pyramid schemes

via Eric Peters of Peters Capital Group: 

“Is it right for you to be angry?” asked the Lord. And Jonah considered the question. Reflecting on his struggle. His defiance, his three days in the whale, his salvation, his journey to Nineveh, and his warning to its inhabitants. Who duly repented, changed their ways, and were shown god’s mercy. So why indeed was the prophet angered by their salvation? “I’m an extremely, extremely persistent person…extremely,” stuttered Bill Ackman, delivering his angry message, his death-blow. “And when I believe I am right, and it is important, I will go to the end of the earth,” continued the zealous prophet of profit, on his crusade to save poor people from the evils of Herbalife’s pyramid scheme. Which of course it is. As are most things. Particularly ones requiring ever larger populations to buy at ever higher prices to lift ever increasing collateral values to fuel ever more credit supply and ever more loan demand. And now that prime working-age populations are declining – across Europe, Japan, America, even China – the rush to sustain that structure is on. Free money helps. It buys time. For repentance. For reinvention. American research and development spending quietly hit new all-time highs (1.75% of GDP), while energy output hit new records, crop forecasts did too (corn prices -30% in 3mths). As the warnings of so many angry prophets, combine with miracles, to work their magic, in mysterious ways. Provoking change. Progress. Without which we’re surely doomed. “Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to Nineveh.” On that spot, he was buried. And until this week has waited. Looking out across what we now call Mosul. From which came ISIS extremists, with closed minds, and plastique. To obliterate his tomb.

Source:

wkndnotes