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Analyzing a carry trade proposal: Short USD, go long on bitcoin

I recently completed an assignment for an International Economics Policy class which entailed designing a carry trade. A carry trade is a financial transaction that involves borrowing (short) in a low interest currency, and lending (go long) in a high interest (yield) currency. For instance from Bloomberg 's rates for bonds, this would involve borrowing in Swiss francs (rate is -0.15 percent) and lend in New Zealand dollars (rate is 2.83 percent). All else remaining equal, the carry trade would yield a rate differential of 2.83+0.15 = 2.98 percent. Note: this is an unusual case where the interest rate we are borrowing from is negative; usually, this would involve subtracting the first interest rate from the second. For instance, borrowing in Japanese yen (0.04 percent) and lending in Kiwi dollars (at 2.83 percent) would yield 2.79 percent as profit. My carry trade in this case involves borrowing in USD at a rate of 2.33 percent, and buying bitcoins. But, what, you may ask, is the...
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On thinking

Why do I believe what I believe? Why are my values what they are? Where do my thoughts come from? Are my ideals 'mine'? The question of thought, is a complex one, not least because thinking is so difficult. Many of us do not think, we take the thoughts of others and use them as the foundations, walls, or thatching of our mental structures. But we rarely think, and deep enough on important matters anyway. Thinking involves the admission that we do not know, an admission coming from a place of humility that we are ignorant and could do better. It does not, as is usually thought, have to be from a place of knowledge, even though knowledge can inform thoughts. If it was, then we would not necessarily be thinking, but just reorganizing previously known ideas. It begins with asking the question, why. Why do we go to school? Why do we marry and have children? Why do we work to earn money in order to buy things? Why do we elect leaders? Why do we go to places of worship and perfo...
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Day 14: Jungle Trek

We began the hike at 9am, having split into two groups: the slow team who called themselves torutgas, and the tigers. The tigers took the harder route, while the tortugas took the easy route along the river. With Zack The hike was fun, a lot of fun. We went up hills, down valleys, crossed rivers etc. Some parts were tough. I slipped and fell a couple of times, as did everyone else. We ended up crawling on all fours in some sections, because they were so steep. Because it was a rain forest, it was damp and wet in some sections, and therefore very slippery. We had a break to catch our breaths and get some a fruit snacks. We had lunch at around 2pm. We got to our camp site at 4pm, tired and hungry. Luckily, tea and biscuits were on the ready. After the snacks, we had a dip in the water. It was cool and nice. I also learnt to skip rocks on the water. Afterwards, we changed into dry clothes, had dinner, and more tea and coffee. Then we played jungle games: This is a ...
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