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FighterMafia's comments

FighterMafia | 6 years ago | on: Apple Q4 Results

For context: the Q4 revenue/EPS results came in ABOVE sell-side consensus per Factset and Q1 guidance is also ABOVE Factset consensus on both revenues and gross margins.

FighterMafia | 6 years ago | on: Tesla Q3 Financial Results

well, all you need to know is if they beat Street expectations for EPS and FCF...which they did...massively...which is why the stock is up 20% after hours.

FighterMafia | 7 years ago | on: Sweeping Reform Would Tax Capital Gains Like Ordinary Income

At a 9% nominal return, that would imply an after tax return at a 40% rate of 5.4%. Then take out inflation of 2%, and you get a 3.4% real return on stocks. Which, if you consider the risk is pretty terrible. So would expect markets to reflect that divergence of risk/return that this bill would introduce and lead to a massive stock market sell-off.

Kiss your 401(K) good bye! Genius plan.

FighterMafia | 7 years ago | on: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

"All my experience shopping at grocery chains in the US and elsewhere has impressed upon me that these workers represent the absolute classic, textbook case for unionization."

Why?

"...an industry that needs a union.."

Why?

"...more union-friendly in the coming years"

Why?

Nothing you said is grounded in any actual analysis or verifiable facts.

I'd argue that undifferentiated skills that require little education make this an industry poorly suited to unions; Even if you unionize you have little chance of success since most workers are easily replaced by scabs or increased automation. Many workers are also kids in school (speaking from experience -- I used to work in a produce department while studying),and so would not join a union regardless due to the temporary nature of their employment. Butchers and bakers may be an exception, but these are the minority compared to checkout workers, stock boys, or produce workers.

So maybe they'd benefit significantly from the fruits of unionization as experienced in more technically complex industries...but they are highly unlikely to receive those fruits.

FighterMafia | 7 years ago | on: Why the Navy Misses the Old F-14 Tomcat, Despite All of the Problems

Military policy isn't civilian driven. The Pentagon drives the policy, as well as the weapons decisions. The surprise is when the civilians actually do exert some control--such as in preventing the USAF from scrapping the A-10, fighting the USAF on cancelling the the JSTARs recap, or when they force extra Littoral Combat Ships on the navy against their will :)

FighterMafia | 7 years ago | on: Why the Navy Misses the Old F-14 Tomcat, Despite All of the Problems

Top Gun notwithstanding, the F-14 was one of the biggest pieces of garbage the Navy ever fielded. Incredibly heavy, horrible E-M characteristics, expensive, crappy swing wing (a wing design that was in-vogue in the 60s but has now been discredited). Interestingly the Navy wanted to keep buying more and more of these until the Fighter Mafia foisted the F-16 on the air force, and the Navy reluctantly took a variant of the F-16 and blew it up in size and renamed it the F-18 (the F-18 variant was actually the losing contender to be the F-16). If it wasn't for the Fighter Mafia, the Navy would still be buying pieces of crap like the F-14.

Interesting that nowhere in this article are the capabilities of the F-35 STOVL variant discussed, a weapon that the Navy is paying $100M+ for. That they are skipping that discussion and jumping into why they need NGAD is just disgusting.

Oh well, the Pentagon is just a giant building that buys weapons. Always looking for the next piece of kit to blow cash on.

And just while I'm on this tirade...there are almost no use cases where you need an airplane that goes faster than Mach 2. At that speed you are outside the envelope where you can fire a missile. If you are trying to design a fighter aircraft as an interceptor, you are doing it wrong...

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