Boy, have I got a story for you guys next week. Here we go:
1) Short-Seller Sues Icahn, Banks For Aiding Herbalife 'Fraud' (FIN Alternatives) - Look up "Wishful Thinking" in the dictionary and you're gonna see a picture of this guy's face. I'm all for what he's doing, but he's got about a snowball's chance in hell of it working out.
2) Fugitive Fund Manager Stuffed Underwear With Cash, Fled (Bloomberg) - How do you stuff $500,000 in your underwear? Remember my old post about crossing stocks? That's what this jerkoff was doing when he went on the lam. Now he's facing 75 years. Totally worth it. NOT.
3) It’s so unfair, say 'under-paid’ bankers (The Telegraph) - Cue the violins. London bankers are bitching to high heaven that they're overworked and underpaid. So that's new.
4) More Than 95,000 Sign Petition Urging Obama To Break Up 'Too Big To Jail' Banks (Huffington Post) - I haven't looked, but I'll bet dollars to donuts that they have the 150,000 signatures they were hoping to get by now. Really makes me wonder what impact (if any) a breakup of the TBTF banks would have on the average American.
5) Happily ever after? Couples fight five times a year about finances (Investment News) - This won't come as much of a surprise to any of you married folks out there, but some of the single guys would be well advised to prepare for this when they end up married. Money fights are the worst, especially when there's a significant income imbalance in the relationship.
6) The Top Libertarians in Business Today (Benzinga) - Interesting piece for the freedom lovers among us. Erik Prince is the only one on the list I take any real issue with. I just have a hard time believing that a true libertarian would build a mercenary army designed to suckle the government teat for all eternity.
7) Maker of 3-D Printed Guns Speaks Out at SXSW: They’re Real, and They’re Not Going Away (All Things D) - The current gun control debate raging in the US right now may all be a moot point if this guy is right. Won't be long before you can just print yourself up an AK-47.
8) Q: WHAT ARE THE MOST AFFORDABLE PRIVATE ISLANDS? (Outside) - Can't afford to hang out with Sir Richard on Necker Island? Fear not, there are islands to be had for a more modest budget. Not a bad idea if you really want to get away from it all.
9) Here comes Ouya, the $99 gaming console (CNN) - I am really pumped about the OUYA. I think it ends up being a game changer (no pun intended), and I love the fact that it started as a humble Kickstarter project.
10) The father of all men is 340,000 years old (New Scientist) - Looks like the common estimates of humanity being around 100-150,000 years old might be way off, and it's all thanks to the DNA of a guy who died in South Carolina a couple years ago. Fascinating stuff.
Video of the Week:
This week's video is going to piss a few of you off, but I thought it was well enough done that you'd find it interesting. The thing I find most interesting about the presentation about wealth inequality in America is the disparity between what 90% of Americans consider the ideal distribution of wealth and what the actual distribution is. This is riots-in-the-street kind of shit if it were widely known. I'd be interested to hear what you guys think:
That's it for this week, guys. Let me know what you think in the comments and have a redonkulous weekend.
Libertarian?
Maybe by the weird American definition of Libertarianism, sure.
And in other news... Ackman, prepare your anus.
I can not resist.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/k_J5xES3fuQ?feature=player_detailpage
Wow, that's perfect. Covers two Bananas in one video (3D printers and fighting about money). Well played, sir. Well played.
So much really good stuff that I feel the need to comment on, sorry for long post.
What are they going to do, form a banking union? Serious question. 95% of finance skills outside of HFT, while more sophisiticated, are as commoditizeable as flipping burgers and we were told so as students before going into industry. Every person here is shitting themselves on some juvenile ego trip when they call themselves finance 'professionals'. If you don't own the capital, guess what...you're just an employee. Hiyoooo welcome to the real work world that doesn't give a flying two fuck shits about preftige, just money. Now shut the fuck up and get to work, myself included. Or wait, I have an idea: banks go back to the private partnership model and restore the motivation to move up the ranks and get an equity stake. Otherwise, the gov't is merely choking out the sell side while the buyside (see: Black Rock) start offering more offering/advisory services. "the fish rots from the head down" ...solution... "cut off the head and the body dies". So it is with the way banking used to be done. That and I work of one of their smaller competitors, so I kind of like when they choke...it makes my life easier. Honestly though, I don't see the GOP going along with this. You know, the party of proBiGbusiness. If Obama tried to dismantle these, every libertarian kook in Texas would crawl out of the woodwork to raise hell. Just sayin. The underlying psychological principal is related to cognitive dissonance, but the net result of the actions v words is HYPOCRISY, my personal pet peeve to top all others. Conservatives who do business with the gov't are especially bad when it comes to being on the dole because they spend so much time whining like bitches about bloated government while being part of the problem. If you're for spending on something...just be a big kid and say so, I hate the bait and switch. And America has finally figured them out. I think. To hell with the pacificists, I want my fucking porchfront anti aircraft installment NOW DAMMIT!!! Oh hell yeah. My personal goal is to live on some tropical island. I'd be willing to rent a thatched hut, but owning an island? OH HELL YEAHI've seen some components that have been printed, namely magazines, that work pretty well. But from what I understand, if you try to print a lower reciever or a barrel you're going to have some problems. The best ones made from the plastics you can typically print from melt after 1-2 rounds are fired, most don't work at all. So, probably going to be a long time before you can print an entire AK-47, but you can already print as many magazines, with whatever capacity you want already. Interesting stuff if you enjoy firearms, probably terrifying if you don't.
actually Defense Distributed printed out a receiver that lasted 650+. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/download-this-gun-3d-printed…
I will put about 200 rounds through an M4 during my annual rifle qual so 650 isnt exactly ideal or close to the real thing. Still, it is a step in the right direction.
7: We already have 3D printers that work with metal and could easily produce a working firearm. These, however, cost MILLIONS, not to mention the cost of materials. True, over time these things become cheaper and cheaper. The parts that can currently be made from plastic are non-pressure sensitive parts. No barrels or receivers (at least, none that wouldn't explode after a round or two). This 3D printing stuff is a game changer once they are available for the general public. You can go online right now and find schematics for a 3D printed gun/ gun parts. Certian stores (see Kinkos or Staples etc.) are already going through the process to have these available for customer use. Crazy.
3) It’s so unfair, say 'under-paid’ bankers
"The pay isn't good enough?.... the exit's over there"
http://www.youtube.com/embed/nmoIuAcbIb4?feature=player_detailpage
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