Generational Dynamics Forum - New Site

Higgenbotham wrote:My reasons for mentioning Namibia are:

1. Relatively unknown.
2. Low population.
3. Relatively clean and orderly capital city.
4. No oil to fight over (unlike Angola, for example).
5. Southern hemisphere location.

I became aware of Namibia because Windhoek was the first city in the world to purify sewage for use as drinking water.

I haven't looked into this in any detail.

Swakopmund Namibia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG8THEeQHy8

tim wrote: Thanks for your input.

From what I remember reading about Namibia, the nice parts are due to the remaining German colonist population. I would expect Namibia would eventually go the way of Rhodesia, South Africa post 1994, etc. with changing demographics.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/worl ... caust.html

I can imagine their crisis war, along with what South Africa's will be.

I'm not sure I would ever want to live in a country where every 80 years the "indigenous" population will want to kill me and my family and redistribute my wealth and land.

Overnight Markets and News

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH18 +0.05%) this morning are up +0.05% at a new record nearest-futures high as U.S. stock indexes continue their rally to fresh record highs on expectations for strong Q4 quarterly corporate earnings.

Higgenbotham wrote:

Overnight Markets and News

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH18 +0.05%) this morning are up +0.05% at a new record nearest-futures high as U.S. stock indexes continue their rally to fresh record highs on expectations for strong Q4 quarterly corporate earnings.

In response to the tax cuts which favored US corporations (and their earnings) over the US middle and lower classes, I didn't hear anybody say that needed to be done to better prepare for war, but that is probably the grim reality. Go Amazon.

John wrote:

Higgenbotham wrote:

Overnight Markets and News

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH18 +0.05%) this morning are up +0.05% at a new record nearest-futures high as U.S. stock indexes continue their rally to fresh record highs on expectations for strong Q4 quarterly corporate earnings.

In response to the tax cuts which favored US corporations (and their earnings) over the US middle and lower classes, I didn't hear anybody say that needed to be done to better prepare for war, but that is probably the grim reality. Go Amazon.

Last time, it was General Motors that turned around overnight and won the war. Who will it be this time?

uncertainty wrote:Recently heard arguments against bitcoin because it is owned by ~90% males. Left is probably realizing it is a threat to its governmental power and now is going to start politicizing it. Sure has been booming lately.....

Higgenbotham wrote:

Overnight Markets and News

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH18 +0.05%) this morning are up +0.05% at a new record nearest-futures high as U.S. stock indexes continue their rally to fresh record highs on expectations for strong Q4 quarterly corporate earnings.

In response to the tax cuts which favored US corporations (and their earnings) over the US middle and lower classes, I didn't hear anybody say that needed to be done to better prepare for war, but that is probably the grim reality. Go Amazon.

Investors warned on risks of borrowing against stocks and bonds

A Wall Street watchdog has warned of the risks of people borrowing against their investment portfolios, in a move that could crimp a money-spinning product line for the likes of Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.

On Monday the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said it would be looking particularly closely at securities-backed lines of credit, as it set out its priorities for the year ahead. Such products, which involve customers taking out loans secured against portfolios of stocks and bonds, have grown rapidly as markets have continued their gently rising trend.

Such loans are thought to present little risk to the lender, as they are typically over-collateralised by stocks or bonds and any securities pledged can be sold without a customer’s consent to meet a margin call. 

But Finra said on Monday it was concerned about whether firms are adequately disclosing the risks to customers. These risks include “the potential impact of a market downturn, the potential tax implications if pledged securities are liquidated and the potential impact of an increase in interest rates”. 

Securities-based loans have given a big boost to profits at wealth-management groups in the US, as choppy markets have caused trouble in other parts of their businesses. At Morgan Stanley, for example, securities-based and other “tailored” loans stood at $40.1bn at the end of September last year, almost double the balance at the same stage in 2014.

As Stocks Reach New Highs, Investors Abandon Hedges
With volatility at consistently low levels, more are revising their strategies

By Gunjan Banerji
Updated Jan. 8, 2018 7:19 p.m. ET

Big stock-market gains are leading a number of investors to abandon defensive positions taken to protect against a market downturn, the latest sign that many doubters are shedding caution as the long rally rolls on.

uncertainty wrote: Definitely needed. See "Economic centralization" thread I posted yesterday (stupidly posted in the wrong area)

Higgenbotham wrote:

uncertainty wrote: Definitely needed. See "Economic centralization" thread I posted yesterday (stupidly posted in the wrong area)

Pretty scary to read your thread after seeing Amazon is requiring prospective hires to have a security clearance.