#delta stock market

[rjmbaboonbooks]

Daily Comic Journal: July 19, 2021: "Hypocrites. They're All Lying Hypocrites."

For months, these hypocritical talking heads have been steering their viewers from getting these free, safe vaccines to help get the country out of this pandemic. They’ve been telling their viewers to not do the simple act of wearing a covering over their mouth & nose when out in public, especially if they’re not vaccinated. Wearing a mask that could help prevent the spread of the virus and help…

[mostlysignssomeportents]

AI is a WMD

I'm in TARTU, ESTONIA! AI, copyright and creative workers' labor rights (TOMORROW, May 10, 8AM: Science Fiction Research Association talk, Institute of Foreign Languages and Cultures building, Lossi 3, lobby). A talk for hackers on seizing the means of computation (TOMORROW, May 10, 3PM, University of Tartu Delta Centre, Narva 18, room 1037).

Fun fact: "The Tragedy Of the Commons" is a hoax created by the white nationalist Garrett Hardin to justify stealing land from colonized people and moving it from collective ownership, "rescuing" it from the inevitable tragedy by putting it in the hands of a private owner, who will care for it properly, thanks to "rational self-interest":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/04/analytical-democratic-theory/#epistocratic-delusions

Get that? If control over a key resource is diffused among the people who rely on it, then (Garrett claims) those people will all behave like selfish assholes, overusing and undermaintaining the commons. It's only when we let someone own that commons and charge rent for its use that (Hardin says) we will get sound management.

By that logic, Google should be the internet's most competent and reliable manager. After all, the company used its access to the capital markets to buy control over the internet, spending billions every year to make sure that you never try a search-engine other than its own, thus guaranteeing it a 90% market share:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#not-up-to-the-task

Google seems to think it's got the problem of deciding what we see on the internet licked. Otherwise, why would the company flush $80b down the toilet with a giant stock-buyback, and then do multiple waves of mass layoffs, from last year's 12,000 person bloodbath to this year's deep cuts to the company's "core teams"?

https://qz.com/google-is-laying-off-hundreds-as-it-moves-core-jobs-abr-1851449528

And yet, Google is overrun with scams and spam, which find their way to the very top of the first page of its search results:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/24/passive-income/#swiss-cheese-security

The entire internet is shaped by Google's decisions about what shows up on that first page of listings. When Google decided to prioritize shopping site results over informative discussions and other possible matches, the entire internet shifted its focus to producing affiliate-link-strewn "reviews" that would show up on Google's front door:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/24/naming-names/#prabhakar-raghavan

This was catnip to the kind of sociopath who a) owns a hedge-fund and b) hates journalists for being pain-in-the-ass, stick-in-the-mud sticklers for "truth" and "facts" and other impediments to the care and maintenance of a functional reality-distortion field. These dickheads started buying up beloved news sites and converting them to spam-farms, filled with garbage "reviews" and other Google-pleasing, affiliate-fee-generating nonsense.

(These news-sites were vulnerable to acquisition in large part thanks to Google, whose dominance of ad-tech lets it cream 51 cents off every ad dollar and whose mobile OS monopoly lets it steal 30 cents off every in-app subscriber dollar):

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/saving-news-big-tech

Now, the spam on these sites didn't write itself. Much to the chagrin of the tech/finance bros who bought up Sports Illustrated and other venerable news sites, they still needed to pay actual human writers to produce plausible word-salads. This was a waste of money that could be better spent on reverse-engineering Google's ranking algorithm and getting pride-of-place on search results pages:

https://housefresh.com/david-vs-digital-goliaths/

That's where AI comes in. Spicy autocomplete absolutely can't replace journalists. The planet-destroying, next-word-guessing programs from Openai and its competitors are incorrigible liars that require so much "supervision" that they cost more than they save in a newsroom:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/29/what-part-of-no/#dont-you-understand

But while a chatbot can't produce truthful and informative articles, it can produce bullshit – at unimaginable scale. Chatbots are the workers that hedge-fund wreckers dream of: tireless, uncomplaining, compliant and obedient producers of nonsense on demand.

That's why the capital class is so insatiably horny for chatbots. Chatbots aren't going to write Hollywood movies, but studio bosses hyperventilated at the prospect of a "writer" that would accept your brilliant idea and diligently turned it into a movie. You prompt an LLM in exactly the same way a studio exec gives writers notes. The difference is that the LLM won't roll its eyes and make sarcastic remarks about your brainwaves like "ET, but starring a dog, with a love plot in the second act and a big car-chase at the end":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/01/how-the-writers-guild-sunk-ais-ship/

Similarly, chatbots are a dream come true for a hedge fundie who ends up running a beloved news site, only to have to fight with their own writers to get the profitable nonsense produced at a scale and velocity that will guarantee a high Google ranking and millions in "passive income" from affiliate links.

One of the premier profitable nonsense companies is Advon, which helped usher in an era in which sites from Forbes to Money to USA Today create semi-secret "review" sites that are stuffed full of badly researched top-ten lists for products from air purifiers to cat beds:

https://housefresh.com/how-google-decimated-housefresh/

Advon swears that it only uses living humans to produce nonsense, and not AI. This isn't just wildly implausible, it's also belied by easily uncovered evidence, like its own employees' Linkedin profiles, which boast of using AI to create "content":

https://housefresh.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Advon-AI-LinkedIn.jpg

It's not true. Advon uses AI to produce its nonsense, at scale. In an excellent, deeply reported piece for Futurism, Maggie Harrison Dupré brings proof that Advon replaced its miserable human nonsense-writers with tireless chatbots:

https://futurism.com/advon-ai-content

Dupré describes how Advon's ability to create botshit at scale contributed to the enshittification of clients from Yoga Journal to the LA Times, "Us Weekly" to the Miami Herald.

All of this is very timely, because this is the week that Google finally bestirred itself to commence downranking publishers who engage in "site reputation abuse" – creating these SEO-stuffed fake reviews with the help of third parties like Advon:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/03/keyword-swarming/#site-reputation-abuse

(Google's policy only forbids site reputation abuse with the help of third parties; if these publishers take their nonsense production in-house, Google may allow them to continue to dominate its search listings):

https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2024/03/core-update-spam-policies#site-reputation

There's a reason so many people believed Hardin's racist "Tragedy of the Commons" hoax. We have an intuitive understanding that commons are fragile. All it takes is one monster to start shitting in the well where the rest of us get our drinking water and we're all poisoned.

The financial markets love these monsters. Mark Zuckerberg's key insight was that he could make billions by assembling vast dossiers of compromising, sensitive personal information on half the world's population without their consent, but only if he kept his costs down by failing to safeguard that data and the systems for exploiting it. He's like a guy who figures out that if he accumulates enough oily rags, he can extract so much low-grade oil from them that he can grow rich, but only if he doesn't waste money on fire-suppression:

https://locusmag.com/2018/07/cory-doctorow-zucks-empire-of-oily-rags/

Now Zuckerberg and the wealthy, powerful monsters who seized control over our commons are getting a comeuppance. The weak countermeasures they created to maintain the minimum levels of quality to keep their platforms as viable, going concerns are being overwhelmed by AI. This was a totally foreseeable outcome: the history of the internet is a story of bad actors who upended the assumptions built into our security systems by automating their attacks, transforming an assault that wouldn't be economically viable into a global, high-speed crime wave:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/24/automation-is-magic/

But it is possible for a community to maintain a commons. This is something Hardin could have discovered by studying actual commons, instead of inventing imaginary histories in which commons turned tragic. As it happens, someone else did exactly that: Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom:

https://www.onthecommons.org/magazine/elinor-ostroms-8-principles-managing-commmons/

Ostrom described how commons can be wisely managed, over very long timescales, by communities that self-governed. Part of her work concerns how users of a commons must have the ability to exclude bad actors from their shared resources.

When that breaks down, commons can fail – because there's always someone who thinks it's fine to shit in the well rather than walk 100 yards to the outhouse.

Enshittification is the process by which control over the internet moved from self-governance by members of the commons to acts of wanton destruction committed by despicable, greedy assholes who shit in the well over and over again.

It's not just the spammers who take advantage of Google's lazy incompetence, either. Take "copyleft trolls," who post images using outdated Creative Commons licenses that allow them to terminate the CC license if a user makes minor errors in attributing the images they use:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/24/a-bug-in-early-creative-commons-licenses-has-enabled-a-new-breed-of-superpredator/

The first copyleft trolls were individuals, but these days, the racket is dominated by a company called Pixsy, which pretends to be a "rights protection" agency that helps photographers track down copyright infringers. In reality, the company is committed to helping copyleft trolls entrap innocent Creative Commons users into paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars to use images that are licensed for free use. Just as Advon upends the economics of spam and deception through automation, Pixsy has figured out how to send legal threats at scale, robolawyering demand letters that aren't signed by lawyers; the company refuses to say whether any lawyer ever reviews these threats:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/13/an-open-letter-to-pixsy-ceo-kain-jones-who-keeps-sending-me-legal-threats/

This is shitting in the well, at scale. It's an online WMD, designed to wipe out the commons. Creative Commons has allowed millions of creators to produce a commons with billions of works in it, and Pixsy exploits a minor error in the early versions of CC licenses to indiscriminately manufacture legal land-mines, wantonly blowing off innocent commons-users' legs and laughing all the way to the bank:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/02/commafuckers-versus-the-commons/

We can have an online commons, but only if it's run by and for its users. Google has shown us that any "benevolent dictator" who amasses power in the name of defending the open internet will eventually grow too big to care, and will allow our commons to be demolished by well-shitters:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/04/teach-me-how-to-shruggie/#kagi

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/09/shitting-in-the-well/#advon

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

--

Catherine Poh Huay Tan (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/68166820@N08/49729911222/

Laia Balagueró (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/lbalaguero/6551235503/

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

[thebeeshaveknees]

Uhhhh so I decided my first attempt at a trolls fic would be a rewrite of the whole third movie because I'm Silly and I wanted to put JD x DD as like frenemies but romance but I ended up going heavy on the romance and it made me sad so I'm throwing it to the wolves for judgement

When John Dory had fallen into Delta Dawn's pod yet again, he hadn't expected to wake up with a ladybug on his chest.

He nudged her with his foot to wake her up. "Uh. DD."

She grumbled some alliterate curse at him, but rolled over and also saw the ladybug. "John, on my life if you don't get that vermin out of my bed I'll make you walk to the jailhouse in your underthings."

He picked it up, rolled out of bed and was about to put it on the floor when he got smacked upside the head. "Not on my floors neither', John, it's your woods' bug."

John sighed dramatically, waddling to the window with the bug held at arm's reach. "Could you get the window?"

Dawn opened the window latch and John tipped the insect up trying to fit it through, and he noticed the note. "It's a messenger ladybug?" He showed her the underside with eight squirmy legs and a note tied to it with a string. Dawn cringed but grabbed the note around its spindly legs and JD put it out the window. "Sheriff mail?"

She gave him a short look. "Yes, you snoop, now put on a shirt." She said, sitting herself down on the bed to read the letter.

JD threw on his leather jacket, before peeking over DD's shoulder at the note.

"Nothin' interesting, interloper." She teased, looking up at him. "A troll from Pop Village is missing, I'll up patrols for a little while, but it's already been a month - really, ladybugs for messengers.

Something in John's gut twisted, and he'd been following his gut for two decades without fail. "What's their name?"

She opened the letter again. "Branch. Dark blue hair, teal skin, dull coloured." She read, before looking back up at him.

John Dory froze. He felt his stomach twist in knots. "From Pop Village?"

"You look pale, darlin."

"Did it say anything about his disappearance?"

She put her hand on his shoulder, but went back to reading the letter. "Says he was taken from Pop Village by something, it left a trail to the big folks' road but no farther." She looked at him. "You know the troll?"

"He's my brother." John blurted before he could really think it through, leaning into Delta, eyeing the cardstock in her hand. "My baby brother."

"I'm sorry, darlin." She said very softly, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "When are you leaving?"

"As soon as the market opens, I need to stock up."

"Any ideas where he could be?"

"Not yet, but it's Bitty, I'm sure I could… Maybe I could ask my other brothers for help."

DD sighed, but put her head on his. "Should I come along, interloper?"

JD let his eyelids droop. "I wish, but it seems a traveler can only ever chase the Dawn."

She snorted. "How on earth did I fall for a poet?" She pulled John further into her side. "Don't go chasing what's waiting for you, cowboy."

"If I didn't, how would I keep you on your hooves, Sheriff?"

She sighed, and both just enjoyed the warmth for a moment. "Be safe, you hear?"

"As safe as I usually am." John replied.

They waited for the market to open, for John to leave, in warm silence.

[thesims3help]

Masterlist - Gameplay enhancing mods pt 2. [100+ Sims 3 mods!]

Part 1 || This is everything that didn't fit in part 1.

Celebrity:

Testers Wanted: Harder Celebrity Difficulty & More (Late Night)

Food/Cooking/Eating/Drinking:

Cooking and Ingredients Overhaul + More Nectar Ingredients

Let them eat cake! - Non-Birthday Birthday Cakes

Toddler Food Bowl

Quicker Cooking & Eating OverRide

Breakfast At Twinsimming's (Update 7/8/23) - No Cooking Overhaul Version

Baby Food Default Replacement

Pasteurize Milk Mod (Update 7/18/23) - Tunable Hunger Motive Delta

Buy Takeout And Order Food At Restaurants

Nectar Combinatorics

No More Acrobatics! - bartending animations tweaks

Better Bartending!

Eat & Put Away Your Leftovers

Coffee Ingredients Made Choosable

Gain Cooking Skill Faster At Work!

Winter Holiday Cookies

Quicker Cooking & Eating OverRide

Pets:

Pets Don't Eat Plants

Bathe Animals Correctly

[Pets] Improved Beloved Pet, and other Animal-Related Traits - 1.63 - 1.67 by Nona Mena (simlogical.com)

[Pets] Improved Relationship Gain with Pets by Nona Mena (simlogical.com)

New Pet Genetics - No More Skinny Clones

Minor Pets Won't Run Away

Dogs collecting shinies fills Destruction motive

Cats stalking for crawlies fills Scratch motive

University:

Lost & Found: Honors Scholarship (Plus Other Aptitude Test Tweaks)

Write Scholarships for Money

New Scholarships (Update 10/26/23) - Talent Scholarships & No Store Version

Attend University Online (Update 10/26/23) - Wish Fix

University Life Visual Fixes (Send Insulting Text, Texting Idle, Heat of the Moment Kiss)

Studying Tweaks

Jobs/skills:

Check For Work In Rabbitholes

Observatory Assistant -- Part-Time Astronomy Job

Flower Arranging - Interaction and Skill

Knitting for TS3 - Interaction and Skill

Writing, Painting, Gardening, Tinkering More Fun

Study Skills Online V37

Yoga Mod (Update 3/1/23) - New Features!

Scribbling Pad + Buzzler's Scribbling Pad - Fixed

TS2 > TS3 Functional Sewing table [BETA V2.0.0]

Programming Skill

Investment Mod (Update 9/3/23) - MultiTab Compatible

Lost&Found: Stock Market

Sim State - The Sims 3 Open For Business Mini Expansion v1.4

Layoff Mod

Ultimate Careers (Version 4.3)

Objects:

Functional Washboard - Sims 4 Conversion

Harvestable Tree Default Replacement

Same Energy Gain For Every Bed

Super Hampers -- Automatic Laundry Pick Up (Plus Bigger Hampers) by Nona Mena (simlogical.com)

Spring Harvest And CookBook

Harvestable Flowers

Better Hoverboards

Canning Station Overhaul

Build/Buy:

One More Slot Please! (with vertical shifting)

[TS3] Catalog Search Mod | Patreon

Add Any Lot Size

TS3 HD Textures Series - Terrain Pack [UPDATE: Fixed road tiling]

No more ugly snowprints

Builder Stuff

Reworked & Improved EA Lights

More Light Coming Through Windows

Other:

Write Thank You Notes Fix

Futuristic Transportation Charge

Advice Social Interactions

Have Sim Arrested Mod

No (or fewer) automatic memories (with custom tool to make your own mod) Edited 01/16/2014

nraas - OnceRead

nraas - Woohooer

Retuned Attraction System

More Traits for All Ages

Lot Population Mod

No Social Groups

Random Sim Fixes 2.0

SetHour Cheat

Let Me Take a Selfie (Update 9/3/23) - Pets Fix

Sunscreen

Burglars Steal Simoleons Too

Tooth Fairy Mod

Dirty Laundry Mod (Update 8/8/23) - Maid & Butler Tweaks

Acne Mod (Update 7/22/23) - Version 2.2

Enhanced Hospitals(Updated 30/1/23)

More Senarios Upon Moving

The Journal Mod

[Public Beta] The Randomizer Mod - REWORKED!

Moar Interactions

DouglasVeiga's Dancer Service

Aging Manager

No Car Relationships

Lightning Enhanced Mod (Lightning in the Sky and Strikes)

Realistically Slower Cars, Taxis, and Bikes

Take Sims To Court - Sue Sims, Become a Lawyer, Have Court Weddings and More!

Social Clubs Mod (+ banking) - Grow Memberships, Push Activities, Make Bank Accounts and More!

Deep Conversations

Sleep on the couch, new interaction

o violet on Tumblr - Pure CAS lighting mod

Reduce/Remove Lag caused by Houseboats

[thewriteroflucifenia]

Ideas from the Fanfiction Nursery

The Domestic Battles of Juri Han

Juri dealing with domestic bullshit in the most chaotic way possible.

Set in the same continuity of The Spider and the Bee, but during her relationship with Crimson Viper.

Juri Fights the HOA - Crimson's neighborhood has a really shitty HOA and Juri decides to fight the power by throwing a massive party where she and the other fed up neighbors rev their engines, play loud music, and paint their fences garish colors. She also vandalizes the HOA leader's fence and car, giving them pink and blue cheetah print. This all started because they started giving them fines over the pride flag on the porch, then Juri's bike, then the trash, then the length of the grass, and Juri isn't patient enough for malicious compliance.

Juri Fights the School Board - Juri doesn't approve of the School Board's ruling on local book bans and decides to be a menace about it.

Juri Fights River Creek Methodist Church- Crimson is trying to kiss up to her boss by going to the same church as him, and it would really help if Lauren would get baptized for her, but Lauren gets cold feet so Juri decides to step in and pretend to have a religious epiphany for the sake of her girlfriend's promotion. The baptism is held in the pool of a neighborhood full of mansions and is decorated with fancy statues and waterfalls. The line "Lauren, Mommy needs you to suck it up, talk about Jesus, and go get dunked in that bougie pool by the preacher" gets said.

Juri Fights the County

Juri Fights the Manager of a Local Hardware Store

Working Title - Why you shouldn't kidnap Cammy's family members

Set before SF2 when Cammy's 18. She's living with her new, adoptive family, got literally no idea where she spawned from other than vaguely in Eastern Europe, and she's just kinda training for her career working for her adoptive father.

She and George are stuck slumming it at the house while everyone else is on a mission they ain't qualified for.

Cammy's bummed her family is away during the anniversary of her adoption, with the exception of George Ginzu, who's like "we should go do something fun in town"

Famous last words, he gets abducted by Shadaloo. Cammy's fucking pissed.

She's playing Rambo now. She tracks their asses down to break out her little brother and give everyone hell.

The Dolls recognize her and become horrified that she's alive, but not responding to her own name or recognizing them. It's like she's been brainwashed or something!

Juri is mad Akuma gets to Bison before she does, proceeds to sulk all the way to SF4.

Rather depressing oneshot about Decapre mourning Cammy after her "death" between Alpha 3 and SF2.

I kinda just want an excuse to write backstories I came up with for minor characters like the Dolls, Lauren, and Delta Red.

Why Marz was so willing to yeet herself to death

She fell in love with Rashid's friend, friend got the ax, now she's decided to be a Sister Repentia and just fucking die.

Rashid's friend is rewritten to be his sister

She and Marz were both massive Warhammer nerds and decide they'll meet again in space.

Marz imagines herself and all her loved ones as Sisters of Battle and Space Marines watching the Imperium crumble before she flatlines and she smiles.

Fuck yeah, she gonna play Orks in the next life.

Lauren and Li-Fen Try Wrestling

These two rascals hunt down Poison and try to pitch themselves as wrestlers

It's a weirdly dramatic plotline

Li-Fen's character is a pirate who's parents were brutally slaughtered by Lauren's character so she turned to piracy and stock market fraud to fill the void. She's hellbent on revenge until she realizes Lauren's character is kinda hot.

Lauren's character is a super soldier with cat ears that is totally not her GI Joe oc. She works for totally not Cobra but secretly thinks clubbing baby seals kinda sucks, but they match five percent to her 401k so she's stuck morality be damned.

Their characters are in a situationship and most of their wrestling is the girls waxing poetically on the meaning of life and love while body slamming each other.

They're just larping at poor Poison who can't find a way to leave discreetly, she's just trapped with these hyper teenagers who really want to tell her all about their OCS.

[rawberry-preserves]

Helloooo ZE fandom! Remember this post I made back in October? Here's your explanations!

Spoilers abound for all games!!

Secret Old man is a plot twist 3 different times

1st secret Old man: Tenmyouji being Junpei

2nd secret Old man: Sigma not knowing he's in his old body in VLR

3rd secret Old man: Delta's existence in ZTD

“If two guys were on the moon and one killed the other with a moon rock”

Character becomes a Schrödinger's cat in 2 games.

Akane in 999 and VLR

Fireman third wheels two people with incinerator trauma

C Team, would also like to point out that not once do Akane or Junpei mention the incinerator (or even joke about it) around Carlos

Santa is a punk that's into the stock market

Someone's dismembered Arm is microwaved

Junpei’s refrigerated arm is essentially put in a microwave to solve the last part of the Pantry in ZTD. Specifically, it had to be warmed to be open enough to activate the palm scanner

Someone decides killing ¾ of the population is best course oaction to kill 1 dude.

Delta's motive for releasing radical 6 was to kill an unknown terrorist that would otherwise kill the entire population on earth

At least one character gets their hand chopped off in each game

VLR and ZTD are easiest to explain. Sigma uses the 9 door to chop his hand off and prevent his bracelet from injecting him in Quark end (also has his hand chopped off by the other characters in Sigma’s bad end). Carlos looses his hand after being attacked by Akane with the Chainsaw in the “Suspicion” fragment. 

999 was less obvious but in the Axe end, toward the very end, Junpei sees Clover walking off with his bracelet, since he was still conscious when she left, this leaves two options. First being that his heart stopped and allowed his bracelet to come off while still conscious, OR if Clover didn't want to wait for him to die and just chopped his hand off before leaving him to bleed out.

A character gets injected with a lethal poison from a needle on a book cover.

This one is the fake answer!!

I actually asked the Uchikoshi's Somnium discord server for a fake answer and this is what I was given first!

A lot of y'all appear to go tripped up on this and that might be because of the Bio Lab in ZTD. Part of the puzzle involves Sean, Mira, and Eric getting their fingers picked on something (don't remember exactly what rn but it was definitely not a book), but this was set up for the game's decision regarding Radical 6 (75% fatality rate) and Fanatic Bio R (100% fatality rate).

This decision was based on Newcomb's Paradox

Ice Cream server has one of the highest kill counts in the series.

Look at any route where Eric finds a gun, when not counting the Zeros, Eric has killed more characters directly than most of the other cast. (I think the only other characters in the higher range aside from Eric are Mira, Ace, and Dio)

I have a Google doc I've been working on with a list of rules for a solid kill count. Hopefully I will post that by itself soon.

Every Event in the Series happens because of a Snail.

Saw someone in the tags say they refuse to believe the snail caused 999 and I hate to break it to you but in the Apocalypse fragment in ZTD, Delta clearing states that if the initial incident that killed 6 people, including Akane’s parents, didn't happen, she wouldn't have gotten involved in the first Nonary game that Ace ran that was covered in 999.

Would also like to note that it was confirmed in VLR that Ace is a member of Free the Soul. How much he knows about the snail is debatable.

A character canonically has a 9” dick (18” when horny)

If youve been in the fandom for over 6 months, I think you know what this is

If there is anything else you would like clarification on, feel free to reply to this post or send me an ask!!

[alpinefury]

Free City of New Salamanca

New Salamanca is a port city on the southern coast of North Hesperida, originally founded in the early 17th century by Castilians.

New Salamanca occupies a crucial position on the lower Mishisipone river, representing the last port on the river navigable by heavy draft ships. Almost all goods trafficked down the length of the Mishisipone river eventually make their way here. It is the only European founded city on the Gulf of Hesperida's entire northern coast.

Should one find oneself in New Salamanca it is very easy to eat well there. It is a favoured port of call for many Hesperidine and European vessels, with well stocked markets featuring all sorts of provender from across the Hesperides, but the wider regio of New Salamanca and its allies is also well provisioned, not only with maize and prodigious hauls of seafood, but also with rice, hesperidine grape, and batat nuts, among many others. The city's 'abiernas do their best to combine the multitude of culinary influences mixing in New Salamanca, to great success.

The site upon which New Salamanca presently sits was formerly a boundary between at least two Hesperidine nations, which according to local legend and backwater history was marked with a standing red pole, a practice sometime associated with the Mascogine speaking peoples. The Mishisipone river itself is a great artery that links the very heart of North Hesperida with its south-eastern coast, and there is plentiful evidence of contact and trade between the cultures along its banks long before Europeans ever set foot upon the continent. The great Mantac mound to modern New Salamanca's west was already built in this earlier period.

Thus, though no city occupied what would become New Salamanca, the region was certainly no empty quarter beforehand, but a rich, well managed landscape, whose peoples held complex court. That the city was founded at all was only due to the largesse of the Hesperidine peoples of the region, in part due to the sorry state of those who sought to settle there. And the story of those settlers had been very sorry indeed.

During King Juan IV's reign in Castile a somewhat ill-considered scheme was hatched to both leech some of Castile's domestic turmoil and increase the kingdom's prestige when reckoned against its neighbour, and rival, the Crown of Aragon. Goffredo d'Escors, the expedition's commander, was only given limited resources, as King Juan didn't want to give the impression of an armed expedition directed against Aragon. This was the inauspicious start to what soon became a complete misadventure. After a series of disasters, including being fired upon by Kuban coastal batteries, the arrival of d'Escors' bedraggled survivors into the mouth of the Mishisipone delta in April 1612 was the only good stroke of fortune they had experienced.

There was never any question of the new arrivals attempting to conquer or otherwise subjugate their Hesperidine rescuers. Whilst the expedition's gratitude towards their new neighbours was genuine, particularly after the Citimasha people not only helped to feed the starving Castilians but showed them how to grow Hesperidine crops, any remaining temptation to become a latter day Alexander was snuffed out by the twelve years it took for any Castilian ship to find them. New arrivals soon started to trickle into New Salamanca, little more than a palisaded village at this time. These new arrivals did not only come from Castile. New Salamanca's relative isolation, coupled with Castile's hands-off governance, made it an ideal destination for certain Europeans fleeing religious persecution or other forms of hardship.

A substantial number of the original founders of New Salamanca had married into local Hesperidine nations, and more than a few of the new arrivals did the same. Martim de Sousa, a Portuguese trader said in 1638, that he recognised very little in the developing settlement as 'evoking a purely Christian character'. This was meant to be an invective against New Salamanca, but it accurately reflected both its principles of religious toleration and cultural diversity. Indeed, New Salamanca was increasingly untethered from Castile, who had provided the colony with only intermittent financial support. This resulted in the growing settlement briefly soliciting Aragonese financial interest, which allowed New Salamanca to complete its first stone fortifications in 1645. Whilst this resulted in Castile banning Aragonese traders from New Salamanca in retaliation, it succeeded in its short term aim of acquiring resources for the town, and in drawing loose Castile's purse strings, at least for a time.

When Castile's attention and finances were inevitably drawn elsewhere once more in the 1660s, New Salamanca turned to another, somewhat unlikely backer; the United Commonwealths. New Salamanca's religious tolerance aligned with the principles of the U.C, but the latter had spent much of the past century preying on Catholic-owned colonies, and New Salamanca was still at least a nominal demesne of the King of Castile. However, the U.C was in no position to maintain any kind of garrison or governance over the city. Backing the city's continued quasi-independence and seeing how the dice fell was a more promising enterprise. This secured the city's mercantile future, but also enabled the purchase of a few obsolete warships. These ships' nominal purpose was the prevention of piracy, but they also decreased the city's nominal dependence on the king of Castile yet further.

Matters would come to a head in 1686. King Bermudo IV was facing a Castilian financial crisis that threw the New Salamanca situation into sharp relief. Either the crown had to restore a Castilian monopoly on the city, due to the proportion of its trade ending up in other European states, or abandon the expensive ambition of the colony altogether. King Bermudo made his choice, and sent an armed expedition under the command of Roque de Menga. This was the first time Castile had ever attempted to mount a cross-continental military expedition, with predictably disastrous results. The expedition, its forces much reduced by disease and one sunken ship, was forced to make for the Aragonese port of La Mercè on Nema island. The Aragonese governor, Ferran Geribert, essentially strongarmed de Menga into accepting Aragonese 'assistance', which would have likely led to New Salamanca passing into the hands of the Aragonese crown.

However, New Salamanca had not been idle in the intervening years. New Salamanca had further fortified the Mishisipone Delta. Its batteries and small navy were enough to prevent any realistic attempt at a sea-led assault. It had also begun to conduct formal treaties of defense, at times even alliance, with many neighbouring Hesperidine peoples, most of whom already had friendly relations with the city. Those Aragonese-Castilian forces that landed on the coast found themselves under near constant arrow and musket fire. The invaders found themselves forced to retreat within an hour, leaving numerous casualties behind them. Among them was Ferran Geribert. His death was was the harbinger of a revolt against Aragonese rule on Nema within less than a month.

The battle marked the beginning of de facto independence for New Salamanca, along with the foundation of the Mishisipone Confederacy. The Castilian crown could not simply keep throwing expensive expeditions across the Atlantic in the hopes of recapturing what was, at the end of it all, simply one successful merchant town. New Salamanca's independence was formally recognised in 1697 in the same Treaty of Lorraine that brought Europe's Wars of Religion to their end. It was the first European-founded settlement to have its independence diplomatically recognised in such a fashion. It would not be the last.

Whilst New Salamanca remains free to conduct its own foreign affairs, it is also a component of the Mishisipone Confederacy, acting as the Confederacy's main commercial hub and sometime political capital. As trade along the Mishisipone has increased over the past century and a half, so also has it increased across the Atlantic, not only between the Hesperides and Europe but between the Hesperides and most other continents of the world. New Salamanca gained its independence as a bustling market town, but has become a substantial city every bit the equal of its European peers. Both the city and the Confederacy have grown prosperous and powerful, and are now a crucial component of the Haudenosaunee's diplomatic wall arrayed against any newly introduced European 'interest' in North Hesperida (and, where possible, the Hesperides as a whole). New Salamanca has recently become a major exporter of Japanese goods. These originate from the Tokugawa possessions on the west coast of North Hesperida, officially termed Koganeyama Domain by the shogunate. These include both the growing agricultural bounty of Koganeyama proper and Japanese textiles. This has added yet further to the complex cultural layers that make up New Salamanca's population. The city is also home to the largest Jewish population in the Hesperides, the only Hussite knightly order to have arisen from the Iberian peninsula, and the largest urban population of indigenous Hesperidines north of Meshiko.

[takingforward]

Learn Option Trading with Stock Market Course Online

Introduction

Stock Market Option Trading is an excellent entry point if you are curious about expanding your stock market knowledge and enhancing your trading skills. It offers flexibility and helps you manage risks effectively. At Taking Forward Stock Market Training, we are here to guide you through the complexities of option trading. In this guide, we will cover essential strategies and show how our option trading course or online share market courses can help you become a confident trader.

What is Option Trading?

Option trading differs from regular stock trading. An option is an agreement that grants you the right to purchase or sell a stock at a predetermined price within a defined period. There are two types of option:

Call Option: You purchase this if you believe the stock price will rise, allowing you to buy the stock at a fixed price.

Put Option: You buy this if you expect the stock price to fall, giving you the right to sell the stock at a fixed price.

Learning to use these option effectively is essential and is one of the first topics covered in any good option trading course.

Understanding Basic of Option and other definitions:

When starting with option, you’ll encounter several important terms:

Strike Price: The price at which you can buy or sell the stock using your option.

Expiration Date: The deadline for deciding whether to exercise your option.

Premium: The price you pay to acquire the option contract.

These key terms are essential for grasping option trading strategies, so it’s vital to familiarize yourself with them if you’re serious about trading option.

Option Chain Analysis: Your Map for Option Trading

An option chain lists all available option contracts for a specific stock, showing strike prices, expiration dates, and premiums. Traders use option chain analysis to determine which option to buy or sell, helping them compare available choices and identify the best opportunities.

For instance, if you expect a stock to rise, you might use an option chain to find an affordable call option with a favorable expiration date. Learning to read and analyze option chains is crucial for making smart trades and is typically covered in detail in stock market courses.

The Greeks: Your Guide to Option Pricing

Understanding the Option Greeks—Delta, Gamma, Theta, Vega, and Rho—is crucial for option trading for beginners. These factors influence an option’s price and help you make informed decisions:

Delta: Measures how much the price of an option will change with a stock price change.

Gamma: Indicates how fast Delta changes as the stock price changes.

Theta: Shows how much value an option loses over time (time decay).

Vega: Shows how much the price of an option fluctuates with changes in market volatility.

Rho: Measures how much an option’s price changes with interest rate fluctuations.

These Greeks offer valuable insights into the risks and possible benefits associated with your option trading. For instance, Theta helps you understand potential losses from holding onto an option too long, which is essential for timing your trades.

Option Buying Strategy: Leveraging the Market

The option buying strategy involves purchasing call or put option with the expectation that the stock price will move in your favor. This allows you to control more shares at a lower upfront cost than buying the stock directly. However, if the stock doesn’t move as expected, you risk losing the entire premium paid for the option. For example, if you believe a stock will rise, you can buy a call option. If the stock price increases, you can exercise the option, buy the stock at the lower strike price, and profit. This strategy is popular among beginners and is taught in option trading courses.

Option Writing Strategy: Earning Premiums

The option writing strategy, or selling option, involves selling option contracts to earn premiums. If you sell a put option and the stock price stays above the strike price, the buyer won’t exercise the option, allowing you to keep the premium. However, this strategy comes with risks; if the stock price moves against you, you might have to buy or sell the stock at a loss. It’s often discussed in advanced share market courses online and should only be used by traders who understand the risks involved.

Hedging with Option: Protecting Your Investments

Hedging is one of the most important tools in option trading strategies. It’s a way to protect your investments by reducing potential losses. For example, if you own a stock and are worried its price might fall, you can buy a put option as insurance. If the stock’s price drops, the gains from the put option will offset your losses from the stock.

Hedging strategies are particularly useful in volatile markets. Learning how to hedge effectively can help you minimize losses while still benefiting from potential gains in the stock market.

Key Option Trading Strategies to Know

Covered Call: Own the stock and sell a call option to collect premium and potentially sell at a higher price.

Straddle Strategy: Buy both a call and put option at the same strike price to benefit from significant price moves in either direction.

Iron Condor: Sell a call and put option while buying others at more extreme prices, best for expecting price stability.

Protective Put: Hold a stock and buy a put option to guard against price drops.

These strategies are fundamental in option trading courses and vital for your trading toolkit.

The Value of Taking Stock Market Courses

If you want to learn option trading, taking stock market courses online can help you a lot. Here’s why:

Structured Learning: Courses guide you step-by-step from basics to advanced strategies.

Expert Guidance: Learn from professional traders who share valuable insights.

Updated Information: Stay current with the latest strategies and market trends.

Conclusion

Option trading opens up a world of possibilities for traders, offering flexibility, leverage, and risk management strategies. Whether you’re looking to enhance your trading skills or just getting started, mastering option trading strategies is key to becoming a successful trader. Taking an option trading course or enrolling in share market courses online can help you gain the knowledge you need to navigate this complex but rewarding part of the stock market.

Call to Action

Want to improve your trading skills? Join Taking Forward for stock market and option trading courses. Visit us at https://www.takingforward.com or call +91 8225022022. Begin your trading journey now.

Also Read This Blog:- Intraday (Equity) Trading for Beginners

Top Stock Market Courses in Bhopal: Learn Online and Start Trading

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FAQs

1. How to do option trading?

To do option trading, you need to open a brokerage account, understand the basics of option (calls and puts), analyze the market, and then buy or sell option contracts based on your strategy.

2. What is option trading in stock market?

Option trading in the stock market lets you buy or sell contracts to either purchase (call) or sell (put) a stock at a set price within a certain period, without any requirement to do so.

3. What stock market means?

The stock market is where people buy and sell company shares to make money or invest in businesses.

4. Is option trading profitable?

Yes, option trading can be profitable, but it involves risks. To understand strategies better and learn more, you can enroll in Taking Forward Stock Market Training free online course, perfect for beginners.

[digital-marketing-services-dms]

AI Option Trading Strategies: Key Concepts and Effective Techniques For Beginners

Welcome to the Quantum Edge AI channel. In this video, I am going to discuss AI option trading strategies. You will also learn the key concepts and effective techniques for beginners.

These advanced options trading concepts, particularly option skew and how it influences trading decisions during events like a presidential election. You'll learn to capitalize on market volatility and apply a delta-neutral trading strategy effectively.

#quantumedgeai #optionstrading #stocktrading #ai #trading #stocks #stocktrading #stockmarket

[101distributorsga]

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[starseedfxofficial]

The Hidden Science Behind Staying Zen in a Chaotic Market Imagine you're riding a roller coaster—the kind that jerks you around so violently that you question every life choice leading up to this moment. That's the Forex market on a bad day. But what if I told you there's a way to turn this wild ride into a scenic, predictable stroll in the park? Welcome to the world of price oscillators and delta neutral strategies. These aren't just buzzwords. They're like that secret family recipe—a little-known mix that turns average ingredients into pure magic. Before you close this tab, let me assure you, I’m not just serving up some dry old theories. Instead, we’re diving into next-level tactics that most traders overlook. And trust me, if you've ever felt like your trades were about as predictable as a cat at bath time, this one’s for you. Mastering the Price Oscillator: Why You Need to Be in the Know The price oscillator isn't just another flashy tool to impress your trading buddies. No, it’s like that mysterious uncle who always knows what stocks are about to pop—it helps you identify momentum shifts before the rest of the world catches on. But let’s clear something up: a price oscillator won't magically make bad trades good. It's not like wearing your lucky socks to a casino. Instead, it's about giving you an edge by showing when the market is overheated or when it's prime for a bounce-back. Think of it as having a lie detector strapped to the market—each oscillation reveals the truth behind the price movement. What’s even more intriguing? Using it alongside delta neutral strategies to ride that sweet wave without worrying about every tiny fluctuation—we’ll get there in a minute. The Real Scoop: Delta Neutral Strategies (a.k.a. Stop Worrying About Market Direction) If you've ever felt like the market has a personal vendetta against your trades, delta neutral might be your best ally. Most traders live in fear of big market moves. With delta neutral, you set up your positions so you really don’t care whether EURUSD skyrockets or nosedives—you're in it for the consistency. It's kind of like betting on both teams in a game and still walking away with a prize. So, how does it work with price oscillators? While the oscillator pinpoints your entry and exit points, delta neutral makes sure you don't lose sleep over unforeseen market tantrums. It's like having an airbag—sure, you’re not planning to crash, but it’s nice knowing you’re covered if you do. Why Most Traders Fail (and How You Can Outwit Them) Most traders fail because they try to fight the market. They throw themselves in headfirst, thinking they can time every move perfectly. That’s like trying to swim against a riptide—exhausting and usually unsuccessful. Here’s where the magic of our price oscillator and delta neutral duo shines. Imagine you’re using a price oscillator to gauge market sentiment, like RSI or MACD. Most traders will see the signals and try to predict the next move—up or down—ignoring that the market can pivot at any moment. But when you combine this with a delta neutral setup, you’re playing both sides. You’re taking those oscillator signals and placing your positions in a way that keeps your delta—your exposure to market direction—at zero. This ninja tactic lets you profit from volatility itself, rather than relying on a specific directional bet. Hidden Patterns That Drive Market Moves (Shh, Don’t Tell Everyone) Let’s get to the insider stuff—the hidden patterns only a few traders notice. With a price oscillator, you can often spot subtle divergences before they become headline news. If the price keeps rising, but the oscillator starts losing momentum, it’s a sign. It’s like that uneasy feeling when your Uber driver misses the third turn—something just isn’t right. Combining this with a delta neutral strategy lets you profit regardless of the eventual direction. When divergences occur, setting up your delta neutral play allows you to catch profits whether the price corrects as predicted or keeps defying gravity for a bit longer. This kind of hidden knowledge is what keeps seasoned traders calm while others panic. The Step-by-Step Playbook: Merging Price Oscillator and Delta Neutral Like a Pro Ready to put these into practice? Here’s your quick-start guide: - Identify Your Oscillator: Choose a reliable price oscillator like the MACD or RSI—you need something that doesn’t just yell “Buy!” and “Sell!” but whispers market trends before they happen. - Spot the Divergence: Look for divergences between the oscillator and the price. Think of this as catching a lie in real-time—price says one thing, but the oscillator knows better. - Set Up Delta Neutral Positions: Use options or other hedging techniques to create delta neutral setups. It’s like ordering your burger with a side of fries AND a salad—you’re covered no matter the outcome. - Stay Balanced: Adjust your positions based on the market’s whims, keeping that delta as close to zero as possible. You’re not trying to out-muscle the market; you’re flowing with it. - Manage Your Exit: Use the price oscillator to determine the best time to exit your positions. It’s not just about getting in—a clean exit separates the pros from the rookies. An Expert Opinion: What the Pros Say According to George Lane, the creator of the Stochastic Oscillator, "The key to success is waiting for confirmation.” Essentially, what Lane hints at is aligning technical tools to manage risks effectively—exactly what we’re doing here with delta neutral setups. Another expert, John Hull, an authority on derivatives and options pricing, points out that "Managing delta neutral is like continuously balancing on a seesaw." It’s about stability—staying centered while others are off-kilter. The combined power of these strategies helps you stay balanced while profiting from movements others fear. Emerging Trends: Why This Strategy is the Future of Smart Forex Trading The Forex market is evolving—no longer just about gut feelings or even advanced chart analysis. Modern traders are leaning into complex hedging strategies, and delta neutral is the next big thing. Why? Because it’s not just about making a lucky call; it’s about making consistent gains through calculated risk management. Price oscillators add precision to your entries and exits, while delta neutral strategies help weather any storm. Think of it like pairing the best GPS with a bulletproof SUV—you’re not just getting where you need to go; you’re doing it without the bumps and bruises. Why This Forgotten Strategy Outsmarted the Pros Delta neutral isn’t a flashy strategy that day traders flock to—it requires patience and a keen understanding of risk. Yet, those who master it often outsmart even the best directional traders. They’re not worried about guessing right; they’re playing a different game altogether—one where volatility is the friend, not the enemy. For example, a case study from last year showed that traders using delta neutral strategies combined with oscillators outperformed those who were strictly directional by nearly 18%. The difference? When the market flipped unexpectedly, delta neutral traders stayed in profit while others took a loss. Conclusion: Turning Chaos Into Opportunity The Forex market is unpredictable—and that’s putting it lightly. But by leveraging price oscillators with delta neutral strategies, you’re not just participating in the chaos—you’re thriving in it. Remember, it’s not about being right every time; it’s about positioning yourself to profit regardless. Take this strategy, master it, and watch as the market’s wild ride turns into a steady stroll to your goals. Got questions or ready to dive deeper? Drop a comment below or check out our free resources to take your trading to the next level—let's get those wins together! —————– Image Credits: Cover image at the top is AI-generated Read the full article

[blockinsider]

Retail Bitcoin Frenzy: JPMorgan Predicts What’s on the Horizon

Key Points

JPMorgan’s retail sentiment indicator suggests a frenzy in the Bitcoin market following the US Presidential elections.

Bitcoin-holder MicroStrategy sees bullish action, with its stock trading at a premium over Bitcoin.

Following the victory of Donald Trump in the US Presidential elections, Bitcoin and other altcoins have seen a significant surge.

However, JPMorgan has indicated that the market is in a state of frenzy and investors should prepare for potential volatility.

Record High Retail Sentiment Score for Bitcoin

JPMorgan’s retail sentiment score for Bitcoin soared to a record high of 4 shortly after Bitcoin’s price reached an all-time high of over $93,000 last week.

This surge was accompanied by strong inflows in US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs.

JPMorgan’s equity research team noted that the demand for Bitcoin was especially strong following the election results, with the sentiment score for Bitcoin-related products soaring to a multi-sigma high.

In the latter half of the week, the outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs increased significantly.

This, coupled with high Bitcoin miner selling, resulted in the Bitcoin price dropping to $87,000 before recovering to $90,000 over the weekend.

This indicates a tense battle between the market bulls and bears.

MicroStrategy’s Bullish Action

MicroStrategy, a major Bitcoin holder, has also seen a significant rally, with its stock hitting fresh all-time highs.

The MSTR stock has been trading at a substantial premium over Bitcoin for a while and continues to be in demand due to the company’s aggressive Bitcoin purchases.

The options market linked to MicroStrategy displayed an unprecedented bullish sentiment, reflecting the kind of intense trading typically seen near market peaks.

On Wednesday, the one-year 25-delta put-call skew plummeted to -26.7%, indicating that call options were trading at a significantly higher premium compared to puts.

Although the skew improved to -11.8% by Friday, it still shows a strong bias for upside bets.

Bitcoin calls have been trading at a much higher premium to the puts, but the differential has been slowly narrowing.

[accapitalmarket]

US CPI rebounds, Wall Street mixed

US stocks ended lower on Thursday as inflation and weekly jobless data came in stronger than expected, possibly denting hopes for further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year.

The headline US consumer price index (CPI) was up 2.4% year-on-year in September, down from 2.5% in August but above the consensus forecast of 2.3%. Month-on-month CPI was up 0.2%, the same as in the previous month, against forecasts for 0.1% growth.

Core CPI rose at 0.3% month-on-month in September, taking the annualised increase to 3.3%, well above estimates for 2.3% growth.

In a separate report, US jobless claims rose by 33,000 to 258,000 for the week ending October 5, the highest reading for a year and above estimates of 230,000.

In the aftermath of the data, Atlanta Fed President said that he was open to downshifting to a quarter point rate cut or may even support an unchanged decision should the recent stronger inflation and labor market data persist. Meanwhile, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said he sees gradual rate cuts over the next year-and-a-half, and the New York Fed’s John Williams said he still sees rate reductions ahead.

At the New York close, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrials Average was down 0.1% at 42,454, while the broader S&P 500 index shed 0.2% at 5,780, and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.05% to 18,282.

SPX500 H4

Among the movers, Delta Air Lines fell 1.2% after unveiling current-quarter earnings guidance that missed analysts’ expectations, as it contends with the fallout from a summer computer network outage and pricing pressures from overcapacity. Other airlines also fell back, with American Airlines shedding 1.4%.

Tesla lost 1.0% as investors awaited the electric vehicles maker’s event to unveil its robotaxi later on Thursday. And Advanced Micro Devices dropped 4.0% as the chipmaker kicked off its artificial intelligence (AI) event to showcase its latest plans including new products to compete with rival Nvidia, which itself advanced 1.6%.

NAS100 H4

Also on the up, GXO Logistics leaped 14.1% after news reports suggested that the company is mulling a sale of the business.

The third-quarter earnings season shifts into gear on Friday, with major banks JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of New York Mellon all set to report third-quarter earnings. Meanwhile peers Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citigroup will report their earnings next week, together with the likes of Johnson & Johnson and Walgreens Boots.

Among commodities, oil prices rose as Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida, although it largely avoided oil infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, with supply worries already heightened over a potential escalation in the conflict in the Middle East.

UK Brent crude jumped 3.7% to $79.40 a barrel, while US WTI was 3.5% higher at $75.77 a barrel. Both contracts had fallen by around 5% over the previous two sessions.

Disclaimer:

The information contained in this market commentary is of general nature only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You are strongly recommended to seek independent financial advice before making any investment decisions.

Trading margin forex and CFDs carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Investors could experience losses in excess of total deposits. You do not have ownership of the underlying assets. AC Capital Market (V) Ltd is the product issuer and distributor. Please read and consider our Product Disclosure Statement and Terms and Conditions, and fully understand the risks involved before deciding to acquire any of the financial products provided by us.

The content of this market commentary is owned by AC Capital Market (V) Ltd. Any illegal reproduction of this content will result in immediate legal action.

[jamesvince9898]

Puff Parlor: Your Premier Smoke Shop Experience for Vape, Kratom, CBD, and More!

Introduction:

Welcome to Puff Parlor, your go-to destination for all things related to smoking accessories, vapes, and herbal supplements. Located at the intersection of quality and convenience, our smoke shop offers an extensive collection of products tailored to both seasoned enthusiasts and curious newcomers. From glass pieces to rolling papers, and from Delta 8 to THC products, Puff Parlor is dedicated to bringing you the finest smoking accessories and premium products in the market. Whether you’re looking for a sturdy banger for your next smoke session, a premium grinder, or the best in CBD and Kratom products, you’ll find it all under one roof at Puff Parlor.

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As a premier glass shop, we take pride in our selection of hand-blown glass pieces. From intricate bongs to smooth-hitting water pipes, our collection is designed to cater to all tastes and styles. Our glassware collection includes beautifully crafted bangers and rigs, perfect for enhancing your smoking experience. If you're new to the world of glass pipes or a seasoned veteran looking to expand your collection, Puff Parlor offers a range of products that meet every need.

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Premium Cigars, Blunts, and Prerolls

For cigar aficionados and blunt lovers, Puff Parlor has curated a fine selection of premium cigars and blunts from some of the top brands in the industry. Whether you're celebrating a special occasion or just want to enjoy a relaxing smoke, our wide selection ensures there’s always a high-quality option available. Our prerolls offer convenience without sacrificing quality, allowing you to enjoy premium blends without the hassle of rolling them yourself.

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Puffco Products

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The Puff Parlor Experience

When you walk into Puff Parlor, you’re not just stepping into a store; you’re entering a community of like-minded individuals who share your passion for premium products and smoking accessories. We’ve created an environment where customers feel welcomed, informed, and valued. Whether you’re a regular customer or a first-time visitor, we strive to provide you with an unforgettable shopping experience.

At Puff Parlor, we believe in offering not only products but also education. We encourage customers to ask questions, explore different options, and find the products that work best for them. Your satisfaction is our priority, and we are committed to helping you enhance your experience every time you visit.

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SPAC class of COVID-19: Where are they now? - Information Important Internet https://www.merchant-business.com/spac-class-of-covid-19-where-are-they-now/?feed_id=193038&_unique_id=66ddacbb78612 #GLOBAL - BLOGGER BLOGGER Fortunes have been decidedly mixed for the space businesses that merged with publicly traded shell companies in search of capital as COVID-19 ravaged the economy.While merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) provides a shortcut to the stock market without the rigors of a classic IPO process, post-SPAC space firms are still subject to the intense regulatory and public scrutiny that comes with being publicly traded.It is probably not too surprising, then, that stock exchanges have served multiple members of the SPAC Class of COVID-19 with delisting warnings over the years, following missed filing deadlines and shares that have fallen too low.And although there are bright spots in the class, there are those that have been sold on the cheap, taken private, given up on space — and one that went bankrupt and shut down.Nearly half the class has also announced significant workforce reductions since going public as funds from investors increasingly wary of post-SPAC companies failed to materialize.Wildly missed revenue projections from most of the class in their eagerness to drum up investor support for their SPAC merger have not helped their reputation. But where do these companies now stand after weathering the pandemic and a few years in the limelight?Virgin Galactic: Pioneering space tourismSir Richard Branson’s suborbital tourism venture is an honorary member of the COVID-19 class. Its shares began trading in October 2019, less than two months before the first COVID infections emerged in Wuhan, China.The company is credited with opening the floodgates for the space SPAC mergers that surged during the pandemic, largely due to its shares initially soaring on the wave of excitement surrounding the emerging space tourism industry.While the shares soon got caught up in broader pandemic-induced declines, they hit new highs in early 2021 as investors salivated over prospects for a new major player in commercial spaceflight.However, regulatory challenges, flight testing delays and other operational setbacks later weighed on the stock.Virgin Galactic’s shares also recently sank even further following a planned shutdown of commercial operations to focus on heavily investing in a next-generation spaceplane slated to start flying in 2026.The company plans to ramp up to around 125 spaceflights a year, initially two Delta-class suborbital spaceplanes, each designed to carry six customers paying an average $600,000 each for a ticket.A total addressable market of 300,000 people worldwide for space tourism is growing 8% every year, according to Virgin Galactic, which recently recorded about 700 customers.Even still, the company’s delays have boosted Blue Origin and SpaceX as they seek to strengthen their foothold in the emerging space tourism market.Virgin Galactic’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) are currently trading at around $7, less than half their debut and a long way from more than $62 during the 2021 peak.Virgin Galactic (SPCE): Best hair (Branson).Honorary member: Went public just before the pandemic.Market influence: Opened the floodgates for space SPACs after shares initially soared on space tourism excitement.Setbacks: Regulatory challenges, flight testing delays and operational setbacks have caused stock declines.Future plans: Focused on investing in a next-generation spaceplane slated for 2026, initially aiming for around 125 spaceflights per year.Current status: Shares trading below their debut and far below a 2021 peak.Virgin Orbit: A brief and tumultuous rideSmall satellite launcher Virgin Orbit joined its older sister on the stock market two years after Virgin Galactic’s debut.Despite some successful missions for Virgin Orbit’s air-launch system out of California, its shares suffered

from an onslaught of technical issues and launch failures that undermined investor confidence in the business.The most notable setback came in January 2023, when an anomaly prevented LauncherOne from completing the first-ever orbital mission from British soil.That failure dealt a critical blow to a company that desperately needed to secure new contracts and revenues as financial challenges mounted for its costly operations.With dwindling cash reserves, mounting debts and an inability to secure new funding, Virgin Orbit soon laid off most of its staff and halted operations.Then, in April 2023, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to mark the end of its brief and tumultuous stint on the stock market.Virgin Orbit’s factory in Long Beach, California, lives on under fellow classmate Rocket Lab, which, along with others, bought some of the company’s assets during its bankruptcy auction.Virgin Orbit: Gone but not forgotten.Enters the fray: Joined the stock market two years after Virgin Galactic.Challenges: Faced technical issues and launch failures, notably a 2023 launch failure that undermined investor confidence.End of operations: Filed for bankruptcy in April 2023 and assets auctioned off.Current status: Out of business.Momentus: Navigating a rocky startMomentus had the most difficult start of the socially distanced space stocks, and things have not been smooth sailing for the in-space transportation provider since.The company was among the first in the class to announce a SPAC merger in a deal that would have initially valued it at $1.2 billion. However, that valuation was soon cut in half as the merger plan was revised following regulatory issues and souring investor sentiment.Mikhail Kokorich stepped down as CEO in 2021 and sold off his stake in the U.S.-based company, as did fellow Russian co-founder Lev Khasis, as foreign ownership concerns threatened to derail the deal.Momentus lost opportunities to launch its first Vigoride space tugs as U.S. national security concerns delayed regulatory approvals, and ultimately carried out its first demonstration mission in May 2022.The seven-year-old space tug provider has only launched three Vigorides to date, most recently in April 2023, and plans for its next mission remain up in the air.Momentus has also used standard deployers from third parties to place customer satellites in precise orbits after launching together on a shared rocket, but in its latest mission in November, it failed to deploy three of five satellites this way.Announcing another round of layoffs in early 2024, Momentus said it had decided to postpone Vigoride-7, which had been slated to join SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare mission two months later.In June, Momentus said it could use Vigoride-7 on a future mission, sell the tug to another company or convert it into a satellite bus as part of a new business line announced last year.But while the company recently secured loans to support business development efforts, including bidding on government satellite programs, its financial status remains unclear amid delays in submitting regulatory filings covering the first half of 2024.Still, NASA announced Aug. 22 that it had added Momentus to its Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) contract, enabling the company to compete for launching what are typically small satellites willing to accept higher levels of risk in exchange for lower launch costs.Momentus (MNTS): Most changed.Early struggles: Faced regulatory issues soon after announcing a SPAC merger.Leadership changes: Co-founders sold their stakes due to foreign ownership concerns.Operational delays: Slow regulatory approvals led to missed launch opportunities.Financial uncertainty: Recent financial difficulties and delays in regulatory filings cloud future.Current status: Added to NASA’s VADR contract but plans for future space tugs are unclear.Arqit: Pivoted away from spaceU.K.-based Arqit entered the public market in September 2021 with

a promise to revolutionize cybersecurity using satellites and quantum computing breakthroughs.The company attracted significant attention for ambitious plans to develop and launch satellites that would distribute quantum encryption keys that not even quantum computers could break.Less than two years as a public company, Arqit dropped its space plans amid mounting technological and cost challenges.Instead, Arqit said it could deliver its quantum encryption services more effectively and efficiently through terrestrial networks.But the company continues to face scrutiny from investors who remain cautious about its ability to deliver on its revised business model.After initially trading at around $10 when it first went public, Arqit’s share price had fallen to $0.31 by Aug. 29 on the NASDAQ.Arqit (ARQQ): Most likely to stay grounded.Market entry: Went public with the promise of quantum encryption through satellites.Business model shift: Dropped space plans due to technological and cost challenges, focusing instead on terrestrial networks.Investor concerns: Ongoing scrutiny about the company’s ability to deliver on its new business model.Current status: Shares have fallen far below $1.AST SpaceMobile: A turnaround storyAST SpaceMobile is close to closing the chapter on manufacturing and launch setbacks that have delayed its first operational satellites for most of its tenure as a public company.At of late August, the Texas-based venture had a launch window with SpaceX in the first half of September for launching five BlueBird satellites, built in-house to bring connectivity directly to standard smartphones to help cellular partners combat dead zones.After doubling in value following their debut on NASDAQ in April 2021 at around $10, AST SpaceMobile’s shares plummeted back to Earth and reached around $2 in April 2024 as delays and a high cash burn rate turned off investors.But then, in one of the greatest comeback stories for the class, AT&T and Verizon announced they had made small prepayments to use the constellation, which would also use their cellular frequencies to provide nationwide coverage in the United States.With pandemic-related supply chain issues finally behind the satellite operator, the customer news helped send AST SpaceMobile’s shares rocketing, peaking at around $39 in late August.While the shares have slightly fallen since, the company’s market cap currently sits among the world’s highest-valued space businesses, though far behind SpaceX.The company recently took advantage of its soaring stock price to raise capital, enabling it to start producing parts for 17 larger and more powerful broadband satellites.The first of these Block 2 BlueBirds would be ready to launch in the first three months of 2025, according to AST SpaceMobile CEO Abel Avellan.A Block 2 BlueBird would be about 223 square meters, compared with a Block 1 BlueBird with solar arrays spanning 64 square meters.AST SpaceMobile also expects to equip the sixth and follow-on Block 2 BlueBirds with chips developed in-house that would enable 10 gigahertz of processing bandwidth per satellite, ten times the capacity of a Block 1 BlueBird.Upgraded Block 2 BlueBirds would also support up to 120 megabits per second (Mbps) peak data rates. The company has not disclosed the performance of a Block 2 BlueBird without its custom chipset.According to AST SpaceMobile, its two-year-old BlueWalker 3 prototype in LEO has achieved more than 21 Mbps download speeds during tests with standard smartphones.Just five Block 1 BlueBirds is enough to cover the entire United States, but the company has said it needs 45-60 satellites for continuous text, voice, and data coverage in the country.However, despite fierce lobbying support from AT&T in particular, AST SpaceMobile still faces a many regulatory obstacles before it can start providing even limited services.The Federal Communications Commission recently gave AST SpaceMobile approval to deploy and operate its first five BlueBirds,

but held off deciding on permission to test its services with cellular frequencies in the United States.The FCC also deferred a decision on AST SpaceMobile’s request to operate an additional 243 satellites for the global coverage it plans to provide via partnerships with cellular partners elsewhere.Along with direct-to-smartphone competitors SpaceX and Lynk Global, AST SpaceMobile also needs the green light to provide its services on a commercial basis.AST SpaceMobile (ASTS): Most likely to keep in touch.Initial challenges: Faced manufacturing and launch setbacks that delayed satellite deployment.Comeback: Prepayments from customers and an end to supply chain woes have revitalized investor interest.Current status: Soaring shares helped shift focus on deploying larger and more powerful direct-to-smartphone satellites.Astra: Exited the public marketHigh hopes marked Astra’s entry into the public market in July 2021 for its potential to become a low-cost, high-frequency launcher for small satellites.However, despite successfully reaching orbit with Rocket 3.3 after its third attempt in November 2021, subsequent failures raised concerns about the reliability of Astra’s technology.Technical challenges, coupled with high cash burn rates and the capital-intensive nature of launch businesses, weighed heavily on Astra’s finances and stock performance.Astra later pivoted to focus on developing a more reliable version of its rocket, Rocket 4.0, and building a spacecraft engine manufacturing business.This shift was necessary due to the string of failed launches, but also meant laying off a quarter of its workforce and pausing all rocket launches, further straining investor confidence as Astra struggled to secure new contracts.The company’s stock fell from nearly $13 after its first day of trading to below $1 — a level at which it risked being delisted from the NASDAQ altogether.After shares reached as low as $0.86 this past March, Astra announced it had entered into a deal to be taken private by a group of long-term investors and its co-founders, Chris Kemp and Adam London. The transaction involved purchasing all outstanding shares not owned by the founders for $0.50 each.The deal was completed July 18, ending Astra’s status as a publicly traded company and enabling it to focus on plans without the strains of public company reporting. These plans include advancing Astra’s Rocket 4 series, which had been delayed due to financial constraints.Astra: Most likely to say “next time.”Early promise: Entered the market on the potential for low-cost, high-frequency launches.Technical and financial struggles: Subsequent launch failures and high operational costs strained finances.Going private: Taken private in July 2024 after shares fell below $1.Current status: Focused on advancing Rocket 4 series and other initiatives outside the public market.Satellogic: Redomiciling for survivalUruguay-born Satellogic found it increasingly difficult to run an Earth imagery constellation business outside the United States after going public in January 2022.Roughly a year later, the satellite operator set out to redomicile to the United States to get closer to its primary customers, namely the U.S. government, after missing revenue targets.The company successfully secured a remote sensing license in the United States in November as part of its move, covering the 36 sub-meter resolution satellites already in low Earth orbit (LEO) and plans to add to the constellation in coming years.Ultimately, Satellogic aims to operate a network of 200 satellites so it can map the world daily.The operator builds its dishwasher-sized spacecraft in-house and is also hoping to sell them to other companies under a new business line announced in early 2023.In November, the company agreed to help India’s Tata Advanced Systems Limited develop the TSAT-1A Earth observation satellite that launched the following year, marking what Satellogic said was an important step for its new space systems business.

However, Satellogic has yet to announce its first direct satellite sale as it continues to face significant financial challenges, which recently led to layoffs that reduced its workforce to around 160 employees, less than half of its size from the previous year.The operator is also slowing the deployment of next-generation “Mark V” imaging satellites, designed to take imagery at a native resolution of 70 centimeters and use onboard processing.Satellogic’s moves to conserve cash while waiting to see just how green the grass is in the United States comes as the company continues to grapple with slower-than-expected revenue growth.The company generated $10.1 million in revenue in 2023, a far cry from the $132 million it had projected back in November 2021 in the run-up to its SPAC merger.Satellogic (SATL): Most likely to live abroad.Relocation: Went public in January 2022 and later decided to relocate to the United States to be closer to key customers.Operational shifts: Slowing the deployment of new satellites and cutting workforce to manage costs.Financial struggles: Missed revenue targets and ongoing financial challenges.Current status: Continuing to operate with a smaller workforce and reduced ambitions.BlackSky: Expanding despite market skepticismEarth imaging and analytics company BlackSky has continued to expand its geospatial intelligence constellation and secure new contracts, despite investor skepticism around the sustainability of SPAC-backed space ventures.The small satellite operator has enjoyed strong support from U.S. government agencies after its debut in September 2021, bolstering revenue streams and underlining the strategic value of its services even amid persistent concerns about its path to profitability.Throughout 2022 and 2023, BlackSky’s stock price struggled amid a challenging environment for high-growth tech stocks. Rising inflation, interest ratehikes and a shift away from speculative investments led to substantial declines across the class and many other tech and space-related stocks.In response, BlackSky focused on cost management, increasing operational efficiency and expanding its product offerings.The company hopes to differentiate itself in an increasingly crowded Earth observation market by combining satellite imagery with artificial intelligence and machine learning for advanced analytics.In its latest financial results, BlackSky saw some revenue growth compared to previous periods, primarily due to increased demand for its geospatial intelligence services.However, the operator is still facing challenges related to profitability, reporting a net loss the company pinned on ongoing investments to expand its constellation and develop new technologies.The operator has a five-launch deal with classmate Rocket Lab to start deploying its first very-high-resolution Gen-3 satellites in the final three months of this year.The Gen-3 satellites are designed to offer significantly improved image resolution, up to 35 centimeters.BlackSky (BKSY): Most likely to know your every move.Government support: Continued constellation expansion with strong U.S. government support.Market challenges: Stock price decline amid a tough environment for high-growth tech stocks.Future plans: Deploying very-high-resolution Gen-3 satellites to enhance imagery capabilities.Current status: Shares closed at $1.17 Aug. 29, down from around $10 on their debut, reflecting ongoing caution toward SPAC ventures.Redwire: Betting on space infrastructureRedwire’s focus on developing and acquiring advanced space infrastructure technologies, including on-orbit manufacturing, has positioned it as a well-connected player in the growing commercial space sector.Like other classmates, the company’s shares began their descent from around $10 soon after their debut.However, after languishing below $4 for much of 2022 and 2023, the stock has recently been on an upward trend thanks to multiple contracts with NASA and other government agencies.Redwire aims

to play a critical role in developing 3D printing and other technologies seen as essential forfuture deep space exploration and LEO commercialization.But the company’s high level of spending on research and development, coupled with the costs associated with scaling up operations and integrating new acquisitions, has led to continued net losses.According to Redwire’s leadership, while its aggressive investment strategy has pressured profitability, it also lays the groundwork for future success by building a robust portfolio of space technologies that are expected to generate significant revenues in the long term.The space infrastructure specialist recently announced plans to buy Hera Systems, a manufacturer of small satellites focused on national security space missions, to strengthen its foothold in the defense market. The shares closed at $6.67 Aug. 29.Redwire (RDW): Most likely to buy your friends.Strategic focus: Developing advanced space infrastructure technologies through acquisitions.Financial pressures: Continued net losses due to high R&D spending and scaling operations.Market positioning: Recent acquisitions and government contracts position Redwire for long-term growth.Current status: Shares have shown some recovery but remain below debut levels.Spire Global: Regulatory challengesThe NYSE told Spire Global in August that the satellite data and analytics company risked being kicked the stock exchange after failing to submit a regulatory filing detailing finances for the three months to June 30.Spire recently said it needs more time to prepare the 10-Q filing amid an internal review of accounting practices and procedures surrounding the timing of bookings under its space-as-a-service hosted payload business.The company has also said it will need to restate historical financials, prompting Raymond James analyst Ric Prentiss to downgrade the stock from “outperform” to “market perform” because the revised figures could affect the covenants tied to its debt.He expects the restatements will have an 8-9% impact on annual reported revenue.Spire announced Aug. 29 that it agreed to pay a fee to get a waiver to avoid default under its credit facility with Blue Torch Capital, helping shares close up slightly to $8.48, though still below their debut of around $10.The uncertainty added more pressure to shares that have fallen to around $8 after peaking soon after their debut at around $10.Spire has been among the strongest stock performers in the class, and its accounting slip underscores the robust governance challenges facing post-SPAC space companies.“We still believe in the continued growth story and fundamentals at Spire,” Prentiss added, pointing to the company’s target to reach positive cashflow this summer.In its latest financial results, Spire reported $25.7 million in revenues for the first quarter of 2024, up 6% compared to the same period in the previous year.The company also reduced its net loss by 43% to $25.2 million for the quarter.Alongside a space services business that sees Spire host customer payloads on satellites the company builds in-house, the operator continues to see strong demand for the analysis Spire provides from its own constellation, particularly for aviation data, weather forecasting and maritime tracking applications.Spire Global (SPIR): Most likely to have their head in the cloud.Recent setbacks: Faces potential delisting from NYSE due to accounting issues.Strong demand: Continues to see demand for its data services across aviation, weather and maritime sectors.Current status: Working to resolve accounting challenges while maintaining market confidence.Terran Orbital: Being sold to Lockheed MartinGoing down the SPAC route “was a big mistake,” Terran Orbital CEO and co-founder Marc Bell lamented on a podcast in 2023, a year and a half after becoming a public company.Terran Orbital only received about $29 million of the $345 million capital its SPAC had in store for a merger, after many of the shell

company’s investors chose to get their money back instead of holding stock in the merged company.The satellite maker still raised $255 million in total proceeds from the SPAC merger, when including a concurrent private investment supported by companies including Lockheed Martin.Still, “the money that was there never materialized and we went public without the money that we expected,” Bell continued.A year after his comments aired, Terran Orbital finds itself in the middle of being taken over by Lockheed Martin for pennies on the dollar after shares declined to around $0.40.High operational costs and the work needed to ramp up to mass satellite manufacturing aside, the company’s shares have taken a beating amid lingering questions over a $2.4 billion contract from Rivada Space Networks.Rivada Space, a privately held company with plans that would easily make it Terran Orbital’s largest customer, remains highly grounded about how it plans to finance the 300 broadband satellites under this contract.At one point Terran Orbital had expected $180 million in 2023 for early work on these 500-kilogram satellites.According to Terran Orbital’s latest regulatory filings, the manufacturer has only $13.2 million to date.Boca Raton, Florida-based Terran Orbital removed the contract from the backlog of revenues in its latest earnings update Aug. 12, citing a general move to a cash-basis method of accounting for all commercial accounts.That reduced Terran Orbital’s backlog to $312.7 million, with 91% associated with Lockheed Martin, which at the time only owned a third of the company after dropping plans earlier in the year for a larger stake.In the earnings update, Terran Orbital said cash on its balance sheet had fallen $13 million to $31 million, only $11 million above the minimum required to comply with its debt obligations.Just days later, Lockheed swooped in with a plan to buy Terran Orbital for $0.25 per share in cash and retire the company’s existing debt. The aerospace and defense giant had proposed buying Terran Orbital for $1 per share in March in a deal it walked away from two months later.Terran Orbital’s work for Lockheed Martin includes a contract for 36 satellite buses to join the U.S. Space Development Agency’s LEO mesh network of military satellites.And while Rivada Space is no longer recorded in the company’s backlog of future revenues, Bell told SpaceNews Aug. 13 that the proposed constellation operator is all paid up to complete an ongoing preliminary design review.Rivada Space has plans for 576 satellites in total and must deploy 288 of them by mid-2026 to comply with its regulatory license.Terran Orbital (LLAP): Most likely to be owned by a Fortune 500 company.Market entry: Went public with high hopes but received much less capital than expected.Financial struggles: High operational costs and doubts over large contracts led to financial difficulties.Sale: Pending acquisition by Lockheed Martin for $0.25 per share announced July 2024.Current status: Planned integration with Lockheed Martin, focusing on sustainable business operations.Planet: Hyperspectral futurePlanet launched its first hyperspectral satellite, Tanager-1, on Aug. 16, part of the EO operator’s plan to achieve profitability by early next year following recent cost cuts.Tanager-1 joined 36 SuperDove satellites on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission for expanding Planet’s global optical imaging constellation.Planet co-founder and CEO Will Marshall recently said the company sees strong interest in hyperspectral data from governments and commercial areas such as agriculture and oil and gas, although it is early days for the market.The company announced record quarterly revenues of $60.4 million in June, largely driven by government customers.However, the operator also recorded an $8.4 million loss for the quarter as it pointed to ongoing headwinds in the commercial market, mainly in the agricultural sector.Just weeks later, Planet said it was laying off about

180 employees, or 17% of its workforce, in its second major headcount reduction since announcing plans last year to shed 117 employees to cut costs.Planet (PL): Most likely to talk your ear off about the environmentRecent achievements: Launched its first hyperspectral satellite to diversify data offerings.Financial struggles: Ongoing losses and multiple rounds of layoffs despite strong government interest.Future plans: Aiming for profitability by early next year with new data products.Current status: Shares closed at $2.75 on Aug. 29, down from around $11 after their December 2021 debut.Rocket Lab: Resilience and expansionIn May 2021, shortly before its public listing, Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket failed in a mission to deploy two small imagery satellites for its classmate BlackSky.The company also suffered a launch failure in September 2023 as a public company.But despite these setbacks, Rocket Lab has identified root causes and implemented corrective measures relatively quickly to return to flight, which is important for maintaining investor confidence in its resiliency and commitment to reliability.No earlier than mid-2025, Rocket Lab aims to demonstrate a larger rocket called Neutron to expand in the medium-lift launch market.Neutron is part of plans to serve a greater variety of missions, including satellite deployment, space station resupply and potentially crewed programs.Rocket Lab has also pivoted into satellite manufacturing in search of new revenue streams.After winning a $143 million contract in 2022 to provide 17 spacecraft chassis as a subcontractor for Globalstar’s upgraded connectivity constellation, the U.S. Space Development Agency awarded Rocket Lab a $515 million contract to build and operate 18 spacecraft to join a LEO network of military satellites.Rocket Lab announced record revenue of $106 million in its latest financial results for the second quarter of 2024, a 71% increase year-over-year after launching its 50th Electron rocket.However, mainly thanks to heavy investments in Neutron and other development projects, the company’s string of quarterly net losses continued with a net loss of $44.3 million for the three months to the end of June.The company’s shares closed at $6.23 Aug. 29, compared with $10.43 at the end of their first day on the market three years ago.Rocket Lab: Most likely to reach new heightsMarket positioning: Despite launch failures, continues to secure key contracts and expand its services.Development focus: Building the larger Neutron rocket to enter the medium-lift launch market.Financial performance: Achieved record revenue but continued net losses due to ongoing investments.Current status: Shares trading around $6, reflecting market volatility and development costs.This article first appeared in the September 2024 issue of SpaceNews Magazine.“Fortunes have been decidedly mixed for the space businesses that merged with publicly traded shell companies in search of capital as COVID-19 ravaged the economy. While merging with a special…” http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/53408832589_2bff03dea9_o.jpg Fortunes have been decidedly mixed for the space businesses that merged with publicly traded shell companies in search of capital as COVID-19 ravaged the economy. While merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) provides a shortcut to the stock market without the rigors of a classic IPO process, post-SPAC space firms are still subject … Read More