"I think what we have is a monetary moment that is unprecedented and therefore calls for extreme caution and great humility on the parts of all of us.”
Around 20,000-25,000 stores could permanently close in 2020 on COVID-19 headwinds, implying an accelerated store closure schedule in the second half of the year.
...currencies have been trading in a hyper-manipulated state... fiat money is often sheltered from the storm of volatility by both politics and because it exists in a rather closed system...
"It’s a severe downturn during Trump’s term that should really worry us. It’s hard to imagine that would not usher in socialism, or something even worse." - Jan 2017
Three elements cause physical delivery on the COMEX to have reached record highs this year: strong demand for futures, a persisting spread between the price of futures in New York versus spot, and arbitrage.
The problem with alliances is that they ultimately either become victims of their own success, or cannot figure out what to do with themselves once the original rationale disappears.
So, this obviously begs the question as to why would someone place a higher multiple on an earnings stream which is seemingly declining, highly uncertain, and likely much more volatile than in the pre-COVID world?
