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I wouldn't be the first time Buffet took advantage of fire sale prices re GE...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2011/09/13/ge-to-redeem-preferred-stock-from-berkshire-warren-buffet-makes-a-cool-1-2b/#6d07858b380f
Good Limerick
How much longer will it take for you to figure this out ?????
See my previous comment...
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=130365752
"It's something else entirely to claim that an illegal alien, subject to deportation, can drop a baby and suddenly claim to be the parent of a "citizen."
Google Searches Of "Buyback Blackout" Hit All Time High
Back when the Fed was engaging in quantitative easing, the almost daily Permanent Open Market Operation through which the NY Fed injected liquidity into the market became such a hit with the broader investing public - simply because because stocks tended to outperform on POMO days - that google searches for "POMO" exploded, and hit an all time high shortly after the Fed launched QE1.
Now for the investing public, it's all about buybacks, and specifically - when do they return?
To be sure, the buyback blackout period which has coincided with the recent market correction has been the subject of intense focus in recent weeks. For proof look no further than the frequency of Google searches for the phrase "buyback blackout" which rose sharply to its highest ever in October.
The reason for this fascination is that, as we discussed yesterday, as the blackout period rolls off for more companies, especially those with large buyback programs, the pace of buybacks will ramp up sharply.
According to Goldman, roughly 48% of S&P 500 firms are now out of their blackout windows and will be able to resume discretionary share repurchases, while Deutsche Bank calculates that this week, companies with $50 billion of quarterly buybacks were off their blackout periods, and the number jumps to $110 billion by the end of next week and to $145bn the following.
And, as we further observed over the weekend, this is arguably the most bullish argument to buy stocks for one simple reason: from a demand-supply perspective, buybacks have been the main driver of the equity rally in this cycle.
Commenting on this phenomenon, Deutsche Bank writes that "in the absence of outflows and further positioning cuts, which require incrementally negative news, buybacks should drive equities higher." Which also explains why the public is so fascinated with just when the dreaded "buyback blackout" period will finally end unleashing the next round of "BTFD."
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-29/google-searches-buyback-blackout-hit-all-time-high
5,000 Troops To Be Deployed To Southern Border; Military Actively Moving Equipment
The US military will deploy 5,000 troops to the southern border - up from initial estimates of 800, according to the Wall street Journal, citing US officials. The troops will be sent to Texas, Arizona and California as Central American migrant caravan makes its way north through Mexico.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters Sunday that the military has already started to deploy countermeasures to the southern border, following weekend reports that Mexican police had abandoned their own blockades as a massive Central American migrant caravan continues their march north, reports
More...
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-28/mattis-military-actively-moving-equipment-southern-border
He is always entertaining
Texas Democrats Caught Mailing Pre-Filled Voter Registrations To Non-Citizens
The Texas Democratic Party has been sending pre-filled applications to non-citizens with the citizen box marked "yes," according to new complaints filed Thursday by the Public Interest Legal Foundation. The organization notified district attorneys and the Department of Justice, and included a signed affidavit from a man who claims that several relatives who are not citizens received the mailing, according to the Washington Times.
"This is how the Texas Democratic Party is inviting foreign influence in an election in a federal election cycle," said PILF spokesman, Logan Churchwell.
The Texas secretary of state's office confirmed that it too had received complaints from immigrants and the relatives of dead people who said they were sent the registration mailings.
"If true there will be serious consequences," said Texas governor Greg Abbott, a Republican.
The PILF publicly released complaints it sent to Hidalgo and Starr counties asking for an investigation. The organization also provided copies of pre-marked voter applications and the affidavit from the man who said his non-citizen relatives received the mailing.
The applications were pre-addressed to elections officials, which is likely what left many voters to believe they were receiving an official communication from the state.
But the return address was from the State Democratic Executive Committee, and listed an address in Austin that matches the state Democratic Party’s headquarters.
The letter is emblazoned with “Urgent! Your voter registration deadline is October 9.” It continues: “Your voter registration application is inside. Complete, sign and return it today!”
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-18/texas-democrats-caught-mailing-pre-filled-voter-registrations-non-citizens
Boston Dynamics Terrifying Humanoid Robot Can Do Parkour Now
Boston Dynamics' "nightmare inducing" robots are seemingly becoming more human-like with each passing month. Whereas just a few years ago, the company's "Atlas" robot could barely manage walking on uneven ground, the terrifying humanoid android can effortlessly run and leap over obstacles - or on to platforms and boxes. This latest upgrade follows an update from last year where BD demonstrated Atlas' newfound ability to perform standing backflips with ease. Can you do that? We thought not...
In one recently uploaded demo, Atlas does parkour - bounding over obstacles, running across platforms and picking up boxes.
What Do The Worst-Run States Have In Common?
What do the worst-run states have in common? ...they're run by tax-and-spend Democrats...
Fiscal Sanity: Which political party is better at managing taxpayer dollars? The latest ranking of states' fiscal condition offers an unequivocal answer.
For several years, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University has ranked statesbased on five measures of their financial condition: cash solvency, budget solvency, the ability to meet long-term spending commitments, state spending and taxes as a share of personal income, and unfunded pension liabilities and debt.
And lest anything think that Mercatus — a free-market-oriented group — is fudging the numbers, note that the data used to compile these rankings all come from official state annual financial reports and from state actuarial reports.
For 2016, the latest year for which data are available, the top five most fiscally sound states were, in order: Nebraska, South Dakota, Tennessee, Florida and Oklahoma.
The five worst states, starting at the bottom: Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Kentucky.
Notice anything similar in these groupings? We did. All but one of the top five are solidly Republican states. All but one of the bottom five are solidly Democratic.
Not An Aberration
This isn't some one-year aberration, either.
For the first time this year, Mercatus produced rankings from 2006 through 2016.
What does that show?
Of the 10 states that show up most frequently at the bottom of the list since 2006, nine are solid blue states. Of the 10 states with consistently the best record, all but one are solidly red states.
There's another commonality between the best-run and worst-run states. Taxes.
As it turns out, states in the worst fiscal shape also tend to impose the highest tax rates in the nation. In fact, six of the 10 states that consistently show up as the least fiscally solvent rank in the Top 10 for highest taxes as a share of income, according to the Tax Foundation.
Of the 10 most fiscally sound states, all but one impose below-average tax burdens on their residents.
Common Ingredients
So, if it's not tax revenues, what makes a state fiscally sound or not? What the Mercatus data show is that it's the result of years of overspending and overpromising, mostly to unionized government workers by pliant Democratic leaders.
Take a look at Illinois, which ranks dead last in the most recent report. According Mercatus, the Prairie State doesn't have enough cash to cover short-term obligations. Its revenues only cover 92% of expenses. The state has long-term liabilities more than three times as large as its total assets. Illinois' unfunded pension liability was almost $446 billion in 2016. That's equal to 67% of the state's total personal income.
Nebraska, which ranks at the top, has plenty of cash on hand, has little long-term liabilities, and lower-than-average taxes and spending as a share of income. Unlike Illinois, Nebraska has just $20 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.
Who Respects Taxpayers?
Indeed, every state at the bottom of the Mercatus ranking has enormous, and growing, pension liabilities. Unfunded pension liabilities more than doubled in New Jersey from 2006 to 2016. They tripled in Illinois and Kentucky.
Financially sound states, in contrast, have kept their pension liabilities low, tend not to spend more than they take in, and have plenty of cash on hand.
Or, to put it another way: The best-run states show greater respect for taxpayers than the worst-run states.
What does that say about Democratic and Republican priorities?
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-11/what-do-worst-run-states-have-common
CGC Canopy Growth Completes First Legal Medical Cannabis Export from Canada to the United States
SMITHS FALLS, ON, Oct. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Marking a major milestone in cannabis history, Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) (CGC) ("Canopy Growth" or the "Company") has completed a legal transfer of cannabis products to a research partner in the United States. To the Company's knowledge, this transfer is the first export of legal cannabis products from Canada to the United States pursuant to an import permit issued by the federal United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The shipment was completed for the sole purpose of supporting medical research and development.
More...
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/canopy-growth-completes-first-legal-103000040.html
The Post-Fiat World Begins: Venezuela's Cryptocurrency A Necessity To Obtain A Passport
The case for cryptocurrencies sure looks to have gotten stronger over the past week and Venezuela's "Petro" looks like it may be the concept's first "beta test" on a country-wide scale.
We recently reported that the Yale endowment had invested in a $400 million cryptocurrency fund focused on investing in digital coins and blockchain startup companies. Now, Bloomberg is reporting that the only way Venezuelans can get a passport is through the country's new "Petro" cryptocurrency, which is backed by Venezuela's oil and mineral reserves.
This development in Venezuela could be viewed as a very real step away from Fiat currency and a very real step toward a permanent commodity-backed currency. The government has priced new passports at 2 Petros, which is the cryptocurrency equivalent to 7200 Bolivars - or four times the national monthly minimum wage. For Venezuelans that are looking to get out of the country, passports are key. The United Nations says an estimated 5,000 people are leaving Venezuela per day because of the economic collapse in the country.
Lack of materials and government corruption, coupled with the Bolivar's collapse, has made passports in the country a rare find. Getting out of the country is even more difficult because, as a result of the ongoing crisis, many airlines, including Avianca, Latam Airlines, United Airlines, Aeromexico and Deutsche Lufthansa, have stopped taking flights that originate from the country.
Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela, announced the new currency last week - about eight months after what was supposed to be its initial launch date. It is now scheduled to go on sale starting on November 5.
Although cryptocurrencies have seen a precipitous decline in value over the last six months, Venezuela’s resorting to the idea after a true currency collapse could prove to be the first real test as to whether or not the concept, idea and execution can hold up for an entire country’s government.
The world is watching. And so is Novogratz.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-06/post-fiat-world-begins-venezuelas-cryptocurrency-necessity-obtain-passport
The Post-Fiat World Begins: Venezuela's Cryptocurrency A Necessity To Obtain A Passport
The case for cryptocurrencies sure looks to have gotten stronger over the past week and Venezuela's "Petro" looks like it may be the concept's first "beta test" on a country-wide scale.
We recently reported that the Yale endowment had invested in a $400 million cryptocurrency fund focused on investing in digital coins and blockchain startup companies. Now, Bloomberg is reporting that the only way Venezuelans can get a passport is through the country's new "Petro" cryptocurrency, which is backed by Venezuela's oil and mineral reserves.
This development in Venezuela could be viewed as a very real step away from Fiat currency and a very real step toward a permanent commodity-backed currency. The government has priced new passports at 2 Petros, which is the cryptocurrency equivalent to 7200 Bolivars - or four times the national monthly minimum wage. For Venezuelans that are looking to get out of the country, passports are key. The United Nations says an estimated 5,000 people are leaving Venezuela per day because of the economic collapse in the country.
Lack of materials and government corruption, coupled with the Bolivar's collapse, has made passports in the country a rare find. Getting out of the country is even more difficult because, as a result of the ongoing crisis, many airlines, including Avianca, Latam Airlines, United Airlines, Aeromexico and Deutsche Lufthansa, have stopped taking flights that originate from the country.
Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela, announced the new currency last week - about eight months after what was supposed to be its initial launch date. It is now scheduled to go on sale starting on November 5.
Although cryptocurrencies have seen a precipitous decline in value over the last six months, Venezuela’s resorting to the idea after a true currency collapse could prove to be the first real test as to whether or not the concept, idea and execution can hold up for an entire country’s government.
The world is watching. And so is Novogratz.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-06/post-fiat-world-begins-venezuelas-cryptocurrency-necessity-obtain-passport
SDSU Changes Policy On Suspect Race Descriptions
San Diego State University informed students on Monday about a policy that will forbid its police department from using the race of crime suspects, “unless there is enough identifiable information” for descriptions sent through the university alert system.
This change is one of three in the policy titled, “San Diego State University Community Safety Notification Suspect Description Reporting Policy.” SDSU alerted students of the updates in an email sent by SDSU Chief of Police Josh Mays and SDSU Associate Vice President for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion Luke Wood, which Campus Reform obtained.
“For the last several years, there have been ongoing conversations about the ways that university crime alerts may portray certain communities in a criminalized fashion,” Mays and Wood said. “In particular, concerns have been expressed by faculty, staff, and students about vague warnings that do not provide an extensive description of suspects.”
Mays and Wood explained that when SDSU police released a description of suspects reading “tall, thin Black male adults in their early 20s wearing hooded sweatshirts,” faculty and staff members complained that the description was too vague.
“The race of the suspect will not be released unless there is enough identifiable information to distinguish the suspect from our students, faculty, and staff of color,” the two administrators continued.
Students of color make up 53 percent of SDSU’s student body, according to the university.
The SDSU police chief and associate vice president for faculty diversity and inclusion also noted that the school would withhold text message notifications pertaining to suspects if only the race and gender are known.
Mays and Wood announced a third and final change to the policy, which would entail analysis of the policy with regard to the Clery Act, which requires that schools receiving federal financial aid keep campus crime data and security details, as well as make this information transparent. The California school administrators said this investigation would lend the institution insight into whether or not the campus culture “promote[d] both the physical and emotional safety of all members of the SDSU campus community.”
SDSU junior Alex Mazzara expressed discontent with the policies when speaking with Campus Reform.
“These types of policies actually make communities less safe. It is not racist to accurately describe a wanted criminal suspect during an investigation, sadly our school has decided otherwise,” Mazzara told Campus Reform.
“On another note, I was very troubled to see the clear inconsistency from the school regarding the disclosure of the race of suspects.”
“According to the new policy ‘the race of the suspect will not be released unless there is enough identifiable information to distinguish the suspect from our students, faculty, and staff of color,’” the student said.
"Notice the last two words - ‘of color.’”
‘Apparently, if there is a white suspect, they will have no problem disclosing race, as this would clearly distinguish the suspect from people of color on campus. This is completely hypocritical and discriminatory as they are treating people differently based on the color of their skin,” Mazzara said.
SDSU College Republicans President Madison Marks-Noble told Campus Reform that she thought that the university’s email was “trying to be politically correct at the cost of our safety.”
Campus Reform reached out to SDSU, the school’s police department, and the CIA for comment on the policy changes, but received no comment in time for press. The FBI declined to comment.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-05/sdsu-changes-policy-suspect-race-descriptions
It doesn't look like any amount of help provided to her will solve the problem...
Near the end of the video she says that she recommends that young people that can't afford an education should travel first and then get their education afterwards. Go figure !
Good Limerick today
Lindsay Graham's summary at the Kavanaugh hearing
Forgot who it was but I have heard one of the democratic women say that the Republican white men don't have the balls to do the questioning so they have to hide behind a female skirt.
They lose either way.
W. Virginia's Decision to Allow Smartphone Voting for Midterms Raises Serious Security Concerns
( What could possibly go wrong ? )
For the first time in our nation's history, voters in 24 counties in W. Virginia will be able to vote using their mobile phones. While some are hailing the decision because it will make voting easier for members of the military deployed overseas, experts are warning of possible security breaches.
"After researching previously available options, the Secretary’s team identified that most electronic ballot delivery technology required access to a desktop computer, printer and scanner, all of which present significant barriers to overseas voters, especially those in combat zones or engaged in covert operations," the W. Virginia Secretary of State's office explained in a press release this week. The state is partnering with a Boston, Massachusetts-based company called Voatz, Inc.
Trump in Florida: 'The Time Has Come for Photo ID' for Voting
"Voatz has developed a secure mobile voting application that allows voters to receive, vote, and return their ballots electronically," the press release claims. "The application also utilizes blockchain technology to store electronically submitted ballots until election night, and requires a heightened standard of identity verification for users than traditional absentee ballot processes. This project is unprecedented in United States history, being the first mobile voting application and first use of blockchain technology in a federal election."
https://pjmedia.com/election/w-virginia-announces-smartphone-voting-for-midterms-raising-serious-security-concerns/
HEAR The current price direction is down with plenty of resistance around 25-26 so I would stay away from this. Head phones are a mature product with very low barriers to entry for many manufacturers that are already producing similar products. I don't really follow this market so anything I say is a guess. But it smells a lot like a fad with little substance that makes their stuff provide a measurable difference. It's so easy for a different provider to become the preferred source. But, like I said... I don't really know. In 6 months if somebody else provides the fad these earnings estimates will evaporate and you will learn about it after the fact. Their cost of revenue is already on the high side which is an indication that they are in a mature market where it's difficult to raise prices. On the other hand they might be the leader in their field for many years... even so the margins will probably deteriorate due to competition.
To answer your question... I see a down trend with plenty of resistance less than 20% above the current price. If it gets above the resistance I would have to reconsider the situation at that time.
There is no requirement for quarterly reports to be audited.
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/responsibilities-audit-firms-quarterly-financial-statements-34627.html
The annual 10K is audited. You can find it here by doing a search for RBSM
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1166708/000149315218005304/form10-k.htm#a_001
"To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of
Brownie’s Marine Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Brownie’s Marine Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2017, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the consolidated financial statements). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for the each of years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2017, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America."
More at the link.
But... You do have a lot of good questions.
White "Existence Is A Crime...We Say Land Or Death"
Remember folks: white people are not being targeted in South Africa and President Trump and others who suggest otherwise are conspiracy theorists!
The BLF spokesperson has posted views reflecting his party's belief that all white people in South Africa are criminals by virtue of their existence.
Black First, Land First spokesperson Lindsay Maasdorp has told the author of this article and others about the controversial party that my "existence is a crime."
He also repeated his party's slogan, "land or death."
[...]Maasdorp’s assertion that, as a white person, “my existence is a crime,” provides some insight into the party’s apparent belief that, due to the theft of land by white people during colonisation and apartheid, all white South Africans are therefore criminals, regardless of when they were born and what their political views, history or affiliations may be.
At the recent land hearings held in parliament, Mngxitama called for section 25 of the Constitution to be scrapped entirely to ensure that all land owned by white people is returned to their black counterparts.
The BLF leader said this section should be replaced with a declaration that all land owned by white people in South Africa was stolen property.
Mngxitama has repeatedly made the assertion that absolutely all land occupied by white South Africans should be expropriated.
This makes the party the most extreme in South Africa when it comes to the land issue and in its attitude to white people in general.
They have been accused of hate speech by the South African Human Rights Commision, who have recommended that the party be prevented from contesting the 2019 elections on the grounds that they have made statements violating the Electoral Act.
Maasdorp has come under fire in the past for his posting on both Facebook and Twitter that “I have aspirations to kill white people, and this must be achieved!”
As Turkish state media outlet TRT World assured us recently, it's not that white farmers are being "targeted" in South Africa, but instead "farm attacks are just part of a greater violent crime problem" and "there's no reliable data to suggest that white farmers are targeted more than anyone else."
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-19/south-african-blf-party-white-existence-crimewe-say-land-or-death
European Court Rules NSA Surveillance Practices Violate Human Rights
Last week, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the U.K.’s GCHQ spy agency is in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights with its mass surveillance programs. The court ultimately found that these activities violate the family and privacy rights of British and European citizens, and this assertion ultimately includes a rejection of the United States’ activities considering GCHQ has obtained much of its data from the NSA.
The suit was brought by Amnesty International, Big Brother Watch, the ACLU, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and other civil liberties groups. It addresses provisions of the U.K.’s 2000 Investigatory Powers Act, and though a new version of the law was passed in 2016 and is yet to be enacted, many of the issues the court identified remain in the 2016 bill.
Though the court stopped short of saying intelligence sharing between agencies like GCHQ, NSA, and members of the “Five Eyes” spying alliance violate the human rights convention, it said “using such intelligence sharing to bypass restrictions on surveillance of a member state’s own citizens would be a violation of the charter,” Ars Technica summarized. (In a 2015 ruling, a U.K. court ruled intelligence sharing did, in fact, violate European law).
The Guardian clarified the ruling, which found some activities are in violation of the charter but maintained others are not:
“By a majority of five to two votes, the Strasbourg judges found that GCHQ’s bulk interception regime violated article 8 of the European convention on human rights, which guarantees privacy, because there were said to be insufficient safeguards, and rules governing the selection of ‘related communications data’ were deemed to be inadequate.
“The regime used by the UK government for sharing intelligence with foreign governments did not violate either article 8 or article 10, which guarantees freedom of speech. Not was there any evidence, the judges said, to suggest that the intelligence services were abusing their powers.”
The court also failed to decide that the intelligence agencies are abusing their powers, saying, “there is no evidence to suggest that the intelligence services are abusing their powers.” Still, it also found that there are insufficient safeguards from the U.K’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal to prevent potential abuse (the Investigatory Powers Tribunal is equivalent to the United States’ Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act system, whose courts approve nearly all warrant requests). From Ars Technica:
“The Court found that the way the UK government collected data from communications service providers was in violation of Article 8 of the ECHR (private and family life rights). It also found that both the method of bulk interception of communications and the process for obtaining communications metadata from service providers violated Article 10 (freedom of expression) because of ‘insufficient safeguards in respect of confidential journalistic material.’ And of particular concern to the court was the lack of any oversight into what Internet traffic was collected or what filters were used to determine which traffic was of interest.”
Notably, the U.K. laws the court took the most issue with mirror the American Patriot Act. “The decision sends a clear message that similar surveillance programs, such as those conducted by the NSA, are also incompatible with human rights,” said ACLU attorney Patrick Toomey.
Because the U.K. system is so similar to that of the United States — and because the U.K. relies heavily on the NSA — the ruling could have a ripple effect on the perceived legitimacy of these practices.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-18/european-court-rules-nsa-surveillance-practices-violate-human-rights
Students Don't Vote Absentee Because "They Don't Know Where To Get Stamps,"
If it isn’t bad enough that today’s college goers get irate if they have to trek a whole mile to a polling place, a recent focus group discovered why they won’t vote using absentee ballots:
They don’t know where to get stamps.
WTOP reports the Fairfax County (Virginia) Office of Public Affairs found out this summer that the United States Post Office “seems to be a foreign concept” to college students.
The office’s Lisa Connors said students will go through the whole process of obtaining and filling out an absentee ballot, but then are flummoxed at what to do with it.
“That seems to be like a hump that they can’t get across,” she said.
From the story:
The focus group included college interns from across numerous county departments.
“They all agreed that they knew lots of people who did not send in their ballots because it was too much of a hassle or they didn’t know where to get a stamp,” Connors said.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/college-students-dont-vote-absentee-because-they-dont-know-where-to-get-a-stamp/
HMNY Helios and Matheson
MoviePass parent proposes another reverse stock split to avoid NASDAQ delisting
This one is a 1 for 500 reverse split... Didn't they just do a 1 for 250 ????
"Cost of sales" is higher than sales... What can possibly go wrong ?
https://finance.yahoo.com/m/7461952b-90fb-3038-b531-f91cd1baa6de/moviepass-parent-proposes.html
Robinhood Investing App Secretly Makes Millions Selling Millennials' User Data To HFT Firms
( Who wudda thought ??? )
Stealing from millennials to give to the rich. Robinhood App sells user customer data to make a quick buck from the high-frequency trading (HFT) firms on Wall Street.
Robinhood Financial, LLC, a US-based mobile stock brokerage company, founded on the basis of disrupting the brokage industry by offering commission-free trading, has been secretly making millions of dollars in a profit scheme by selling users' data to HFT traders, said Logan Kane, a writer for North of Sunset Publishing.
Kane said the latest Second Quarter Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) filing shows that Robinhood Financial takes from the millennial and gives to the HFT firms.
"Robinhood accept payment for order flow, but on a back-of-the-envelope calculation, they appear to be selling their customers' orders for over ten times as much as other brokers who engage in the practice. It's a conflict of interest and is bad for you as a customer.
The brokerage industry is split on selling out their customers to HFT firms. Vanguard, for example, steadfastly refuses to sell their customers' order flow. Interactive Brokers, which is the preferred broker for sophisticated retail traders, doesn't sell order flow and allows customers to route orders to any exchange they choose.
Robinhood not only engages in selling customer orders but seems to be making far more than their competitors from it. Among brokers that receive payment for order flow, it's typically a small percentage of their revenue but a big chunk of change nonetheless," Kane said.
This represents, a severe breach of confidentiality for its over four million active users, and a remarkable act of deception from the Silicon Valley firm that promotes ethical trading practices to benefit the everyday American, but as we discovered via Kane's reporting -- the company is handsomely profiting from the average person by selling users' order flow.
Robinhood's website presents millennials with feel-good statements and hypocritical statements like:
"Invest for free: We believe that the financial system should work for the rest of us, not just the wealthy. We’ve cut the fat that makes other brokerages costly, like manual account management and hundreds of storefront locations, so we can offer zero commission trading."
"Trusted by Millions in the USA: We’re serious about security and use cutting-edge technology to ensure your personal information is fully encrypted and securely stored."
"Introducing Free Options: Trading Find out how to trade options the Robinhood way. It’s quick, straightforward & free."
Kane explains that brokerage firms that sell order flow must disclose these transactions to the SEC.
He said: "there is a material difference in the disclosures between what Robinhood and other discount brokers are showing that suggests that something is going on behind the scenes that we don't understand at Robinhood."
More...
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-15/robinhood-investing-app-makes-millions-selling-users-data-high-frequencstealing
CNN Ratings Collapse, Losing To Nickelodeon And Fox News
Trump's "fake news" nemesis, CNN, experienced a dramatic collapse in ratings last week compared to 2017.According to AdWeek, CNN viewership tumbled 41% in daytime TV ratings and tumbled 36% in primetime versus the same week last year.
"CNN ranked No. 6 across basic cable in total primetime viewers, and No. 5 in total day this past week. Despite the top 10 finishes, the network was -36 percent in primetime viewers, and -41 percent in total day viewers vs. the same week last year", AdWeek wrote.
The increasingly more partisan news network was once again beat by its traditional competitors: Fox News was No. 1 across the board for basic cable for the Labor Day week of Sept. 03, 2018 (No. 1 in total viewers across the 24-hour day for 35 consecutive weeks), while MSNBC came in second.
In basic cable, CNN placed fifth with ESPN and Nickelodeon placing No. 3 and No. 4, respectively as Sponge Bob suddenly emerges to be more popular/credible than Jake Tepper and Chris Cuomo.
In primetime, CNN ranked No 6. while ESPN secured the first ranking. Fox News, MSNBC, HGTV, and the USA network all placed higher than CNN for primetime views.
The network has repeatedly seen embarrassing viewership losses compared to 2017. In August, the network lost 12 percent of its primetime viewers compared to 2017. During one week in August, the network dropped 23 percent during the day and 24 percent in primetime compared to the same week last year, said Breitbart News.
CNN's sharp fall might be the result of President Trump's relentless hostility towards the network in the last several years.
Retweet if you are voting for @realDonaldTrump in 2020 and are tired of all the fake news!
25th Amendment lol pic.twitter.com/bImf4GzNYz
— Conservative Pets ?? (@ConservativePTZ) September 5, 2018
"These are just dishonest, terrible people," Trump says of the Fake News Media while speaking at Rally in Evansville, Indiana. pic.twitter.com/B4isVSK845
— The Columbia Bugle ???? (@ColumbiaBugle) August 31, 2018
In which Donald Trump compares himself with Lincoln and says Honest Abe's Gettysburg address was HAMMERED by the 'fake news' like his own speeches. pic.twitter.com/VcS9iHkf1F
— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) September 8, 2018
.@realDonaldTrump to reporter: "YOU are fake news." pic.twitter.com/6nasXm99TK
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 11, 2017
Of course, it may also simply be the result of increasingly more viewers switching over to other, less biased sources of news and information.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-16/cnn-ratings-collapse-losing-nickelodeon-and-fox-news
FAKE NEWS: Weatherman Dramatically Braces As Civilians Casually Stroll By!
He is actually bracing in the wrong direction !
"Just avoid sugar and carbs."
Yes... that's all it takes I lost 25 Lbs in 6 weeks.
S.Africa 'close to war zone' with 57 murders a day
CAPE TOWN (AFP) -
South Africa's murder rate rose again last year, official statistics showed Tuesday, with over 20,000 killed across the country -- about 57 a day -- as police admitted they were struggling to keep control.
A total of 20,336 people were killed in the 12 months to March this year, up from 19,016 the previous year.
The numbers reflect a 6.9 percent year-on-year increase, one of the highest per capita since the end of apartheid 24 years ago.
"Fifty-seven a day, that's how South Africans are murdered. It borders close to the war zone while there is a peace, there is no war in South Africa," Police Minister Bheki Cele told reporters.
"The figures that always scare me are murder figures," he said.
"South Africans must not take it as a norm that they can be hijacked, robbed and killed every day. We have to pick up the ball and change the situation for the better."
Francois Beukman, who heads the police oversight committee in parliament, described the numbers as "alarming and totally unacceptable".
Presenting the figures to parliament, Norman Sekhukhune, the police official responsible for crime research and statistics, said murder rate had increased for the past six consecutive years.
South African police often come under fire for failing to bring down crime levels, while police chiefs saying they need at least 62,000 more officers.
https://www.france24.com/en/20180911-safrica-close-war-zone-with-57-murders-day-minister
Fine Arts Majors Have A Higher Unemployment Rate Than High School Dropouts
As we've demonstrated in the past, the US labor market contains vicissitudes that at times run contrary to the conventional wisdom. For example, going strictly on the percentage of people accepted vs. total number of applicants, Delta is more selective about hiring flight attendants than Harvard is when selecting its undergraduate class.
The same is true when it comes to analyzing the value of a college degree.
For a long time, conventional wisdom held that, in the long run, Americans would always be better served by having a college degree than not having one, because according to data, college graduates earn nearly 60% more, on average, than workers with only a high school diploma. This stat was often invoked to encourage uncertain young people to enroll, even if they didn't have a coherent long-term plan. This is one of the reasons why skyrocketing student-loan delinquencies are nearing a crisis level.
And the latest example of this fallacious thinking comes to us courtesy of Bankrate.com, which recently conducted a study on the most- and least-profitable college majors. While actuaries earn the most on average (while also benefiting from low unemployment and little incentive to obtain a graduate degree), the study found that the "niche" fine arts majors not only earn one of the lowest average salaries of the 162 majors examined, but worse, graduates with that major struggle with a 9.1% unemployment rate.
What is astonishing is that if that number is indeed correct, college grads with a fine arts degree are far worse off than the average high school dropout in the labor market. Even the lucky ones who do have a job are worse off. The rest are not only unemployed, but probably drowning in student-loan debt.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for people with less than a high school diploma is 5.7% - significantly better than those with art school degrees - as America's employers increasingly turn to the cheapest unemployed resources and train them on the spot.
The takeaway: Unless you have a trust fund, or wealthy parents who will pay for your schooling, potential art school grads might want to give their career choice a second thought.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-11/art-school-grads-struggle-higher-unemployment-rate-high-school-dropouts
The New Normal In Europe: Increasing Population, Decreasing GDP
Leading European politicians and economists argue that the influx of immigrants is an economic necessity.
( What they really mean is that the immigrants will vote for the person that gives them "free" stuff. You know... The stuff thats provided by other people's money. )
Naturalization of foreigners implemented for the purpose of executing a re-population program (resembling the Sinicization of Tibet) has become a national policy in most European countries. Replacing the dying European population with workers from Africa and the Middle East is supposed not only to save national economies and support the pension systems but also to boost economic growth.
Basic economic indicators, however, show that the opposite is true.
A year ago The Economist wrote that migration is beneficial to the global economy.
The Gefira team has shown that economic immigrants are more frequently beneficiaries of social benefits, and are less professionally active than non-native Europeans.
Our analysis is also validated by the scientists from the University of Basel. The result is that indigenous Europeans have to provide for immigrants.
The fertility rate among indigenous (i.e. white) Europeans has been below replacement for nearly half a century, while that in African countries is approaching 5. It is because of the continuous inflow of high-fertility people 4) that the populations of France, Sweden, the United Kingdom and other European countries enlarge, but the hard fact is that it does not translate into a higher GDP, which in France and the UK has been in decline since 2008, and in Sweden – since 2014. Not only is the GDP dwindling, but also GDP per capita.
Unemployable Africans and Central Asians will be an additional burden on the aging and shrinking European population slowing down economic growth even further.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-08/new-normal-europe-increasing-population-decreasing-gdp
My thoughts exactly... It seems insane to take a position like this that expires within the week and the upside is only 4X the amount of the bet. Pure gambling. Sometimes I gamble as well but I allow myself more time. If something like this goes against you then you lose it all... there is no recovery.
The marijuana industry is similar to the way cigarettes and alcohol were way back when. It's just a matter of time and pot will be legal and generally available. Investors/speculators are betting on the future and are not buying these stocks for the current valuation. Anyone that purchased AMZN or TSLA years ago was betting on the future... Neither one had any earnings. Amazon just recently started making money and the jury is still out on TSLA.
CGC is a pot company that has grown revenue from $2 million to $78 million in just 3 years. With the sales growth likely to continue as marijuana becomes more mainstream the stock is likely to go higher. OGRMF is much smaller but a similar growth situation. Investors are betting on the long term outcome of the pot industry. I only follow these two but there are many others
You are correct that it's near impossible to use typical valuation measures for these companies. Anyone buying these companies is taking a long term perspective. It's not a PE game... It's a growth game and trying to figure out who will prevail. It you bet big and are correct you can make millions.
How A Mystery Bond Trader Made $10 Million In Minutes On Today's Jobs Report
Today's jobs report - which showed the fastest wage growth since the crisis, in the process sending bond yields surging - was not only lucky for America; it also made at least one bond trader’s richer by $10 million. That, according to Bloomberg, is how much the lucky gambler made in the span of minutes on just one trade as bond yields spiked following the spectacular print.
The bond trader, who was convinced the payrolls report would show an overheating economy, decided to buy puts on 10 Year treasury futures, a bearish bet which cost him about $2.5 million when the 10Y was yielding 2.88%. For the puts to be in the money, the yields - which have been trading in a very tight range in recent weeks - needed to hit 2.90% by the end of the day, and anything above that would be just added profit. Well, as it happened the mystery trader lucked out, and the unexpectedly strong spike in average hourly earnings pushed the 10-year yield to almost 2.95%, resulting in a tidy 500% profit on the trade.
Bloomberg's Edward Bolingbroke explains the details of the trade:
At 8:06 a.m. New York time, with the 10-year note futures contract trading around 120-06, 50,000 September Week 1 120 puts were bought at a price of 3 ticks. With open interest in the option only about 12,000 contracts, the trade is consistent with a new position. The 120 strike corresponds roughly to a 2.90 percent yield. As the underlying futures price slid to 119-19, the option’s price jumped to around 16 ticks, according to traders in New York, and the value of the position to $12.5 million.
And visually:
It wasn't clear if Trader X had closed out his position, although with that kind of profit and with an immediate expiry, one would be silly to stand on the put. And, after Trump's surprising threat of an additional $267BN in Chinese tariffs, it wouldn't be surprising if he is now taking the other side of the trade on, as yields are once again slowly fading.
In any event, America's blistering wage growth just made the full year bonus for at least one lucky trader.
Huge volume on this recent run... Almost 4 X average volume today.
Also a new all time high.
The Creepy Line Trailer
OGI.V OGRMF Organigram signs supply agreement with Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation
OGI.V supplies organic marijuana.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/organigram-signs-supply-agreement-nova-133500108.html
Up over 8% today on increased volume. Long term investors will like the 2-3 year stock chart.
"And with limited spots open on the new poop patrol team, and at a salary and benefits package approaching $200K, we can imagine people might give second thought to the prospect of shoveling shit on a professional basis.
Perhaps the only question that remains is, what kind of resumé does one have to have to rise to the top of pile?"