@montanaskeptic
Unloved by Elon (who once tried to get me fired), disgusted at "conservatives" who turned out to be Trump cultists, hoping Democrats will get healthier, and wishing Congress would do its damned job. I write at montanaskeptic.substack.com
The Republicans have worked so damned hard to become the party of gross fiscal irresponsibility (remember OBBBA?), and now the Democrats are fighting hard to take back that honor.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury rate recognizes that the competition will continue until we go over a cliff.
Here's the news item from Reuters, which makes no bones about the fact that "for executives and early investors, that deeper liquidity could reduce the market impact of large sell orders once lockup periods expire"
insiders cash out, retirees get left with the bag
www.reuters.com/business/fin...
for folks keeping track of this stuff at home, the real answer to the question "how on god's green earth is Tesla worth over a trillion dollars despite being a blatant scam grafted onto a failing car business?" is "because every new retirement account has to buy it as part of the S&P index"
No surprise that Musk is running over local opposition & environmental concerns. Take comfort, though, this will all come to naught, as xAI is far behind in the AI race, and falling further behind as talented potential employees - aware of Musk's tyrannical reputation - find work elsewhere.
@davidkotok.bsky.social has some interesting data on the effects of the Hormuz Strait interdiction, along with useful historical reminders and a short list of financial indicators to watch.
dkotok.substack.com/p/widening-m...
Superb work from @keubiko.bsky.social on how Nasdaq & Musk, loving the age of index funds, are about to make certain that retail investors end up owning grossly overvalued garbage while the insiders hoover up the cash.
It's a great and important book by a brilliant writer. Thanks for pointing me to it some years back, Andreas.
Williamson certainly believes EVs have their place, and can be beneficial. It's a nuanced piece and thank you for reading it.
Kevin D. Williamson, as usual, digs deeper than most on Chinese EVs and environmental reality:
"EV subsidies may be advertised as climate policy, but effectively they also are petrochemical subsidies."
thedispatch.com/article/chin...
“Help is on the way”
This makes me want vomit. Not sure what’s more disgusting - an issuer extorting a supposedly regulated stock exchange, or the exchange bending over for it. Index inclusion 15 days post-IPO. At a bare minimum this should be AFTER any lockups. Stuffing overpriced stock on 401(k) plans etc.
Swisher’s typically excellent work, with characteristic deep research.
being a hater doesn't pay well, but at least you get listed as a risk factor in their SEC filings
Fine piece from Gerard Baker @wsj.com
"It was said of Churchill that he mobilized the English language & sent it into battle. Trump’s trick with the mother tongue is to douse it in gasoline, set it on fire & drop it in a dumpster in the middle of his own parade ground."
www.wsj.com/opinion/in-a...
Sorry, courageous Iranians. Trump is ready to cut and run.
Tesla faces a deadline to submit data to NHTSA today as part of the agency's investigation into documented failures of the firm's "Full Self-Driving" system, after no fewer than two deadline extensions
www.thecooldown.com/green-busine...
Isn't there a government agency that oversees wasteful spending?
And I, too, would like to see the Jew haters stand up and take a bow. Good to know who they are. So, we come at it from different angles but get to the same place.
Yes
1/n Something I've been building with Claude Code - may have some use and I might make it publicly available:
If you don't play for a team - Team Red or Team Blue - you are free to think critically. If you can think critically, you would understand that Iran has been at war with the U.S. for 47 years, and is an apocalyptic theocracy bent on our destruction. But you evidently are a team player. Farewell.
"you guys"? Really? (see link)
Iran was determined to go nuclear and having a huge stock of missiles would have been insurance it could do so. You're blind if you don't see that.
montanaskeptic.substack.com/p/why-i-wont...
I doubt it can succeed without "boots on the ground," given that the IRGC is heavily armed and Iranian citizens are not armed at all. However, Iran is mostly Persian, with many highly educated citizens, a detestation of the regime, and a proud history. It would not be inconceivable.
No one knows, Billy.
What do you think should have happened, and what do you think should happen now, as regards the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of Iranians who will be killed, imprisoned, or further immiserated if there is no regime change?
Tesla ‘Full Self-Driving’ drives through railroad crossing barriers in viral video
It is a very tall order. The Trump Admin should have first explained to Congress & US citizens why declaring war on Iran was necessary, why it needed to happen now, & how high the risk & cost would be to achieve regime change. It could have gotten some valuable buy-in. But Trump thinks he's king.
Any form of government that could find support from a majority of Iranians. Certainly not a radical theocracy.
I don't feel that way at all. I fear a humanitarian crisis if either the current regime survives or collapses with chaos ensuing. Trump very foolishly promised "help is on the way" when he likely plans to cut & run. This should have first been debated in Congress, with some buy-in for regime change.
I think that is probably the most compelling argument for why something needed to be done now. Iran was at the point where its prodigious missile production - with its ability to overwhelm all defenses - could be counted on to protect its nuclear program.
Some of us might need a bit of help with that one.