meiroy

"A bank does not need deposits to lend. The mere act of extending a loan, creates a deposit. If a bank needs reserves to meet regulatory requirements, it can borrow them from other banks. The idea that a bank must first gather deposits before it can lend is wrong." Isn't interbank landing more expensive and isn't there currently regulation that limits this dependency and encourages deposits? "This point you make is an interesting one for those who fear that an increase in taxes would slow the economy. I'm wondering why that fear exists " Depending on which sectors of the economy are taxed and by how much it can indeed slow down specific sectors, likewise it can benefit specific sectors. The keyword here is "it depends", and the reason there's general fear is that a lot of people treat it as an absolute truth regardless of the circumstances.

All they need is some new government regulations with support from private American companies and they get a business moat out of thin air. I think this is very likely to happen.

It's unbelievable these discussions on basic measures are still going on. When there's a fog of war, the person in charge has to make quick decisions based on partial information and uncertainty, they don't wait until everything is known and clear or just pretend there's no war, because they will lose. From day 1, people should have worn surgical masks, avoid unnecessary gathering, ventilate, test as much as possible etc. A complete no brainer based on what we know about viruses. This is exactly what they did in South Korea/Taiwan and some other countries. Once these basic measures are taken, something can be taken out or added when it's clearer what's going on. But here we are, it's almost the middle of July and we're still debating if to take these measures. FFS.

Several members of my extended family are anti-vaxxers. Once there's a legit vaccine out, we'll get it, and then I'm not sure we'll want any contact with these people. Sadly. If people are not willing to wear masks, will they get vaccinated? If plenty won't, it can't be contained. I'm not too optimistic.

I have a small amount dedicated to options gambling investing, just so I don't mess around with the larger sums. It has done surprisingly well.

The world just got a little bit better...

Buffett is going to be 90 in August. If he already decided on who's going to replace him, then this person should be controlling majority of investments NOW and not when something happens.

Trigger alert! Doctors hate this trick! I cut my net carbs down to 20 grams/day and all a sudden i lose 40-45lbs in a 16 month period. I didn't even exercise much. My diet is a little heavy on bacon and eggs at the moment. (Eric, to each his/her own. Keto is the way that I keep the weight off. Please play along with this faux meat vs Vegan drama that I am creating.) Going whole foods plant-based would get you the same weight loss while also reversing cardiovascular disease, which you are not getting on the all-meat diet. If weight loss were the only goal I'd rather eat the bacon and eggs like you. But just remember, the arteries that feed your erections are much smaller than the coronary arteries, so guess what's gonna go first. I don't think my blood work has ever been so good. Thank you for thinking of my junk. I think going whole foods plant-based would get me depressed. Just can't imagine skipping meat, cheese, and seafood. Honestly, I wish I can do a Vegan diet. I doubt my body is built for that. But then I said the same thing about carbs and now I feel much better on a higher fat diet. #All_Out_Keto_Vs_Vegan_War (Joking) About the cheese, a real somewhat-aged dutch Gouda cheese has vitamin k2 which assists in removing calcium from your blood vessels. It's either that or eating Natto... Also, real grass-fed butter has vitamin k2. I've considered going vegetarian but the concern is about lacking certain nutrients, like Creatine and all these other things which we might have no clue about and you can't even blood test for.

How to get kids to eat veggies based on my own kids(thus having an insignificant statistical meaning): 0. Are YOU having lots of veggies or are you eating processed crap? Your kids see and smell what you eat. 1. Have as much variety as possible, see what they like. Steamed, fried, or baked. Salad. Mixed. Have them help you prepare the meal, wash the vegetables or cut them, etc. Whatever works. 2. While making sure they receive a sufficient amount of calories, reduce sugar/sweet as much as possible. If a kid is having a massive amount of sugar via sugar covered breakfast or bread, veggies would taste like crap. 3. A general tip: one can have great nutritional food for kids without any cooking, e.g. some nuts, egg with salt on it, gouda cheese, a tablespoon of peanut butter. Takes a second to prepare. I hope Eric starts a thread about being a Vegan, under Strategies.

You are right, Japan even came up with this: According to this, clustering in Churches should definitely be avoided. In addition, in Japan and South Korea, it is so obvious and acceptable that everyone should be wearing a mask it wasn't even included in this poster. "Photos of the event taken inside the church showed the crowd shoulder to shoulder, with very few people appearing to wear masks.". Aren't you tired of your trolling?

Again, simplifying the situation. Yes, it slows down transmission. But then what? Should we be in the lockdown until a vaccine is developed? That could be anywhere between 18 months to forever, based on the initial estimation of experts. Then there are countries like S. Korea, where they never had any lockdown as we have it here or in Europe. Yet, they kept the virus under control. I think that's a strong sign that there are other much more effective measures than the lockdown. To some effect yes. The fact is that there's a killer virus going around. It spreads and kills. Doesn't care about what you think, how you feel, how you vote. It does not give a fuck. So reality has suddenly changed. There is no normal anymore. The virus looks at the normal and laughs. So effectively there are two options: a soft lockdown - which you're not gonna like, or a hard lockdown - which you're really not gonna like. Normal isn't on the list. A soft lockdown is basically the South Korea model. Masks, sanitizer, social distancing, huge test and trace. You don't get to pack bars and do whatever you like. Life isn't normal. SK thought they could do more normal, opened clubs, had one superspreader event and was like "that's it, no more clubs". If you don't want the soft lockdown you get the hard lockdown. That's the problem with America. It is not responsible enough to go through a soft lockdown because they are "special" so they want normal. Well you can't have normal. It's interesting that places that had bad outbreaks in the north east are not seeing pops. I don't know why, but maybe they were scared enough by what happened that they really want to go with the soft lockdown. Whereas other places that didn't partake in the carnage are not at that point yet. Just to let you know, all those things you mentioned regarding S. Korea help, but the most effective measure that S. Korea was able to take was put those infected in a hospital and won't release you until you test negative. Yes, you heard that right. They don't just ask you to self-quarantine at home for two weeks. Now they are debating whether they should not hospitalize those who test positive but show only mild symptoms. In China, I believe that they do something similar, or put you in a house arrest. With this kind of measure in place, you can let people go to work, dine at restaurants, go to schools, etc. and manage the transmission... Now you can ask, why can't the US do this? Well, I'd say two main things are: 1) their health care system is not designed for that kind of measure (fewer hospital beds, cost/insurance issues), and 2) many people will not abide by that kind of "hard" quarantine measures. Some people might not even get tested because they don't want to get locked in a hospital. What could Trump have done to fix these things? (I don't want to defend him, but just being realistic here) So my feeling is... No matter what the US politicians could have done, you wouldn't have been able to stop this virus. Especially given its size, connections with the rest of the world, and the two points above, etc.. There are inherent reasons why the spread could not be stopped. You could wish and vent all you want how the US admin. could have prevented this crisis, but in reality, I don't think it was possible. You are right, this virus doesn't give a fuck, and you might just have to see it run its course. So basically almost every developed country and most developing countries were able to get their outbreak under some sort of control but the almighty US can't do anything? As I've said. you get soft lockdown or hard lockdown. There is no option C. You don't like or can't fathom option A, well then... option B it is. Again, look at the daily death rate or cases/test ratio. It's not really exploding... And you are missing my point... I'm saying that it's not as simple as soft lockdown vs. hard lockdown. S. Korea did a soft lockdown but together with putting every infected person into a hospital. It's not whether people like it or not, but the US simply cannot afford to take that kind of approach. The correct word is "incapable". For example, the US can surely afford to manufacture and provide all its residents with surgical masks. Even if it does, plenty of people will not comply. Why? Because currently, it is incapable, incompetent, and impotent. It's not a question of money. It's a question of who.

I think so. And if the cap is at the current level, maybe the 'deep cut' of dividend at WFC isn't going to be that deep. What if this quarter is the Q from hell with provisions higher than "expected"?

It strikes me as a decision that lacks courage. If the Fed were truly worried, it should have just ordered all TBTF banks to suspend all dividends and buybacks for the next 12 months. Instead, they have taken this strange half-measure where dividends are permitted, but the TBTF banks now have to submit a second capital plan. What's that going to cost? The CCAR is already a very expensive process for the banks. Just suspend all dividends if that's what's making the fed nervous. SJ They probably did this because they wanted to avoid scaring Mr Market unnecessarily but also wanted to keep the option to quickly reverse course if things actually start going badly. Not a terrible compromise given the circumstances IMO. Makes sense. Add to the Tasseography, the statement about the Volker Rule, the Fed will support banks' earnings in various ways with the object of banks making loans? https://www.fdic.gov/news/speeches/spjun2520a.html "To facilitate capital formation, the rule would enable banking entities to provide credit through fund investments that would increase the availability of capital for businesses across the country. For example, banking entities would be permitted to invest in qualifying venture capital funds and credit funds, subject to important safeguards. In addition, the rule would improve several existing exclusions from the covered fund definition to provide clarity and simplify compliance."

Lol... Something else that’s “weird”—the mortality graph is shifted to the right when compared to the case graph...almost like mortality lags cases and cases can be seen as an early warning sign of where mortality might be headed...hmmm... Yes, deaths lag cases but that doesn't seem to be the case. Which makes it even more impressive.

If it's due to treatment having improved than that's pretty good.