Hektor

https://www.wsj.com/world/china/chinas-local-governments-settle-overdue-bills-with-apartments-not-cash-50a35053 China’s Local Governments Settle Overdue Bills With Apartments, Not Cash In recent years, Chinese property developers have been so strapped for cash that they have used unsold apartments to settle debts to construction companies and furniture suppliers . Now, Chinese local governments are following suit.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/10/business/china-central-bank-bonds.html China’s Central Bank Stops Buying Bonds as Deflation Fears Grip Economy In a striking sign of the Chinese economy’s stagnation, the central bank said on Friday that it had temporarily stopped buying government bonds. The central bank’s unexpected action is aimed at braking a recent shift by investors toward purchasing bonds while shunning riskier assets like stocks and real estate. That shift has driven China’s long-term interest rates to a record low. The decision by the central bank, the People’s Bank of China, was notable because central banks facing weak growth usually buy bonds to pump money into an economy. This is what the Federal Reserve did during the global financial crisis 16 years ago and other recent financial upheavals.

Thanks Prasad. The activity feed and the search functionality were down yesterday, and are up today.

You read my mind

If my memory serves me, Bill has taken positions (long as well as short) and then went on media and road shows trying to drum up support for his position.

It's a grand jury indictment, if I am not wrong.

The flexibility to do whatever you want with your time.

Thanks for the response @Spekulatius

Why?

Thanks @wabuffo

@Spekulatius Your forecast seems to be coming true https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/04/business/china-foreclosures-mortgages.html Foreclosures in China Soar, Threatening to Choke Off Bank Profits When the housing market was flying high, mortgage defaults were almost nonexistent. But now the legal system is struggling to keep up with evictions. Banks in China are foreclosing on a growing number of apartments after homeowners could not pay their mortgages, as the country’s housing crash threatens the financial system. The roster of homes seized and listed for auction leaped 43 percent last year, according to official data. Numerous Chinese banks have disclosed increases in mortgage defaults during the first half of this year. The downward spiral in apartment prices has since accelerated. The increase in evictions and foreclosures, although still modest by American standards, piles onto pressures on China’s banks. They face other losses related to the real estate meltdown, including on loans to local governments, property companies in default and buyers of unfinished apartments that developers never delivered. To make matters worse, corporate borrowers in China have long posted real estate holdings as collateral. Bank managers are finding that the collateral is worth much less than when the loans were extended.

One need not go and live in China for 5 years to understand this. Here is a real current example. The brilliant Elon Musk, who is very vocally taking on the POTUS and the VP of USA, is remarkably quiet when it comes to Xi. I wonder why

From the BRK website https://berkshirehathaway.com/webfraud.pdf Fraudulent Claims Regarding Mr. Buffett’s Endorsements of Investment Products and Political Candidates In light of the increased usage of social media, there have been numerous fraudulent claims regarding Mr. Buffett’s endorsement of investment products as well as his endorsement and support of political candidates. Mr. Buffett does not currently and will not prospectively endorse investment products or endorse and support political candidates.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-23/warren-buffett-says-he-won-t-endorse-any-political-candidates Warren Buffett Says He Won’t Endorse Any Political Candidates Warren Buffett said he won’t back any political candidates, two weeks before US citizens head to the polls to elect the country’s next president. The 94-year-old billionaire’s position was laid out in a statement posted on the website of his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-23/apple-s-tim-cook-visits-china-talks-data-security-with-minister Apple’s Tim Cook Visits China, Talks Data Security With Minister Apple Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook discussed investments, data security and cloud services with a senior Chinese official during his second trip to the nation this year. “Apple will continue to grow its investments in China and help the high-quality development of the supply chain,” Cook was quoted as saying in the WeChat post

I would be surprised if WEB is not. He for one most likely would be monitoring the $ flowing from ACME (and every other business) into HQ.

I think it was Susan Decker who said that.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-10-14/bmw-mercedes-and-volkswagen-bmw-mbg-vow-evs-struggle-to-compete-in-china VW, BMW and Mercedes Are Getting Left in the Dust by China’s EVs After falling behind on tech trends, German carmakers are scrambling to recover in their biggest and most lucrative market.

I thought about this. However, are there needle moving targets for hostile takeover worthy of management investing time?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-15/china-moves-to-tax-the-ultra-rich-for-overseas-investment-gains China Moves to Tax the Ultra-Rich for Overseas Investment Gains The move underscores growing urgency within the government to expand its sources of revenue.

Also, invest in China and India.

e.g., buy tech, initiate a regular dividend. Buy bitcoin?

+1

Thanks @sholland

That’s a good question, John. That makes me wonder how often should the needle be moved? Once or twice a decade?