#03 - Ban Bulletin

April 26, 2024

Welcome to Graham's Gazette, your home base for all things investing, financial, and personal growth!

It seems like there's been a lot of talk about banning certain things this week. Banning certain practices or items can have a significant impact on various aspects of society, your life, and the economy.

Big 3 Market/News Topics

  • Happy Earth Day (week)!

  • U.S.-China Internet War Intensifies as House Passes TikTok Ban

    • What we know:

      • The house passed a vote to ban TikTok in the country if ByteDance can’t find a buyer within 270 days.

      • If ByteDance doesn’t divest of their American portion of TikTok the government could effectively ban them.

    • Who does this impact?

      • Influencers and small businesses. According to TikTok in 2023 it fueled significant economic growth for more than seven million businesses and the U.S. economy as a whole by helping to support more than $24 billion in gross domestic product (GDP)

      • Meta and X.

        • Elon Musk mentioned bringing back Vine (the OG TikTok).

        • Zuckerberg would benefit the most from this as Instagram Reels would ramp up more.

        • Politicians and parents get more control back over the content their youth and young voters use as a major outlet now.

  • FTC Announces Rule Banning Noncompete Agreements

    • The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday banned employers from using noncompete contracts to prevent most workers from joining rival firms.

    • The U.S. Chamber of Commerce as well as other business groups will file lawsuits that will slow this process from happening or eliminating all together.

    • Who would benefit from a ban of employment noncompete agreements? Typically workers, startups, and rival market businesses that have more to offer employees.

    • How would businesses be impacted? Tougher talent retention.

Freedom Fund Update

I created the Freedom Fund as a public brokerage account back in October of 2022 to share that anyone with a social security # and a bank account can begin their investing journey by investing a couple hundred dollars a week.

  • This weeks Friday Freedom Fund purchase was a $200 - split slice into American Express Co. ($AXP) & Waste Management ($WM). I have been slowly adding to these positions every few months. I believe that trash & recycling (especially batteries) along with credit card debt & consumerism will continue to be great investments in the American future.

  • Projected generation of municipal solid waste worldwide from 2016 to 2050:

  • Public debt levels and forecast in the United States from fiscal year 2000 to 2034:

Every week and month I post on X (@GrahamInvesting) public updates about the purchases, exits, dividends, and growth of the fund if you want to follow in real time.

Sweden Shipwreck - Griffin

  • The partially disintegrated wreckage of the Griffin, lies on the seafloor near the island of Stora Ekön.

  • Researches found old remains of a war chest with body armor and cannon carriage.

  • The older I get the more I get excited about archeological finds (especially shipwreck artifacts). Especially when 90% of our news is constantly revolving around “the world is ending” theme.

  • My one hope with the advancement of AI technology in the future is that we will be able to search the ocean floor more efficiently and come up with even more lost discoveries and artifacts as a society.

Leave Your Anchors at the Dock

  • This week I read Sahil Bloom’s 7 Questions that Changed My Life where he questioned this idea of what boat anchors are in your life?

  • In life when you push for growth there will be people, actions, behaviors, and things are ready to slow you down and hold you back from maximizing your performance every day.

  • Personally I thought of a couple of my own anchors in my life:

    • People who try to put a ceiling on my growth and ideas due to their own insecurities of their own life and growth. Why should we allow other peoples standards or insecurities to hold us back from achieving what we want to achieve?

    • A double edge sword but work & fitness taking up about 70% of the hours I spend awake. That just leaves me with 30% of my awakened hours to focus on relationships, creative outlets, hobbies, and other things I get enjoyment from.

    • Spending $ on things that I don’t find value from. This can be a massive anchor when starting out in the investing world. I look back at purchases or lifestyle expenses in my past that definitely were anchors to my growth in my 20s.

  • As you go into your weekend think about what things are silently holding you back in life from achieving your goals. How can you eliminate or mitigate the anchors in your life? How can you identify them as they are happening in real time? How do you respond to them?

The purpose of Graham’s Gazette and my social account @GrahamInvesting is to help others get started and stay consistent on their own personal, professional, and financial journey. I appreciate the time you take in reading & interacting with me and look forward to growing together.

Thanks for investing your time reading this.

-Graham (@GrahamInvesting)

Disclaimer: Graham’s Gazette provides information and resources related to investing, financial topics, and personal growth for educational and entertainment purposes only. The content presented is not intended to be construed as financial advice. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with qualified professionals before making any financial decisions. Graham’s Gazette and its creators do not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information provided nor do they guarantee any specific results from such use of information.