News Stories

[SaintessHeart]

Obama pledges cooperation in euro debt crisis

Holy sh*t......

How can an indebted economy help another indebted economy? What the hell? Any of you Americans or Europeans made your "evil plan" yet?

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

We need an ‘Evil Plan’ to foil our own leaders

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Obama pledges cooperation in euro debt crisis

Holy sh*t......

How can an indebted economy help another indebted economy? What the hell?

Europe will buy US debt and the US will buy European Debt.

as for my evil pan. Buy a lot of property not for short term flip but as long term investment with the renters paying for the cost of me owning.

[ganbaru]

Deputies investigate tip of bodies buried in Texas
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...06-07-19-13-05

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Europe will but US debt and the US will buy European Debt.

as for my evil pan. Buy a lot of property not for short term flip but as long term investment with the renters paying for the cost of me owning.

Actually europe already has a lot of US debt (private debt). Its not as senseless a strategy as it sounds. Obama (or one his aides) fears that these toxic assets are fire sold in the USA when europe goes bust (this would damage the fragile balance of trust in the debt-laden system). Whats even worse is when the euro is devalued because of a complete loss of trust in the currency. This means the USA suddenly has two Chinas to compete with, one (the real one) that produces the lower tech goods and another one that produces the higher tech goods at low costs that cannot be achieved in a US$ based economy. A strong euro is in the very interest of Obama and his strategy to increase the export of the US economy.

Originally Posted by bladeofdarkness

I think the system Kamui4356 was talking about is "Trophy".

not the counter artillery "Iron dome" system.

Trophy will not counter an attack, only defect the agressor charge not the agressor itself (Iron dome can be used to track back the agressor, and I think it could even neutralize it). By this definition if he was implying the Trophy system is similar to the system in the news article (which I was claiming works in laboratory conditions and is prone for friendly fire in the field) its like comparing apples with pears.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Europe will but US debt and the US will buy European Debt.

That is only an exchange of toxic assets! But I would say the European debt is more toxic than US's because the PIGS aren't doing anything to their economy - they are way too dependent on tourism than manufacturing.

as for my evil pan. Buy a lot of property not for short term flip but as long term investment with the renters paying for the cost of me owning.

I thought property prices are still cooking out there. Ever thought of buying property outside US?

If I have money, I am thinking of buying a building near a place of religious significance, then renting it out to worshippers. There, almost free money, and the tenants only appear after work or on Sunday.

Originally Posted by Jinto

Actually europe already has a lot of US debt (private debt). Its not as senseless a strategy as it sounds. Obama (or one his aides) fears that these toxic assets are fire sold in the USA when europe goes bust (this would damage the fragile balance of trust in the debt-laden system). Whats even worse is when the euro is devalued because of a complete loss of trust in the currency. This means the USA suddenly has two Chinas to compete with, one (the real one) that produces the lower tech goods and another one that produces the higher tech goods at low costs that cannot be achieved in a US$ based economy. A strong euro is in the very interest of Obama and his strategy to increase the export of the US economy.

But the thing is that, most of these assets are debt bonds, promises to pay. Since the promises are going to be defaulted, who would even want to buy it?

Only traders would for short-term profits because the volumes swing alot due to current events of currency (alliterative pun unintended). The Euro and USD are bound to go bust in the long term along with their bonds.

No matter how a debt is restructured, the bonds backing it are still worthless unless something is done to the economy and the way the currency is being made. Hopefully Germany goes back to using the Deutschmark because it would be a shame to see a working prudent economy collapse due to a shared currency.

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

But the thing is that, most of these assets are debt bonds, promises to pay. Since the promises are going to be defaulted, who would even want to buy it?

Only traders would for short-term profits because the volumes swing alot due to current events of currency (alliterative pun unintended). The Euro and USD are bound to go bust in the long term along with their bonds.

No matter how a debt is restructured, the bonds backing it are still worthless unless something is done to the economy and the way the currency is being made. Hopefully Germany goes back to using the Deutschmark because it would be a shame to see a working prudent economy collapse due to a shared currency.

If I learned one thing about macro economics, then that it is more about trust and image, less about factual data.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Jinto

If I learned one thing about macro economics, then that it is more about trust and image, less about factual data.

Macroeconomics is alot about survival psychology and sociology, rather than data and graphs. The graphs represent herd mentality, thus there is a pattern - I still don't know why I was given a D grade for writing a thesis based on that and debunking the idea of monetary and fiscal policies (money supply alteration in the former, tax and government spending change in the latter) as effective.

It is the trust in the currency that makes people willing to accept it - printing more is useless when people don't trust the assets backing it up. My theory is that, people are short-sighted when it comes to image, thus their trust is often misplaced and hence the small group of winners in the world of trading and investing. Here is an interesting article that supports my point : low risk ventures, which are built on prudence and accountability, often generate more stable returns than high-risk ventures built on air.

The bond is only a promise. If it is a first tier bond (i.e coming directly from a relationship of a commodities business and a lender WITHOUT a third party buying up any of the debt/bond), it would still be considered to have some value. But when it has changed hands and sold for another amount of borrowed money (like what most bonds are now), it is worthless. Simple business finance would have said that the prime and risk interest snowballed into the hands of the purchaser would have made the bond overvalued, so why are national banks still using the capital from the clients' savings to invest in that pile of junk?

[bladeofdarkness]

Originally Posted by Jinto

Trophy will not counter an attack, only defect the agressor charge not the agressor itself (Iron dome can be used to track back the agressor, and I think it could even neutralize it). By this definition if he was implying the Trophy system is similar to the system in the news article (which I was claiming works in laboratory conditions and is prone for friendly fire in the field) its like comparing apples with pears.

actually, Trophy DOES feature a counter-fire function.
it both takes out the incoming missile, AND targets the missiles origin point on the BMS, allowing the tank crew to aim at them with one push of a button.
thats part of its appeal, as RPG and ATGM teams are often difficult to locate, and Trophy does this automatically.

Iron dome on the other hand, knocks down the incoming rocket or missile, as well as detect their origin point and mark it on the BMS, but the system itself has no offensive capabilities.
it just shoots down rockets.

Trophy is probably closer to the subject of the article then Iron dome is, seeing as Trophy is designed to be mounted on a single AFV while Iron dome is an entire missile battery.

[ganbaru]

Crews try to keep flames from reaching Ariz. towns
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...06-08-04-04-21

[Tom Bombadil]

Aircraft carrier symbol of China's naval ambitions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13693495

The news it self is nothing new. But the video is certainly something to watch. The fact that they get the detailed video footage in such simple way is borderline on comical.

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Macroeconomics is alot about survival psychology and sociology, rather than data and graphs. The graphs represent herd mentality, thus there is a pattern - I still don't know why I was given a D grade for writing a thesis based on that and debunking the idea of monetary and fiscal policies (money supply alteration in the former, tax and government spending change in the latter) as effective.

I think you know perfectly well why you got a D You obviously wrote what the examiners didn't want to hear and denied you.

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

It is the trust in the currency that makes people willing to accept it - printing more is useless when people don't trust the assets backing it up. My theory is that, people are short-sighted when it comes to image, thus their trust is often misplaced and hence the small group of winners in the world of trading and investing. Here is an interesting article that supports my point : low risk ventures, which are built on prudence and accountability, often generate more stable returns than high-risk ventures built on air.

Yeah, it's often a big mistake that people perceive larger companies to be safer or more established in the market, so much that people forget the value of SME's that take a more cautious stance in the market. People are indeed short-sighted in that sense (blame education for that too). When people learn about things like globalization, economies of scale, bulk-buying, return-on-investment, they develop ideas that are difficult to break out of unless you experience them first-hand.

As for debt bonds, I'm just waiting for someone to start printing money in an attempt to add value to the bonds and cause the currency to inflate like a helium balloon.

[killer3000ad]

Syrian refugees flee into Turkey

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Tsuyoshi

I think you know perfectly well why you got a D You obviously wrote what the examiners didn't want to hear and denied you.

I admit I overshot the word limit and my appendix was bloated (2 pages of book titles and URLs), but what's done is done. The only thing I can hope is that the old people who buy the next minibonds from my distinction holding classmates can remember their faces and names even after the bubble burst.

Yeah, it's often a big mistake that people perceive larger companies to be safer or more established in the market, so much that people forget the value of SME's that take a more cautious stance in the market. People are indeed short-sighted in that sense (blame education for that too). When people learn about things like globalization, economies of scale, bulk-buying, return-on-investment, they develop ideas that are difficult to break out of unless you experience them first-hand.

Those things I bolded, they are nothing but data, not analyses because they don't take compared time-based and cross-sectional with other economies.

And that is what I am worried about. If the superiors I am going to work with think like that, and are so numerical results oriented like McNamara (see the M16 rifle Vietnam disaster for details, but don't get me wrong, I respected him he made quite a number of good analyses) and his whiz kids, that what for am I going into the field of Economics and Finance?

I seriously don't know if I made the wrong choice in my studies because Keynesian and Neoclassical economics are starting to make Thomas Malthus look like a sage within a horde of fake professors.

As for debt bonds, I'm just waiting for someone to start printing money in an attempt to add value to the bonds and cause the currency to inflate like a helium balloon.

US already did, following in the footsteps of Zimbabwe. The Europeans didn't do it because Germany and France refuses to.

Currency has always been inflated thanks to ARMs - especially the adjustable rates part. The real problem is the institution of lending and borrowing - before even lending, why not do a background check first?

Originally Posted by Tom Bombadil

Aircraft carrier symbol of China's naval ambitions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13693495

The news it self is nothing new. But the video is certainly something to watch. The fact that they get the detailed video footage in such simple way is borderline on comical.

Battle of Spratly Islands incoming?

I talked to a friend with regards to the Varyag - he said that the aircraft carriers are built to wrest control of Taiwan from NATO and secure a trade monopoly along the East Asia straits. They already have Hong Kong, and they would probably want Taiwan next. I don't know how much of that is true since the PLA never say anything much about their military other than show it off.

[MrTerrorist]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Battle of Spratly Islands incoming?

I talked to a friend with regards to the Varyag - he said that the aircraft carriers are built to wrest control of Taiwan from NATO and secure a trade monopoly along the East Asia straits. They already have Hong Kong, and they would probably want Taiwan next. I don't know how much of that is true since the PLA never say anything much about their military other than show it off.

How many nations are claiming the Spratly Islands as theirs?

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I admit I overshot the word limit and my appendix was bloated (2 pages of book titles and URLs), but what's done is done. The only thing I can hope is that the old people who buy the next minibonds from my distinction holding classmates can remember their faces and names even after the bubble burst.

Lol word count. I don't think they'll remember their face right after an interview. When shit gets real, however.....

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Those things I bolded, they are nothing but data, not analyses because they don't take compared time-based and cross-sectional with other economies.

And that is what I am worried about. If the superiors I am going to work with think like that, and are so numerical results oriented like McNamara (see the M16 rifle Vietnam disaster for details, but don't get me wrong, I respected him he made quite a number of good analyses) and his whiz kids, that what for am I going into the field of Economics and Finance?

I seriously don't know if I made the wrong choice in my studies because Keynesian and Neoclassical economics are starting to make Thomas Malthus look like a sage within a horde of fake professors.

That's exactly why people keep making wrong decisions based on false impressions and images. The problem is that the vast majority of people think like that because much of the basis of their knowledge is based on these theories (that's why I consider my degree to be useless because it's all theoretical and will be no matter how much exp I could gain working in that field). As long as people continue to think numbers are the most important factors in determining people's behavior like they're a bunch of sheep, nothing's gonna change. Generalizing business models just doesn't work like they think it is.

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

US already did, following in the footsteps of Zimbabwe. The Europeans didn't do it because Germany and France refuses to.

Currency has always been inflated thanks to ARMs - especially the adjustable rates part. The real problem is the institution of lending and borrowing - before even lending, why not do a background check first?

France just gained more respect from me Anyways, they keep lending because they like the prospect of money in the future. The bigger question is, why lend when you're already in debt?

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

How many nations are claiming the Spratly Islands as theirs?

I think they are China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Philippines.

I still don't know why they are fighting over that stretch, must have been some geologists mapping that there is gas. It would be hilarious to see them drill into stone and lava instead of oil whichever winner start tapping that area.

Originally Posted by Tsuyoshi

Lol word count. I don't think they'll remember their face right after an interview. When shit gets real, however.....

Great, another of my future expenses to be calculated - I am sending my mum to a trading class.

That's exactly why people keep making wrong decisions based on false impressions and images. The problem is that the vast majority of people think like that because much of the basis of their knowledge is based on these theories (that's why I consider my degree to be useless because it's all theoretical and will be no matter how much exp I could gain working in that field). As long as people continue to think numbers are the most important factors in determining people's behavior like they're a bunch of sheep, nothing's gonna change. Generalizing business models just doesn't work like they think it is.

The thing about numbers is that it has to be objective, you can't use data from one research for another most of the time because tastes and opinions change over time. Also, the thing we are taught about business statistics is to use a software and plot a chart, anomalies are written on paper but never tested.

People behave like a bunch of sheep, but sheep can be different based on their rearing, whether a girl, a dog or both are used to herd them (or a puppygirl but that is another issue). Many businesses fail because they imitated too much without improvising on their own, and that is what I am worried about SEA, especially China, is getting into because most of the businesses aren't innovations but direct copies.

France just gained more respect from me Anyways, they keep lending because they like the prospect of money in the future. The bigger question is, why lend when you're already in debt?

Future prospect : interest. Interest is often defined as the cost of borrowing money, or in banking terms, the profit made from borrowing money. Then someone came up with the idea of bonds so the lender can do another business instead of waiting for the principal to be returned.

But the stupid thing started when a dickwad came up with the idea of selling bonds on the stock exchanges - the people buying them there has no idea whether if the person attached to the bond is going to default and make that bond worthless overnight; even worse is that fund managers in foreign banks and brokerages add the bonds into their portfolios. And guess where the fund managers' capital comes from?

Yes, hardworking, clueless and not-as-well educated like parents of yours and mine. It is going to suck more when their kids are still not out of school yet - entire futures are just ruined like that. Even worse is the psychological countereffect it has as lay-people stop trading or investing due to the fear generated - because stock exchanges increase the availability of goods, and in turn influence the liquidity of money worldwide, cash is going to get colder and it could hurt international trade.

EDIT :

NSFW Sankaku : JSDF Spherical Drone “We Bought Most of the Parts in Akiba”

Originally Posted by Anonymous

Now add some saw blades and you get a Manhack.

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by bladeofdarkness

actually, Trophy DOES feature a counter-fire function.
it both takes out the incoming missile, AND targets the missiles origin point on the BMS, allowing the tank crew to aim at them with one push of a button.
thats part of its appeal, as RPG and ATGM teams are often difficult to locate, and Trophy does this automatically.

Ah, okay. I did not know of that feature. I thought this would be unreliable in the case of guided attack charges. At least there is still a soldier in the chain of events who decides to press that button or not.

[Endless Soul]

Originally Posted by Tom Bombadil

Aircraft carrier symbol of China's naval ambitions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13693495

The news it self is nothing new. But the video is certainly something to watch. The fact that they get the detailed video footage in such simple way is borderline on comical.

"China should at least be on the same level as other permanent members of the UN Security Council who have carriers."

Interesting, having a carrier and knowing how to use a carrier are very different.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I thought property prices are still cooking out there. Ever thought of buying property outside US?

Actually the market have been dropping like a rock. i am guessing the housing price will drop to 2009 level by the end of the year. I got both the cash and the credit score, gotta to take advantage of a downturn like this to make some money.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

EDIT :

NSFW Sankaku : JSDF Spherical Drone “We Bought Most of the Parts in Akiba”

So its true purpose is to stalk cute news girls.

Not a bad prototype design actually, more durable looking than the very breakable looking drones we often see.