Stuff you didn't want to know about the Stock Market

Image: George Soros Steepling


Stuff you didn't want to know about the

Stock Market ... there are all kinds of investors and two

kinds of the word: "steeple".

From: BodyLanguageProject: Use hand steepling (as in Soros image above) to demonstrate true or feigned confidence.

• This can work when portraying an image of strength is beneficial such as in business or legal negotiations. Steeple the hands when you want other people to think that you are privy to beneficial information that they are not.

STEEPLE is also a marketing acronym: - Social, Technological, Environmental, Economical, legal, political, and Ethics.

George Soros wants you to know that he knows everything it's necessary for you to know.

By MARIO PLATERO
11 August 2020
Rep.repubblica.it - George Soros: "Europe more fragile than the USA. Your enemies are the populists inside and China outside"

George Soros knows all, sees all, advises Italy, the whole EU and the rest of the world.

[The following is a Google Translation from Italian.]

• "Italy is my greatest concern. I see an extremely fragile government, with a coalition that holds only to avoid elections that would be won by anti-European forces. And to save the EU is not enough what we did with the Recovery Fund. We need a perpetual bond that gives interest but is never repayable. Even frugal countries should support it with enthusiasm".
• NEW YORK: George Soros has just returned from a tennis match. At 90, he plays three times a week. He's not the best in mobility, but he scores at the net with flawless timing. And if he makes a mistake, he starts a self-critical roar that intimidates. As his birthday approaches today, he is in perfect shape. I ask him how he sees the current situation after Covid-19 has literally unhinged the life of every person on the face of the Earth.

An interview of a filthy rich man always ignores his underlying banality. Even when Soros looks into his crystal ball and sees exactly what everybody else sees it is reported as revelation.

• “We are in the worst crisis since the Second World War. It is a revolutionary situation with unpredictable developments. What seems impossible in normalcy not only becomes possible, it occurs. People are confused, scared and react badly. I see individuals who hurt themselves. A world that hurts itself ”.

How do you see the situation in Europe and the US?

• “Europe is very vulnerable, more than the United States. True, even in the US, it has been possible to elect a swindler like Trump to the presidency, which threatens democracy from within. But America is one of the oldest democracies in history, there is a strong tradition for the separation of powers, there are solid rules and above all there is the Constitution. For this I am optimistic. Trump will be a transitory phenomenon, which I hope will already end in the November elections. He remains very dangerous, he is fighting for his survival; he will do everything to stay in power because, having violated the Constitution several times, he will be held accountable if he loses the White House. The European Union, being an incomplete union, is instead much more vulnerable, and has numerous internal and external enemies ”.

Oh, oh.  He said, "I hope", not "I know".  Soros doesn't know?  Some crystal ball he is.  The following is not very precise either.

Who are the internal enemies?

• “There are many leaders and movements opposed to the values ​​on which the European Union was founded. In two countries they even seized power: Viktor Orbán in Hungary and Jaroslaw Kaczynski in Poland. It also happens that Poland and Hungary are the major beneficiaries of the structural funds distributed by the EU! My main concern at the moment, however, concerns Italy. Matteo Salvini, an anti-European leader, gained support until, overestimating his success, he made the fatal mistake of causing the government crisis. Its popularity is on the decline, but that of Giorgia Meloni of Fratelli d'Italia, even more extremist and of the same coalition, is on the rise. I see an extremely fragile government, with a coalition that holds up only to avoid elections that would be won by the anti-European forces. And to say that Italy was Europe's most convinced supporter, the population had more faith in Europe than in their own governments. But Italy remains a key member, I cannot imagine Europe without Italy. The key question is whether Europe will be able to do enough to support Italy ”.

"I see an extremely fragile government ...". Soros should do astrology readings on YouTube.

The EU has just approved a € 750 billion recovery fund ...

• "True. In theory, the EU has taken a very important step forward by committing itself to borrowing on the market for a much higher amount than ever before. But in retrospect it is clear that the European Council meeting was a colossal failure. The path chosen by the European Union will bring too little money too late, for the obstruction of the four or five frugal countries. This brings me back to my idea of ​​a perpetual obligation. I believe that the frugal four or five countries that have already diluted the Recovery Fund must recognize it. Instead of getting in the way, they should enthusiastically support it. Only their genuine conversion can make the perpetual bond acceptable to investors. As the name implies, the bond pays an interest of 1% for an unlimited period,  without ever repaying the principal. The cost-benefit ratio would be enormous, 1 in 100. Without that tool, the EU might not survive. And the loss would be colossal not only for Europe but for the whole world. An example of a possible thing and in these times it could also happen ”.

Soros speaks only one language: money.  He doesn't acknowledge the impact on families, workers, agriculture ... that's "populist" thinking; not worth paying attention to.

From the BBC: In political science, populism is the idea that society is separated into two groups at odds with one another - "the pure people" and "the corrupt elite" ...

• The term is often used as a kind of shorthand political insult.

Because however corrupt the "elite" may be, they are still the elite, so there!

And that's the real George Soros, deep in his aged bones he has no thought for the average citizen; the market is where everything of any importance resides. Which explains why, even at an early age, he was pragmatic about stealing from Jews on behalf of Nazis. He's always operated on the side of power, no matter how crass and cold, and there is only one power: money.

There's a winner in the Republican primaries who's been vilified for repeating the "conspiracy theory" that Soros was a Nazi collaborator, despite the fact that Soros himself has publicly confirmed [YouTube] that he, disguised as Aryan, worked for the Nazis in order to save his own hide. The man is proud of his resourcefulness, and regardless of whatever else she may be doing wrong, he should come to the woman's defence in this matter.

Merkel is determined to make the German EU presidency a success. Can we hope for her?

• “The Chancellor is doing everything she can, but she is confronted with a deeply rooted cultural opposition: the German term 'schuld' has a double meaning: debt and guilt. Whoever has a debt is guilty. But it is not considered that creditors can also be guilty. This cultural dichotomy is very widespread and results in a conflict between being German and European at the same time. It also explains the recent decision of the German Supreme Court in conflict with the European Court of Justice.

Who are Europe's external enemies?

• “They are different, but they have a common characteristic: they oppose the idea of ​​an open society. I became an enthusiastic supporter of the EU because it was the symbol of an open society. Russia was the most dangerous enemy, but China has recently overtaken Russia. Russia dominated China until President Nixon, a great foreign policy strategist, realized that opening up to China and strengthening it would weaken communism in the Soviet Union as well. It is true that Nixon suffered impeachment, but he was, with Kissinger, a great strategic thinker. [Some of his thoughts Hitler would have agreed with.] It was their moves that led to Deng Xiaoping's great reforms. Things are very different today. China is a leader in artificial intelligence with which it produces population control tools. They are essential for a closed society, but they are a mortal danger for an open society. Artificial intelligence today turns the cards to the advantage of closed societies. And in the United States there is a rare bipartisan consensus in defining China as a strategic rival. "
  

Hmmmm... The US is also "closed" right now, as are most nations thanks to the "pandemic". Soros claims to support "open society", yet doesn't decry the closures, nor define what he means by "rival", though it does sound like he's cheering for the US to win the race for AI dominance, "Open Society" or not.

What has been your key to success in the financial markets?

• “I developed a conceptual scheme that gave me an edge. It is about the complex relationship between thought and reality, and I used the market as a testing ground to test the validity of my theory. There are two assumptions, Fallibility and Reflexivity. The first says that the worldviews elaborated by market participants are always incomplete and distorted. These distorted views produce wrong actions and this is Reflectivity ".

My, how esoteric: "thought and reality".  What big concepts to describe a gambling addiction.

Your outline seems to be talking about today's market: are you worried about the market valuations / economic weakness ratio? Are we in a bubble fueled by the huge liquidity made available by the Fed?

• “It hit the mark. The Fed was more successful than President Trump, who criticized it, flooding the market with liquidity. The market is currently underpinned by two factors: one is the expectation for the immediate future of an even bigger injection of fiscal stimulus than the Cares Act's $ 1.8 billion, the other is the expectation that Trump will announce the vaccine before the elections ".

The more I read, the more I think Soros told the interviewer what to ask. More about that further down this page.

You recently donated $ 220 million to the cause of racial equality and the causes of blacks. What do you think of the Black Lives Matter movement?

• “It's really important. It is the first time that a large majority of the population, not just African Americans, recognizes that the current discrimination against blacks can be traced back to slavery."

Well, that was hardly profound.  Just because people didn't admit it doesn't mean they didn't know it. But the guy's stinking rich, eh?  Even when he states the obvious it's perceived as gold.

In this revolution statues are knocked down and political correctness seems to prevail over everything.

• “Some call it the culture of cancellation. It seems to me a temporary phenomenon, and it seems excessive to me. Politically correct is exaggerated even in universities. As an open society theorist, I consider the politically correct, the politically incorrect. We should not forget that the plurality of points of view is fundamental for democracy”.

He contradicts himself and gets away with it. He abhors political correctness AND believes in allowing different points of view - which would include political correctness, one would think.

But Soros is always correct even when not entirely correct.

It is argued that with Covid-19 and the experience of remote work, the future of cities and metropolitan areas is sealed.

• “Many things will change, but it is too early to say how they will change. I remember that in 2001, after the fall of the Twin Towers, it was said that people no longer wanted to live in New York, but it took a few years to forget about it ”.

"Many things will change." There's that crystal ball again. What's shallow is people hanging on the words of the likes of a Soros or a Gates, simply because they have cold enough blood to become richer than God, and aren't embarrassed to be caught steepling as they utter the obvious.

Who needs Soros' crystal ball! Here’s a pandemic stock tip - buy on the rumor of a COVID-19 vaccine, then sell when it makes the news:

Marketwatch: The stock market may fall when a COVID-19 vaccine formally receives approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

• The news media today obsessively reports every medical development and the results of each trial, and biotech companies are willing co-conspirators in this. FDA approval of a vaccine, when it comes, could be more of a non-event than we think.
• ... institutional money managers and professional traders — the smarter money — will likely use that occasion to start selling.

Oh, gee, now everybody knows! No use hanging onto a commodity with a rep like this:

• The FDA has already set a relatively low bar — just 50% effectiveness — and many already are voicing concern that whatever vaccine gets approved will not have received the same degree of rigorous safety testing that previous vaccines have received.

You should probably read the foregoing paragraph a few times to let it sink in. The FDA thinks so-so effectiveness and iffy safety is OK.  It's good of the FDA to warn current investors about precisely when to dump the product - the minute it's officially approved, or more likely a few seconds before?

• It’s worth mentioning in this regard the stock market’s reaction to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia has registered the first COVID-19 vaccine: The S&P 500 SPX, 0.06% fell 0.8% on the day.

KnowYourMeme: Image: Doctor Who - Quote from "The Face of Evil" (1977)