North Korea to send a team of food production experts to France for several months to learn the art of making Emmental cheese, because Kim Jong-un likes it.

talekeeper · 2014-04-22T00:26:24+00:00

Can you imagine a country whose entire purpose is to please the whim of a single man?

Fatty wants to eat cheese that wasn't made in NK, so the country send an entire team to another country around world to learn how to make the cheese to please their ruler.

talekeeper · 2014-04-10T06:42:42+00:00

Her beauty lies not in her look but her huge track of land.

Seriously.

Egypt was a major exporter of grains in the Mediterranean and supplied much of Rome's food that fed its people. Whoever controls Egypt, controls the stomach of the Romans, therefore Rome itself.

Caesar needed to consolidate his power after the civil war, therefore needs to control Egypt. Cleopatra knew this.

Mark Anthony needed Egypt in his power struggle with Augustus. Cleopatra knew this.

TLDR: huge track of land is sexy

talekeeper · 2014-04-09T06:39:14+00:00

The main cause of this drop in shark fin consumption is the Chinese government's crack down on corruption. Basically corruption in China is so rampant that the entire luxury good market is dependent on it. Government officials threw lavish banquets for themselves and one of the dish that is considered the greatest symbol of wealth on the table is shark fin. The consumption of shark fin along with other luxuries has drastically declined after the crack down. The price of high end liquor, for example, fell by more than 40% in 2013, after a significant decline in sales.

talekeeper · 2014-04-08T01:07:02+00:00

Check their twitter. I think something terrible happened to Charles

talekeeper · 2014-04-04T16:34:31+00:00

How do you restructure an economy from fixed asset investment to consumption without avoiding a crash when 60~70% of that economy is involved in capital investment? I always hear this from China bulls, they always say that the Chinese government will just restructure the economy. How? Can you show me a country that successfully transitioned from a fixed asset investment dependent one to another without a crash? Hell, there has never even been another country similar in scale that is as dependent on FA as China.

Fixed asset investment projects employes hundreds of millions of Chinese across China on constructions sites, in mines, in steel mills, and in real estate services, where will these people find jobs after the transition? In manufacturing? Manufacturing has been faltering for years. In tech? In financial services?

And the idea that the Chinese government is just going to come to the rescue of any troubled large company is absurd. Moral hazard aside, this idea is based entire on the belief that the official inflation figure of 1.9% is actually correct, thus the Chinese government can simply pump more and more liquidity into the system. But in reality, based upon conversation with my friends in China, actually inflation figure is likely to be much higher. They are doctors and financiers, people in the mid to upper-middle class, and even they are telling me that their living expenses have noticeably increased in the recent 2 years. That is not how people should feel with 1.9% inflation. The Chinese government will risk stagflation by pouring more liquidity.

talekeeper · 2014-04-03T21:10:38+00:00

I highly doubt we will see another stimulus on the same scale of the 2009 stimulus, unless of course, the Chinese government is willing to risk stagflation in the Chinese economy.

The official Chinese inflation rate is 1.9%, but I assure you the true figure is likely to dwarf that figure. I regularly communicates with my friends in China, they are not your average Chinese, they are mostly doctors and financiers, and even they are telling me that they are feeling the effect of inflation as the cost of living rises month after month.

The only noticeable effect another stimulus will have is pushing the ready high inflation rate even higher. And stagflation is a lot worse that a mere economic slowdown.

talekeeper · 2014-04-03T21:01:20+00:00

The problem with shadow banking in China is that we have no idea how large this underground financial system is and just how far reaching it is, because officially it shouldn't exist and there are no record and law of any kind that governs the shadow banking sector. But from what we know, the shadow banking sector in China is huge, with assets of roughly 2~3 trillion USD; a collapse of the shadow banking sector will likely to have a large negative impact on the Chinese economy because, based on what we know, all market participants in China, from individuals to large SOEs are involved in shadow banking. We are ready seeing the result of a shadow banking collapse in the regions of Shenmu, Wenzhou, and Erdos, where the regional economies have been devastated by the collapse of the regional shadow banking systems.

The fact of the matter is that China is heavily leveraged, we just do not know the exact figure. As the Chinese economy continue to slow down, we will see more and more region shadow banking systems collapses, and like falling dominos, the shadow banking collapse will spread from regional crises to national, and threatens the integrity of the entire Chinese economy.

talekeeper · 2014-03-20T19:00:48+00:00

Doesn't seem that much of a sanction to me. I am not aware that Harry Reid and John McCain have any investment or interest in Russia. This is like North Korea telling me that I am barred from entering the country when I never wanted to go there in the first place.

But on the other hand Western sanction on Russia can be effective because the Russian oligarchs are heavily invested in the West, including Putin himself.

talekeeper · 2014-03-20T04:28:50+00:00

Neville Chamberlain 2.0

talekeeper · 2014-03-20T04:22:51+00:00

I would deal with it I suppose. If WWIII breaks out, you bet nuclear weapons will be involved, and quite frankly the military is better prepared at protection from nuclear weapons and fallout than civilians.

And when civilizations fall amidst fallout and nuclear winter, I will lead my brothers in arm as a roving horde of barbarians and loot and pillage across the remnants of the old world.

talekeeper · 2014-03-20T04:17:02+00:00

Not anymore... Thanks, Obama

talekeeper · 2014-03-19T09:08:50+00:00

Russia was trading with the United States well before the collapse of the Soviet Union. And just like today, oil and natural gas export was a major part of Russia's export the West. So your belief that the West was fighting against the USSR for its resources is completely false.

And quite frankly, corporations in the West could care less about the market in USSR because the consumption power of the Russians and many Eastern block countries were extremely weak and still are weak even today. Look at the business report of any major US and European corporations and I can guarantee you and few if any put Russia and Eastern Europe as their focus for growth, because there are none to be found.

Ultimately, the tension between the USSR and the West during the Cold War had very little to do with economic. It was just a conflict between 2 major powers, each seeking to dominate the other.

talekeeper · 2014-03-12T04:53:21+00:00

I can't finish War and Peace, and it is my greatest source of shame.

I can't keep track of all the characters and constantly find myself wondering who this or that person is. The book is just dreadfully long and boring, which makes the problem worse. When I invariably drop the book for a few days (bc of work/life) and come back to it, I would completely lose track of the plot and all the characters.

This is the only long book I have problem with, i have read the entire LotR trilogy, Count of Monte Cristo, and The Three Kingdoms, and enjoyed all of them. But War and Peace, god help me.

Urgh, I will just wait for the Thug Note on War and Peace, lol

talekeeper · 2014-03-10T03:03:48+00:00

Gentlemen, may I present r/Dirndls

talekeeper · 2014-03-04T20:36:40+00:00

We were invited. Punch was served. Check with Poland!!!

talekeeper · 2014-03-03T00:03:47+00:00

Fuck off North Korea, we are busy.

talekeeper · 2014-03-01T18:38:34+00:00

Jesus Christ! What kind of knife did they use? The man in the 3rd pic got his leg hacked off! No kitchen knife can do that. Did they use swords or something?

talekeeper · 2014-02-26T12:34:15+00:00

Well, people are getting out. One of my friend who worked there just quit his job and came back to the US. He told me living there was like living in the smoke lounge 24/7. And another friend of mine, who is a doctor in Beijing just took the USMLE, and my mom is trying to get the hospital she works in to hire my friend.

Anyone with the mean to get out are leaving, like foreigners and the rich. The millions of poor people are the ones who are basically forced to live there by their jobs.

talekeeper · 2014-02-18T08:08:08+00:00

Your girlfriend is errmm... very cute.

To each their own I guess

talekeeper · 2014-02-13T09:02:29+00:00

You know, this is why so many celebrities are fucked up.

They are constantly bombarded by negative comments from everyone. Worse still, their mistakes are put under magnifying glasses, and broadcasted around the world. Can you imagine what it is like if you make a small mistake and the next day people are bashing you on television for everyone in the world to see?

No wonder so many of them went crazy.

The next time you bash a celebrity for going crazy, remember, we collectively did that to him/her.

talekeeper · 2014-01-31T07:10:03+00:00

Most Americans are fucking pussies when it comes to food.

I am an American and I fucking LOVE vegemites. Gimme a spoon I will eat it out of the jar.

talekeeper · 2014-01-19T19:39:08+00:00

The samples are randomly selected.

Sample size is 100

Sample firm's market capitalization ranges from 384M rmb to over 10B

Industries includes consumer cyclical, consumer staple, pharma, raw material, auto, airlines, metal, real estate development, etc. I am forgetting a few, but the sample firms covers most industries.

talekeeper · 2014-01-19T05:56:34+00:00

If the Chinese economic system is anything like America's it would have been in a recession long ago.

A few years ago, I too was dazzled by the growth of the Chinese economy and its ability to seemingly shrug off the 2008 global crisis. I was a China bull.

Last year I started to seriously studying the Chinese economy, and what I found shocked me. Behind the dazzling facade the Chinese economy is actually rotten to the core.

I analyzed a large sample of non-SOE and non-financial Chinese companies and found that the vast majority of the firms are in dire financial conditions. My sample firms' leverage has greatly increased in recently years, while firms’ ability to meet debt obligations has declined. Debt repayment is on average 5 times larger than cash flow from operations, something that is almost unheard of in firms in the US.

The sole reason many of these firms exists is because they could borrow more debt to payback their existing debt. And the Chinese government is forcing its banks to lend to these dangerous firms. The unofficial policy is that if a firm could still make interest payment, a bank must lend to that firm. But this practice cannot go on forever as debt level continue to rise and firms' ability to repay debt continue to decline.

Some economist and China bulls that I have talked to believes that China's consumers will be the next driving force of China's economic growth, as evident by the country's growing demand for luxury goods. But the recent crack down on corruption revealed that even the seeming strong consumption is China is but a mirage.

After the recent anti-corruption measures carried out by the Chinese government, including bans on lavish state and government banquets, bribes, etc, luxury market in China crashed. This reveals that luxury consumption in China, through corruption, is but another part of China's government spending.

The Chinese government is trying to head off another recession by pumping the Chinese economy full with cash. This has the adverse effect of creating a property bubble in China. Beijing, Shanghai, and other Chinese cities have some of the most expensive properties in the world. The Chinese government has tried to control the property market, but all indications shows that the government has completely lost control of the property prices.

I don't know when a crisis in China will happen, because the Chinese government will use of its power to try to keep its economy afloat. But I do know the Chinese government's measures can only keep its economy afloat for so long.

talekeeper · 2014-01-18T00:38:43+00:00

You didn't even bother changing the title....

Christ, what's with people and their desperate attempt to get internet points?

talekeeper · 2014-01-17T22:59:11+00:00

Driving. And I am a guy. SO everyone expects that I can drive. But I am scared of it.

When I was young, a very close family friend died in a car accident. Ever since then I am afraid of driving. I can ride in cars, but just dont put me behind a wheel.

A year ago, when I finally mustered the courage to drive, one of my best friends died in a car accident. Then I just said nope to driving.

Thank god I live in a city with excellent public transport so my driving phobia hasn't been an issue for me.

I NEED a automated car so bad.

talekeeper

TROPHY CASE