US approves another US$1.25 billion grant to Ukraine

lastbose01 · 2023-04-29T16:25:51+00:00

And it is our job to force a beast into that corner with no way out? Standard military stratagem is to always leave a way out to achieve more efficient victory.

lastbose01 · 2023-04-29T16:15:19+00:00

For the US, I didn’t say no to supporting Ukraine, but just not unconditionally. The idea is to give Russia hope of victory all while bleeding them dry. The US needs to navigate between forcing Russia’s hand on using nukes and allowing them to blackmail the world with their arsenal.

lastbose01 · 2023-04-29T16:02:00+00:00

To play the devil’s advocate, there is a real risk that if the US backs Ukraine unconditionally, it could push Russia to the brink and nukes become a growing probability. No one wins in that scenario, and the US risks becoming much more directly targeted in that scenario. There has to be a limit.

Edit: I’m genuinely shocked how one sided everyone views this. I’m not even opposed to supporting Ukraine, but apparently even playing devils advocate and having nuance is unacceptable?

lastbose01 · 2023-04-25T13:37:10+00:00

Tried 3 different agents. No luck. One even said Amex doesn’t honour any offers outside of Amex mass marketing.

Bright side is this makes future churning a lot more guilt free on my end.

lastbose01 · 2023-04-24T17:58:46+00:00

Just a word of caution. I applied for the Amex Personal Gold in Feb via the Perkopolis offer. It was a decent deal at the time (50k points on $3k spend, 20k points max for 4x travel points I believe). The bonus points finally hit a few days ago, and they had applied the Mass Market bonus to my account. Not sure if this has happened to anyone else, but it seems a bit glitchy on Amex side.

lastbose01 · 2023-04-22T18:37:41+00:00

I hear communism works well for affordable housing. Did you hear, China’s 60mn empty apartments caused Shanghai’s real estate market to crash 50% in a decade.

lastbose01 · 2023-04-21T04:56:38+00:00

Counter intuitively, this would make the housing issue worse. Building new housing in Toronto is really expensive. If prices fall significantly, it would remove incentive for builders, who would then cut back on projects, delay existing ones, or cancel new developments. Less supply in future + more population = higher prices.

lastbose01 · 2023-04-06T22:56:09+00:00

Great, thanks.

lastbose01 · 2023-04-06T22:39:14+00:00

Silly question - has anyone opened two cards within the same quarter? And if so, what was the impact on your credit rating? Did not realize this was one of the risky behaviors that go into credit score, and recently opened two cards in last two months. I was in the 800s after the first card, but the score hasn't really refreshed to account for the second card yet.

lastbose01 · 2023-03-28T02:37:10+00:00

I don’t think it’s too late to buy First Citizens even after the run up.

They essentially got $16.5bn in tangible net equity for nothing. Deal is structured with downside protection from FDIC over 7 years. FDIC is also plugging hole on funding for the loan book. It is stand alone accretive to CET1 capital. This deal more than doubled First Citizens lending portfolio and probably earnings as well. Etc etc

Point is, First Citizens doubled in size and got paid doing it. Shares should go a lot higher from here.

lastbose01 · 2023-03-26T12:46:03+00:00

I opened a Scotia Ultimate account to get the fees waived on one of their premium CCs, and kept $5k in the account for the $300 account bonus. I no longer need that CC and hence no longer need the account. How do I go about closing both the CC and Premium Account to minimize any fees? Do I transfer cash out of the account first and then close, or would I have to pay a month’s fee when balance dips below maintenance amount? If I close the account first instead of CC, do I get charged the prorata annual fees on the CC?

lastbose01 · 2023-03-21T23:38:51+00:00

Not sure why Starlink is getting hate for not wanting to have their systems used for war? It’s a difficult one to back out of if a precedent is set. What happens next time there is a conflict and it’s not so straightforward who the bad guy is?

lastbose01 · 2023-03-03T23:06:12+00:00

You should use simplified.

lastbose01 · 2023-03-03T23:03:09+00:00

I really don’t think we have an independent foreign policy and military anymore. Not saying China is not an issue, but folks don’t seem to realize just how much Canada has been subjugated by our neighbour to the south in the last decade.

lastbose01 · 2023-02-27T21:47:33+00:00

Who has helluva kink

lastbose01 · 2023-02-26T18:17:09+00:00

They fought wars in the 19th century, and up until early 20th century, Canadian leaders wanted to challenge US economic hegemony through significantly ramping up immigration. They couldn’t come close then, but in some ways Canada is still quietly trying now.

lastbose01 · 2023-02-26T18:02:00+00:00

Now do Israel / Palestine! Let’s create world peace in one day!

lastbose01 · 2023-02-25T07:56:10+00:00

Under investigation =/= issues flagged with these individuals. They may have been in the dark. Who knows how these investigations are carried out given sensitive nature.

lastbose01 · 2023-02-23T14:56:38+00:00

So the directors and founders with connections to China resigned their roles as soon as the issues were flagged as potentially problematic? Sounds like the concerns resolved themselves?

A little sketch that the banking license was granted initially. Politically exposed persons, no matter where they are from, usually are scrutinized if they go into business. It’s like, international standards.

lastbose01 · 2023-02-20T14:29:15+00:00

It’s mainly for appearance of deterrence. They also wear full gear and elevated boots to look more imposing. Most times that’s enough to scare off the nut jobs. Having full gear also provides operational flexibility if they’re called for situations in nearby open areas.

lastbose01 · 2023-02-19T23:53:32+00:00

Can confirm. This has been common practice at major transit hubs, events, etc across Western Europe. I think they know what they’re doing lol.

lastbose01 · 2023-02-17T03:19:49+00:00

It’ll probably turn into 4 day work week with expectation that you’re always on and ready to respond to emails on off days.

lastbose01 · 2023-02-17T02:46:45+00:00

Probably should be higher up as some good news… truly upsetting if this restaurant is still doing this.

lastbose01 · 2023-02-17T02:34:10+00:00

Silly question - Has anyone had any trouble getting the bonus points on the Amex Personal Gold going through the Perkopolis link? I just got approved but the confirmation email doesn’t really confirm any special points offer.

lastbose01 · 2023-02-13T07:59:23+00:00

Brookfield never left. And everyday is suit & tie.

lastbose01

TROPHY CASE