All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

"The #1 thing the "west" had over BRICS was a moral superiority."

LOL, no, not even close (but maybe also that). The west has far more democracies, better ability to depose of leaders, less dictators, more equal rights, greater transparency, more accessible property rights that are enforced in courts, more trustworthy banking systems. . . The list goes on. The countries in the East where this is also true tend to be more cozy with the US than they are with China. 

Try wearing a Ukraine flad in Russia or a Free Tibet or Uiygur shirt in China and let us know how that goes for you.

"not to mention the US going hard HARD Left with ultra lgbtqxrz15qqfsdb"

I agree that this is crap is absurd, but that has little to do with global currency trading and trust is foreign banks and currency markets. 

"And when you say China is dependent on west for resources, is resource poor..... Sorry, done right there because you obviously are clueless and just talking out your arse."

I said they were dependent on the world for resources, not the west. That's why they invest so heavily in Africa and other nations. If every country were cut off from each other, China would have a tougher go at going alone than many. 

"Tech is reliant on China. Do your research, real actual research, learn a thing or two on this"

More of your condescending garbage. Do I need to post photos of my passport stamps? Happy to do so. The US and Taiwan lead the world in semiconductor technology.

"I don't know what you mean when say it's easy to prop up countries from afar. Are you meaning me? Oh, sorry, last time I was in a BRICS nation was January, 2024.... Yuuup, so, you assumed wrong, yet again."

No, another one of your reading comprehension fails and false assumptions. I'm saying the grass is always greener. Autocratic governments tend to have even more issues because the issues are hidden from the public and nobody within those institutions wants to risk pushing them up the chain to get solved. 

"Look, your clearly not open to any facts so this is pointless. I have lent facts, you reply with opinions, this is just go on forever long as your locked into opinion bias. "

More projection. My point is that you are pointing out everything that is wrong with the US while saying that everything else in the rest of the world is rainbows and unicorns. My point is that we all have our problems, it's simply easier to notice our own because we live here and we have a free media that can talk about them openly.

"Me, personally, I am NOT a fan of BRICS, not in the least. But I am a realist, I accept things for what they are and move forward. I am results based. And those facts are the US is loosing, and we have idiots in charge because we select idiots, who's focus is there personal power, personal enrichment, not the job, the country, the long term ramifications."

And again- these countries are run by geniuses who do everything right? Many Latino immigrants in the US lived through bank appropriations in the 70-00s. China and Russia don't even pretend to have an honest banking system. Do you really think that the rest of the world is going to trust countries with that track record? 

Quote from @James Hamling:

 BRICS..... How about INDIA..... 

Look, fact is the #1 reason why BRICS hasn't kicked the USD's butt all over the planet yet is because the BRICS can't get there sh_t together on a unified reserve currency that is up to the task. RU ruble, no, even RU knows that. Yuan, many arguments for that but they know it's not adoptable internationally due to CCCP ability and actions to readily manipulate it at will. That's really it, that's the last piece to the puzzle. 

They sort that circus out, USD is in very serious trouble. Especially if they do it in a decentralized manner, which they seem to be leaning towards doing given the 40+ new countries entering BRICS sphere of recent. 

You need to do more then regurgitate what your media is feeding you Jon, get out in the world, read market news as in reports of the actual things happening not opinion pieces telling you what to think. The US is on a SIGNIFICANT decline, that's just reality. As is the "west" in large part.     

I would agree with you that India is the bright spot among the 5. Democracy, solid demographics, well educated, diversified economy. I would also agree that Brazil has the foundational pillars if they can solve their corruption and trust issues.

As for Russia, most of the smart kids left and the rest of the men are at risk of not making it out alive. Plus they are largely a commodity based economy. China is natural resource poor and dependent on the rest of the world to fill that void, and with cheap labor drying up they will lose some ground on the manufacturing side. 

“The BRICS, reality is they control such a massive vast majority of world population, land and resources it's ridiculous. India, China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa...... Think about the positioning of these places, these are also strategically placed. Oil, minerals, you name it they have it in VAST supply.”

That’s interesting because last I checked, USA had the most agricultural and oil exports? We arguably have the best geography because we can’t be walked to by a 100+ nations. Given our diverse economy of both commodities and tech, I think we will do fine if the world decides to go multi polar or even isolatonist. 

“Tell me Jon, when is last time you were in a BRICS nation? When is last time you saw with your own 2 eyes? “

I was in South Africa, Hong Kong and Turkey in 2018/19. I’ve spent 6 months in Brazil over several trips. Sold products for my day job in South America. So yeah- I’ve been around. It’s easy to prop up countries from afar, but once you are on the ground you realize that they struggle with a lot of the same issues as we do. Plus, democracy has a way of showing its warts, whereas dictators jail and kill the people who try to expose them, which makes them fester more. 

Which relates to this gem you just posted:

“Problem is the lying is so rampant, hell it's "main-stream" now for cooked-books and out-right lying in reports. 0 accountability anymore, 0.”

. . . Because China and Russia are so well respected on the world stage for their transparency and honesty right? Lolz. This is why the BRICS won’t live up to the hype- there is no trust, which is one of the foundational pillars of a successful currency. 

Quote from @James Hamling:

Wow, have fun in your eco-chamber. 

Last I checked, Hong Kong wants nothing to do with mainland China. Beyond that this isn’t about East vs West, it’s specifically China and Russia where the management of the BRICS currency will be based, which are 2 of the most untrustworthy countries in the world when it comes to human and property rights. 

Which is why there are more Chinese people parking their capital here than the other way around, and same goes for Russians with Western Europe. 

Quote from @Bud Gaffney:

@James Hamling ah another troll. At least your appear to be a real person :)

I’ve been hearing this narrative for decades. Remember when we were talking about “Peak Oil” in the 00s being the end of the global economy?  

Quote from @James Hamling:

Quote from @Jon Martin:

....economic elites in the eastern hemisphere invest their profits in Western banks and real estate for a reason. 

Apparently you've never heard of a little place called Dubai?..... 
Or London, Singapore, Hong Kong......
.... Luxembourg, Isle of Man, Switzerland......
(FYI maybe ya wanna read Global Finance magazine as Luxembourg was rated #1 richest country in the world 2024, give ya 2 guesses how that is as there's no oil, no ocean, land-locked tiny nation middle of Europe.....)
.... Bank of the Bahamas, Cyprus, Qatar, Macao, Ireland.......

Sorry bud, facts don't fit your feelings......

 Sorry bud, but your reading comprehension doesn’t match my post and basic geography. “Western Banks” is what I said, not US banks, which would encompass all of Western Europe. Even countries that are not technically in the western hemisphere. Even if we draw the line between East and West at Greenwich Village, pretty sure that Ireland and Bahamas would count. Lol

Broader point is that currency is based on trust, and China and Russia are the antithesis of that on the world stage. We are no Boy Scout either, but in a relative sense they are different worlds. Which is why there is more investment in real estate and bank deposits  in the “western world” (which includes. Luxembourg and Switzerland) from the East than the other way around. 

Half its value relative to what currency exactly? All western currencies have solvency and debt issues. As for the BRICS currency, do you think the world will trust a currency primarily managed by 2 authoritarian regimes with declining demographics and economic power? And several other countries with major corruption, social issues and questionable property rights laws? 

Brazil has massive resource potential but like the US, they can't get out of their own way. The Bank of Brazil expropriated money from its own depositors back in the 90s (IIRC, I could be off on the decade). They have an expression: "Brazil is the country of the future and always will be". 

The economic elites in the eastern hemisphere invest their profits in Western banks and real estate for a reason. 

Seems like it has already been priced in for a bit. Quick search I did on bankrate last few weeks had owner occupied rates in the mid-5s ( albeit with hefty fees attached)

Enemy method is great for establishing a baseline. If that baseline average is an acceptable figure, then go a few notches up from there with your design and amenities and you should do well. 

On the flip side, if you don’t think you can match what the average market rental is doing, and the returns for nice  properties are marginal, then I would avoid that market. For example, I was looking in Cape Coral and there were nice modern homes with swimming pools doing barely $30k, whereas a pool in many other markets is a major advantage. Hard pass. 

Quote from @Leora Merrell:

Yeah I was assigned to the “Lakefront” category, even though I never requested it or said anything about my property being on a lake. I did mention the general neighborhood that has the word “Lake” in it so the AI must’ve picked that up. A call to customer service fixed this. 

IMO it is also a branding play to differentiate from VRBO, Booking, hotels etc. I doubt that the experiences will make much of a dent in their overall revenue. It is more about having a eye catching unique landing page, which is the same function that the categories/unique stays provided.