Hey All,
Welcome to Talk Money Weekly - where I cut through the noise and curate the best money-related topics from the web.
We're back with two new episodes of Talk Money. One narrative and one rant.
On to the newsletter...
Markets & Business
Narrative: Surviving Retail
Even before the pandemic, you may have heard the news: retail is dead. Online shopping ballooned this past year while we were stuck inside our homes. But for many, the shopping experience is just as important as what ends up in their bags.
Retail entrepreneurs survived this past year by adapting their business models and focusing on what's most important: their customers. I chat with Molly Howard of La Ligne, Jason Scott of Jason Scott Clothing, Alessio Tropeano of CBRE and Pauline Idogho of Mocktail Club.
TMW #19: Bipartisanship Saves Crypto?
In this episode of TMW, I dive into the $1T Infrastructure Bill and why crypto was the biggest part of it. Politicians went back and forth on an amendment excluding a majority of the crypto community from being considered a broker. It came down to one vote, and that guy didn't give a shit. Listen to find out more.
US Blunders on Crypto
What’s there to say? If you don’t understand something, how do you get onboard? This is true for crypto. It’s already complicated as it is, so how do you expect to get a bunch of old politicians to support it?
The risk is... innovation will just leave the US. In a time where the US is not the only dominant power out there and we’re competing with talent, tech, etc, then you have to be more open to new things. You want to foster creativity and innovation. You want to attract talent.
Give more green cards and visas, and support crypto, and decades from now, I think it would be a good bet. Let’s see if the House can overturn this.
US Politics is Petty
Have you seen an episode of House of Cards or the West Wing? Politicians are some petty folks. How do we have these people running stuff? I find these people so insanely selfish, regardless of what side they’re on. It’s about their money, their legacy etc.
I’m sure they start off with the right attitude and wanting to change the world, but the game corrupts all.
Ban Congress from Trading Stocks?
So on top of being in charge of policy, these people get to make money!? I was at dinner last night and we were talking about how most politicians have figured out how to make money out of their position of power.
It’s hard to trust anyone if they’re able to profit from buying and selling stocks + influence policy that potentially move those stocks. I don’t think it should be completely banned, but it should be somewhat similar to how banks deal with their employees making investments. They just make it very hard to own things and you have to get everything approved.
So this is where index funds would work because they should still be allowed to invest, but it's a basket of investments that you can't cherry-pick. OR we just need more transparency. What do they own, and what potential conflicts do they have with those investments? Just put it all out there!
Market Declines Are Inevitable
How many market cycles have you been through? Have you felt sick to your stomach and thought the world was ending? Have you made irrational decisions based on a large dip? If you haven’t…then you’re still early in the game.
I started investing in 2008. What a time to learn! Anxiety levels were high is an understatement. But each pullback or crash since, you develop thicker skin. That’s why I don’t really look at my portfolio. I’ll check in here and there. It’s part of the game, and experiencing the pain of a market dip or crash, will only make you a better investor.
Blah blah blah, you’ve heard me say this over and over again. 5-10% pullback is nothing. Try experiencing a 50% pullback.
NFT’s as a Social Network
This market is getting insane. Penguins. People are buying penguins now! Owning a Cryptopunk is a status symbol like owning a Rolex. And now, there are platforms that are allowing folks to pool together resources to buy NFTs, so that everyone can have status. Like a timeshare! LOL.
Great read by Packy. Do check it out to learn more about the space.
That's all the news from this past week! If I was to make this newsletter into a Youtube show, would you watch it?
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