Ponzi Schemes, Crypto Influencers, Biking Cities, Gun Control, Stupidity

Another TBB post featuring the most eclectic links around the web such as ponzi schemes, Crypto influencers, biking cities, gun control, the seven varieties of stupidity, factors contributing to investing success, rallies to the bottom, the crypto skeptics like me are finally coming out in droves lately it appears as more innocents are taking to the woodshed, top US beaches, Ann Arbor and Hong Kong, conflicting findings on Paxlovid, Putin’s hard choices as the Ukraine war is in Day 100, map of marijuana legality in US states and much more, enjoy!

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This blog will publish every Friday in the month of June 2022.

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PERSONAL FINANCE

What are the four factors that contribute to success for investors? According to THIS article, there are:

Knowledge

Time and experience

Mindset

Luck

Actually, too much knowledge can lead to overconfidence which can lead to…disaster, be careful out there!

Is the recent run up a dead cat bounce or have we left the bottom behind us? First, nobody knows and you should not waste any time listening to “gurus” arguing this or that is going to take place in the next weeks or months because it simply does not matter! For the record, there have been several rallies like this one in past bear markets: Rallies to the Bottom. If I knew the answer….I would be on my yacht!

It’s easy to point at charts of years past and say “Buy and hold”, but it’s much harder to “Buy and hold” while living through them. Then again, maybe that’s what separates the good investors from the great ones. Unfortunately, there’s only one way for you to find out. [I think going through this stock market correction is a great lesson for younger investors who are experiencing it for the first time because they will learn more about themselves and will become better investors in the years/decades ahead, embrace it!]

Every month there is a roundup of the latest ponzi schemes in The Ponzi Scheme Blog. I read it and shake my head to oblivion. RUN away if you are promised such returns! For the nth time, please avoid these:

…promised returns to investors ranging from 12% to 36% from real estate investments

…promised huge returns from foreign currency exchange trades

…promised profits as high as 62% annually on the website and through YouTube videos

…represented that the fund “had extremely successful trading performance, with cumulative returns upwards of 2,500% from the fund’s inception”

…promised returns of 8% to 25% per month

…promised 20% returns every 60 days

…claimed returns of more than 35%

…promised returns of 30% to 50%

…promised returns of 3% to 6% daily

There are some fantastic podcasts here, take a look at Focus on Facts. Too bad there are no new episodes. I really enjoyed the “F” is for Fraud and “How to Lose $20 Billion in a Week”: The Saga of Bill Hwang and Archegos Capital.

 

CRYPTO

In my blog post last week I introduced you to the Web3 Is Going Just Great website. The Washington Post did an article on the person running it, Molly White: First she documented the alt-right. Now she’s coming for crypto. Hopefully my blog can make such a difference in people’s lives!

“Most of my disdain is reserved for the big players who are marketing this to a mainstream audience as though it’s an investment, often promising to be a ticket out of a really tough financial spot for people who don’t have many options,” White said. “It’s very predatory.” [Same!]

“People are putting in money that they can’t afford to lose,” White said. “They thought this might be their ticket out of poverty or they can finally stop working that minimum wage job and then all their savings are gone.”

We are on a roll now…How Influencers Hype Crypto, Without Disclosing Their Financial Ties. Avoid these assholes! I have never watched a single second of a video of this Logan Paul dude…but he recently promoted a new cryptocurrency that went by the name, please sit down, Dink Doink.

In his endorsements, he had failed to mention some relevant information: He and the project’s creator were friends, and they had come up with the idea for the cryptocurrency together. He had also received a large allocation of Dink Doink coins when it launched.

Not long after Dink Doink’s crash, Mr. Paul started an NFT collection called CryptoZoo, which was widely mocked for featuring stock images of animals. Mr. Paul blamed the staff who helped run the project for CryptoZoo’s problems. Now, he’s working with a new team on a crypto venture called Liquid Marketplace, which uses blockchain technology to let investors buy fractions of physical objects.

Like I said, RUN the other way! Even better, starve these people of your clicks, NEVER click on them, thank you! Here is the archived link.

Heartbreaking to read: From Argentina to Nigeria, people saw Terra as more stable than local currency. They lost everything.

26 technologists draft an open letter to US lawmakers urging them to responsibly legislate crypto industry. See the link to it at the bottom of the post, great read!

Best explanation on Bitcoin in the Focus on Facts podcast introduced in the previous section: Bitcoin: Currency of the Future of Just Another Bubble?

 

TRAVEL

I must admit I had never heard of this doc! ‘Dr. Beach’ Announces Top 10 U.S. Beaches For 2022.

This is great: 7 Great Biking Cities (and Which Trails to Ride). No. 1 on the list is Copenhagen. My daughter recently visited it and I asked her what stood out and she said…biking! Archived Link.

I chuckled when I saw this article in Travel & Leisure about my hometown Ann Arbor: This Michigan City Is One of the Best Places to Retire in the U.S. — Here’s Why. Especially with this line: “The city, nicknamed “Tree Town,” offers a variety of outdoor activities, cultural events, excellent health care in the state of Michigan, and an appealing range of home prices.” Ok, all is true except “appealing range of home prices”—–> Lol as home prices have exploded around here!

I always loved the unique density of Hong Kong. And the photography capturing it all: Photographer Shows Why Hong Kong Is Called The Concrete Jungle.