Makers and diet, with a dash of macroeconomic pontification, please

10 years ago, bartenders were banking 250k/year by day.  They watched CNBC and were the first one to click “buy” on a stock that Joe Kinihan was profiling on CNBC.  They sold the next day for 16 points, and then bitched about how they missed the next 16 points.  Nevertheless, they were able to eventually end up selling 1,000 QCOM 330 puts in order to fund their purchase of 1,000 of the 600 calls.

Obviously, this did not end well.

3 years ago, bartenders were banking 250k/year by day.  They picked up the phone, dialed the number from the lendingtree lead, and told the person that with a few signatures, their mortgage payment would be dropped 20% via refinancing.  Banks gave them $7,000 for closing the deal that the bank could have closed with one phone call anyway, and they bitched about how much they could be making if their supervisor gave them “the good leads”.  Nevertheless, they were able to sneak themselves into a $800,000 interest only mortgage with no money down.

Obviously, this didn’t end well.

Today, I’m starting to hear the drink-slingers talking about how screwed the world is.  They are using words like “leverage”, “credit-default swaps”, and “black swan”.  Obviously, much of this is picked up from listening to their even more clueless empty-suit clientele of flunkies, but nevertheless…I am intrigued.  I have a gut feeling that at least a few of them are buying puts on GE or bidding up SRS here.

For the sake of my readers, I will spend more time belly-up to the bar, trying to cordially induce financial advice, which will be filtered, mirrored and relayed to you.

p.s.   I tip well.