Social Media Spotlight: 10/13/21

Quick overview of relevant social media trends that impact the business world.

Oct 13, 2021

Congrats! You already made it to the middle of your workweek.

This is my first time doing a post of this nature on Substack, but they’re one of my favorites.

Social Media Spotlights will be once-weekly summaries where I share some awesome posts (typically tweets) that are relevant to market-moving news.

Quick shoutout to the first 30 people that responded to my Week Ahead post and requested a free copy of The World’s Simplest Stock Picking Strategy:

Daniel P. (FL), Ryan W. (TX), Sean K. (CA), Michael L. (GA), Aditi L. (NJ), Anita U. (CA), Vishal C. (NY), Kaylee S. (PA), Ananth N. (VA), Garrett W. (RI), Madison U. (TX), Travis M. (CA), Griffin K. (IL), Daleysis T. (CA), Tyler M. (CA), Jeffrey K. (CA), Sharissa V. (GA), David F. (AR), Virginia M. (WA), Asa H. (CA), Jeremy S. (FL), Dawson F. (IA), Joel H. (TX), Loren W. (MD), Brian R. (CA), Izek G. (GA), Rita H. (CA), Brady K. (FL), Santhosh R. (CA), Derrick A. (AZ)

I’ve forwarded this information to the publisher and they should be sending the books out shortly.

As always, feel free to join my free texting community to receive post updates, special events links and an alert for our next giveaway: 615-802-9495

Themes:

JP Morgan (JPM) and crypto
Supply chain issues
Netflix’s most popular show ever: Squid Game
My favorite tweet of the past week

🌐 JP Morgan’s Mixed Signals Regarding Cryptocurrencies:

Bloomberg Technology @technology

"I personally think Bitcoin is worthless." JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon says during the IIF annual membership meeting trib.al/CCJTYtm

Time and time again, Jamie Dimon has spoken negatively about Bitcoin (BTC)…

Ryan Selkis @twobitidiot

Jamie Dimon on BTC: 2014: “terrible store of value” 2015: “will not survive” “will be stopped” 2016: "going nowhere" 2017: "a fraud" 2018: "don't really give a shit" 2019: [JPMCoin launch] 2020: “not my cup of tea” 2021: “I have no interest in it” “fool’s gold” “worthless” BTC:

and time and time again, nobody has really cared. While Dimon may not be a fan personally, it’s clear that JP Morgan has already made serious moves - investing at least $206 million in crypto and blockchain companies:

Top banks investing in crypto & Blockchain companies as of August 2021

Michael Sonnenshein @Sonnenshein

JPMorgan, led by #bitcoin skeptic Jamie Dimon, quietly unveils access to a half-dozen #crypto funds cnb.cx/3Ckjfvs via @CNBC @Hugh_Son cc @Grayscale $GBTC $BCHG $ETHE $ETCG

JPMorgan, led by bitcoin skeptic Jamie Dimon, quietly unveils access to a half-dozen crypto fundsThe moves, on the heels of similar steps from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, makes it clear that Wall Street’s reluctance to deal with crypto is over.cnb.cx

J.P. Morgan @jpmorgan

The new platform, in partnership with DBS and Temasek, will leverage blockchain technology and speed up cross-border payments, trade transactions and foreign exchange settlements. bit.ly/32SNk4L

I would never have an issue with the average person being skeptical of cryptocurrencies as a whole. There’s a lot to unpack and it can be confusing. But the leader of the world’s largest bank?

He has to know that blockchain technology solves so many issues for everyday people, and he knows just as well that it could take a significant portion of his business away (particularly through DeFi). This simply has to be intentional FUD.

JPM isn’t just a bank, it’s a full-blown tech operation. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and yes - blockchain technology are becoming a bigger part of what the companies does as each quarter goes by.

Regardless of what he says to the media, Jamie Dimon does not actually believe that Bitcoin is worthless. Someone this smart simply cannot. Speaking of which, here’s an interesting response…

Brian Armstrong @brian_armstrong

Yes, I read it. And then I wrote it (coding up our own Bitcoin node) to make sure I understood it.

Brian Cheung @bcheungz

$JPM's Jamie Dimon on bitcoin: "I'll just challenge the group to one other thing: how do you know it ends at 21 million? You all read the algorithms? You guys all believe that? I don't know, I've always been a skeptic of stuff like that."

⛓ Supply Chain Issues Could Impact the Holidays:

Container ships being backed-up off the coast of California have been a problem for quite some time now, and it doesn’t seem to be improving. The report below is from the end of August:

Will Feuer @WillFOIA

A record number of container ships are stuck waiting to enter California’s two largest ports as labor shortages and COVID-19 disruptions continue to roil a supply chain that’s being pushed to its limits ahead of the busy holiday shopping season.

Record number of container ships waiting off California coastIn the first and second quarters of 2021, traffic at the Port of Los Angeles was up almost 60 percent and 55 percent, respectively, according to data from the port.nypost.com

About 6 weeks later, and Business Insider reported that Los Angeles had nearly half a million 20-foot shipping containers (about 12 million metric tons of goods) just waiting in the ocean for a spot to unload.

While the greatest delays are in the Golden State, other ports are facing crises as well. Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and Texas ports are also feeling the effects of record-breaking backlogs:

Andrew Neil @afneil

Major problems with US supply chains cause massive build up of container ships off Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Predictions of Christmas shortages in shops.

Joe Pompliano @JoePompliano

How bad is global supply chain congestion? WSJ is reporting that Walmart, Costco, and Target are now chartering their own cargo ships to import goods. But they are paying ~$100k per day, or 4x more than they would have paid last year. The holiday season is going to be a mess.

Maybe I should be ordering my Dad’s annual Xmas slippers instead of writing the rest of this post 😅.

🦑 Netflix’s (NFLX) Most Popular Show Ever (No Spoilers!):

If you haven’t heard, Squid Game is a South Korea-based Netflix original that has taken the world by storm. I will say, this is an extremely violent and gory show - viewer discretion is advised. (I’ve always wanted to say that)

Netflix @netflix

Squid Game has officially reached 111 million fans — making it our biggest series launch ever!

chartrdaily

A post shared by Chartr | Data Storytelling (@chartrdaily)

Barron's @barronsonline

Analysts who cover streaming giant Netflix are lifting price targets, encouraged in part by the reception of "Squid Game." Netflix reports third-quarter earnings next week. on.barrons.com/2YNiJY3

I’ve been very critical of NFLX due to the amount of money they need to spend on production and customer retention over time. The success of this show doesn’t necessarily change my conviction, but hats off to a major winner… even if it is an incredibly messed up show.

One last thing - ‘45.6 billion won’ is a critical statistic in the show. I personally found myself googling the conversion to USD, so I decided to see if other people had been as well:

It’s truly wild how much this has blown up.

Last but not least, my favorite tweet of the week👇.

🥈 Musk Trolls Bezos:

Jeff Bezos @JeffBezos

Listen and be open, but don’t let anybody tell you who you are. This was just one of the many stories telling us all the ways we were going to fail. Today, Amazon is one of the world’s most successful companies and has revolutionized two entirely different industries.

Elon Musk @elonmusk

@JeffBezos 🥈

Nothing better than seeing the world’s richest man throwing shade at the world’s second richest man.

Share Rate of Return by Austin Hankwitz

Disclaimer: This is not financial advice or recommendation for any investment. The content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Rate of Return by Austin Hankwitz

Social Media Spotlight: 10/13/21

Quick overview of relevant social media trends that impact the business world.

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