PhileasFogg

God Bless America!

His life outside of the White House ranks among the greatest humanitarian impacts of modern times.

Low 60’s

You already know me soooo well 😂

WSJ Article on Friday Afternoon: The millions of people who bought I bonds when inflation peaked have a decision to make: Hold them, or redeem them and buy new ones. In most cases, the right move is to exchange. Inflation-linked government savings bonds were a hit with investors when they offered a guaranteed return of 9.6% in 2022, stoking so much demand that it took down the website where they are sold. That rate was short-lived. I bond rates reset based on inflation every six months. Any purchased back at that peak now have a more modest 1.9% rate. New I bonds issued as of Friday come with a yield of 3.11%, a drop from the prior rate of 4.28%. But the current yield on new I bonds is only part of how to determine whether to hold or trade in an I bond. The return of your I bonds is calculated based on a fixed rate determined on the purchase date and a moving rate based on the current level of inflation. Since inflation peaked in 2022, the moving rate went down but the offered fixed rate went up. This difference between the fixed rate when you bought and the current fixed rate is the most important factor to determine your next move. And today, the fixed rate is more than a percentage point higher than two years ago. Financial advisers say this gap means investors who bought and held during the heyday would be wise to trade now, even though there is a penalty for redeeming I bonds within five years of buying. Much like refinancing a mortgage, you pay something upfront to make the exchange. You forfeit three months of interest when you redeem I bonds. But you earn it back over time, and in this case it won’t take long. I bonds purchased now will outperform the ones issued at peak inflation within seven months, even after accounting for compounding interest. If the bonds you hold are from many years ago and the difference in the fixed rate is closer, advisers say it still often makes sense to redeem, though it will take longer to break even. The big caveat here is if you want to hold a lot of money in I bonds. You can buy up to $10,000 in electronic I bonds for yourself each year. If you redeem bonds to purchase new ones, it will count toward your cap and limit your ability to buy more. You may not be able to reinvest all the interest on old bonds if it exceeds the cap. In addition to trading an old I bond for a new one, you can redeem the bond completely for another investment. The current I bond rate is the lowest it has been since 2021 and many other investments offer higher interest right now. The benchmark 10-year Treasury currently offers a fixed yield of 4.3%. Old vs. new Investors are required to hold I bonds for 12 months before redeeming. Interest is exempt from state and local taxes. You pay taxes on the gain when you redeem I bonds. Investors can avoid paying taxes if the proceeds are used for qualified higher-education expenses and their income falls below certain thresholds. The Treasury Department resets both the fixed and moving portion of the rate of return on I bonds twice a year, in May and November. Investors who bought bonds between May 2020 and October 2022 and still hold them are stuck with a fixed rate of 0%. Their interest rates are decided solely by the inflation rate. The Treasury Department has since boosted the fixed portion. New I bonds currently have a fixed rate of 1.2%. A high fixed rate creates a buffer between your interest rate and inflation’s ups and downs. When the inflation rate goes down, it drags down the inflation-linked interest the same for both old and new bonds. But if your fixed rate is 1.2%, you are earning that much more interest for the life of the bond. For example, a $10,000 I bond purchased between May and November 2022, earned a little less than $400 in interest over the past year, including compounding. The same amount purchased one year later earned about $450 because of the higher fixed rate. Before exchanging old for new, consider how long you plan to hold the new I bonds. If you take an interest penalty for selling the old ones, then buy new ones and sell after only a year, you will be hit with two interest penalties in quick succession.

McDonald’s corporate is a franchisor. Corporate owns the real estate (often just land) and leases it to a franchisee who owns the operating assets. This is another means of controlling the franchisee. McDonald’s is a different beast and one can’t compare a QSR to an FSR So you think Private Equity is one of the great evils? Who’s the victim? While a business is treated like a person under law, it’s not a living breathing creature. Edited to add: Sorry, I'm veering into the Money and Investing realm. But, I'd do draw exception with characterizing any "chain" restaurant as "fine dining"😕

Wait…huh? Private equity isn’t the problem, debt is. The debt was used to buyout the owners and give them back value on their investment. The lenders can take care of themselves. I should know, I used to be one. It one of many in a bucket of high yield loans. Some win, some lose, in aggregate it’s still profitable activity. I’ve not followed this one closely, but I did know one of the lead investors. I think there’s a number of contributing factors. 1) high leverage taken on before the pandemic 2) the death of a meaningful shareholder a couple years ago (Michael Price) may have contributed to a change in shareholder bias 3) there was never a lot of fixed assets as you suggest. Five years ago, the company had no tangible assets and a $h!t ton of debt. No restaurant should be in the business of owning real estate. They should be users of assets, not managers of them. Their revenue cycle is short and their asset mix should conform accordingly.

“Fine Dining” 🤔

I’m intrigued. I’ve not met him or corresponded with him, but I’ve heard that he is 100% legitimate as an escort. Can you say more about your experience? Was it a session where he didn’t meet agreed to expectations?

Note: when I said bad reviews here, I meant on this forum…in some cases, by regular and frequent posters

Every president has an escort….some even have “guides” 😅

I don’t disagree with you but I’ve had great experiences with some guys that have poor reviews here. It makes me wonder if some of the guys here may have been jerks and created the bad experience but first impressions matter. FT allows engagement of at least two of the senses. I’m going to know by the cadence of our connection if we are good together

If I’m going to lay cash serious cash and invite someone into my home for a weekend, we’re going to talk first.

It’s been my experience that being a well informed and inquisitive healthcare consumer invites more attention and better care. Our system dissuades diagnosis of preemergent issues and only prioritizes matters as they present in more acute phases I don’t force anyone to do anything. But I also will not allow myself to remain unheard if a physician doesn’t know what it is, they also don’t know what it’s not.

Never heard of the Prince Kitano. I have a friend who adores The Lucerne on W 79th as well. I’ve not tried it though.

It is as good to give than receive. You’re paying for his time. The hands on a clock only go one way.

What he said was that oral cancer prevents in very nasty looking ways. I asked him whether that meant it started nasty or evolved nasty. He didn’t have an answer.

For my entire life, I’ve had HSV1 outbreaks. I keep acyclovir handy and keep it under control and have never passed it on to my family or significant others A few months ago, I felt a tingle and a rough spot inside my upper lip. I started popping acyclovir and it never developed and it also never went away. today, I presented it to the dentist who, while unconcerned, took some pictures to send to some oral surgeon buddies Here’s the issue, a former girl friend had a Pap smear a couple years ago and it presented with HPV Genotype 18 - a potentially cancerous type. A follow up a few months later revealed it had resolved. When informed, my MD was unconcerned as long as I had no symptoms of anything but for me, I’m looking for signs of concern for early intervention. Has anyone had a rough spot on the lips/gums like this? Would you force a biopsy?

He was with me after the first time. But again, it's been years.

A cucumber? 😮

I’ve stayed recently at the Arthouse Hotel on W 77th with a balcony room that had no noise a couple years ago, I stayed at The Pierre on 5th Ave overlooking Central Park. On the 35th(?) floor, no noise since sound wasn’t bouncing off buildings. A few years ago at The W Times Square at about the 57th floor, no noise The Michaelangelo (?) Times Square had interior facing rooms

I’ve not seen either in years https://www.masseurfinder.com/massage-therapists/183/ https://www.masseurfinder.com/massage-therapists/44953/

Did hotels win? I’d say it was the neighbors who won

I bought my first property intended for AirBNB last month. I’m still learning. I believe under the guidelines, you can post house rules and hold them to it. You also have insight into the tenants prior experience at other airbnb properties before you accept them. I encourage use of the airbnb messaging system with tenants as it expedites resolving disputes. if you really care about the neighbors, give them your contact info to report rule violations.