This is Issue #010 of the Talk Money Weekly. To get your mind moving on the topic of money every week, I’ll curate and share trending conversations around money, business, current events, and pop culture from Twitter, my favorite podcasts, and other platforms.
Have you checked out our latest episode? BLACK IN BUSINESS. You can expect this level of production and storytelling for Season 3. Coming this fall.
📈Markets & Business:
Former Goldman CEO Provides Market Commentary
Uncertainty always causes fluctuation in the stock market. Although, we've been at the highest levels of uncertainty for months, yet stocks keep going up. Generally with an administration change. the market wants an idea of where things are headed. Former GS CEO Lloyd Blankfein doesn't speak often, but when he does, it's an interesting insight. I personally (as do a lot of people), think the market going up is because there's nowhere else for people to put their money. This will be an ongoing theme throughout today's edition.
Stocks Only Go Up 🤔
So why are stocks going up? Interest rates are basically zero. If you wanted to put your money in a money market, you get nothing. You want to own Treasuries, you get nothing. You have no other choice but to invest in equities (public companies). Can you imagine if you could own debt that paid you 5% and was basically risk-free? That's what Treasuries were back in the day. You'd buy debt backed by the US government and get paid well for it. That's not the case now.
A 60/40 Portfolio Could Be a Thing of the Past
To continue with this theme, with bonds/treasuries paying zero, what do you replace that within your portfolio? Chamath is saying we could be investing in alternatives like Bitcoin, cars, art, etc. I actually don't agree with this take, at least to the degree he's talking about. Those are super high-risk investments that can go to zero, and you have to know what you're doing. The point of bonds was that we're taking a very low risk for a low return. That said, I could see it being more like 75% equities, 20% cash, 5% alternatives. There's no right answer, but things will change. Everyone has a different take.
This Teenage Drug Dealer Made $3M a Year Before Getting Busted
I stumbled on this Vice Youtube special and I was hooked. I don't agree with drug dealing, but this story was more about entrepreneurship. The story of Coss wasn't that he was building a better product with the drugs, but rather building a better product on how to sell drugs in a more convenient way. He started on the block and then built his own phone-based delivery system before Uber and Postmates were around. It's a great watch to see how someone turned their life around.
🎥 Entertainment:
K-Pop's BTS Go Public
We've heard so many stories about how the artists we love were screwed over by their record label. Not in this case. BTS's record label is doing so well, that they went public. The members of the band were granted shares of the company (I would hope so) and will benefit from the success...of their own success! This opens the door to what other "creators" can go public. With different avenues of revenue and direct distribution with their audience, creators are more powerful and lucrative than ever before.
🏛️ Politics
What Trump's Tax Return Really Means
You've all seen the tax headlines. The issue with Trump's tax is in fact an issue with the tax code and system. More so, it's about him having a ton of debt. Serious debt that he will owe very soon. You can only run away for so long until it's time to pay up. I think the story we all want to know is, what the hell did this guy get himself into, and what does being President have to do with it? What does this say about him as a businessman?
That's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed the TENTH issue of Talk Money Weekly. If you haven't already subscribed to my podcast, Talk Money, do so here. Make sure you listen to our latest episode "Black in Business". Stay tuned for our trailer for Season 3 which is going to be pretty amazing. More on that soon.
Want to chat? Tweet me at @meshlakhani.
