whatstheofficerproblem

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.

Thanks Parsad, didn't know they had a new single out. To me, Pearl Jam peaked here: The crowd won't even let Vedder sing, and at MSG. A musician's dream, very few are able to achieve. I'm a sucker for songwriting and 'Better Man' is pure lyrical marvel. It touches a chord for a lot of women and men. Tell him, "Take no more" She practices her speech As he opens the door, she rolls over Pretends to sleep as he looks her over Talkin' to herself There's no one else who needs to know She tells herself, oh Memories back when she was bold and strong And waiting for the world to come along Swears she knew it, now she swears he's gone She dreams in color, she dreams in red Can't find a better man Can't find a better man Can't find a better man She loved him, yeah She don't want to leave this way She feeds him, yeah That's why she'll be back again How does someone write that? All by himself! There is music with rhyming words, and then there is music with poetry. This song is poetry at it's finest. The band is in a genre of their own.

What could it be I wonder?

We need to talk about the bear case here. We all know that Ozempic is expensive, what is the probability that Ozempic loses market share to Lizzo? Overall, a good amount of pricing pressure has built up, good for the consumers, but bad for the pharmas. https://www.investors.com/news/technology/eli-lilly-novo-nordisk-fall-roche-weight-loss-drug/ https://www.citizen.org/news/public-citizen-urges-hhs-to-unlock-generic-competition-for-popular-weight-loss-drugs-ozempic-and-wegovy/ -> Bigger risk than competitors. https://www.axios.com/2024/07/25/weight-loss-drugs-viking-therapeutics-roche-glp-1

On the money, this also depends on what field you're going into. Might as well give up on a career in high finance if you go to a state school, tech and most core engineering jobs on the other hand will welcome state school students with open arms. UMass like you mention is a good state college, places well across fields. The primary reason, from my observation, for state schools to be bad pipelines is because the alumni at state schools very rarely give back. This is not the case with legacy institutions where your alumni bend over backwards for you if you network with them.

This could be fake, but since it's making rounds on social media here it is. Big if true. Very bad symptoms, you won't be missed. I wonder how this will play out on the broader economy down the line. Also would love to see the supply chain implications, franchising growth & real estate movements.

Happy 4th. Petition to change the national anthem to the following.

I don't get the TC hype. Is the writing good? Yes! Are some of the songs good? Definitely. But the cult brain dead following that both Zach Bryan & TC have amassed in recent times is beyond my comprehension.

Of course. It's a start is all I'm saying.

Well, here it is. https://www.dynamisllp.com/knowledge/roaring-kitty-sued-for-securities-fraud

No one here is going to hold that against you @DooDiligence. A beautiful woman with a beautiful voice. Her performance was the only thing worth watching during the recent god awful superbowl performance by Usher. Couldn't link the video because NFL is being a lil wuss about it.

At this point, I am patiently waiting for "Study shows GLP-1 can stop & reverse male pattern baldness without the side effects of propecia".

Crazy that the man who cried "Golden Age of Fraud", defrauded people himself. All that for a woman, now there are women for whom I'd commit fraud for, but a real estate agent for the corcoran in her 50s is not it.

While DEI is a part of the equation, that is not the cause. Today's 18-26 year olds have no drive to serve the country because they see no need to? In their minds what has this country given them? Mental health issues and polarisation, everything is expensive, the american dream is practically dead, you can't buy a house, a meal in McD costs $15, healthcare is a joke etc etc. Mainstream media, bipartisan politics and to an extent late stage crony capitalism combined with shortsighted policies, federalism has tarnished the country beyond repair.

And guess what an emerging market with more debt and less growth is? That's right, uninvestable (SriLanka & co), the only reason investors tolerate the risk of investing in emerging markets is because the markets are relatively inefficient in terms of multiples and pricing and the sheer amount of growth opportunities. You remove these and no one will touch these with a 10 foot pole. I agree with Saluki's take above. EU is a broad generalization, there are countries within EU that I would more than willing to be a market participant of, Swedish market for example is something I have no qualms with, country like UK[Englistan] where I will only participate if the upside is too high/special sits and countries like Italy & France that I don't see the need to invest in. In the words of the American Left, [The EU is a spectrum ] It's not a binary unit. There are still hopes for 10 baggers in broader EU, although 100 baggers seem impossible at this stage.

Pardon my unparliamentary language, but what the absolute fuckery is this? https://reason.com/2024/06/15/house-passes-bill-to-automatically-register-young-men-for-the-draft/ https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-118hr8070rh/pdf/BILLS-118hr8070rh.pdf So men ages 18-26 are automatically registered for duty? Notice the language, it says residents not citizens, so your immigrant status doesn't matter. It is very clear that the Gov wants to use immigrants as cannon fodder.

You mean the India H-1B team.

I think they can technically keep issuing and raise cash, close all stores, layoff all employees and rename themselves to GME from Gamestop. Then poach some talent from KKR, Apollo, PJT Partners etc etc and use the raised capital for private equity endeavors essentially transition into a PE company, because raising money seems easy for them. Instead of saying they are issuing shares, they can just say [GME Partners I] fund has successfully finished fundraising.