Month: July 2015

Bill Ackman views China stocks as risky to global stability

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Via: Source

Taking one big step towards answering a question that many have been batting around for a week or two now, billionaire investor Bill Ackman, head of Pershing Square Capital, said on Wednesday that he considers China a bigger global threat than Greece is, and that the nation’s stock markets scare him in their current state. Let’s dive in and take a look at exactly what was said, and why.

No bulls in this China shop. — Via LinkedIn

“China is a bigger threat by far,” Mr. Ackman was quoted as saying at CNBC’s annual Delivering Alpha conference yesterday. As noted by many recent commentators, including a recent article on this site, the Chinese stock market has been on quite the wild ride as of late. Indeed, since June 12th, almost $4 trillion worth of value has been erased from the Chinese equities indexes, as investors who were double- or triple-leveraged looked for ways to become more liquid. Other issues noted by Mr. Ackman included an overall lack of transparency, and the reliability of its economic statistics.

However, as has been noted by other executives, such as CEO of Morgan Stanley Asset Management, Mary Erdoes, the Chinese economy as a whole does not correlate with this plunge in the markets, as they have turned in roughly 7% GDP growth every year for the past 25. Even Mr. Ackman himself admitted its hard to see anything but a solid long-term future for China.

When comparing their economy to Greece in terms of a global instability threat, it is easy to see how China could represent a more existential threat. Their economy is so much larger, and so much more tightly engrained with other global economies than Greece’s is, that although they are more stable, a negative turn could have more far-reaching effects.

What do you think? Do both economies represent global threats to market stability? Or do neither?

Can we make this thing a planet again yet? Newest Pluto images

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Some truly stunning images are being beamed back to earth via a Nasa satellite that has been traveling to Pluto for the past 9 years. The oft-maligned now non-planet shows a slight resemblance to the Death Star, which leads this site to ask the question; if that thing’s not a planet, what exactly is it? Whatever it is, it looks pretty sweet.

Stay Rich or Die Trying? What exactly if 50 Cent up to?

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Via: Source

Probably-past-his-prime rapper 50 Cent created quite the internet-stir yesterday when it became public that he would be filing for bankruptcy protection.

Now, we all know the cliched stories by now of athletes, actors, rappers, or other celebrities blowing through amounts of money that should last for generations, in a span of years. However, it appears that 50 Cent’s specific bankruptcy situation may be a bit more complicated than the classic tale of celebrity money squandering. So what exactly is going on?

Via: Celebrity Net Worth

50 filed for the bankruptcy protection on Monday in court in Hartford, CT, the same day he was supposed to be in court in New York to determine if he owed damages to a woman named Lastonia Leviston, an ex-girlfriend of Rick Ross. The case was brought in 2010 and stipulates that 50 Cent had violated her privacy by posting a sex tape of hers online. She was seeking $5 million.

The bankruptcy petition was only 5 pages long, and lists 50’s assets and liabilities as valued between $10 and $50 million, non-itemized. The bankruptcy agreement allows the rapper to continue work as an entertainer, and to continue to pursue his other business pursuits, while he ‘pursues an orderly reorganization of his financial affairs. He also hangs onto his massive Connecticut estate.

So, at the end of the day, it looks very much like 50 Cent took these steps to avoid that $5 million dollar pay out, potentially, that is. Savvy move? Ridiculous? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section.

Wednesday Morning Movie Trailer Round-Up

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It is the industry standard that DVDs, Blu Rays, and CDs (those still ship?) are delivered to electronics stores on Tuesdays. I wish I could tell you why. But what I’m less sure of is if Wednesdays are a common day for movie studios to drop new trailers.

That certainly seems to be the case this Wednesday, as a couple of pretty awesome previews have already appeared online. And we, of course, have them aggregated here for you below.

‘Joy’ is the newest film from David O’Russell, director of Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle. The movie is being described as wild, generational story centered around ‘the woman who founds a business and becomes a matriarch in her own right’. It stars Jennifer Lawrence, who has appeared also in both the O’Russell films mentioned above.

The other new trailer out this morning is an awesome looking new comedy from Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, which appears to be a type of Step Brothers/Old School hybrid, aka, appears to be pretty promising.

Both movies are due out later this year.

The Joker holds off a furious Federer in amazing Wimbledon conclusion

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WEEKEND RECAP

(Via: Source)

It was a championship match between two of the greats of the sport in recent years, and Sunday’s Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Championship match certainly did not disappoint.

Two absolutely legendary players were the last two standing at this point; Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. This match was interesting though, for more reasons than appeared at the surface.

Federer represents an incredibly interesting point in the history of tennis. He was younger than Sampras and Agassi, and thus, in the vacuum left by the departure of those two men, absolutely cleaned up in terms of championships for a number of years. He has accumulated no less than 17 Grand Slam titles, making him one of the most decorated and legendary players in the history of the sport. He also was ranked #1 for a record 302 weeks. Indeed, the man was INCREDIBLY dominant. And still to this day, remains one of the most graceful, and enjoyable to watch players on the tour.

However, while Federer was younger than one generation of legendary players, he was slightly older than the next. The likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadaal, and to a less extent, players like Andy Murray, have eroded away at Federer’s once incredibly dominant position. He remains far more of a contender than for instance, Tiger Woods does at the moment (if we’re okay with comparing the different country club sports), but he’s always represented a slightly older generation in the eyes of many than the one that is currently experiencing tennis domination. And that trend has been showing in Federer’s win and loss columns for a number of years now.

What are your thoughts? Is it not fair to compare Federer flat out to his younger counterparts? Or is fair for the comparison to be made? Either way, the Wimbledon final yesterday morning certainly did not disappoint. And we at least, hope Federer keeps on trucking for years to come.

What is the ‘Sharing Economy’- and how will it affect industry, workers?

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Via: Source

Hilary Clinton made waves on Monday morning when she effectively called out the major players in the ‘sharing economy’; a new business model that uses contract labor, instead of traditional employees, to fulfill their services. The implications of this seemingly small legal distinction can be massive. The classic examples of the new ‘sharing economy’ companies are Uber and Air Bnb. In light of the varying press the undoubtedly massive, innovative companies have been amassing in recent days and weeks; we wanted to take a look at what this trend could mean on a macro level as we head into the future.

Uber and Air Bnb are fascinating companies for a number of reasons. Globally speaking, Uber is now one of the largest, private transportation companies that there is. But they own not a single car. And similarly, thousands of people now book rooms and houses across the globe via the Air Bnb app, yet they own not a single piece of property. And that distinction is far from the only one differentiating them from conventional companies.

They both use contract labor forces outside of their corporate headquarters. I.e., the Uber driver that picks you up is not a benefitted employee who works exclusively for Uber, as a cab driver for a traditional cab company would be. That Uber driver is a contract-employee, only working when they want to, but also not receiving any benefits that a traditional employee earns, like healthcare or retirement savings. Now, if you’re a college kid looking to earn a little extra money by renting out your room, or by driving people around in your car, this arrangement is perfectly fine.

Where it theoretically becomes dangerous is if these companies serve as a kind of starting point; rolling the metaphorical snowball down the hill towards a point where we are ALL contract employees, responsible for our own healthcare and retirement savings. This would represent a potentially dangerous step if it became the norm. What do you think? Is the sharing economy a slippery slope? Or is a it a non-issue, being used by politicians to garner attention for themselves? Let us know in the comments.

Epic, American news coming out of Comic Con

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Via: Source

When news came out recently that Sylvester Stallone would be reprising his role of Rocky in what looks to be an actually awesome new movie, we were pretty pumped. But now, as news arrived this weekend fresh out of Comic Con that not only will Rocky be getting a revisit, but none other than the iconic RAMBO himself will ride again; this time against ISIS(!!!). Could be stupid. Or it could actually the one of the most epic action movies of all time, even if it’s all but guaranteed to be somewhat campy. This writer though, is hoping for the latter.

Rambo versus ISIS? It really could be too good to miss, even if the last time Rambo appeared on screen was in the disappointing 2008 turn, Rambo: Last Blood (aka Rambo 5. And, don’t forget the ironically beloved Expendables series). However, inserting ISIS as the villains this time around just might be enough to make it more than a little bit watchable. Details are scarce as of this writing, but the movie appears to be due out sometime in 2016. And personally, we can’t wait.

El Chapo on the run again; Trump responds

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Via: Source

In a move that has already drawn the ire of Donald Trump, who said he would (hypothetically) ‘kick his ass’, notorious Mexican drug lord El Chapo has tunneled his way out prison. This marks the second time in 15 years that this guy has escaped from jail in Mexico.

As noted in the video, to say this guy simply ‘tunneled out’, would be a bit of an understatement. The thing was a mile long, and equipped with a special motorcycle (run for it? El Chapo? I don’t think so.). This whole thing makes even that prison break in upstate New York last month look like amateur hour. And, it’s only the latest in a long string of absurd, tunnel-related antics orchestrated by the notorious El Chapo.

Over his time as a drug lord, El Chapo became a pioneer of using tunnels to both smuggle drugs, and move unseen throughout the cities he operated in, mainly Culiacan, the capital of the state of Sinaloa. He first used a tunnel to escape jail in 2001, and was caught again in 2014 by Mexican marines after a 13 year manhunt.

The importance of this is magnified as it undermines much of the progress (at least in the court of public opinion) that Mexican Enrique Pena Nieto has made on the eradicating-drug syndicates front.

Any updates, including on whether or not Donald Trump was able to administer his ass-kicking will be updated here.

MUST SEE Wes Anderson event going down soon

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While usually we would keep something this juicy, and already widely-attended to ourselves (just kidding, we would never do that to our readers–ALL the news that’s worth a reblog is our sacred mission here), we simply have to share this amazing event with our readers, mainly the NYC based ones.

This August, a Wes Anderson art show will be going down; and here’s the Facebook page with all the info.

Oh, HELL yeah to ALL that.

Anyway, if you’re not in NYC, hate Wes Anderson, hate us, or feel like you wasted a click on that, fear not dear reader; we have a classic Anderson clip to (hopefully) clear all the negativity (and to show you why his movies are some of the more unique and creative of the past 15 years). We love you. And, we hope to see some of there this August!

Oil glut could keep prices low into 2016

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Via: Source

BUY! BUY! BUY! Renewable energy assets that is (or oil, I mean, why not right), as news comes out of the IEA that a world-wide glut of oil create stagnant prices for the foreseeable future. Indeed, since last November OPEC initiated a number of strategies with aim at curbing oil production in many competing, oil-producing countries. Especially those that get their oil from shale, by fracking, because the price margins on that practice are much, much narrower.

And it appears that those initiatives have been working as intended, because despite the on-set of the summer travel season and its usual bump in prices, international oil supplies are keeping those rates lower than in years passed. Basically, because the 12 countries in the OPEC syndicate can create oil at lower prices than their competitors, if they do not slow down production, other countries will be forced out of the oil business, and reliance on OPEC-produced oil will once again rise.

What would the consequences of this be? It’s hard to tell. Energy dependence is a tough spot for any sovereign nation to be in, but even if OPEC does manage to squeeze out much of its competition, how much would that drive up dependence on their products? As we stated at the beginning of this article, renewable sources of energy like wind, water, and solar are becoming more viable from an economic standpoint every day. Will those resources bridge the energy demand that OPEC seems to be stoking? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section.