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If you aren't an investor or otherwise involved in one of the company's with a "bullshit fantasy" valuation, how does the "bullshit fantasy" valuation hurt you

If you aren't an investor or otherwise involved in one of the company's with a "bullshit fantasy" valuation, how does the "bullshit fantasy" valuation hurt you at all? The article doesn't seem to answer this question. If anything I would think that the existence of a "bullshit fantasy" valuation marks a great territory for someone to come in and innovate and steal the market, like Google did in the late 90s.

conjectures 16y ago
Subprime mortgages were in the set of bs fantasy valuations. Their puncture did hurt other people. ...but for the individual who spots a bs fantasy valuation - logic suggests shorting the stock.
- smokinn 16y ago
  You can't short just because you think a stock is over-valued. You can only short when you both think a stock is over-valued and will soon hit a correction. It's that second part that makes shorting dangerous because you can't just call it; you have to call it at the right time.
  - brown9-2 16y ago
    The same can be said for investing in a long position.
    - jdminhbg 16y ago
      No, you can hold on to a long position forever; the most you can lose is the amount you invested.
  - conjectures 16y ago
    True, and I considered hedging that phrase. Then I reconsidered, as it's pretty much implicit in the notion of shorting.
foljs 16y ago
> If you aren't an investor or otherwise involved in one of the company's with a "bullshit fantasy" valuation, how does the "bullshit fantasy" valuation hurt you at all? Gee, I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the government giving away 700 billion dollars to financial companies burned by rampant bullshit fantasy valuations...
- brown9-2 16y ago
  I should have phrased my question as limited to valuations of tech/software companies only, since that seems to be what we are discussing here.
  - foljs 16y ago
    > I should have phrased my question as limited to valuations of tech/software companies only, since that seems to be what we are discussing here. OK, then. When the web 1.0 bubble burst in 1999, a whole lot of people lost their money. Bullshit valuations make the stock exchange a snake-oil market.
- bhousel 16y ago
  TARP money wasn't "given away", it was loaned. The banks have paid back all that money and the US treasury made a profit. The auto industry has also paid back their portion, but the government still holds some stock in the companies, so people can debate whether that portion of it is really "paid back". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program and http://www.financialstability.gov/latest/tg_10082010.html http://www.financialstability.gov/latest/tg_10082010.html

conjectures 16y ago

Subprime mortgages were in the set of bs fantasy valuations. Their puncture did hurt other people. ...but for the individual who spots a bs fantasy valuation - logic suggests shorting the stock.

smokinn 16y ago
You can't short just because you think a stock is over-valued. You can only short when you both think a stock is over-valued and will soon hit a correction. It's that second part that makes shorting dangerous because you can't just call it; you have to call it at the right time.
- brown9-2 16y ago
  The same can be said for investing in a long position.
  - jdminhbg 16y ago
    No, you can hold on to a long position forever; the most you can lose is the amount you invested.
- conjectures 16y ago
  True, and I considered hedging that phrase. Then I reconsidered, as it's pretty much implicit in the notion of shorting.

foljs 16y ago

> If you aren't an investor or otherwise involved in one of the company's with a "bullshit fantasy" valuation, how does the "bullshit fantasy" valuation hurt you at all? Gee, I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the government giving away 700 billion dollars to financial companies burned by rampant bullshit fantasy valuations...

brown9-2 16y ago
I should have phrased my question as limited to valuations of tech/software companies only, since that seems to be what we are discussing here.
- foljs 16y ago
  > I should have phrased my question as limited to valuations of tech/software companies only, since that seems to be what we are discussing here. OK, then. When the web 1.0 bubble burst in 1999, a whole lot of people lost their money. Bullshit valuations make the stock exchange a snake-oil market.
bhousel 16y ago
TARP money wasn't "given away", it was loaned. The banks have paid back all that money and the US treasury made a profit. The auto industry has also paid back their portion, but the government still holds some stock in the companies, so people can debate whether that portion of it is really "paid back". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program and http://www.financialstability.gov/latest/tg_10082010.html http://www.financialstability.gov/latest/tg_10082010.html