Zingers, Questions and Answers
Sorry for those who missed it – we purposely don’t record the Happy Hour because the best insights shared are done “off the record,” and given the unscripted nature of Happy Hours, we never know what is going to be said. Nevertheless, here are a couple pivotal questions, zingers and even proposed solutions.
Top Zingers and Fun Exchanges
- Gayed: “We’re lettin’ people into the live show, which is hosted through Zoom… because god knows they need more help on their stock price”
- Achuthan: “All our parents told us ‘Don’t stick your finger in the candle fire’ and you do it anyway”
- Achuthan: “The market is like the biggest casino and they change the rules every day and nobody tells anyone… to be fair, are we really in a free market?”
- Dziekanski: “History is a series of coinflips that can alter the course of history drastically… I feel there is an increasing number of coins being flipped”
- Venuto: “I think you’re the first guest in a year that doesn’t blame the Fed for everything”
- Achuthan: “The one cycle where there are storm clouds is the global industrial cycle”
Laughter and Fun
We launched the Get Think Tanked Happy Hour with this exact purpose: addressing serious investment subjects with humility, authenticity and yes, a little fun during these difficult times. Given that, we were thrilled to raise a glass on January 28, 2021and use the toasting word “when.” Whenever we said “when”, we drank. When we did that, and when we got off the call, we were moving faster than GME in after-market trading.
Questions and Key Discussion Points
Unlike the short squeezes last week, this happy hour went off with only a few halts, but we drilled down to some great market cycle points with Lakshman. Some of the questions and debate covered included:
- Is the Fed to blame for some of this craziness going on in these highly shorted stocks like GameStop?
- Are we really in a free market?
- What are the conditions to break a market cycle, and can something strange like the trading this week do it?
- What about the debt super cycle, which everybody has been waiting to pop, and seems to only be getting bigger?
- Thoughts on the potential disconnect between the stock market and the economy and the long-term effects.
- Has the Fed become reactive?
Thank you, Lakshman Achuthan for your explanation on the factors that have broken long-term cycles in the past, like major wars, significant natural disasters, and significant climate events. Not to mention your anecdote on the Fed and their pre-emptive moves. Are we on the precipice of another long-term market cycle change?
Key Takeaways
The Happy Hour was a constructive discussion and highlighted various key points that we often address at Toroso.
How do you reset this type of debt growth? It won’t be by printing more money, and exponential debt is not the answer. The view that the inflation cycle hasn’t shifted structurally is a big problem, and during growth rate cycle downturns is exactly when double-digit corrections in the broad market are most likely to occur.
Thank you, Lakshman, for educating us last week. To learn more about Lakshman Achuthan, or to see if his services are a strong fit for you, click here.
This week we have Meb Faber from Meb Faber Research as our guest speaker. Looking for a reason to be optimistic – come join us! It would seem he is also concerned about narrowing the wealth and income gap, as he has set forth a few ideas on how to close them. Bring your challenging questions!
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