Screen of the WSJ on mobile. For posterity.
Do you think Trump, Musk and their oligarch insider friends maybe, just maybe, opened short positions on a bunch of stock ahead of the new tariff announcement?
This is my thought exactly.
I watched Steven Colbert yesterday saying that this large of a fuck up is proof there is no deep state. While I get his point, I disagree. If there is someone in the shadows pulling strings this was the intended outcome.
It’s pretty well known that in trading markets, there’s almost always something that goes up when everything else drops like a rock. Even as such, moving money to be liquid right before a steep drop off, then buying up all the formerly high-value stocks at bargain basement pricing, and just waiting for the rebound, is a legit strategy. Having foreknowledge of such an action is considered insider trading however. Realistically, insider trading is difficult to prove unless the perpetrator is an idiot.
Whether you call it the deep state or the 1% or oligarchs, or simply “rich assholes”, if you believe there is a group orchestrating things, then you beat believe this was the intended outcome.
Nothing needs to go up. Shorting stocks lets you make money off of them when they go down. If a person or group of people can cause a crash and know in advance what day it’s happening, they can borrow stocks and then buy the stock to repay the loan at a lower price and pocket the change.
Isn’t the value of short position rising?
Another one from 2012:
Unfortunately, this one wasn’t a real tweet. It seems real, but it’s not.
Now we know why he’s keeping Elon around, he needs a lift.
Such incredible foresight from Elon—parking a Tesla in orbit around the sun for this particular occasion!
I was considering trying to cash out my 401k and ira in the US (I bought my first house and I think that’s one of the allowed cases), but hadn’t worked out the details yet. Guess that’s not happening right now. I no longer live in the US and will probably renounce citizenship once my parents go.
I looked at my other investments this morning based on this post and… Lol. Granted, I only one a handful, but it still hurts. My stock that was worth only like 40 cents moved up 5+% so yay for that, I guess.
To be fair, the market is roughly at where it was in September (pending further tanking). So, not a huge difference…yet.
Got my family out last year, I commute back and forth.
There is something really sick about watching this from overseas, like watching paramedics carry bodies out of a car crash.
But it was no fun when I was there.
Fucking morons shooting themselves in the balls to look tough.
I’ve only been twice in the last decade: once the year after I moved and summer 2022ish. It’s just crazy to watch. My family just offered to pay for us to fly out for vacation but I declined. My non-white wife that doesn’t really speek English + immigration now means we’re not going near the place.
What happens to your 401k and IRA if you’ve moved abroad and renounce your citizenship? Will it ever be paid out?
Not an American so I honestly don’t know.
That wouldn’t effect legal agreements. if he’s still the owner of the accounts the are still enforced, at least when there was a functioning system in place to enforce contracts with in the US legal and banking systems.
I don’t know either. I imagine it just lives on. I can’t put money in them now from Japan anyway (well, unless I want to pay some taxes in the US on top of what I pay here; no thanks). I can’t use Japan’s equivalent either since the US tax authorities will massacre you with paperwork and fines (PFICs). If social security still exists, I worked long enough in the US to get that and it doesn’t matter for that if I renounce.
If social security still exists, I worked long enough in the US to get that and it doesn’t matter for that if I renounce.
Well, hope they won’t change the rules around that if it does still exist by the time you retire. Though generally such things aren’t done retroactively I believe. Once you’ve earned it, you’ve earned it. Even if rules change for future folks. At least in sane countries, but of course we’re talking about the US…
There is a totalization agreement with the japanese govt, so I could theoretically do something before renouncing, but I’ve never looked into it. I liked the idea of having both for diversity and safety
My 401k today is $520 less than what it was Jan 21st. I put in almost $600 every 2 weeks.
That’s a good chunk of change that just disappeared. I can only imagine how much someone with a bigger retirement account than I have is hurting.
It disappeared now. When COVID hit I upped my contribution just to max out when the market was at a low.
The only way for the 401k to disappear entirely is if the entire economy is royally, never before seen fucked and completely collapses. At that point retirement if probably not a possibility anyways.
Any other situation you’re essentially ‘buying the dip’ and will see the returns years from now. Although if you’re looking to retire anytime in the near future it will likely be a huge hit on what you can take out.
Switching from pensions to 401ks was one of the greatest swindles of the 20th century.
It’s funny seeing how this generation grasps for morsels. Big reason why I don’t respect ya’ll.
Y’all
I’m not sure if you’re a Boomer who had an actual choice, or a Gen α who has an excuse for not understanding.
Looking at your comment history, you’re an idiot lol
Meh I went through the same shit in 03, 08 and Covid. It hurts but keep depositing and/or increase your contribution. Your future self will thank you.
I sometimes wonder if this time is a bit different, but we’ll see. I don’t know what qualifies as a safe harbor if donvict’s wrecking crew end up destroying the entire fabric of why people invest in the U.S.
Meaning, the dotcom bubble, the early 90s recession, the 08 real estate bubble, the gigantic V that was early covid…those all still had a government that was looking to sustain most or all of our institutions.
Donvict and his crazy Project 2025/fElon dogebags are running around and ripping out the very infrastructure…
Oh I’m not stopping. Just pointing out how this is hurting people’s retirement.
They voted for this. We all have to be onboard for the crash.
And yet people still felt the need to vote for him
I’ll never understand this country…
Lack of education, bo lack of racism
Racism.
The south started a war and killed 600k Americans for racism.
It’s all some of them care about, it’s their alpha and omega.
And people still thinks he is playing some sort of 4D chess. My friend in Georgia says he is creating a dip so that federal reserve will lowering interest rate.
Yes, because a president that fired so many fedral workers, and sending secret police to abduct people cannot control the federal reserve, have to play stagnation or bust.
One of the talking heads on one of those business news shows summed up the theory about lowering interests rates as “it’s like burning down the house to cook a steak.”
There’s no plan here, it’s just a deranged old man surrounded by sycophants doing all of the things people previously told him wouldn’t work.
So much winning
His MAGA fans likely don’t have anything in the market, or they don’t think they do, so they think this won’t affect them. They are in for a rude awakening.
Yep. The market is a lot like politics that way.
You might not take an interest in markets, but markets take an interest in YOU.
No they are all over invested in the market. The techbros. The effective altruists. The boomers and anyone wealthy. They voted for Trump to pump their bags and dont care about anything else. Only the dirt poor maga aren’t baws deep.
I am actually getting worried about the leopards health, are there too many faces for them to eat? Do we need to ensure they stay healthy and in shape to better continue eating all the faces by restricting the amount of faces they can eat in day?
The leopards eating faces are becoming obese.
He inherited a growing economy, a healthy stock market and low unemployment. He has undone all 3. Power move!
No imagine what evil he could do if he didn’t spend 90 % of his waking time golfing!
And he was very quick about it. I have never seen anyone deal so artfully before. /s
I keep saying that but a lot of people that just like to be contrarians (I guess?) keep saying that the economy was not really good at all.
Be fair, it did take a long time to undo all that…
He’s been back in office an astonishing two months. That’s a lifetime!!Don’t give me hope
He also had friends and allies all around the world. He’s undone that too.
We’ve probably been in a recession now for awhile. We won’t know officially until I’ll maybe, November? Figuring it usually takes 7 months for data to catch up and and a official recession needs to be 2 consecutive months of lost growth.
Two consecutive quarters and that is a very open definition since other factors also are considered.
Thank you for the correction. Edited original post.
Maybe whatever civilization replaces the US will learn from our mistakes and never, under any circumstances allow a single person to have the ability to set any kind of policy. Hopefully they also don’t leave gigantic weapons that can destroy the country all over the legal tapestry and use the honor system to control their usage.
Us humans have been making the same mistakes for thousands of years. Lather, rinse,repeat.
It’s not one person charting this path.
Who are you kidding we’re going to put lead back into everything again just for fun.
The trump regime was designed to TANK the US economy so that stocks, businesses, and industries can be bought by billionaires at rock bottom prices.
All is going according to plan.
No, that wasn’t the point.
There were 2 goals:
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Cut spending to 0 so they could cut taxes (cap gains to 0)
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Isolate the US from the rest of the world, this is what Putin cares about the absolute most. If we’re out of the way he sees Russia as unstoppable (which is stupid, they can’t beat any country with functioning tractors).
-
Its Russia in the 90s all over again. Must be a coincidence that the Russian mafia-turned-regime they’re so chummy with, got its foot in the door and secured its power through an almost identical move.
Im wondering if America will have its equivalent of the 1999 Apartment bombings.
…what were those
False flag attack orchestrated by the FSB of. The orders of Putin when Putin was still officially Boris yeltsins second in command.
It was used to justify breaking the truce with thr chechen separatists. And start a new war.
It is often cited as the main incident that allowed Putin to seize power in Russia. Yeltsin was dreadfully unpopular. Putin made himself look strong by playing the role of the patriot who was going to flatten the terrorists for what they did.
It was all a scam. Everything Putin has ever done has always been a scam
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Russian_apartment_bombings
Interesting read
Even the wealthy have to think about what is happening right now. To have their company’s value go to shit overnight isn’t winning him any fans.
I think a lot of them are ideological psychos. Saw an interview with Forbes magazine founder, and he’s giddy about these tariffs because he thinks they’ll enable tax cuts. I don’t think he cares if his shares tank or whatever, as long as he doesn’t have money “taken away” from him to help the poors.
A lot of people might decide to violently resist such an eventuality. Things can quickly go off the rails.
Remember that despite the rule of law no longer applying to the rich and powerful, the laws of physics continue to apply.
A lot of people might decide to violently resist such an eventuality
I don’t see a lot of evidence to suggest that’ll happen.
This is what Trump wants. He wants the market to drop and/or a recession. Why? To force the Fed to drop rates back to essentially zero. Once that happens, expect a blistering turnaround in the market. Everyone and their great aunt will be borrowing money at ultra low interest to buy stocks. The stock market will explode, maybe crypto, too. Inflation will skyrocket. It will be nuts.
They’re already shilling crypto hard and threatening to reneg on US debt. They want to crash the economy, do a full venture capital takeover and set up autonomous states in preparation for the coming inequality revolution.
