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Apr 26, 2020 | » | Philanthropy
4 min; updated Feb 19, 2023
Criticism/Defense Of Billionaire Philanthropy Taxes will probably not go to the same causes, e.g. reforming the bail system, grassroot efforts for migrants, etc. Admittedly, these are things that the government should be doing, but it seems that the government doesn’t do enough. Furthermore, some of these issues so politicized, e.g. immigrants, that government support can be fickle. Foundations are more effective than governments as they do their due diligence, e.... |
Jan 30, 2021 | » | GME ✋ ... 🚀🚀🚀 ... 💎 ✋
4 min; updated Feb 12, 2023
$GME price in Jan-Feb 2021. Image Credits: https://finance.yahoo.com/chart/GME Folks like Melvin Capital and Citron Research think that GameStop is a dying business. The general public is optimistic though, be it for fundamental reasons (e.g. Ryan Cohen (chewy.com) will help GameStop can re-invent itself in the online space ), or for personal amusement, or FOMO. In particular, /r/wallstreetbets members are buying lots of call options .... |
Jan 30, 2021 | » | Wall Street Potpourri
4 min; updated Jan 21, 2023
Maximizing the Value for Shareholders Suing a company for not following its code of ethics and therefore misleading investors doesn’t fly, but Signet Jewelers settled for $240m . Signet’s 70k female employees sued for discrimination, but the class action is yet to be resolved. Tom Toro’s New Yorker cartoon : Yes, the planet got destroyed. But for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot of value for shareholders.... |
Feb 12, 2020 | » | Financing the Disadvantaged
4 min; updated Nov 29, 2022
Short Term Loans A common narrative for loan providers is financial inclusion. 69% of global adult population is not covered by credit bureaus. Using non-traditional data (e.g. text messages, location, contacts, call logs), more people can get scored. If only \(x\%\) of people pay you back, then \(\frac{x}{100}(1 + r) \ge 1 \) suggests \(r \ge \frac{100}{x} - 1 \). If \(75\%\) tend to pay back, \(r = 33\frac{1}{3} \%\).... |
Apr 18, 2020 | » | Economics in the Real World
3 min; updated Sep 5, 2022
Protectionism vs. Globalization Prestige Ameritech is America’s #1 maker of surgical masks. In outbreaks, demand peaks, but when it’s all over, hospitals go back to exclusively buying cheaper masks from China. Reduced demand makes Ameritech lay off workers. Ameritech is pushing for a federal contract to stabilize demand over time. India’s Foreign Exchange Act of 1973 gave Coca-Cola an ultimatum: hand over 60% of the local subsidiary to Indian partners and the syrup recipe.... |
May 2, 2020 | » | Wall Street University: USD 101
3 min; updated Sep 5, 2022
Short Selling Say $A shares are selling at $100, but I think they’re overpriced. So I borrow 10 shares, pay my brokerage interest and post some collateral. I then sell the shares for $1,000. Whoever buys my shares has no idea that I do not own them. In a naked short, I do not actually borrow or ensure that the security can be borrowed within the standard 3-day settlement period.... |
Dec 18, 2020 | » | Lean Startups vs. VC Money
2 min; updated Sep 5, 2022
20 years later, JetBrains is valued at $7b without taking VC money. HN users praise JetBrains for being user-focused, and the prevailing argument is that VC money comes with growth-hacking attached. Is the Lean Startup Dead? Katzenberg (Paramount, Disney Studios & DreamWorks) has raised $1.75b for NewTV, a startup banking on consumers wanting a subscription for 10-minute programs on mobile. They renamed to quibi.com/ . At least that makes them more searchable on Google.... |
Jan 22, 2019 | » | Privacy in CS and in the Law
4 min; updated Sep 5, 2022
Incomplete List of Information Privacy Properties Control/consent, e.g. Cambridge Analytica exfiltrating FB users' data Discussion on Cambridge Analytica Anonymity, e.g. Snowden leaking NSA docs without revealing his identity Limits on data collection, e.g. laws restricting government surveillance Limits on data use, e.g. US Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 Under GINA, health insurers must not use genetic information of the clients (or clients family) to inform their policy.... |