Power is egregiously concentrated in the hands of a few, and that’s never going to change.

Time is favoring the wicked. It’s the way of the world.

“Most charge $5,000 or less in annual dues, plus a smaller sign-up fee though those at the top end can charge considerably more..

WSJ

Becoming a member at these clubs might take some time. Zero Bond [a 22,000 square foot private membership club in the heart of Noho] relies heavily on recommendations from current members in adding to its membership roll. Mr. Sartiano declined to say how many members he has but said Zero Bond has about 8,000 members on its waiting list.

NeueHouse earns about 35% of its revenue from membership fees, with the rest coming from brand partnerships, private events and its restaurants and bars, according to Chief Executive Josh Wyatt.

Kate King, WSJ

Zoom fatigue ? Do you really need a private club to go out for drinks and dinner ?

On the wheel of full-throttle snobism, here at Wall Street Financier: Notes from High Altitude, I am the only one seeking refuge from the vagaries of this vane and empty world. I stand alone, as I always stood, firm in my ancestor’s- Spartacus place.

And now a word from Sadhguru, the Indian mystic

From Bloomberg, Sept. 21, 2021:

“Wealthfront, another robo adviser, has partnered with about 15 influencers including Haley Sacks — known on Instagram as Mrs. Dow Jones — according to Kate Wauck, the firm’s chief communications officer. 

“Quite frankly, they’re just better at telling our story than we are,” she said. 

Bloomberg

Until last year, Hankwitz was toiling away in old-fashioned finance, working on mergers and acquisitions for a health care company; making TikTok videos was his side hustle. Now, he’s a hot commodity to startups and finance companies eager to reach his 495,000 followers. Some of them have also hired him for marketing advice, had him sit in on chats with the CEOs, and have even invited him to sit on the company board. “

Bloomberg

“And stock trading app Public.com offered him a monthly retainer and company equity for a contract that includes replacing the Yahoo Finance stock charts on his videos with theirs.”

So it’s not just the women parlaying their trolling for dollars, but the finfucks as well.

Tik-Tok, Tik-Tok.

“In one study, more than 90% of mothers could correctly identify the smell of their newborns. Fathers, too. In another study, 15 mothers amd 12 fathers were asked to sniff bottles of amniotic fluid and choose the one belonging to their child. Twelve of the mothers, and 11 out of the 12 fathers chose correctly.”

WSJ, Oc. 26, 2021

The article is adapted from a new book, “Revelations in Air: A Guidebook to Smell” by Jude Stewart.

Diseases, Ok, but emotions ?

In a study researchers collected sweat samples from participants who had watched a happy film- Disney’s “The Jungle Book” or scary clips -The Shining” by Stanley Kubrick. When volunteers sniffed the happy bunch they grinned instinctively. When they sniffed the scared samples, they grimaced in fear.

The next time your with a friend…make sure you feel comfortable with what he or she smells. Your smell may just be able to detect a rotten person.

In returning to the post-pandemic work schedule it seems that most top white collar professionals, the main audience of this blog are set for the hybrid, at-the-office and out-of-the-home, work schedule model. Of course, dentists and doctors aren’t able to do that. (although telemedicine is growing). But lawyers and other service workers are digressing.

This weekend WSJ’ article “”Lawyers Want to Bill More of their Hours From the Sofa” (Te Ching Chen) tell how lawyers are looking to cut down their office work hours.

“Ms. Koopersmisth [chairperson of Akin, Gump Staruss Haeur & Feld LLP] Akin Gump doesn’t expect laweyrs to go back to a traditional five-day office workweek. Instead it is offering flexibility on work location, and is asking its lawyers to spend the majority of time in the office starting next fall.

“We learned efficiency” says David Boies, chairman of Boies Schiller Flexer LLP, whose firm plans to require lawyers put in time at the office, but won’t mandate specific attendance requirements. And our clients have too.”

Now a major partner at legal recruiting firm Major, Lindsey & Africa, Ms. Fivel is brokering signing bonuses of up to $100,000 for associates who have the leverage to demand further perks, including the ability to work from the beach or the backyard. “This is a different word.”

WSJ, Aug 6, 2021

It is not just tech firms who have embraced the remote work model, but the legal profession also. Remote work is here to stay.

SPACS Lord Chamath is portrayed in the first June issue of The New Yorker.

Of hedge-fund managers: “Let them get wiped out. Who cares? They don’t get to summer in the Hamptons? Who cares?” (He made both proclamations after he had become a venture capitalist and started a hedge fund; he has yachted off the Italian coast.)

"In 2019, when he was trying to persuade investors to support his first spac—for the space-tourism company Virgin Galactic—he met in New York with a group of mutual-fund managers and gave a dazzling speech about helping mankind reach for the heavens. It went unmentioned that Virgin Galactic had burned through nearly a billion dollars, and that in its fifteen-year history it had missed every major deadline that it had set for itself. Instead, Palihapitiya proclaimed that the company would likely earn enormous profits—and change the world." -The New Yorker

What else is there to say ? That this Joker slides on slime ?

“Having a great story, and knowing how to tell it, can be a quick way to get rich. “

The New Yorker

And now a quote from me:

People are stupid. You can always bet on people’s stupidity.

Don’t blame Chamath that he possibly is worth more than Michael Milken (whose net worth is $3.7 Bn). Blame yourselves and your own stupidity. At least Michael Milken is a genius. Chamath is the Joker of Silicon Valley.

“Ballooning is almost similar to edging with the addition of Kegel exercises while performing a massage on a fully erect penis concentrating on the lower shaft part and the perineum area.”

Menlify.com

Subspace

I was reading this blog E.E.W. Christman when I came across her “Subspace” post:

“As your pain tolerance increases over time, the physical pain recedes into the background and you are left with an often overwhelming euphoria. It is very much like being drunk or high; your body feels as if it is floating, problems disappear, and all that’s left is that fuzzy good-feeling.”

E.E.W. Christman

Video of the day:

Who are the “messiahs” of momentum ? You know, the usuals, Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, SPAC King Chamath. Also you got rappers like Snoop Dog. These are people with a huge social media following.

Chamath pumped up $GME crazy last month.

“At 10:32 AM EST on Jan. 26, Mr. Palihapitiya tweeted that he has bought call options on GameStop adding: “Let’s gooooooo!!!!!!!” By the end of the next minute, GameStop’s price had jumped 9.6% as trading volume quadrupled, with nearly 10,200 lots of 100 or fewer shares changing hands, according to a WSJ analysis of market data from DTN.

At 4:08 EST the same day, Mr. Musk tweeted :Gamestonk!!. More than a quarter-million shares traded immediately and, by the time 10 more minutes had elapsed, GameStop had shot up 31%. The shares, at roughly $144 before Mr. Musk’s tweet, surged to nearly $348 the next day, then fell to about $50 by this [last week], this week closed at $40

On Feb. 3rd, Mr. Cuban tweeted “If I had to choose between buying a lottery ticket and #Dogecoin,…I would buy #Dogecoin.” Over the next 12 hours, the digital currency shot up roughly 50%.”

WSJ

This is price manipulation, whether Musk had any positions in GameStop or not. Of course, these billionaire “influencers” can say they did not tell anyone to buy anything. Nevertheless, they moved the markets. Whoever got in and out fast enough made a lot of money. Whomever stuck around[assuming they bough on the momentum Musk or Palihapitiya created], lost.

The point is, these billionaires are playing roulette with people’s money, via social media. They are making a market, out of shit, literally. [Dogecoin has gained more than 1,300% in 2021, even though it was conceived as a joke and has no practical use -WSJ].

Never trust a rich man. Especially with your money.

Maybe someone at the Securities and Exchange Commission will read my article (it’s not the only one I wrote on this bullshit). Maybe not. The Twitterati [I use that word to mean the Twitter elite] with millions of followers will continue to peddle their wares. But you need to understand these people are only interested in laying more money into their already full pockets. Their insidious intent is to stir up interest, reap the froth and leave behind a lot of dung.

Until next time,

Max Cantor

Have you been enjoying Power, the Starz series ? I know I have [catching up here…]

I’ve picked up some good moves from the episodes and some non-sense you should stay away from…when dealing with women. Of course the producers and consultants of the show don’t have the life experience that I and many of my readers have.

St. Patrick’s asks his mistress, Angela: What’s wrong, baby ?

You never ask that question.

I guess naming the nightclub St. Patrick opened “Truth” is one thing, actually knowing you never covet to a woman is another. It is interesting Tasha, St. Patrick’s wife, knows all about his drug dealings, while his law-enforcement mistress sleeps with him to discover who he is…but he discovers who she is first.

“If that girl loved you like you love her that girl would be here in your time of trouble.” -Tommy’s mother to Tommy

In this case, mothers know best. If you have a girl who loves you, that’s the “love” of a woman.

“I love you, Jamie.

You do, don’t you ?”

At least that answer to women’s shit “I love you” is right.

St. Patrick, it seems, continues sleeping with Angela the government lawyer instead of cutting it off.

“It’s easy to love someone when you only see him an hour a day.” – Angela’s friend

That sounds like my advice, and of many others, of how to best be with a woman. I say see her once or twice, a week. (Friendly reminder, the best post of 2020 was Goldman’s Socks 69 Rules of Being a Man)

Who wants to fuck the good guy ? -Tommy Weaver to Angela, discussing the possibility of St Patrick being Ghost.

Holly Molly. Nobody does.

Let’s see how Kanan rolls, since he’s looking to take St. Patrick out. We’ll keep you updated as we dig more interesting facts from the show.

Until next time,

Your Man,

Max Cantor

Except that is not. From WSJ Movie Industry’s Troubles are Far From A Wrap:

“No Time to Die is being moved from next month to April 2021. It was the last major release that could have propped up business for theater chains this year. U.K-based Cineworld said Monday it will be suspending operations at its U.S. theaters. Some 44% of US theaters haven’t reopened, according to Comscore. The ones that have aren’t drawing much of a crowd. According to Box Office Mojo, last weekend’s total domestic box-office was more than 93% below what October 2019’s weekends averaged.”

WSJ, @Dan Galagher, Oct. 5, 2020

“…major insurance providers aren’t willing to cover Covid-related shutdowns.

…Once coverage becomes available, the broker estimates Covid-related insurance and safety protocols will add an incremental $26 MM to a $100 MM film budget.”

WSJ

You can read the rest of the article yourself.

What it means for us is that my movie project, unfortunately, is being delayed indefinitely.

Newsworthy for you and me:

Portrait of a finance columnist (NY Times)

Shaq, MLK’s Son, Former Disney Executives Team Up to Create SPAC

Forest Road Acquisition plans to make deals in media and tech sectors