Source: Brokerage China Author: Qu Hongyan Recently, China Yangtze Power hit a historical high and once again showed the slow bull stock trend of "tripling in ten years". The slow bull market has left behind many passers-by and brought good returns to the steadfast investors. It is "rare for those who triple in one year to be like carp jumping over the dragon gate, while those who double in three years are few and far between." On the other end of the investment world, however, violent collapses are also deafening, with many financial products suspected of "Ponzi schemes" ceasing payments, leaving investors with no hope of recovering their investments. Both positive and negative cases illustrate the importance of forming a suitable mentality towards money in one's lifetime; otherwise, sooner or later, you will divorce yourself from your money. "I call this the money mind, a person's IQ can reach 120, 140, or even higher levels, and perhaps some people's minds are good at doing one thing, while others are good at doing another. They can do things that most ordinary people can't do. But I know some very smart people who make very foolish decisions because they lack the money mind." Buffett once said so. The so-called money mind refers to believing in common sense, believing in compound interest, being cautious and rational, thinking independently, prioritizing security over return, not dealing with people with questionable character, not easily guaranteeing for others, not believing in windfall profits, and not trying to cross legal norms for extra benefits. In today's world of ubiquitous information, everyone's wealth may become the "prey" of those with ulterior motives. Only with the money mind, can one form good behavior habits and shield oneself from separating from one's wealth. Do not entrust your wealth easily. Wealth is easy to lose but hard to accumulate, and trust is a vital reason leading to the rapid loss of wealth. "Do not allow anyone else to manage your business unless you can watch their every move closely and understand their behavior; or you have strong reasons to believe in their character and ability. For investors, this criterion determines when you can let someone else make investment decisions for you." Graham's criterion written eighty years ago is so clear. Almost all the investors who lost their wealth in the financial products have violated the above two criteria. They did not have the ability to closely supervise the whereabouts of their funds, nor did they have sufficient reasons to believe in the character of the product issuers. They easily invested their own wealth solely based on others' glib tongue and a piece of commitment paper. They did not act as gatekeepers of their own wealth and ended up with nothing left even if the government punished the wrongdoers. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." This is a phrase Munger often says. Destiny must be in one's own hands, and investors with a suitable money mind will try their best to find suspicious points in their investments to protect the safety of their principal. For example, whether the manager is trustworthy, whether the underlying assets are profitable, whether oneself can timely monitor the risks in the investment process, and whether the sales staff is obtaining large commissions. As long as any unreliable signs are found, these investors firmly will not invest their money. Do not desire to get rich quick. As in the capital market and anywhere else, making money is not easy, and desiring to get rich quick will lead to quick loss of wealth. In the capital market, the desire to get rich quickly often leads to investors over-allocating specific stocks, industries, or assets at the worst time. For example, buying high-risk stocks that can gain huge returns once an adventure succeeds, but the chance of success is very small, also known as "whispering stocks" by legendary fund manager Peter Lynch. "They often tell investors a story with explosive effects. These 'whispering stocks' have a hypnotic effect on people, and it is easy for you to believe that the story the company tells has an emotional appeal that can easily confuse you." This is like hearing a very tempting "sizzling" sound, making you salivate, but you did not notice that there is no steak on the grill. In the eyes of investors who lack the money mind, stable yield provided by blue chips such as China Yangtze Power cannot meet their demands. However, historical experience clearly shows that buying stocks lacking in safety solely based on imagined high yields is unwise. The long-term average investment return of general stocks is 9%-10%, which is also the average investment return of stock indexes in history, a benchmark to measure one's investment performance and the benchmark to measure fund investment performance.
Author: Zhou Le.

According to the latest news, American entrepreneur Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will go to Capitol Hill on December 5th to discuss major reform ideas of "regulatory rollback, administrative reduction, and cost savings" with House and Senate Republicans.

US President-elect Trump stated that when Musk and Ramaswamy proposed significant cuts in federal government spending, many public officials began to feel threatened. According to US media reports, after Musk recently called out four climate-related government officials on social media, at least one person urgently deactivated their social media account.

On November 27th local time, Musk wrote on a social media platform, "Abolish the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), there are too many repetitive regulatory agencies." The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is an independent agency under the Fed, responsible for supervising financial institutions with assets over $10 billion.

Musk publishes the "layoff list"

On November 28th, according to CCTV News App, Mike Johnson, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, stated that American entrepreneur Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will go to Capitol Hill on December 5th to discuss major reform ideas of "regulatory rollback, administrative reduction, and cost savings" with House and Senate Republicans.

Previously, US President-elect Trump announced on November 12 that Musk and Ramaswamy will co-lead the planned 'Government Efficiency Department' after he assumes office, paving the way for dismantling government bureaucracies, reducing redundant regulations and wasteful spending, and reorganizing federal institutions.

According to a report by Reference News citing the US cable news network website on November 27, Trump said that when Musk and Ramaswamy suggested significant cuts to federal government spending, public officials began to feel threatened. Now, they have new concerns: becoming the world's richest individuals and aiming for a large number of followers.

CNN published an article titled 'Musk Reveals Government Employees Targeted for Layoffs, Terrifying Federal Workers'. Last week, in a series of Musk's daily posts, he reposted two posts from the social platform X, revealing the names and titles of four previously unknown climate-related government officials. Each post received millions of clicks, and those mentioned received a series of negative attention. At least one of the four women named deleted her social media account.

Although the information about these government positions released by Musk can be obtained through public online databases, the posts targeted relatively unknown government officials who do not directly interact with the public.

Several current federal employees expressed concerns that their lives would be permanently altered, including personal threats, as Musk has turned behind-the-scenes officials into personal targets.

Everett Kelley, President of the American Federation of Government Employees, said: 'The purpose of these strategies is to sow seeds of terror and fear among federal employees.' As for Musk, this is not new; he often targets those he believes have made mistakes or obstructed him.

Last week, Musk and Ramaswamy released a 'reform agenda,' proposing to cut multiple unreasonable regulations of the federal government, and starting a large-scale layoff plan. Musk has stated that there are approximately 428 federal agencies, and he plans to reduce these agencies to 99.

Musk is starting to take action

On November 27, local time, Musk replied to other posts on social media platforms, writing, "Eliminate the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), there are too many redundant regulatory institutions."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is an independent institution under the Federal Reserve, established by the Obama administration in response to the financial industry malpractices after the 2008 financial crisis, responsible for supervising financial institutions with assets of over 10 billion U.S. dollars.

After the financial crisis, Harvard Law Professor and top bankruptcy law expert Elizabeth Warren proposed to Obama the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was then established under the authorization of the Dodd-Frank Act.

It is understood that CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities companies, and many other financial institutions, allowing the dispatch of so-called 'financial police' personnel to financial institutions for permanent auditing and internal operational supervision, and interview senior company executives.

Warren believes that taxpayers should be protected more, predatory lending practices should be curbed, and major financial institutions should bear more responsibility, while enhancing the US government's regulatory role. When the CFPB officially started operations in 2011, Warren, who was supposed to lead the department, had to resign due to strong opposition from the Republicans.

The following year, Warren successfully elected as a senator for Massachusetts, and has been re-elected ever since. In this year's election, she secured a third six-year term with nearly 60% of the votes. It is worth mentioning that Warren and Musk have clashed multiple times, from social media to the courtroom.

Media analysis points out that Musk's claim to 'want to abolish CFPB' may not be just a personal grudge, as the institution has always been a thorn in the side of Republicans and pro-business groups in the United States. Republicans believe that any regulatory actions are more harmful than beneficial, as they would impede lending and shrink credit consumption.

The conservative think tank 'Traditional Foundation,' established by Project 2025 for Trump, also calls for the abolition of the CFPB, labeling it as 'highly politicized, destructive, and entirely irresponsible.'

The '2025 Plan' requires the functions of the CFPB to be returned to the banking regulatory agencies and the Federal Trade Commission, aligning with Musk's view that 'there are too many repetitive regulatory agencies.'

Editor/Jeffy