Jurgis

I disagree that Oracle did not have competition. They did. So did Microsoft. Why were they still profitable? Perhaps because before the Internet bubble nobody financed profitless growth much or for long. 20+ years ago it would have been difficult to sell huge potential TAMs to investors. Some companies could but it was likely more difficult and rare than it is now. (I am not saying that selling huge TAMs and profitless growth is bubble or irrational on the investor side, I'm just saying that the attitude towards this has changed a lot.)

Can you imagine if Obama or W. Bush gave this job, during a pandemic with 70k deaths so far, to his cousin or brother-in-law or whatever? Deep state is to blame. It's a witch hunt - nobody wants to work for El Presidente. Only some true patriots like Jared-boy are sacrificing their lives and working 24 hour days covering the holes left by the evil apparatchiks who are gleefully pushing for Trump's downfall! Shame on deep state! Go Jared-o! Make vaccine great again!

Partially OT: It seems that W2s from Ceridian cannot be autoimported to TurboTax unlike the ones from ADP. Not that businesses care about what their employees have to do during tax time. ::)

I'm putting this thing up here again. Only this time it has scotch in it. You definitely should start selling these things.

How to politicize a pandemic and basically blackmail people in doing your pet wishes while witholding the help that they need and deserve by being, y'know, part of the country. What he calls bailouts are actually just being a single country. When New Orleans or Mississippi or Florida gets hit by a huge hurricane and they get help, are they getting "bailed out" by the other states or is helping the worst hit places just the function of a government? The most urban states are worse hit first by pandemics, that's biology, but he's claiming this is some kind of political thing to punish enemies. How sociopathic do you have to be as people are suffering and dying? Don't the urban coastal states pay a lot more to the federal government than many of the poorer states that aren't too badly hit yet? So they are supposed to pay more and get less in return? When he bailed out farmers when his tarrifs hurt them, that was fine because it was political allies, right? Is he trying to break up the United States? Hey, we are really glad Kim Jong Un is alive and well!

I don't think SK or NZ will have 6-10 months of lockdown. They might bounce back and forth between tighter and looser measures, but places that did this well (lockdown to crush the initial curve + masks + massive testing + contact tracing) are in much better shape. Sure. I was talking mostly US and somewhat Europe. Places that have close to zero cases + test/trace/etc probably will do fine without lock downs. And definitely will do better without lock downs than places that still have tons of cases and don't test/trace. Yeah, meanwhile in the US.. "Your honor, my client was exercising her 2nd amendment rights to kill the virus that was sitting on the guard's head".

The problem is as follows: if mall/whatever reopened, I would go there if I knew I'd be the only person in the mall. But then store(s) don't get enough business. OTOH, if everyone rushes in, then I wouldn't go there. So likely you can't get many people there. It's also possible that there will be a bad feedback loop: people don't go to malls, cases don't rise, people think that it's safe and go to malls, then cases rise again, rinse, repeat? Restaurants are more complicated than stores. Even if I'm the only customer there, there is a risk of getting infected from the staff. More risk than if I ordered for delivery. So screw going to restaurant. Most people can’t conceptualize risk from something not visible, so they will conclude that Malls are save, because other people go there, which ironically makes them less safe. Agreed.

I don't think SK or NZ will have 6-10 months of lockdown. They might bounce back and forth between tighter and looser measures, but places that did this well (lockdown to crush the initial curve + masks + massive testing + contact tracing) are in much better shape. Sure. I was talking mostly US and somewhat Europe. Places that have close to zero cases + test/trace/etc probably will do fine without lock downs. And definitely will do better without lock downs than places that still have tons of cases and don't test/trace.

I am mostly for lockdowns, but this: is wishful thinking. It's not "another week or two" whether we have lock-downs or not. It's likely another 6-10 months if not longer. So maybe reopen. It will likely cause flare ups and deaths, but at least there won't be "govt is killing us by lock-down" complaints. Could not agree more. But I am sure they will find another way to blame government. Yeah, that is certain.

I am mostly for lockdowns, but this: is wishful thinking. It's not "another week or two" whether we have lock-downs or not. It's likely another 6-10 months if not longer. So maybe reopen. It will likely cause flare ups and deaths, but at least there won't be "govt is killing us by lock-down" complaints.

Same people who go anywhere regardless of crowds as soon as the lock-down ends.

The problem is as follows: if mall/whatever reopened, I would go there if I knew I'd be the only person in the mall. But then store(s) don't get enough business. OTOH, if everyone rushes in, then I wouldn't go there. So likely you can't get many people there. It's also possible that there will be a bad feedback loop: people don't go to malls, cases don't rise, people think that it's safe and go to malls, then cases rise again, rinse, repeat? Restaurants are more complicated than stores. Even if I'm the only customer there, there is a risk of getting infected from the staff. More risk than if I ordered for delivery. So screw going to restaurant.

Here it is. Thanks. I'm LMAO at the cheque. There's probably a regulation somewhere of what can go on cheques. The only place the could put his name in is in the description. Likely because the president doesn't have signing authority at the treasury. BUT Vona Robinson does. So she gets to sign the cheques, not Trump. Ooooohh he must have been pissed about that. I heard Trump fired Mnuchin because his name on the checks is too small and not in golden letters. And he fired of who-the-heck-she-is Vona Robinson too. (Not real news)

Are you being quarantined? Or tested? Or made to work from home? Or was it just a social call of "you might be screwed, but please continue comrade"?

I almost fell of the chair laughing. I'm not sure if I should sue your neigbor, Trump, or Pelosi.

All coronavirus discussion should be conducted in another socially isolated location.

Ahem, maybe not sky scraping hospitals. But... Whoosh.... They had skyscrapers there since 1950s. I studied in one of them ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_building_of_Moscow_State_University )

At least they don't have skyscrapers in Russia. :-\

Wizard. Wizard with the sheets mainly. But also wizard under the sheets.

If you buy any international stocks, you can always say that you are in global trade or import/export. 8)

I agree with this, but... I'm not OP, but it seems that OP is asking what to tell to the closer circle of friends/family/relatives/etc. to whom "I work from home" is not enough. Or who know that you worked as XYZ (engineer/doctor/lawyer/whatever) before and that it does not "work" to do XYZ from home. Or they might ask "for which company you work from home". Going the lying path of "I contract" is not great either. I agree with sentiments above thread that telling people that you are "private investor" is wrought with issues. So is unfortunately "boutique investment manager" IMO. I don't have a good solution unfortunately. Not a direct issue for me, but interesting thread, since I don't tell most my friends/family that I invest either. Edit: I have a great idea for a business. Open a company that employs such private investors for nominal salary which they themselves pay into the company. And then they can honestly tell everyone that they work for BIM Inc. which is in stealth mode, so hush hush. 8)

Yeah, I was thinking "thank USA for the car culture". Makes going places during lockdown possible and tolerable.

Jurgis is not The Terminator and actually has weaknesses. Quick, put him in that vat of molten metal. Actually, I mean put him on a plane. I'll be back* 8) * if I'm allowed onto the return flight

I completely agree with that sentiment. Unfortunately have to travel transatlantic to visit family. Fingers crossed I won't need to do that until maybe some of the restrictions/changes/etc go back to (mostly) normal. #ThoseNetJets!

my goals with energy are a) own more than 0% in it b) position myself in securities that I don't think will be massively diluted or PRIMED. I think any OXY debt instrument has the potential to be primed by Berkshire or anyone else ... Fair enough.