Investing In Stocks at All-Time Highs, Crypto Pastor, Fentanyl Epidemic, Best Romantic Getaways, Delta Cards Get Worse

Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as investing in stocks at all-time highs, the Crypto pastor, the Fentanyl epidemic, best romantic getaways, the Delta cards get worse, the US economy is again leading the world,  update on the Ukraine Russia war, we learn about tardigrades and legal immigration, cruising on the Icon of the Seas ship, drive in the desert, some aviation and weather links, all the important developments in the crazy world of miles and points and a lot more. Enjoy the weekend and get started on your taxes now!

TBB Blog Mission: To Educate. Entertain. Inspire. In That Order!

Support TBB by applying for CREDIT CARDS or Buy Me a Coffee or visit our LINKS

I use and recommend Proton VPN <—– REFERRAL LINK

You like my blog? Send a link to someone please!

No ads, no clickbait. No sponsored posts.

 

Welcome to my quirky original authentic blog. It all started back in 2012 focusing on my crazy hobby addiction of frequent flyer miles, hotel and bank points. It has since evolved to a curated weekly post of the best web content I find along with my commentary. Here to Educate primarily, sometimes Entertain and if I get to Inspire you, well, that is a bonus.

This blog publishes on Fridays. This is a one man labor of love operation, enjoy it white it lasts. I may post on a Tuesday going forward if I get to it, most likely not this month.

 

PERSONAL FINANCE

I have been praising for a while the state of the US economy. I don’t understand the negativity that persists. Anyway, this is a much deeper issue, I stick with the facts. Why the US economy is doing so much better than the rest of the world. I like how the article ends like this:

It’s easy to say, “What comes up must come down.” That’s why Gagnon told me he’s not expecting 3.3% GDP to continue.

But here’s the thing, when it comes to the US economy lately I’ve learned that the only prediction one can get right is that something unpredictable will happen.

Thankfully, it’s been to the upside for the most part. Let’s hope it stays that way

With repeated all time highs in the US stock market, we are getting this question a lot lately: Should You Invest in Stocks at All-Time Highs?

Unfortunately, the difficulty in these decisions lies in not knowing the future. You could avoid buying near all-time highs and the market doesn’t have a major crash for a decade. On the other hand, you could buy when markets are 20% off their highs only to see them go 30% off their highs (or more) in the future.

Investing your life savings into 100% stocks at an all-time high isn’t the scary part, investing your life savings into 100% stocks is. If more people actually understood this (and what their actual risk tolerance was), then they would be more open to investing now, but in a lower risk portfolio. 

From the same article, another guru to avoid ok?

 

Remember last Friday I posted about that pastor who said God told him to start a crypto thing, moron followers sent him money and you know what happened next. Finally: Judge orders Colorado crypto pastor’s bank accounts frozen. The scammer even posted a video online admitting he stole the money…because God told him to lol. I feel for the people who were separated with their money. But I can’t stop myself from shaking my head:

“The red flags were their expenses for personal purposes,” Ioana Dobra, a fraud investigator with the Colorado Division of Securities, said of an audit of the Regalados’ bank accounts. “Jewelry purchases, vacations, airline tickets, clothing, and home remodeling.”…At least $1.3 million of that went directly to the Regalados, who spent it on a Range Rover, jewelry, luxury handbags, cosmetic dentistry, home renovations and an au pair, according to a lawsuit the Division of Securities filed Jan. 16.

“I said, ‘Lord, I don’t want to do this, I don’t know how to do this, I don’t have experience in this industry, I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t want to be caught up in something,’” he said. “One of two things have happened: Either I misunderstood God and every one of you who prayed and came in (did) as well, or God is still not done with this project.” In the video, which was played in Goldberg’s courtroom Monday afternoon, Regalado urged his followers not to blame the Colorado Division of Securities for suing him. “If you think about it, we sold a cryptocurrency with no clear exit. We did. We took God at his word and sold a cryptocurrency with no clear exit,” he said. “So, the prosecutors have to take that and say, ‘These people willingly sold a cryptocurrency with no clear exit.’ Now, we’re going to go to court, we’re going to argue our case, we’re going to say, ‘Here’s why we did it.’” “God is not done with this project. God is not done with INDXcoin,” the pastor told parishioners. “Join us, believe, and receive everything that God has said about this project.”

Another follow up. Remember the Hyperverse scam, the one where they hired an actor to pretend to be the new CEO? Anyway, the law is knocking on their doors finally, lock them up! “Bitcoin Beautee” is pleading guilty to her role in a $2 billion crypto Ponzi scheme.

Here is the January 2024 Ponzi Scheme Roundup. And it is dominated by crypto of course. Dear readers, NEVER fall for this crap, investments are inherently risky and no one can guarantee/promise you a specific return. Also, run if your return is dependent upon referring others too.

…promised investors a 100% return on their investments

…promised returns of 10% every 30 business days

Investors were promised profits from purchasing BTC Packages or by earning commissions from referring others to purchase investment packages

The scheme involved a non-existent bitcoin mining-based investment company and promised daily rewards of .5% to 1%. [This is the Hyperverse scam mentioned above]

…had an exclusive investing and lending platform that generated up to 50% returns per month

…promised guaranteed returns from cryptocurrency trading and mining

…promised returns of between 10% and 30%

…promises that he could generate returns of up to 20%

He told his clients that he was investing in algorithms and high-performing companies. [I guess these algorithms were inferior and the companies were not that high-performing to save this dude from getting 8 years in prison]

…investors were promised 120% per year

…promised returns of up to 50% from his crypto bank

…promised returns of one and a half times within 40 days

 

GEOPOLITICS

I was expecting better results to come out of the Ukrainian counter offensive last year. I was wrong along with many others. How Russia Stopped Ukraine’s Momentum. We all found out that A Deep Defense Is Hard to Beat.

What if the western aid to Ukraine was granted earlier and given the weapons they were asking for? Well, it could have been different, we’ll never know. Finally, the Europeans came together: EU agrees $54 Billion in new aid for Ukraine as Hungary falls in line.

“The message is clear: Russia can’t count on any fatigue from the Europeans in their support to Ukraine,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.

If only the US dysfunctional Congress got its shit together and decided to send another loud clear message…

 

ODDZ & ENDZ

So depressing to read this: Fentanyl, The Portrait of a a Mass Murderer. And seeing all the people on fentanyl in their own world. My God, what a waste.

I suffer from intense curiosity syndrome ICS, I just made that up by the way, please laugh. I had never heard of these things! Why Tardigrades Are So Badass: 7 Secrets of the Only Animal That Can Survive in Space. All hail the toughest organism on (and beyond) Earth: the weird and wonderful water bear.

That diagram and the tables in this post are very educational. Why Legal Immigration Is Impossible for Nearly Everyone. I am so glad I became a US citizen right before 911.

The Top 100 Images of CUPOTY 5.