SAM078 USAF G5 departed JBA ne across the pond
Belgian AF Airbus A400M also from JBA after an overnight-inbound from Keflavik AB, Iceland and ne
TEAL74 USAF WC-130J Hercules Hurricane Hunter trackin' Grace over Cayman Islands and out of Homestead ARB, FL
Australian AF NT01 Airbus A330 heading to Kabul via Pakiland departed Al Minhad AB Dubai
French AF CTM1573 Airbus A400M out of Pakiland and heading back to Al Dhafra AB Dhabi
SoftBank Unloads $14 Billion In Tech Stocks After NASDAQ Gamma Squeeze
SoftBank Group Corp. was the "Nasdaq whale" that bought billions of dollars in call options of US equity derivatives and unleashed a massive gamma squeeze over the last year that pushed tech stocks to nosebleed valuations. The reason behind the move is becoming more evident as the Japanese investment bank has dumped $14 billion worth of US-listed stocks in the last quarter, nearly triple the amount in the quarter before last. Cash generated from the sales is expected to fund new investments in technology startups.
Bloomberg data estimates SoftBank sold $6 billion worth of Facebook Inc., Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Salesforce Inc., and Netflix Inc. in the second quarter. Another $4 billion came from sales of Uber Technologies Inc. and DoorDash Inc. In total, around $14 billion in stocks were sold to invest in startup investments for its Vision Fund. "The last three quarters have largely been defined by the potential for Vision Fund portfolio companies to go public, but a new theme is emerging as SoftBank starts to take money off the table," Kirk Boodry, an analyst at Redex Research in Tokyo, told clients in a note after SoftBank's earnings announcement on Aug. 10. "That theme probably picks up steam as the quarter goes on."
SB Northstar, a unit set up to trade public stocks and derivatives, where SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Sont holds a 33% stake, also sold 2.4 million shares of PayPal Holdings Inc., 4.4 million shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., and about 367,000 shares of Amazon Inc. The sales generated about $2.37 billion. SB Northstar appears to be reducing exposure to mega-cap technology companies. Its portfolio declined to $13.6 billion as of June, from $22 billion at the end of 2020.
Son told investors he isn't ready to sell stakes in startups that have already gone public in a recent call with investors. He said the cash generated from the sales is used to finance Vision Fund deals. Bloomberg notes, "the company doesn't make public the exact asset sales figures. It booked a total of $4.3 billion in realized gains between SB Northstar and its two Vision Fund entities last quarter." So the artificial gamma squeeze that helped the NASDAQ double off its March 2020 lows appears to be a ploy by Son so his funds could dump big tech names to fund Vision Fund deals.
In March, it was revealed that Son was being investigated by the SEC for triggering the melt-up in tech stocks. With the news, Son is exiting big-tech stocks - it could be disastrous if other market participants began dumping as liquidity problems could cascade into panic selling-imagine if dat habbened....
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/softbank-unloads-14-billion-tech-stocks-after-nasdaq-gamma-squeeze
kek
Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled with $169MILLION in his cash-stuffed helicopter and has been given asylum in Dubai on 'humanitarian grounds'
Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled with $169million in his cash-stuffed helicopter and has been given asylum in Dubai on 'humanitarian grounds', it has emerged.
Ghani fled the country on Sunday night as the Taliban encircled the capital - saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed - capping a military victory that saw them capture all cities in just 10 days. He took with him four cars and a helicopter loaded with $169million in bags of cash - but was forced to leave some of the money behind as it would not all fit on the flight. He reportedly fled to Tajikistan, but was diverted to Oman when officials at Dushanbe airport refused him permission to land. He has since arrived in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, where he was granted asylum on 'humanitarian' grounds.
Russia said at the time it would retain a diplomatic presence in Kabul and hopes to develop ties with the Taliban even as it says it is no rush to recognise them as the country's rulers and will closely observe their behaviour. 'As for the collapse of the (outgoing) regime, it is most eloquently characterised by the way Ghani fled Afghanistan,' Nikita Ishchenko, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Kabul, was quoted as saying by RIA on August 16. 'Four cars were full of money, they tried to stuff another part of the money into a helicopter, but not all of it fit. And some of the money was left lying on the tarmac'. Ischenko, the Russian embassy spokesman, confirmed his comments to Reuters. He cited 'witnesses' as the source of his information. Reuters could not independently confirm the veracity of his account immediately.
President Vladimir Putin's special representative on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said earlier it was unclear how much money the fleeing government would leave behind. 'I hope the government that has fled did not take all the money from the state budget. It will be the bedrock of the budget if something is left,' Kabulov told Moscow's Ekho Moskvy radio station. In a Facebook post, Ghani said he had left the country to avoid clashes with the Taliban that would endanger millions of Kabul residents.
'Dear countrymen!' he wrote. 'Today, I came across a hard choice; I should stand to face the armed Taliban who wanted to enter the palace or leave the dear country that I dedicated my life to protecting and protecting the past twenty years. 'If there were still countless countrymen martyred and they would face the destruction and destruction of Kabul city, the result would have been a big human disaster in this six million city. 'The Taliban have made it to remove me, they are here to attack all Kabul and the people of Kabul. In order to avoid the bleeding flood, I thought it was best to get out.' Some social media users branded Ghani, who did not disclose his location, a coward for leaving them in chaos.
'The Taliban have won with the judgement of their swords and guns, and are now responsible for the honour, property and self-preservation of their countrymen,' Ghani said after fleeing.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9905093/Former-Afghan-President-Ashraf-Ghani-fled-169MILLION-cash-stuffed-helicopter.html
Another tough day for Not Af1 Joe
9:30am EST receives the President’s Daily Brief
2:15pm EST Not AF1 Joe and kneepads receive a briefing from members of the White House COVID-19 Response Team on the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccination program
4:30pm EST delivers remarks on the COVID-19 response and the vaccination program
Dats all
Kneepads leaves on Friday for SE Asia
morning B
better today...slowly coming out of all that.
Process.....
>deduct merits
dat fine I'll take it for da team.
kek
Running on a full tank
#USSFitzgerald (DDG 62), left, and fleet replenishment oiler USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187), middle, transit alongside #USSEssex (LHD 2) during a replenishment-at-sea (RAS), Aug. 15. #NavyReadiness: MC3 Isaak Martinez & MC1 Joe Rolfe
https://twitter.com/USNavy/status/1427994962529034240
dis gone on for ober 10 years.
And it was all this that got me outta that shitty cycle.
It does get better than it was prior to the episode and has done that for a while nao-know this so I just cope and manage
It's wut I habs at this point..mgmt of it.
ORDER66 USAF E-4B Nightwatch departed Wright-Patterson AFB west to Lincoln Muni, NE
GORDO14 was turning off and on earlier dere
UAE AF UAF1228 C-17 Globemaster west from Dulles Int'l after a ground stop-origin of Casablanca, Morocco earlier today
check dat it was GORDO16 and dhey outta there to the ne
GORDO16 USAF E-4B Nightwatch heading ne and not hangin around at over 500kts
BOXER208 USAF C-40C departed JBA to the south
45 rips JPMorgan's Dimon over China threat: He is 'no patriot'
Former President Donald Trump slammed JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon during an interview on FOX Business' "Mornings with Maria" on Wednesday for his stance on doing business in China, arguing that he is "no patriot."
Trump made the comments reacting to host Maria Bartiromo’s exclusive interview with the JPMorgan Chase CEO earlier this month, where he defended his company's move to do business in China. Bartiromo asked Dimon about the company's business dealings in the region, noting the national security issue. She asked Dimon if the expansion is "just about money." "No, of course not," Dimon responded. "I’m a patriot way before I worry about any money or anything like that or about JPMorgan per se." "You should imagine that foreign policy of the United States is set by the government of the United States," he continued. "If you start telling companies that they should be saying their own foreign policy, you are actually making a huge error for the United States." Bartiromo also asked Dimon, "Do you really believe JPMorgan’s going to be in charge of JPMorgan China?" "Yes," he responded, noting that the bank does not share its data with the Chinese government.
He also told Bartiromo during the interview that he is "not as worried about China as everybody else." "America will still be the most prosperous nation on the planet. They’ll be smaller than China, but still far more prosperous in 20 years," Dimon added. He also added that "if it relates to national security, the American government is going to tell me what to do and I will salute," reiterating that he is "a patriot way before I run JPMorgan."
On Wednesday, Trump responded to Dimon's comments to Bartiromo saying, "Jamie Dimon is not a patriot, not to me he is not. He is out to make a buck for his company." Trump said that he knows Dimon "well" and stressed that "he’s no patriot." "He’s a patriot to his stockholders and that’s fine," Trump added.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/trump-rips-jpmorgan-jamie-dimon-china-threat-he-is-no-patriot