__derek__

This reminds me that Merrill Edge offers some money market mutual funds as an alternative to the default settlement account that pays no interest, but the catch is that you have to place buy/sell orders during a subset of market hours.

Agreed. This seems like a pretty ham-fisted policy if it's real.

> We will honor your request by removing your profile from our services, and we will retain the email address you enter for purposes of storing and respecting your opt-out preference.

*whistling* That's some catch, that Catch-22.

Presumably a lot of that is sales/support. Their customers are start-up HR "departments" (i.e. one or two people who worked as an HR generalist at a bigger company).

> The fact that a young founder in an industry known for shaky metrics and a “fake it ’til you make it” ethos managed to dupe JPMorgan calls into question how stringent the bank’s due diligence process is.

Yes, it certainly does. Obviously fraud is bad, but this is an astounding failure. I suppose the JPM shareholder lawsuits will be filed soon.

Ongoing discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34344009

Not terribly surprising because co-CEO/founder Ryan Peterson was just on the Odd Lots podcast again to talk about the "Great Recession" in the shipping industry.[1]

This is also interesting because Dave Clark joined as co-CEO after leaving Amazon, where he most recently spearheaded the dramatic increase in fulfillment center capacity due to the pandemic[2], probably the most visible indication that Amazon leadership misread the situation.

[1]: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-05/odd-lots-...

[2]: https://www.geekwire.com/2022/how-amazon-ended-up-with-too-m...

You're describing part of a tax-management strategy: sell bonds in the US, secured by cash in an offshore tax haven (e.g., Ireland), use the proceeds to return cash to shareholders, pay the bond coupons out of cash flow, and write off the interest payments. It has everything to do with the pile of cash when it's cheaper to use debt secured by the cash than to pay taxes to repatriate the cash. If worse comes to worst, the cash is still there to make bond-holders whole.

Notably, Fidelity shunts virtually all customer deposits off into separate institutions: FDIC member banks (Fidelity doesn't own one) or Fidelity money market funds (legally separate companies who custody their assets elsewhere). It's technically possible to deposit cash with Fidelity itself (FCASH[1]), but (a) that option is not the default and (b) the interest paid is significantly lower.

[1]: https://www.fidelity.com/trading/faqs-about-account#faq_abou...

> taxing at time of consumption is fairly hard to implement

Yet very amusing to imagine.[1]

[1]: In a Monty Python or Douglas Adams way, natch.

In a similar vein, I've long been a fan of Kayak's URL structure.[1]

[1]: https://www.kayak.com/flights/SEA-IND/2023-01-10/2023-01-14?...

Given the Roberts Court's inclinations, this argument is probably too early rather than wrong. We'll see with the Axon case noted in the article, or when some state AG sues the FTC over its proposed ban on non-competes.

I suspect that it's the forum's tech-centricity more than anything. After a decade-plus of tech outrunning the broader economy, the roles have reversed, and folks in the industry don't know what to make of it.

Ah, I assumed you meant other running shoes because you mentioned running shoes. I'm not familiar with that brand, or with cycling shoes in general.

I didn't technically buy a Sodastream, but it's been a great addition. We used to regularly buy pads of Lacroix from Costco. Now it's just the plain fizzy water (with occasional home-made flavor experiments).

s/human toe shape/my toe shape/

I'm a pointy-toed runner. When Saucony stopped producing my favorite zero-drop shoes (the Virrata), I bought a pair of Altras but ended up donating them after two short runs because it felt like I was wearing clown shoes thanks to that that broad toe-box.

That said, I definitely appreciate that the running apparel market has expanded to accommodate the broad diversity of human shapes and sizes.

Ongoing discussions:

1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34260696

2. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34260577

That "Handshake" platform went from 10 applications per role in 2020 to 5 applications per role in 2022, but the number of roles increased. Based on the stats provided, this article just seems like another lamentation that labor has made gains.

It's also not clear that this platform is representative of the market. I've never heard of it before, but it bills itself as "The #1 way college students get hired" which seems questionable.

It's fair that you edited out the confused commentary, but I'll leave this note that cash is an immediate/near-term asset and long-term debt is a long-term liability. Duration mismatch is important for a company that attempts to maximize free cash-flow.

The last paragraph makes the connection:

> When demand started to wane with customers moving back to shopping in stores, Amazon initiated a broad cost-cutting review to pare back on units that were unprofitable

Waning demand triggered cost-cutting, which focused on unprofitable orgs.

It's hard to call something politically incorrect when the last American presidential election was a contest between explicitly protectionist, anti-globalization candidates. Morris Chang wasn't predicting the future so much as recognizing a fait accompli.

IIRC, the author is part of the so-called "dirt-bag left" so that's just connecting theory and praxis.

Oh, I thought I made that clear:

> all prominent enough for me to remember when they happened

I listed pre-9/11 examples of terrorism that I remember happening.

I think you meant to reply up-thread. My comment didn't touch on the recent vandalism/sabotage/attacks.

Oh, I'm not that old.

Good example, but for whatever reason I don't remember that as vividly.

> I think the first time most Americans heard much or cared about terrorism was 9/11.

Not at all. During my lifetime, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Unabomber's arrest were all prominent enough for me to remember when they happened. I still remember hearing my grandmother express concern about the Michigan Militia when she saw a belligerent guy wearing camo pants.

> 110 years to 0 years

Not so fast. The plea agreement does not include immunity:

> According to their plea agreements, Ms. Ellison and Mr. Wang are expected to truthfully disclose information to investigators, provide requested evidence and appear in front of a grand jury or court proceeding if asked. In exchange, the government will inform the judge of the defendants’ assistance and request lesser sentences.

[1]: https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-associates-of-ftx-founder-s...

Isn't it a two-way fraud? Alameda defrauded FTX by knowingly providing worthless collateral for loans (FTT), which FTX fraudulently made using customer funds.

Ironically, despite the snide reply and the down-votes, the other replies here led me to conclude something similar to what you wrote. Thanks!