Blake Simms of Langley, B.C. knows how to sell and is offering a fix for the dilemma over what to get the Bieber fan on your gift list.

“Great Christmas gift for Justin Bieber fans!” said Simms’ post, on Facebook Marketplace, in which he pitches a crumb from a Tim Biebs doughnut hole for $100,000.

Just the crumb, not the doughnut hole, not the box, not a meet ‘n’ greet with the man. A crumb.

But Simms’s Marketing 101 oversight? He didn’t specify the type of TimBieb from which the crumb crumbled. That detail could make or break a sale. The listing is no longer up, meaning he may have sold the item or was simply overwhelmed by interest.

We’re betting the latter. Simms seemed incredulous when Glacier Media reached out about his post…read more.

Fifth Element cosplayer Elon Musk would like the government to knock it off with the whole trying to pass climate legislation thing. His beef with the Build Back Better Act? Among other things, subsidies for electric vehicles. Thus, Musk continues a long tradition of what people in “the biz” call “pulling up the ladder.”

Musk’s comments came at Wall Street Journal’s CEO Summit when asked about the Build Back Better Act by Journal reporter Joanna Stern. She posed a hypothetical where President Joe Biden called Musk to ask what he wanted in the legislation that has passed the House but is currently being tweaked in the Senate.

“To be totally frank, no one at Tesla has brought up whether they care about this bill or not. … We don’t think about it at all, really,” he said before indicating he has, in fact, thought of the bill. “It might better if the bill doesn’t pass. The federal budget deficit is insane.”…read more.

This is an interview with Jon “Dr. J” Najarian. Jon was a linebacker for the Chicago Bears before he turned to trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. He then became a member of the CBOE, NYSE, CME and CBOT and worked as a floor trader for some 25 years.

Today, he is a professional investor that specializes in options. He is also a cast member of the “Halftime Report” and “Fast Money” shows on CNBC. Jon and his brother Pete invest in and work with start-ups via Rebellion Partners, a venture consulting firm they launched in 2015.

In 2016 Jon and Pete co-founded Market Rebellion, a company focused on educating the individual investor.

Q: Hi Jon, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for my Fringe Finance readers. Right off the bat – I have been asking this question of everyone I interview and want your perspective on what the biggest threat facing the market is right now, and why?

I think the biggest threat is that the Fed knows the inflation genie is out of the bottle and that they have this Sophie’s choice of which to address; inflation by raising rates, or a stagnating economy and new [Covid] variant.

I’m not as worried about Iran, Russia or China as I am about how the Fed deals with inflation and the economy. A fast rise in rates will absolutely kneecap the economy and take the stock market with it.

Have you and your brother ever considered crypto to be a multi trillion trojan horse that could cause systemic problems? When China exits the crypto market, could it be because they are worried about a crash – or do you think it’s just so it doesn’t compete with the digital yuan?

I know you’re not a big crypto fan Chris, but I truly believe that fiat currencies need the discipline of a legitimate competitor. Not a competitor in transactions, although that is coming, but a competitor in a store of value.

The main reason Bitcoin was created was that someone or some group (Satoshi Nakamoto) saw that governments were taking advantage of their printing presses and [their] ability to create more money out of thin air.

As crypto hovers near $3 trillion in market cap, I believe we are close to creating that true competitor to the dollar. If we have failures of repaying of debt and or other monetary issues, people, especially young people will get deeper into crypto. Could that end badly? Sure. But I think crypto has the potential to discipline central bankers.

What stocks would you avoid at all costs right now?

Sadly, much as I love our meme stock brethren, I think the GameStops and AMCs are dead money. I think they are the modern equivalent of the emperor’s new clothes.

I asked this to a respected trader last week and want your take. Listening to the Cathie Woods of the world, I have to wonder: is it truly “different” this time? Meaning, will we normalize at these PE ratios and this balance of growth vs. value? Or will PEs eventually crash back under 10 and will value be a virtue again?

I think it will be a while before we see normalized PEs. I think stuff like the metaverse will keep this party going a while longer. Perhaps a year or more. But past that, yes I think we need an adjustment back to normalcy.

You guys are options experts. What do you make of the option volume and activity in Tesla?

I think we’re both surprised by the volatile moves TSLA makes on a weekly basis. The costs of the calls and puts is among the highest among active options, as it is not uncommon to see a call or put that is trading $15 or $20 trade 20,000 or 30,000 contracts. That’s a ton of volume for a stock 1/10th the price of TSLA’s $1100.

I guess overall the reason we see so much activity is that so few people cannot afford to buy shares, so they have one choice: trade options.

Just like that other Wall Street adage, TINA , there is no alternative.

Do you think options are being weaponized to create gamma squeezes in the NASDAQ? Why or why not? And if so, what consequences could there be for this?

I think options have always been used by shrewd traders to “bully” stocks up or down.

We witnessed this in the infamous Herbalife fight between Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman. Carl didn’t have a dog in the hunt, but when he saw that Ackman was short big in HLF, he bought OTC calls and paid for them by selling OTC puts in HLF. That effectively put the squeeze on Ackman and any shorts that had joined him.

So I do think people on Reddit or Twitter could gang up, buy a bunch of calls and like GameStop (GME), never sell them. and thus, very effectively squeeze shorts like Melvin Capital.

What sectors interest you the most for long-term investments from this point, whether or not we wind up having  a pullback. Is there anything cheap anymore?

I think given all the hype and dollars chasing the EV space that the best opportunities are in components for lithium ion batteries. Full disclosure, I am long one of my favorite names in the space; American Battery Tech (ABML). They recycle lithium and repurpose the lithium, cobalt and nickel from used batteries and do so without the brute force and heat that China uses to accomplish this. I also like ALB, LAC and PLL as plays to be in the cat bird’s seat for the massive demand for lithium.

How do you feel about the strength of the USD and confidence in treasuries currently?

I think the dollar actually gets stronger, not weaker over time.

The reasons are that the European Union is in worse shape, China is likely to flex more, meaning they will push things in Taiwan pretty close, but not to the point of war, which will likely make investors nervous and that nervousness [will push] them into the dollar.

Does the Fed and the Biden administration have a handle on the inflation problem? Why or why not?

That’s the easiest question of all. NO!

The administration has cut pipelines like they did with XL Pipeline and then they wonder why oil producers are not producing as much? It’s crazy how the administration doesn’t recognize cause and effect. You cut leases for oil and gas, you reduce transport (pipelines) and you wonder why our prices spike? I wonder how these people even tie their shoes.

Thanks Jon.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/crypto-could-become-true-competitor-us-dollar-jon-najarian

Bitcoin Mining Moves to America

Bitcoin mining is a process that verifies transactions on the blockchain ledger, while also bringing new bitcoins into circulation.

To be successful at this, cryptominers require vast amounts of computing power, meaning electricity becomes one of their most significant costs. This pushes them to locate wherever electricity is cheapest.

For years, China was the optimal location—the country has an abundance of cheap, coal-powered electricity. However, in September 2021, the Chinese government issued a blanket ban on all crypto activities…read more.

Shortly after President Biden sat down with top executives from Wal-Mart, a handful of regional grocers and others to hold a “round table” to discuss “supply chain” issues, the FTC announced Monday afternoon that it would launch an investigation into the factors contributing to these types of disruptions, which have been blamed for contributing to inflation by helping to drive up prices.

Just as reports claimed the supply chain crunch appears to finally be waning, President Biden sicced the FTC on the issue. Once again, it’s bureaucracy to the rescue; and anybody who doesn’t go along with the Biden Administration’s preferred narrative (ie that this is part of a global phenomenon, and that the US isn’t unique) better hope the administration doesn’t accidentally make things worse.

At any rate, it’s bureaucracy to the rescue.

And we don’t say that because we think America’s ports need assistance (they clearly do). The problem is that the supply chain crunch goes far beyond the ships and the ports and the truckers. It’s what an economist might call a “complex”” issue.

While President Biden met with a senior Wal-Mart executive in person, and in front of the cameras, as part of Monday’s “supply chain round table” at the White House, Bloomberg says it is ordering large retailers, wholesalers and consumer good suppliers including Amazon and Walmart to provide the White House with “detailed information” that might aid in a newly launched inquiry into the ongoing supply chain disruptions that are contributing to President Biden’s inflation (or should we say, reflation?) fears…read more.