Shares of QuantumScape Corp. QS, +43.08% blasted 47.5% higher in very active trading Thursday, after the battery maker’s solid-state cell, viewed as the next big step in battery development, passed the first endurance test, according to Volkswagen AG VWAGY, +1.91% VOW, +1.56% subsidiary PowerCo.

Notes today:

• There is only three ways a smart person can go broke: liquor, ladies and leverage” - Charlie Munger

• Scientists hail new antibiotic that can kill drug-resistant bacteria

• Elon Musk defeats bid to be questioned in Tesla fatal crash lawsuit.
• Elon Musk’s X is now worth less than a third of the price he paid for Twitter, according to Axios. 

• Panama Canal: hundreds of vessels have been backed up at the critical shipping corridor, which handles $270 billion a year in global trade.
• A controversial plan to fix the Canal could cost billions if it is even feasible. 

• The United States does not have any reason to believe that Israel assassinated Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington on Wednesday. Seriously? 

Problem with these notes: some tend to run up against a deeply rooted feature of human cognition - the desire not to think about anything unpleasant…Sorry about that.

Btw, humans can only think about 4 things at once – according to the research team led by University of Oregon psychology professors Edward Awh and Edward Vogel. So, to help, we limit notes. 😉

 

U.S. Recession Probabilities increasing..

 

Quick Overview is up to date

 

😃Your last chance  to send in  a contribution for 2023

Notes today:

 

• Brexit has completely failed for UK, say clear majority of Britons – poll theguardian.com. 

• Iran discovers one of the world's largest lithium deposits of more than 8.5 million tons. 

• You are hard wired to avoid risk and that's why almost everyone underperforms. 

• Chinese Carmaker Overtakes Tesla as World’s Most Popular EV Maker.  

• Russia and Iran have agreed to avoid using the dollar in bilateral trade. They will use their own currencies moving forward. 

• Maersk, (ROE % TTM 16.15) one of the largest shipping companies in the world, suspended all container ship sailings in the Southern Red Sea after  Iranian-backed Houthi militants attacked one of its vessels.

 

Problem with these notes: some tend to run up against a deeply rooted feature of human cognition - the desire not to think about anything unpleasant…Sorry about that.

Btw, humans can only think about 4 things at once – according to the research team led by University of Oregon psychology professors Edward Awh and Edward Vogel. So, to help, we limit notes. 😉

 

 

Financial distress: As measured by debt delinquency, the share of Americans experiencing financial distress has risen in 2023. With credit card debt, the distress has returned to a level seen during the Great Recession..

 Stalled UK economy. Tory party perhaps?

 

Notes today:

 

• "Revenge spending" drives US credit card debt past $1 trillion. Americans have spent down their savings and racked up debt as the economy hums along, but experts are pondering whether consumers can keep going. Bloomberg 

• “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.” — Richard Feynman 

• According to the World Gold Council, central banks have bought 800 tons in the first nine months of the year, up 14% YoY. 

• OJ: This is what happens when agriculture land is replaced with urban sprawl. 
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• It’s not just Paris. Bedbugs are resurgent everywhere. Like bacteria, the insects are becoming resistant to the chemicals used to kill them.

 

• Problem with these notes: some tend to run up against a deeply rooted feature of human cognition - the desire not to think about anything unpleasant…Sorry about that.
• Btw, humans can only think about 4 things at once – according to the research team led by University of Oregon psychology professors Edward Awh and Edward Vogel. So, to help, we limit notes. 😉

 

 

Happy Holidays

 

Underwater Car Loans

Costco sold a jaw-dropping $100 million worth of one-ounce gold bars in its latest quarter, the company's CFO Richard Galanti said in earnings call yesterday. Selling out “within a few hours”  ..

"For you last-minute shoppers out there," he added, "there's a Mickey Mantle autographed 1951 rookie card in nearly perfect condition, and it's on sale online for $250,000."

Brian Cox reads If I Must Die, by beloved Palestinian poet, teacher and martyr Refaat Alareer. Refaat was killed on December 7th by an Israeli airstrike. This was the last poem he published.

“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves”

Confucius

My Freeloaders having breakfast..

Something beautiful..

 

Quick Overview is up to date

Poor Asian countries face an ageing crisis

In South and South-East Asia less than 40% of the elderly population gets a pension, according to the International Labour Organisation. In Cambodia and Pakistan, the share is less than 10%. And the pensions that are on offer are meagre. India’s national pension for the poor provides a measly Rs200 ($2.40) a month.

 S&P 500 new 52 week highs 0, 

new lows 52 (below)

Instrument Name	Close	Symbol
3M Ord Shs	86.55	MMM
Alaska Air Group Ord Shs	32.02	ALK
Albemarle Ord Shs	138.68	ALB
Amcor Ord Shs	8.51	AMCR.K
American Airlines Group Ord Shs	11.08	AAL.O
American Water Works Ord Shs	115.8	AWK
Bio Rad Laboratories Ord Shs Class A	310.79	BIO
CBRE Group Ord Shs Class A	67.49	CBRE.K
Citigroup Ord Shs	39.68	C
Citizens Financial Group Ord Shs	23.76	CFG
Corning Ord Shs	27.17	GLW
Discover Financial Services Ord Shs	82.19	DFS
Dominion Energy Ord Shs	40.02	D
Eastman Chemical Ord Shs	71.29	EMN
Enphase Energy Ord Shs	98.89	ENPH.O
Estee Lauder Ord Shs Class A	137.3	EL
Eversource Energy Ord Shs	53.5	ES
Extra Space Storage REIT Ord Shs	109.59	EXR
Generac Holdings Ord Shs	88.38	GNRC.K
Genuine Parts Ord Shs	128.63	GPC
Healthpeak Properties Ord Shs	16.62	PEAK.K
Henry Schein Ord Shs	68.31	HSIC.O
Hormel Foods Ord Shs	31.42	HRL
IDEX Ord Shs	192.73	IEX
Illumina Ord Shs	119.64	ILMN.O
Incyte Ord Shs	55.13	INCY.O
Interpublic Group of Companies Ord Shs	27.69	IPG
Invesco Ord Shs	12.7	IVZ
Johnson Controls International Ord Shs	48.71	JCI
Keysight Technologies Ord Shs	122.82	KEYS.K
LKQ Ord Shs	48.52	LKQ.O
Moderna Ord Shs	80.4	MRNA.O
Northern Trust Ord Shs	64.28	NTRS.O
Organon Ord Shs	15.9	OGN
Paramount Global Ord Shs Class B	11.5	PARA.O
PayPal Holdings Ord Shs	53.39	PYPL.O
Pfizer Ord Shs	30.65	PFE
ProLogis REIT Ord Shs	102.43	PLD
Public Storage REIT Ord Shs	251.19	PSA
Regions Financial Ord Shs	14.44	RF
Solaredge Technologies Ord Shs	82.9	SEDG.O
Southwest Airlines Ord Shs	24.2	LUV
T Rowe Price Group Ord Shs	96.33	TROW.O
Texas Instrument Ord Shs	147.81	TXN.O
Thermo Fisher Scientific Ord Shs	464.36	TMO
Tractor Supply Ord Shs	195.27	TSCO.O
Tyson Foods Ord Shs Class A	46.29	TSN
UDR REIT Ord Shs	34.7	UDR
Ulta Beauty Ord Shs	371.85	ULTA.O
United Airlines Holdings Ord Shs	35.09	UAL.O
Vici Pptys Ord Shs	27.51	VICI.K
Zebra Technologies Ord Shs Class A	204.55	ZBRA.O