If I were Machiavellian — A Purely Fictional Thread
Disclaimer: Any similarities between actual people or events is purely coincidental. This thread does not represent anyone else’s view with whom I’m affiliated. Hell, it doesn’t even represent my own view when I’m sober.
Let’s say I had 7 months left of my tenure as Gov. of the CB in a certain fictional country in crisis, what would I do?
Jul 23, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
At the restaurant, an old man accidentally puts a coin in his mouth and swallows it. The coin gets stuck in his throat. His wife gets up and tries to make him cough up the coin by patting him on the back, but nothing works.
The old man is already beginning to show signs of asphyxiation and the wife, in despair, cries out for help.
Jun 16, 2022 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
There’s this Bitcoin evangelist who’s actually never done anything. Like he didn’t design the BTC code, can’t program it, wasn’t in a room with Satoshi to give him the idea 15 years. All he’s done is tell people to buy it & that it’s the future.
If he’s right, they both become rich, not through genius, innovation, or contribution to society, only by believing. But if he’s wrong, then he just wasted his most productive years touting a modern day digital Dutch Tulip Mania & will be the laughing stock of academia for 20 yrs
Mar 17, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
The #Wollar (6240 Lira rate for the $246 million World Bank Loan) is officially dead, so no theft of 30% by BDL. Not only that, the old 3900 Lira rate for NGOs & other aid organizations is also dead (so no more theft of 75% of the $1 billion+ in international charity to the poor)
This was conveyed to Minister Ghazi Wazni in an official letter signed by the EU Ambassador, UN senior official, & Mr. Saroj Kumar Jha @WorldBankMENA (who apparently is still around, and wasn’t deported as promised by MP #Pfizerli#Che7adWuMcharet
Mar 6, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
The attacks & malicious campaign against @DLKhraiche is unwarranted. She’s a dedicated & honest reporter. As local reporter, she did not have access to the alleged sources in the @business article, who are in the US. She did NOT write the controversial stuff. Leave her alone. 1/4
The rare & unusual official denial statement by Uncle Sam, clearly renders the article’s content suspect. Assuming that the other reporter(s) did not just make it up, then they must have received (what seemed like) credible information (at the time). 2/4
Nov 2, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Banks now offering service matching clients with accounts selling #Lollar for real $, in return for a commission, of course. Some of the first clients taking advantage of this service were managers & affiliated companies (i.e: insiders) @lebaneselollar@LebaneseLira#DanPonzi
This is like the good old days when you used to convert $ to Lira or Lira to $ at a bank, in return for a commission (or bid-offer spread) except now they’re converting $ to Lollar or Lollar to $. This is OFFICIALLY recognizing that there are two forms of $ currencies in Lebanon.
Oct 31, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Junior, middle, & even senior bank employee: This tweet is for you. Your salary has been decimated. Your retirement plan (Daman) destroyed. They’re firing a whole bunch of you. Think about it. Why are you still protecting those who destroyed your career?
Revolution isn’t only about crowds in the streets shouting “Kellon yi3ni Killon” & sprayed with pepper gas. Revolution is also about exposing the corruption in the system, each according to his or her access. Much more powerful & effective. Start with petty acts of defiance.
Sep 28, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
This thread is pure fiction & any similarities between actual people or events is purely coincidental: ABL terminates Houlihan Lokey because, being the professionals that they are, truthfully state they can’t achieve ABL objectives of no bail-in or losing most of their shares.
Instead, they hire GSA who bullshits them & tells them what they want to hear. They arrange meetings in France to lobby the French government about their point of view, thinking they’d be as easy to manipulate as the Lebanese media & MPs.
Aug 26, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Some insurance companies started paying claims for the Aug 4 Explosion. They’re paying #Lollar checks even though they received real $ in their claims to the reinsurance companies overseas.
The objective of this tweet isn’t to attack insurance companies, who are also trying to survive in this difficult environment, but to identify that there’s a coverage gap that’s popped up, & needs to be addressed, by educating consumers and ...
Aug 6, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Aug 1, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
القضاء على القطاع المصرفي ككل؟
"اعادة تكوين الودائع"
Jul 14, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Jul 7, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Why did $ drop last week?
Mainly because of the closure of the airport.
Anyone sending money via Western Union / OMT (where the BDL ta3meem required them to abscond with his $ at 3,850) postponed sending his remittance, until the airport opened July 1.
So $ supply the last couple of weeks of June dropped precipitously & suddenly surged the last few days, as $2-5 million per day entered the country in people’s pockets on the arriving planes.
Jul 3, 2020 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
صوت الشعب الان.
Jul 1, 2020 • 4 tweets • 4 min read
Beirut 1984
Jun 22, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
How to protect the Lira from devaluing.
كيفية حماية الليرة
الولاد بالبيت
الأهل بالبيت
المصريات بالبيت
أزمة، هلع، ايّام صعبة...ولكن
كنّا نسينا البيت والغدا مع الولاد واعتقدنا انو الاكل والبيت والصحة تحصيل حاصل وواجب الله علينا، اليوم قبل ما ناكل منشكر ربنا، ولو بقلبنا، وبس نتطلع بولادنا وبيتنا منشكر ربنا.
كان الشوبينغ بميلانو واسطنبول وحيلاّ شي رخيص من الصين ولو بالدين، اليوم عرفنا شو في بالخزانة، وبالبيت وعم نشكر ربنا عليه
ما عدنا عم نشوف كتير شفاف وخدود وصدور (رجالي ونسواني) منفوخة.
التفشيخ ما عاد موضة. شو حلو الدارج يصير شواذ!
Feb 29, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
In the last few days, it seems that foreign funds have amassed a position of 80-90% of all 2020 Eurobonds, which means my original plan just became much more expensive. It also indicates that diverse smart money is itching for a fight & feel they can win.
One fund amassed >25% in all 3 series (Source: @MichelKozah) giving it a holdout capability in any restructuring. So procrastination & indecision has a price. Instead of costing $783 million to get rid of these guys, it will now cost billions of $ for 2020 alone.
Feb 16, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Where was the default crowd making it life & death decision now, when they were silent in November while we paid a $1.5 billion Eurobond < 2 months ago? Did they just learn what a Eurobond is? November one was 25% larger than today’s. Why didn’t they scream about baby milk then?
I’m talking about politicians and “experts”
Feb 15, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
For a long time, Argentina refused to pay the holdouts. The funds tried all sorts of ways to change the country’s position, including, at one point, having an iconic Argentine ship seized in Ghana.
Then a 2012 ruling by Judge Thomas Griesa of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York threw the game in the vulture funds’ favor, ruling that Argentina had to pay them back at full value, a cost to Argentina of $4.65 billion.
