To The Moon

My Investing Muse (25Nov24)

Layoffs & Closure news

• Northvolt chief warns of faltering green transition after battery maker’s bankruptcy Europe’s best-funded start-up raised $15bn but was left with just $30mn in cash - FT

• Layoffs continue across the freight and logistics industry, with companies announcing 1,277 job reductions and six distribution facility closures across the country. - FreightWaves

• Norway's Equinor is trimming 20% of the staff from its renewable energy division and will compete for a smaller number of new projects as it streamlines the business unit, the company told Reuters on Thursday. - Reuters

• Bay Area tech company AppLovin announces layoffs a week after skyrocketing to $97.7B value - SF Gate

Government Waste & Inefficiency

Here are some posts about Government waste and inefficiency:

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In 2022, the Federal Government Accountability Office found $247,000,000,000 in improper payments made across 82 programs, including $81B from Medicaid & $47B from Medicare. That's $250B. In one year. That they know about. And publicly reported. - X user Data Hazard

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Federal government agencies are using, on average, just 12% of the space in their DC headquarters. The Department of Agriculture, with space for more than 7,400 people, averaged 456 workers each day (6% occupancy). Why are American taxpayer dollars being spent to maintain empty buildings? - X user DOGE

GOVERNMENT WASTE IS OUT OF CONTROL: DOGE SHOWS THE WAY FORWARD The numbers don’t lie, and the government’s track record on waste is staggering: - $824 BILLION: The Pentagon failed its seventh consecutive audit, unable to fully account for its $824 billion budget. - $236 BILLION: In fiscal year 2023, federal agencies reported an estimated $236 billion in improper payments across 71 programs. - $200 BILLION: During the pandemic, approximately $200 billion in relief funds were lost to fraud and abuse, highlighting significant oversight failures. - $1 BILLION: The U.S. failed to track over $1 billion in aid sent to Ukraine, raising concerns about accountability in foreign assistance. Elon Musk plans to cut $2 trillion from the U.S. budget by implementing industrial logic. - X user The Kobeissi Letter

More articles highlight the waste and inefficiency in the government. DOGE is set up to address this and this can help the US to change its current course bound for financial challenges.

Tariffs

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Tariffs can be inflationary. Let us count the costs before applying them. The world can work better with collaboration than with sanctions.

TRUMP TO IMPOSE 40% TARIFFS ON CHINA Trump plans to impose nearly 40% tariffs on Chinese imports by early 2025, potentially reducing China's economic growth by up to 1 percentage point. Economists warn the move could strain China's already fragile economy, impacted by a prolonged property downturn and weak domestic demand. While Trump pledged higher tariffs, experts predict he will avoid a blanket 60% rate to minimize U.S. inflation risks. China is expected to introduce new stimulus measures to offset declining exports and maintain growth targets. Source: Reuters

Tariffs have been mentioned as one of the courses of action. With the USA having a trade deficit with China, any similar response from China would lead to inflationary pressures back to the USA. This is something to be reviewed and measured before execution.

I prefer more collaborations than applying sanctions.

My final thoughts

The PCE price index will be one of the most important announcements. This will be one of the considerations for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. This should bring some volatility to the market.

With an escalation in the Ukraine-Russian front, this could be a black swan affecting the market. Russia has demonstrated its capability with the new hypersonic missiles that could not be intercepted by the current defence system. I hope that sense and tolerance will prevail during this time. I hope that Trump can make good his promises to deliver peace to the different regions.

From the looks, Bitcoin should break the $100K mark soon. I am “amazed” to see the amount of funds flowing into the various asset classes - from stock to crypto.

How much more money do we have? There was a recent Fortune article that raised concerns about the diminishing of savings.

There is room for growth in the short term but let us be mindful that some of the fundamentals (like debt) are at worrisome levels. Let us research before investing. Let us avoid leverage and invest with what we can afford to lose.

@TigerStars

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@TigerStars

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