whatstheofficerproblem

Thanks all for the comments on Nintendo. My personal feelings aside, I genuinely think Nintendo as a stock is a buy. I do agree the piracy scene is niche, but I also stand on the statement that their games have been very mediocre to say the least. PalWorld was an idea they could have easily implemented themselves. They have an option to develop a killer Open World game with the Nintendo franchise, yet they don't. They play it way too safe with their IPs and are shy about pouring money into Game Freak which is their studio. If TTWO was shy about funding R* we wouldn't have GTA today. I think there is a big TAM in Video Game market that they can capture, especially given the fame of their IP but they are holding themselves back.

Precisely. This is my problem with DOGE, it could end up being nothing but hot air. But, they will definitely have a whole lot of influence. The problem here is, let's say they want to cut costs for a certain arm of the Fed, how will that be achieved, if it requires a majority vote in the senate? If the DOGE were a fed entity with power to unanimously evaluate and cut costs, it would have been a whole different ball game, but they don't. So we will have to wait & see. Given that it has already come this far and has favorable impressions on both the average red & blue voter, they should have some level of power. Time will tell.

I think this is a fair argument. Tesla & SpaceX are business, they can fail anytime. DOGE is a government entity, the US govt by definition is too big to fail, depends on how much jurisdiction & power will left at DOGE's discretion, if it's a namesake think tank then all of this would have been for naught, but the case is it isn't. Who cares, I personally don't mind if Elon makes a few billion if that means we can save trillions here after. His networth has increased $4B a week since election. I do think that if either of them were to abuse their power, they will be called out on it. A lot of Republicans are waiting for a chance to find fault with Vivek, the dems already hate him. I think Vivek & Elon will ultimately be each others' checks and balance, they will keep each other from pushing the line too far. Nothing speaks about govt efficiency more than hiring two people to do the same job, amirite.

I think it is possible. Even if DOGE was a muppet structure, they have now legitimized it by advertising it as the solution to govt spending. It has developed great traction among youth, they have even opened applications for people to apply so they can join DOGE. I think people from all sides of the political aisle will agree that govt spending is a far bigger problem than anything at hand. Pentagon failing trillion dollar audits, mayors not knowing what the allocated funds being used for etc. If Bernie Sanders has come out of the woodworks to support DOGE, as much as I think he is a giant hypocrite, it is one hell of an endorsement. We also have self-hating sepoy Ro Khanna volunteering, both sides support it. I would personally say demolish the IRS, a man can dream right?

Looks like both Elon & Vivek agree on this. Now the question is who will they choose for this project, how and why?

I haven't seen a grifter this slimy in a while. That scripted interview was ridiculous. On another note, VIC's co-founder John Petry seems to endorse the guy. He is hosting him at his house and soliciting donations from other VIC members. Whitney said that he won't raise money from his billionaire friends (Ackman) and connections and only from the common man. What I didn't know, is this guy being considered a 'Legend' on Wall St. There is only one legend on Wall St. and that is Dimon.

Yes, you read that right. Not the crypto coin but the Department of Government Efficiency. What stocks could be beneficiaries of D.O.G.E? Tesla is the obvious answer, but what else? Are Elon & Vivek going to audit departments, who will benefit from that? Are they going to update the tech stack in government offices? Curious to know who the members here think will be beneficiaries of D.O.G.E.

From the messages section of the recent VIC short rated write-up on BRK, titled Todd 'The Charlatan' Combs.

Since Trump favors cuts and spending, which is bad for the deficit because without additional taxes there will be issuance of more bonds, the bonds are selling off. Fairfax's bond portfolio duration was 3.5 years, the yields are up. How will this effect the mark-to-market value of the bonds in the interim?

https://valueinvestorsclub.com/idea/BERKSHIRE_HATHAWAY/4105781453#description I want what this guy is smoking. The comments pretty much laugh at the write-up. The quality of VIC write-ups has been going downhill for a while.

So, I spent $1640 to register for the CFA L1 Feb 2025 exam. This is before my graduation date, so I reckon passing the L1 before graduation is a plus point and looks good on my resume? Either way that's not what I care about. Over the last 2 years and in my being around several CFA charter holders, I was instilled the 'value' of the CFA. I've looked into the L1 course material, pretty basic stuff, it's a mile wide but an inch deep. The only thing I needed to learn outside my knowledge in foundational finance is how to plug numbers into a fancy calculator (excel is better). I liked the course material, a lot of things I knew but a lot of things I didn't know. I would say the curriculum has done a good job in contextualizing the knowledge I had and gained, which I think is pretty powerful as I am not a Finance major and most of my Finance knowledge is something I learned myself and of course, some of it to be attributed to my 'mentors' in this forum, your conversations have been gold dust to me. I'm curious if anyone on the forum is a charterholder or is working towards one. What are your thoughts on the program? I've had conversations with a lot of industry professionals, some speak very highly of it while some say it's an outright scam. They seem to be raising prices every year which for a 'non-profit' is very suspect, and the exams seem to be made deliberately tough so that a lot of folks have to fail and then take it again which flows right into the CFA society's topline. Others have told me I'd much rather spend my time studying for the GMAT and get placed into a good MBA program, which I don't think is possible because as an Asian, I am apparently 'white-adjacent' so this along with the legacy applicants and the experienced ones diminish my chances of getting into a good program. I plan on doing the MBA after I've gained at least 5 years of experience in the industry, so it's a long way from here. But in the meantime I would like to know the members thoughts and opinions on the program and any helpful tips and insights that will be of use when I sit for the L1. I know that the CFA doesn't make you a better investor, I thankfully have this forum for that, but it does seem to open a lot of doors.

@Viking, I think a 'thank you' would be too little to express what I am feeling right now. I thank god for all the detours that led me to this forum, I started reading the 500 pager at 12 AM, stopped at 6 AM. I can't recall any moment in my lifetime ever where I spent that amount of time reading. This is now my holy book. Your dedication and passion inspires me and your knowledge overwhelms me. Thank you.

Thanks for the detailed explanation Saluki. You are good at explaining things it seems, I suddenly feel like reading this book, going to pick it up.

I was looking for a Tyson Foods thread and didn't find one. But thought I'd place it here. I'll play @Luke's advocate. https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/department-labor-child-labor-tyson/527-21c0bd01-6313-45a7-843a-f5f00582b841 Why does the western media that harps about sweatshops in China, conveniently forget to cover this news.

Since I am on the topic of songwriting: Jason Isbell, is for me easily one of the top 5 songwriters, at least in english music. Speed Trap Town is an excellent song, never was there a song that explores the themes he explores and the way he goes about exploring it. One of the few artists where the live experience is actually better than the Apple Music one.