Tulips, the #Bitcoin of the 17th century

How a pandemic, FOMO, and speculation made a flower worth the same as a mansion

/THREAD/

1/ During the beginning of the 1630s in the Netherlands, tulips were difficult to cultivate and preserve.

This made them a luxury good reserved for the rich and affluent of the upper class living in mansions with big gardens.
2/ The tulip market was not organized nor regulated, as other trades, which made it easy for professional growers to enter it.
Due to the international trade expansion, the growers starting cultivating rare varieties, to achieve higher prices.
3/ The biggest change occurred when florists used tulip bulbs as speculative assets.

The market expansion led to forward bulb-purchase contracts, thus enabling trading during the entire year, and not just during the summer months when tulips bloom.
4/ Easy loans and credit for forward contract purchases led many to enter the market since not much capital was required.

People from the lower economic class (maids, servants, craftsmen) could not resist the temptation for some quick profits and entered the speculative market.
5/ Many sold or remortgaged their houses, which led to a decline in the price of real estate.

The influx of new investors and capital led to a surge in the tulip bulb prices.
6/ Ordinary bulbs saw their prices rise by 20 times, while the rare ones skyrocketed to 4-6,000 fiorins, equivalent today to $750,000.

More than enough to purchase a luxury mansion in the most expensive neighborhood of Amsterdam at the time.
7/ In February 1637, bulbs could not be auctioned even at lower prices.

The news spread like wildfire, with contract holders trying to sell their contracts as soon as possible.
8/ This created a chain reaction of lower prices, lower interest, fewer willing buyers, and lower speculation which is what drove the market at the time.

Contract holders refused to pay the agreed price and tried to settle with florists for 10% of the contract price.
9/ The government refused to intervene and delegated the issue to the local authorities to mediate the disputed contracts.

Desperate growers sold at low prices to secure a profit.
10/ After a court ruling in 1638, the contracts were canceled at only 3.5% of their initial price.

Despite the bubble bursting, the broader economy and most people were unaffected, since it was brief and localized.
11/ Most of the debt was personal, and in some cases canceled out between two parties.

Most of the credit was provided by people involved in the tulip trade and not banks, which didn't harm the country's financial system.
12/ The biggest losses were incurred by growers with large quantities of worthless tulip bulbs and those who sold or remortgaged their real estate and got credit to speculate on margin.

The numerous disputes and court litigations for the contracts lead also to a loss of trust.
13/ Historians have many theories regarding the origins of the first speculative bubble in history.

The most common was that people were bored from the bubonic plague that was ravaging the country at the time.
14/ All they had left to do was drink in taverns and pubs, play drinking games and speculate the price of the bulbs in their possession.

Sounds familiar?

/END/
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The Mother of All Squeezes

How Volkswagen went from being on the brink of bankruptcy to the most valuable company in the world in two days

/THREAD/


1/ At the peak of the 2008 financial crisis, Volkswagen was considered a very likely candidate for bankruptcy.

Heavily indebted and already financially struggling before 2008, with car sales expected to plummet due to the ongoing global crisis.


2/ With GM and Chrysler filing for bankruptcy in 2009, shorting the VW stock would seem a safe bet.

If you are not familiar with stock shorts and short squeezes check my thread


3/ On October 26, 2008, Porsche announced it had increased its stake at VW from 30% to 74%.

This was a surprise to many who were led to believe that Porsche wasn't planning a takeover of VW, based on the company's announcements.


4/ Before the announcement, the short interest was approximately 13% of the outstanding shares, a number considered relatively low.

Porsche had a 30% stake, the Lower Saxony government fund held 20% of the shares, and another 5% was held by index funds.
If you want to become financially independent and don't know where to start, here is a thread that will help you get started

/THREAD/

1. Review your expenses and make a budget

It will help you see where you overspend, make a plan to save, pay down debt and start


2. Set your investing and retirement goals

How much do you need to support yourself in retirement and when do you want to


3. The earlier you start investing, the better.

Here's why and how time and compounding can become your


4. Invest in an index fund

It's easy, safe, cheap, and the best choice for a beginner in investing, with not much time for

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आइए आज जानते हैं महाभारत कथा में वर्णित कुछ श्रापों के बारे में।

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एकबार महाराज पाण्डु शिकार खेलने वन गए।झाडियों के पीछे कुछ हिल रहा था। मृग है सोचकर राजा ने बाण चलाया जो जाकर ऋषि किन्दम और उनकी पत्नी को लगा।वे दोनो रति-क्रीड़ा में लिप्त थे।

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..स्वयं अपनी रानियों कुंती व माद्री के साथ वन चले गए।पांडवों का जन्म भी कुंती को ऋषि दुर्वासा द्वारा दिए गए मंत्र से हुआ था जिसमे किसी भी देव का स्मरण कर उस देव से कुंती,पुत्र प्राप्त कर सकती थी।एक बार माद्री पे मोहित हो जब पांडु ने उसे स्पर्श किया,उसी क्षण पांडु की मृत्यु होगयी।


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1/“What would need to be true for you to….X”

Why is this the most powerful question you can ask when attempting to reach an agreement with another human being or organization?

A thread, co-written by @deanmbrody:


2/ First, “X” could be lots of things. Examples: What would need to be true for you to

- “Feel it's in our best interest for me to be CMO"
- “Feel that we’re in a good place as a company”
- “Feel that we’re on the same page”
- “Feel that we both got what we wanted from this deal

3/ Normally, we aren’t that direct. Example from startup/VC land:

Founders leave VC meetings thinking that every VC will invest, but they rarely do.

Worse over, the founders don’t know what they need to do in order to be fundable.

4/ So why should you ask the magic Q?

To get clarity.

You want to know where you stand, and what it takes to get what you want in a way that also gets them what they want.

It also holds them (mentally) accountable once the thing they need becomes true.

5/ Staying in the context of soliciting investors, the question is “what would need to be true for you to want to invest (or partner with us on this journey, etc)?”

Multiple responses to this question are likely to deliver a positive result.