"He discovers, on entering there, a new world which was unfamiliar to him, where he sees vice and good manners reigning as equals, and where he can profit as much from what is bad as from what is good. The Court is like a marble building: it is made up of men who are very hard, but highly polished.
The same pride which makes a man treat those of less powerful standing arrogantly, makes him cringe servilely to those above him. It is the very nature of this vice, which is neither based on personal merit nor on virtue, but on riches, posts, influence, and useless knowledge, to render a man a snob to those who are below him as to fawn upon those who are above."
Jean de La Bruyère, Les Caractères, 1688
“The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do, is who you become.”
Anand Giridharadas, The Persuaders
"I am making no charges and mentioning no names. For history teaches us that no party has a monopoly on honesty. Both parties attract their share of crooks and weaklings. But that does not mean that these problems are incapable of solution. That does not mean that a campaign promise is enough. A new administration must screen out those who regard Government service as the door to power or wealth, those who cannot distinguish between private gains and public trust, and those who believe that old-fashioned honesty with the public's money is both old and out of fashion."
John F. Kennedy, Speech at Wittenberg College, October 17, 1960
"They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will refuse the grace that could make them righteous."
2 Timothy 3:3-5
"Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hollow hypocrisy. There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and hidden, that shall not be made known. .Whatever has been said in the darkness shall be heard in the light: and what has been whispered behind closed doors shall be shouted from the roof tops."
Luke 12:1-3
Stocks were lower today, led by the big cap tech stocks and their associates.
There was some attribution for this to an MIT paper that suggests that 95% of companies are not going to be making money from their AI investments.
I think it is more likely that the bubble faltered, and that the pundits were looking for some reason to justify it other than a break in a speculative bubble.
Only a few of the suppliers of the 'picks and shovels' in any new era asset bubble make any money. This time is no different, and Wall Street knows it.
This is the nature of a bubble. It is always a pig, with lots of compliments from invested parties, and heavy on the lipstick.
Gold and silver were hammered.
The Dollar was up about ten cents, so no flight to safety there.
VIX ticked up slightly.
Bitcoin continued its selloff.
What will they think of next?
Have a pleasant evening.
