Not Stock Exchange Mandrake

 I am having a free day with no one pressuring me to finish their projects. This is very unusual for me and somewhat unsettling too. So I looked up the evolution of my bourse investments and in ten years I had triplicated my savings (200% gain). Calculated that it means 11% per annum (compound interest equation) in US dollars. I had estimated dollar inflation to be around 3% but discovered that it was only 1.5%  in the last decade, meaning 16% loss in real terms. It is almost insignificant. The yield in real terms was about 10%. Since each month I added more stock, the real growth may have been only 5% and taking into account the 25% tax - around 4% in real terms. It should have been 6% if TEVA maintained its worth, but unfortunately I am losing 50-60% on that company. I also lost on my DELEK (oil) bets. I did somewhat better than the index but the bottom line is that I am no stock exchange magician.  

Suez Canal Out of Service

The  Ever Given cargo ship is blockading the Canal. It has a length of 400 m while the canal's width is 200 m. Its hull has a beam of 58.8 m, a depth of 32.9 m, and a fully laden draft of 14.5 metres . Ever Given has a gross tonnage of 220,940; net tonnage of 99,155; and deadweight tonnage of 199,629 tons. The ship's container capacity is 20,124 TEU.

The main engine is a low-speed two-stroke diesel. Coupled to a fixed-pitch propeller, it is rated at 59,300 kW (79,500 horsepower) at 79 rpm and gives the vessel a service speed of 22.8 knots (42.2 km/h; 26.2 mph). The vessel also has four straight-8 Yanmar 8EY33LW auxiliary diesel generators. For maneuvering in ports, Ever Given has two 2,500 kW (3,400 hp) bow thrusters Therefore it has not enough power to dig itself out of muddy bottom and sides of the canal. 

There are seemingly trying to dig out with JCB-like machines the front interred in the mud. I wonder why they are no pulling it with land cables and tractors. Now they are talking of discharging part of the cargo. Since they have an Egyptian pilot on board, I think that the responsibility falls on the Canal Authority. It will be a long fight to establish who pays the damages. The Europa Asia Pipeline (former Katzaa) will receive a large push with this disaster. 

Harvard Punishes Professor for Accepting Donation

Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) dean Claudine Gay announced disciplinary actions against Martin Nowak, professor of mathematics and biology, stemming from his connections to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Those connections were spelled out in a 2020 report: between 1998 and 2008, Epstein made gifts of $6.5 million to the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, which was run by Nowak. (That figure made up the largest share of the $9.1 million in total gifts that Epstein donated to the University during that period.)  

Nowak is an Austria-born Catholic, who worked on evolutionary problems like cooperation. He is not accused of anything except his connections with a generous donor. In my experience, professors are encouraged and forced to seek financing for their projects, but this is the first time someone is punished for being too successful. My Father told me of the dilemma faced by Jaszbereny synagogue, when the owner of the local whorehouse wanted to donate: Should it be accepted? I do not remember what was the decision. Pecunia non olet, but that was in Rome. Harvard is still a Puritan Divinity School. 

P.S.: 

Harvard closes evolution center after finding connections to Jeffrey Epstein

 

Penis and Anus Whitening

I have reached the age where I am officially classified as "old", yet I am still learning new things every day, every hour. Important knowledge that I'll find useful should I be reborn as a Black. Such as procedures to lighten the skin of the genitals, anus or groin area. Laser bleaching of private areas is carried out by using a type of laser which damages or kills the cells that produce melanin - the pigment that gives skin its color. Most patients undergo a few laser sessions before achieving the desired result, and each session usually takes 10-15 minutes. Laser bleaching comes with risks of infection and scarring, and should always be carried out in a professional clinic setting. But skin lightening can also be carried out at home using a bleaching cream. Popularity of bleaching private parts has been linked to several high-profile celebrities, such as Kourtney Kardashian, publicly admitting to having these procedures done.

Palestinian Agency

The English are the most intelligent commentators of world politics. They lament the disappearance of the Palestinian cause from the Arab consciousness and the failure of the Boycott Israel movement that could not grow out from a minor issue in American campuses. The Palestinian Liberation Movement is reduced to clan rivalries and local politics: the Palestinians have no agency. The Brits are feeding the Apartheid accusation, trying to destroy us just as they did to Rhodesia and South Africa. The internet allows me to hear them in podcasts and lectures, and I confess that am in love with the language, civilized tone and subtle humor. But they are dangerous, they appear impossibly unaware that they are striving to destroy and rule.   

Marxist interpretation of social reality

From a Marxist point of view, of class-war dialectics,  zero interest rate has the effect of increasing the worth of non-reproducible goods such as real estate, stocks, commodities, etc. Since only 5-10% of the population owns these goodies in any significant quantity, they are the sole beneficiaries. That is, zero interest rate policy increases the gap between  the owner and the proletarian classes. Parallelly, the outsourcing of the mean of production, of factories, of industries, weakens the working class and empowers the propertied class. Dr Faber goes one step further saying that democracy, one vote for each, means that the votes of the 5-10% (the owners class) has no influence in the results of the elections, so for these class, democracy is unjust and unfair. Since they are cheated of any voting power, they feel that manipulations and faking are justified and even they are imperative.  

Are negative interest rates good for bankers?

 The case for negative rates.

I am a banker and my only real product is debt.
Who can I load up with my debt products?
You’ll do.

How many of the banker’s debt products can an economy take?
Let’s find out.

At 25.30 mins you can see the super imposed private debt-to-GDP ratios.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAStZJCKmbU&list=PLmtuEaMvhDZZQLxg24CAiFgZYldtoCR-R&index=6
Economies fill up with the banker’s debt products until you get a financial crisis.
1929 – US
1991 – Japan
2008 – US, UK and Euro-zone
The PBoC saw the Chinese Minsky Moment coming and you can too by looking at the chart above.

Lower interest rates and you can squeeze a few more of the banker’s debt products into your economy.
The bankers have reached market saturation globally.
No one can take any more of their debt products.

“Go negative” the bankers
That’s why we need negative rates so we can squeeze more of the banker’s debt products into our economies.

Stolen from Sound of the Suburbs    The photo shows Joseph Safra. He was a successful banker. 

P.S.: I know what low interest rate does to people like me. It tempts to enter risky investments. Money is free and abundant, what can happen? Risk means that the investment carries a high probability of failure, and failed investments end in bankruptcy. Enough failed investments and we are dealing with a recession. Ergo, negative interest rate may lead to a temporary flareup and lasting depression.