Lazarus

No worries about a tariff war hitting China?

Fair enough, Dalal. Good points. I might be seduced by the drastic changes China has made over the past 30 to 40 years - their growth has been extraordinary and I assume it will continue. My gut feeling on human nature is that people won't be willing to return to repression and communism after experiencing the benefits of capitalism (even the pseudo-capitalism of China), but Xi and the lack of democracy makes everything questionable.

The argument in favour of China is that graph shows its P/E levels are below its usual median. China's market could easily fall further with a looming trade war on the horizon, but it will rise eventually.

The drug problem is tough. The govt will never win the war on drugs. They can't even keep drugs out of prison - a space where everyone going in and out gets searched, mail gets searched, and inmates have no privacy. Yet you can still find all sorts of drugs in prison. Legalizing it to destroy the black market and eliminate the crime associated with it makes a lot of sense (since the war on drugs can't be won), but then you have the downside of society-sponsored addiction, ruined lives and overdoses. And if the govt doesn't offer some drugs (fentanyl, etc.) those will still be offered on the black market. You can't win. The Switzerland model is worth a try, but keep in mind that Switzerland is a small and relatively homogenous society of very responsible and organized people. I spent a year there recently and couldn't get over how rigidly organized the Swiss can be. Swiss drug addicts are probably more organized and reliable than the average north american non-addict. I'm exaggerating a bit, but only a bit...

As a european, do you think there could be a flight to safety to the Swiss market? I'm looking at a Swiss ETF simply as a medium term spot to park money.

Theory and reality are different. Like it or not, the rules made for the plebs don't apply to the likes of Elon and Trump.

RFK's impact on Pharma and biotech is a wild card.

Why wouldn't he last? This gives him power, which helps him in his business interests. He might not do much work personally, but he'll oversee a team following his instructions. He has an interest in deregulation and this role puts him in position to slash regulation. His companies are also highly dependent on government contracts and subsidies (both SpaceX and Tesla), so he wants to stay inside the power circle.

I saw it in an article: "The company's diluted earnings per share over the past four quarters are $1.11, less than the $1.60 it pays out in dividends per share over the course of a full year. That puts its payout ratio it at more than 144%." https://www.fool.com/investing/2024/11/13/is-kraft-heinzs-48-dividend-yield-safe/ Just an article, so maybe it's wrong. But I see the same 144% payout ratio listed on yahoo finance: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/KHC/key-statistics/

The KHC yield has a 144% payout ratio. Doesn't seem sustainable.

The subaru car itself is a fantastic product.

Gillette is more likely to sponsor women in science, to fight toxic masculinity:

@cubsfan, no one is going to convince you otherwise. But SS is a beginner program for young people. Weightlifting can and should be done by older people, but you've drunk the SS cool aid. I have Rippetoe's book and videos, I've done the program, I even have some of his intermediate books. He's awesome. But any sort of 5x5 program (and yes, I know that Rippetoe's is actually a 3x5 program) going three times a week is way too tough for a 68 year old guy. Even Rippetoe says that you need to eat like a pig to recover, he recommends GOMAD. A program like Pavel's Power to the People is much better for older people. I like fitness. I still do squats and I can still dunk a basketball even though I'm in my 50s. But yoga is the only exercise that actually makes my body feel better.

Starting Strength is designed for young men. It requires a huge calorie surplus and is designed to be a 4 or 5 month program at most. I'd go with a program like Pavel's Power to the People instead. Much easier on the body and you don't need to eat like a pig.

I find their zero covid policy mind boggling.