BC FINANCE
Saved by @tradrdoc

The most memorable interview I did this year was w/ Stanley Druckenmiller, who famously made $1B shorting the British Pound.

The trading legend's track record includes a 30-year stretch returning 30%+ a year (without a single down year).

Here are 8 investing lessons🧵

 1/ Make concentrated bets in high conviction plays
2/ Concentrated bets can sometimes *reduce* risk
3/ Use a multi-disciplinary approach to investing
4/ Know when to sell (he never uses a stop loss)
5/ You will fight emotions your entire career
6/ His biggest investing mistake came in 2000 when he let emotions overpower his discipline
7/ If you don’t *really* love investing, you will get beat by those who do
8/ Find what *actually* makes a stock goes up or down
9/ If you enjoyed that, I write 1-2x interesting threads a week.

Follow @TrungTPhan to catch them in your feed.

Here's one you might like: https://t.co/B3SWUCF2cd
10/ PS. I also write a Saturday newsletter digging up the most interesting (and mostly hilarious) nuggets from around the web.

https://t.co/jGZs8brnVR
11/ Here's the full Q&A (audio, text) with Druckenmiller. It covers his views on the tech stocks, inflation, Wall Street Bets, crypto (BTC, ETH, DOGE), China and more:

https://t.co/N7MqxWj2ks
12/ One more: Be able to change your mind (before losing $3B in 2000, Druckenmiller pulled a stunning 180-degree turn in 1999)

(This story is courtesy of the Financial Times)
13/ Here is Stan’s guess for the first FAAMG company to reach $5T

More from Trung Phan 🇨🇦

\U0001d683\U0001d69b\U0001d69e\U0001d697\U0001d690 \U0001d67f\U0001d691\U0001d68a\U0001d697 \U0001f1e8\U0001f1e6
𝚃𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝙿𝚑𝚊𝚗 🇨🇦...
@TrungTPhan
1/ Marcus Bullock went to prison in the mid-90s at the age of 15.

Today, he's the CEO of Flikshop -- the "Instagram for the Incarcerated", an alternative to the outrageously expensive phone call system.

This is a truly inspirational founder story 👇👇


2/ In 1996, Bullock was living in Maryland. One night, he and a friend carried out an armed carjacking on a man sitting idle in a shopping mall parking lot.

It was the biggest mistake of this life.

3/ Several years prior to hit actions, there was the famed 1989 Central Park "Jogger Case", in which 5 minority youths were (falsely) accused of raping a jogger.

In the aftermath, nearly every state passed new laws that made it easier for courts to try youth as adults.


4/ For the carjacking, Bullock was charged as an adult and served 8 years in prison.

With onerous prison phone charges ($18 / 15 mins), Bullock's mother kept in touch with him by sending a photo or letter every day.

"She saved me," he says of his mom's efforts.


5/ The $1.2B+ prison phone system is dominated by 2 PE-backed firms (Global Tel Link, Securus Tech).

For the right to operate these phones lines, prisons effectively pay kickbacks to state and local government. The highest kickbacks win bids, which drive up costs.
CULTURE
Trung Phan
Trung Phan
@TrungTPhan
Steve Jobs famously said innovation is "saying no to 1000 things" before you say yes.

For more than a decade, Apple has used Pablo Picasso's Bull to drive home the lesson.

Here's a breakdown 🧵


In Dec. 1945, Picasso created "The Bull", a series of 11 lithographs (stone prints).

With each successive print, a bull is simplified and abstracted. Picasso's goal was to find "spirit of the beast".

At Apple, employees are taught this philosophy.


Below are the 1st, 4th and last stone print.

The bull progresses from:
◻️a realistic drawing
◻️to a deconstructed image w/ the famous "abstract" style
◻️to lines outlining a shape

Through 11 iterations, Picasso simplified the image until it captured the "essence" of the bull.


Picasso said of the abstraction process:

"Two holes. That’s the symbol for the face, enough to evoke it without representing it. But isn’t it strange that it can be done through such simple means? Whatever is most abstract may perhaps be the summit of reality.”


Enter Apple University.

In 2008, Steve Jobs tapped the dean of Yale School of Management to create an internal training curriculum for Apple.

The program was meant to teach new employees Apple's culture and design philosophy (the teachings are rarely shared with the public).
ALL
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Trung Phan \U0001f1e8\U0001f1e6
Trung Phan 🇨🇦...
@TrungTPhan
“I spend too much at Starbucks” is a legendary meme.

It's also not an accident: the coffee retailer -- worth $120B -- uses many psychological hacks in its store and menu designs to get you to drop more cash.

Here are 11 of them 🧵


1/ Starbucks is all about positioning

The chain has higher prices vs competitors. But that's the point.

People typically assign higher value/quality to higher prices. Known as "irrational value assessment", this makes Starbucks an everyday luxury that people will pay for.


2/ Premium brand = premium customer base

By setting its prices higher, Starbucks attracts clientele that are relatively price insensitive.

Starbucks frequently raises its prices with little negative effect to its bottom line.


3/ "More than coffee"

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz created the premium feel by emphasizing experience:

◻️Positioned SBUX as a "third place" (b/t home, work)
◻️Brought bean grinding in-store (for aroma)
◻️Banned auto espresso machines (it took away from the barista craft)


4/ Lighting and visual cues

The Starbucks operations is about "flow", efficiently moving people around the store+ getting them to spend.

To form lines, it directs people to well-lit areas (usually the merchandise, which provides the added benefit of nudging products for sale).
BUSINESS MENTAL MODELS
Trung Phan \U0001f1e8\U0001f1e6
Trung Phan 🇨🇦...
@TrungTPhan
Our intuitions often leads us astray. A good reminder: study counterintuitive math and economic results.

Here are 9 of them 🧵

The Birthday Paradox

In a room of 23 people, there's a >50% chance that 2 people share the same birthday.

This type of probabilistic thinking does *not* come naturally to many people.


The Coastline Paradox

Fractal geometry is also confounding:

The coastline of a landmass does not have a well-defined measurement. As the unit of measurement gets smaller (eg. from KMs to cm), the length increases without limit.


Winner's Curse

In an auction, the winning bid will usually exceed the intrinsic worth of an item leading to a significant overpay (and negative net profit for the winner).


Braess's Paradox

Removing an extra road can make everyone's commute time faster.

Why? The existence of a "fast" road leads to congestion because everyone uses it. If you remove the shortcut, traffic flows better.
FINANCE , COUNTERINTUITIVE
Trung Phan \U0001f1e8\U0001f1e6
Trung Phan 🇨🇦...
@TrungTPhan
The Wall Street Bets due diligence on Wendy’s is gold.

The catalysts are:
◻️ The release of a new summer salad
◻️ The @Wendys Twitter account, which has mastered “meta pragmatic roasting” (which is effective with younger people)
◻️ The fact it literally sells chicken tendies


OP:

Here’s a more fundamentals-driven analysis of Wendy’s

https://t.co/A2k19S9M7J


😂😂😂


Further Wendy’s analysis from @CliffordAsness !!
PUMP DUMP

More from Finance

Brian Feroldi
Brian Feroldi
@BrianFeroldi
1/ My Mission: To Spread Financial Wellness (thread)

Here’s what "financial wellness" means to me

⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

2/ Mindset

Humans are programmed to think short-term

Evolutionary, thinking short-term makes sense. It helps with survival.

Financial wellness is all about training yourself to develop a long-term mindset

Not easy -- it takes practice


3/ Mindset

If you join the right tribes, you can’t help but improve

My favs:
@AffordAnything
@ChooseFiFI
FinTwit
@MicroCapClub
@themotleyfoolFool
@visualizevalue

Twitter / Podcasts / Blogs / YouTube -- when used correctly -- are amazing


4/ Mindset

Educate yourself - constantly!

Especially about:

1⃣Money
2⃣Relationships
3⃣Health

These 3 categories have an outsized influence on all areas of your life

Books


5/ Career

In the beginning, focus on growing your income

Do more than what is expected

Become a lynchpin

Find a career that you ENJOY (<- important!) that also has high-income potential

Start a side hustle (<- important!)

Build your talent
FINANCE
Shravan Venkataraman \U0001f525\U0001f680\U0001f4b0
Shravan Venkataraman 🔥...
@theBuoyantMan
Do you keep your gold assets in bank locker? You are probably paying some fees every year for your lockers.

Instead, what if you could get a locker for free?

What if I said banks would pay you to keep your gold assets safe?

Time for a thread. 👇👇👇


1/ The major issue with having gold in bank lockers is

- You pay hefty fees on an annual basis to the bank.
- The lockers aren't insured
- There's no real safety/security in case of theft or an unfortunate event.

Is there a work around?

Yes.

Enter "Gold Monetisation Scheme".

2/ GOI introduced the Gold Monetisation Scheme in 2015. The main objective was to cut down India's gold imports.

How it works:

You deposit your gold in bank.
They keep it safe for a fixed number of years.
You get it back as physical gold or cash on maturity.

3/ What should you do to be eligible?

You should take the gold you want to deposit to a Collection and Purity Testing Centre (CPTC). GOI has established over 300 CPTC's across India.

They will take your gold, evaluate its purity, and provide a receipt for the gold quantity.

4/ You take the receipt to your bank.

Create a gold monetisation scheme account in your bank.

Give them the receipt provided by PTC.

Your bank will then convert that receipt to a scheme certificate as part of your GMS account.
FINANCE
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Operation Cupcake
Operation Cupcake
@PhillipsBarrie
Jess Phillips is funded by a Luxury Property Developer behind a number of controversial schemes. The register of financial interests lists a donation totaling £6,000 from Court Consultants. Plus a £8,000 a year sideline from the Tories. #LabourLeaks

Jess Phillips MP’s office is funded by a property developer criticised for not including enough affordable housing in his tower blocks. #LabourLeaks

Court Consultants is controlled by Birmingham property developer Anthony McCourt. He is a longstanding financial backer of Jess Phillips. In 2017, Anthony McCourt also gave £3,000 to Phillips to help with the running of her local Labour party.


Councils try to oblige property developers to build some affordable housing in their new buildings in return for planning permission. But recent developments involving Antony McCourt failed to meet even these limited attempts by councils to increase the amount lower-cost housing.

McCourt runs his developments through his other company, Court Collaboration. Recent Court Collaboration schemes have also been criticised for not containing enough affordable housing. #LabourLeaks
FINANCE
Route 2 FI \U0001f4c8
Route 2 FI 📈
@Route2FI
I reached financial independence and quit my 9-5 job this week at 33 years old to work with my own projects.

A thread with lessons about:

-freedom
-time
-money

One day in 2018 when I was in my 9-5 cubicle, I thought to myself while I stared out of the window:

How could I continue waking up every morning and be totally unexcited about everything I was going to do day after day?

This led me to Google:

“How to quit my job forever”.

You know the rest of the story.

Early Retirement Extreme and Mr. Money Mustache are the first pages popping up.

I read everything in a couple of days.

There was really no way back.

WTF, could I quit my job in a couple of years by investing?

I have always been pretty good at handling money, but earlier on I'd just pay down my mortgage faster.

Now I was going all-in on investing.

I started saving and earning more money by changing my 9-5 job.

Starting out I had a savings rate of 40%.

Last 5 months SR: over 90%

I got addicted to investing.

It was like a game.

My salary was increasing every month and on top of that, I started earning more online than I did in my 9-5.

I started dreaming about $100M.

But, then I reflected:

"What will I sacrifice if I continue like this for 30+ years?
FINANCE
Karthik Rangappa
Karthik Rangappa
@karthikrangappa
Newbie traders after learning F&O, look for paper trading platforms to practise. It's like the itch to swim after you learn swimming but end up in a baby pool. Experience of an adult pool vs a baby pool is different, likewise with the real markets & paper trading 🧵 (1/11)

Agreed, without experience, loading your trading account to the tilt and trading can be disastrous 🌋, but that does not mean you will have to paper trade forever. No matter how much you paper trade, you will never get the experience of trading (2/11)

When I talk about trading, I’m not just talking about experiencing the P&L rush. IMHO, experiencing the P&L and how it can vary in real-time is the last thing. There are multiple other things that you need to get comfortable with before diving into full-fledged trading 🏊‍♂️(3/11)

Stuff like placing limit/market order, GTT, AMO. Practising how SL-L for long & short positions works, trailing stops, figuring how margins work, M2M, T+1, T+2 settlements - the list is endless😩 with several moving parts. No paper trading platform gives you the real deal (4/11)

Here is a hack, though - instead of paper trading, try and place an actual trade on a low-value futures contract. My favourite is USD INR 💱, it costs just under 2K per contract, but gives you the whole trading experience (5/11)
ALL , FINANCE

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Pegasus of Dharma
Pegasus of Dharma
@HarduttSuhas
The BATTLE OF PAVAN KHIND (13 July 1660)

300 MARATHAS against 10000+ ADIL SHAHI TROOPS

A Sparta style last man stand at a mountain pass which ensured Shivaji Maharaj's safety.

Valour, loyalty and sacrifice!


Baji Prabhu Deshpande was one of the most able lieutenants of Shivaji. He sacrificed his life defending Shivaji in a heroic last stand known as the "Battle of Pavan Khind" in which his force was hugely outnumbered.(1)

In this battle he became a martyr, but managed to halt the enemy forces for several hours, which secured Shivaji’s safety and victory on another front. Without this heroic last stand Shivaji’s glorious career may have been cut short.(2)


Baji Prabhu was senior to Shivaji. In the beginning he opposed Shivaji being from a rival Maratha clan, but realised that Shivaji stood for national resurgence. Henceforth he became a friend and loyal supporter of Shivaji.(3)

In 1660, Shivaji was trapped in the fort of Panhala, under siege and vastly outnumbered by an Adilshahi army led by general Siddhi Jauhar.(4)
HISTORY
Kanekoa
Kanekoa
@KanekoaTheGreat
*The Evidence Collection*

There is overwhelming evidence of election fraud. Therefore it is the duty of the Executive, Legislative, & Judicial branches to throw out the fraudulent votes & to honor their oath to protect & defend the Constitution of the USA.🇺🇸🦅

A list below.🔻


1/ Navarro Report: The Immaculate Deception - Six Key Dimensions of Election Irregularities -

2/ Analysis of 3,000 U.S. counties shows Joe Biden received 5.6 % more votes in counties using Dominion Voting Systems (Video) -

3/ Antrim Michigan Dominion Voting Systems Forensics Report -

4/ Evidence Grows: ’20 Election Was Rigged -
POLITICS , ALL
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sriram \U0001f1ee\U0001f1f3
sriram 🇮🇳...
@SriramKannan77
Saptapadi

The most essential rite (Sanskrit: rītī) of a Hindu marriage ceremony is Saptapadi (English: seven steps, saptapadī). Saptapadi is a Sanskrit term that means "seven steps." The wedded couple walks seven steps after tying the Mangalsutra, which is known as Saptapadi.


The couple legally becomes husband and wife after the seventh step.
Hindu wedding rituals: During Saath Phere, the bride and groom exchange their marital vows while circumambulating (walking around) the sacred fire seven times.


This is because the bride and groom exchange marriage vows and hope for a happy married life together.

1. The first marriage vow, out of seven, is a petition to the Lord for nutrition and nourishment for the Hindu bride and groom.


2. Hindu Bride and Groom: The second marriage promise is for strength in sickness, health, good times, and terrible times.

3. For the Hindu Bride and Groom - The third marriage promise is for the Hindu bride and groom's prosperity.

4. For Hindu Bride and Groom - The fourth pledge is to stand by their families in good times and bad.
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Nick Kapur
Nick Kapur
@nick_kapur
A thread of images from a Japanese illustrated history of America from 1861.

Here is George Washington (with bow and arrow) pictured alongside the Goddess of America. 1/


Here is Christopher Columbus (seated at center) reporting his discovery of America to Queen Isabella of Spain.

So far, kinda normal, but wait for it.... 2/


Now it's the American Revolution. Here is George Washington defending his wife "Carol" from a British official named "Asura" (same characters as the Buddhist deity). 3/


And here is Washington's "second-in-command" John Adams battling an enormous snake. 4/


Here is Washington and his wife "Carol" meeting an extremely youthful Benjamin Franklin, who has an impressive squat. 5/
CULTURE
WAKE UP AUSTRALIA WAKE UP
WAKE UP AUSTRALIA WAKE...
@WakeAustralia
Facebook originally a CIA program called "LifeLog".
LifeLog, via DARPA, terminated on Feb 4th, 2004.
Facebook was launched on Feb 4th, 2004.
Many of the LifeLog team became execs at FB.
Zuckerberg is a figurehead.
CIA allowed Cambridge to help Trump win

https://t.co/enzOXDCogV


Pentagon Kills LifeLog
BUSINESS