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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Come on, man.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Fight them, without becoming them!

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / DJT is a Meme Stock

DJT is a Meme Stock

by $8 blue check mistermix|  March 22, 20241:28 pm| 117 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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DJT is a Meme Stock

So if you haven’t been paying attention, and why should you, the shareholders of the  Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) that is going to merge with Truth Social to create Trump Media have approved the merger.  Immediate loss of share price and shorting ensued:

The price of shares in Digital World Acquisition Corp. fell by as much as 12% Friday morning after the shell company’s shareholders approved amerger with the social media company owned by former President Donald Trump.

DWAC had opened the trading day at $44.20 per share, but tumbled to below $38 at some points after the vote. By noon ET, the share price was down about 3.5% from the open price. […]

A total of 11% of the tradable shares of DWAC are being sold short, FactSet data shows.

Trump, who will own 58% of Trump Media, supposedly just made $3 billion.  He can’t sell his shares for 6 months due to a lockup provision, but…

It is possible that the board of directors could vote to allow Trump to sell shares earlier than that. And that board could be stocked with people close to Trump, including his son Donald Trump Jr., former wrestling company executive Linda McMahon and Trump’s former trade representative Robert Lighthizer, according to a list of planned nominees.

This is clearly a pump-and-dump:  Truth Social is losing money and has roughly 5 million active users (TikTok has 2 billion, Facebook has 3 billion).  The price will almost certainly tank the minute Trump starts selling serious amounts of stock, if not sooner.  Just as with his NFTs, steaks, vodka, water and other Trump-branded bullshit, once a little bit of attention is paid and a small amount of the product is sold to gullible rubes, there’s just not a multi-billion-dollar market for his latest scam.

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    117Comments

    1. 1.

      BethanyAnne

      March 22, 2024 at 1:30 pm

      I wonder if this allows him to post bond for the fraud judgement?

      Reply
    2. 2.

      $8 blue check mistermix

      March 22, 2024 at 1:32 pm

      @BethanyAnne: Nope!  He can’t encumber the shares as part of the lockup agreement.

      Reply
    3. 3.

      Baud

      March 22, 2024 at 1:35 pm

      The price of shares in Digital World Acquisition Corp. fell by as much as 12% Friday morning after the shell company’s shareholders approved amerger with the social media company owned by former President Donald Trump.

      And we said Wall Streat wasn’t rational.

      Reply
    4. 4.

      Brachiator

      March 22, 2024 at 1:36 pm

      It is possible that the board of directors could vote to allow Trump to sell shares earlier than that.

      So, is all this a convoluted way of helping Trump pay his legal bills, fines and penalties?

      Reply
    5. 5.

      NotMax

      March 22, 2024 at 1:38 pm

      Still want to know how many shares ostensible manager Devin Nunes has been contractually promised.

      Reply
    6. 6.

      waspuppet

      March 22, 2024 at 1:39 pm

      @Brachiator: If they can get away with it. Otherwise, it’s a way for Trump to tell the court “I don’t have the money for the appeal bond but I will in six months so you have to let me appeal now” and if they don’t let him he can go around moaning about how unfairly he’s being treated and say things like “I’m not saying someone should kill these judges; I’m just saying that if someone does I will totally pardon them when I’m president again. That’s totally different!”

      Reply
    7. 7.

      RepubAnon

      March 22, 2024 at 1:45 pm

      I expect lots of Wall Streeters are shorting that stock – they may be Trumpistas, but that won’t stop them from grabbing some easy cash.

      I expect Trumpovitch will find some way to pull cash out of the stock before it tanks.

      Reply
    8. 8.

      topclimber

      March 22, 2024 at 1:46 pm

      Whatever happened with the two minority stockholders who exposed TFG’s fraud of trying to dilute the value of their shares?

      Reply
    9. 9.

      Leto

      March 22, 2024 at 1:48 pm

      @topclimber: substitute “two minority stockholders” for “judges” in waspuppet’s  comment at #6, and you have your answer.

      Reply
    10. 10.

      azlib

      March 22, 2024 at 2:00 pm

      Allowing Trump to sell a massive amount of shares will cause the share price to plummet. He could borrow against the shares, if the Board allowed that, but I doubt the terms would be very good. The walls are closing in on him.

      Reply
    11. 11.

      topclimber

      March 22, 2024 at 2:01 pm

      @Brachiator: KOS just had a piece quoting Politico that TFG will only be allowed to sell 1% of his stock per quarter.

      That would be about $30 million profit, or about what Letitia James thinks his Seven Springs estate MIGHT be worth.

      Did I mention hahahahaha?

      Reply
    12. 12.

      MisterForkbeard

      March 22, 2024 at 2:06 pm

      @azlib: This assumes the the Board isn’t totally owned by Trump, which it effectively is.

      He’s already browbeaten them repeatedly into doing things that harm the “company” but personally benefit Trump. His allies are all over the board. They’ll push back to a very limited extent – like if they let Trump sell his shares they’ll ALSO make themselves able to sell because the game is up at that point.

      But I very much doubt they won’t try to bail him out, because he’ll order them to.

      Reply
    13. 13.

      MattF

      March 22, 2024 at 2:07 pm

      WaPo article on how everyone is suing everyone (gift link).

      Reply
    14. 14.

      JPL

      March 22, 2024 at 2:08 pm

      Princess Kate has cancer, and is starting Chemo.   I’m not a royal watcher, but that makes me sad.

      Reply
    15. 15.

      Baud

      March 22, 2024 at 2:09 pm

      @JPL: Ah, so that’s the mystery.  Fingers crossed for her. No one deserves cancer.

      Reply
    16. 16.

      NotMax

      March 22, 2024 at 2:09 pm

      Expect him to show up to be photographed ringing the shiny brass bell at the stock exchange on the initial day of the listing.

      Reply
    17. 17.

      Anoniminous

      March 22, 2024 at 2:11 pm

      I don’t see how Trump can conduct business, e.g., selling stocks, in the New York City FIRE industries since he is banned from doing business in New York for three years.

      But IANAL so WTFDIK

      Reply
    18. 18.

      Baud

      March 22, 2024 at 2:16 pm

      @Anoniminous: Truth Social isn’t the FIRE industry, and selling stocks isn’t Trump’s business.

      Reply
    19. 19.

      Betty

      March 22, 2024 at 2:19 pm

      @JPL: Certainly hope it is something that can be cured. Tragic for any young mother to go through this.  I wish they would have handled this better. People will be sympathetic.

      Reply
    20. 20.

      West of the Rockies

      March 22, 2024 at 2:20 pm

      So, decent chance wingnut investors get hosed.  Maybe four of them will say, “Man, it appears Trump is kind of a creep.  He just lost my vote.”

      Nah…  they’re too stupid.

      Reply
    21. 21.

      robtrim

      March 22, 2024 at 2:22 pm

      From Investopedia:

      As many as 70% of SPACs that had their IPO in 2021 were trading below their $10 offer price by the end of that year, according to a Renaissance Capital strategist. This downward trend could signal that the SPAC bubble that some market experts had predicted may be bursting.

      Fortune. “Months After the SPAC Boom, Returns Have Been ‘Weak,’ Says Goldman Sachs.”

      Ha, ha… wait till this Ponzi scheme falls on its face. SPACS have been around for years. And if Trump gets any special treatment from the Board of this newly created “stock”, the shareholders will begin suing him and the company like crazy. Trump will be fighting in court, again,  to save his ass.

       

      Reply
    22. 22.

      Betty

      March 22, 2024 at 2:23 pm

      @topclimber: Is there real money involved or just paper saying there is money involved?

      Reply
    23. 23.

      gvg

      March 22, 2024 at 2:25 pm

      @Betty: It may be that the medical info was hard to diagnose, and they were stalling. It may also be that the family was not all reacting the same and needed time to face it, including her.

      The kids are going to have a hard time of it because the media I think will hound them trying to get sympathetic sob stories over and over.

      Reply
    24. 24.

      JPL

      March 22, 2024 at 2:26 pm

      wow the news keeps on coming..  Another republican representative is leaving early.   This time on the 19th of April.     hmm  now it’s a one vote majority.

      WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who announced last month he would not run for re-election, will resign from Congress early, he confirmed in a statement Friday.

      Reply
    25. 25.

      JPL

      March 22, 2024 at 2:27 pm

      @gvg:  The children are off this week so it was a good time to announce.

      Reply
    26. 26.

      MisterForkbeard

      March 22, 2024 at 2:28 pm

      @Betty: It’s just money on paper (for now).

      The company is valued at $4 billion for basically no reason other than they expect a bunch of Trump people to buy and trade the stock. There’s no actual profit involved, no real product that’s worth anything.

      But because of the insane “valuation”, he can sell the stock and make a lot of real money off of other people who buy into the scam. Trump will profit on it anyway, because he’s a giant scammer and his cultists will be left holding the bag.

      Reply
    27. 27.

      NotMax

      March 22, 2024 at 2:29 pm

      Help an old guy out here, jackals. Drawing a blank on the movie within which a member of the board of directors at a mammoth corporation implores the others at the meeting, “Divest, gentlemen. Divest! Sell off everything except T-shirts and nuclear weapons.”

      Reply
    28. 28.

      Baud

      March 22, 2024 at 2:29 pm

      @JPL: Whoa.

      Reply
    29. 29.

      Bex

      March 22, 2024 at 2:32 pm

      @JPL:  It is described as preventive chemotherapy which indicates that a good outcome is very possible according to an MSNBC doc.

      Reply
    30. 30.

      JPL

      March 22, 2024 at 2:33 pm

      @Baud: It’s Marge’s party now.

      Reply
    31. 31.

      Betty Cracker

      March 22, 2024 at 2:35 pm

      @JPL: That’s terrible. Sad and frightening for the kids.

      Reply
    32. 32.

      Soprano2

      March 22, 2024 at 2:36 pm

      @Bex: I hope so, she’s so young and has young children. No wonder she was out of the public eye. I don’t blame them, that’s got to be a hard thing to deal with even without being in the public eye like that. Maybe it was like what happened with my SIL – she had a surgery to remove a painful cyst, and while they were in there they saw what they thought might be cancer. It turned out to be Stage 1 ovarian cancer. If not for that cyst she would probably be dead right now.

      Reply
    33. 33.

      Comrade Bukharin

      March 22, 2024 at 2:37 pm

      Possibly 40+ killed in a terrorist attack on a Moscow mall/concert venue.

      Reply
    34. 34.

      Sean

      March 22, 2024 at 2:37 pm

      @JPL:

      WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who announced last month he would not run for re-election, will resign from Congress early, he confirmed in a statement Friday.

      Wow. the GOP can only afford one defection on any legislation in this scenario if the Dems vote as a unified bloc.

      Reply
    35. 35.

      Eyeroller

      March 22, 2024 at 2:40 pm

      @Baud: She’s also quite young (42) and apparently it wasn’t breast cancer, sounds like some kind of uterine cancer. (Result from the abdominal surgery “Initially thought to be noncancerous, pathology found cancer” was basically what they said.)

      Reply
    36. 36.

      RaflW

      March 22, 2024 at 2:40 pm

      Another abdicator is punching out early.

      “Speaker Mike Johnson is about to drop to a one-vote majority, as retiring Rep. Mike Gallagher has decided he will exit the House as soon as next month, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
      In a statement shortly after this story published, Gallagher said he planned to leave April 19.”

      The incredible shrinking speakership. Even if MTG’s threat is a bluff, there’s NO room to maneuver on any legislation. Sucks to be them and likely need Dem votes to even name a post office.

      eta: Shoulda known this crowd is on it @JPL.

      Reply
    37. 37.

      Baud

      March 22, 2024 at 2:42 pm

      @Comrade Bukharin:

      My first thought is unfortunately that it was orchestrated by Putin.

      Reply
    38. 38.

      Comrade Bukharin

      March 22, 2024 at 2:44 pm

      @Baud: FSB false flag? ISIS? Revenge for Navalny? Ukrainians are too smart to slaughter civilians like this.

      Reply
    39. 39.

      Suzanne

      March 22, 2024 at 2:47 pm

      Crazy-ass news right now…. looks like the concert hall in Moscow is on fire and there’s been some gunfire. And Kate Middleton announced she has cancer. And Mike Gallagher is leaving Congress, further whittling away the GOP majority, at least for a while.

      Reply
    40. 40.

      gene108

      March 22, 2024 at 2:47 pm

      This not the first time taking a company public:

      More than a quarter-century ago, the real estate baron took another company public, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, listing it on the New York Stock Exchange. The venture started with all the glamour and hype that you might expect from a 1995 Trump production. “This is such a big day for us,” Trump told a newscaster as his second wife, Marla Maples, looked on admiringly. Investors purchased $140 million of stock, betting on the business, yes, but also betting on the man. The ticker symbol for the company was DJT.

      It didn’t take long for Donald John Trump to betray his shareholders, acting in ways that benefitted himself but harmed the larger business. Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts started with just one Atlantic City casino, but Trump personally held another two outside of the firm. Less than a year after taking the company public, he used it to buy one of his two other casinos, the debt-burdened Taj Mahal, in a deal that valued his stake at $40.5 million. The transaction improved Trump’s personal balance sheet, but the company suddenly had a disastrous amount of debt. As part of the agreement, Trump also collected $51 million of cash and $11 million of stock, in exchange for land that he had previously rented to the company for about 5% of that price annually. A couple of months later, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts announced that it was going to pony up roughly another $500 million for Trump’s third Atlantic City casino. At the time, one analyst estimated that the property was worth more like $400 million, suggesting Trump was essentially robbing the public company of $100 million. Investors smelled a rotten deal, and shares plummeted 37% within days.

      Read the whole thing.

      https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2021/10/22/trump-had-a-public-company-before-it-was-a-disaster/?sh=3b0ab66ed715

      Reply
    41. 41.

      Ohio Mom

      March 22, 2024 at 2:49 pm

      @JPL: There’s so many types of cancer and so many treatments, we can’t know how sad or panicked to be on the Princess’s behalf. Lots of people get better these days.

      No doubt though that getting the diagnosis is a shock.

      Also, I hope all the people coming up with ridiculous interpretations for her recent absense are embarrassed.

      ETA: I know those people are not capable of embarrassment.

      Reply
    42. 42.

      MazeDancer

      March 22, 2024 at 2:51 pm

      Kate Middleton has cancer. She has stomach surgery and it was found. She is going to get chemo.

      Here is a video of her explaining.

      Unclear why they had to be so absurd for so long.

      Reply
    43. 43.

      JPL

      March 22, 2024 at 2:52 pm

      @Baud: It’s definitely a possibility.

      Reply
    44. 44.

      Freemark

      March 22, 2024 at 2:53 pm

      I’m trying to understand how this ‘company’ is making money.

      If I’m reading the financials right it started with $300,000,000 from sales of its stock and had no assets before that as it was created to acquire/merge with other companies ostensibly American healthcare companies. It’s current value is about $1.5 billion based on stock price. This will somehow be worth up to $8.6 billion dollars after merging with a bankrupt company that Trump reported as being worth $5-$25 million.

      WTF?

      Reply
    45. 45.

      topclimber

      March 22, 2024 at 2:54 pm

      @Betty: No money until somebody buys Trump’s stock or lends him money against it.

      My point is that he can’t actually sell much of his stake under current rules. These could change.

      Reply
    46. 46.

      JPL

      March 22, 2024 at 2:55 pm

      @Ohio Mom: Yes.  I’m thinking about Imma and when he told us about his wife’s diagnosis.

      It’s sad and scary no matter if they catch it early or not.  My ex had stage 3 colon cancer and was told he had a 50/50 chance of survivor, but he was healthy and able to complete the treatment on time.   He’s healthy now and still an asshole.  

      Reply
    47. 47.

      topclimber

      March 22, 2024 at 2:57 pm

      @RaflW: How about you sign the discharge petition for Ukraine et. al. like Ken Buck, bucko?

      Reply
    48. 48.

      Misterpuff

      March 22, 2024 at 2:59 pm

      Fuck Cancer.

      b

      u

      t

      also Fuck The Aristocracy.

      Reply
    49. 49.

      Seanly

      March 22, 2024 at 3:00 pm

      Even if Trump’s share is valued at $3B, he owns 58%. He’d need to dump enough that he’d drop below 51% of the company (and that’s just to get $464MM). And it’s going to trade with his initials so I think he wouldn’t want to sell and would still be f’ked. But I’m not a Wall Street type so just pure speculation.

      Also, don’t you need to pay all the accrued interest once the appeal is done?

      Reply
    50. 50.

      NotMax

      March 22, 2024 at 3:00 pm

      @topclimber

      Nothing (AFAIK) preventing him from assigning shares as a “gift” to, say, Ivanka, who then uses it as collateral for a loan.

      Reply
    51. 51.

      rikyrah

      March 22, 2024 at 3:03 pm

      These babies have been through some things 😂🤣🤣

       

      https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLjJUE4M/

      Reply
    52. 52.

      rikyrah

      March 22, 2024 at 3:04 pm

      @MazeDancer:

      She is only 42 and where they found it😔

      Reply
    53. 53.

      rikyrah

      March 22, 2024 at 3:05 pm

      @JPL:

      I understand why you went to thoughts of Imma 😢

      Reply
    54. 54.

      Ken

      March 22, 2024 at 3:06 pm

      @gene108: Oh, darn. For years I’ve been telling people that Trump managed to lose money running a casino. But all along it was just a bust-out, with the odd twist that Trump was busting out his own company.

      Reply
    55. 55.

      topclimber

      March 22, 2024 at 3:06 pm

      @NotMax: Yeah, I was also wondering if he could peddle someone an option to buy all his shares at a certain date at a hefty discount–say a year from now and a 50% discount.

      That, like your gift idea, probably has negative tax consequences for fuk-oh. And you can bet NYS makes sure he pays what he owes this time.

      Reply
    56. 56.

      Martin

      March 22, 2024 at 3:07 pm

      @Freemark: A company doesn’t need to make money to have value. Investors just need to believe it has value in order to have value.

      Reply
    57. 57.

      robtrim

      March 22, 2024 at 3:12 pm

      @gene108: Good summary of Trump’s bankruptcy history.

      This SPAC episode will end in a very similar fashion. Getting billions of dollars out of Truth Social is fantasy.

      Reply
    58. 58.

      MazeDancer

      March 22, 2024 at 3:12 pm

      @rikyrah: She says her chemo is “preventative”. But she looks thinner than ever. Which one would think was impossible.

      Why they couldn’t have announced it immediately and start gathering sympathy, instead of ridicule, we will likely never know.

      Maybe they didn’t want to step on Charles’s cancer thunder.

      Reply
    59. 59.

      Brachiator

      March 22, 2024 at 3:12 pm

      @MazeDancer:

      Kate Middleton has cancer. She has stomach surgery and it was found. She is going to get chemo. Unclear why they had to be so absurd for so long.

      Probably in part because of bullshit like this.

      Friday’s announcement follows reports that several staffers at the London Clinic, where Kate was admitted in January, are under investigation for allegedly trying to access the Princess of Wales’ medical records.

      An ordinary person would be able to deal with this privately. But the vile UK press and the idiotic coterie of “Royal Watchers” will do everything they can to get into her business.

      Reply
    60. 60.

      gvg

      March 22, 2024 at 3:15 pm

      @Soprano2: I had painful fibroids but the imaging to look at why I had pain found a painless tumor, luckily early stage, that is not normally giving any signs until its stage 4 with about a 15% survival rate. Because of my luck of accidently finding it really early I am 10+ years cancer free.

      Reply
    61. 61.

      glc

      March 22, 2024 at 3:16 pm

      @NotMax: Top search match 

      Doesn’t ring a bell but I believe I watched all of that at one point.

      Reply
    62. 62.

      Brachiator

      March 22, 2024 at 3:16 pm

      @Martin:

      A company doesn’t need to make money to have value. Investors just need to believe it has value in order to have value.

      But that belief should be based on something realistic, objective or tangible.

      Reply
    63. 63.

      wenchacha

      March 22, 2024 at 3:17 pm

      Did you jackals already cover this news about the King?

      https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/king-charles-given-2-years-154317463.html

      Reply
    64. 64.

      MattF

      March 22, 2024 at 3:18 pm

      @Brachiator: Unless… it isn’t.

      Reply
    65. 65.

      Mousebumples

      March 22, 2024 at 3:21 pm

      Re Gallagher’s resignation (*my Rep) –

      He knows Wisconsin state law and timed his effective date with the earliest he can leave and not have a Special Election fill his seat ahead of November
      That’s perhaps an attempt to keep the seat in GOP hands since the GOP names I’ve heard that are interested are in the State Legislature
      I’ve heard of 3 Dems interested in possibly running. All 3 are women and, and 1 is a local ob/gyn
      The district is still gerrymandered (surprise!), but I think the district voted for Judge Janet Protesewicz last April. (I know a number of the counties in the district did, and I think maybe the district as a whole?)
      Not sure how much money the Wisconsin GOP has, but I want a Democratic Rep. Here’s hoping we/I can write postcards up my neighbors

      JR Ross (@jrrosswrites) posted at 1:14 PM on Fri, Mar 22, 2024:
      Under Wis law, a House vacancy occurring between the 2nd Tuesday in April and the 2nd Tuesday in May in a general election year “shall be filled at the partisan primary and general election.”

      If I’m reading that correctly, that means no replacement until after the Nov election.
      (https://x.com/jrrosswrites/status/1771239084842754079?s=03)

      Reply
    66. 66.

      Freemark

      March 22, 2024 at 3:22 pm

      @Martin: ​  There is also the fact that Trump will own over half of the company he is merging with. A company ‘worth’ $1.5 billion right now. While the company he owns has a maximum, way over inflated maximum value, of $30 million. It seems something nefarious and illegal is happening here. But from what I have seen of financial laws is probably perfectly legal.

      But it does seem like it could be a great way to launder money, bribe, etc. I mean set up a SPAC and then merge with a run down pizza shop for a billion dollars worth of stock. Because the franchise rights are so amazing.​

      Reply
    67. 67.

      Leto

      March 22, 2024 at 3:23 pm

      @Brachiator: you don’t like the Peter Pan business model? Or the Warmhammer 40k Orc model? What, are you a… COMMUNIST??? (heavy /s there)

      Reply
    68. 68.

      RandomMonster

      March 22, 2024 at 3:25 pm

      If a social media company has a quarterly revenue of $1.1M on a loss of $26M, and is somehow valued at $3B, I’m John Fucking Rockefeller.

      Reply
    69. 69.

      Leto

      March 22, 2024 at 3:25 pm

      @wenchacha: well it’s a good thing all the coronation equipment was just given a dust-off and the checklists had a thorough run through. Guess most people (royalists) will get their wish.

      Reply
    70. 70.

      Marcopolo

      March 22, 2024 at 3:26 pm

      A little added flavor to Rep Gallagher’s resignation.  He announce his last day would be 4/19.  According to WI rules for replacing congresspersons, if the resignation had taken effect prior to the 2nd Tuesday in April there would have been a special election.  Since it is after that date the seat will remain vacant until the November general election!

      Lovely enormous eff you to the entire R caucus!  He was not a happy camper (or Rep).

      h/T to Aaron Fritschner’s shitter feed

      lol, and beaten by Mouse at comment #64 though we have different interpretations for why he did what he did.

      Reply
    71. 71.

      The Kropenhagen Interpretation

      March 22, 2024 at 3:27 pm

      Retracted.

      Reply
    72. 72.

      Leto

      March 22, 2024 at 3:27 pm

      @RandomMonster: Mr ‘Feller /salute

      Reply
    73. 73.

      glc

      March 22, 2024 at 3:27 pm

      @Brachiator: Technically, what investors need to believe is that other investors believe it has value. It isn’t actually necessary that there are any investors who believe it has value. (To some extent, it’s even enough that there are investors who believe that other investors think there are investors who believe it has value.)

      Nothing else is relevant, really. “The market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.”  (If you’re investing long term and have unusually solid financial backing you may be able to take a different approach based on actual value. It’s risky but can do very well.)

      Reply
    74. 74.

      Anoniminous

      March 22, 2024 at 3:28 pm

      @RandomMonster:

      Welcome to the Fun & Wondrous World of Post-Reality Capitalism

      Reply
    75. 75.

      Eyeroller

      March 22, 2024 at 3:29 pm

      @JPL: Chemo for that form and stage of cancer doesn’t always work no matter how healthy one is.

      Reply
    76. 76.

      MattF

      March 22, 2024 at 3:30 pm

      @RandomMonster: The TFG Brand means bibbity-bobbity-billions of dollars are just lying around and anyone can pick them up.

      Reply
    77. 77.

      The Kropenhagen Interpretation

      March 22, 2024 at 3:34 pm

      @MattF: The TFG Brand means bibbity-bobbity-billions of dollars are just lying around and anyone can pick them up.

      Somehow it always seems to be that way whenever Russians or Republicans are involved.

      Reply
    78. 78.

      geg6

      March 22, 2024 at 3:35 pm

      @Misterpuff: ​
       
      THIS.

      Reply
    79. 79.

      Almost Retired

      March 22, 2024 at 3:39 pm

      @Mousebumples:  That’s awesome.  And no one got a majority in the primary for Kevin McCarthy’s seat in Bakersfield, so there’s a run off.  Both candidates are Republican, but the election is still two months away (May 21).  Bwa ha ha.

      Reply
    80. 80.

      Mousebumples

      March 22, 2024 at 3:40 pm

      @Almost Retired: yup. We’ll see where things go. I’m hoping he’ll sign the discharge petition before he leaves Congress… I should call his office again…

      Reply
    81. 81.

      Tony Jay

      March 22, 2024 at 3:45 pm

      Thanks to the venal nature of the Monarchial soap-opera, this storyline will absolutely dominate the news for days. 100% proof overkill on every level as we are TOLD over and over and over again by a horde of ‘Royal Health Experts’ and ‘Special Royal Correspondents’ how very, very, very DEVASTATED WE all are at the news of this UNPRECEDENTED TRAGEDY and how all other news pales into insignificance and is a distraction from THE MOURNING NATION’S BROKEN HEART.

      I wonder which outspoken celebrity/public figure will be the first to be burnt at the stake for insufficient flagshagging and blubbering? Because it’ll happen. Pinocchio Blue and Pinocchio Light Blue are both going to use this as an excuse to buff up their ‘Leaders of the Country’ credentials, and orchestrating five-minute-hates against progressive non-Royalist viewpoints is about all either of them are capable of.

      Reply
    82. 82.

      sdhays

      March 22, 2024 at 3:45 pm

      @Freemark: I really don’t understand why SPAC’s are allowed to exist. The entire premise just seems like it’s “how can we get around regulations to scam people out of a bunch of money and retire on the beach?”.

      Reply
    83. 83.

      MikefromArlington

      March 22, 2024 at 3:47 pm

      My best friend dad used to joke to my friend that everything he touches turns to shit.

      Same with Trump.

      Reply
    84. 84.

      stinger

      March 22, 2024 at 3:48 pm

      @Brachiator:

      the vile UK press and the idiotic coterie of “Royal Watchers” will do everything they can to get into her business.

      She doesn’t hold or seek elective office; she will never be the monarch of her country (if William survives his father and predeceases her, she will become the Queen Mother). That family is going through a lot right now. Who can blame her for wanting privacy on this?  To answer my own question, apparently those who hate the monarchy or the “aristocracy”, as if that had anything to do with a young mother who has cancer.

      Why do we think famous people owe us the details of their lives?

      Reply
    85. 85.

      The Kropenhagen Interpretation

      March 22, 2024 at 3:49 pm

      @Tony Jay: five-minute-hates against non-Royalist viewpoints

      Damn, I hope we don’t have our own royal family installed in the States; on principle mainly, but especially given the family that would be elevated to royalty.

      Reply
    86. 86.

      David 🏈 Mahomes! 🏈 Koch

      March 22, 2024 at 3:53 pm

      the next season of “The Crown” will be spellbinding

      Reply
    87. 87.

      Tony Jay

      March 22, 2024 at 3:54 pm

      @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

      The Burrs have been biding their time for over 200 years, and their time is almost now.

      Reply
    88. 88.

      Ken

      March 22, 2024 at 3:56 pm

      The ticker symbol for the company was DJT.

      You know that spreadsheet we were all mocking, that showed the RNC spent a quarter of a million on limo rides, and 70 thousand on floral arrangements? Wait until the next one shows that 85% of their money went to stock purchases to keep DJT from turning into a penny stock.

      Reply
    89. 89.

      The Kropenhagen Interpretation

      March 22, 2024 at 3:57 pm

      @Tony Jay: Thank you for recognizing my concern.

      Reply
    90. 90.

      JoyceH

      March 22, 2024 at 3:58 pm

      @stinger: ​
       

      Why do we think famous people owe us the details of their lives?

      Well, in the case of the royal family, that’s pretty much their job, to show up and look pretty and be talked about. It’s not like they’re formulating policy or anything. That said, I can’t help feeling sorry for them, the ones born to it. Because it’s not like they had any choice in the matter. Imagine being Prince of Wales but you really want to be a surgeon or something. I used to say it’s not like they can just quit, but then Harry quit – and look how people yammer about him!

      Reply
    91. 91.

      Frankensteinbeck

      March 22, 2024 at 3:59 pm

      @sdhays:

      That is the premise.  It exists because it takes time for the laws to catch up, sometimes a lot of time, when people invent a new crime.

      Reply
    92. 92.

      cain

      March 22, 2024 at 4:01 pm

      @stinger: Should be a bonding moment for the brothers since it was the same bullshit that Meghan had to go through as well. The british press are VILE assholes.

      There needs to be more protection for famous people from these assholes especially when it comes to slander – making up stories about anybody is wrong.

      Reply
    93. 93.

      cain

      March 22, 2024 at 4:04 pm

      @Tony Jay:

      I wonder which outspoken celebrity/public figure will be the first to be burnt at the stake for insufficient flagshagging and blubbering?

      JK Rawlings??????!

      Reply
    94. 94.

      The Kropenhagen Interpretation

      March 22, 2024 at 4:04 pm

      @JoyceH: I used to say it’s not like they can just quit, but then Harry quit – and look how people yammer about him!

      Harry always was my favorite. His particular form of good and bad judgment is very familiar and comfortable for me.

      Reply
    95. 95.

      Brachiator

      March 22, 2024 at 4:14 pm

      @Leto:

      What, are you a… COMMUNIST??? (heavy /s there)

      Not a communist, but sometimes communist adjacent. ;)

      ETA. I was recently explaining to younger family members about the various commie witch hunts alluded to in Oppenheimer while we were watching the film. We also discussed the irony of watching Republicans kiss Putin’s ass while accusing Democrats of being “communist.”

      Reply
    96. 96.

      Brachiator

      March 22, 2024 at 4:29 pm

      @stinger:

      She doesn’t hold or seek elective office; she will never be the monarch of her country (if William survives his father and predeceases her, she will become the Queen Mother).

      Charles had Camilla styled (titled) as Queen, or formally Queen of the United Kingdom, even though she is Queen Consort and does not herself rule. She was crowned alongside King Charles when he had his big ceremony. I suppose that William could do the same for Kate.

      The press used to toss a few barbs at Kate until William became heir apparent. For a time, they have been more pleasant.

      Why do we think famous people owe us the details of their lives?

      I have run across people who weirdly, and angrily declare that since royals and celebrities choose to be in the spotlight, people have “a right” to get all in their business.

      Reply
    97. 97.

      Jackie

      March 22, 2024 at 4:33 pm

      @Suzanne:

      Crazy-ass news right now…. looks like the concert hall in Moscow is on fire and there’s been some gunfire. And Kate Middleton announced she has cancer. And Mike Gallagher is leaving Congress, further whittling away the GOP majority, at least for a while.

      Thank goodness it’s a quiet Friday news day! But, no fear, the day’s still young!😵‍💫😵‍💫

      Reply
    98. 98.

      Jackie

      March 22, 2024 at 4:45 pm

      @wenchacha: Geez! If true, this heartbreaking news for his family – especially Prince William – who is also dealing with Catherine’s cancer diagnosis.

      I’m not a royalist, but I do feel horrible that this family has been dealt a double blow back to back like this.

      My heart does ache for the children, though.

      Reply
    99. 99.

      Tony Jay

      March 22, 2024 at 4:45 pm

      @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

      Worry not. The brave agents of the Nortonian Imperial Service will always stand between America and the usurper’s heirs.

      @cain:

      Oh, no. Since her descent into egotastrophe Rowling has become a good and faithful servant to the shitstirring Kultur-Warriors. They won’t go after her. It’ll be someone they can bait into saying something outrageous like “I’m actually more concerned about starving children and the country collapsing because of rich people’s greed”. Then all of the pearl clutchers will be reaching for their pitchforks and torches and baying for blood.

      Reply
    100. 100.

      bbleh

      March 22, 2024 at 4:49 pm

      So re this new Trump company, yeah he’s locked up, and yeah it would be a legal risk to just unlock him and have him start dumping, and even if he did that the market price would plummet.  And nobody with serious money is going to loan him money using that stock as collateral for those very reasons.

      BUT there’s another way that’s been floated.  First do a massive stock split — like 50 to 1 — so the price per share becomes affordable for mom-and-pops.  You too can own shares in Truth Media (or whatever it is) for only $1.02 a share.  Buy 100 today and cash in when the market goes up!  And THEN they start selling — EVERYBODY starts selling, which means nobody has an incentive to sue — and of course they let him sell too.  Basically offload the company onto the rubes.

      Reply
    101. 101.

      The Kropenhagen Interpretation

      March 22, 2024 at 4:50 pm

      @Tony Jay: The brave agents of the Nortonian Imperial Service

      Congratulations, you lost me.

      Reply
    102. 102.

      Tony Jay

      March 22, 2024 at 4:59 pm

      @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

      Why, only the best (un)constitutional monarch the United States ever had.

      For context I once read an amusing alt-history where Aaron Burr wangled enough electoral college votes to become President in 1800 and three decades later the US had basically become a monarchy under the House of Burr.

      Reply
    103. 103.

      Brachiator

      March 22, 2024 at 5:01 pm

      @glc:

      Technically, what investors need to believe is that other investors believe it has value. It isn’t actually necessary that there are any investors who believe it has value.

      This of course is so recursive that it quickly becomes meaningless.

      This type of thing is often pitched to suckers, uh, I mean monied sophisticated investors who are willing to accept a great amount of risk, uh I mean, get taken to the cleaners.

      Reply
    104. 104.

      The Kropenhagen Interpretation

      March 22, 2024 at 5:02 pm

      @Tony Jay: Fascinating. I read the beginning then set it aside for a good leisurely read.

      The book also sounds fascinating.

      Reply
    105. 105.

      lee

      March 22, 2024 at 5:07 pm

      IIRC that $3b is at at share price of around $90.

      Reply
    106. 106.

      Spanky

      March 22, 2024 at 5:14 pm

      The WaPo has a picture up of the big fire at Crocus City Hall in Moscow. And right up there at the top of the building it says “Crocus City Hall”. In English. What’s up with that?

      Reply
    107. 107.

      glc

      March 22, 2024 at 5:16 pm

      @Brachiator: It’s definitely recursive, and that’s really the point. The people who don’t get that will quickly go broke.

      On the other hand, most active investors do poorly, so it may not matter that much what your philosophy is.

      Reply
    108. 108.

      justsomeguy05

      March 22, 2024 at 5:24 pm

      If I notice that any mutual fund that I own has any shares in this, I will fully liquidate from that fund and that management company.

      Reply
    109. 109.

      Quadrillipede

      March 22, 2024 at 5:31 pm

      @Spanky: “Crocus City Hall”. In English. What’s up with that?

      Moscow probably was something of a tourist destination even a few years ago…

      Reply
    110. 110.

      emjayay

      March 22, 2024 at 5:37 pm

      @JPL: About cancer and the royals: zero actual details about either one so it’s impossible to even speculate, which I guess is the point. But normal public figures today would have provided more information. Not that any of it matters of course, but LIz waved in my direction once so…..

      Reply
    111. 111.

      emjayay

      March 22, 2024 at 5:44 pm

      @Tony Jay: Canada seems to be OK so maybe the whole Revolution thing was a waste of time.

      OTOH without the US and other examples of modern countries maybe the UK would still be more like the UK of back then with the king as still something of a ruler.

      Franklin, seemingly seeing a couple centuries into the future:

      “In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution, with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a General Government necessary for us, and there is no form of government, but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered; and believe further, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government.”

      Reply
    112. 112.

      emjayay

      March 22, 2024 at 5:52 pm

      @waspuppet:

      Donald: “I don’t have the money for the appeal bond but I will in six months so you have to let me appeal now”

      Court: “Sorry Donald. It will probably be a penny stock by then.”

      Reply
    113. 113.

      NotMax

      March 22, 2024 at 6:04 pm

      @glc

      “Nuclear weapons, hospitals and T-shirts.”

      That’s it! Copious thank yous.

      Reply
    114. 114.

      Gvg

      March 22, 2024 at 7:18 pm

      @JoyceH: The Emperor Hirohito was a marine biologist and his son studied fish.

      Reply
    115. 115.

      Hoppie

      March 22, 2024 at 8:55 pm

      @emjayay: Me too, at the Pizza Hut in Paris, KY, as she was on her way to arrange horse breeding.  I must admit she was more successful breeding her horses than her children….

      Reply
    116. 116.

      ascap_scab

      March 23, 2024 at 3:26 pm

      So if Trump owns 58% of the shares, but can’t sell them for six months, what is to stop him from shorting his shares now, collecting the money now, then sell actual shares in six months dropping the actual stock price, and then covering his short and owe nothing?

      Reply
    117. 117.

      Paul in KY

      March 24, 2024 at 10:37 am

      @Brachiator: Means that she’ll never be ‘Queen’ as Elizabeth was. If William is King and she Queen, if he die’s before her, then George takes over and she becomes Queen Mother, she doesn’t ‘rule’ as Queen ever.

      The Russian Imperial rules were different and in that case, she would have ruled as Czarina till her death.

      Reply

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