Exchange Invest Weekend Edition 2625: Palo Alto Topping Out?

On this day in 1949, the "Tokyo Stock Exchange" in its present form was founded and would open on May 16th.

The Week

Argentine arb. Peak Valley Bro? 7-11 guru mourned & an epic puffin support group… Too clever by half? Your call: feedback welcome, DM us!

It’s April Fool’s Day today - we had thought of doing an elaborate crypto hoax. Then we realised no matter how outlandish our plan, we simply couldn’t find anything that was palpably whackier than the facts of Bitcarnage.

In BigWorld

From Exchange Invest 2621: March 28th, Tuesday:
“The Pound in your pocket…” and all that malarkey revisited:

So in one European country the government used a constitutional legal provision to carry out what was essentially a manifesto promise. In another the government was elected to oppose the principals behind a measure it rammed home with nary a thought for democratic norms.

Yet oddly, it’s France that is rioting over the pension age being tweaked up from 52 to 64 while the British mainland has shrugged off abandoning British sovereignty and essentially recognising the colonised status of Northern Ireland by the new Belgian empire run by the EU, thus affirm that the Belfast Congo is a thing.

Meanwhile, in another country (EI 2622 March 29th, Wednesday):
King Charles begins his first overseas trip today, after the postponement of the French jaunt at the weekend and will land in Germany where he can marvel at a nation which appears eager to replicate Britain’s 1970s experience. Presumably, KCIII can visit some delayed building sites and marvel at how it took so long to build the new Berlin airport etc.

IPO-VID LIVESTREAM

NEXT WEEK TUESDAY!
IPO-VID Guest: Bob Pisani
IPO-VID Livestream 101

Season 17: Episode 05
Tuesday, April 4th:1800 UK, 1900 CET, 1400 EST

"Bob Pisani: Shut Up and Keep Talking!"

If you are in financial markets, our next guest needs little or no introduction:

A CNBC reporter since 1990, Bob Pisani has covered Wall Street and the stock market for 25 years. Pisani covered the real estate market for CNBC from 1990-1995, then moved on to become Stocks Correspondent in 1997.

His book “Shut Up and Keep Talking: Lessons on Life and Investing from the Floor of the New York Stock Exchange” was published in October 2022.

NOW ONLINE!

IPO-VID Guest: James Block
IPO-VID Livestream 100

Season 17: Episode 04
Tuesday, March 28th:1800 UK, 1900 CET, 1400 EST

"James Block: Examining Dirty Bubbles"

Lifelong Midwesterner, James Block is a psychiatry resident at the University of Michigan, having completed an MD/Ph.D. at Wayne State University. During medical school, he started researching cryptocurrency markets and discovered red flags concerning fraud and money laundering. This research grew into a newsletter, Dirty Bubble Media, dedicated to original investigations of various aspects of the "Dirtiest Bubble of the 21st Century."

Dirty Bubble Media has exposed and contributed to the unravelling of 2 major frauds (Celsius Network and FTX) as well as exposing potential malfeasance at Signature Bank of New York.

IPO-VID LIVESTREAM PODCAST

In IPO-VID Episode 091: Patrick Young was joined by Goldberg Group founder and CEO Bruce Goldberg.

Learn "Why The World Needed A Fifth Options Exchange."

Now available from multiple different podcast sources including:

EI WEEKLY PODCAST

MEMX have an Options raising round as the SEC reduced their paperwork burden

The ASX is under duress as its monopoly is challenged

Mark Makepeace reforms the FTSE Band

While Binance and Coinbase are in the eyes of separate but related storms

…And SBF is accused of bribing Chinese officials

The Exchange Invest Weekly Podcast 187

Victory Or Death

20 years on from the first fintech bestseller “Capital Market Revolution!"... "Victory Or Death" is a must read book for anyone interested in the intersection of Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and FinTech as part of the whole future of finance.

Available worldwide.

Bitcarnage

Sequencing is the thing here. I have zero doubt now that Chairman Behnam went first against Binance to make his House Appropriations meeting easier (CFTC indicted Binace/CZ et al Monday, then Chairman Behnam headed to the hill Tuesday to seek his new budget. Until this indictment, Chairman Behnam’s most notable claim to fame was being disastrously close to SBF as a frenzied fanboy in a reputational immolation manner. Just because CFTC have moved alone, that doesn’t mean everybody else is indolent. The treasure trove of data the CFTC has is clearly in at least triplicate with other agencies - including the criminal litigators (smart money guess: at SDNY). That means ongoing logorrhea from CZ will only result in his becoming the “4” in a digital adaptation of the “4-syte saga.”

Everyday we cover the ongoing turmoil of BTC, crypto et al in our daily "Bitcarnage" section of Exchange Invest, for more details on a free trial to our premium newsletter of the bourse business delivered to your Inbox daily, DM a reply to this newsletter saying "30 day trial, please."

Macro Thoughts

The Myth Of China's Military Might
UnHerd

PLY: Then again echoing in my ears are remarks I heard recently about every time the US adds a new ship the navy retires two whereas China is adding 7…

Of Interest

As always, a review of interesting reading to provoke thoughts and consideration… Not sure we agree with much of it….but it’s thought-provoking!

The Marvellous Boys Of Palo Alto
New Yorker

From Silicon Valley Bank to Sam Bankman-Fried, the recent scandals upending the tech industry are rooted in a longer tradition of innovation and impunity.

PLY: Tragically the required discipline is not apparent from the Biden regime which looks craven to the Cal-bros (qv

I Just Traveled To Argentina — And Doubled My Money With A 'Black Market' Exchange Rate
CNBC

PLY: Plus ca change from South America or a glimpse into Europe’s future? I can't quite make my mind up if it’s one, the other, or both…

Too Clever By Half
Epsilon Theory

RIP Masatoshi Ito, Who Made 7-Eleven The World’s Local Convenience Store
South China Morning Post

An Icelandic Town Goes All Out to Save Baby Puffins
Smithsonian Magazine

Last Word

Catch up on Monday for Exchange Invest 2626...

The future continues in the water cooler of the bourse business…