $190k (gross, not net). It has come to my attention that now I need to look at getting health insurance or pay the Medicare surcharge. + +For context, I'm 29 (30 next week) and partner is 30 (31 next May) and we have two children under 12. I know that if we don't get it before we are both 31 then there will be loading on top for every year after 31, but I also know there is some sort of a leeway for having children. + +My main problem is, to get a health insurance package that is actually WORTH having, it's going to cost me at least $5-600 per month. Over 25 years, that is at least $150k that I personally feel would be better spent either going towards a mortgage, or towards investing/super/literally anything else. + +Can I afford it? Yes. Do I want to pay for it? Not really - I personally would rather just stay on Medicare and pay the surcharge. However, thinking pragmatically, I will likely need it in the future, I'm not going to be young and healthy forever, and I don't want to have to end up spending an extra 20% on top just because I waited too long. + +I understand that I am probably best served speaking to someone with more advice tailored to my specific situation - however, can anyone help me make heads or tails of this? +Title explains the situation and due to privacy reasons, I'd rather not give away too much information on how I won it (wasn't gambling). + +I am a non materialistic, single male currently renting in Sydney.Recently received a sum of $30,000 that I would prefer NOT to put directly into savings. I've saved plenty of money over the last few years and I figured it would be a waste to leave it in savings as I now have an opportunity to **learn** how to grow this $30,000 in the safest manner. + +I currently own my car, do not own a house or have any debt. I would prefer to keep away from property at the moment due to lack of knowledge.I will happily rent the same apartment for the next few years. + +How would you invest the $30,000 to eventually make more? + + +Edit: +Izaac isn't my real name lol +Daily Property Market Thread 29 July 2018 + +Please post all your interesting property and property market related articles, links and discussions. + +If interest is high enough we will keep this daily. If not, we may revert to a weekly thread. +If you could, would you? $500,000 buys you in (or $5000 for the retails), but looking through the factsheet, the fees seem to be the same or higher and the returns the same or lower than the ETF equivalent. Clearly I'm missing something - what is it please? +Hello, + +My life has recently taken a turn for the better which I am very grateful for, as looking at others, they cannot say the same with all the prices rising. As of 18th of March 2022 myself and my wife, will be first time buyers, we wanted to get on the property market as soon as possible really because the rising prices are scaring me. In a nutshell: + +&#x200B; + +* Flat we have purchased, £230k using Help to buy equity loan, so our mortgage is £172.5k and our deposit was £11,500 at 5% of the market price. Monthly repayment at £750 for 25 years. Fixed term for 2 years at 1.86%. Service charge is £98, no ground rent (win). +* Our combined income is £52k. +* I have a car which I took out a cash loan for, I have got £3k left to pay on that. Paying it off early won't reduce the intrest, £3k is the final amount to pay. +* Student debt at like £8k or so (I went to University before 2011 price hikes), not sure if this debt applies? Seems like paying it off is a meme at this point. +* £6.5k in ISA. +* £5k in crypto, 70% in Ethereum (if that matters?). +* £1.5k in Vanguard pension scheme (£100 every month). +* I also pull about £350-£400 a months from various side hustles. I try to save all of that. +* I also have a kid on the way, in about 6 months time. + +So my question is, am I doing things right? Can I optimize this stuff better? For example, should I use some of my savings from either crypto/ISA to pay off the car quicker before the baby is born? Having a baby drains the walled, so I've heard. I am also planning to get a job paying around £40k+ in a year or two. + +I'd greatly appreciate any input. New chapter in our life so I want to get it right. +If anyone could please catch me up to speed I'd appreciate it. I've seen a lot of life the last few months, and multiple lifetimes in the last month or so. + +Unrelated- but, thank you to the gards that pointed out the reason Kenneth Cordele Griffin the financial terrorist often speaks on the crime in Chicago is to swallow the SEO on Kenneth Cordele Griffin and *Crime* + +tyia! +For those who worry about what would happen to the economy if everyone decided to FIRE, or those who wonder if there is any imminent risk of the government closing the backdoor IRA loophole, here is some perspective: + +&#x200B; + + + +# [Millions think the new iPhones are worth going into debt for](https://www.zdnet.com/article/28-million-say-new-iphones-are-worth-going-into-debt-for/) +From the moment I started planning to bring a puppy home, I had been tracking all the expenses I was incurring. This post is inspired by [u/HammyFresh](https://www.reddit.com/user/HammyFresh/) who posted their [tracked expenses of their adult dog for 1 year](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/gf9bud/i_tracked_the_expenses_for_my_german_shepherd_dog/). The first year of owning a puppy is very different, so I wanted to compare! I will continue tracking my expenses and will post at the full 1 year mark. + +These are expenses from Jan 1 2020 to July 9 2020. I am located in Seattle, WA. My pup is a goldendoodle and she's currently 8 months old. I brought her home on Feb 1 2020. + +Equipment = $432.86 + +Veterinary Fees = $1086.15 + +Insurance = $140.64 + +Puppy Classes + 10 Daycare Visits = $519.00 + +Purchase Fee, Dog Rent, Misc Fees = $1197.00 + +Food = $350 + +Treats/Toys = $375.19 + +**Grand Total = $4100.84** + +Here is the detailed breakdown if you're interested: [https://imgur.com/a/RgdTnqz](https://imgur.com/a/RgdTnqz) + +My first thoughts are holy shit it's only been half a year and I've spent 4k on a freakin puppy so far... very curious to see what the number will be at the full 1 year mark. +You can also [read this article on Medium](https://ausaf-rashid.medium.com/investing-in-apecoin-is-a-bad-idea-heres-why-d896c27bc385), with better formatting. + +Ape coin is trending all over the place, so now would be a good time to look at the past performance of popular memecoins and see why it's a bad idea to ape into Apecoin. + +**Technical Analysis** + +"But that dogecoin guy became a millionaire by investing his life savings in cute doggo token". Well here's a chart for Dogecoin. + +[DOGE\/BTC Chart | Binance | Heikin Ashi](https://preview.redd.it/1mrvbri4ldo81.png?width=1020&format=png&auto=webp&s=0e3b93bea732d7693b0f879eb7a82ad0d74d4618) + +No surprises here. Dogecoin has been bleeding against Bitcoin for almost a year now. That means, investors who bought doge, took an **incredibly** higher risk(than btc investors) and got **worse** returns. I can't think of any financial asset with worse risk-adjusted-returns. In short, if you're investing in altcoins, you would want your alt to perform as well as BTC or better since they are inherently riskier. + +Here's a similar story for Shiba Inu: + +[SHIB\/BTC Chart | Binance | Heikin Ashi](https://preview.redd.it/vk43wo69ndo81.png?width=1180&format=png&auto=webp&s=cdd403bf08f3138d87b8d1bfa75a9865f3d6cbba) + +As seen in the previous chart, we can see an initial few days of hype, and then a continuous bleed against BTC. + +**Fundamental Analysis** + +\- + +**Timing** + +Now is probably the worst time to invest in highly speculative assets. The terrible Russia-Ukraine war is happening, and the global economy and supply chains are heavily affected due to that. Taking an excessive amount of financial risk at this moment is the last thing you'd want to do. + +Lastly, if you're playing the short term game, you have already lost. Like all financial markets, crypto will transfer wealth from the impatient to the patient investor. + +TLDR: Don't buy ApeCoin or any meme-coins. You're likely going to regret it. +You can also [read this article on Medium](https://ausaf-rashid.medium.com/investing-in-apecoin-is-a-bad-idea-heres-why-d896c27bc385), with better formatting. + +Ape coin is trending all over the place, so now would be a good time to look at the past performance of popular memecoins and see why it's a bad idea to ape into Apecoin. + +**Technical Analysis** + +"But that dogecoin guy became a millionaire by investing his life savings in cute doggo token". Well here's a chart for Dogecoin. + +[DOGE\/BTC Chart | Binance | Heikin Ashi](https://preview.redd.it/1mrvbri4ldo81.png?width=1020&format=png&auto=webp&s=0e3b93bea732d7693b0f879eb7a82ad0d74d4618) + +No surprises here. Dogecoin has been bleeding against Bitcoin for almost a year now. That means, investors who bought doge, took an **incredibly** higher risk(than btc investors) and got **worse** returns. I can't think of any financial asset with worse risk-adjusted-returns. In short, if you're investing in altcoins, you would want your alt to perform as well as BTC or better since they are inherently riskier. + +Here's a similar story for Shiba Inu: + +[SHIB\/BTC Chart | Binance | Heikin Ashi](https://preview.redd.it/vk43wo69ndo81.png?width=1180&format=png&auto=webp&s=cdd403bf08f3138d87b8d1bfa75a9865f3d6cbba) + +As seen in the previous chart, we can see an initial few days of hype, and then a continuous bleed against BTC. + +**Fundamental Analysis** + +\- + +**Timing** + +Now is probably the worst time to invest in highly speculative assets. The terrible Russia-Ukraine war is happening, and the global economy and supply chains are heavily affected due to that. Taking an excessive amount of financial risk at this moment is the last thing you'd want to do. + +Lastly, if you're playing the short term game, you have already lost. Like all financial markets, crypto will transfer wealth from the impatient to the patient investor. + +TLDR: Don't buy ApeCoin or any meme-coins. You're likely going to regret it. +1. Not your keys, not your coins +2. Never divulge how many coins you have +3. Backup, backup, backup +4. Do your own research +5. HODL, HODL, HODL +6. Keep your private key private +7. Nobody, including Elon, is giving away free Bitcoin! +8. When in doubt, zoom out. +9. We are still early +10. Today is the best day to buy, just like yesterday +This is my first job, and I've saved about £600 a month (only recently started though :( ) and managed to collect £11,000 in my savings. + +What would you guys recommend I do with this money? Right now, it's just sat in a Nationwide savings account.. +They are going to test all passengers for covid 14 days prior. This is huge and could become new safety standard for the whole airline industry. AAL, Lufthansa to the moon - buying calls http://www.breakingthenews.net/news/details/52526009 +I am editing this post as it is DEBUNKED IMO, let me explain why. (BTW I have no clue how to add the debunked flair) + +This 2.18b$ is a Line of Credit -> e.g. A credit card that can be used to borrow money. + +The have this credit line in order to provide margin loans to users. Given that, it makes sense that this is collateralized from the user securities as this is how margin accounts work. + +It seems that they want this credit line to be there to finance other stuff but they don't state them probably because the haven't touched this credit line. + +&#x200B; + +I hope this makes it clear. + +I grew some wrinkles today, thx vm + +\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +\[Original Debunked Post\] + +&#x200B; + +Hi Apes, + +TL;DR; H00D **TOOK 2.18B$ LOAN WITH 1Y MATURITY WITH USER SECURITIES AS COLLATERAL!** + +I hope this post will be debunked because I don't know how to read..... It's from H00d-s 10K [https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001783879/9de6787d-7968-4bed-bc74-537fc285481f.pdf](https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001783879/9de6787d-7968-4bed-bc74-537fc285481f.pdf) + +\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +WHAT THE F&CK ROBINHOOD DID IN APRIL 2021?????????? + +[H00D took 2.18$ load in which the Trance A was collateralized by USER SECURITIES!](https://preview.redd.it/oroob4fr77g81.png?width=1523&format=png&auto=webp&s=0d607d6c48131da13d20d8241f5af2266fc28b78) + +DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE? THESE CROOKS took a massive load with maturity of 1Y and used the user/retail (APES) SECURITIES as collateral. THIS MEANS THAT IF THEY CANNOT REPAY THEY WILL TAKE YOUR SECURITIES AND GIVE THEM TO CREDITORS. + +&#x200B; + +THINK -> CAN I TAKE A LOAN AND USE OTHER PERSON's ASSETS AS COLLATERAL????? + +&#x200B; + +[This load is repaid as of Sep 2021.](https://preview.redd.it/ojlyqcah87g81.png?width=1498&format=png&auto=webp&s=c95ce958d201cb666c52e121ad424a11513f4872) + +&#x200B; + +Now it make sense why they went public so quickly on a time that it was(still is) the most hated trading platform. + +&#x200B; + +[Story Continues in PART 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/slyw48/wtf_did_you_do_h00d_part_2/) \[Deleted as I believe that this is not shady from H00D\] + + +\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +This is not Financial Advice + +&#x200B; + +EDIT: Added a link to PART 2 + +EDIT 2: After a lot of wrinkles reached out I have the understanding that this is a normal operation and debunked this post. +Example: + +Your password is "Hunter2" + +You could successfully log on with + +HUNTer2 + +HuNtER2 + +hunter2 + +HUNTER2 + +hunteR2 + +etc etc etc. Chase doesn't salt their passwords, so you should change your password to Hunter@2!? or something like that to make sure you have an ACTUALLY somewhat complex password. +I want to start 529s for my foster kids from the leftover money I receive for their care. They will eventually be placed in a permanent home and are too young to contact me or remember if I told them they will have savings. If I name them as beneficiaries, how will they be told? What if I die, will someone make sure they get it? +Throwaway account due to embarrassment. + +Me and my boyfriend have been together for only 10 months. We dated on and off previously before deciding to just officially be together. Given we were both in debt, he moved in 4 months later so we could help each other out. We were both in a financially bad place, but manage to just get by. Exactly 23 days after him moving in, I found out I was pregnant. Whomp whomp. + +Firstly, we are madly in love and very excited about the baby, but due to some pregnancy medical complications I am off work and on medical leave and he makes much less than me. Losing my income has proven to be quite hard, and we are falling deeper and deeper into debt. July 1st rent has not yet been paid, I'm not behind 2 biweekly payments on a loan I took out before I was with him, we have a double insurance payment coming out at the end of the month and we still need more baby items, and groceries. Oh, and we have 2 dogs. + +Before getting pregnant our bills were paid. It was pretty tight, but with some planning we still managed to do a some fun things here and there with some extra disposable income. The stress of it all is really getting to me and I am feeling out of control of our finances, and not sure how to even attempt at fixing it. + +Does anyone have any suggestions on how to control our finances? Medical leave pays me 55% of $43,000..weekly, which is less than what I made), and his income is $35,000. We have monthly payments of rent ($1,080), Internet ($48), cellphones ($130), hydro ($60ish), car insurance ($188..except this month being a double payment), loan ($191 biweekly) and then our dogs, groceries and living expenses (approx $150-200). + +Any insight on getting our shit together would be helpful. And no, getting rid of the dogs is not an option lol + +Thanks! +Hello, im 21 and my friend and i are thinking of opening up a business in about 3 years from now. We are both working and the rough plan for now is to put in 1k each month into a mutual account and invest in etfs for the next couple of years in order to build capital. Do you see anything flawed with this plan? +A few months ago I lost my job. I am several months late on pretty much all my bills. I’m working again and just to be safe I want to focus on getting as much of my debt paid off as fast as possible. Should I spend a couple months saving up an emergency fund while just paying my minimum payments or should I just start throwing all of my money at my debt immediately? +I recently learnt how powerful index fund investing can be on the long run after watching my peers and interviews. + +That being said, what are some big/small tricks you learnt that can make most out of it? And some common mistakes people make that should be avoidable? +I am a single mom of 3 kids, ages 17, 7 and 6. I earn enough to pay all our bills and be comfortable. + +My 17 year old will only eat food that is organic and super healthy. It’s a completely different diet than what my younger kids and I eat. I’ve been giving my oldest son money so he can shop for his own groceries, and last night he told me he needs more money - about $175 for two weeks of food. As an example, he drinks kambucha daily, which is $3.50 a bottle. $175 is more than I spend for two weeks for three people. My oldest has two part-time jobs and when I asked what that money is going toward, he said he’s putting it in savings. + +So while I can afford to give him grocery money, and I know he’s still a minor (he’ll be 18 in 7 months), is it reasonable to give him a set amount of money and anything over that amount comes out of his pocket? I want to support him and get him ready for being an adult at the same time. I love that he’s saving money but I’m not happy that I’m paying for 100% of his expenses while he’s saving a ton of money, and I have two other kids to support. + +Do I make him contribute or do I continue to pay until he’s 18? + + +Transactions are instant and cost less than a cent. + +Sharding + +Active ecosystem of Defi (Euphoria, Viperswap, etc.), gaming (Crypto Royale, Defi Kingdoms, etc.) NFTs (Kuro Shiba, Crypto Pigs, Da Vinci, etc.) and more. + +10% APR staking + +Governance and voting + +The other day I bought some ONE, swapped it for WAGMI (an Olympus fork made by Venom DAO), staked it, and then wrapped it. The total cost to do ALL of that was about **.0000002 ONE**. This same set of transactions could have cost me upwards of $400 on Ethereum, and maybe significantly more depending on the day. On Harmony, it's basically free. + +I understand that ETH has first mover advantage, but there was a time when Yahoo! was bigger than Amazon, Apple, and Google. How much longer are crypto developers and users (outside of whales) willing to tolerate triple digit gas fees when competition like this already exists? It can't keep going for much longer imo. +[Source](https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45043776?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ocid=socialflow_twitter&ns_source=twitter) + + +EDIT: [Handy graph for context](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/C326/production/_98585994_interestrates-breaking-nc.png). As a 21 year old the concept of interest rates being up as 5% is bonkers. +I have a very good relationship with my parents, but they're a bit nosy especially when it comes to finances. I told them about a small amount I had in bitcoin many years ago, but now that it's in the five figures they have gone and told other people, and pressure me every single phone call to sell. + +It's commonly repeated here to not tell anyone you have bitcoin, but you can trust your parents, right? Maybe you can, but their knowing will possibly change the dynamic of the relationship such that you no longer enjoy talking to them. Just don't risk it. Keep it secret. +I arrived in the UK about a month ago and slowly realizing that I need to build a credit history to be able to prove who I am, get mobile contracts etc. Any tips on how I should go about this? + +I have registered on the electoral roll and thinking about applying for a credit card (any recommendations?). Should I create an account with one of the credit agencies? +Hi, personalfinance! I'm a long time lurker, first time poster. I recently got offered a new job that is a substantial step-up from my current employment in terms of pay (~$24k --> ~$80k). I want to enjoy the new money without going over the top, so I'm looking for some good insight on how best to do this, given my current situation. I don't want to be frugal, but also don't want to be overindulgent. I have no idea where that line should be drawn because I've never had an excess of money before. + +More details about me: I'm 23, recently married, and have my bachelor's degree. My wife is still in her under grad and will be finished next spring (she is on scholarship so we aren't paying anything towards that). She works as a waitress and brings in some extra cash that way. Honestly, we're pretty financially-free other than the ~$4,000 in student loans I have. We don't owe anything on our cars or our house. + +We usually go out for food and drinks once or twice a week, along with going to the movies occasionally and taking a weekend getaway trip every few months. However, my wife is very much an extrovert and would go out 7-nights a week if she could, whereas I am more introverted (an introverted engineer, who knew) and am content staying home most nights. However, I'm concerned that her and I will use the new influx of cash as an excuse to spend money much less responsibly than we have in the past. + +Any serious advice will be greatly appreciated, and I can provide other relevant details if need be. Sorry this post is so long. Thanks in advance for all your help! + +EDIT: 3x my current income, not 300% more than it. +I'm 23, married no kids, making $35-40,000 depending on overtime. My income is our only source right now but my wife plans to get a part time job once she receives her work permit and can begin school. Living in a relatively low COL area in the southeast. We're both in good health. Rent with a room mate. + +My mother is 54, an RN making around $62,000 a year. Not sure where she is on debts and savings but for sure better now than she was a couple years ago. Also in good health overall. Rents a house for herself. + +We started throwing the idea of going in with my mom and purchasing a duplex together, with her living on one side and us living on the other. My thinking is that this benefits everyone because with our combined household incomes we would hope to have the house paid off by the time my mother retires at 67, giving her a secure and paid off living space to retire in, and setting me and my wife up to own it as a paid off rental property after my mom passes away. We have a very good relationship with my mom and want to make sure she is taken care of in retirement, because she hasn't done much of anything to plan for it so either way its going to fall on me as her only child as it is. + +Am I missing something here? In my head this seems too perfect an idea and I feel like theres a critical issue thats not popping up. I appreciate any help I can get! +**Hi /r/Bitcoin!** + +A few hours ago I was an avid Hashtalk user and GAW fanboy. As always, I was skeptical of GAW but I trusted them with my hard earned BTC. + +I've lost a large amount of money investing in Paycoin. Investors of GAW were constantly lied to about a magic '20 dollar floor'. + +Of course, that floor never happened. But **Josh Garza** being the '**sun god**' that he is can't admit that. What's his excuse? Oh, wait. He did buy XPY for $20 dollars, for about 3 minutes... + +Hashtalk is like a cult, I'll elaborate more on that later. His followers are always bragging about 'buying cheap XPY from dumpers' and trying to attract more innocent investors into their **Ponzi** scheme. + +Basically: + +* GAW is constantly **lying**. +* GAW knows nothing about economics. +* P&D groups are taking control of XPY. + +I decided to take matters into my own hands and see who's telling the truth about the Amazon partnership. After contacting Amazon, I was told that it would take a few days to get in touch with the specialist team. + +I posted a screenshot on HashTalk of the chat and BOOM! **I was shadow banned...** + +**PROOF:** +https://hashtalk.org/user/tempest +http://gyazo.com/f1c88eca5f7b3a402e4cf177b14c683d +http://gyazo.com/1dafe18e232cd0135e03a11f76dcdcb0 + +This is all coming from me, a previous fan of GAW. I can admit that information is being censored and its customers are being scammed. Please! Do not invest, I hope Josh never steps foot into any coin event, his company will destroy Crypto as we know it. + +Reddit is my new home :) +https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-can-be-thanked-creating-a-growing-ev-market-2020-10 + +A decade ago, no major automaker was going to bet on a non-existent electric-vehicle market. Big Auto was happy to sit back and watch Tesla try to create a new segment. But now, almost every carmaker has announced significant electric-vehicle ambitions for the coming decade. + +Make no mistake: Without Tesla, this wouldn't be happening. We'd still be asking the circa 2006 question, "Who killed the electric car?" if Tesla hadn't reset the EV race in the years before the financial crisis, narrowly avoided bankruptcy, and positioned itself to deliver half a million vehicles in 2021 (and gift investors with a 9,200% return). + +Now, the global EV market is poised to grow, especially in China, where auto sales are already millions more annually than in the US, with the potential to top out at twice what the US sees every year, around 16-17 million new cars, trucks, and SUVs. A large percentage of those new sales could be electric, and automakers don't want Tesla to capture them all. + +Thanks for the awards. +Good day everyone! I'm looking to switch my strategy up a whole bunch and set something on the back burner for a few years or whatever. + +Has anyone sold covered calls against stocks they have for just dividend growth? I guess it would have to be a fairly liquid options chain right? Looking at something like O or MAIN where there's not a whole lot of activity vs something like F or GE where selling weeklies above the strike price may be more viable for generating more cash? + +And even if the stock does hit the strike price chances of those shares getting called out are fairly slim right? Collect the premium and move along to another strike? +&#x200B; + +* Do you plan on having your portfolio consists mostly of dividend stocks for most of your life? +* Are you near retirement age and don't want the risk of growth companies? +* Don't you have to pay tax on the dividends? (I'm assuming your annual salary qualifies you for annual taxes) +* Do you use the dividends as income? + +Genuinely curious and not trying to shitpost. Sure I agree in a rate-hiking environment it makes sense to park some cash to dividend companies . I just don't get the point of devoting most of the portfolio to dividends. In a 20 year horizon, having mostly dividend stocks would underperform a diversified portfolio consisting a mix of growth and value stocks. +I'm starting to study how to analys a company, If a stock worth the buy. +I wanted to ask the more experienced guys here- +What do you search while analysing a company, + what's your steps, +How long do you "keep an eye" before actually buying company stocks +And what's your red flags when researching the company +I’m slowly building my portfolio but I’m renovating my kitchen in about a year. I have $2000 I was thinking of putting in dividends for the next year instead of my savings account + +I get like 1.5% in my savings account & I was thinking of investing in something around 3% like KO Although PZA.TO was looking good with 7% dividends + +What are your opinions? Should I leave it in my savings account or should I put the $2000 into dividends for a year? +so far i have ICLN, O, PLD and PLTR (no dividend) and i honestly have no clue where to go from here. I might get some QYLD and JEPI but ive seen a lot of talks here about how it might not be so good to go for mostly high yields at my age and go for more growth as of right now. i have money in my roth set aside for ARKX because that sounds very attractive, but besides that i dont know what else to go for or how to do a solid DD for dividend growth stocks, any advice? +Hello guys, + +I'm new here and I want your advice about this move, start learning about dividends recently and investments in the stock market recently. + +Planning to invest this month 5000$ in different stocks for the dividend yield of (5-10%), +and next month will start investing monthly 500$-1000$. +my question do I need to invest all the 5K$ at once now, or I do 1000$ per month for the next Months?? +Thank you for sharing your feedback. +I was looking for some opinions. Voo has better long term growth since this etf inception was created earlier than vti which is why I think the growth is better. But I think looking back at the indexes voo index has slightly better growth then vti index all time by less than 0.5%. I know they are very similar and 80% of vti is Voo but want to know which has the slight edge. +I recently turned 18 and was already thinking about stocks that provide dividends. I am thinking that if I invest in stocks that pay monthly dividends, by the time I turn 25 I will have snowballed all the stocks I have invested in and will get high returns, and will be able to retire by the age of 25. well, this sounds like a perfect dream and I feel like there are many shortcomings that an inexperienced trader like me is not able to see. so please tell me what I am doing wrong before I incur massive wallstreetbet level losses. +I am an experienced investor, but I have kept my investing fairly vanilla over the decades. I think I might be missing something about dividend investing…. + +My former broker only bought dividend stocks. I started tracking the portfolio independently and discovered I was underperforming the market and I fired him. I must give him credit though for steering me back to profitability after the 2007 crash. + + I understand the appeal of a guaranteed payout quarterly, but the stock still goes up or down like the rest of the market. So, it confuses me when I read on here, “I am in “such and such” which gives me a nice 5% yearly. That comment doesn’t seem to account for the fluctuation in the stock itself. If the stock tanks 40%, that 5% dividend isn’t making me feel better. + +What am I missing? +Let me know your thoughts are on AT&T going forward. I think HBO Max/ 5G could give $T a chance to grow going forward, and they seem to be a staple in many peoples portfolio. Is AT&T a buy at it's current price of $30? What is your current cost basis if you own any AT&T? + +[View Poll](https://www.reddit.com/poll/mfero9) +Reliable monthly dividend income + +Any advice on building a reliable monthly dividend stream? 23yo, no kids. Planning to contribute 500-1000 monthly towards investments. What’s my progress in 5 years? Thanks in advance + +-not everything has to pay monthly. I just like to use a monthly time frame. +I'll be doing a MA in Economics starting in the fall of 2011. It's a long way off, but my BA is in English, and I have no background in math or economics so I want to start preparing soon. What are the best books to read? Which books will help me understand the concepts and the jargon of economics the best? I'll be taking some community college classes to get caught up with the math so I'm not worried about that right now. +It's my understanding that, in the 80's, the United States changed what how it measures unemployment. Afterwords, the rate appeared smaller because of these adjustments. + +I am under the impression that the US tries to EXCLUDE as many people in the labor force as possible, while many other first world nations try to INCLUDE as many people as possible in their labor force. + +Does anyone know if there's any merit to this? If so, does anyone know what they true comparison of US unemployment to other First world nation unemployment rates? + +Edit: Thanks for all the responses, everyone! +We will be hosting the **third /r/economics graduate school panel** from **June 19 to June 23**. + +If you're interested in graduate study in economics, mark your calendar and come back in a few weeks with questions. + +If you're a graduate student or degree holder, *we need your help for our panel*! We had a tremendous success with our first two panels, and it was all due to the help of our volunteer panelists. + +So, **if you would like to volunteer for our panel, make a quick post below with your program (Economics, Finance, etc.), your degree (M.A., Ph.D, etc.) and your status (3rd-year, degree-holder, etc.).** + +As an extra incentive, panelists earn special red flair! + +----- + +See below for links to past panels: + +* [Grad School Panel I (Nov 2016)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Economics/comments/5f7p5o/reconomics_graduate_school_question_thread/) +* [Grad School Panel II (Feb 2017)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Economics/comments/5wcut1/second_reconomics_graduate_school_panel/) +Hi All, + +I bought a house last year in the northern suburbs of melbourne. Im currently living alone with a cat. I dont own a car and dont have any other crazy expenses apart from a 15k hecs debt + +My Repayments currently are $1700 a Month. I make $4400 a month. Im fixed till next year so I cant put it in an offset account. (I might even just wait till next year then put it all in an offset account). + +My savings are currently sitting in an everyday account with ANZ basically doing nothing. + +I have 100k in my account and im not sure what to do with it. Friends have said vanguard? While others have said use it to buy another property (Which I think is a crazy idea) + +Does anyone have any recommendations? + +Thanks +Hiya all. + +Planning on taking a trip to Europe early next year and looking for a bank card to take. For possibly-exaggerated-paranoia related reasons I'd rather not take my current main (UBank) card. I'd much prefer a seperate card which I can load up with only the money I need for the trip, and which won't be quite so damaging to lose. + +Mostly for this I've been looking at ING. The 'ATM refunds' thing appeals to me, but I'm not sure how big a deal that will be since I'm going to mainly be in Berlin. Obviously there's the usual, no international fees thing as well. My understanding is that all I need to do to get those bonuses is deposit $1000 and make five tap-and-go payments in the month before my trip. If that's wrong, please correct me. + +Other than ING, do y'all have any advice for other cards to look into whilst travelling? + +I understand some people prefer to use credit cards for this sort of thing, but haven't looked too much into that; could anyone possibly provide some pointers? +Admittedly, it seems like I bought at the wrong time. + +A year ago, I purchased a unit in an older complex (with fewer appartments - 8, and bigger square meterage - 86m) 6 km from Melbourne’s CBD. + +It’s in Footscray, a suburb I’m happy with and believe that (ignoring the downward trend of the market for second), hopefully stands to appreciate in value over time (if we’re comparing it to suburbs on the East side of Melbourne of the same distance from the CBD). + +I'm extremely lucky to have been able to live at home with my parents the past year - something I know not everyone has the privilege of doing. I do pay board while Ilease the property. I comfortably pay my mortgage now, and I’ve accounted for a 5% fluctuation, in which case I’d still be able to comfortably meet payments. + +While it’s not my Plan A, it would be possible for me to move into my home if it offered more financial security in a down-trending market. + +I know that this subreddit shouldn’t substitute proper financial advice (I’m meeting with an adviser next week), but I’m obviously interested in any opinions out there. +I recently moved out of an apartment I've lived in for 2 years and the agent is being really draconian about the outgoing condition report. I cleaned the apartment myself and even britex cleaned the carpets (they were shit when we moved in but whatever). Got hit with a really passive aggressive video inspection alleging damages to carpets, walls and mirrors. +They demanded we pay their cleaner to re-clean the place, now hit us with a bond claim to repaint the ceilings, 2 doors and 3 walls. I conceded to the clean and one door which was slightly damaged by us, but it seems like they are trying to extract as much cash from us as possible. + +A friend if mine was hit with a similar outlandish demand for $500 "compensation" for small wears to carpets and benches when they moved out. + +I've lived in a few rental properties over the years and never had any issues doing the end of lease clean by myself. +Anyone else had any recent experiences of REAs trying to squeeze extra cash out of you? +Married with a mortage of 400K at 2.84%. House is worth 600K. Has around 50K savings sitting in offset account. + +Question: Given the returns of some of well established ETFs (for ex: VAS or VGS) of more than 10% consistently over last 5 years. Does it make sense to borrow off the house - around 100K and invest saving + 100K(total of 150K) in an ETF for around 10 years, plus add 3,000 every month to it. And re-invest the dividend returns back into ETF? Thank you + +(Asking this question for my cousin who lives in Sydney and has managed to lose a lot of money trading in options and finally "accepted" he needs to think longer term. ) +The Chinese are known for ignoring international copyrights on intellectual property and making knockoff products, in same cases nearly identical to the original but sold at cut throat prices. Why would Tesla not be concerned about that so much so that they'd build a factory over there? (sorry for poor wording it's 4:30am) + +Edit: Rather than physical manufacturing of the whole vehicle, I was more thinking about them having access to new battery production techniques (like the Dry process Electrode Fabrication from the Maxwell acquisition), electrical systems, vehicle operation software, AI and related technology. +Shower thought. What if the reason there were so few shares available prior to the GameStop vote announcement due to the fact that Hedgies were anticipating the split news and had stocked up on ammo to attack the news. However, RC new the hedge funds we’re paying extremely high borrow rates to hold these shares for the predictable attack. Therefore he held off on the split announcement while sucking millions of dollars out of the HF as they sat ready to attack (paying 200% CTB) like the ding bats they are. Yesterday thousands of share magically appeared and the borrow rate has started to decline. This tells me those stored shares have been used even though the split hasn’t happened because it’s cheaper to just short the stock than hold those shares at high interest rates without knowing when RC will announce the split. 3D chess/ Art of War from our Canadian….not Bulgarian Boy!!!! +Hey guys, new to reddit and need some money advice. Im 18 y/o and my mom recently passed away to cancer this year. I was left with the house which I was able to sell for $522,000, however she took out a reverse mortgage and had lots of other debt as well as large medical bills so I was lucky enough to be left with $150,000. I don't want to spend it, I would like to see it grow instead of just having it sit around. Any thoughts or advice on what to do with it? +I currently attend university and have a full ride scholarship. I have no debt, credit cards paid off, car is paid off, and no large bills that need to paid. As of right now that $150,000 is just sitting and not sure what to do with it. +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +What’s a good way to filter thumbtack/Yelp/other mass review sites by fairly specific (but probably common to FatFIRE) criteria? + + +For example: a cleaning service that prioritizes not inconveniencing me, quality, consistency, in that order. Alternatively a full service mover than is going to pack, unpack, not break anything, has an interior decorator to make sure things (like kitchen items) are positioned logically. + + +Also happy to contract someone to do this research for me if that reduces they can be trusted to produce good results. Has anyone found a service that does this research or are you better off hiring a family assistant? +Or are we doing something wrong.. + +We have 2 kids and in comparison to our neighbors, (who also have kids), we put out about 2-3x the trash and probably 5x the recycling on a regular basis. + +Since we just had Christmas I hauled out 3 full trash bins (the ones with the wheels) and roughly 5 of those of recycling. The trash bins were about half styrofoam luckily. + +I have a couple of main suspicions — my wife got the kids addicted to canned soda water, so that adds a lot. Plus we order everything we need online so there’s always cardboard boxes. + +It’s hard to think about how to cut it back since I personally contribute to about 2% of it. If anything I would like to somehow make sure as much of it as possible is not just going to a landfill, but everything I’ve read about the state of recycling etc is rather depressing + +Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this +I’m a big, gay bear and my options trading account was completely depleted by this week’s bull run. I lost enough money this month. + +I still have my 6 month emergency next egg, I never decreased my retirement account contribution. I’m still finically comfortable, but I’ve lost as much in the casino as I am willing to lose/comfortable losing. + +My advice those of you who are taking big losses like me: cut your losses. Don’t dig into your emergency savings. Wait until you have more than you need to have saved before getting back in. Don’t go into debt to options trade, don’t mortgage your house, don’t YOLO your inheritance. Quit while losses are acceptable. + +I’ll be back in a few months, probably but this last week or so has fucked me and I need some time away. +I received 100k as an inheritance and I’m looking for a not too risky and moderately liquid place to set it and forget it until I need a down payment. I would prefer to have it invested somewhat so it’s not just depreciating cash. Any thoughts? Thanks! + +CIBC real estate analyst Dean Wilkinson is looking for a catch-up trade in domestic REITs in a Monday research report called “As The Sector Lags, The Relative Opportunity Widens,” + +“While the broader S&P/TSX continues to rebound from its March lows (now down 4% year-to-date), the real estate recovery has effectively stalled (REITs have delivered a YTD -25% total return on an unweighted basis, with price levels largely unchanged from mid-April levels). To this end, the ‘catch-up trade’ could prove to be significant. Indeed, given the above-average (and for the most part sustainable) yields and the embedded valuation optionality of most REITs under our coverage (we believe that there is, in totality, a rather large disconnect between underlying fundamentals and current prices), the REIT complex overall offers an attractive risk/reward for longer-term investors, in our view … We continue to favour those REITs that carry relatively lower valuation risk, above-average yield, and strong balance sheets, including [Brookfield Property Partners LP, RioCan REIT, Smartcentres REIT, Automotive Properties REIT, Killam apartment REIT, Granite REIT, WPT Industrial REIT, Allied Properties REIT, and BSR REIT].” + +“@SBarlow_ROB CIBC looking for catch-up trade in Canadian REITs” – (research excerpt) Twitter + +https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/inside-the-market/article-opportunity-widens-in-canadian-reit-sector-analyst/ +I’m obviously not 100% sure I’ll be making $80k-$100k a year in 10 years but as a very rough estimate is someone able to give me some insight on which the better route to take would be? Or if it’s a pointless question that no one can tell me? +Brand new to investing and I have been doing a lot of research on Clean Energy ETFs and was wondering if people have some advice on which one might be a better long term investment. I know both of them are brand new and there might not be enough data yet but any advice would be greatly appreciated. +I’ve got 100% of my portfolio I don’t want to sell but I want to just transfer to a cash account and hold it there. If I do that, can I invest into my tfsa as if I haven’t contributed ? Currently my TFSA is contributed to the max. +Hello first time posting here so I hope this isn’t asked all the time. I have been offered a full-time job in operations for $42,000/ year salary. Currently I make $18/hour and I understand that salary is typically calculated at a 50 hour work week. But I was more wondering if I will see any real difference in the long run, seeing as I will move up a tax bracket. I live in Illinois, but federally I will jump from the 12% to 22%. + +Any recommendations on how I should handle this? Should I counter offer higher, or counter lower to stay in my current bracket?? + +Extra info. File single, no children/dependents. + +Thank you so much for any help + +EDIT: OH MY GOD MY DUMB ASS. I was misled for a long time thinking this crap. I apologize for wasting your time and the bandwidth. I’m deleting this + +EDIT 2: Thank you to everyone for educating me and giving great advice. I have decided to counter offer for more, now understanding how money works :/ Thank you again +Hello redditors. + + I am trying to teach my daughter some lessons that I was never taught as a child. One of them is how to save for retirement and the other is how to invest in the stock market. + + Unfortunately, I know like .000005% that needs to be known about it so I need some help. + + She was able to save her first 1000 for retirement in her savings account saving 10% of her income from her first job. + + What would be a long term investment she could put those 1000 into while she keeps saving on her regular savings account. + +Thank you! +The following is my summary of Cathie Wood’s thoughts on recent market volatility, as presented in her latest video on the Ark Invest YouTube channel (\~42 min) – I strongly recommend you check it out. + +The minimum expected rate of return for a stock to enter an ark portfolio is 15% CAGR. Cathie contends that she sees the recent volatility as a gift to gain alpha over the intended 15% return in many of her high conviction names. + +She mentions that at Ark, they have a five year time horizon, and it is counter productive to compare its performance with a benchmark (like the s&p) over a shorter period. She further adds that many stocks in traditional indices today are a potential value trap, and that ark etfs “are a good hedge against broad based benchmarks.” + +She reiterates that “we are not in a bubble” – and that the seeds of their 5 innovation platforms were planted in the dot com bubble, and are now ready for prime time, in a period of reality. Fear of a bubble likely stems from benchmark sensitivity and backward looking institutional investors. Furthermore, intuitions should be worried about their own strategies as “creative disruption will impact nearly 50% of the s&p500”. + +To Cathie, interest rates going up suggest that ‘real growth is going to pick up’ – and that she understands the concern over her own stock picks potentially underperforming as a result. However, she believes that that the market has assumed that interest rates will stabilize at a 4 to 5% range - which inversed (1/4 or 1/5) gives a normalized p/e of 20 or 25; so markets didn’t actually misprice assets to begin with. She thinks that nominal growth however, will not be at 4 to 5%, but instead around 2-3%, which can lead to greater valuation support for companies that can grow more rapidly. + +Rotation from growth to value was also expected on her part. She repeats that value will face massive headwinds going forward. Energy and financial stocks have done amazing in the past month - which is a good thing as the bull market is broadening out unlike the dot com bubble, where ‘too much capital chased too few opportunities, too soon’. Energy and financial sectors booming will likely be short lived as they are both ripe for massive disruption. +I started listening to The Millionaire Next Door as an audiobook and I'm about two hours in. I feel like the book definitely shows its age and am wondering if the advice it gives is still relevant today. + +Also it seems like the main principle so far is living a frugal lifestyle below your means to be a wealth accumulator, but I wonder what's the point of that if you don't get to enjoy your wealth accumulation? + +A specific example the book talks about is people that live in less nice neighborhoods in less nice houses next to people that make/save significantly less than them. I don't want to live lavishly by any means, but when it comes down to something like the house you live in, which affects so many aspects of your daily life satisfaction, I would rather live in a nicer house in a nicer neighborhood, even if it means I accumulate wealth more slowly. Not to mention the benefits of safety/peace of mind. + +Any thoughts? +How long will the VIX continue to remain above 40? Why do we still have 100 point swings and why do we have face ripping dips and rallies? As previously mentioned, this correction was the fastest in history and the markets haven't experienced volatility like this since the 2008 financial crisis. + +So let's take a look at what happened since the 2008 financial crisis: + +[SPY 15 Yr\/1 Wk](https://preview.redd.it/dpr1jcm5yhl41.png?width=2108&format=png&auto=webp&s=851140c510db69678317f70dfc9b14329f9731ca) + +The rapid selling of 1 week reached a selling climax and found support at 284.82, the October 2019 low. On 3/3/20 at 10 am, the Fed announced an emergency 50 bps rate cut, where SPY briefly peaked at 313.84. In effect, we are **range bound between 313.84 and 284.82.** Think of this as the high volatility zone. + +[SPY 10 Day\/ 30 min](https://preview.redd.it/hnve7b88yhl41.png?width=2108&format=png&auto=webp&s=0b35e48cea5686669c1aec2fcc643b02d4c56483) + +This is not the first time that this pattern has occurred in market cycles. Wyckoff provides a convenient road map. \[1\] This is not to say that we are in accumulation phase. On the contrary, I believe we will continue to the downside and we will enter a distribution phase to the downside. 285.54 served as our lower bound in our trading range, upon which a large automatic rally happened and was short lived. + +Market makers do not necessarily trade stocks or options like we do. We have to realize they really trade off of volatility. As previously noted, when autists such as ourselves rapidly purchase options, market makers purchase the underlying asset in order to delta hedge or be delta neutral, and take advantage of the change in gamma and vega. Think of the delta as the first rate of change of the asset, and that gamma is the second derivative, the rate of change of the rate of change. Thus, while delta is linear, gamma is non-linear and really gives you the tendies in a long position. Theta is the rate of time decay, and eats away at your profits. The gamma flip happened at around 325, since MM are more or less net short starting when we passed the 283.2% retracement from the 2008 lows, and the probability of options being in the money favored puts. + +[SPY Put\/Call Gamma and Prob. ITM](https://preview.redd.it/6p15fc4ayhl41.png?width=2822&format=png&auto=webp&s=de285a520d658f5a43fde439f30171e333592890) + +Starting around the 325 strike, you can see there are large increases in gamma for both put and call positions, along with corresponding changes in the probability of being in the money. Okay, so MM are most likely short gamma, we are in a place of high volatility, and VIX will continue to remain at elevated levels in this range-bounded zone. So what's next? The biggest problem right now facing the market is uncertainty. Thus, it is highly likely that we are going to retest the 285 low, which Wyckoff refers to as a secondary test based on the price action on 3/6/20. The 2% rally in the last 10-15 min of trading is mostly MM short covering. Everyone screaming that the Fed is pumping like clockwork need to realize that MM want to close and lock in profits after 2 red days, especially when heading into the weekend. Due to this uncertainty and with additional bad news expected over the weekend, I believe we are going to still face more downside as we close near the 285, before having another large rally to the upside. + +[Largest option sales for SPY 3\/6\/20](https://preview.redd.it/z93o3b4dyhl41.png?width=2788&format=png&auto=webp&s=1488df1baba93fff4bff418f9a01e4e2f946e058) + +This is supported by the large amount of March 20 calls and April 17 puts purchased within the last few hours of trading. Between 305-307 is the 200 DMA and EMA. These call options were purchased at a discount, and will most likely be used for a hedge when the ST bounce and squeeze happens. However, it appears that a lot of MM expect the S&P to hit around 270-285, with 285 the lower end of the trading range. 281 and 273 are the August and June 2019 low's respectively. + +The question over the coming weeks is will continue to rally, form new resistance, and then break out of this high volatility zone? Let's take a look at the number of cases of coronavirus within the United States. + +[Coronavirus reported infections, Jim Bianco](https://preview.redd.it/nqjloalkyhl41.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=7091f7aeb7c59b3b068fb84ae0d885c426d47ad6) + +Note the Y-axis is logarithmic. This means that unless we see a plateauing, or curvature of the line for cases, we are in an exponential phase of growth. Again, we as humans have a relatively easy time grasping linear relations (e.g. delta), but have difficulty rationalizing exponential or non-linear trends (gamma/exponential). As of 11:20 AM, EST, the US has 340 confirmed cases. Another increase of approximately 20% cases compared to yesterday. + +CDC reports 164 cases and 11 deaths. Simply dividing case number by deaths does not give the true mortality, since there is a delay of 1-2 weeks from the incubation period. However, this number would be even higher since the CDC had fewer cases. For this example, we will just divide case number and deaths for now, giving a mortality rate of 6.7%. WHO estimates a mortality of 3.4% which is close to what Italy has. In reality, due to limited testing, the mortality rate might be closer to 1% which is 10x higher than the flu. How many undiagnosed cases do we really have in the United States? The next few weeks will reveal a problem orders of magnitude larger than expected. Hence, a retest of the 285 will be essential to test the resilience of the market. + +The American Hospital association is predicting 1-2% of patients will require ICU care. ICU units are distinguished from the ER due to the necessity of advanced life support systems such as a mechanical ventilator to aid in breathing. + +[AHA report to hospitals](https://preview.redd.it/l20zac9myhl41.png?width=1399&format=png&auto=webp&s=430e81606c1a9e4d9396dd55393fb2c64f31d2d3) + +Let's say the US takes proactive measures and has 1/10th of these cases. 9.6 million affected, 480,000 admitted to the hospital, and 190,000 requiring ICU intervention. How many beds are in the US ready for ICU treatment? How many are occupied already? If patients cannot access critical care, this will be the tipping point for the US. This is already occurring in Italy and South Korea, where patients need to be transferred to other hospitals due to the overwhelming number of cases each hospital treats. This is explained well in this tweet. \[2\] + +[Critical care beds in the USA](https://preview.redd.it/qqfbh2hoyhl41.png?width=665&format=png&auto=webp&s=1c5fd3877dc08f35e7db9108bfb8cab5ad0e269f) + +One more quick note. During high financial stress and downside, gold will be quickly sold and liquidated in order to cover other positions. We are repeatedly entering cycles where gold hits new highs, followed by large swings in the S&P. These are good opportunities to enter quick short positions as gold hits new highs. + +[GLD 10 D\/30 min](https://preview.redd.it/7137nb5qyhl41.png?width=2114&format=png&auto=webp&s=85b92f7019b1b151da4e85d5e8ec88fca9d454a7) + +Pending another large leg down, especially around the 285 retest, we will see gold quickly sold off again despite the bullish nature of the options. Only until we exit the high volatility zone, do I believe gold will stabilize and continue a run up higher. Before this occurs however, we may see gold prices reach 1400-1500 first. Note the Jun 30 puts at 148 strike. + +[Largest option sales for GLD 3\/6\/20](https://preview.redd.it/p316ycbtyhl41.png?width=2788&format=png&auto=webp&s=05897c01445a7d5120f8fb8cc0ac307d8a46dc7a) + +Things to look at are the 10-yr, additional pending rate cuts from the next FOMC meeting, and oil prices. Commodities tend to provide a more clean signal compared to equities about the global macroeconomic status. This is not a game between bear vs. bull. Look for key levels, position before the large moves. Look for patterns. This is us, WSB, vs. the market makers. + +**tl;dr Range bound 285-315. Going to retest 285 before moving back to 315. Buckle up, going to be a lot of large swings as volatility will stay high or even increase. Coronavirus cases going to go boom. Gold will move to the upside, but be careful for a large drop.** + +**Just to be SUPER clear, long term puts at April are being played by MM. But there will be a bounce soon since we are so oversold. MM have prepared for this by purchasing large amounts of March 20 calls. Be prepared for their games.** + +\[1\] - [https://school.stockcharts.com/doku.php?id=market\_analysis:the\_wyckoff\_method](https://school.stockcharts.com/doku.php?id=market_analysis:the_wyckoff_method) + +\[2\] - [https://twitter.com/LizSpecht/status/1236095180459003909](https://twitter.com/LizSpecht/status/1236095180459003909) + +Update 1 3/7/20: US has now 401 cases, an increase of 18% in just 5 hours. + +Update 2 3/8/20: WTI oil looking at a 20-25% drop upon opening of futures later today. Can update with a new post if people are interested. + +USA confirmed cases 484 as of 4:10 EST. Most likely hit more than 500 by tomorrow. 1-2000 by next week. Around 3-4000 at least by end of month. + +[\/ES futures 6pm EST 3\/8\/20](https://preview.redd.it/llotkyapuil41.png?width=2788&format=png&auto=webp&s=75b45dbc07f02270e12c8f2c981655e5e30d5fcc) + +Just made a new low on the /ES futures. Bouncing again at 285, the lower range. Most likely going to sell puts at the open. + +Wow, we just hit 30/barrel of WTI. Insane. We are witnessing history guys. Seeing a lot of comments about buying USO calls, saying this is the bottom. People have been trying to call the bottom on oil for months now. Still seeing us retest $26.05. + +[\/CL futures 6:05 EST 3\/8\/20](https://preview.redd.it/dak7qsp6vil41.png?width=2788&format=png&auto=webp&s=0487ddf33ac2ed0a35df769024943fd9184a2000) + +Another contrarian indicator given the price action. Even though we have hit -5% in /ES and passed 2850, there's actually tens of thousands of puts OTM purchased on TLT during Friday. Now that begets the question, if treasuries are the safe haven asset as more people are selling, then who is buying these puts? + +https://preview.redd.it/69a2ljz2mkl41.png?width=2788&format=png&auto=webp&s=a9874d98b41439c80601ef87e030a90f964d9683 + +Update 3 3/9/19 - Given the nature of limit downs, people are going to be running for the exits. Wouldn't be surprised to see us hit the 7% breaker. I think there will be intervention before hitting the lower ones to prevent mass panic. SPY 273.09 is the June 2019 low. + +Update 4 3/9/19 - Look at this call positioning from this morning for SPX. They are loading up on the cheap for 3/20. + +[3\/9\/20 SPX options](https://preview.redd.it/ndu2thpk2ol41.png?width=2788&format=png&auto=webp&s=1381c3d1a4a7071a3c3e68c5d06c0def76f226c3) + +Retest of the -5% at the previous 285 was rejected. Ended lower than -7% circuit breaker and even below the August 2019 low at 273.09, creating a sign of weakness. Larger sell volume present in the final hours of trading. Most likely going to continue to the downside, but still expecting a bounce which will be used to shake out people holding their puts. + +[3\/9\/20 SPY 20 D\/1 Hr](https://preview.redd.it/9ial8viumpl41.png?width=2114&format=png&auto=webp&s=9b2b5e8f20ad2525efe405bd86f8bcee384ac865) + +Update 5 3/10/20 - Climbed back into the 285-315 channel before breaking down again from that news from CNBC. Still think we will pop back into the channel during the cash open as MM seek to test supply in the upthrust phase, and try to nab as many puts as they can. As with most trading days the past few weeks, the last hour of trading will be the most revealing. I expect significant accumulation of 4/17 puts. + +[3\/10\/20 SPY 10 D\/30 Min](https://preview.redd.it/yqkc8xqlbul41.png?width=2114&format=png&auto=webp&s=849ccf6406ad2f612a1a76342cfd4ddd6f2c6ae8) + +Updated new post today: [https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/fgnqbh/was\_the\_circuit\_breaker\_on\_monday\_an\_engineered/](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/fgnqbh/was_the_circuit_breaker_on_monday_an_engineered/) +https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/07/altria-to-invest-1point8-billion-in-cannabis-company-cronos-group.html + + +Altria Group said Friday it agreed to buy a 45 percent stake in leading cannabinoid company Cronos Groupfor about $1.8 billion.  +TLDR; Genetic therapy will render pharmaceuticals obsolete according to this TEDx talk. I'm about to ditch my pharma portfolio and it feels great. + +This discussion is based on the following TEDxBerlin talk: https://youtu.be/W3C23m71Yws + +According to the speaker (a pharmaceutical scientist as I've understood it), the pharmaceutical approach to disease is doomed to fail within our lifetime. More or less as the result of genetic therapy taking over pharmaceutical therapy. + +The speaker bases this on the fact that only 3% of all pharmaceuticals on the market are actual cures, with the remaining 97% only treating symptoms without dealing with the underlying cause. + +This is something that I've personally been talking about for the last 10 years, with pharma professionals and doctors, and they all just accept this fact. They say there's not much we can do, but agree that it sucks that we basically have no cures. + +Since curing disease, rather than just treating the symptoms, should be the ultimate goal of life science, it is only a question of time until scientists unlock a new tool that can start curing diseases. + +Genetics have long been the main contender in this field. With the recent advancements in CRISPR/CAS9, it's for the first time very likely that genetic therapy could actually become an everyday thing. And for the first time, this will allow doctors to cure and fix the underlying cause rather than just hide the symptoms. + +Why would we need the majority of pharmaceutical products if this becomes reality? I.e., what's the role of pharmaceutical companies in the future? + +My inner voice has been telling me to move away from pharma investments and look more into biotech and genetics specifically. Until now, it's been a tough move, emotionally. But with CRISPR/CAS9 on the horizon, and the insights from the TEDx talk, I actually feel comfortable in ditching all of my pharma stocks completely. + +It's a damn good feeling. But of course, I'm open for a healthy dose of criticism. +We are preparing for potentially the worst unemployment numbers ever on record this Thursday. However with the Stimulus package now passed businesses across the US can now examine whether they have funding in order to retain employee's or if they'll need to trim immediately in order to survive. + +For Small businesses which represent \~$9.4B or \~44% of the total US economy they are clearly the biggest losers in this stimulus package unless CNN has made a major misread. + +***The bill would ensure the Small Business Administration could serve as a guarantor for loans of up to $10 billion for small businesses to ensure they can maintain their payrolls and pay off their debts.*** + +[*https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/25/politics/stimulus-senate-action-coronavirus/index.html*](https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/25/politics/stimulus-senate-action-coronavirus/index.html) + +Small businesses employ 58.9 million people, which makes up 47.5% of the country’s total US workforce. + +Accounting for the projected 2M employees in the first round of layoffs we can easily assume that half of these are from large companies. This leaves us a potential 57.9M small business employees now on the chopping block. + +Another 5% reduction this upcoming Thursday seems very reasonable if not low given small business owners are quarantined around the country and have nothing to do but look at their outgoing cash expenditures. This represents 2.9M layoffs in next Thursday's unemployment numbers. + +**Folks, Welcome the largest layoffs in history... Next week will be worse** + +Cash or Short... Calls are completely insane for anything other than day traders. +A signed version of this message can be found here +https://pastebin.com/Lp5Djs5R + +Hello. I am the BearWhale. After a series of bad experiences with +the banking system, I invested most of my life savings into bitcoin +when the price was fairly low, around $8. For years I was a HODLer. +I was holding when Trendon Shavers ripped everyone off. I was holding +when the price was over a thousand, and I held after MtGox imploded. +I believe strongly in Bitcoin’s decentralized promise of displacing +immoral national currencies. + +The price kept drifting downwards until finally at a little over $300 +I had enough. I sold off everything, based on an accumulation of +information I gathered mostly from social media such as bitcointalk.org +and reddit: + +* The block size limit of 1MB was a threat to bitcoin’s future +* “Satoshi’s vision” was unlimited block sizes +* Gavin was ousted by a cabal of self-interested engineers, a.k.a. “Blockstream” +* Blockstream took control of bitcoin’s source code repository +* Theymos colluded with Blockstream to censor block size increase discussions +* The subreddit r/bitcoin heavily censored block size increase discussions +* Blockstream wanted the block size low to promote its proprietary Lightning Network +* Gregory Maxwell was a bad actor and Luke-Jr was a religious nut +* The market agreed with the above, leading to the then-decline in price towards $300 + +At this point I should state that I am a highly technical person. +I understand all of the math behind the bitcoin whitepaper and the +software that powers it. Although, I am not a security expert nor +am I a cypherpunk - only a little experience in the type of adversarial +thinking necessary to be a competent steward of the technology. I don’t +regret selling, as I made an enormous profit. The decision was a rational +one based on available information. However, in 2017 I went all-in on +bitcoin again and here’s why: + +None of the supposed facts which motivated my decision to sell were +correct. **It was all a carefully crafted and funded disinformation +campaign launched by Roger Ver and his cronies, perhaps Jihan Wu, to +discourage improvements to the bitcoin protocol to achieve financial +gain at the expense of the community.** + +Once I recognized the moves to discredit the core developers for what it +was, a covertly operated smear campaign fought on social media, funded by +enormous enrichment from bitcoin, carried out with sock puppets and appeals +to emotion, I looked at bitcoin and the greater community again with a more +critical eye and I came to the following conclusions: + +* Bitcoin is working great: look at the fees people are willing to pay +* Resistance to poorly thought out protocol changes is a feature not a bug +* Core developers are highly competent, from reading the mailing list +* SegWit is incredibly well engineered to create the least network disruption +* The subreddit r/btc is filled with negativity and meaningless attack +* Roger Ver is a con man who uses his bitcoin.com domain to push his agenda +* Bitcoin mining is centralized due to Bitmain’s temporary monopoly on retail hardware +* ASICBoost is an exploit which has broken some economic incentives of bitcoin +* Absent Bitmain, bitcoin the currency is far superior to altcoins + +Although I am of course an adult fully responsible for my decisions, +I want to make it clear that Roger Ver’s agenda was successful at +convincing me that bitcoin had a “governance crisis” and was at risk +of being overtaken by altcoins. + +My reason for this open letter s simple: I want the community to know +that I fully support the core developers. I am strongly in favor of UASF +as a mechanism for liminating the centralizing effect of miner control +illusions. I support SegWit as a sensible technology for moving Bitcoin +forward. I reject a block-size increase hard fork at the present time. +I reject a phony “compromise.” And I especially resent and reject a +consortium of suits coming to an “agreement” on what source-code base +will be named “bitcoin” without that code base being thoroughly vetted +over a suitable long time-frame by industry professionals. Those industry +professionals include Gregory Maxwell and most of the people who +participate regularly on the bitcoin developers mailing list and contribute +pull requests to the bitcoin-core repository. + +tl;dr; I am the BearWhale: I sold Bitcoin for the wrong reasons, +and now I am all-in and long bitcoin again. + +Does anyone else have a hard time with mental processes around big market moves? When the market was rising fast, it's hard not to think, "I made more in the market today than I earned all month, what's the point of working?" When the market is dropping like this week, it's hard not to think, "I lost more in the market today than I earned all year, what's the point of working?" + +Maybe I just don't like work? Is it best to just not compare market moves to paychecks since our brains don't easily process this? +Just saw this [article](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/business/coronavirus-real-estate-investors-stimulus.html) \- it reads: + +>"But the use of those losses was limited by the 2017 tax-cut package. The losses could be used only to shelter the first $500,000 of a married couple’s nonbusiness income, such as capital gains from investments. Any leftover losses got rolled over to future years. +> +>The new stimulus bill lifts that restriction for three years — this year, and two retroactive years — a boon for couples with more than $500,000 in annual capital gains or income from sources other than their business. " + +&#x200B; + +Can anyone help to understand what this actually means? Or is the reporter not explaining well. My interpretation is that I can tax loss harvest this year, and then retroactively write off from last year and year before's income? I assume this applies for a lot of people here... +###Hey r/PennyStocks 👋 + +I hope your weekends are going fantastic, and that you’ve had some time time to relax and reflect on the last week. + +This Sunday let’s do something different. Share your strategies for Monday here, and try to think critically about *why* your strategy is sound. Express your line of thinking to the rest of us! + +If you want some starter resources on research and DD (Due Diligence), look here: + +[Due diligence and research by u/Cicero1982](https://www.reddit.com/r/pennystocks/comments/gtabgh/due_diligence_how_to_research_assess_analyze_and/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=ios_app&amp;utm_name=iossmf) + +**If you have some DD you’d like to share, please do so as a stand-alone post!** +We hear a lot of FUD from the powers that be: + +"Bitcoin is... + +A ponzi scheme. +A waste of energy. +A tool for criminals." + +One thing we never hear? + +"Bitcoin is a threat to the U.S. dollar." + +Then along comes smooth-brained Donald Trump who says exactly that on live TV. + +Dude is a dimwit, but he was just America's president for four years. If he's calling Bitcoin a "threat to the dollar" then that is 100% a sentiment at the highest levels of government. + +I bet we see a lot more coordinated FUD in the coming weeks and months. They're trying to cripple this thing now, while retail is scared and institutions have minimal exposure. Undercut the bull run and kill the twelve-year narrative. + +Stay tuned for the SEC ruling on VanEck Bitcoin ETF next week. Their decision and the language they use will be very telling. +My mom plans to buy a house next year, and she wants me to co-sign the loan. Have in mind that she's a grown adult (54yrs. old) while I'm 18. I will live in the house, but I do plan to move out in my early 20's. I'm even planning to move to Spain, so I don't know how that will impact the loan. As you can guess based on my age, I have NO IDEA what I'm getting into. I want to help her, but I don't know how much do signing will bind me. Any advice/tips would be appreciated.. + + + Edit: I'm at work so I haven't been keeping up with all the comments, but I replied as most as I could. I will not cosign, it is giving away my whole financial life, so I will talk to my mom today and I WILL change her mind. I don't want her to have the mindset of a person who can just play around with money and loans. Thank you, everyone :) You've all explained more than any simple article or blog could. + + Edit #2: Now that I talked to my mom, she's decided to say that I'm insulting her by telling her she can't afford a house, that other family members (my cousins and aunts) have done what we've done, and that everything has gone right. That the only person who will fuck up my credit is my bf (she says that because he's been having monetary issues lately, since he was unemployed for a month and now has to catch up on rent), and that she wasn't even planning on buying here in Miami, but up north. She didn't even consider the fact that I'm going to college here in Miami, that I cannot and will not transfer to a university up north in Florida, which are usually private or super expensive. I'm in college because Financial Aid covers all of my classes, or else I would not be able to go.. And she says I should leave, that I won't help her, and I feel so lost because I can't even live by myself, I don't have a car, I can't handle growing up by myself, and I feel guilty for thinking that I can just move out with my boyfriend because he has monetary issues, and they'll fall on me like my mom says. Now all she'll do is shit talk about me to my whole family, and I'll just be a broke soul living in a soul eating city. I'll talk to my friends as soon as they're available, and I'll see what I can do and what I have to do. +Don’t believe everything you read, new post with large amounts of bullshit dd from some fucking hedge fund turd burglaring dummy pool saying they are covering short with puts which is impossible, REMEMBER WHAT WERE DOING THIS FOR, ITS NOT THE MONEY, WERE TIRED OF GETTING KICKED BY THE 10%, THEY FUCKING CALL YOU DUMB MONEY, LETS PROVE TO THEM JUST HOW FUCKING RETARDED WE ARE, don’t forget the subliminal messages from DFV along with the blatant ones. HE STIlll LIKES THE STOCK, HOLD STRONG RETARDS IM WITH YOU +No wrinkles - but this sure looks dirty. + +Fintel.io shows Apollo ownership included Citadell. Citadeell is listed with puts and calls. I don't know I'm a smooth brain - but they're on the list - https://fintel.io/so/us/apo + +Yahoo fiance often links to other articles from other sources - but less than 18 hours are the WSJ article and the crazy jump in value they do their own 'DOA' interview. Super sus +I am trying to assess a job offer but I am using my retirement contributions as part of the comparison. + +Company A: 80k salary plus company contribution of 10k to 401k + +Company B: 90k salary, zero contribution to 401k + +Which is objectively better and by how much? +DNV GL will host a Q&A session on Facebook Live with VeChain tomorrow at 9 a.m. + +**Where can I watch the announcement and Q&A?** +https://www.facebook.com/dnvgl/videos/10156159703448395/ + +**Who is DNV GL?** +DNV GL is an international accredited registrar and classification society headquartered near Oslo, Norway. The company currently has about 13,550 employees and 350 offices operating in more than 100 countries, and provides services for several industries including maritime, renewable energy, oil & gas, electrification, food & beverage and healthcare. + +**Who is speaking tomorrow?** + +* Luca Crisciotti, CEO DNV GL - Business Assurance https://uk.linkedin.com/in/luca-crisciotti-b270765 + +* Renato Grottola, Digital Transformation Director DNV GL - Business Assurance https://www.linkedin.com/in/renato-grottola-36b59/ + +* Sunny Lu, CEO Vechain + +**Where is the presentation taking place?** +London + +**Who is promoting this event?** +DNV GL has [promoted this event through its official Twitter account](https://twitter.com/DNVGL/status/953903961215467521). It is important to note that DNV GL has called it big news, not VeChain. *This is not VeChain self-hyping.* + +DNV GL has also [pinned another tweet to its Twitter account](https://twitter.com/DNVGL/status/955153964923805697). + +**What won't be announced?** +This will NOT be an announcement regarding PBoC. DNV GL has nothing to do with the People's Bank of China whatsoever. + +**What do we already know about the partnership between DNV GL and VeChain?** +According to this post by VeChain's u/noah_vechain, a VeChain Rep, submitted a month ago: + +* DNV GL single-handedly pioneered us into cold-chain logistics, an industry that wasn’t on our immediate horizon, by partnering us with a **global convenience store franchise with over 24,000 locations**; including Japan, China, America, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. + +* There are many international renowned corporations and brand names that we have been partnered and/or engaged with to provide solutions. The majority of these deals are under NDA for some period of time. However, several of these partnerships under NDAs are about to become public. We are fine tuning the last leg of details with these companies/brands to be able to release the power of Thor's apotheosis and just why we are so proud of our Board of Steering Committee. We hope to formally announce many of these names as soon as we are able, but our priority is to ensure these partners are long-term VeChain users. + +**Based on the above, what can one theoretically expect from the presentation tomorrow?** +Assuming from the above, it is possible (likely) that DNV GL will reveal the name of the major global convenience store franchise. + +It is also possible that the numerous partnerships under NDA's will be released. DNV GL has an impressive list of clients, including many big names, but it would be irresponsible to list them without any confirmation of pending VeChain partnerships. + + + +*Disclaimers of my own interest in VeChain and my beliefs for the future* + +**Do you (TC) own VeChain?** +Yes, I am 100% invested in Vechain. I would not spend the time to make this topic otherwise. I have mostly made it to dispel the rumors that PBoC will be revealed tomorrow, which is simply not true. That is an unsubstantiated rumor. However, what will be revealed tomorrow still has me excited as a VeChain supporter. + +**What do you think is next on the horizon for VeChain?** +The next major event is a **ceremonial** rebranding event on Feb. 26. I do not personally expect much from a ceremonial event. + +**Why do you think that I should invest and hold?** +What I'm most excited about personally is the mainnet launch in June, which means I'm planning to hold without selling over half a year just to get to the mainnet launch. At that time, VeChain will start to produce Thor and bag holders will be rewarded. Thor will be consumed by partners, like those potentially announced tomorrow, to use the network. You will not receive Thor until the mainnet is launched. You will also not receive Thor if you are not holding VeChain. + +I expect the price to rise slowly between now and June -- I do not expect it to moon overnight. + +**Do you believe the rumors?** +I do not base any financial decisions on rumors. However, there are significant partnerships already confirmed that have sold me on VeChain. + +*Lastly, I apologize for posting another thread about VeChain. I hope I have taken long enough to make this thread informative and factual so as to not further annoy the many who are frustrated by the sheer number of VeChain posts on the r/Cryptocurrency frontpage.* + +Edit: Only formatting. +Really late to the crypto game but after seeing what happened recently with GME and hearing about what you all are doing I’m happy to say that I jumped in. It’s not much but $500 in ETH and $150 in BTC using coinbase. +I follow a lot of landlord forums and stuff and what I’ve been seeing is very concerning. I’ve also experienced this first hand when we were looking before we moved into this place. +Landlords and property managers are pissed about any sort of protections for renters are actively planning their revenge. +Just a few things I’ve seen: +1. Anyone who had an eviction filed is rejected +2. Anyone who works in certain fields is rejected +3. Higher credit score required like over 750 +4. Requiring much higher move in costs. I’ve seen people suggest asking for six months up front,and a deposit of two times the rent. +5. Only offering month to month leases and then not renewing them for any reason +6. Leaning units vacant and installing security to keep people from renting them +7. Asking for full bank statements showing what you spent money on and if you paid rent. Late even once and you’re rejected +8. Asking former landlords if you ever claimed cdc protection or used rental assistance. If you did, rejected. +9. Evicting people the moment the bans are lifted. Or, making up a reason to evict that skirts the bans +10. Refusing to accept rental aid or partial payments and charging daily late fees so that people end up with debts they can never repay—then getting a judgement and garnishing everything they have. +11. Reporting everyone who had financial strain during this time to every agency and going out of their way to ruin the persons credit and background while also taking up to half of their income and any money they ever have. + +They’re basically planning to ruin millions of lives for years and they are looking forward to it. So everyone be careful. Be on the lookout if you are moving and if you’ve had to claim cdc protection or use aid or anything make sure you do everything you can to make things right and maybe they won’t be so harsh with you. +I’m thinking we are all going to need to write and call all our elected officials and try to get the government to stop them somehow. +My ex husband took out 2 payday loans. One for $500 and one for $400 (2 different companies). For the first one ($500) he had paid $798 and still has a balance of about $400. For the second one he has paid back $545 and still has a balance of $501. For the second one, here is a breakdown of what he has paid versus what he owes: + +July 1 payment of $109, remaining balance is $506.42 + +July 15 payment of $109, remaining balance is $504.05 + +July 29 he’ll pay $109 and the remaining balance will be $501.03 + +I don’t have a breakdown of the first loan but I’m sure it’s similar. I don’t even know how to calculate the interest on this but I can tell that it’s pretty damn high. How screwed is he? He also owes me money not including child support. He makes more than me but spends frivolously and won’t stick to a budget. Is there a way out of this besides payment in full? Neither of us that kind of money. +> The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 1.2 percent in March on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.8 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 8.5 percent before seasonal adjustment. +> +> Increases in the indexes for gasoline, shelter, and food were the largest contributors to the seasonally adjusted all items increase. The gasoline index rose 18.3 percent in March and accounted for over half of the all items monthly increase; other energy component indexes also increased. The food index rose 1.0 percent and the food at home index rose 1.5 percent. +> +> The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in March following a 0.5-percent increase the prior month. The shelter index was by far the biggest factor in the increase, with a broad set of other indexes also contributing, including those for airline fares, household furnishings and operations, medical care, and motor vehicle insurance. In contrast, the index for used cars and trucks fell 3.8 percent over the month. +> +>The all items index continued to accelerate, rising 8.5 percent for the 12 months ending March, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending December 1981. The all items less food and energy index rose 6.5 percent, the largest 12-month change since the period ending August 1982. The energy index rose 32.0 percent over the last year, and the food index increased 8.8 percent, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending May 1981. + +&#x200B; + +[https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm) +I've recently become fascinated by the relationship between oil/usd index/Nasdaq and I have no technical knowledge or abilities although I am a long time lurker and ig I'd sad fan of ai and ml in general. I was wondering if there was a way to understand the relationship in its purist possible form without all the news from markets skewing the results. Would it be possible to eliminate some of that noise to make an indication of the ratio of effect each has on the other somehow? Forgive me if I'm not really explaining myself well and I'm happy to answer questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated in understanding if this is even possible. +My eventually goal is to bring an algo live and have it trade on IB. It's my understanding that you can use the Quantopian language on Zipline-live and connect it to IB to do live trading. I am also aware that Quantconnect supports live trading already. So my question is, which platform would you recommend? Is one platform necessarily better? Does one platform have better or more data to backtest on? If it makes a difference, I want to develop an algo using python. +I have been working to parse company filings so I can build my own database of company fundamentals. That being said, it has been a royal pain. + +I have been primarily working in Python, and have tried various different methods to extract this data. The biggest issue is naming conventions because it changes company to company, year after year. Past 2010-2011 is a lot easier because they utilize XBRL and have formatted tables available, but beyond that I have been stumped. + +The most recent method that has worked the best is converting the filing to a PDF and extracting table data that way, but still the table data is not formatted properly sometimes, there is missing data sometimes, and again with the naming conventions. The naming conventions isn’t a huge issue with this method, it’s more the formatting and missing some of the data. + +I have been doing research on this sub, and all of Reddit to be honest, and there have been some various different methods posted. One being using the Quantmod R package, but I tested this last night and got an error because google stopped supplying the data for balance sheets, income statements, etc. Another method talked about parsing XMLs in parallel and dumping extracted fields into an SQL database, but I have not tested this yet and don’t want to waste more time if it’s not going to be successful. + +I am going to re-assess my process today and I wanted to reach out you all to see if you have been successful in parsing these filings, beyond the XBRL formatting. I am not looking for a how-to or to copy anyones work, but I would love some tips, ideas, guidance, etc. Anything helps! +Friends, I'm developing a little program for personal use which requires a data input stream of securities data such as options values and indicators like RSI and volume. The data would have to be real time and I'm willing to pay the premium. I would also like the ability to send buy/sell orders to my account through some sort of API. I know both ToS and IB have some API's for this sort of thing, but I'm wondering if anyone here has experienced either and which one do they think is better cost or functionality wise purely for a data input perspective. +[Stooq](https://stooq.com/db/h/) is a Polish brokerage firm that offers free historical 5-minute price data on stocks in the U.S. and other markets. The files you can download go back 1-2 months -- on 2020-11-13 the data went back to 2020-09-24. I have been saving Stooq data for a few months and have 5-minute data since 2020-05-08 and hourly data back to 2019-09-03. The data can be downloaded from Microsoft OneDrive [here](https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aigf3ob4jrIJhPwAbOT5ahzpw55Seg?e=7fNhlE). + +Can anyone who has been saving Stooq data for longer make it available? +I'm a software developer by trade, and have a lot of experience day trading. I've also tried my hand at creating relatively simple intraday algorithms based off indicators in c# through IB. + +The next logical step would be to learn about statistics and machine learning, as ways to better validate and optimize my algorithms. + +Does anyone have recommendations for the best learning path for this? Anything from the conceptual learning path to actual courses, guides, etc. would be greatly appreciated. +I have been working to parse company filings so I can build my own database of company fundamentals. That being said, it has been a royal pain. + +I have been primarily working in Python, and have tried various different methods to extract this data. The biggest issue is naming conventions because it changes company to company, year after year. Past 2010-2011 is a lot easier because they utilize XBRL and have formatted tables available, but beyond that I have been stumped. + +The most recent method that has worked the best is converting the filing to a PDF and extracting table data that way, but still the table data is not formatted properly sometimes, there is missing data sometimes, and again with the naming conventions. The naming conventions isn’t a huge issue with this method, it’s more the formatting and missing some of the data. + +I have been doing research on this sub, and all of Reddit to be honest, and there have been some various different methods posted. One being using the Quantmod R package, but I tested this last night and got an error because google stopped supplying the data for balance sheets, income statements, etc. Another method talked about parsing XMLs in parallel and dumping extracted fields into an SQL database, but I have not tested this yet and don’t want to waste more time if it’s not going to be successful. + +I am going to re-assess my process today and I wanted to reach out you all to see if you have been successful in parsing these filings, beyond the XBRL formatting. I am not looking for a how-to or to copy anyones work, but I would love some tips, ideas, guidance, etc. Anything helps! +Hey - I'm a 19 YO student in NYC. I heard some stuff floating around about how buying at close and selling at open is an easy way to beat the market. I thought I might might backtest this to see whether it is true - so I took an hour to work through a notebook and write some code. Interestingly my backtest seems to confirm this - in fact specifying an average alpha of 35% across 1000 randomly defined trading intervals in the S&P500 index. I feel like if it was this easy to beat the market, it would've been done - so I was hoping to get your guys' thoughts. + +&#x200B; + +Here's a link to the notebook - feel free to rip down my code and point out any mistakes. + +&#x200B; + + [https://github.com/harttraveller/bcso\_strategy/blob/master/backtesting.ipynb](https://github.com/harttraveller/bcso_strategy/blob/master/backtesting.ipynb) + +&#x200B; + +Thanks! +Wife made 53k last year and I made 45k. + +We live in the midwest in a house that we owe 130k on. We pay 1000 per month on mortgage. + +2 kids. Daycare runs about 1800 per month. No car payments. I drive 2002 Ford explorer, she drives 2007 honda civic. + +Cook most of our meals. We go out probably once a month. + +I am working myself to death. I own a business that is growing so fast that I am forced to work at least 80 hours a week. I don't have the option of raising my pay either. Growth eats cash and this is our long term investment. My wife works 40 and has great benefits and insurance. When I get home from work I am a zombie. I just don't have much of anything left in the tank to help with kids, housework or cooking so she does most of the work like that. + +I am burning both my wife and I out. I think we live way below our means and our housing market is hot right now. I am considering selling our house for 199k and flipping that into a bigger house to reward her for all the hardwork she has put into our marriage and kids. + +I still owe about 45k in student loans. Paying the minimum about 273 per month. + +Should I be thinking about a house? I know most of you would say pay off my loan debt and then think about moving but the strain of living so frugally is taking a toll and Im afraid I'm going to burn my wife out and she will leave. + +Anyone else been in my shoes? + +Edit: I showed my wife this last night and we had a great discussion. A new house is several years down the road. We need to finish paying off my student loans and save money to really figure out what kind of lifestyle we want to live. That might involve her in working in the business full or part time with more time being dedicated to house and kids. + +I will be raising my salary to 70k a year in the next few months and slowing down the growth of the company. I wasn't keeping my wages low for nefarious purposes it was mainly out of fear that I couldn't afford it. I will turn over operations of our company to my brother and focus on sales and admin splitting our roles and the time spent on the company. I will also be using consultants to help us get better at running a growing company. + +I will start to really focus on spending quality time with my family and letting work go when I get home. + +Some of you suggested that daycare is too high and that my wife will be running away with some stud. We both had a great laugh over that. I know you were trying to be serious! + +Thanks! + +Second Edit: Sounds like I need to prepare for the long term as well. Reducing stress and stop neglecting my body and mental health. Working hours like these over a long period are terrible for qol and I am going to make an an attempt to get out of the house as often as I can to be active with my family. + +[GameStop.com](https://www.gamestop.com/) || Shop [Internationally](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/vyyzmx/gamestop_retail_international_nft_game_informer/) || [NFT Marketplace](https://nft.gamestop.com) + +GameStop [Investor Relations](https://news.gamestop.com/) + +# 🙋 ​[What's GME & should I consider investing?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/qig65g/welcome_rall_looking_to_catch_up_on_the_gme_saga/) + +# 📚 Library of Due Diligence [GME.fyi](https://fliphtml5.com/bookcase/kosyg) + +>A collection of over 200 of the most important, groundbreaking **D**ue **D**iligence. If you're looking to familiarize yourself with the GME bull thesis or the underhanded tactics of the short sellers involved in this trade– then this is for you + +&#x200B; + +# 🟣 [Computershare Megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/yjawq7) + +>Wondering what DRS is? Want to know how and why people are Direct Registering their shares? Here you'll find our guide and additional resources, as well as a welcoming community answering questions in the comments! + +# 🏆 [Computershare AMA #3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/z16nw3/superstonks_3rd_ama_with_paul_conn_president_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) + +# 💎🤝 [Help Revise Superstonk's Subreddit Rules - Start Here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/z1fs86/help_revise_superstonks_subreddit_rules_start_here/) + +>Based on feedback from the most recent revision to Rule 2, we're asking for comments on all of our rules for the sub, some of which will contain our proposal for discussion on revisions. + +# 🎁 [Very GMErry Holidays returns for more cheer!](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/ylyszu/very_gmerry_holidays_returns_for_more_cheer_wont/) + +>Superstonk held a toy drive for Toys for Tots (TFT) last year and we raised over $103,000 in money and toys! +> +>We even had a way for Apes to shop GameStop.com and ship it directly to a TFT site that was super close to a GameStop distribution center in Grapevine, TX. +> +>We had a huge positive impact! And we’re doing it again. + +# 🚀 [GameStop Wallet HELP! Megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/z23wjx/gamestop_wallet_help_megathread/?sort=new) + +>Need some guidance with the Wallet, Activation, Buying/Sending/Receiving NFTS, or getting a cool wallet address? Join us here! + +🏴‍☠️ [NFT Marketplace & Wallet Megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/vluysg/gamestop_nft_marketplace_wallet_megathread/) + +>Why is GameStop getting into NFTs? *WTF* even is an NFT? How do I set up a GameStop Wallet? How do I get a cool/custom wallet address? All these questions and more are answered here! + +**Read** [**the Rules & Wiki**](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/wiki/index) **||** [**MOASS FAQ**](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/wiki/index/faq) **|| Join our** [**Discord**](https://discord.gg/Superstonk) + +How to [feed DRSBOT](https://www.reddit.com/r/GMEOrphans/comments/qlvour/welcome_to_gmeorphans_read_this_post/). Low karma? Post your DRS on r/GMEOrphans + +How to [Filter by Flair & Search](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/v0oxp2/how_to_filter_by_flair_search_for_posts_on/) on Superstonk + +Tag u/Superstonk-Flairy for user flairs, find [custom emoji options here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/yuarvq/how_to_get_a_userflair_on_superstonk_new_emojis) +Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! + +Have a look at the [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq) for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. + +Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. +I’m not sure if this is the best place to ask this but I’m 22, I dropped out of college and I’m about 15k in debt from medical bills. I considering joining younger but I had a few health issues that set me back and I’m just now almost 100% healthy again. I don’t mind traveling or being away from family. My family is dysfunctional anyways. I would love insight from anyone who is knowledgeable about this +My father has not been paid any super contributions for the past 13+ months. He's told me that is also the case for at least 50+ other people in the company. + +They owe him over $11,000 in super contributions. + +The company has told its workers that super will be paid "soon" but that clearly hasn't gone anywhere. Other employees have apparently lodged complaints with the ATO, but nothing has happened as of yet. + +I've told my father to find a new job as I don't think this will end well considering the company was recently in the media for owing money to the ATO and is currently about to relocate to cut down on costs. I'll be surprised if they don't go into administration within the next few years. However my father is worried about losing the super contributions completely if they do go into administration (and with a large amount of people with super owing, seems likely) whilst he has over 800+ hours in annual/personal leave that might be lost as well. Some employees have told him they haven't been paid any super in over 3 years. + +Has anyone else experienced something similar in their past and can comment on how it all turned out? +Hey r/AusFinance, + +I’m in a bit of a tight spot with my current employer. I have been here just under a year, with no super contributions made. I am a permanent full time employee so there should have definitely been some. + +I have brought this up with them and only received “we will look into it”. I have recently found out that a few of the other staff members that have left recently part of their leaving was due to unpaid super also. + +They have been struggling to get it paid through talking with the employer, along with annual leave. + +I think the whole thing is a little shady and will get out as soon as possible, but wanted any advice on things I can do now, while still employed there to try and get these payments made before I do leave. As it occurs to me that getting these made while at the company may be much easier than going through the ATO. + +Thanks +Hi there, would be grateful for any advice. + +My wife and I are first home buyers and had an offer accepted for an apartment near Parramatta. We submitted the offer before getting unconditional approval, as our mortgage broker assured us it was a super easy loan to get approved (our deposit is 55% of a $480,000 apartment, we are mid-30s, both employed with a total annual income of $150,000, no dependents). The vendor also gave us a 10 day cooling off period. + +However, the cooling off period ends on Friday, and the mortgage broker still hasn’t gotten us the unconditional loan. He has been super slow to respond and keeps telling us it will be done tomorrow, or in a couple of days, and he has said that for over two weeks now. We contacted the bank directly yesterday, and they advised us it will take until Monday to get the unconditional approval. But they also said they couldn’t guarantee that date... + +We are worried we are going to miss out on the apartment as well as forfeit our 0.25% holding deposit. + +Is there anything we can do to get the bank to escalate? +So my fiancé and I made an offer on a house yesterday of $580k, it only came on the market on Friday afternoon with a range of $560-600k, viewed it and offered Saturday afternoon and less than 24hrs later they’ve called and said they’ve had no other offers except ours but he was wondering if we could offer a bit more. What even? + +Like I can understand if they had another offer they were giving us a chance to beat or if they wanted more money they could turn us down and wait but I get the feeling this guy really wants a quick sale as he’s only had the house less than 3yrs and it was sold back then for $555k. + +Is this a normal thing cos I’m thinking I’ll just withdraw the offer or just screw with them and offer less. I dunno if the agent is messing with me because we’re first home buyers but how do you just be like “hey can I has a more monies please?” +Its yield, p/e, p/s and PEG ratios are all great and it’s growth is solid. I’ve also read their annual report and they seem to have a rigid plan. However, it’s recent drop in its EPS and income on top of its heavy selling from its insiders is really worrying for me. All in all, I am a novice so please bear with me if some of the things I’ve said sounds dumb. But, what’s your opinion on the company? +Read through Dr. Marco Metzler's latest comments on the Evergrande Clusterfuck and needless to say the tits remain ever so firmly jacked. + +The best bits for you below; + +*"An Evergrande bankruptcy is likely to* ***worsen economic problems in China and the world***. *Due to the failure of Evergrande being able to pay its creditors, devastating consequences for the global economy and the banking system could result. Supply chains could be put under even greater strain than they already are today. This, in turn, would then inevitably lead to galloping inflation in the USA and Europe and other countries*. + +*It even has the potential to lead to extreme distortions of the global financial system - with bankruptcies of players that are still considered rock solid today. Triggered by a Chinese financial virus called Evergrande, the world may face a "****Great Reset****" - the* ***final meltdown of the current global financial system***. *However after the old financial system broke down we have to regenerate a new economic system which is build on trust and honor and in balance with the nature and the universe. We need now to team up bringing all the truth to the public as we see the old economic system falling. There will be a great opportunity after the "Great Reset" to rebuild a better world. This should be everybody\`s mission now*." + +[https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-marco-metzler-403341163\_insolvency-petition-on-evergrande-will-be-activity-6869615636763418624-jnkP](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-marco-metzler-403341163_insolvency-petition-on-evergrande-will-be-activity-6869615636763418624-jnkP) + +\#APESNOTLEAVING #kengriffinlied #HedgiesAreFucked +Hello All, + +I have been going through YouTube videos on FTX that they lost around $10 billion dollars of customer money. Thought to myself the reason why would people keep money in an exchange after what happened with Celsius and Voyager. +I have no intention to rub it in, just trying to understand others perspective on the matter. + +Thanks, +Where would be a good place to buy it? Is it still a safe investment? I earn about 15k a year so wouldn't be getting much of a mortgage... I'm so nervous I won't do the right thing! +Hello, + +First post and wanting to get some advice. + +Should I pay off my entire mortgage? 33 male, £90K mortgage remaining, Saved £115k in cash, projected earnings after taxes is £35k for next year. My lifestyle is fairly simple so no big expenses. + +Most of my career I have been in full-time employment, in the last 12 months I have been self-employed. I see myself going back to full-time when the right opportunity comes along. + +My fixed term mortgage is coming to an end in the start of May 2019. + +Because of my self-employed situation, I think lenders will be wary if I re-mortgage with a new provider, so my current one is offering 3% fixed term for 2 years. + +What is a good approach in this situation? + +- Should I pay off my mortgage entirely right now? +- Or should I pay off maybe 50% of it and build up the savings again and pay off the rest in 2 years time? +I need help. Sorry if this post goes back and forth. My brain is raddled and I'm new to this. + +I am 22 years old female, turning 23 in a couple of months. I was 17 when I found out my sister stole my credit. I was in a hard position. For one, I didn't realize how important credit was being that I was 17. For two, I was still in High School and had no idea what to do. So with that being said, my mom just kind of brushed it under the table. As if it was no big deal at all. + +Couple years pass and I try to finance my first car. All I was approved for was a 2002. Not the best car, but it got me from point A to point B. I was also paying 24.9% interest... So after I paid off the car I was paying double for it after my interest rate. + +I finally realized how important credit was and that I needed to see what the damage was. I paid for Equifax and one other one? Not sure which one. I had an Entergy bill in my name, opened in 2008. I have a Cox Communication bill in my name, opened in 2008. 3 Capitol One credit cards. 2 or 3 Chase credit cards. And I think that may be it? In 2008 I was 12 years old... Obviously none of the things negatively affecting my credit were from me. Also, my credit score is at a 390... With a paid off car, because of my own doing. + +I then briefly spoke to someone who I thought could give me some advise. It was either put my sister in jail, who has adopted a daughter and now married, I let it go and have all of these things on my credit, or file for Bankruptcy. I was told ABSOLUTELY DO NOT FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY. I was really confused. My sister is 10 years older than me and the only sibling I have. She pretty much paid for everything as I was growing up, or maybe I did? I looked up to her. I love her. I mean...she's my sister. + + + +Fast fwd a cpl more years I decided after she fucked me over yet again in some sort of way I was going to pursue it and if they investigated enough and found out it was her, shed be going to jail. I was okay with that. I took action and called Chase first, they agreed that it clearly couldn't have been me that opened the credit cards due to public records indicating I was born in 1994. They were going to start the fraud process. They also asked if I would like to get the statements from the credit cards. I said absolutely, I would LOVE to she what she actually used MY money on. So I get excited, call Capitol One, thinking wow this is easier than I expected. Capital One didn't want to hear it. I was told, "sorry but what you're telling me isn't enough proof that it wasnt you. We have a lot of people open credit cards, run them up and not want to pay them." I tell them the same thing Chase told me, you can look up public records. Look at my real date of birth, not the one she used. Still I got nothing. Couple weeks pass and I got the statements from Chase. She opened up credit cards just to go shopping. $200 at Champs. $120 getting her hair done. $50 to go buy another pair of shoes. $75 on gas. And it just goes on and on. I mean it would kind of be a diff story if she actually NEEDED the credit cards to help her survive, no. I have pages and pages of what seems to be a mini shopping spree for her. After this, Im completely done. + +I recently then look again and there is a credit card opened in 2014 from Capitol One. I have never in my life applied for a credit card, with that being said, it was her AGAIN. And all my Chase cards are still on my report. + +Just to add the cherry on top, my sister has obviously screwed her credit, my moms, my dads and now mine. Recently went on vacation with me and my boyfriends family, got mad and left. On her way out she stole my boyfriends money out of our end table. Has also used others people children on her taxes obviously without their permission. Steals from every place she steps foot in, LITERALLY. She's an ex stripper who got addicted to the money quick and started sleeping around for more money.. Which whatever, I looked down on her for it, but like I said, she was still my one and only sibling. And no, she actually doesn't do any drugs. AT ALL. + +What I need is some serious advice. WHAT DO I DO TO GET THIS OFF OF MY CREDIT? Do I get a lawyer, which I really cant afford, I live paycheck to paycheck. Make a police report? File bankruptcy? Someone please send me in the right direction. I'm 22 years old and cant do anything until this is gone. Not only is it hard enough to build credit but I'm starting from lower than the bottom. + +Thank you guys. And sorry it was so long and all over the place. +I sold out of this position couple of weeks ago after making about 26% profit. I'm having FOMO now. + +Do think this is still a good buy? Trudeau announced a bunch of funding to Take Health which might be the cause of this surge. I'm also been seeing adds on YouTube. +[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/inside-the-market/article-when-algonquin-power-issues-new-shares-investors-should-buy/](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/inside-the-market/article-when-algonquin-power-issues-new-shares-investors-should-buy/) (Premium Article so copy pasting here) + +Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. announced a $900-million offering of new shares this week, adding another reason to invest in this Canadian renewable energy heavyweight: Rallies tend to follow Algonquin’s share offerings. + +That’s not an easy statement to make given the uncertainties in today’s stock market. + +Algonquin’s share price, though off its lockdown-low of $13.93 on March 23, continues to struggle. The price is down 24 per cent from its record high in early March and has stumbled about 15 per cent over the past month, including a 2.6-per-cent decline on Thursday. + +Algonquin – which operates in Canada and the United States as an electricity, natural gas and water utility and owns wind, solar and hydroelectric generating facilities – is not alone here. + +Many non-technology stocks have retreated as the number of COVID-19 infections in the United States has soared in recent weeks, dashing hopes for a quick economic recovery. + +Canadian bank stocks have fallen nearly 9 per cent over the past month. Even the Canadian utilities sector, which is relatively immune to economic downturns, is down about 16 per cent since February and has been meandering sideways over the past four months. + +Nonetheless, Algonquin’s announcement on Wednesday that it is issuing new shares – more than 32.2 million at $17.10 per share in a bought-deal offering and nearly 20.5 million, also at $17.10 each, in a separate offering to an unnamed institutional investor – looks like an upbeat signal for investors. + +The reason: While some companies issue shares to buttress their balance sheets during tough times, Algonquin tends to issue new shares to fuel growth opportunities. The latest issue is no exception. + +“This offering satisfies the common equity requirements for the current 2020 capital expenditure program and also puts the company in a position of strength as it looks to soon begin executing on the 2021 portion of its capital program,” Algonquin president Arun Banskota said in a statement. + +In December, Algonquin said it would invest US$9.2-billion over the next five years, including US$2.5-billion in renewable energy, with a development pipeline of more than 1.4 megawatts. + +This sort of promise of growth tended to drive the company’s share price higher after other recent share issues. + +Consider the company’s track record, which we outlined [here](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-algonquin-powers-new-share-offering-raises-a-couple-of-issues-for-its/) in October after Algonquin issued 23 million shares at US$13.50 each (the shares trade in Toronto and New York). After the deal, the shares rallied 24 per cent over the next four months. + +The company issued 37.5 million shares at $11.85 in April, 2018. Six months later, the shares had delivered a total return of 10.3 per cent, including dividends. + +Algonquin issued 43.5 million shares in November, 2017, at $13.25 a share. Though the shares slipped about 3 per cent after six months, they outperformed the utilities sector by nearly five percentage points. And within a year, the total return was 7.3 per cent, beating the S&P/TSX Composite Index by more than nine percentage points. + +Algonquin issued 14.34 million shares in December, 2015, at $10.45 apiece. Six months later, the shares had returned 15.4 per cent, outperforming the TSX and utilities. + +The latest offering, then, marks the fifth since 2015. Over this time, the share price has risen 68 per cent. And this 4½-year return doesn’t include the stock’s attractive dividend, which is currently yielding 4.8 per cent. + +Algonquin’s stock is down, but the latest share issuance underscores that the company’s growth prospects are very much alive. +Total newb question... + +If I sell a stock at a loss inside my TFSA but don't take the money out and reinvest it into something else, that wouldn't affect my contribution, right? Only if I took out the money from the TFSA? + +I guess the question is when the contribution is calculated, every time $$ go in and out. Do I have this correct? +Is it worth doing USD purchases for small amounts like $250-500 through IBKR. I know Wealthsimple charges 1.5% buying and selling. I sent $325 CAD to IBKR. They charged me $2.67 to exchange then what amounted to be about 1% for buying a few American ETF'S. Typically I do about $300 month into my RRSP for USD. Is it worth doing going with 2 brokers as I already have the bulk of investments in TFSA through Wealthsimple. This RRSP money would not be taken out for 20 years + + +**Cielo Waste Solutions by an American with a thing for Canadian stocks.** + + CSE:**CMC** US OTC: **CWSFF** Frankfurt:**C36** + +*My standard disclaimer -Before you read any further, I want you to understand what I look for in an investment; I invest in companies that are undervalued, possess world changing technology and have a large potential catalyst upcoming. For it to make sense to me, the company must provide me with a large near-term upside and continued long-term growth. Basically, I am looking for penny stocks that should not be. Cielo fits my requirements, I am not a financial advisor, I am a mom and a professional firefighter, do your own DD. I believe that* *if you find the technology, the money will follow and that high quality research build conviction*\*. I write DDs on all of my long holds, they can be found on the subreddit named after me. I hold *~~205k~~* *255k shares of Cielo, I have no plans to sell them within the next five years.* + +*– PennyQueen (with assistance from* [u/DukeDiligence](https://www.reddit.com/u/DukeDiligence/)) + +**Overview-** + +**After 16 years of development and testing hundreds of catalysts, Cielo has finally proven and scaled their concept and is entering the recognition and profit phase.** The past six weeks have given shareholders a dramatic return, but this is just phase 1: With one plant currently operational, 9 more in the works and 40 planned in the next 5 years, Cielo’s share price ($.86 as of 03.17.21) should hit **$4** by the end of 2021. + +After completion of their 9 facilities either wholly owned or under contract they should have annual profits ranging $80-$117million (pre/post payoff 3.5 years) which should generate a **$6.50-$7.00** stock price and once they hit their five year goal of 40 plants, profits should amount to $678M US annually, with a **$43 share price and a 13.5B market cap**. + +Retail buyers are now becoming aware of the company and after they up list to the TSX Venture, many institutional holders will be adding Cielo. After executing an exclusive licensing agreement for the technology behind their process, Cielo was finally awarded a US patent in July of 2020 which helped propel the project forward. + +Over the past few weeks Cielo has had some major milestones- + +* Successful desulfurization (5ppm, under 15 ppm is required) +* Proven continuous flow of product vs batch processing +* 3 additional joint venture facilities announced at no upfront cost to the company. +* Completed a contract to sell [900,000 liters at $1.67/lt ](http://biodieselmagazine.com/articles/2517407/cielo-announces-purchase-commitment-for-renewable-diesel)(237,755 gl at $5.05 US) +* Announced up listing to the TSX Venture + +**Cielo Waste Solutions creates high-grade renewable fuel from waste. They can produce their product for much less than the going rate for diesel ($1.36-2.77/gallon).** They receive (at little or no cost) plastic, wood and other waste products which they process into high grade diesel, kerosene (jet fuel) and naphtha. There is a considerable global market for both diesel and kerosene with many buyers paying a premium for renewable fuels. It is important to note that Cielo products can be used in any engine without modification unlike biodiesel. + +**They can take essentially anything** other than rock, glass or metal **and turn it into fue**l. Feedstock is the term for anything from our waste stream that they process into fuel, this includes plastics, wood, tires, paper, sawdust, railroad ties, cardboard and organic waste. I am going to focus on the plastic side of this because this is where Cielo really shines by solving a massive global problem and creating a clear competitive advantage. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/svurx1p9itn61.jpg?width=966&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1e64fbd4da875c6ac488dd99dab22d4a79d7e540 + +https://preview.redd.it/ukxaxzo9itn61.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e65d3a9527601b1e98d88d595189ad6b1157c27 + +Aldersyde, Alberta Plant Build-out + +**Plastic Fantastic** \- Cielo can take all seven types of plastic waste. This may not seem like a huge deal to most people, because they are unaware that the US and Canada both lack the infrastructure to successfully recycle the majority of plastics. Plastic types 1 & 2 are the only types that most facilities can actually recycle meaning only about 8% of plastic ends up getting recycled. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/jt3rwl2citn61.jpg?width=768&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=192f948f53444e8f48bbe964b4fabaa9361dc9b3 + +Two years ago China banned the import of contaminated plastics from other countries, changing the recycling dynamic for municipalities who had previously been paid to get rid of their recyclables and now have to pay to get rid of them. [The EPA reported](https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/plastics-material-specific-data#:~:text=While%20overall%20the%20amount%20of,plastic%20containers%20is%20more%20significant.) that in 2018, US landfills received 27 million tons of plastic. This was 18.5 percent of all mixed solid waste landfilled and these numbers are from before China’s ban. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/12tb5fucitn61.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82ecf5647120d521e593362d48d8e1ea7c5ae199 + +It takes about 2 metric tons of feedstock to produce 1000 liters of fuel (in freedom units this is 4400 pounds of trash into 264 gallons of fuel). If they were able to take all the plastic sent to American landfills they could create 13.5 million liters of diesel (3.5 million gallons). + +Since they are not limited in what they can use to create their fuels, they have an essentially endless and free supply of materials to process. In many cases they are paid to take the feedstock that they process. So for 80 million dollar they can create two facilities and match the production of GEVO, a company with over a $9 share price that will only have the engineering done on their facility by the end of this year. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/fsycpxqeitn61.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=fefe3b46d6429c3b95f89ce13b4437674ccfca17 + +**Competition**\- + +So now that we’ve solved one major environmental crisis, let’s compare them to their competitors. I feel that GEVO makes the best comparison. I am by no means telling you that GEVO is not an amazing company with a bright future, I am telling you that this is a huge market that will have several winners. GEVO has a headstart in commercialization but Cielo has the competitive advantage pursuing a cost leadership strategy. + +Gevo estimates a cost of around[ 800 million dollars](https://investors.gevo.com/_resources/presentations/corporate-presentation.pdf?v=0.613) to complete their 45m gallon a year facility. Cielo’s facilities produce about half the gallonage at 1/20 the cost. So for 80 million dollar they can create two facilities and match the production of GEVO. They currently have joint-venture financing agreements for 8 facilities and all of these plants will be built at no cost to Cielo and Cielo will get 30% net revenue until the plant is paid off and then it will make 50% of the net revenue. + +Another advantage Cielo has over Gevo is the cost of materials used, Cielo lists a cost of $.06-$.11/liter for feed stock, but in many cases is paid to take it. Gevo has to buy or grow carbohydrates (like corn) in order to produce their products. Gevo can create a wider array of fuel products, but with a global demand for [16.4 billion gallons](https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/diesel-fuel/use-of-diesel.php) of diesel there is room for everyone in the market. + +**Today’s average diesel price is $3.19 in the US.** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/hlwlbzbgitn61.jpg?width=789&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61cc59c40aa5b749def27c2c8ef05f8e6e82945a + +\*Cielo’s cost to produce range will vary by facility capacity and should be at the lower end with the larger facilities and at the higher end at the smaller pilot facility in Aldersyde, Alberta. + +\*\*Gevo’s costs are dependent on the price of carbohydrates + +**Rapid Expansion through Non-dilutive financing** + +All of these plants will be built at no cost to Cielo and Cielo will get 30% net revenue until the plant is paid off and then it will make 50% of the net revenue. The deals also requires the JV partner to pay an upfront fee of 250k CAD as well as a 7% fee on all capital expenses (equaling about 3.5 million per facility) and 30% markup on the catalyst used in Cielo’s proprietary process. + +In the past week alone Cielo has announce six new plants through the same format joint venture agreement and the CEO Don Allan has now gone on record saying, “While we highly value our JV partnership with RUEI, Cielo can confidently source its own funds to build the facilities in additional territories throughout Canada, the United States and beyond" + +So as great as the JV deals are in allowing Cielo to build quickly, prove the business and create cash flow…… **they can do it on their own now.** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/zuscjdphitn61.jpg?width=712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f193cd7f1fc3687774d0d12142b0cea91a16b19 + +**Catalyst Catalyst** + +Proprietary - Cielo has been granted a patent in Canada and the US for their Thermal Catalytic Depolymerization process. Cielo retains the exclusive right to construct and commercialize the refineries and has the right of first refusal to repurchase the rights in the technology. + +I spoke to Lionel Robins, Investor Relations for Cielo, who confirmed that there are many potential supplies around the world for their proprietary catalyst and that there should be no supply chain issues. + +**Addressable Market :** Global Diesel market is huge in 2019, the US alone consumed 47.2 billion gallons of diesel. + +**Renewable Diesel Demand** : + +Canada currently requires diesel fuel to be at least 2% renewable (45 in British Columbia). With Canadian diesel usage at 4.6 billions gallons a year, 2% is equal to 175 million gallons. This mandate alone is enough to utilize the full output of 8 plants. [Renewable Fuels Regulations (justice.gc.ca)](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2010-189/page-2.html#h-760603) + +The global renewable diesel capacity is expected to reach 14.63 million tons in 2024, growing at a CAGR of 21.33%, during 2020-2024. While, the global renewable diesel demand is projected to reach 12.88 million tons, increasing at a CAGR of 15.93%, during 2020-2024.[Global Renewable Diesel Market Analysis by Capacity and Demand 2020-2024 - ResearchAndMarkets.com | Business Wire](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201210005896/en/Global-Renewable-Diesel-Market-Analysis-by-Capacity-and-Demand-2020-2024---ResearchAndMarkets.com#:~:text=The%20global%20renewable%20diesel%20capacity,%25%2C%20during%202020%2D2024.) + +The biofuels market size is expected to be worth around US$ 307.01 billion by 2030 from US$ 141.32 billion in 2020, with a CAGR of 8.3% from 2021 to 2030. (01/21/21) + +[Biofuels Market Size Worth Around US$ 307.01 Billion by 2030 (globenewswire.com)](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/01/22/2162581/0/en/Biofuels-Market-Size-Worth-Around-US-307-01-Billion-by-2030.html#:~:text=The%20biofuels%20market%20size%20is,8.3%25%20from%202021%20to%202030.) + +Operational and in-progress plants + +**Profit Estimates** + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/zpghzsomitn61.jpg?width=853&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d5307dfd90fb64f5fe0d77458e76c5ac40c5f567 + +For these production and profit estimates we have selected the highest production costs and lowest profit to give the most **conservative estimate of overall profit**. The production costs include the catalyst, labor and regular expenses. + +Using this model Cielo’s profit on it’s owned facilities works out to $.78/liter + +Their profit on JV facilities works out to $.23/liter and goes up to $.39 CAD in 3-3.5 years after the facility construction is paid back. + +Using this formula the Cielo owned Edmonton and Aldersyde plants will return an annual profit of 23,406,240 CAD (US $18,724,992 and 11,703,120 CAD annual profit (US $9,362,496) respectively. + +The eight joint-venture plants will produce a combined total of 38,000 liters per hour(285m liters/year), earning Cielo $65,567,000 during payoff and $111,179,000 annual after payoff. + +**For a combined total of 100,676,360 ($80,541,088 US) before payoff, and 146,289,000 CAD after payoff ($117,031,200 US)** + +This gives a pre-payoff EPS of .32 and a post payoff EPS of .35 using a PE of 20 we have a share value of $6.40 before and $7 after. With a resulting market cap of $2b-2.2bn + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/64650colitn61.jpg?width=1134&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=973a63095185ee864231370d3362d375575e9dc7 + +**Assumptions in CAD (except where explicitly noted in USD):** + +High Cost per liter = $.75 (**high cost will be used for calcs**) Low cost per liter =$.45 + +Low profit per liter = $.78 (**low profit will be used for calcs**) Liberal profit per liter = $1.18 + +Facilities will operate 341 days per year \* 22 hours per day =7502 operating hours + +At JV facilities Financier will take 70% profit/Cielo 30% until initial investment is paid back (3-3.5 years) then Cielo will receive 50.1% + +Total Estimate under existing and contracted plants (plants take approximately 18 months to build and begin production) + +Outstanding shares per Yahoo Finance 313.9m + +JV required payments to Cielo of approximately 3.5 million per facility were not included + +30% markup on Catalyst paid to Cielo was not included + +**Current End goal X 40 refineries** + +$.78 PPL (see assumptions) x 164,000 liters per hour x 341 DPY x 22 hours = $959,655,840 profit (minus JV payment 111,179,000)= $848,476,840 CAD x .80 (conversion from CAD to USD) = $678,781,472 /share count = EPS: $2.16 x 20 PE = **$43.24 per share** market cap approximately = **$13.5 Billion market cap within ten years** + +Links: + +Catalysts [Cielo Provides Update on the Desulfurization Process and Announces Partial Repayment of Loan Following Warrant Exercise - InvestorIntel](https://investorintel.com/markets/cleantech/cleantech-news/cielo-provides-update-on-the-desulfurization-process-and-announces-partial-repayment-of-loan-following-warrant-exercise/?print=print) + +[Recycling in the U.S. Is Broken. How Do We Fix It? (columbia.edu)](https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2020/03/13/fix-recycling-america/) + +[Canada Petroleum Facts](https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/science-data/data-analysis/energy-data-analysis/energy-facts/petroleum-products-facts/20065#L2) + +[Cielo to List on the TSX Venture Exchange](https://www.cielows.com/cielo-announces-intention-to-list-on-the-tsx-venture-exchange/) + +[Cielo Announces Entry Into United States and JV Expansion](https://www.cielows.com/cielo-announces-entry-into-united-states-and-expands-canadian-territories/) +Hi guys, I am new to trading cryptocurrency and I have some questions... + +1. What is the best platform to trade cryptocurrency (for a Canadian investor)? +2. How do ETF's differ from the crypto stock (i.e. [ETHR.TO](https://ETHR.TO) vs Ethereum stock)? +3. Is there any other advice regarding Bitcoin, Blockchain, and Ethereum? + +Please let me know if there is anything else I should consider. Thanks in advance. +Reitmans files for bankruptcy: +https://business.financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/brief-reitmans-canada-ltd-reports-intention-to-restructure-operations + +I have a position in Reitmans as a risky investment in the bounce back of retail. I looked at their balance sheets and their total assets > total liabilities. I get they have liquidity issues since most of their assets is inventory and I assume they can't sell those easily or for fair price. I am trying to understand funamentals so my questions are: + +Why would inventories be part of current assets if they can't be sold quickly at the value on the balance sheet when they have liquidity problems? + +Second, what happens to stock after it reemerges from bankruptcy? Does it get wiped out? Why would that happen if the company is not completely dissolved? + +Finally, if a company does completely dissolve, do shareholders get paid back if total assets > total liabilities? Would that mean shareholder equity gets divided equally between shares? +[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/inside-the-market/article-when-algonquin-power-issues-new-shares-investors-should-buy/](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/inside-the-market/article-when-algonquin-power-issues-new-shares-investors-should-buy/) (Premium Article so copy pasting here) + +Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. announced a $900-million offering of new shares this week, adding another reason to invest in this Canadian renewable energy heavyweight: Rallies tend to follow Algonquin’s share offerings. + +That’s not an easy statement to make given the uncertainties in today’s stock market. + +Algonquin’s share price, though off its lockdown-low of $13.93 on March 23, continues to struggle. The price is down 24 per cent from its record high in early March and has stumbled about 15 per cent over the past month, including a 2.6-per-cent decline on Thursday. + +Algonquin – which operates in Canada and the United States as an electricity, natural gas and water utility and owns wind, solar and hydroelectric generating facilities – is not alone here. + +Many non-technology stocks have retreated as the number of COVID-19 infections in the United States has soared in recent weeks, dashing hopes for a quick economic recovery. + +Canadian bank stocks have fallen nearly 9 per cent over the past month. Even the Canadian utilities sector, which is relatively immune to economic downturns, is down about 16 per cent since February and has been meandering sideways over the past four months. + +Nonetheless, Algonquin’s announcement on Wednesday that it is issuing new shares – more than 32.2 million at $17.10 per share in a bought-deal offering and nearly 20.5 million, also at $17.10 each, in a separate offering to an unnamed institutional investor – looks like an upbeat signal for investors. + +The reason: While some companies issue shares to buttress their balance sheets during tough times, Algonquin tends to issue new shares to fuel growth opportunities. The latest issue is no exception. + +“This offering satisfies the common equity requirements for the current 2020 capital expenditure program and also puts the company in a position of strength as it looks to soon begin executing on the 2021 portion of its capital program,” Algonquin president Arun Banskota said in a statement. + +In December, Algonquin said it would invest US$9.2-billion over the next five years, including US$2.5-billion in renewable energy, with a development pipeline of more than 1.4 megawatts. + +This sort of promise of growth tended to drive the company’s share price higher after other recent share issues. + +Consider the company’s track record, which we outlined [here](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-algonquin-powers-new-share-offering-raises-a-couple-of-issues-for-its/) in October after Algonquin issued 23 million shares at US$13.50 each (the shares trade in Toronto and New York). After the deal, the shares rallied 24 per cent over the next four months. + +The company issued 37.5 million shares at $11.85 in April, 2018. Six months later, the shares had delivered a total return of 10.3 per cent, including dividends. + +Algonquin issued 43.5 million shares in November, 2017, at $13.25 a share. Though the shares slipped about 3 per cent after six months, they outperformed the utilities sector by nearly five percentage points. And within a year, the total return was 7.3 per cent, beating the S&P/TSX Composite Index by more than nine percentage points. + +Algonquin issued 14.34 million shares in December, 2015, at $10.45 apiece. Six months later, the shares had returned 15.4 per cent, outperforming the TSX and utilities. + +The latest offering, then, marks the fifth since 2015. Over this time, the share price has risen 68 per cent. And this 4½-year return doesn’t include the stock’s attractive dividend, which is currently yielding 4.8 per cent. + +Algonquin’s stock is down, but the latest share issuance underscores that the company’s growth prospects are very much alive. +As far as I can see, there are two types of people here: + + *1. People who say that HODLING is the key to success* + + *2. Others who say you are wrong if you do not take a profit from time to time, DCA in and DCA out* + +**The thing is, both are relatively right**. + +&#x200B; + +I was watching [top 15 coins](https://coinmarketcap.com/historical/20150906/) in 2015 and if you invested in them and held all of them, with most of them you would be in profit. Some profits would be small, some profit like BTC would be very significant. + +But that's the top 15 coins. + +And even in top15 you will find dead coins like "Banx" that went from *$1.57 to $0.0003death*. So in case you were there in 2015 and held all this time you would be rich, but most of us didn't invest back then and most of us would probably sell a lot of it by now. + +**So with this mentality, they would say the key is in HODLING.** + +**Simply choose quality projects, invest money in them and wait a few years for wealth.** + +&#x200B; + +So lets take a look at[2017.](https://coinmarketcap.com/historical/20171217/) + +If you invested in top15 coins in 2017 and compare some of those coins to today’s price you would be at loss. And those are good projects. + +Coins like: + +**BCH that was $1,862.88 and now is $375.23** + +**LTC that was $318.72 and now is $126.40** + +**IOTA that was $3.93 and now is $0.8997** + +**DASH that was $1,105.92 and now is $130.23** + +Huge loss. + +So with this example we can see that not taking profits is a **mistake?** + + +In essence, it could be said that it all depends on the time you invested, but just HODLING without taking profits can be fatal. + +Of course, with blue chips like BTC and ETH there are no mistakes and people who were patient now don't have to worry about money for the rest of their lives. + +This being said, I am holding some coins for a long term. I am not against holding, I am just saying that holding mentality is not everything and that taking profits is a right thing to do. +When I read posts in this sub it seems like people here make far more than average. It makes me wonder if this is practical for the rest of us. + +Do we have any average earners having success? My wife and I combined make around $85k/year. +[Vanguard Warns of Worsening Odds for the Economy and Markets](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/business/vanguard-recession-economy.html) + +I just came across this New York Times article and, to the best of my knowledge, it hasn't been discussed here before. + +Vanguard predicts [edit: increased risk of] recession by late 2020 and shrewd investors should be pulling out of stocks and into bonds sooner rather than later to better weather the impending correction. The article suggests a 50% bond portfolio would have returned to its original value about three times faster than an all-stock one in the last recession. With predictions like this in mind, have any of you started going heavier into bonds to preserve capital in the likely-ish (Vanguard says 30-40% chance) event of a crash? Is your investment horizon long enough that this next correction will just be a yard sale for stock? + +I'm a little torn myself. I'm at less than 5% bonds at an age when Vanguard suggests 15%. I'd been hoping to ride the bull market up to $1MM net worth before going more heavily into bonds, but I may not have time to get there before a correction happens. I might sleep better with a more conservative portfolio. +I’m not sure if this is the right subreddit or not but here goes... + + +We have recently had our first baby and my wife has obviously now gone onto maternity leave. She works for the NHS and today was her first pay since being on leave. The problem is that the amount she got paid is a fair bit less than we expected. + +She had opted to take 9 months leave and to take the payments averaged out and spread out evenly. + +These are the calculations we had worked out: + +Weekly pay: £392.15 + +She is then supposed to get: + +8 weeks full pay: £3137.20 + +18 weeks half pay + 18 weeks SMP: £6142.59 + +13 weeks SMP: 1887.34 + +Total: 11,167.13 + +Divided by 9 months: £1240.79 p/m + +This is obviously pre tax/NI etc, however all she got paid today was £755.33 which seems an awful lot lower! + +We are obviously going to try and make some phone calls later and try and get a copy of her payslip, but I just wondered if anybody could see any glaring mistakes we’d made? + +Thank you! + + +Hello all, + +Unfortunately this morning my mother was handed a 3 month eviction notice from her landlords, it seems they're divorcing and one wants to move back into the property. Devestating news as my mum has put 8 years of work into the most amazing garden. The area she lives is a small village in the scottish borders, and there are no rental properties for 40 miles of the appropriate size. She still has 3 highschool aged kids at home, 2 of which are starting in sept and they'd be devestated to move to a new area. + +With no rental properties available i'm considering buying somewhere to rent out to her. But i don't know what kind of things need to be considered for this or if i'd be approved as a first time buyer. + +Some details: + +* Live and work in london currently +* Aged 29 +* Single, no kids or dependants +* Dont intend to buy here (and bloody couldnt anyway!) +* Pay 75.6k and steadily rising working in tech, +* Scottish plan 4 student loan of i think just under 20k to go. +* Approx house values we're looking at under 200k (one caught our eye at 165k) (many go for 10% over asking from recent friend buyers in the area) +* 10% deposit saved, could possibly leverage my dad for extra. +* saving about 1500 per month (unfortunate this couldn't wait a year or two!) + +My mother currently pays 660 in rent and could afford to continue doing that if i bought and rented to her. + +Could i easily overpay without penalty? is it even worth doing that? + +What are the special considerations for renting to a family member? + +The house would obviously be owned entirely by myself, and i can comfortably pay the entire napkin maths mortgage rate even with an interest raise and no income from my mother. + +I'm aware from reading this sub a lot about the risks involved with dealing with family. Mother is self employed running AirB&B properties as a single parent and has remained on the low end of the earnging scale but financially frugal and savvy as one can be on a low wage with 3 kids. Never shown any distrust and has spent every penny on us kids. Shes not missed a rent payment in 30 years so i'm not remotely worried about trust or falling out, and ultimately, i can afford it alone anyway if another pandemic came along and she couldn't work. + +This plan was in my mind for a while now and working towards it in a few years, the 3 month eviction brings that forward at not an ideal time, but also not entirely awful. It would give my mother the home security and my siblings they really deserve. + +Are there major considerations between a 25 or 30 year mortgage other than affordability of monthly payments? either is fine ultimately, but id rather take a longer, and over pay, than a shorter probably. + +I know this is a bit all over the place, its very sudden an unexpected news, any insights or advice before i start reaching out to mortgage advisors would be great, so i can enter that engagement armed with some sensible questions. + +Thanks + +Jack +LAST AND FINAL UPDATE: $700, $750 and $800. Thanks for your help! + +What is a fair way to split up rent? It’s $2250 ($750 each) if we split evenly but + +Bedroom 1: 11x12 with a one closet + +Bedroom 2: 14x14 with two closets + +Bedroom 3: 14x14 with two closets and own bathroom + +I have bedroom 1. My friend suggested $735, $750 and $765. I didn’t think that made sense and I wanted to negotiate for cheaper rent...but I wanted to see others thoughts on this + +EDIT 1: Some extra information that may or may not be relevant: me (bedroom 1) and the person in bedroom 2 are students graduate programs, the person in bedroom 3 has a full time job. Because of this, I am looking to take the cheapest room (so the bidding system likely won’t work). All of our names are on the lease that we will sign for 1 year with the option to renew in June 2020. + +Edit 2: there is no garage/parking pad. This house is located in the city so all street parking. I currently live in a different place with one of the girls now and it’s awesome, but we wanted to move to a different location in the city! + +Edit 3: We decided on $720, $755, $775. I asked if we could revisit the rent prices prior to signing the lease given the differences among the rooms. They initially came back with $730, $750, $770. I showed a breakdown using splitwise, which showed the rooms around $670, $760 and $820. Then they came back with $720, $755 and $775. I was hoping for something like $700-$710, but I do not think it is worth the stress/hostility this early on. Thank you everyone for your help! +i've been buying Bitcoin every month since it was 200 + +i;ve always been a saver and not a spender, the banks barely give me any interest on my savings, it's complete bullshit + +i really hate the banks, they always reward the spenders who are in debt + +it's unbelievable how much money i have made in the last several years + +it makes no sense to take out my bitcoin and put it in a bank, where i get no interest + +i am richer and richer everyday + +even with all this money, i still don't have anything to buy, + +i have everything in my life that i need, + + +even if i hit 1 million in the next several years, i am unsure what to do with all this money + +this is how the monetary system should be like, +with a monetary system like this, there would be no need for pensions +we can take care of ourselves, + + +thank you Bitcoin & thank you to everyone supporting bitcoin +Hi UKPF, + +I was approached about a job by an agency who offered me a similar job to one I am currently in but for significantly more money (I will put the details below). Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of what current issues I am likely to face and what has been their experiences? + +&#x200B; + +Current Salary (Gross): £32,500\~ + +Current Contract: Permanent + +&#x200B; + +Contractor Salary (Gross): £266/day / £69,160/PA (Quoted by agent) + +Proposed Contract: 6 Months with option to extend (Inside IR35) working through umbrella company + +&#x200B; + +My current thoughts were wow, thats a lot of money turn down and even if it was only 6 months it would almost double my current annual take home? I do currently enjoy my job however I am concerned about the lack of possible opportunities in the future and this seems to have appeared coincidentally at the right time. I was also concerned about possible holidays but in a template payslip it showed I could either take my holidays in advance or have them accrued, I am assuming this is a standard option under the new IR35? + +&#x200B; + +Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!! +Hi folks. Title pretty much says it all. + +I'm thinking of breaking the £25k (which is currently in a dreadful interest rate current account) down into this: + +£5k into an emergency fund (think I'll switch banks for this and grab a bonus) + +£4k (each year) into a Lifetime ISA (unsure if I want to use this for buying a house or retirement atm) + +£1k (each year) into personal trading account (I like messing about with shares and stuff, not trading on margin or anything like that) + +This leaves me with a bit of cash left over which I'm not sure what to do with. I'm thinking of putting more money into some low risk global trackers or contributing more to my pension. + +Any ideas? And does everything above sound reasonable? + +EDIT: Thanks for all the people shouting at me to go to university, haha! No seriously, it's definitely an option still on the table at this point, absolutely not ruled it out at all. Spending a year in full time work is a sensible thing I think, just to trial it, and if it ends up with consistent salary growth then I'm sorted. But yeah, I totally understand. +Shorts still must buy back and return the shares they attempted to short. Nothing has changed. + +“To sell a stock short, you follow four steps: + +1. Borrow the stock you want to bet against. ... +2. You immediately sell the shares you have borrowed. ... +3. You wait for the stock to fall and then buy the shares back at the new, lower price. +4. You return the shares to the brokerage you borrowed them from and pocket the difference.” + +Edit: #4 hasn’t happened yet. + +Lots of stupid shit about some gathering that isn’t going to happen or will be staged by SHFs and MSM.. it’s FUD and a distraction from the main issues. + +Enjoy your weekend, find a way to have fun and relax. + +TLDR; don’t let the shilling get to you. buy hodl buckle up, again. +[Verification](https://imgur.com/a/tSGMfRs) + +Alright I’m going to need someone to explain just exactly what in the fuck is going on because last I checked SPY was still $300. You can imagine my surprise when today we pulled into the Manhattan Cruise Terminal at 3am and I see we had 2 god damn circuit breakers in one week. + +Before the cruise started, Pence announced all tendies were safe and stonks only go up so I sold all my put positions (now worth upwards of $80k). Fuck me. + +Feel free to ask me questions about NCL and the cruise, what it’s like to denounce homosexuality but still get fucked in the ass, or any other interesting topics. + +Fuck. + +EDIT: We just received clearance from NYC officials to de-board. I’ll believe it when I see it. Will keep you retards updated. + +EDIT2: Just disembarked, hazmat tactical units standing by. Thank god I’m off this god-forsaken ship. + +EDIT3: They used facial recognition at customs instead of passports, long AI. +As per title. + +We saw Coinbase acting shoddy by holding up a fellow member’s ALGO in custody, Binance has been sending out worthless marketing emails like crazy these days (personal experience), CDC seem to have higher fees. + +**Do you all have a template on how to choose an exchange?** + +I have not created accounts in FTX, Kraken etc. Are they worth it? + +I’m a beginner and would prefer to keep my exchange exposure to minimum and looking at transferring my Cryptos to a hardware wallet/Exodus. Any recommendations there? +Tongue-in-cheek title aside, I'm an idiot. + +I'm 30 years old, and have been doing alright financially for the past 6 years or so. Since then, I've been on a mission to squander money as spectacularly as possible: + +* Expensive(ish) cars +* Expensive PCP dealer finance +* Poor (read, no) negotiation skills +* No pension contributions +* Crappy tax efficiency (limited company - always wind up in the higher tax bracket) +* Didn't negotiate my house price down +* Kept a car on the driveway doing nothing through Covid (over 12 months at £445 for nothing) +* My personal favourite - missed out on the no stamp duty cutoff for first time buyers back in 2017... By a day + +The saving grace? I'm on Compare The Market more than most folks are on Facebook. So there's that I guess. Oh and I'm actively trying to be a better quality adult. + +So, now that we have a little context as to precisely _how_ stupid of a human being we're talking about here, I wondered if I could pick the brains of those considerably _less_ stupid in an attempt to rectify the above. + +Having finally discussed tax efficiency with my accountant, I'm fairy sure that I can keep myself within the lower tax bracket - legally, safely, and sensibly by making use of some of the benefits of owning a limited company. But here's the thing. + +My accountant seemed dead set against making pension contributions through the business, since he suggested it's simply deferring taxation until later in life, where property would be a better investment (I'm probably only just in a position to put fund a 25% deposit on a very cheap property). + +So I guess some questions would be: + +1. Wtf is my accountant talking about? I'd get Corp tax relief, as well as saving at least 20% in personal taxation, and on top of that the pension should grow somewhere in the region of 5% on average over the course of 25 years + +2. With a 38 year term on my mortgage at 1.4%ish interest, I'd imagine that making the maximum overpayment to reduce term would be more sensible than putting everything into a pension? But then how do I work that out, or what percentage to overpay vs invest? Also if I reduce term, does the monthly cost not also reduce by proxy because there's less interest in said monthly payment? + +3. I can't work out how a LISA works compared to a pension? I thought you could have both? So you may as well stick 4k in it each year, leaving 16k in a regular S&S ISA if I can manage that, or overpayments on the mortgage + +4. It was always my thinking that property is the gold standard for investment because it usually goes up higher than any investment fund (my property has gone up almost 20% in 3 years), plus you get the added bonus of rental income. But then I asked around and it sounds like a fantastic way to get stuffed on tax for the rest of your life, on top of the hassle of renting a property, or the mad estate agency fees for managing it for you. Monopoly lied to me. + +You guys are awesome - I only found this sub a few days ago, and it seems like a genuinely helpful community, and thank you in advance to everyone who's read through all that and wants to offer their advice. I just wish it were 20 year old me asking, but hey ho. +We’ve (regrettably) got electric underfloor heating in our kitchen. Does anyone know the most efficient way to run it to keep the costs down this winter? I was thinking setting it to 16 degrees Celsius and having it on all the time…is there a better way assuming we want to use the kitchen? +Let me explain. + +I ran two hypothetical scenarios and determined that the benefits of the difference in the expected marginal tax rate paid in a Roth vs. Traditional scenario is largely dependent on a) the amount of time one plans on being retired; and b) what one would do with the initial tax savings if they contributed to a Traditional IRA. + +**The setup** + +I created two saving scenarios based on the same assumptions: + +* $1,000 starting balance + +* $5,500 annual contribution with 7% growth over 25 years + +* Roth IRA contributions paid at a 22% marginal rate (a somewhat typical marginal rate for many consumers) + +* Traditional IRA payouts taxed at a 12% marginal rate (a somewhat typical marginal rate for many retirees) + +* Annual retirement withdrawal rate of 4% + +* Retirement period of 25 years + +**Results** + +At the end of 25 years, both accounts ended with an account balance of $769,469.20. Over the course of that time, the Roth IRA holder paid $30,470 in taxes up front. Over the next 25 years, the Traditional IRA holder both received a net annual payout of 12% less than the Roth holder and paid a total of $68,173.30 in taxes, more than double the amount paid by the Roth IRA holder. All things considered, the Roth IRA holder will net $37,703.30 more money than the Traditional IRA holder. + +The point in which the amount of taxes paid between the two retirement accounts was approximately equal fell during the 13th year of retirement. Despite the overall financial parity between the two at this point, the Roth holder still netted 12% more in payouts in retirement because they had paid the tax up front. + +**Opportunity Cost** + +Of course, the above scenario is based on the assumption that the initial tax savings in the Traditional IRA were absorbed into that individual's annual expenses. However, if this person were instead able to invest the money they "saved" through the deferred taxes, the results change significantly. Assuming the Traditional IRA holder invested the difference "saved" in a regular taxable account and kept to the 4% withdrawal rate in retirement while paying a 15% capital gains tax on withdrawals, suddenly the Traditional IRA holder's overall nest egg jumps considerably and they will receive a significantly larger combined payout between the Traditional IRA account and the normal taxable account. Over the course of 25 years of retirement, the Taxable investment account will net an additional $106,343.61 in payouts. + +In other words, this savings scenario will net $68,640.31 more than the maxed Roth IRA scenario, or a 7% higher annual net payout. + +While my assumptions and assessment of taxes paid on a non-tax advantaged investment account are a little overly simplified, I believe the underlying principle still holds true: + +**Conclusion** + +All else equal, in most cases it is more financially advantageous to contribute to a Traditional IRA over a Roth IRA as long as the difference "saved" in deferred taxes is still invested, even if that investment is in a normal taxable account. + +In other words, at a (for example) 25% marginal tax rate, contributing $5,500 per year to a Roth IRA or contributing $5,500 to a Traditional IRA *and* $1,375 to a taxable investment account will result in the exact same end-of-year numbers on your balance sheet. However, saving under the latter scenario will net signficantly more in retirement and thus is the preferred method of saving. + +**Edit:** So it looks like potential retirement scenarios can be much more complicated than I thought. Thanks everyone for bearing with me and putting in your two cents! You've given me a lot to chew on. +I can’t believe there’s even a debate here. Between this and the covid controversially, I guess a big enough group of people can be so idiotic that they can just take a dumb argument and mold it to their truth. + +The Volkswagen squeeze happened when Porsche revealed they owned the majority of VW, yet the float was still trading every day. That’s the point of this. Proving the naked shorting issue to the world because take a step outside this sub and see that it isn’t believed. + +The new hot fud put out by dr ball gargler is that DRS is killing this sub… Jesus Christ people. Look at the facts, it’s very obvious whether you’re better off ‘owning’ a share through an intermediary or instead just actually owning it. +Here are the key numbers: + +• Earnings per share (EPS): $1.59 vs. $1.81 expected, according to Refinitiv survey of analysts + +• Revenue: $6.15 billion vs. $6.08 billion, according to Refinitiv + +• Global paid net subscriber additions: 10.09 million vs. 8.26 million expected, according to FactSet + +Netflix’s guidance for subscriber net adds fell far below analyst expectations. The company expects 2.5 million net subscriber additions for Q3, while analysts were expecting 5.27 million. + +https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/07/16/netflix-nflx-q2-2020-earnings.html +PETITION: Help Apes who don’t have a voted flair ✅ 🦍!! Every vote matters and taking 5 minutes out of your day to help an ape vote is priceless! Ape Together Strong + +(IF YOU HAVE VOTED AND DON’ T HAVE THE FLAIR RESPOND TO THIS POST WITH !apevote! ) + +IF YOU NEED HELP VOTING PM ME! + +Seriously, if you see apes without a user flair ask them if they have voted. Every vote matters and no ape shall be left behind on this journey to the moon! Edit 1: classic auto mod not enough characters, Please seriously help other apes vote, it costs you nothing but a few minutes and it will make a difference I promise! Apes together are strong!!!!!!!! (Hopefully that’s enough, see you idiots on the moon ❤️!) + +Edit: POWER TO THE PLAYERS MY FELLOW APES +Hi all - report as my title was low effort and deleted apparently! + +New account as some people know my username. + +I'm 31 and currently have no accessible savings and in 2022 I want to change that. I've recently been promoted and with that came a nice pay rise and I feel now I'm in a position to actually save some money, invest and stop living paycheck to paycheck BUT, I have no idea where to start. ISA? Stock and shares? Savings account? No clue so looking for some advice on where to put money and advice on how much if possible. + +Goal is £2000 at the end of year. Small but its a start, I've historically not been good with money and when I have tried to save something has always happened. Saved £400? Car broken down and will cost 400 to fix etc so I'm being conservative but ideally like to save more. + +Currently earn £47500 a year I pay max pension contributions already and have about 35k built up in that, just nothing outside of my pension. Not saving for anything in particular just want to have a rainy day fund and long-term savings so we can live s bit more comfortably. + +Big outgoings +Rent £725 +Childcare £613 +Food £450 +Loan £200 (4 years to go) +Council tax £149 +Utilities £250 + +Can go into further detail if needed just really looking for some advice. Thank you for the help! +For the most part I read the Wall Street Journal for real in depth views on the market, ill supplement that reading with CNBC and Seeking Alpha for more immediate market news and to get the market's perspective on a particular stock. +Hi all. I'm currently working as a software engineer in Sydney and have been with my current company for just over a year - currently on $73k after my first annual raise (started on $70k). Prior to this I had a couple of year's experience in software roles while studying. + +I was recently reached out to by a recruiter for a role that was advertised at $110 - $120k + a 5.5% annual bonus. I interviewed and have received an offer for $80k + 5.5% bonus (so around a 10% increase on current base pay). Feedback was that I have plenty of transferable skills for the role and would be a good team fit. + +While I was expecting to be offered less than the advertised salary, I wasn't expecting it to be 30% less than the lowest advertised rate. + +The advantages I see are: +- new role would not require night work that I occasionally do in current role (this is a big plus for me) +- commute on office days is shorter +- more potential for upward progression +- not a fan of one of the managers I work with (others are great) +- current employer is known not to give large pay increases + +Disadvantages: +- no seniority gain i.e. side stepping +- potentially less interesting work +- current company is pretty flexible with work hours, WFH, leave +- leaving a good team of co-workers +- leaving after only 1 year + +Given this, would it still be worth pursuing the new role? Would a counter offer be justified given the low-ball offer, and if so, what is a reasonable counter offer to make? +So I have 20-30 years left in my working life, healthy super balance for my age. With the state of the market at the moment, has anyone considered or already switched to a "higher growth", more aggressive super investment option/s? + +I'm with Host Plus and their Indexed Balanced option, which is 40% international shares in developed markets, 35% Australian shares and the rest in fixed interest and cash. Looking at Australian Shares - Indexed and International Shares (Hedged) - Indexed. These are 100% shares with no defensive assets and similar low fees to what I'm paying now. + +Keen to hear what people may have done, particularly in terms of splits between Australian & international shares. +Last time the GFC happened we were able to stave off a recession by lowering interest rates and discretionary govt spending given we had a budget surplus. + +What would we do now? Interest rates are at an all time low. The budget is barely balanced. I just don’t understand how Australia wouldn’t be hit hard. + +Hi all, + +My partner are looking at getting our first mortgage and are tossing up how we want to structure our loan. We're looking at getting a 25 year loan and are hoping to pay out as much as we can to get our property journey going. + +My biggest question is whether we should get and offset account or make extra repayments? It seems that our options are either a mortgage without penalties for paying extra or an offset account - it doesn't seem like we could get both. + +Still quite new to this all and would love any input from people with experience. + +Thanks! +27 years old, earn $120k, roughly $90k after tax a year, $50k in savings (lower than usual, as I went travelling overseas for 5 months last year) , $25k in shares, above average super. +Never had a loan previously. +I currently live in a country area and have wanted a decent 4WD for a long time now as my current car is on its last legs. +Have found the perfect car I want, seller is asking for 70k but most I would pay is 65k. +I have been pre approved for a 50k loan at 8.35% over 5 years, $150 early pay out fee, which I would plan to do. + +My only other savings goal would be a house deposit within the next few years. + +I know car loans are dumb, but I would really love this car. +I would just like to hear some people’s opinions who aren’t my super money conservative parents or my terrible with money friend’s. + +Any advice or opinions would be appreciated. +[Parents are bankrupting themselves to look adequate](http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-04-20/parents-are-bankrupting-themselves-to-look-adequate) + +We are opting out of the rat race! +We know there has been an uptick in WSB popularity recently. Some have expressed frustration with your questions. But - were all new here at some point. That said, here are a few tips: + +&#x200B; + +(1) Do not attempt to trade in options until you have at lease some understanding. There are ample resources including basic introductions on investopedia and other sites. There are videos and even other subreddits better suited to learning about options before you come here. + +&#x200B; + +(2) Options are not like stocks. Case in point - you buy a "call" option before earnings report with a "near the money" strike (for example, stock trading at 100, and you buy a 105 strike call) at a short term expiration. People who hold the stock are thrilled when an earnings/revenue beat is reported. You are looking forward to checking your increase in the morning. When you log in, you are surprised that your option has DECREASED in value. This is something that has happened to most--if not all--of us at some point. It is due to the so-called IV crush. You need to know these types of things ***before*** you get involved. Study the different factors that influence option pricing/value (the so-called greeks), etc. + +&#x200B; + +(3) Realize that people who post big gains likely also have big losses along the way. Options are not for long-term investing strategies (aside from things like LEAPS, but that is a whole other topic). + +&#x200B; + +(4) Be responsible. Never spend more money on an option than you are willing to loose. When you deal with this stuff, money just becomes numbers on a screen. As you are starting, look at an option price and imagine having that much cash sitting on the table in front of you. There is a chance you can double the money, but are you going to be ok if someone comes in the room and sets the pile you have invested on fire? Obviously this is dramatic, but realize that option trading is at times out of your control. Think about people yesterday seeing dramatic upswing in the S&P and buying SPY call options for Friday. Overnight, shit hit the fan. The problem is that until market opens, you cannot do anything with those calls. You can't offload them if it looks like the market will continue to go down until the market opens. So you just start imaging money being lost and it is out of your control. IF you are okay with this, welcome to WSB. If not - go to investing subreddits. + +&#x200B; + +TL;DR - newbies - learn stuff before you trade options, be careful, don't ask basic questions (picture a commercial pilot dealing with an emergency and you go into the cockpit and start asking him "where is the best place to learn about paint color choices for commercial airliners?") + + +SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tesla (NASDAQ:[TSLA](https://www.investing.com/equities/tesla-motors)) chief executive Elon Musk said the electric carmaker needs to "make a roughly 10% reduction in staff," according to an email sent to executives on Thursday and seen by Reuters. + +In the email titled "pause all hiring worldwide," he said: "I have a super bad feeling about the economy." + +Tesla was not immediately available for comments. + +&#x200B; + +[https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/exclusivemusk-says-tesla-needs-to-cut-staff-by-10-pauses-all-hiring-2833144](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/exclusivemusk-says-tesla-needs-to-cut-staff-by-10-pauses-all-hiring-2833144) +Just thought you might like to know that the relief/stimulus/spending Bill that will most likely to be signed in the next day or so does include language that will allow unused use or lose it FSA (including dependent care) balances to roll over an extra twelve months. I know many people are in the same boat as I am with hundreds/thousands locked away in an FSA account with nothing to spend it on due to camps/daycares being closed or not needed because of working from home. This is welcome, if not unexpected, news. + +https://taxfoundation.org/coronavirus-relief-bill-stimulus-check/ +Really weird one, here. + +So it turns out that a cryptocurrency had awarded me some coins even though I never had a wallet with them. They were explicitly held against a public GPG key I have (as an incentive for me to use their crypto, I guess), waiting for me to demonstrate my ownership of the associated private key to release them, since early 2019. No communication was ever made that these coins were reserved for me. + +I only learned that such a thing existed today from a random conversation, and redeemed them today by proving ownership of the associated private key. They've reached my crypto wallet and I can send them across to an exchange today to sell as well. + +Between the point of issue and the current day, the value of the coin has increased ~100x. + +From the perspective of HMRC taxation purposes, did I: + +* Receive the coins in 2019, because that's when they were assigned to my identity, even though there was no notification or reasonable way to assume I knew they were mine, and as such the cost basis is a really low amount and almost all of this is subject to CGT, or +* Receive the coins today, when I was aware of their presence and actually had full control over them in a wallet owned by myself, such that I've received a large amount of 'other' income but almost no capital gain? + +I'm assuming the second for simplicity's sake? The first would imply everybody had to know at all times what money was held on their behalf to an extreme degree, whereas the latter is 'it's yours once you know it's yours' but that's also hard to prove? +Seriously, that sub looks dead now. No discussion threads, no gifs or other memes, almost no DD, and absolutely no discussing the forbidden stock. + +Mods completely cracked down and banned anyone with a voice leaving only the silent holders. Makes me think we still must be on the right track given how scared everyone is and the pressure the moderators must be under. The only people left are the 🧻🖐 who quit early and those crying it’s all over and done with + +If the war was over, the propaganda wouldn’t be necessary + +This rocket is still heading for the moon + +🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 +I constantly struggle with this. Say for instance, for my first trade, i'm down $300. Then on my next trade, say i'm up $150, instead of doing the right thing and taking profit and being like "alright now i'm only red $150. i'll take profit now and get into another trade later", i feel the need to hold and be like "MORE!!" and hoping that it'll keep going and i'll make back my losses. + +i'm TYPICALLY pretty conservative when it comes to taking profits as I do believe small profits add up. so in normal situations, i def would've taken profit on that $150. but it's like in that moment of wanting to make back my losses, that mindset goes out the window! + +This happens so often and it often times ends up with even more losses as the new trade that's in profit turns red too. I think for me, it's also because i trade with a paper account so i feel like my buying power is diminishing so i need to make back my losses now or else i won't have enough money left over to trade to make it back +Hello, + +I will start this post with one of the trades I took today: + +[MACD;TTM;VWAP;EMA;ART;Volume Profile](https://preview.redd.it/mri6bak7p4t81.png?width=2456&format=png&auto=webp&s=f6ccf3e85e0587ef149b08a34352cbf67c0c853c) + +The chart you see consists of the following: I use MACD and TTM for Momentum, the green line is the VWAP, the orange line is the EMA200, the thin green line is the ATR Indicator (indicator to determine possible stop losses), and I use the Volume Profile. I do rely **heavily** on price action and trend. + +I mainly trade on the 5/15m time frames, I heavily trade Oil, NASDAQ, DAX, and some other commodities. + +The idea of my strategy is the following: only go for really small profits (0,1-0,2%), with my position sizes one good trade like that a day is enough and set the SL really far (like 1-2%)! + +Like I said, I use price action a lot. I only take trades that are going with the trend. When I look for a long position, both of my momentum indicators on the 15m need to be long and vice versa for short. On the 5m, I look for a MACD crossover that goes into the same direction as the MACD is going on the 15m time frame. + +So the point that I am making this post is, I want to talk about my RRR. Its bad. And I know that, and most people here will hate me for that! But I only want really small profits, like I said (0,1-0,2%), always! Its part of the strat. And as long as the MACD,TTM&Price Action and most important the overall trend (so am I on above or under the EMA?) go in favor of my current trade, I stay in the trade and that's why my SL is always so far down! + +I've bee doing this for like 2 months now and overall I am in the plus. This strategy sometimes does backfire and my SL, which is like at -1 to -2% hits and then days of work are just gone! But like I said, I have been overall profitable for these 2 months now. + + I just encountered that these really volatile names that I am trading like to do harsh moves in the other direction which would stop me out and that's why I keep it this way. As long as the trend is working, my trade will work. That's what I always tell to myself. And why do I only take these small profits? Because they are enough for me and I don't like to be in a trade for too long! + +I cannot put my SL higher because I would get stopped out way too much. I cannot put my TP higher cause I am too scared of trend reveals, I would much rather too a lot of small trades on one trend than one big one. + +So what do you guys think? Am I absolutely stupid with my SL or does this make sense to you? +I constantly struggle with this. Say for instance, for my first trade, i'm down $300. Then on my next trade, say i'm up $150, instead of doing the right thing and taking profit and being like "alright now i'm only red $150. i'll take profit now and get into another trade later", i feel the need to hold and be like "MORE!!" and hoping that it'll keep going and i'll make back my losses. + +i'm TYPICALLY pretty conservative when it comes to taking profits as I do believe small profits add up. so in normal situations, i def would've taken profit on that $150. but it's like in that moment of wanting to make back my losses, that mindset goes out the window! + +This happens so often and it often times ends up with even more losses as the new trade that's in profit turns red too. I think for me, it's also because i trade with a paper account so i feel like my buying power is diminishing so i need to make back my losses now or else i won't have enough money left over to trade to make it back +OK so I took out a payday loan from spotloan in June for $800 to pay some immediate bills until next pay cycle. I have paid them $500 out of the $800. They say that I still owe $1100. So I called them today and they wanted me to give them $265 a month for 11 more months and that's way more than I borrowed. Do you suggest I stop payment or close the account they are getting out by ACH transactions? I know it's best to just pay it off but right now I've had to deal with alot of shit like home repairs. I plan to pay them off by November or December in full. +So today we had a very unplugged talk with one of my teachers at my university he was taking to us about the recent spikes in prices we were talking about inflation and all that he was really pessimistic and i dont blame him like i am 20 i have almost no experience on the field but i don't think it takes a genius to see that shit is going wild like according to my teacher at best we are looking at an increase in unemployment, prices, inflation for at least 3 years the worst case scenario is a recession as big as the great depression for about 10 years keep in mind this is about the USA the biggest economy on the planet i leave in a small country in Europe so I don't want to imagine the worst case scenario for us + +I want to know your opinion on the matter is my teacher dramatic or is shit really this bad +This might come from ignorance/naivete but in my mind, if the current rate of reproduction is unsustainable for whatever reason (oppressive towards women? more people just not wanting kids? not here to discuss the reason anyway just the effects), the population and the fertility rate will just decrease until we reach a new balance. So why is it inherently bad? + +I'm italian and I've heard of our "aging population" being a problem for the last 10 years and I see the same thing in other nations like Japan. + + My academic background is engineering so feel free to school me on any econ/sociology/whatever subject is needed to understand this. +The economy has grown to record levels since the Great Recession, which was 9 years ago now. If I'm not mistaken, we are currently in the second longest economic expansion, something I imagine can't last much longer. + +Economic growth has slowed to its lowest in years, retail stores are closing rapidly. I've personally noticed that the malls in my area are becoming more and more empty with both shoppers and stores. Companies like Sears have stated they have doubts about their own survival. + +I'm of the opinion that retail is going to see a major collapse due to lack of consumer spending and from the competition of online retailers. Many retail workers are burdened with student loans, high rent, and other debts. Debts which are likely to be defaulted on sending a ripple effect through the economy, which seems primed for another recession. +Elon Musk is not an authority on cryptocurrency. If anything Musk probably has *less* cryptocurrency knowledge than the average member of this sub. Prices should not be affected by his Twitter account. Do your research, don't just listen to a guy because he's famous. +YOU’RE ALL FUCKING AMAZING AND BULLISH AND I AM BULLISH TOO I WANT TO TAKE THIS FUCKING THING TO THE FUCKING MOON AND BE FUCKING RICH LET’S FUCKING GO RYAN COHEN YOU SEXY MOTHERFUCKER LET’S TAKE THIS THING TO FUCKING URANUS BITCH + +🚀 🚀 🚀 🌙 🌙 🌙 + +Positions: 42 contracts at 30c 1/23 + +Edit: Not a financial advisor, just a regard like the rest of you. +That’s really it. I can only work part time because I’m a full time student and I didn’t think I would qualify for food stamps because I have an emergency savings for when times get really rough. They approved me for up to $250/month. I am shocked but truly so excited to be able to go grocery shopping without stressing as much as I used to and my heart pounding when I get to the checkout stand. I’ll obviously still have to plan accordingly but at least there’s a small weight lifted off my shoulder + +TLDR: if you’re a student and you don’t think you can get food stamps, apply anyway because you may be pleasantly surprised + + +I am planning to do the smith maneuver in a non-reg Questrade account with the goal to pay off +some of my mortgage principle and growth + +Here are my options - + +1. Keep it simple with asset based ETFs like XGRO/VGRO - Use quarterly dividends + sale for payments + +2. Asset Based etfs VGRO/XGRO + Dividend ETFs VDY/XDV + +3. Index based ETFs XSP/ZSP + +4. Individual Canadian Dividend stocks + +Would like to hear suggestions, feedback or experiences when setting up your smith account. + +PS: Has anyone tried using wealthsimple investing (not trade) as a passive smith maneuver account? +I called CRA multiple times but nobody was able to give specific answers to my questions. + +I would like create a structure where I can make the best use of borrowed money. + +* Create a CCPC(operating company preferable instead of holding company). Best would be to invest in my wife's physio business and create an investment account to separate this transaction so that there is always income to give dividend +* Start investing in stock market using borrowed money through HELOC +* Invet in US stocks & ETFs +* Generate capital gain and dividend income +* May plan to buy rental or other businesses under this Corporation which gives me steady flow of Dividends +* File T2 with corporations income +* Pay a yearly Dividend for which I'll be getting T5 +* Yearly interest ceritificate vs T5 +* Carry forward interest expenses in case there is no profit or income in that financial year. + +Do you think this is approved by CRA. Any concerns with this structure? + +EDIT: + +&#x200B; + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/yywwxkllcy6a1.png?width=1940&format=png&auto=webp&s=d3b83cca0aa3dd9d403ef45a47447bca09bba342 + +https://preview.redd.it/7dmre58kay6a1.png?width=1940&format=png&auto=webp&s=7977504f85da1a8737802810246af4ba9d568742 +Every general throughout history who emerged victorious from combat likely did so due to a superior battle plan. + +The same is true for investors and is indeed fitting as energy investors have likely felt that they have been waged in a war for years. + +They have battled the energy ignorant and those who believe in a rapid transition away from oil temporarily shaping consensus to think that the oil sector is a twilight industry and that oil stocks should be appropriately discounted with little embedded terminal value. + +They have fought the frustration of watching energy stocks languish despite oil trading near US$70 levels for WTI drooling over the egregious levels of free cash flow that such a price environment produces. + +Like a general in a foreign land stuck in a multi-year campaign who longs for home energy investors have continued to fight and persevere until such a day comes when they emerge triumphant. After seven long years of bitter struggle, after fending off wave after wave (the rise of U.S. shale, OPEC scorched-earth policy, COVID-19) victory is finally in sight. + +So, as an energy fund manager what is my battle plan for what I believe will be a multi-year bull market for oil? + +First, the lay of the battlefield. The outlook for oil and the energy sector is bright yet investor apathy remains. + +The twilight of U.S. shale and its now inability to fully satisfy demand growth combined with the near exhaustion of OPEC spare capacity in 2022 and the plateauing of global offshore production due to years of insufficient investment all suggest a fundamental floor of approximately US$70 WTI with meaningful upside beyond that in the coming years. + +These factors married with the looming end to COVID-19’s negative impact on oil demand and a 10+ year runway for oil demand growth due to the multi-decade long timeline for substitution all conspire to create an epic multi-year bull market for oil. While oil stocks have been strong performers year-to-date they have greatly lagged the recent rally in the oil price making them cheaper today despite 80 per cent+ moves than in the beginning of the year when oil traded at US$50. Indeed, valuations of energy stocks today are the most attractive that I’ve ever seen in my career. + +What are the obstacles yet to overcome? + +Fears of a fourth COVID-19 wave this fall, uncertainty about the world’s ability to absorb incremental OPEC production, and skepticism around U.S. shale’s spending discipline have delayed the return of generalists back to the energy sector and their ensuing buying of stocks and consequent valuation rerating closer to historical averages. + +These uncertainties have resulted in broad skepticism around the sustainability of current prices as the average energy stock I follow is trading at only 2.9 times its enterprise value to its cash flow and a 24 per cent free cashflow yield at US$70 per barrel. Further, at current oil prices the average company could fully privatize and pay off all its debt in just four years with free cashflow. + +As vaccination rates continue to ramp up, as oil demand continues to normalize and reach pre-COVID levels by mid-2022 allowing for the gradual return of OPEC’s curtailed volumes, and as the codification of U.S. shale spending discipline and the ongoing demand of investors for return of capital over production growth inhibit the ability of U.S. shale to meaningfully grow, the obstacles preventing the return of generalists should be neutralized. + +What is my backup plan in case generalists don’t come back and the sector remains abandoned by the masses? + +Behind-the-scenes management meetings and board lobbying by investors has begun to pay off with second quarter messaging from companies evidencing the change in priorities of public energy companies that make the sector more investable. + +Few companies are increasing capital spending while nearly all are embracing enhanced versions of return of capital with a handful of companies already announcing dividend increases and modest share buybacks with second quarter results. + +This is, however, just the start as another few months of debt paydown should heal the balance sheet trauma of 2020 allowing for much more aggressive share buybacks and dividend increases in the coming months, acting in my opinion as a meaningful catalyst. So long as it is a sector-wide movement, meaningful share buybacks (at least 10 per cent of their shares) could result in a rerating of energy stocks in the coming months and this has been my battle plan to crush the endemic generalist apathy plaguing valuations. + +What is my plan to maximize upside capture in the months ahead? + +Major energy market uncertainties should be eliminated in the next several months and this, combined with imminent announcements of meaningful return of capital, sets up investors for a potentially very strong fall. I am focusing on Canadian small and mid cap energy stocks that are trading at record low valuations yet are generating record amounts of free cash flow. + +A modest return of investor interest could result in an outsized rally in their share prices and with such a strong sector backdrop current low valuations will not last especially when oil companies themselves have the ability to win the war if they choose to act decisively and meaningfully enough. + +https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/oil-gas/eric-nuttall-its-war-time-in-the-oilpatch-and-heres-my-battle-plan-for-what-will-be-a-multi-year-bull-market-for-oil +I'm 37 years old,single income (45-50k/year) with a family of 3 (wife and older kid). I've never been able to put money into my pension but I do work in a union(4.5years so far) that does. + + Between rent, bills, essentials etc... I don't have much disposable income which is why I need a fairly flexible plan where I won't get charged if I let it sit for months at a time but I can also throw in $20-200 whenever I can. + +I'd like to try my hand investing a little bit into stocks (mostly to keep but I might try a few penny's for fun) but my main focus is setting myself and wife up for future retirement. + +What I need from you guys!: + +1) Canadian investment app (I'm 99% sure Wealth Simple Trade is what I want with no idle fees and $0 initial investment unless you guys think another program is better suited for me) + +2) I'm still in research mode for the most part but ETF's and RRSP(ETF preferred?) are my best friends right? + +3) Should I stick with Cdn $ for ease or is it worth looking into the American $$ stocks? + +4) General guidance and any suggestions (I'm still sifting through all the help stuff but if there's an especially important one please let me know!) + +5) Anything else I should be aware of or should watch for? + + +Google analytics + +Comparing the popularity of the google searches, using the insights query found [here](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=scotiabank,bmo,td,rbc,cibc), it is clear that TD is most searched for. The focus of this research will be the Canadian markets, but it is important to consider the distribution of searches worldwide. In Mexico, there is a heavy concentration of searches for Scotiabank. In the US, TD dominates searches, as well as in the UK. RBC and TD are both around 45% of searches in India. There is an extreme concentration of searches for Scotiabank in Peru, and it is the only instance where there are more searches than in Canada for all 5 banks. Overall, the relative distribution over 14 years is this: + +Fig.1 + +|Bank |Average Interest over time, google searches (Index)| +|:-|:-| +|TD|79| +|RBC|36| +|Scotiabank |24 | +|CIBC|21| +|BMO |20| + +&#x200B; + +This doesn't tell us much other than that TD is likely present in the US at some scale, as well as Scotiabank in Peru. + +Most data from Finviz, specifically from this query: [finviz.com](https://finviz.com/screener.ashx?v=111&f=cap_largeover,fa_pfcf_u5,geo_canada,ind_banksdiversified&ft=4) + +All five banks have managed to keep their Price/FCF below five, even during the post Covid bubble. This forces a deeper analysis to be carried out. Amazingly, all of their P/E ratios fall between 12 and 15. The figure below corresponds to these values. + +Fig 2. + +&#x200B; + +|Bank |P/E |Price/FCF | +|:-|:-|:-| +|TD |12.66 |0.59 | +|RBC |14.59|1.18 | +|Scotiabank |14.50 |2.31 | +|CIBC |13.65 |1 | +|BMO |13.99 |1.28 | +|Average|13.878|1.272 | + +Now a difference between a P/E or P/FCF of 2 is not grounds for elimination from consideration for almost any cases. However, it should be noted that TD appears to be the most favorable from these preliminary figures. + +The next three values to be analyzed relate to earnings and sales. Here, we start to see some differences between the banks, with TD managing to grow earnings significantly more than the other banks in the past 5 years. + +Fig 3. + +|Bank |P/S |EPS growth last 5y |Sales growth past 5y | +|:-|:-|:-|:-| +|Scotiabank |3.36|\-1.30% |7.9% | +|RBC |5.22 |3.1% |8.9% | +|BMO |4.46 |2.8% |12.1% | +|CIBC |3.43|\-1.5% |8.8% | +|TD |4.58|8.8%|7.5% | +|Average |4.21|2.38% |9.04% | + +&#x200B; + +TD is a clear winner in this section. It would be ideal to bring the P/S down, but because the P/FCF is so high for all of the banks, it is not a worry. TD is the only bank managing to become more efficient as they scale, which potentially shows an effective management team, or increasingly more profitable businesses, or both. It is possible that the earnings increase may be a result of a lack of attention to other obligations or competitive endeavors, which could possibly hurt them in the future. CIBC and Scotiabank have managed to decrease earnings as they have increased sales, possibly hinting at ineffective management, or defective operations. It is also possible that the lower earnings are a result of restructuring, which could be positive in the future. All of these values will have to be analyzed much closer. + +The analyst does suggest that a new measure be conceived to gauge growth sustainability. The value would be determined by dividing EPS growth over a period, x, over Sales growth, over that same period, x. The measure could be called the income growth sustainability measure, and is formatted as follows: + +IGSM = EPS growth in the past x / Sales growth in the past x years + +Where at least one value must be positive for the calculation to be effective. The value produced is unitless The ideal value is 1, and deviations outside the range of 0.5 and1.5 are to be considered unsustainable. This value is only rough estimate, and would have to be refactored t in order to be used commercially because it produces inaccurate values the further you stray from 1 (a value of 2 is clearly unsustainably, as well as a value of-1 with positive earnings). Using the newly constructed equation, the figure below can be constructed. + +Fig 4. + +&#x200B; + +|Bank|IGSM| +|:-|:-| +|TD|1.17| +|RBC|0.34| +|Scotiabank|0.16| +|CIBC|\-0.17 | +|BMO |0.23 | + +Again, TD clearly has the most sustainable growth. An average is not computed here because of the nature of this value, and it will not be used to determine any conclusions. A better evaluation of sustainable growth must be formulated. + +No securities analysis is complete without analyzing the balance sheet. All of the companies have a P/Cash ratio between 0.23-0.25, so those values do not need to be discussed on a relative basis. Current ratios, D/E measures, and P/B are considered in the following figure. Some of this information has to be sourced from [SEDAR](http://www.sedar.com/). Just press “ctrl f” and type in “annual” to get to the reports. Other data is from [Macrotrends](https://www.macrotrends.net/), probably the best source of long term information on the internet. + +Fig 5. + +|Bank|Current ratio|Debt to equity|Price to book| +:--|:--|:--|:--| +|TD|0.93|0.13|1.68| +|RBC|0.90|0.11|2.02| +|Scotiabank|1.05|0.41|1.49| +|CIBC|1.03|0.12|1.46| +|BMO|0.98|0.14|1.42| +|Average|0.98|0.182|1.614| + +All of the values, except for RBCs P/B and Scotiabanks debt to equity fall within range of their peers. Objectively, these values are ridiculously strong, but nonetheless, we are looking for a winner among winners. + +The last rudimentary fundamentals to be considered are some alternative financial ratios that work best when relatively compared. This is the largest section. We will be looking at all of the ROx’s, as well as PM and OM. + +Fig 6. + +|Bank|ROE|ROI|ROA|Operating Margin|Profit margin| +:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--| +|TD|13.50%|5.20%|0.70%|56.90%|36.30%| +|RBC|14.30%|4.00%|0.70%|60.00%|36.10%| +|Scotiabank|10.40%|17.30%|0.60%|51.20%|23.50%| +|CIBC|10.90%|16.00%|0.50%|54.30%|25.40%| +|BMO|10.30%|5.40%|0.50%|59.10%|24.20%| +|Average|11.88%|9.58%|0.6%|56.3%|29.10%| + + + +For the returns, Scotiabank and CIBC slightly ahead of the other three because of their exceptionally high ROI. For operating margins, RBC and BMO are slightly above average, where Scotiabank is lagging behind. TD and RBC have exceptionally higher profit margins. + +Culminating the rudimentary analysis is a large comparison of Figures 2-6, excluding 4. For each figure, a “winner” can be determined, and a “loser” can be determined. Here are the overall rankings for each figure. + +For figure 2, TD is the most attractive in both fields. CIBC is the second most attractive for both fields. The first two fall below the average P/E, but because of the limited deviation between banks, this is not a huge accomplishment. The next two rankings are subjective. BMO and RBC are tied for third. Their percent difference between PEs and P/FCFs are quite similar for both of them, and each value carries similar importance. Scotiabank is fourth + +In figure three, TD is again the winner. Their sustainable growth is extremely attractive, despite having a higher P/S than the average. BMO is second for the same reasons, and RBC is third because of their high P/S. Scotiabank and CIBC are tied for fourth because they both have similar P/S ratios and their Sales growth to eps growth are similar. + +For figure 5, CIBC is the slight winner. Most values are very similar, but CIBC is in the top two for all categories. Second is BMO, lagging slightly behind CIBC with their CR and D/E, but winning the P/B category. Third is TD. Fourth is RBC because of their higher than average P/B. Last is scotiabank with the highest D/E ratio despite having stronger values in other fields. Scotiabank is in last because this value is almost four times the next highest D/E, whereas the highest P/B is only \~25% greater than the best P/B ratio. + +In judging figure 6, a higher priority is placed on profit margin. Giving equal weighting to ROE, ROI and ROA, TD is the winner of figure 6. RBC is very close behind. CIBC is third, and Scotiabank is fourth. BMO is last. + +Fig 7. The results of the preliminary relative analysis + +|Bank|Figure 2 ranking|Fig 3 ranking|Fig 5 ranking|Fig 6 ranking|Overall| +:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--| +|TD|1|1|3|1|1| +|RBC|=3|3|4|2|3| +|Scotiabank|4|=4|5|4|5| +|CIBC|2|=4|1|3|2| +|BMO|=3|2|2|5|4| + + +Clearly, TD was the most attractive followed by CIBC. + +Market analysis. Data is mostly from [stockhouse](https://stockhouse.com/). + +This section will analyze more sensitive factors of each company, such as short position, large and insider transactions, volatility, and other factors related to the current situation of the company. It will be split into individual sections for each bank, as well as a composite section comparing some factors. + +Lets begin with TD. TD has a market cap of 150 billion, which is quite large for even american companies. Their beta is 0.9, which will hopefully draw speculation away. They have a dividend yield of 3.825%. Not a lot of insider information is available, but most insiders have historically bought below 60 and sold at 70. The current price is 65, but is extremely attractive. + +|Bank|Market cap|Beta|Yield|Short interest|Sales|Assets| +:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--| +|TD|150.24b|0.9|3.825%|0.33%|43b|1.7t| + + +BMO has a market cap of 74 billion, just about half that of TD. They have a beta of 1.17, which is higher than desired. They have a yield of 3.71% and a short interest of 0.59%. Their yield is slightly lower than TD, despite having the higher beta. Recent insider purchases have been below $90, and a number of sales have happened above 100. + +|Bank|Market cap|Beta|Yield|Short interest|Sales|Assets| +:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--| +|BMO|74b|1.17|3.71|0.59%|25b|0.95t| + + +CIBC has a market cap of 59 billion. Their beta is 1, and their yield is 3.34. Short interest is 0.98%. There have been a number of insider sales above 100, and insider purchases below this number. + +|Bank|Market cap|Beta|Yield|Short interest|Sales|Assets| +:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--| +|CIBC|59b|1|3.34|0.98%|18b|0.73t| + + +RBC has a market cap of 134 billion. Their beta is 0.79, which makes them quite attractive if considering their dividend. Their yield is 3.34. Short interest is 0.34%. The buy/sell line is at around 80 for insiders. + +|Bank|Market cap|Beta|Yield|Short interest|Sales|Assets| +:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--| +|RBC|134b|0.79|3.64|0.34%|47b|1.62t| + + +Scotiabank has a market cap of 74 billion. Their beta is 0.79, which makes them quite attractive if considering their dividend. Their yield is 3.34. Short interest is 0.34%. Scotiabanks buy/sell line is around 75 with a lot of deviation. + +|Bank|Market cap|Beta|Yield|Short interest|Sales|Assets| +:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--| +|Scotiabank|74b|0.85|4.64|0.34%|31b|1.14t| + + +|Bank|Market cap|Beta|Yield|Short interest|Sales|Assets|Overall| +:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--| +|TD|150.24b|0.9|3.825%|0.33%|43b|1.7t|3| +|BMO|74b|1.17|3.71%|0.59%|25b|0.95t|5| +|Scotiabank|74b|0.85|4.64%|0.34%|31b|1.14t|1| +|RBC|134b|0.79|3.64%|0.34%|47b|1.62t|2| +|CIBC|59b|1|3.34%|0.98%|18b|0.73t|4| +|Average|98b|0.942|3.83|0.516|32.8b|1.23t|| + + +All five institutions have some attractive things and some ugly things in this table, relatively speaking. Scotiabank's yield is offset by the low ranking it got in the previous relative analysis. TD has the most attractive yield other than that, and the low short interest is reassuring. RBCs low beta is very attractive, as well as their large sales and massive asset pool. They are the second most attractive entry in the table after Scotiabank. TD is third at a relatively neutral position. CIBC is fourth and BMO is fifth because of BMOs large beta. + +Legal, regulatory, and other news releases, various sources. + +TD: + +* Making acquisitions. +* No recent regulatory information +* No recent legal news + +BMO: + +* Recently sold asset management business +* No regulatory +* No legal + +RBC: + +* No recent news +* No recent legal +* No recent regulatory + +Scotiabank: + +* Recently released an unpopular compensation plan for executives +* Recently announced the gradual allocation of 10b for funding CMHC initiatives +* No recent legal +* No recent regulatory + +CIBC: + +* Recently issued 1b of debentures. +* No recent legal +* No recent regulatory +The original post was a series of graphs comparing things between millennials and baby boomers. Here's the top comment: + + +> Of course people under the age of 30 say they're going to save millions and retire early... everyone says that. Baby Boomers have shifted their answers because they're in their 50s and 60s and they can look at their accounts and see the reality. They didn't save as much as they wanted to (Neither will Millennials) and they can't retire as soon as they want to (The same will happen with Millennials) + + +[and here's the rest of the thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/5740ly/retirement_plans_millennials_vs_baby_boomers/?sort=top) +With recent news of T merger I bought up to 25 shares and not sure if I should buy more. Was going to get it to 50 this summer for safe 7% dividends. + +Seems like itll be 3-4% now and who knows about share price up or down. + +Not sure if I should keep buying T or add a new stock in. + +My holdings are + +SCHD 40% +SCHY 10% +OKE +T +MSFT. Only 3 shares + +IVR +RWT +USOI +Bought those 3 cheap and only dripping. + +I may buy more RWT... + +But ya. + +Should I keep adding T or look for new one? + +Was debating O or maybe buying 10-20 Apple. +Looking into investing in dividends, however, I'm not sure what platform to use. I don't want to get bombarded with fees but also want some convenience/freedoms. I've been looking at webull and fidelity. What is everyone's experience/input? +Do you reinvest all of it back? I like to withdraw $4 every month and I use that to buy a lottery every second monday. I know the lottery is a tax for the stupid but at $4 i dont feel as guilty, plus i have something to look forward to every other week. +Ok, first I looked in the FAQ and didn't see this anywhere. I also am not sure how to pose the question, so searching post history was not yielding anything. I apologize if this is "old hat". + +I have 10k to invest let’s say. + +I am looking at 2 stocks. XOM and LMT as an example. + +If I spend 10k on XOM @54.40 per share I would have 183 shares. +Looking at dividend history on Nasdaq.com I see that XOM latest payment is 0.87 per share. +.87 * 183= 159.21 +Two years of dividends (given that the div does not change) for XOM: 159.21 * 8= 1273.68 + +If I spend 10k on LMT @330.30 per share I would have 30 shares. +Looking at dividend history on Nasdaq.com I see that XOM latest payment is 2.60 per share. +2.60 * 30= 78.00 +Two years of dividends (given that the div does not change) for LMT: 78 * 8=624 + +On a strictly buy and hold scenario, does it not make more sense to buy the cheaper version of these two? + +I assume that the difference between the two examples is risk? + +If I have my 10k tied up for the rest of my life, I assume it makes more sense to get paid out divies on XOM vs LMT…but this is what I am trying to understand. + +Can someone please ELI5? Or should I actually post this there? + +Thank you for your time! + +EDIT: some very great responses, thank you all for the great information! +I can't be the only one that thinks this market rally is unsustainable and that we'll likely test lows again at some point this year. I'm considering taking advantage of these highs to drop positions. Mainly I've been wanting to get rid of my oil stocks and WFC. Anybody else cutting companies and reallocating capital elsewhere? +Despite surpassing earnings forecasts, $CVS is down 5% on the day, and the stock has me very intrigued. The P/E on the company is about 12, while the forward P/E is under 10. The company pays out roughly a 2.7% dividend yield and has a relatively low payout ratio of 33%, plus CVS sells needs-based items. I haven't gotten a chance to listen to today's earnings call yet, but from what I've read, the company seems very optimistic about increased revenue from increased foot traffic from people getting COVID vaccines at CVS locations. + +What are your guys' thoughts on CVS? The valuation is very low for this market, and while Amazon could compete in this space in the future, I believe we are still a few years out from a serious push. +Hello, I’m 19 and have pretty much no debt. No bills also so I’m putting a lot of money into savings/stocks. I’ve been investing in blue chip dividends for long term gains but I had a question about something I thought of yesterday. I’m aware of all the dividend trap stocks and unsafe dividends with high yields of 8% +, what if I was to put around $5,000 into high yield dividends for a year, take the profits and move onto another high yielder if the dividend I bought a year ago starts to drop? +Relatively new to investing especially for stocks/etfs that also give dividends. Do you prefer just putting one big amount per year (once) or split the amount into smaller amounts each month? I want to hear if either strategy would give more dividends by the end of the year. + +example: + +12,000 USD contribution in January (no contributions from February to December) + +vs + +1000 USD contribution each month +hey ill just start by saying that I don't know much about dividend investing and I was wondering what are the reasons people don't hop between stocks/index funds (mainly index funds), after a dividend is paid to one with a closer pay date, as waiting 3 months between pays seems like a long time to me and on paper it sounds like you can earn more hopping between index funds. + +I know how the share price typically drops by the amount of the dividend paid. + +And about qualified dividend treatment. but it still doesn't sound like enough to me to deter people from doing it, soo what are more reasons I didn't think about? +First, some info on me. I'm 19 been investing since my 18th. I am currently a full-time student with a stable part-time job I work during breaks/holidays. My portfolio consists of mostly dividend stocks, as well as some growth/value ETF's. I am also not one to why away if I find a non-dividend stock on sale. + +As of now I am capable of investing roughly $1000 a year. My question is, is it that really worth it? + +After graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering I will most likely start with a salary of 60k (pretax) while still being able to live at home. I predict I'll invest roughly 35% of my income, 21k. + +Is it worth investing now and starting that snowball early or is it insignificant considering in 4 years I'll be able to invest 20x more. + +Should I stick with investing $1000 a year until then, or should I spend my current cash on things I want? + +This is also best case scenario. I come out of college and quickly find a job at a decent salary, and I am ignoring the possibility of emergency because I already have 10 months expenses saved. I would also like to close with the fact that if I do begin spending rather then investing while in college it won't be on frivolous things, I would most likely spend it on tools/things for the future. + + + +Thank you for your time. I am young and an aspiring engineer so not the best at the whole words thing quite yet. +There's a lot of reasons to appreciate dividend stocks but there's various ways to invest. ETFs aside, I'm curious to see what type of stocks people prefer. Also know opinions will change depending on age. + +Feel free to mention other styles in comments. + +[View Poll](https://www.reddit.com/poll/xgqxb5) +Here: + +* Apple #1: $261 Billion in cash. + +* Microsoft #2: $133 Billion in cash. + +* Alphabet #3: $94 Billion in cash. + +* Cisco #4: $68 Billion in cash. + +* Oracle #5: $66 Billion in cash. + +* General Electric #6: $44 Billion in cash. + +* Amgen #7: $39 Billion in cash. + +* Qualcomm #8: $37 Billion in cash. + +* Gilead Sciences #9: $36 Billion in cash. + +* Coca-Cola #10: $27 Billion in cash. + +* Intel #11: $25 Billion in cash. + +* Merck #12: $24 Billion in cash. + +* Amazon #13: $24 Billion in cash. + +* Pfizer #14: $21 Billion in cash. + +* PepsiCo #15: $17 Billion in cash. + +* Procter & Gamble #16: $15 Billion in cash. + +* Johnson & Johnson #17: $12 Billion in cash. + + +Published by Business Insider +Link (Source): http://uk.businessinsider.com/chart-us-companies-with-largest-cash-reserves-2017-8?r=US&IR=T +Hello again! + +I am back for Part 3 of "Should new investors choose property? Probably not." + +In the past two parts of the series we've knocked some hefty "arguments" made by the pro-property purporters in encouraging people to invest their money into property. Missed the fun? + +Here's [Part 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/comments/pv0tnx/should_new_investors_choose_property_probably_not/) (saving up for a deposit is harder and harder, is the opportunity cost really worth it?) and [Part 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/comments/pzp1ub/should_new_investors_choose_property_probably_not/) (don't give into FOMO and those who say property will go up). + +For those who don't like the long winded style, I got your back. This week's TL;DR and topic is **property maintenance and cashing in... is expensive**. + +Let's jump straight in! + +# The costs of maintaining your investment property + +What does a quick Google search show about the costs of maintaining your investment property? + +1. Interest +2. Rental management fees +3. Maintenance, incl. pest control +4. Landlord's insurance +5. Council rates and land taxes +6. Utilities - water +7. Strata/body corporate (possibly) +8. Other fees + +Let's go through each of these in detail. + +**Interest** is charged on your mortgage. Currently, Westpac is charging a 2.90% comparison variable rate for property investment. For a $500,000 mortgage, this is $14,500 per year of interest. But it's tax deductible just like the rest of the expenses here! Which is good. Let's also assume you're not paying any principal off and it's just interest. + +**Rental management fees**. What's that? Well, you're just a mum and dad retail investor. You've got no clue about property, you just want to get rich. But don't worry: there's a whole industry full of real estate professionals who will assist you manage the property. *Assuming you already have a renter*, the professional property manager might do various tasks such as collect the rent on your behalf, follow up on arrears, conduct the inspection, document the property condition, respond to maintenance requests and organise repairs, liaise with the tenant and perhaps most importantly, keep abreast of all the relevant legislation and regulation. That's quite a lot of stuff. Property manager fees are typically 5-15% of the weekly rent, so let's say 10% to average it out. + +**Maintenance**. You don't think the house would stay perfect forever, would you? Things break, natural wear and tear, or an earthquake might hit or a hailstorm which might just leave a couple of things with holes in them you need patched. Perhaps there's a leaky tap. Recently, perhaps some of the hinges in the kitchen doors have come a bit loose so the door sort of flops out in a sad and helpless way sometimes. A quick Google says there is the "1-4% rule" where you would typically spend 1-4% of the property value per year on maintenance. Note this is just maintenance - this is not a major repair - so think of things also like hiring someone to mow the lawn. As most of us have a mower, let's take a lower estimate and say it's around 1%. For a $700,000 house, that's $7,000 per year. + +**Landlord's insurance.** This is insurance for you, the landlord. Following on from above, things might break in your investment property that aren't due to natural wear and tear. Maybe you let a lovely family with teenage children rent your property which seemed like a good idea until the son had an 18th birthday and his friends smashed a window for some reason, or maybe while on holiday someone broke in and smashed a few fixtures up. Maybe there was a messy break-up and someone punched a hole in the wall (with building standards nowadays, I wouldn't be surprised). Things happen, and as I mentioned last week, we can't predict the future. Rather than fork out yourself in these unlikely events, there is insurance to cover that. I'm sure we've seen the Terri Scheer ads on TV. The amount you might pay for this depends on whether it's a house or an apartment, but let's take a conservative estimate and say it costs around $500 per year to insure your property. + +**Council rates and land tax**. Council rates are a tax you pay to your local government to assist in the maintenance of council-provisioned community initiatives - think sports grounds, leisure centres, waste services, and parks, libraries, and all those good things. These are based on the property value so let's say it's $1,000 per year. Land tax is similar but paid to the state government. Now, land tax is a little bit more tricky because many states have thresholds that the land must meet before land tax is payable. For WA, this threshold is $300,000 but for NSW this is $755,000. This threshold is met in some half-affluent NSW suburbs. For argument's sake, let's also say this is $1,000 per year. + +**Utilities - water**. For those who rent, you will know that water is typically provided free for the renter. This is great for them! For you, the landlord, you're up for it. Per year, let's just say it's also around $1,000. + +**Strata/body corporate**. These fees are paid to an entity which manages an allotment of properties, typically apartments. While your investment property may be on the ground floor, everyone uses the stairs or lift for instance, and you will be liable partially for the upkeep of the building, its surrounds, and the like. You, as a property owner, will form part of the owners corporation and you'll be able to make rules relating to noise, storage, and whatever else. You'll also have to fork out for building insurance (hello Opal Tower!) and if your apartment is in a fancy block with a gym, you'll have to fork out for upkeep of that too. On average, strata is around 0.5% of the property's value per year. + +Lastly, the catch-all bucket of "Other". There are tons of things that you may need to pay for if you are a landlord. It could even be something as trivial as your accountant charging an extra $100 to do rental income disclosures. + +One common mistake, which I'll just latch onto here is that generally these expenses I've mentioned above are **tax deductible**, not tax free. I assume almost all of us here on r/AusFinance are financially literate enough to know the difference, but let's clear that straight away. So for the $1,000 a year water bill, you might be able to get $300 back on your tax return. You still pay $700 out of your own pocket. + +# Cost comparison + +Let's tally all of that up from the last section. + +|Item|Cost (est.)| +|:-|:-| +|Interest|15,000| +|Rental management fee|2,500| +|Maintenance|7,000| +|Landlord's insurance|500| +|Council rates|1,000| +|Land tax|1,000| +|Utilities - water|1,000| +|Strata|3,500| +|Other|500| +|**Total**|32,000| + +Obviously all estimates, but this is a pre-tax figure so you'll be able to claim this back on your tax return. And if you buy a house, you won't be paying strata. + +For a $700,000 property, this represents 4.4% of the value of your property per year pre-deductions. + +Let's compare this to the stock market. + +To make my point, let's say we have a $1,000,000 portfolio of VDHG. How much do I pay per year in maintenance costs? + +A quick look at their website will show you they charge 0.27% per year. Before anyone goes, "Well, they can change the fee", have a look above to the several things I listed as rental maintenance costs and argue with a straight face that for the next 30 years of your mortgage that none of those costs will change. + +This cost is $2,700 per year for our sample VDHG portfolio. And guess what? It's in-built into the price of the ETF. Other than a few extra boxes in your tax return and perhaps some AMIT cost base adjustments to take care of, you can literally just let it sit there and live your life freely. + +Even if you take into account the tax deductions, you're still way over - by a big factor - over the $2,700 per year with ETFs. Even if you argue, "Well, I don't have an apartment so subtract the strata fee", you're still going to be over. + +One other thing to mention: paying off the principal of your loan is *not* tax deductible. + +# Still sounds good, I want in! + +You may look at the above and have dollar signs in your eyes for all those sweet tax deductions. Assuming you already have enough money for a deposit (see Part 1 of the series), it's not that simple anyway. You can't walk into a bank with $200,000 for a million dollar property and walk out with the keys. + +Nope, you'll have to grease some palms with a whole stack of John Monash. What will you have to pay for? + +1. Conveyancing +2. Pest and building reports +3. Buyer's agent (possibly) +4. Home loan fees +5. Stamp duty (possibly) +6. Lender's mortgage insurance (possibly) + +**Conveyancing** is a cost borne by you to arrange for preparing a sale of contract, mortgage, and other legal documents that need to be in place for the smooth transfer of the property title. This may cost you around $1,000. + +**Pest and building reports** are also important. You should ideally know if your new home has concrete cancer or has housed a significant population of termites in the basement. This may set you back around $250. + +You may not need a **buyer's agent**, but most people get one. These people will use their specialist industry knowledge and expert negotiating skills to try and get you a good deal for your potential investment property. They may also provide extra services like letting you know if a property in the area that suits you has just come on the market. Let's say they will charge a fee that is 1% of the final purchase price, so $7,000 for our $700,000 example property. + +**Home loan fees** are a catch-all term for several fees you'll have to pay. You may have to pay an *application fee* to even get started (although this is quite commonly waived), but you'll definitely have to pay a *property valuation fee* which could be around $250. To register the mortgage with the government, they'll charge another $150 odd. + +Speaking of the government, let's talk about **stamp duty**. This is probably the most annoying cost and is the one that catches up most FHBs when they realise they have to save another $20,000 or so to pay for stamp duty (if you don't have an exemption). Stamp duty is a government transaction tax for property purchases. No wonder it's been flagged for review (rightfully so) by several tax experts, it's probably one of the dumbest taxes out there. + +If you are very impatient and you want to get on the property ladder, you may want to go ahead with a deposit that is less than 20%. If you don't have an exemption, you may also have to pay **lender's mortgage insurance** which, as I highlighted in Part 1, is probably one of the stupidest things as an investor you can pay for. It is literally insurance for the lender's benefit, not yours (unless you're that desperate to get on the ladder). With an LVR of 90%, you may have to pay $15,000 in LMI. Is it really that worth it? From an investor's perspective, I do not believe so. + +Let's tally these up. + +|Item|Cost (est.)| +|:-|:-| +|Conveyancing|1,000| +|Pest/building report|250| +|Property valuation fee|250| +|Mortgage registration fee|150| +|Buyer's agent|7,000| +|Stamp duty\*|20,000| +|Lender's mortgage insurance\*|15,000| +|**Total**|8,500 - 43,500| + +For someone on the average full time salary of $90,000 per year, and assuming a savings rate of 30% per month, that's another 4-5 months' worth of saving just for these transaction costs (assuming no stamp duty or LMI). Half that if you're buying with a partner. + +# I'm up! / I stuffed up! : the costs of selling + +Capital growth is not the only way to "make money" with an investment. While you can buy your CBA shares and live off dividends, you can also buy an investment property and have the luxury of your tenant paying off part of your mortgage. We'll look at the income side of the equation in a later discussion. + +The big bucks, however, come about when you sell. + +No matter if you've been duped by some crap real estate agents spouted and you FOMOed into a home you no longer want or if you just want to cash in, you can rake in quite a large pile of the dollars if you sell your investment property. + +Unfortunately, selling your home is not as easy as a click of a button. And in the same way as you going *into* property, you'll have to allow people involved with the transaction to take a cut of your proceeds. These include: + +1. Conveyancing +2. Marketing costs +3. Agent fees and bonuses +4. Mortgage early exit fee +5. Clean up/minor repairs +6. Pest and building report +7. Auction fee (maybe) +8. Home staging (maybe) + +**Conveyancing** shows up again! This will be $1,000 or so. + +**Marketing costs** come up because those large placard-style billboards outside your house don't pay for themselves. Those nice photos as well or cool drone footage? They'll probably get a professional to do those and touch them up so that your property looks extra enticing. This should set you back around $7,000. + +**Agent fees**. After all, you're not the one selling the house. Your agent is! Your agent is doing all this hard work to spruik your property and it is only fair that you pay them for the service. You may even pay a bonus if your property sells over a certain price. Due to a large amount of variability, let's say this will cost you $15,000 (around 2% of the property value with an example home of $700,000). + +**Mortgage early exit fee**. The bank wants a cut too. You signed a contract to pay off a mortgage over thirty years, not three. They accounted for certain cash flows and now they won't get that anymore. To get them off your back, it'll be another $500 or so. + +Before we even get into the specifics, maybe your tenant has left already and you've found there's a small dent in the wall behind where their couch used to be. Or perhaps it's been a month or so since your tenant left and the grass is a little long. To do this **clean up/minor repairs**, it could cost you around $1,000. + +**Pest and building report**. Again?? Yeah, you might want to fork out for this in a defensive play. Your buyer may get one and you wouldn't want to be in for a nasty surprise, would you? So you'll pay up $250 again. + +If you want to sell at an auction, that auctioneer won't work for free. They may charge an **auction fee** which might cost around $500. + +**Home staging** is one I've rarely heard of, but if you're selling a place and your tenant has left the place barren, you'll have to decorate the place to make it look homely and liveable. This furniture and the fittings don't come for free and may set you back around $3,000. + +Let's tally these up again. + +|Item|Cost (est.)| +|:-|:-| +|Conveyancing|1,000| +|Marketing costs|7,000| +|Agent fees|15,000| +|Mortgage early exit fee|500| +|Clean up/minor repairs|1,000| +|Pest/building report|250| +|Auction fee|500| +|Home staging|3,000| +|**Total**|\~28,000| + +That's a lot of money. And unfortunately, you can't sell half your bedroom to fund a small purchase. Nope, if you want to cash in, you'll have to sell the whole thing. + +In any case, you might sell your house for $1,000,000 but if you paid $2,000,000 for it, then you're making a loss. It is not guaranteed that you will sell your house at a profit. Nationally, in the June quarter, 84.7% of units sold at a "profit" and 94.4% of houses sold at a "profit". [https://www.afr.com/property/residential/sellers-reap-millions-as-sydney-house-profits-surge-20210928-p58vay](https://www.afr.com/property/residential/sellers-reap-millions-as-sydney-house-profits-surge-20210928-p58vay) . Does this take into account the transaction costs? Probably not, since these costs are variable. After all, if you don't decide to use an auctioneer, you can "save" $500 off the bat. + +# Summary/Comparison + +If you want to be a property mogul, you'll have to pay up. As we dealt with in Part 1, it's not easy to "get on the ladder". + +Unfortunately, once you get that mythical 20% deposit (or even any deposit), you'll have to pay up with transaction costs. Once you are on the ladder, you'll have to pay maintenance costs. And if you want to sell? Transaction costs again. + +Now, a lot of people are probably saying, "Well, shares have transaction costs too". Well, I'm glad you said that. Let's compare the pair. + +From scratch, we have to first save up. I won't hammer on this point too much because it was the subject of Part 1, but you'll have to save up a deposit. Let's say, it's $100,000. + +Compare that to the ASX. The minimum parcel of your first purchase on the ASX is $500. As someone astutely pointed out last week, "You can buy $2,000 worth of shares, but not $2,000 worth of a house". + +Once you save up the amount for the minimum parcel, you will have to fork out for transaction costs. As we discussed above, transaction costs on the way in can range from around $8,500 to $43,000. To buy shares on SelfWealth, no matter if you want to buy $500 worth or $500,000 worth, is $9.50. + +Supposing you already have a property, we showed above that you may spend around $30,000 per year in annual maintenance and property management fees. Considering the proportion of the asset value to these yearly costs, it is around 4% per year. ETFs also have a management fee. VDHG's is 0.27% per year. This isn't even taking into account the effort you need to do to maintain your property, as I said last week, I could literally slip into a coma for a year and pay my 0.27% management fee because it's in-built to the price of the ETF. If you go AWOL and something really urgent happens to your investment property and your property manager needs to contact you? Bad luck. + +If you want to sell, it's even worse if you have an investment property. These costs are around $28,000, not even taking into account the time it will take for you to find a buyer and arrange all the paperwork and all of that. If I want to sell my VDHG at Friday 4.01pm, I can wait until perhaps Wednesday the next week, depending on public holidays, before I can do so. And in any case, the cost of selling is $9.50 on SelfWealth. + +And for the person who was telling me earlier that "selling a million dollars worth of VDHG will crash the price", note that a million dollars of VDHG is probably 16,000 units. I could literally sell 16 units per "sale" one thousand times and pay $9,500 in brokerage. That's still less than half of the $28,000 estimate in selling a property. Also for education purposes, please read the section on market makers here: [https://www.betashares.com.au/education-investors/exchange-traded-funds-comprehensive-guide/](https://www.betashares.com.au/education-investors/exchange-traded-funds-comprehensive-guide/) . It is literally their job to keep the price within a narrow band so that it reflects the underlying net asset value/index. + +To summarise, a lot of the discussion on r/AusFinance about property hasn't been about transaction and maintenance costs. It's a shame because as we've demonstrated here, they are definitely not negligible and need to be seriously and properly considered by any investor. It is not as easy as "getting on the ladder" and raking it in. Nope, to make the money, you'll have to spend some money. In the case of property, you'll be forking out quite a bit, year after year. + +See you next time, when we cover the income side of the equation (rent/dividends) and the concept of "leverage". +Hi guys, my tenant has just asked if he could put up a carport with a concrete slab in the back yard at his expense for his classic car he recently purchased. + +For background, He has been a tenant for 5 yrs with no issues. House is 80's built, so slightly older, back yard is about 1000 sqm with a large shed, in which he wants to attach the carport to (I think). I have not responded to his request yet, so unsure what size of shed he is wanting or anything yet. + +Assuming this is something I approve of, what do I need to look out for legally or tax wise (thinking of cost base/CGT etc) if I let him go ahead with this himself - as in him consulting with a carport guy/builder or whatever and paying for it VS me having it done as an owner normally would. +Is this a cause for headaches and a bad idea? +Right now I am having my hands in GXY and I know it won't dissapoint me in the long run. + +With news and articles flying around saying lithium stocks will be the BOOM in future years, is it a good idea to buy more lithium stocks like ORE, KDR, PLS, LPI, NMT and so on, then hold of them? + +I am planning to invest 5K in ASX market(lithium and other stuff), and possibly another 5K in International shares. + +Or is it a good idea, to just hold one or two lithum stocks in ASX, then aim for international stocks or inter lithium stocks? + + + +I appreciate the concept of spreading your risk and not putting all your eggs in one basket. About 95% of my holdings is only Microsoft. It's not a 100% solely because it's not an option for my 401K. This strategy has done me well, and I believe it remains a reasonable risk. + +Why Microsoft? Are they a good ethical company? Heck no! They don't care about you or me. They hold two monopolies and they're not shy about abusing them. They hold monopoly on the consumer OS, and they have no qualms shoving it down your throat. Don't want Windows 10? Disabled Windows 10 update? Too bad, you're getting Windows 10. I've heard a few stories, such as someone teaching a class but couldn't because MS decided to install Windows 10 at that time. Windows 11 coming soon to a pc near you. + +They also have a near monopoly on office productivity apps, but I am seeing Google making some headway. + +Microsoft is worldwide. Not dependent on one economy. The have customers in government, commercial and consumer. They have hardware (e.g. surface pc, xbox, etc.), games, and software for all these market segments. In my opinion they are as diverse as you can get. Plus, no management fees to hold stock directly (versus ETF/Mutual funds). + +Let's look at other top tech brands. + +Apple: Apple gets a premium for their brand. While they leverage this for a very nice profit margin, this is a single point of failure. They have to maintain that brand, and it's rare for a company to maintain this over decades. They could handle 1-2 hits every couple of years (e.g. child labor), but it's still a single point of failure. + +Facebook: They need our privacy rights to be almost non-existent. As soon as privacy starts getting enforced, a whole huge chunk of their revenue goes away. They recently took a hit with Apple's privacy changes. Not sure what would happen if another Cambridge Analytica incident occurs. + +Tesla: It's simply way overpriced stock. I respect Elon for taking a huge risk with EVs when no one was taking this market seriously, but Tesla's quality is poor, it's super expensive to repair, and they screw over used buyers by making them pay for features that the original buyer already paid for. I wish the company does well, but even if it does, there are manufacturers who know how to scale production, which I think Tesla still has yet to learn. As soon as more EVs come online, I think Tesla will struggle to compete. + +The above companies make up a significant portion of tech ETFs, which is why I don't want to buy them. + +The above is my opinion alone. + +Don't forget to wash behind your ear. +The other day I made a post in this sub with a screenshot of a screwup on Blockchain.info that gave me $ Infinity. It was a joke and many of us got a good laugh out of it. A couple people did things that I thought were out of line. I got 4 separate private messages; one asking me to give them BTC, and 3 people trying to get me to "spread the word of bitcoin". + +When you start prosthelytizing Bitcoin like that, it turns some people off. I understand that many of you are very excited about Bitcoin, but PMing people trying to get them to send tips via bitcointip, or wanting me to spread the word about Bitcoin makes you look like nothing more than the Mormons or Jehovah Witnesses that knock on my door asking if I want to hear the good word. + +You can't PUSH something you like on someone else. If I have BTC of my own, and I'm posting in a Bitcoin group on Reddit, what makes you think that I'm not already telling my friends and family about it? You don't need to be so damn pushy about stuff. It's a giant turn off. Liking something is one thing. Believing in something is one thing. Pushing your beliefs on another makes you an asshole. Trying to get other people to push your beliefs on their friends and family makes you a scumbag asshole. +Mid 20s. About to make some serious money off a flip house. I’ve always lived paycheck to paycheck and about to have a little money to hopefully make my life better. I honestly don’t know why to do with it. I need a new house and are planning to use 20-30k for a down payment but I want to save/invest my other half. What’s the best move to make? If any? +Genuinely curious. I was made aware early on that I would be totally responsible for my higher education expenses. This in part motivated me to do well in school and seek out scholarships. I worked all throughout undergrad and still had to take out some loans. I am now in a professional school with even more debt. It’s been difficult, but I have been able to take care of myself and a small family while still enjoying life. Despite the challenges, I learned some valuable lessons while fending for myself financially. + +I’ve been surprised to learn how many parents out there pay for their children’s education (and even post-grad education). I am on a path that will afford me the chance to do the same for my kids. I want to give them the best and set them up for success, but I wonder about this practice of paying for their college. I know I’m biased with my background so any insight would be appreciated. +Genuinely curious. I was made aware early on that I would be totally responsible for my higher education expenses. This in part motivated me to do well in school and seek out scholarships. I worked all throughout undergrad and still had to take out some loans. I am now in a professional school with even more debt. It’s been difficult, but I have been able to take care of myself and a small family while still enjoying life. Despite the challenges, I learned some valuable lessons while fending for myself financially. + +I’ve been surprised to learn how many parents out there pay for their children’s education (and even post-grad education). I am on a path that will afford me the chance to do the same for my kids. I want to give them the best and set them up for success, but I wonder about this practice of paying for their college. I know I’m biased with my background so any insight would be appreciated. +total loan amount: $233,337.03 +monthly principal: 353.07 +interest: 729.18 +and escrow: 354.17 + +We cant pay another $600 or so a month to make these payments a 15 year loan quite yet. (baby on the way, due sept) but is just throwing any extra per month on the principal the best strategy for us at this point? + +If we do just pay an extra $500 a month I calculated saving up to $83,000 in the long term! I know someone posted a mortgage cutting spread sheet somewhere on here recently, if anyone has that link that would be helpful! + + +I don't know if it's because of the locations, but it seems like there's two types of shows: butterfly collectors married to stay at home moms with million dollar budgets and million dollar lottery winners with 200 to 300k budget. + + Do you think some of these shows portray different mentalities of American families? It seems like one show is all people living above their means and another are all below their means and planning their retirement without it ever being stated. Or again maybe it's all locations, rural vs urban environments, salary differences and cost of living differences. +How much income do I need to afford a house? I live in a HCOL area but am considering moving to a lower cost rural area where houses are typically $200-$350k so not sure where I'll land. + +I am single (and plan to remain single) and 25 years old. I make $50k a year plus a couple thousand in commission (I work in sales). I max out my IRA and match my employers 401k contribution so I currently have $15k in IRA/401k (will be $20k once my employer match drops in the new year) I will also max out my FSA because I ran out this year. I am now working on building a $10k emergency fund. After taxes and deductions I make about $2700 a month. My rent is $1080 (I know not ideal but it was the cheapest I could find without having roommates) and after everything I end up saving $400-$500 a month, but I feel like it should be more... + +I am planning on donating plasma once I am cleared by my doctor (I have an infection that disqualifies me currently) but I've heard a huge variety of how much people make so not sure what to expect. + +I'm buying a car from my parents for $500 but don't plan on using it much but it does impact my budget and will really help with certain things that I just cannot do without a car. I'm not really interested in using my car for gig work. + +I'm considering studying to be an actuary because in my current position there isn't really a position I can be promoted to because I'm at the top (other than my manager). Starting salary is $60k with lots of room to move up. It would be at the same company so I could take advantage of the amazing benefits and excellent retirement matching, plus I do like the company I work for and am involved in leading the LGBT resource group. I could look at other companies if I wanted to stay in my position and earn more, but this is the first job where I've actually felt supported so I'm nervous about moving to a different company culture. + +edit: no debt +I am 23 year old engineer with a salary of $70,000. I am currently living with my parents, who don’t charge rent. I have $100,000 worth of student loans which I am paying $1,300 a month (overpaying by $300 a month to speed up pay off time). +I am very eager to get a place of my own. Financially speaking, about what point would it be okay to move out? About how much should i have saved in my bank account before I move out? Is there a guideline.. like having saved 10x the amount that I will pay for rent? +I can not keep living with my parents until i pay off all $100k!! If you need more info to help guide me to an answer id be happy to give what info i can. +As a person with different financial goals, I usually refer to pots and have 3 now. My main problem is that I'm not sure how to prioritise my savings in these pots as I have a different goal for each. I've been thinking about a tool that monitors my spending behaviour and simulates how changing it might affect these pots. Does a tool like this exist? I'm also a designer and I've been playing with the concept. Would something like this be useful to you? +I own shares in my employer, with intrinsic value of over 3M. They are cashed in via buybacks, which in my case would conservatively start around 2024, and finish by the end of 2026. + +If I wanted to buy property, could I finance it against those shares? How would you go about it? What kind if interest rate should I be expecting? + +I live in a country with no capital gains tax, if that’s of any importance. +I'm a guy in my 30s with no health issues and about $3.5M. Looking at health plans in the US, and the cheapest cost about $300 per month per person. + +I totally understand that $7200 a year for myself and my partner will not drive me to bankruptcy. And that there's the risk of being "penny smart, pound foolish." I get it. + +However, have any of you simply decided to forgo health insurance altogether, and self-insure? + +As one data point, when one of my parents died recently, there were several days in the ICU, lots of treatments, etc. It all came to about $250K before insurance. The insurance out of pocket max was $7K, so that's all we had to pay for it. + +However, if something truly awful happened to *me* - I could afford $250K. So why not self insure? + +No kids, no plans to have kids. +“The Bitcoin mining community has resoundingly voted for the Taproot upgrade to the Bitcoin network and it’s now expected to be implemented around the end of 2021. The upgrade is primarily aimed at improving the privacy of multisignature (multisig) transactions and unlocking the potential for smart contracts to run on Bitcoin, planting its tanks firmly on Ethereum’s lawn. The upgrade will also make it cheaper to transact on the Lightning Network.” + +I posted this paragraph here a little while ago, and xposted to r/lightning network, to crickets, had absolutely no response. Anyone have any thoughts/info on the Taproot fork? It’s the biggest Bitcoin upgrade in a long time and the net seems kind of quiet on this? + +I’ve heard it mentioned that Bitcoin can attribute some of its reputation for security to its simplicity, could the facilitation of smart contracts, DeFi and the minting of NFTs open up chinks in Bitcoins armour? Could the network become bogged down by the new traffic from DeFi/NFTs? + +Should I sell my vital organs to but BTC before taproot? +I just want to remind new Bitcoiners to check [mempool size](https://blockchain.info/unconfirmed-transactions) before making any transaction. + +Basically, anything below 30k-40k unconfirmed transactions means you don't have to pay high fees (let's say more than 100 satoshi per byte). + +Today I paid ~30sat/byte and the [transaction](http://imgur.com/k22zNyu) went through in 30 minutes. + +Save yourself some coffee money and don't pay miners more than is necessary! +[https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/10/trump-has-reportedly-tasked-aides-to-find-a-way-to-weaken-the-us-dollar.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/10/trump-has-reportedly-tasked-aides-to-find-a-way-to-weaken-the-us-dollar.html) + +Someone found the beggar-thy-neighbor policy memo. + +Keep it investing related. +Hey! + +New to this sub and wanted to share a trade I just placed and hopefully get some good feedback! + +After seeing today’s action I decided to pick up an SPY260p April 17 weekly w/ a cost basis of 6.25. My analysis here is that I see resistance at 263 and see the price falling back into the Fibonacci channel under .78 which is currently shown at 260-251 over the next week of trading days. + +Fundamentally I also see lower volume on a shorter trading week playing a factor to the downside. Also feel the market is getting ahead of its self with cases expected to continue to grow this week. + +What are your thoughts on where the market is after today? + + +Edit: I got out w/ a 50% loss today. Market is crazy but virus numbers starting to look better? Appreciate the feedback and insight! +I’m fairly new at options and understand this may be a lotto play but am reasonably confident GME could climb over the next few weeks. How would I determine what the best options to play are based on this assumption? For example, if I think GME will hit $250 this week am I best to buy 11/26 options or go out a week past that? Also with this week bei a short trading week, how would that be factored in? Any input is appreciated. Thx +I'm thinking: + +Global/American Mutual/Index Funds: 35%, for garenteed long term growth. + +Tech: 15%, companies like Apple and Samsung and Tesla. + +Social Media: 5%, Facebook, etc. + +Global Infrastructure: 25%, because if one thing is for sure, it's that global population is growing, and money on new infrastructure never ends. + +Bonds: 5%, 70% if you want to retire soon. + +Cannabis/Alcohol: 10%, because legal drugs sell well. + +Gold: 5%, to have something growing when the economy swings. + +u/Chomponthebit thinks I'm missing a few things. So, plan B: Drop social media stock, reduce Global Infrastructure, from 25% to 20%, and invest 10% in water and energy. +I have read the below statement from the book: The Intelligent Investor. but i still couldnt digest the real meaning of it. Can someone help me understand it? + +"When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact." +I'm thinking: + +Global/American Mutual/Index Funds: 35%, for garenteed long term growth. + +Tech: 15%, companies like Apple and Samsung and Tesla. + +Social Media: 5%, Facebook, etc. + +Global Infrastructure: 25%, because if one thing is for sure, it's that global population is growing, and money on new infrastructure never ends. + +Bonds: 5%, 70% if you want to retire soon. + +Cannabis/Alcohol: 10%, because legal drugs sell well. + +Gold: 5%, to have something growing when the economy swings. + +u/Chomponthebit thinks I'm missing a few things. So, plan B: Drop social media stock, reduce Global Infrastructure, from 25% to 20%, and invest 10% in water and energy. +Incoming Karma downvote - but I’m taking one for the team. For fucking history. For our fucking financial freedom and for the sake of our own intellectual integrity. + + +Our kindness has become our biggest weakness and it is actively being used to strategically manipulate us apes. We knew amc was a big counter play by them back in Jan/feb. The Hail Mary hedge against their inevitable demise. + +It was okay to talk about the truth then. + +But it’s not now. + +Over time it slowly got pushed to stop speaking down about it - to be indifferent towards it. Now we even see posts accepting it saying things like “I’m in both but we all know GME is the main one”. + + +The combination of our natural tendency to look out for each other, and a 6 month long psychological onslaught of coaxing has led to them successfully getting us to become silent on the matter and let the truth slip slowly through the cracks. + +Nobody wants to be an asshole, but that’s what they’ve done. They’ve made it where we can’t get the truth out without looking like assholes and this allows them to silence us and proceed without resistance. + +I’ve been victim of this myself. In my group chats, I’m just ignoring the people that slowly started talking about AMC while also wishing them luck because why would I ever root against them? + +Over the past few months, we have slowly shifted away from being allowed to expose the truth about AMC. + +It’s become a taboo subject and you are attacked if you bring it up in any way that’s not slightly supportive toward the stock or the apes invested in it. + +This stance of neutrality and silence on the matter has led to the decay in awareness and exposure of the truth about AMC; this has allowed them to use their mainstream media propaganda to push AMC and successfully siphon volume and buying pressure from GME without any pushback from the one source where people can actually get this truth. Here. From us. + +WE ARE THE ONLY SOURCE FOR THE TRUTH BUT WE HAVE BEEN GROOMED INTO AVOIDING THE TOPIC ALL TOGETHER. + +This means the biggest weapon they have- mainstream manipulation - is being allowed to be successfully used while we just sit back and quietly watch. + +This truth is with us and has slowly been suppressed through the sub shifting and being emotional led into thinking that being quiet on the matter is for the best. + +The narrative is trying to be made that staying quiet about it is simply for the better - that it limits unnecessary internal conflict. After-all, we have enough shilling to deal with, right? + +However, this notion is bullshit. By staying quiet all we are actually doing is helping the bad actors in the market by giving them uncontested reach to the general unaware population. + + +I’ll be the one to say it. I’ll take the down votes. + +If you still own AMC, you are directly helping the parties who are on the wrong side GME. We have not won yet. + + +They’re literally rolling their hail Mary plan out with very minimal friction from the community. + +They even built Twitter accounts to gain trust and now are pumping both amc and GME and we ignore it snd let them and unsuspecting parties on Twitter who don’t use Reddit think it’s okay to buy both because we are just standing back and doing nothing to spread real awareness and are sitting back watching their biggest strategic counter attack happen while we do nothing to combat it. + +DFV came out of retirement to do his part to counter this AMC counter attack and now we need to do ours. + +Also, I don’t care if you think house of cards proves it’s okay to invest in stocks directly helping bad players in GME. Nothing is even close to GME. + +Like Michael burry said. There is NO other GME and will never be another GME. + + +Nobody is selling GME to buy AMC. I’m not saying that and neither is anybody else. Claiming thats my prerogative reveals you are aren’t hearing what I’m saying or are trying to keep discussion of this matter quiet. + +Raising awareness is not irrelevant and it’s not something “everybody knows” because we don’t all know. + +If we did all know then why are we still allowing their counter attack to partake completely unfiltered? + +Why are we aiding them in their manipulation campaign by remaining silent and chanting “ape don’t fight apes” like puppets? + +The thing is - Apes don’t fight apes. That’s extremely true. And by exposing the truth I am not fighting anybody. As adults we can communicate our concerns to each other without it being considered a fight. + +Let’s discuss this in a healthy way. + + + +Even the hedge funds realize at this point that nothing can get us to sell. So what other options do they have to try to buy time? They can slow down the GME buying pressure by siphoning volume by distracting new and less informed investors while we sit back and watch and do nothing because that’s what we’ve been groomed to do over the last 6 months + + + +—edit* + +Some food for thought + +Adam Aaron is really loud and Ryan Cohen is really quiet. + + +Adam Aaron is conveniently able to price real time numbers of short interest in the stock, and of individual investor % while Ryan Cohen is not. + + +A lot of what Adam Aaron is doing is extremely convenient actually. + +One is loud and and doing everything they can to try to get the into spotlight so they can talk a big game and appear legit - trying to be extra friendly and capitalize on a situation. Making multiple appearances on amateur YouTube streams - (Also selling millions of new shares into the market 34 days after promising to investors not to sell any new ones at all in 2021 if they approved the shares) + + +The other is extremely quiet and not trying to convince anybody of anything. Not trying to sway or entice new investors over - not making false promises. Just letting their actions speak. + + + +Ask yourself why such stark contrasts between the two parties? +Hey guys. + +Just wanted to share some of my thoughts over the past two weeks. I think it’s very clear the fear indicator is ticking up week by week of an impending crash. Does it make sense? Of course, valuations at an all time high and some companies are definitely profiting more then ever, but many are not. + +Now for the stocks I own, I am definitely a long term holder. This past week my portfolio would’ve dropped roughly 5% or so had I not leveraged it with (Sqqq) calls. + +SQQQ is essentially suppose to be a 3x mirror inverse of the NASDAQ, which are a lot of the crazy ballooned tech companies. So food for thought for any of you guys, if you think a crash is coming maybe leverage it with some sort of put action. + +What I would NOT do - do not sell your long term stocks if a drop starts coming because you’ll inevitably sell at the wrong time and we don’t know when/if the market is going to crash. I just happen to think it is sooner rather than later, or at least a solid 10-20% correction. + +Disclaimer - I’m not a financial advisor but sharing my thoughts on the immediate future. +Okay, so this all started when I wanted to dip my feet into the wild-west of volatility arbitrage. There isn't much practical literature around on it, but the core concept was simple: eliminate exposure to all other greeks, and profit from changes in volatility. So over the past few months, I started exploring and eventually started trading a strategy that I haven't seen anywhere else, so here it goes. + +**Background** + +We all know that the market likes Black-Scholes, but Black-Scholes lacks in some important ways, the biggest ones being that it doesn't account for dividends, large price moves, or most importantly, the expiration risk premium. Since Black-Scholes are for European options, it doesn't factor in that the option can be exercised at any time. However, market prices do account for this extra risk, and it is a large reason why if you price an option with Black-Scholes, the market price and calculated price will be pretty far off. + +Luckily, the Barone-Adesi and Whaley (BAW) model captures this extra risk perfectly by adding a slight tweak to the Black-Scholes model. Without going into the granularity of differential equations, the BAW model accounts for the risk that the option can be exercised at any time and adds that value to the Black-Scholes value. It isn't mandatory to know it's formulaic derivation, but [here](https://ir.nctu.edu.tw/bitstream/11536/14182/1/000264318900005.pdf) is a research paper reference for those interested. + +In case you didn't know, implied volatility is just a variable that is backed out from the Black-Scholes model. So, all things considered, we are also able to back out implied volatility from the BAW model, except this IV will be more efficient and accurate. Our profit comes from collecting the spread of: + +**Calculated IV** \- **Market IV** = **Profit** + +Great, we have an efficient measure of IV! Only, how the hell do we target this? I'm retail just like you, so the options like replicating a variance swap or hedging a short call are just way out of my price range. This capital limit restricts this strategy to only going long volatility. When you lock into a defined-risk straddle, betting that IV will increase, delta-hedging becomes extraordinarily cheap. It sounds scary and expensive, but as you'll see below, it really isn't. + +**Strategy** + +Okay, so we know that we can only trade if we're expecting IV to go up. So first, we have to find options that meet that criteria. There are a lot of ways to determine these stocks, you can use upcoming earnings for example, but I personally go with the following + +* Have an IV at least 5% lower than the 20-day historical IV +* Are no more than 5% out-of-the-money +* Expire in less than 30 days + +I use the OpenBB screener with those parameters and get the following output: + +https://preview.redd.it/lvw8ljtk6cg91.png?width=1250&format=png&auto=webp&s=f14a077c8905cc0a9e7044eec5979a10c9d501d7 + +Now, let's check if the IV is right. I first plug the call values into the BAW model and back-out IV using the bisection method (research paper [here](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504850701591325?journalCode=rael20)). + +https://preview.redd.it/vzm2p6jh6cg91.png?width=988&format=png&auto=webp&s=d6e91c8a702c8ff6465006a35b39afc45c160c39 + +https://preview.redd.it/qz26fv5j6cg91.png?width=253&format=png&auto=webp&s=c0edded21661e16e9d25a6273c0ed7902d578f28 + +As pictured, the IV of the call according to the BAW model is in actuality about 5% higher than that quoted by the market. When pricing the put, the IV is about 3% higher. + +Now, it's clear what needs to happen. I must long these two positions and hedge my delta so that I make money if IV goes up. The fun begins. + +I buy the call and put for a net cost of $765. When the order is filled, the starting delta is 2.48. + +https://preview.redd.it/te6zvfxc6cg91.png?width=756&format=png&auto=webp&s=9cb43caf3ccb344e81b4922b64b7d02526ec23fa + +This means that for each dollar the stock moves, the position makes/loses \~$2. We do not want that risk. We want our delta to be neutral, so we short 2 shares of AAPL. + +https://preview.redd.it/et3jbfkd6cg91.png?width=676&format=png&auto=webp&s=6890273e771471677b945a3b744c565554e0b6cc + +That's it. That's all delta-hedging is. Over the lifespan of the option and over the day, the deltas will oscillate up and down, but for a stock like AAPL, this range is typically small, only requiring you to hedge a few times in either direction. + +Now that the position is delta-hedged, you are exposed to just the change in volatility (gamma too, but since you're dynamically hedging, it isn't a significant risk). + +**Profit** + +As expected, the IV of the position increased. By 10 minutes before market close, the implied vol of the call increased from 21% to 27%, and the implied vol of the put increased from 21% to 24%. This allowed me to sell the call for 495 and the put for 435, for a total of 930 ($165 profit). + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/tm2x2d2a6cg91.png?width=792&format=png&auto=webp&s=dfc55bc977ad073e566cf2c5cda83b5098f1a950 + +Don't just take my word for it, you can pull the historical data and see exactly how this trade played out. Pictured below are the final option chains for 8/5 -- take note of the implied vol and prices. + +&#x200B; + +https://preview.redd.it/m4ekfu596cg91.png?width=795&format=png&auto=webp&s=981711708216b10433992f29448c6f0e40e4500c +There are quite a few references in posts about expenses and I want to get a sense of what people spend as a baseline - no extravagances and excluding really variable items like food, travel, cars, etc. I'm in the Bay Area (VHCOL) and here's what I am looking at - how does it compare? This is both out of curiosity, as well as to get a sense of what a lower cost of living scenario would look like. + +Notes: + +1 - Because people will ask, the health care number is real - it's from the Covered California website and may actually be a little low. This is the one thing that is causing me to consider delaying my FIRE timeline. + +2 - For reference, my target in-retirement total number based on everything - food, vacations, cars, etc. is $225K annually. + +3 - I plan to pay off the HELOC but not the mortgage due to relative interest rates +