#Are there risks involved in trading with $100?

[stockexperttrading]

Delving into the intricacies of trading, the blog provides a thorough examination of different trading strategies, spotlighting both day trading and swing trading. It further dissects crucial analysis methods, namely technical and fundamental analysis. The narrative underscores the critical role of aligning chosen strategies with individual goals and the guidance that Funded Traders Global can provide in this regard.

[blushedfemmes]

i wish people would stop making well-intentioned positivity posts for stone bottoms/pillow princesses that begin and end with scolding people for ‘not respecting our boundaries.’ like yeah it’s partly about boundaries but it’s way more about how sex- topping in particular- is viewed as labor, and therefore must be a reciprocal or somehow equal exchange. the same way one might talk about household chores. shit-talking pillow princesses is so common within sapphic spaces because it is perceived to be a MORAL stance. treating this problem as if it’s purely an interpersonal matter of respecting individual boundaries is not gonna get us anywhere.

sex is only work when it’s sex work. if you think topping is a chore, you shouldn’t be doing it. if a satisfying sexual encounter for you involves taking turns, or trading orgasms, or whatever, of course that’s completely fine and good! the problem arises when people assume that’s the default, natural, moral, correct or only way of having sex as a queer person. when people assume that it goes without saying. stone folks exist in defiance of that. and everyone benefits from shedding normative, restrictive ideas about sex. which, by the way, is a value-neutral 100% optional activity with infinite variations. we need to work on tearing down any moralizing about how it should be done, beyond risk-aware consent, which is really all that matters.

people feel justified in disregarding, mocking, belittling or shaming stone folks’ boundaries because they do not think those boundaries are morally or socially correct. i know these positivity posts mean well, but shouting ‘respect boundaries!!’ over and over is missing the bigger picture.

[covid-safer-hotties]

The next pandemic is inevitable. Australia isn’t ready - Published Sept 23, 2024

(Before you Americans yell at me, It's already the 23rd in Australia. This is very late-breaking)

I thought this was a really good breakdown of the current situation given the government-approved covid denial we live in. Long, but worth a read.

By Kate Aubusson and Mary Ward

Top infectious disease and public health veterans at the nerve centre of the state’s war against COVID-19 are sounding the alarm.

NSW is less prepared today to fend off a deadly pandemic despite the lessons of COVID-19, say top infectious disease and public health veterans at the nerve centre of the state’s war against the virus.

And we won’t have another hundred years to wait.

NSW’s gold standard Test-Trace-Isolate-Quarantine and vaccination strategies will be useless if a distrusting population rejects directives, refuses to give up its freedoms again, and the goodwill of shell-shocked public health workers dries up.

A panel of experts convened by The Sydney Morning Herald called for a pandemic combat agency akin to the armed forces or fire brigades to commit to greater transparency or risk being caught off guard by the next virulent pathogen and misinformation with the potential to spread faster than any virus.

“It’s inevitable,” says Professor Eddie Holmes of the next pandemic. A world-leading authority on the emergence of infectious diseases at the University of Sydney, Holmes predicts: “We’ll have less than 100 years [before the next pandemic].

“We’re seeing a lot of new coronaviruses that are spilling over into animals that humans are interacting with,” said Holmes, the first person to publish the coronavirus genome sequence for the world to see.

“People are exposed all the time, and each time we are rolling the dice.”

The independent review of NSW Health’s response to COVID-19 opened with the same warning: “No health system or community will have the luxury of 100 years of downtime.”

Pandemic preparedness needs to be a “permanent priority”, wrote the report’s author, Robyn Kruk, a former NSW Health secretary, “rather than following the path of those that have adopted a ‘panic and forget strategy,’ allowing system preparedness to wane”.

Why we don’t have 100 years to wait for the next pandemic The World Health Organisation has declared seven public health emergencies of international concern since 2014, including the current mpox outbreak.

Climate change is turbocharging the factors that coalesce to create the perfect breeding ground for a pandemic-causing virus, including population increases, bigger cities, and better-connected global markets and migration.

“Animals will be forced into more constrained environments, and humans that rely on those environments will be again constrained in the same environments. There will be more wet markets, more live animal trade that will just increase exposure,” Holmes said.

“It was clear that we weren’t ready [for COVID],” said Jennie Musto, who, after seven years working for the World Health Organisation overseas, became NSW Health’s operations manager for the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, the team responsible for NSW’s COVID-19 contact tracing and containment.

“Everyone had preparedness plans gathering dust on a shelf, but no one was actually ready to respond, and so everyone was on the back foot,” Musto said. “Perhaps none of us really thought this was going to happen. We were waiting 500 years.”

Who would willingly become the next doomed whistleblower? Eddie Holmes, known for his repeated assertion that SARS-CoV-2 did not come from a lab, is deeply concerned that when the next pandemic-causing virus emerges, chances are it will be covered up.

“My worry is that if the virus appeared in a small population, say, somewhere in Southeast Asia, the people involved wouldn’t blow the whistle now, given the fact that you would get blamed,” he said.

Li Wenliang, the Wuhan doctor who tried to raise the alarm about a virulent new virus, was reportedly reprimanded by police for spreading rumours and later died of COVID-19.

The global blame game, culminating in a deep distrust of China and accusations that the virus was grown in a Wuhan lab, is why Holmes believes “we’re in no better place than we were before COVID started, if not worse”.

“I work with a lot of people in China trying to keep the lines of communication open, and they’re scared, I think, or nervous about saying things that are perceived to counter national interest.”

From a vaccine perspective, our defences look strong. There have been monumental advancements in vaccine development globally, driven by mRNA technology. In Sydney this month, construction began on an RNA vaccine research and manufacturing facility.

“But the way I see it is that nothing has been done in terms of animal surveillance of outbreaks or data sharing. The [global] politics has got much, much worse,” Holmes said.

Combat force Conjoint Associate Professor Craig Dalton, a leading public health physician and clinical epidemiologist, called for a dramatic expansion of the public health workforce and the establishment of a pandemic combat force that would routinely run real-time pandemic simulations during “peacetime”.

“No one is upset with fire brigades spending most of the time not fighting fires. They train. A lot. And that’s probably how we need to move,” he said.

“We need exercise training units so that every major player in pandemic response is involved in a real-time, three to four-day pandemic response every three to five years at national, state and local [levels].”

The federal Department of Health and Aged Care recently ran a health emergency exercise focused on governance arrangements involving chief health officers and senior health emergency management officials, a spokeswoman for Health Minister Mark Butler said. The outcomes of this exercise will be tested later this year.

Dalton said desktop simulations and high-level exercises involving a handful of chiefs didn’t cut it, considering the thousands of people working across regions and states. He instead suggested an intensive training program run in the Hunter New England region before the 2009 H1N1 pandemic provided a good model.

“We were ringing people, actors were getting injections, just like a real pandemic,” said Dalton, who once ordered a burrito in a last-ditch effort to contact a restaurant exposed to COVID-19.

Our heroes have had it The expert panel was emphatic that our pandemic response cannot once again rely on the goodwill of the public health and healthcare workforce.

According to the Kruk review, what began as an emergency response ultimately morphed from a sprint into an ultra marathon and “an admirable (yet unsustainable) ‘whatever it takes’ mindset”.

They were hailed as heroes, but the toll of COVID-19 on healthcare workers was brutal. Workloads were untenable, the risk of transmission was constant, and the risk of violence and aggression (for simply wearing their scrubs on public transport in some cases) was terrifying.

“We got through this pandemic through a lot of people working ridiculous hours,” Dalton said.

“You talk to a lot of people who did that and say they could not do it again.”

Tellingly, several expert personnel who worked at the front lines or in the control centre of NSW’s pandemic defences were invited to join the Herald’s forum but declined. Revisiting this period of intense public scrutiny, culminating in online attacks and physical threats, was just too painful.

So long, solidarity Arguably, the biggest threat to our pandemic defences will be the absence of our greatest strength during COVID: the population’s solidarity and willingness to follow public health orders even when it meant forfeiting fundamental freedoms.

The public largely complied with statewide public health orders, including the stay-at-home directive that became the 107-day Delta lockdown, and other severe restrictions prevented many from being at the bedside of their dying loved ones, visiting relatives in aged care homes and attending funerals.

“My worry is that next time around when those sorts of rules come out, people may say, ‘Well, don’t worry about it.’ They relax it in the future. Why don’t we just not stick to the rules?” said Professor Nicholas Wood, associate director of clinical research and services at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.

“I’m not sure we quite understand whether people [will be] happy with those rules again,” he said.

Dalton was more strident.

“I tend to agree with Michael Osterholm … an eminent US epidemiologist [who] recently said the US is probably less prepared for a pandemic now than it was in 2019, mostly because the learnings by health departments in the COVID pandemic may not make a material difference if faced with a community that distrusts its public health agencies,” he said.

“If H1N1 or something else were to spill over in the next couple of years, things like masks, social distancing and lockdowns would not be acceptable. Vaccination would be rejected by a huge part of the population, and politicians might be shy about putting mandates in.”

As for the total shutdown of major industries, people will struggle to accept it unless the next pandemic poses a greater threat than COVID, said UNSW applied mathematician Professor James Wood.

The risk of the virus to individuals and their families will be weighed against the negative effects of restrictions, which are much better understood today, said Wood, whose modelling of the impact of cases and vaccination rates was used by NSW Health.

“Something like school closure would be a much tougher argument with a similar pathogen,” he said.

A previous panel of education experts convened by the Herald to interrogate pandemic decision-making in that sector was highly critical of the decision to close schools for months during NSW’s Delta lockdown.

Greg Dore, professor of infectious diseases and epidemiology at the Kirby Institute, said the public’s reluctance to adhere to restrictions again may, in part, be appropriate.

“Some of the restrictions on people leaving the country were a bit feudal and too punitive,” he said. “Other restrictions were plain stupid, [for instance] limitations on time exercising outside.”

Meanwhile, the delays to publicly recognise the benefits of face masks and the threat of airborne transmission “ate away at trust”, Dalton said.

“We shouldn’t make those mistakes again,” he said.

Transparent transgressions Uncertainty is not something politicians are adept at communicating, but uncertainty is the only constant during a pandemic of a novel virus.

Vaccines that offered potent protection against early iterations of the COVID virus were less effective against Omicron variants.

“[The public], unfortunately, got hit by a rapid sequence of changes of what was ‘true’ in the pandemic,” James Wood said.

Political distrust can be deadly if governments give the public reason to suspect they are obfuscating.

The expert panel urged NSW’s political leaders to be far more transparent about the public health advice they were given before unilaterally enforcing restrictions.

There was a clear line between public health advice and political decision-making in Victoria. The Victorian chief health officer’s written advice was routinely published online.

In NSW, that line was blurred as Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant stood beside political leaders, most notably former premier Gladys Berejiklian, at the daily press conferences.

Public health experts said that they looked for subtle cues to determine the distinction between the expert advice and the political messaging during press conferences, paying attention to body language, who spoke when and who stayed silent.

“It is fine for public health personnel to have a different view to politicians. They have different jobs. What is not OK is to have politicians saying they are acting on public health advice [when they are not],” he said.

The ‘whys’ behind the decisions being made were missing from the daily press conferences, which created “a vacuum for misinformation”, said social scientist and public health expert Professor Julie Leask at the University of Sydney.

“The communication about what you need to do came out, and it was pretty good … but the ‘why we’re doing this’ and ‘what trade-offs we’ve considered’ and ‘what dilemmas we’ve faced in making this decision’; that was not shared,” Leask said.

The infodemic In the absence of transparency, misinformation and disinformation fill the vacuum.

“We had an ‘infodemic’ during the pandemic,” said Dr Jocelyne Basseal, who worked on the COVID-19 response for WHO in the Western Pacific and leads strategic development at the Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute, University of Sydney.

“The public has been so confused. Where do we go for trusted information [when] everyone can now write absolutely anything, whether on Twitter [now called X] or [elsewhere] on the web?” Basseal said.

A systematic review conducted by WHO found misinformation on social media accounted for up to 51 per cent of posts about vaccines, 29 per cent of posts about COVID-19 and 60 per cent of posts about pandemics.

Basseal’s teenage children recently asked whether they were going into lockdown after TikTok videos about the mpox outbreak.

“There is a lot of work to be done now, in ‘peacetime’ … to get ahead of misinformation,” Basseal said, including fortifying relationships with community groups and teaching scientists – trusted and credible sources of information – how to work with media.

In addition to the Kruk review’s six recommendations to improve its pandemic preparedness, NSW Health undertook a second inquiry into its public health response to COVID-19, which made 104 recommendations.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said: “We are working hard to ensure the findings and recommendations from those reports are being implemented as quickly as possible.”

The expert panellists spoke in their capacity as academics and not on behalf of NSW Health or WHO.

The ‘As One System’ review into NSW Health’s COVID-19 response made six recommendations 1. Make governance and decision-making structures clearer, inclusive, and more widely understood 2. Strengthen co-ordination, communication, engagement, and collaboration 3. Enhance the speed, transparency, accuracy, and practicality of data and information sharing 4. Prioritise the needs of vulnerable people and communities most at risk, impacted and in need from day one 5. Put communities at the centre of emergency governance, planning, preparedness, and response 6. Recognise, develop and sustain workforce health, wellbeing, capability and agility.

[middleagedenragedmama]

AITA Harry Potter Fandom Edition

Or an etiquette guide I wish I'd have had when I started reading fanfiction two years ago. Please feel free to add to it, as I'm sure it's missing a few things.

I track the fanfiction I read on goodreads (or other book tracking app). AITA? Sorry, YTA. Fanfiction should not be tracked in the same place as books. It's not professionally published, and you should not treat it as such. Authors do not want this, most fans do not want this. Fanfiction already exists in a sticky legal area, do not put it at risk by treating it as if it were a book.

I rate the fanfiction I read on goodreads or another public site. AITA? Sorry, YTA. Fanfiction is a GIFT. Imagine you go to a picnic where everyone brings a dish. You love potato salad, so you put some on your plate. However, you take a bite, and this is the worst potato salad you've ever had in your life. What do you do? You move on right? You ignore the potato salad and eat the macaroni salad. When folks are discussing the picnic, you say you had a lovely time. You don't bitch about the potato salad, you just say to yourself "hmmm, that wasn't for me, but look, there's a whole buffet of things I do like." This is fanfiction. You try a fic, and you don't like it? Oh well. You move on. No one forced you to read it. You don't review it, you don't rate it. This was a gift to a community, and you are not the intended audience. Move on.

I bought ATYD on etsy or another website. AITA? Yes, YTA. Fanfiction cannot be sold. You can bind it yourself if the author gives permission for this. You can give it to a friend (100% free, no money/trade, a true gift). You can print it out, three hole punch it, and put it in a binder. You cannot sell it, buy it, or bind it if an author asks that it not be bound.

I asked the author if I could bind a fic for personal use, they said no, but I did it anyway. AITA. Yes, YTA. What you do when no one is watching tells a lot about who you are as a person. If an author asks that their fic not be bound, respect their wishes. They wrote the fic as a gift to the community. Don't shit on their gift by not honoring their wishes.

I steal typesets from creators and then sell my binds on Etsy, AITA? Yes, YTA. First, you put fandom at risk by doing this. It's illegal to sell fanfiction. Second, you piss off binders that share their typesets for free, and they pull their typesets which then limits access for people that ethically bind. Just don't.

I steal art from creators because they post it, and I don't give credit. AITA. Yes again, YTA. Most artists are more than happy to give permission for their art to be used in personal binds, but give them the benefit of granting permission for the gift they've given us. If they are ok with their art being used, give them credit in the typeset.

I use AI for writing prompts, help with my outline, character art creation, and help with dialogue. AITA? Yes, YTA. AI does not belong in creative spaces. All AI use involves theft and tremendous ecological burdens. There is absolutely no place for AI in this space.

I put up a patreon to release my fic (or release it early) to paid members only, AITA? YTA. Charging for fanfiction is illegal and puts all of fandom at risk. If you want to do this, write non-fandom works.

I don't read WIPS, AITA? Hmmm, this is a tough one, I guess your NTA, but if no one read WIPs, we would quickly lose all our writers. Writers thrive on engagement. Sure they are writing for themselves, but hearing from readers, knowing that people are excited to read what they've written and want to read what is coming, motivates them. Reading WIPs nutures the fandom and encourages the interaction between writers and readers that leads to amazing fics.

I don't leave comments, AITA? Yes, YTA. If someone took the time to write a fic, and you took the time to read it, you owe them a comment of at least "Thanks for this!". Writers LOVE comments. They are writing for themselves, but they are motivated by your comments. They wrote a whole fic that you devoured, you've told all your friends about, you made a tiktok video about, and you've personally bound. Tell the author how much the fic meant to you!

If an author doesn't update, I send them a message and try to pressure them to update, AITA? Yep, again, YTA. Comment on their WIP how much you love the fic, tell them all the things that made your toes curl when you read it and made your breathing speed up. Tell them what you are hoping happens or dreading what comes next. Tell them you appreciate their gift! Do not bully them. It's never ok.

I fucking hate femme Sirius, and I make a point to bitch about it every time I see him. AITA? In extra bold letters, YTA. Not every fic/art is for you. Scroll on. You want masculine Sirius? He exists, go interact with his writers and artists. Quit engaging with the content you don't like. It might be a little known fact, but the reason you keep seeing it is BECAUSE you keep engaging with it. Quit. It's that easy. Engage with the content you want to see.

I ship shame the fuck out of jegulus because I'm #TeamJilyForever, AITA. Yes, YTA. See above bullet point regarding femme Sirius. Again, quit engaging with content you don't want to see or don't like. It's not for you. I don't particularly like a lot of stuff, but that just means it's not for me. There's no ship shaming in fandom.

I post 2 sentence plot bunnies, personal head canons, or trope ideas and then accuse others of plagiarism when I find a fic with something similar in the wild, AITA. Yes, YTA. First, you did not invent the only one bed trope or the sick fic. Anyone can and should write about any trope they want. You also aren't the only person that posted a plot bunny of "Marauders Coffee Shop AU, and Remus is a chronically ill barista that serves Sirius his morning brew". Unless someone is directly lifting words from your published fic or extremely detailed plot points, let folks write their own spin. If you really have something you don't want to see others write about, don't put it out there for folks to see. (This one might be debatable, but this is my take and mine alone. I definitely do not mean it's ok to plagiarize. Just don't be an asshole on either side of this one, ok?)

Whenever I see a post/video with a personal head canon or plot bunny, I ask the creator for recs, AITA. Yes, YTA. Most of these creators have a whole playlist of recommendation videos or entire spreadsheets of recs. They are just putting out a fun idea, quit flooding the comments with "any recs bestie?"

I see creators/writers/artists as my personal service providers, so I feel entitled to ask for recs whenever I want, AITA. YTA, read the room. These are people with real feelings. There should be a give and take relationship with these people, not a continual take and take on your part. If the video is about recs, fine, ask although honestly, learning to search on your own would be best. We really need to quit burdening these creators with the labor we should be doing. But also, start seeing these creators as people with feelings, not just a service provider at your beck and call. Some of these folks are fighting for their lives daily, being slammed in comments, and are hanging on to this fandom by a thread. If a post is about something completely unrelated to "recommendations," it's probably not the time to ask. Instead really listen to what they are saying and engage with that in an appropriate manner. Show them appreciation, and if you don't enjoy their content, move on.

I don't search for fics on my own, I just ask creators, AITA? Yes. YTA. Ao3 has a robust search engine that is easy to use. Watch a TikTok to learn how to use the search feature. ffn is a lot less search friendly, but if you search reddit or tumblr, you can find what you are looking for. This is a really important skill to have, and I promise if you learn it, it'll only benefit you. I am likely twice your age and have figured this out, I promise you can do it!

I kink shame, AITA. Yes, YTA. Just don't read or engage with the fics you don't like. No one needs to know, it's just between you and your Ao3 history.

I leave public bookmarks where I rate fics and leave reviews, AITA? Yes, YTA. Again, fanfiction is a gift. No one wants your review, least of all the author. This is not a book you paid for. Mark your bookmark private and then you can leave all the info you want.

I like to make posts/videos about the fics/characterizations/art styles I don't like, AITA? Yes, YTA. Make all the videos/posts you want about the fics/characterizations/art styles you LOVE. Tell the world, we want to know! But quit slamming creators that offer their best to us just because it's not for you. You are not the intended audience, so keep it moving

I make videos/posts about fics/art that I didn't create and never encourage folks to go leave comments for the author/artist, AITA? Unfortunately, yeah, YTA. You might not intend to be, but this one is easy to change. You want your videos/posts to succeed, of course you want engagement on what you post. But it's really easy to encourage those that like what you are posting to comment on the original. A lot of authors specifically see engagement about their fic on TikTok but have very few comments on the actual fic. It really shouldn't be this way.

I only read the BIG fics, AITA? You know what, you do you, boo. I guess your NTA, but you aren't supporting fanfiction in a constructive way. Maybe you only have 2 long fics in your for the year and so yeah, you want to read the hot ones, I get that. But if no one reads the undiscovered, the hot ones will never become hot. We have a handful of great authors that get recommended 90% of the time. That recognition is well deserved, I love them too. But we have so many great authors that aren't getting recommended, and those hidden gems are undiscovered. If you have the time, use the search and try to find the next fic that makes you stay up til 3 am to finish. They are out there, and they aren't just the ones you see all the time (although read those too, because they are awesome!).

I went to Universal, did a studio tour, and keep buying official merch. AITA? YTA. There are many videos about this, but you cannot keep putting money in jkr's pocket and expect this fandom to thrive. You cannot "reclaim" something that still financially benefits jkr. Trans rights are human rights, and this fandom, specifically the Marauder's fandom, is supposed to be an inclusive place where ALL are welcomed. When you do these things, you create an unsafe environment for all. The last few months we've seen many writers and creators leave the fandom because of this behavior specifically. Do better. (If you are going to do these things, please take fuck jkr out of your bio because you don't mean it).

There are so many more unspoken etiquette rules that I've missed. This is not meant to be all inclusive, just a random list of the top issues I see and how you can become NTA in this fandom. Some of it isn't intuitive, I admit to being guilty of some of these early on. However, when you know better, you do better.

[vague-humanoid]

The British government has already begun to suspend arms export licences to Israel while ministers carry out a policy review, evidence seen by the JC confirms.

While Foreign Secretary David Lammy is yet to make a final decision on whether to halt weapons sales to the Jewish state, civil servants have already stopped granting permits.

One individual involved in arms exports to Israel, who was seeking permission, received a notice in response that stated: “suspended pending policy review”.

Such a move would put Jerusalem alongside North Korea and Iran.

Asked to confirm whether the government had suspended all arms export licences for Israel, a Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: "It is vital that we uphold both our domestic and international legal obligations when it comes to arms exports.

"We are reviewing the advice available and will come to a considered decision."

Between October 7 and the end of May of this year, over 100 arms export licences to Israel were issued, according to government figures.

The data, released in June before the general election, revealed that 37 of those were for military purposes, while 63 were not.

At that point, no arms export licences had been rejected or revoked during Israel’s war in Gaza.

In June, however, Reuters reported that the value of permits for the sale of arms to Israel had dropped by 95 per cent to a 13-year low.

Following a recent International Court of Justice ruling that found Israel’s settlement programme to be illegal under international law, the British government is facing increasing pressure to halt arms licences.

If government lawyers conclude that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza, export licences would have to be suspended to avoid the risk of the UK aiding and abetting breaches of international law.

In December, then Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch decided not to halt export licences to Israel on the grounds that there was not at present a clear risk that items exported to the IDF “might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law”.

The government is expected to make a final announcement later this summer on whether they will officially halt sales.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

They were never on the invite list for the Japan state dinner. They’re not on anyone’s invite list for a formal state / diplomatic occasion. The only way they’d get invited to a White House state dinner while living in California is if it was a UK state dinner (POTUS hosting King Charles) and Megxit had gone 100% the other way.

You bring up an interesting scenario! The UK and US will trade Stare visits eventually to keep up the Special Relationship. There are lots of variables in play to delay things for a bit, but what's going to happen when C&C eventually have to visit the US? The pressure on all parties from the press in both countries will be enormous. It's going to be a huge side show story.

Yep.

That's why I suspect we won't see a US/UK state visit happen for a while. We'll probably see a few more visits like what happened in 2016 and 2021; the Americans drop by for tea on the way to someplace else.

As for the US hosting the UK, I think it's unlikely that we'll see King Charles and Queen Camilla here. Partly because of the Harry situation, but also partly because of their age/health and partly because of how popular Diana still is here. Even though Americans make up the largest nationality of international tourists to the UK and we're the biggest consumers of royal merchandise after the UK, Diana still reigns supreme here; Camilla's travel here will likely be interpreted by some as a victory lap and it won't go down easily. (Also, polling in 2023 determined Camilla is more unliked than Andrew by Americans...)

Switching gears to the Harry situation, it's going to depend what happens with the DHS/HF lawsuit. That lawsuit is bringing a whole lot of unwanted attention for everyone involved and with that, scrutiny from a lot of other countries. Inviting Harry and Meghan to the White House for a state dinner, any state dinner, UK or otherwise, only calls more attention to the visa debacle and unfair, inappropriate treatment that may or may not be getting covered. So the White House isn't putting the Sussexes on an invitation list any time soon because they probably want this whole visa mess to go away and stay away. And unfortunately, this is going to be the kind of mess that comes up again and again and again each time the Sussexes link themselves with a democratic White House.

A few other things the White House are fully aware of:

The poor relationship between the Sussexes and the royals and the BRF's position that the Sussexes are *not* offical representatives of the monarchy. The White House knows that they risk damaging the special relationship if they invite the Sussexes.

That the Sussexes blab. If they talked about not-accessible-to-the-public spaces in Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Kensington Palace, they'll talk about not-accessible-to-the-public spaces at the White House.

All of Harry's red flags that make him a huge security risk. He may not actually ever do anything, but that doesn't totally negate the threat that he could do something. Especially because of Point #2 - if Harry talked about private matters with the BRF, he'll talk about private matters for the US or the White House.

[mariacallous]

A US judge has cleared the way for billions of dollars to be refunded to former customers of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.

At a court hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday, judge John Dorsey gave final approval to FTX’s reorganization plan, the terms of which had previously been put to creditors and voted through by a landslide.

“I think this is a model case for how to deal with a very complex Chapter 11 proceeding,” said Dorsey. “I applaud everyone involved in the negotiation process.”

FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 after running out of funds to process customer withdrawals. Billions of dollars’ worth of FTX customer deposits were missing. The money, a jury later found, had been swept into a sibling company and spent on high-risk trading, venture bets, debt repayments, personal loans, political donations, luxury real estate, and other illegitimate dealings.

A year later, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy, then sentenced to 25 years in prison. In September, coconspirator Caroline Ellison received a two-year prison term after testifying against Bankman-Fried at trial.

First proposed in May, the FTX bankruptcy plan charts a path to a full refund, plus interest, for former FTX customers—a level of recovery rarely seen in bankruptcies. “Generally, anything over 100 cents on the dollar is close to miraculous,” says Yesha Yadav, associate dean and a bankruptcy specialist at Vanderbilt University Law School. “What tends to happen is that unsecured creditors get cents on the dollar, if they’re lucky. The expectation is that it is a process of scarcity.”

In this case, though, the administrators of the FTX estate were able to recover billions of dollars by liquidating investments made by the exchange’s venture capital arm, FTX Ventures, and its sister company, Alameda Research, along with other assets. A rise in the price of cryptocurrencies in the period since FTX filed for bankruptcy, meanwhile, raised the value of the coins left in exchange coffers.

Under the plan, government bodies in the United States—including the Internal Revenue Service and the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission—have agreed to suspend high-value claims against FTX until creditors had been repaid (although the IRS will receive a $200 million upfront payment as part of the settlement).

Even FTX equity holders, typically the last to be repaid in a bankruptcy, stand to make back a portion of their initial investment—a maximum of $230 million between them—paid for using funds recovered by the Department of Justice through the prosecution of FTX insiders.

But despite the abnormally high expected recovery, some creditors believe they are still getting a raw deal by virtue of the way their claims have been valued.

Many customers held crypto assets like bitcoin on the FTX platform, but through a process called dollarization common to bankruptcies, their claims have instead been assigned a dollar value based on the price of those assets on the date of the bankruptcy filing. When FTX fell, the crypto market was in the doldrums, but it has since lurched to new all-time highs, meaning some customer claims would be far more valuable if the refund were mapped to the present value of crypto assets. Therefore, though dollarization is proper under the bankruptcy code, “saying [the return] is over 100 percent is just wrong,” says Yadav. “For the average person, it’s very far from that.”

Among the parties that stand to gain the most from the approval of the plan, meanwhile, are investment firms that spent millions of dollars purchasing claims from people with assets stuck in FTX, who either preferred to take a haircut and reinvest the money or had urgent need of the funds. Those claims were typically purchased at a cut-price rate before a handsome recovery was considered likely—some for less than 10 cents on the dollar—but are now worth multiples of that.

“In terms of internal rate of return—holy shit. It’s the best trade I’ve seen in my lifetime,” says Thomas Braziel, cofounder of 507 Capital, an investment firm that specializes in buying up bankruptcy claims and took a large position in FTX, and 117 Partners, which brokers claim sales. (In July, Braziel was ordered by a Delaware court to repay $1.9 million that he misappropriated as receiver of failed financial services company Fund.com to make investments and luxury purchases.)

In August, a number of former FTX customers filed formal objections to the plan with the bankruptcy court. The customers objected, variously, to the legal immunity provided under the plan to those that have administered the bankruptcy, the likelihood that cash payments would trigger costly taxable events for creditors, and other elements of the plan. “I felt vindicated when Bankman-Fried went to jail—and I believed that would flow through to bankruptcy court,” says Sunil Kavuri, one FTX customer to cosign an objection. “I’ve been unpleasantly surprised.”

In the course of the five-hour hearing, Brian Glueckstein, an attorney at law firm Sullivan & Cromwell and counsel to FTX, responded to each objection in turn. “There is no evidence on the record that somehow these debtors are not providing maximum value—none,” said Glueckstein.

In providing his approval, the judge rejected the pending objections and cleared the way for FTX administrators to begin to execute the plan.

It remains possible to lodge an appeal against the plan after its confirmation in limited circumstances. Logistical complications may also delay repayments to creditors, expected to begin late this year at the earliest. But few realistic options now remain for parties hoping to change the course of the FTX bankruptcy.

The confirmation hearing “is the last chance in a practical sense for changes to be made,” says Yadav. “This is the defining day.”

[spuddlespud]

I've been seeing a lot of posts talking about trans people feeling scared and lost, and I have one useful thing to say which is JOIN A UNION.

Nows the time to get involved:

Attend your workplace trade union meeting and bring a motion on support for trans people. It will probably pass.*

Ask for casework support from your union when you have meetings/issues - they're there to help

Ask your reps to take a motion to your local trades council (a collection of unions in your area)

Ask for money to start projects, do some outreach or run an awareness event or know your rights events - unions have money and love to spend it on useful things

Ask your branch to donate to charities (normally a locally based charity)

Ask for resources to put out at work, ask your rep to arrange a talk in the office or to review your equalities policies (if your rep doesn't reply ask other people in your branch)

I literally got involved in my last union branch because they gave me money for a project I was working on.

I've seen old school trade unionists (as pontificating and bureaucratic as you might think) risk decades long friendships by standing up and ardently telling them to stop being "gender critical". I've seen a cis man address a union meeting of 100 people and successfully argue down terfs. Trade union banners turn out at anti-transphobia and anti-racism rallies every time near me. **

*Spuds guide to writing motions: clearly state what you want in a way that can be voted upon, keep it short and sweet, bullet points are your friends. Some people use the 'this branch notes: [context and links]' 'this branch believes: [political stance e.g. x is wrong]' 'this branch agrees: [action points to be voted on] (I have a really basic 'we support trans people and will put our pronouns on zoom meetings' type one I can DM to anyone who wants it, or if you want to send me any to read through)

**I'm not trying to paint a rosy picture, there are issues with racism and transphobia within the left, and within unions, and there's a lot of work to do. But in my experience, a lot of trade unionists are queer and are making changes, and there are a lot less terfs than you think (although as always they do like to make a lot of noise).

Also my experiences are from the UK and its likely with upcoming legislation that our unions are going to be reclaiming some of the power and rights that have been stripped from us, which is good news and a great time to be a union member.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Matthew Downhour at The UnPopulist:

Both during the 2024 campaign and in the current debates regarding President-elect Donald Trump’s appointments—particularly for Tulsi Gabbard (director of national intelligence), Pete Hegseth (secretary of defense), and other national security positions—one of the common but rather puzzling insults thrown at Democrats is that they are “warmongers.” This may come as a surprise, given that Joe Biden was the president who finally ended the war in Afghanistan, while Trump famously canceled the nuclear deal with Iran and ordered the assassination of its most important military operative. The key idea behind the notion that Democrats are warmongers—and that Donald Trump, by contrast, is a dove—appears to be that Democrats are prone to starting wars because they are “globalists,” never putting America first and always getting too involved in everyone else’s business. And these Democratic “globalists,” either through idealistic do-goodery or to protect and advance cosmopolitan economic interests, actively look to draw the United States into foreign conflicts.

Certainly, the ostensible danger of overseas trade has often been used—as by Thomas Jefferson and Herbert Hoover—as a justification to limit that trade. But as a characterization of Democrats, it just isn’t accurate. In the U.S. and elsewhere, internal coalitions that denigrate foreign trade have often been the most bellicose. Their coalitions have the least to lose from war, and swearing off free trade makes seizing resources through force more attractive. This means that the incoming “America First” coalition is likely to increase, not decrease, the risk of the U.S. entering into international conflict.

Nationalist Coalitions Provoke International Hostilities

The history surrounding the First World War provides a framework for understanding our current moment. In a 2014 article in International Security, published a century after the war first began, Etel Solingen evaluates the way countries’ internal and external politics interact to create more or less bellicose states. Comparing China with Imperial Germany 100 years earlier, Solingen argues that the primary driver of foreign policy is domestic political coalitions, which tend towards being either more inward-looking or more internationalizing. Inward-looking coalitions prefer autarkic economies that in turn favor local, static elites. This is especially attractive to those who have gained their status and wealth through local dominance of internationally non-competitive economic sectors. Because a modern economy requires a variety of resources, however, this disavowal of free trade means inward-looking coalitions are perhaps misnamed, as they in fact seek opportunities to gain natural resources and control markets outside the borders of the metropole, primarily through imperialism or settler colonialism.

Internationalizing coalitions, by contrast, are made up of “internationalists,” those more dynamic economic and cultural elites for whom global interaction and free trade is an opportunity, not a threat. Internationally competitive industrialists may fall in this category, as do many academics, cultural producers, and others who benefit from free international trade. Though in the U.S., and earlier, the U.K., such figures may see the value in a strong navy to protect sea lanes, they generally are more dovish and find both the taxes needed to run a military and the disruptions caused by warfare to be contrary to their economic and ideological interests. Cosmopolitanism tends to trump nationalism in their hierarchy of values.

An inward-looking coalition dominated Germany in the run-up to 1914 in an arrangement called the “Marriage of Iron and Rye.” Starting in the 1870s, the noble, landowning Junkers demanded protectionist tariffs to guard against cheap American grain, while industrialists sought the same to keep out British manufactured goods. Solingen argues that this preponderance of inward-looking forces reduced the war aversion of the German Empire. This coalition was more prone to brinkmanship than a more internationalizing coalition would have been—the Democratic Party, by contrast, would not lead the U.S. to enter the war until several years after its outbreak. Solingen also notes the importance of Germany’s neighbors in contributing to the outbreak of the war, cataloging how Austria, Serbia, and Russia also were influenced by strong inward-looking coalitions, which also influenced their appetite for brinkmanship and willingness to enter into a war that devastated internationalist interests for decades after.

Solingen concluded that China of 2014 was still dominated by an internationalizing coalition, and that despite rising nationalism, reliance on foreign trade and direct investment meant it was likely to remain conflict-averse. The last 10 years, however, have seen Chinese interests grow increasingly inward-looking, as the country imposes controls on key material exports and seeks greater economic self-sufficiency. Other major rivals of the United States like Russia and Iran have been forced by international sanctions to also adopt an autarkic worldview, leaving primarily “inward looking” (though imperialist) coalitions in charge of those countries. The ingredients for a more dangerous world, in other words, are mixing at precisely the moment the U.S. has itself turned in a similar direction.

[...]

America First Cronyism and Bellicosity

The ideal of self-contained autarky does not mean, as one might suppose, a less interventionist view on the world. Instead, eroding the norms of free trade obligates an advanced economy to have direct access to whatever resources it might need, or else a way to ensure the countries it buys from are perpetually in friendly hands. America’s own history can be something of a guide here—the same presidents (William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft) who presided over the high tariffs of the Gilded Age also committed the United States to annexing Hawaii, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico, and creating a virtual empire out of most of Latin America. Coalitions that are generally inward-looking are not above having their eyes wander avariciously to foreign soil. Far from facilitating a peaceful transition to “America First” isolationism, a United States traveling this path is likely to be less averse to bellicosity and more willing to risk war, having weakened any internal commercial or civil society coalition that might push back against it. In fact, any pushback, at least from corporate America, is likely to be muted. Under an “America First” regime, firms will have strong incentive to join the inward-looking coalition if they can, much like Prussian industrialists and farmers a century ago. The major economic policy of the Trump campaign was sweeping tariffs on foreign goods. If these tariffs operate to “protect” American industries from competition, history suggests that those industries will become dependent on tariffs for their very viability, causing firms to see trade as a liability, not an opportunity. Commercial interests will be less willing to resist autocratic encroachments because their futures will be dictated largely by the whims of the Trump administration’s tariff policy—as well as any economic aid doled out to industries affected by retaliatory tariffs, as agriculture was during the last Trump administration. Solingen notes that with inward-looking coalitions, “External insecurity and competition offer rationales for extracting societal resources, collecting monopoly rents, creating cartels, rewarding protectionist constituencies, and undermining internationalizing competitors.” By 1914, very few interests remained in continental Europe that could forcefully stand against the road to war; internationalist coalitions had been politically beaten in most states.

Many of these trends are already notable today. For example, the specter of external insecurity was used by the first Trump administration to justify emergency tariffs on steel and other goods, and similarly the Biden administration argued for the strategic necessity of tariffs on electric vehicles and photovoltaic cells. The close connection between Elon Musk and the Trump transition team creates myriad new opportunities to undercut competitors and reward Musk’s own companies, including by the use of foreign policy. For example, Vice President-elect JD Vance’s threat to pull back from NATO commitments if the European Union regulates X in ways the administration disapproves of clearly shows preference for one business over similarly positioned ones, precisely because, with Musk’s promotion of accounts opposing immigration as well as aid to Ukraine, X is a key media player in the broader inward-looking coalition. Other key players may be less flamboyant than Musk but it is safe to assume that they are similarly adjusting their strategies to better survive an inward-looking coalition, and, in so doing, strengthening the coalition itself.

The fascist-elect’s economy-crushing tariffs will lead America to the road to war that no one wants.

[kemetic-dreams]

Call vs. Put Options

This guide will give you a complete rundown of call options and put options.

A call option is the right to buy a stock at a specific price by an expiration date, and a put option is the right to sell a stock at a specific price by an expiration date.

That's the short summary of these options contracts. Now, let's take a closer look at how call and put options work, as well as the risks involved with options trading.

How does a call option work?

A call option is a contract tied to a stock. You pay a fee, called a premium, for the contract. That gives you the right to buy the stock at a set price, known as the strike price, at any point until the contract's expiration date.

You're not obligated to execute the option. If the price of the stock increases enough, then you can execute it or sell the contract itself for a profit. If it doesn't, then you can let the contract expire and only lose the premium you paid.

The breakeven point on a call option is the sum of the strike price and the premium. When you have a call option, you can calculate your profit or loss at any point by subtracting the current price from the breakeven point.

As an example, let's say that you're bullish on Apple (AAPL -0.54%) and it's trading at $150 per share. You buy a call option with a strike price of $170 and an expiration date six months from now. The call option costs you a premium of $15 per share. Since options contracts cover 100 shares, the total cost would be $1,500.

The breakeven point would be $185 since that's the sum of the $170 strike price and the $15 premium. If Apple reaches a price of $195, your profit would be $10 per share, which is $1,000 total. If it only goes to $175, you'd have a loss of $10 per share. Your maximum potential loss would be the $1,500 you paid for the premium.

How does a put option work?

A put option is a contract tied to a stock. You pay a premium for the contract, giving you the right to sell the stock at the strike price. You're able to execute the contract at any point until its expiration date.

If the price of the stock decreases enough, then you can sell your put option for a profit. You're not obligated to execute the contract, so if the price of the asset doesn't drop enough, you can let the contract expire.

The breakeven point on a put option is the difference between the strike price and the premium. When you have a put option, you can calculate your profit or loss at any point by subtracting the breakeven point from the current price, or by using the calculator at the bottom of this page.

To give you an example, imagine Netflix (NFLX -0.51%) trades at $500 per share. You think it's overvalued, so you buy a put option with a strike price of $450 and an expiration date three months away. The premium costs $10 per share, which is a total price of $1,000 for the contract.

The breakeven point would be $440, the difference between the $450 strike price and the $10 premium. If Netflix plummets to $400, then you're up $40 per share ($4,000 total) on your put option. If it doesn't drop below $450 at all, then you'd only be able to let the option expire and eat the cost of the premium.

Risks of call vs. put options

The risk of buying both call and put options is that they expire worthless because the stock doesn't reach the breakeven point. In that case, you lose the amount you paid for the premium.

It's also possible to sell call and put options, which means another party would pay you a premium for an options contract. Selling calls and puts is much riskier than buying them because it carries greater potential losses. If the stock price passes the breakeven point and the buyer executes the option, then you're responsible for fulfilling the contract. 

The benefit of buying options is that you know from the beginning the maximum amount you can lose. This makes options safer than other types of leveraged instruments such as futures contracts.

However, options can be riskier than simply buying and selling stocks because there's a greater possibility of coming away with nothing. When investing in stocks, you only need to predict whether the stock goes up or down. For options trading, you need to predict three things correctly:

The direction the stock will move.

The amount the stock will move.

The time period of the stock movement.

If you're wrong about any of those, then the options contract will be worthless. While there's the potential for greater returns with options, they're also harder to trade successfully.

Despite the challenge of successfully trading call and put options, they provide an opportunity to amplify your returns. That can make them a valuable addition to a balanced portfolio. For investors interested in options, there are also more advanced strategies that go beyond buying calls and puts.

[savebylou]

I Tried Harry Styles’ Workout From His Trainer And It Took Me More Than Two Hours

By Harry Bullmore

Highlights of the article below.

Develop the speed and muscular endurance needed for a stadium tour (just in case) with this Harry Styles workout from his trainer Thibo David. Harry Styles is a better singer than me. As People magazine’s sexiest musician alive 2023, he’s better looking too. But because I’m a fitness writer by trade, the hardest pill to swallow is that he might be in better condition. This realization dawned on me as Styles’ coach Thibo David walked me through one of his typical training sessions.

1) Warm up. 30-minute slow-paced run. 2) One mile run. Run one mile as fast as possible. David says Harry Styles can run a mile in an impressive 5min 13sec—a standard some of the professional athletes David coaches can’t match—but I was urged to run my own race. 3) Bodyweight challenge. In eight minutes complete: -100 push-ups -100 sit-ups -100 unweighted squats 4) Free-weights circuit. Four rounds of: -1min kettlebell swings  (16kg) -1min box jumps -2min sandbag over-the-shoulder (20kg) -2min alternating dumbbell clean and press -1min rest 5) Hill sprints. Eight rounds of: -30-45sec sprint (16-21km/h) at a 0.5-2.5% gradient -90sec rest 6) Core workout. 15 minutes of “diverse core exercises including planks, one sided farmer’s walks, side planks and sit-up  variations". 7) Stretching. 10-15 minutes of assisted stretching.

Another thing that impressed me was Styles’ evident fitness levels and work ethic; how he has the energy to perform for two hours during a stadium tour is no longer a mystery. "Collaborating with Harry Styles was an absolute delight; his commitment is unparalleled,” says David. “But it’s important to note that this level of training isn’t suitable for everyone. Harry was inherently fit, but achieving the level of fitness needed for this session still required time, work and effort. Rushing into such high-volume workouts can pose risks.” David also stressed that sessions of this intensity weren’t done every day, and the nature of his workouts will often “depend on the day and the state of the athlete”. “It’s crucial to emphasize the significance of proper periodization,” says David. “Not every day constituted an intense session. In fact, we strategically incorporated recovery sessions which often involved a light run combined with core exercises and mobility work. Every workout was thoughtfully placed within the overall training plan.”

I really recommend to read the full article, the writer explains his own experience trying Harry's workout.

[obavee]

Liquidity Provision, Farming, and Staking: Breaking It Down in Simple Terms

If you’ve heard terms like liquidity provision, farming, or staking floating around in the world of crypto, but you're still not 100% sure what they mean, don’t worry! I’m here to break it down for you in a way that's easy to understand—no jargon, just the basics.

1. Liquidity Provision – Think of It Like Stocking a Store.

Imagine you own a shop, but instead of selling items, you’re offering digital assets. Liquidity provision is when you “stock” two types of tokens in a pool on a decentralized exchange (DEX) like STON.fi. So, let’s say you have 5,000 ETH and 5,000 USDT, and you place them into the liquidity pool.

When someone wants to exchange one token for the other, your tokens are used. In return for providing these tokens, you earn a small percentage of the fees from every transaction that happens in that pool. Essentially, you’re making your tokens available for others to trade, and you’re getting paid for it.

2. Farming – Earning Extra by Providing Liquidity.

Now that you’re providing liquidity, let’s take it a step further. Farming is like getting a bonus for doing the same thing. Think of it like a rewards program at your favorite store. When you add your tokens to a pool, a project might create a “farm” on STON.fi and offer additional tokens as rewards.

By staking your liquidity provider (LP) tokens into that farm, you’ll earn extra rewards on top of the fees you already get from liquidity provision. In simple terms: you’re getting more money for doing the same thing!

3. Staking – Locking Your Tokens for a Long-Term Benefit.

Staking is a little different. It’s like putting your money in a savings account, but with a twist. Instead of just holding tokens, you “lock” them up in a smart contract. By staking your tokens, you help secure and support the network.

In return, you can earn rewards that you can’t get from just liquidity provision or farming. For example, on STON.fi, staking gets you access to special perks like ARKENSTON, a soulbound NFT that acts as a ticket to exclusive voting rights in the STON.fi community. It’s like getting an invite to an exclusive club just for being part of the system!

4. Why Does This Matter to You?

You might be wondering, “Why should I care?” Well, here’s the deal—these are the tools that make decentralized finance (DeFi) work, and they open up opportunities that traditional finance can’t. By participating in liquidity provision, farming, and staking, you can earn passive income, participate in the governance of projects, and gain exposure to new, exciting crypto rewards.

But of course, just like with any investment, there’s always a risk. You could lose value due to market fluctuations (like if the price of tokens moves unexpectedly). So it’s important to always be informed and manage your risks wisely.

5. The Big Picture – You’re Part of a Revolution

Crypto and DeFi are changing the way we think about finance, ownership, and control. By understanding these concepts and participating, you’re not just earning rewards; you’re part of a bigger movement that’s reshaping the financial landscape.

So next time you hear about liquidity provision, farming, or staking, remember that they’re more than just buzzwords—they’re your chance to get involved in this revolution and make your assets work for you.

[graceojuola]

Understanding Liquidity Pools: A Simple Guide for Crypto Enthusiasts

Hey there, fellow crypto explorer! If you’ve been curious about decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and how they work, you’ve come to the right place. One of the most important concepts you’ll need to understand is liquidity pools. Don’t worry—it’s not as complicated as it sounds. Let’s break it down step by step.

What Is a Liquidity Pool, Really

Think about your local grocery store. They have shelves filled with products—when you go in to buy something, the store gives you what you need right away. Now, imagine that instead of a physical store, this is happening in the digital world of crypto. A liquidity pool is like a shelf full of tokens, ready for you to grab whenever you need them.

In simple terms, a liquidity pool is a place where different types of crypto tokens are stored together in equal value. When you trade on a decentralized exchange (DEX), it’s like taking tokens from one shelf and putting others back in their place, all managed by smart contracts (automated pieces of code that run without human intervention).

Where Do These Tokens Come From

Now, you might be wondering: Who’s putting all these tokens on the shelves? Well, that’s where liquidity providers (LPs) come in. These are everyday people like you and me who decide to contribute their tokens to a pool.

Why would anyone do that? Because they get a cut of the trading fees. Let’s say you add your tokens to a pool on a platform like STON.fi—you’ll earn a small percentage (usually around 0.2%) every time someone trades using that pool. It’s like renting out a room in your house and getting paid every time someone stays there.

How Can You Get Involved

Great question! Becoming a liquidity provider is open to anyone, and it’s pretty easy to get started. You’ll need to deposit an equal amount of two tokens into a pool—let’s say $100 of Token A and $100 of Token B.

Once your tokens are in the pool, you’re officially a liquidity provider and you’ll start earning your share of the fees. Just like that, you’re earning passive income from your crypto.

How to Choose the Right Pool

Before you jump in, it’s good to know how to evaluate different liquidity pools. Here are the main things to look out for:

1. APR (Annual Percentage Rate):

This shows how much you could potentially earn in a year, based on recent trading activity. It’s important to remember that APR can change every day—just like rent prices can fluctuate depending on the market.

2. TVL (Total Value Locked):

This is the total amount of money (in tokens) that’s locked in the pool. The higher the TVL, the more stable the pool tends to be. Think of it like a bigger store with more products—it can handle more customers and the prices are less likely to jump around too much.

3. 24h Volume:

This tells you how active the pool is. The higher the volume, the more trades are happening, and the more fees are being generated for liquidity providers. It’s like a busy store with lots of people buying and selling. The more business, the more profit for you.

Is There Any Risk

Of course, with any investment, there’s always some risk. The main risk in liquidity pools is impermanent loss—this happens when the prices of the tokens in the pool change significantly. For example, if one token’s value shoots up, you could lose out on potential profits compared to just holding onto the tokens in your wallet.

But don’t worry! In high-volume pools, the fees you earn often balance out the risks, so you can still make a profit. It’s like running a business—you might have some losses along the way, but steady customers help you stay in the game.

Why Are Liquidity Pools Important

Liquidity pools are the backbone of decentralized exchanges. Without them, DEXs wouldn’t be able to function. Think of them like the engine of a car—you can’t drive anywhere without it. They make sure that when you trade, there’s always liquidity available, meaning your transactions happen quickly and smoothly.

These pools are also part of the magic that makes DeFi (Decentralized Finance) work. Unlike traditional finance, where you need brokers and middlemen, DeFi cuts out all that hassle. Liquidity pools make sure everything runs efficiently, 24/7.

Should You Get Started

If you’re looking to put your crypto to work and earn some passive income, liquidity pools are a great way to do it. But remember, just like any investment, it’s important to do your research. Here’s how you can get started:

Pick a pool with a good balance of APR, TVL, and trading volume.

Understand the tokens in the pool—some are more volatile than others.

Start small and increase your involvement as you get more comfortable with the process.

Final Thoughts

Liquidity pools are a key part of the DeFi ecosystem. They allow people to trade tokens quickly and easily, and they give you a way to earn passive income from your crypto holdings.

Just remember, like with any investment, there’s always some risk. But by picking the right pools and staying informed, you can make the most of the opportunities available.

So, are you ready to dive into the world of liquidity pools? The DeFi space is full of opportunities, and now you have a solid understanding to get started. Happy investing!

[starryeyed-seer]

okay my FL ocs, quickly picrew'd for ref. Some lore and basic info!

I'm not 100% on base designs or details but I got the rough idea of em... when I have more time I want to develop them more bc I have Thoughts!

Captain Enoch Caylor / Lord E Oliver Newton

Hasn't aged consistently or in order. ~ 38

He/him mainly, also they/it, Trans masc

Bi-Aro Gray-romantic— interested in status and stories more than appearance, and only rarely desires sex. Sworn off love but aches for it

A monster hunter who alternates between mindless revelry in London and (often) dying at zee. He's selfish and hedonistic but rarely directly cruel. Indirectly? Yes. He plays red. He watches mirrors.

Middle child in a wealthy half-noble family, and still caught up in the family sun-smuggling trade. Ran away to elope with a devil when young, instead lost his soul, and fought bloody hard for it back.

Craves power most of all, not to rule as a tyrant or change things. He wants to live according to his whims, wants, and lifestyle, seeking hedonistic pleasure and bloody risks with the promise of no consequences. Involved in the Game, usually white/red, but desires little true change. Life is good for him (isn't it? Isn't it?? Isn't it???)

Grietje Van der Meer:

Like 22

She/her

Overly romantic (no gender preference) but too terrified of romance to successful woo. Someone seems into her and she needs to lie down, and then hide until they forget about her.

Her mother was a Varchassi artist who fell for a zailor. She fled Varchas while heavily pregnant, and gave birth to Grietje at zee. The ship fell to the wax wind, and Grietje was one of few survivors. She grew up an urchin, plagued by dreams of the sun she almost-saw and always aware she didn't quite belong in London, but could never go to Varchas or the Surface.

Still, she dreamed, becoming a poet and writer of celestial and bazaarine work. Her work, however, is very bad. She doesn't appear fully aware that her success has come from artist salons performing mocking live readings— or she doesn't mind. She's chronically ill, and spends much of her time in a lonely basement bedroom with a single window (Somehow.) Her main company when bedbound is her messenger bat Malachai, and MiseryWhiskers, a protective alley cat.

Enoch has wound up a reluctant companion of hers. After getting involved in a ridiculous scheme involving her and her patron, he was left with a sense of obligation he detests. Once a week, if he's around, Enoch takes Grietje out for a stroll around the Bazaar. She uses different aids depending, but usually is in a wheelchair when Enoch is around— MiseryWhiskers likes to curl up on her lap and come along.

Mikhail Care-Michael:

She/her, also takes he/him when pretending to be Heavenly

Generally into women mostly, aromantic

A devil of exceptionally dubious credentials. Mikhail has a fondness for adopting the aesthetics of the sacred, including her current name. She enjoys trying to convince people angels are ALSO real in the Neath and she's one. This doesn't generally work for many reasons, but the amusement she pulls is from making humans squirm. Thinks she is hilarious.

Mikhail is Grietje's long time patron, having discovered her work as a youth and taken Grietje under her wing. Mikhail finds kind and charitable acts like this extremely funny, part of her epic angel larp, but other Devils think the joke is outdated and Mikail's consistent interest in divinity indicates either bad taste or ties to the Convention.

[nifm-institute]

NIFM Institute in Mumbai — Best Stock Market Training Courses in Mumbai

NIFM Institute in Mumbai is the best share market classes in Mumbai for stock market trading & training. At NIFM, we’ve always been partial to independent thinkers. Where we’ll teach you not only how to trade in the share or financial market but also how to make a living out of it in our stock market courses in Mumbai. NIFM share market training programs are simple to understand and easy to follow with practical case studies in an organized manner with a systematic flow. In our stock market courses, we will teach you to learn every factor that can affect stock market industry ups and downs, when to enter or exit, money-making strategies, discipline in the stock market, and control risk and loss.

Overview of Stock Market Courses in Mumbai

Trading in the stock market is a process that requires constant thinking, analysis, and discipline. What you think and what you choose determines your success in the business.

NIFM is the pioneer institute of stock market trading courses in Mumbai. Our institution has been focusing on providing qualitative stock market trading knowledge for over a decade in India. NIFM believes in classroom & practical sessions where the interaction of experienced trainers and other participants brings out the best results and clears all doubts about the toughest topics and makes them crystal clear. NIFM has helped thousands of investors learn the skills necessary to have the ability and confidence of the pros. We are the only stock market institution having 20+ branches all over India, where 50,000+ students have done certification of stock market courses, Job oriented courses, investor & trader courses under the supervision of industry experts. We have exclusively developed job oriented courses with 100% placement assistance for those who want to make a career in the stock market. NIFM has 6+ branches or institutes for stock market courses in Maharashtra.

Services offered by NIFM — Share Market Courses in Mumbai

Here in Mumbai, NIFM is offering 20+ stock market courses with certification and 100% placement assistance in top companies. They focus on more practical (75%) training than theoretical (25%) training. Students work on practicalities with the budget in hand to get more enhanced knowledge of trades, when to buy or sell stocks, market ups, and downs. This builds more confidence in students to find out when is the best time to enter the market or the right time to invest in stocks.

NIFM has courses for all 12th pass out students, graduated students, businessmen, investors, traders, housewives, retired persons. The availability of every generation of students makes our atmosphere more interesting, where all students can learn with the life experiences of others.

Stock Market Beginners Courses: If you are a fresher or beginner in the stock market then this certification course is for you. We helped you to learn all the basics of the share market with experts and be a market expert within 3 months.

Beginners to Advance level courses: NIFM offers Diploma & Advance Diploma courses in the stock market. Learn fundamental, technical analysis, industry up and down, the best time to buy and sell stocks. These courses offer 100% job assistance.

Job Oriented Courses: NIFM has exclusively developed job oriented courses for those who want to make their careers in the financial market or the stock market. They trained students according to the best industry requirements.

Trading and Investment Courses: This is one of the best courses to become a trader or investor in the stock market.

Technical Analysis Courses: Technical Analysis not only helps you understand the profit target but also aware of the risk involved in the trade. We teach the secrets of successful traders, We teach unique ideas to trade in Intraday, Swing trade, Short term delivery, Futures & Options.

NCFM NSE certification courses: Courses for NCFM Certification exam, and exclusively developed mock test papers which covers all syllabus for the examination.

NISM SEBI certification courses: NISM Certification courses to help students to crack the examination.

Diploma in Equity Sales Certification: This course is divided into 6 modules: Capital Market Module, Derivative Market Module, Currency derivatives module, Mutual Fund Distributors module, Investment Advisor (Level 1) and Equity Sales module.

Fundamental Analysis Crash Course: This course will help to understand all these aspects analysis of data, news, events, correlation, the impact of these while trading in the stock market or investing in other market segments.

Online Stock Market Courses: NIFM also offers online courses for those who want to learn online about day trading, trading basic terminology, how online trading systems work, Forex trading, swing trading, stock prices, live trading, and the stock exchange.

Why Choose NIFM, Best Stock Market Courses in Mumbai

Depth knowledge with practical exposure

75% practical exposure, 25% theoretical exposure

Certification after completion of course

Faculties over 30+ years of experience.

We work for all-round development for the student.

Students visits in NSE, BSE, SEBI offices

100% job assistance in topmost companies

100% support given to pass out students if any updating took place in course.

Conducting regular seminars for students by experts & industry.

Some unique courses are available only with NIFM.

Advance lab equipment/software for practical training.

Stock Market Courses Free Videos

NIFM made stock market trading learning easy for you with these free videos, you can watch and learn fast and earn fast with NIFM.

Click to enjoy your free videos today!

NIFM Preferred Employers

Our clients- Axis Securities, HDFC Securities, Kotak Securities, ICICI Direct, Motilal Oswal, Standard Securities, NIIT, Tradebulls, Bajaj Capital, SMC, Angel Broking, Advisory Mandi, Indiabulls Ventures, Nirmal Bang, Safe Express, IDBI Capital, Elite Wealth, Bonanza, Karvy Stock Broking, SAS Online, Mansukh, Silver skills, Parasram, Trustline, Zerodha, Jana Bank, LKP, BLB, etc

Seminars & Workshops at NIFM MUMBAI

NIFM organized seminars, events, and workshops to get engaged with our students and keep them up-to-date according to industry requirements. Click the link to watch some glimpse of our NIFM Capital Market Conclave 2019.

Any Doubts or Enquiries?

If you have any doubts and inquiries regarding the stock market industry or want brief counseling for your course, please reach us by filling this form — Contact Us for stock market courses enquiries. Our Counselor will reach and help you to suggest the best courses for your career, investment or trading purposes.

Reach NIFM MUMBAI

We are established in a prominent location in Parel, Mumbai. It is an effortless task in commuting to our establishment as there are various modes of transport readily available. It is at Shop №6, Kingston Tower, GD Ambekar, Road, Parel East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400033

Source of Content: https://www.nifm.in/blog-details/387/stock-market-courses-in-mumbai.php

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Tips from a grocery worker/foodsafe certified waiter!

The temperature 'danger zone' for food and drink is 40-140F, with 2 hours being the limit without refrigeration/cooking.

Open container, Public Intoxication, and Driving Under Influence are all separate broken laws. Establishments that serve alcohol in the US are required to cut you off the moment you are visibly drunk. 'Open container' can also be a misnomer and vary by state- bottles and cans in anything less than a glued blox may need to be in a bag.

Raw flour has E. Coli bacteria, factory farmed eggs will have salmonella due to poor hygiene (sitting in their own shit).

Speaking of eggs, grocery eggs are 2 weeks old due to needing to properly settle to a baking standard. Eggs from a local farmer may be safer, but will also be somewhat different and not have enough air for baking until they are also that age.

Steak is safe to eat rare due to its thickness and proximity away to any nasties in the body waste; hamburger is not. Burger is ground up with various cuts and intestines so needs to be cooked properly well done. Chickens are too small to have this effect, so salmonella is a risk no matter what. Pork is somewhat in between, as there is a risk for trichinosis, but the larvae are much easier to spot, making this start to go extinct in domestic pigs.

Dogs and Cats in general cannot have spices or seasonings, grapes, chocolate, or milk.

Most creatures are lactose intolerant due to the fact that they will not grow up into 1000 lb animals. Goats however, are closer to human size so their milk and cheese is more digestible. Smaller animals will need dilluted goat's milk, into a custom formula. (your grocery store may have this in a can, powdered.)

Pasta noodles mainly exist to hold sauce flavor in proportion; thicker noodles like rotini are usually recommended for thicker sauces such as tomato/marinara.

It is safer for pizza chefs to not wear gloves, actually! Gloves cannot be washed, only changed, and they are trained anyways to not touch someone's food once cooked. Cooking trays/pans, industrial sized knives, spatulas, and boxes all make this possible.

Humans are very dense and weighty creatures proportionally, that they can essentially tank a lot of poison damage that other animals cannot. This is one of many reasons we are not picky eaters as a whole!

Kids instinctively dislike bitter foods due to not having grown up into this said tankiness; vegetables and things that may be good for them can taste like poison, and they cannot tell the difference yet.

Electric Kettles are more efficient at boiling water than stovetops. I'll let the video guy speak for himself, but they boil water directly rather then heating a pot/pan which then heats the water. This is great for things such as small meals, partially unclogging drains, or heating bathwater.

Keurig or similar machines do not boil the water for your coffee! They heat to 100 degrees, so if your town has a boil order up, do not pour unboiled water into their tanks!

Large packs of water and soda often have bar codes on the top- you may not have to lift them if a laser-gun can get involved!

chicken nuggets from the golden arches are beer battered, the way fish are. They're fish-fried chicken.

Grocery Register Belts can have some really dumb design- with the computer /register itself taking up half the width of the goddamn belt. Keep your food safer by loading the belt heavy to light if you can- or light to heavy. Also, putting your food in a straight line towards the checker. You cannot trust the infared camera to stop the belt unless your items are opaque- your beer will crush your bananas in front of them unless they can slide over the scanner zone. You will prefer a fixable scan error until we can perform alchemy.

Fruits and Vegetables have 4 digit international trade codes! unless you know what breed your apple is or are bad with numbers, these are probably easier to input if you happen to be ringing these up yourself. It is perfectly possible for a self-check system to sell you the wrong kind. Same thing with the numbers on a bar code- they also work, if your code is faded or corrupted. (or, for whatever fucking reason a brand decides, light colors like silver, or cute shapes. those suck. looking at you, bud fucking weiser with your fucking ribbon.) The laser guns are a bit more accurate than the belt as a second resort.