Happy Friday, Barkada --

The PSE gained 70 points to 6628 ▲1.1%

Shout-out to Shehana Jean for the positive feedback on the AREIT div card, to Miguel Camus for fighting the good fight with his new startup (InsiderPH), to financial freedom for even more great design advice for the div cards, to daddyew for getting out (of APL) at the right time, to Dividend Pinoy for (like me) growing impatient for a warehouse REIT, to echAir for the positive feedback on my weird "building of buyers" analogy that I used to try and explain how inflows/outflows work with index rebals, to Satorun in for the tl;dr (too long; didn't read) of the DDMPR saga, to Jing for the sad boat meme appreciation, to Rod Leaf for mentioning APL's stinky FOO as the last time he saw the MB Siphon 1 ("siphoning off people's money"), to Jr Martin for warmly congratulating Ely and Gladys on their 1-year anniversary, to VodkaMartini_007 for spilling the beans on the location of the MB Siphon 1 ("the Port of Irene in Cagayan"), and to arkitrader for the pathetic boat vibes haha.
US April inflation came out and surprised to the downside, meaning that (at least in the US) domestic demand has cooled and consumer inflation has resumed its downward trend. US markets immediately pumped, with the Dow Jones average crossing the 40,000 mark for the first time. Will the PSE get any of that shine?

▌In today's MB:

• BSP holds rates steady
• DDMPR declares falling Q1 div
• Jollibee Q1 profit: P2.6-B (up 27%)
• PSE puts ANI, INFRA, C, and PNX on suspension notice

▌Daily meme Subscribe (it's free) Today's email

▌Main stories covered:

• [NEWS] BSP keeps interest rates steady... The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) [link] said yesterday that its Monetary Board decided to keep rates steady. In doing so, the BSP said that inflationary risks “continue to lean toward the upside”, but that its latest forecasts showed that “inflation would settle close tot he upper-end of the target range.” As for inflation expectations, the BSP said that those “remain well-anchored”. The Monetary Board said that it “deems it appropriate to ensure tight monetary policy settings until inflation settles firmly within the target range”, and indicated that such a stance would also “help keep inflation expectations anchored”.
  
  • MB: At least the BSP stopped talking about wage increases as a potential inflationary risk. That said, does anyone else detect an air of contradiction in what the BSP is saying? Perhaps contradiction is too strong of a term, but I get the growing sense that the BSP’s reasons for keeping rates high are somewhat diverging from its own analysis. The BSP says that it’s primary objective is price stability, so we can infer that it’s keeping rates high as a means of trying to suppress price increases, and yet the BSP has again and again told us that the driver for price increases is a problem on the supply side of the equation, not the demand side. Interest rate adjustments don’t impact supply-side problems, because interest rate increases are meant to suppress demand. We don’t have a demand problem. Adding to this is the BSP’s concern about maintaining a tight policy to keep inflation expectations anchored, despite noting just a paragraph earlier that inflation expectations were already “well-anchored”. This implies that there is psychological space for the BSP to lower rates within the framework of current expectations. This is picky stuff, I know, there are simply too many people and companies struggling under high rates to ignore the rapidly decreasing marginal utility of yet another cycle of the BSP’s conservative observation of the situation. Just my personal opinion.
• [DIVS] DDMPR declares falling Q1 div at 116% payout ratio... DDMP [DDMPR 1.17 ▲0.9%; 37% avgVol] [link] declared a Q1/24 dividend of ₱0.023476, payable on July 15 to shareholders of record as of June 19. The dividend has an annualized yield of 8.03% based on the previous closing price. The total amount of the dividend is ₱419 million, which is 116% of the ₱362 million in distributable income that DDMPR reported for the quarter. Relative to DDMPR’s IPO price, the dividend increased DDMPR’s total stock and dividend return to -32.29%, up from its pre-dividend total return of -32.33%. DDMP REIT Fund Managers reported that DDMPR’s occupancy as of March 31 was just 76%, with occupancy at its main building (DoubleDragon Plaza) listed at just 70.8%.
  
  • MB: The dividend amount is up 1.4% from DDMPR’s disastrous Q4/23 dividend, but it’s down 7.5% y/y and down 15.8% from Q1/22. DDMPR is the second-oldest REIT on the PSE. It issued its first dividend to shareholders in Q4/20. Its sponsor,DoubleDragon* [DD 10.48 ▲10.0%; 581% avgVol], is bursting at the seams with potential assets that could be downloaded to DDMPR to diversify the REIT’s portfolio and breathe some much-needed life into this stagnating afterthought. DDMPR’s assets are fine, but their strategy in how to monetize those assets is outdated. Gone are the days when high commercial rents from POGOs could excuse the growing issue of collections from those POGOs. Now we have DDMPR suffering from high (and going higher) rates of delinquency. Gone are the days when investors were lapping up the chance to get in on the commercial office space game. Now we have the threat of a POGO ban and the existential threat of AI putting all of the “easy” BPO leasing opportunities at risk. Gone are the days when DDMPR’s inactivity could be explained away by its newness. Now we’re left picking through the rubble of yet another disappointing Quarterly Report, yet another y/y dividend reduction, and bagholders have heard no plan from management on what they’ll do to right the ship.*
• [EARNINGS] Jollibee Q1 profit: ₱2.6-B (up 27%)... Jollibee [JFC 224.00 ▲0.9%; 300% avgVol] [link] posted a Q1 net income attributable of ₱2.6 billion, up 27% from its Q1/23 net income attributable of ₱2.1 billion. JFC said it was able to grow profit margins and exceed its Q1 performance outlook thanks to “healthy top line growth combined with further operational efficiencies and effective management of expenses”. JFC’s system-wide sales were up 10.4% to ₱86.8 billion due to new store additions and same-store sales growth was up 5.5%, which JFC said was due to increased volume. Across all of JFC’s segmented business units, “Europe, Middle East, Asia” had the largest same-store sales growth (+14.7%) and system-wide sales growth (+25.5%). The “People’s Republic of China” and “Highlands Coffee” were negative in terms of same-store sales growth (-3.7% and -9.0%, respectively), and only the People’s Republic of China business unit was negative in terms of system-wide sales growth (-3.7%). JFC said that its difficulties in China are partly due to a high bar effect from last year’s success, and a slowdown in the quick service restaurant industry in that country more generally. JFC said that while Highlands Coffee saw its same-store sales growth fall 9.0%, it did “better than industry” and managed to gain 4% market share during that period.
  
  • MB: The bee perseveres. It has made massive bets in “coffee” and “China” that could pay off handsomely in the future, and all of this activity has likely bought the management team some more time with its shareholder base to deliver on the delicious fruits of these bets. JFC’s stock price is up almost 150% from its COVID low, but it’s somewhat rangebound between about ₱200/share and ₱270/share. The stock hit ₱273/share in late February, only to rapidly retreat back to the ₱215/share level over the next six weeks in a pattern that the share price has repeated two or three times already this year. Generally speaking, the highs are higher and the lows are higher, but maybe with all the segments firing this busy season the stock will finally be able to push out of that range.
• [NEWS] Several notable firms placed on suspension notice for failure to report... The PSE [link] notified four high-profile companies that their shares would be suspended at 9 AM today if 2023 Annual Reports were not posted. The companies that were put on notice are Tony Tiu’s AgriNurture [ANI 0.57 ▼1.7%; 102% avgVol], Philippine Infradev [INFRA 0.53 ▲1.9%; 262% avgVol] and two from pseudo-tycoon Dennis Uy, Chelsea Logistics [C 1.30 ▲4.0%; 526% avgVol] and Phoenix Petroleum [PNX 4.17 ▼0.2%; 78% avgVol]. Should any of these companies fail to submit their Annual Reports before 9 AM, they will remain suspended for up to three months until such report is submitted. If nothing has changed after three months, the PSE must begin involuntary delisting proceedings.
  
  • MB: These companies are not a random sample, and they’re not representative of the PSE as a whole. Will ANI, INFRA, C, and PNX push their luck right up to the deadline, or will any of these companies slip into a suspended state for failure to complete one of the most basic components of public corporate life? As usual, retail bagholders will just have to wait and see what the owners decide to do.

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I work in a hotel as a restaurant server. We often have events in the conference room served buffet style, think graduation parties, wedding receptions, etc. Inevitably there is some food left over, which is put in the kitchen before it is thrown away. I usually don’t partake as it has been stuff I’m not too fond of but recently they had been serving bacon wrapped burgers and a mix of corn and peppers which I really like.
I’ve noticed in the past they usually have way more than anyone wants, so most of it gets thrown out. And this time there was only one other server working with me who I asked and said he wasn’t interested, so I packed up quite a bit. Like 3 burgers and a whole plate of corn, obviously much more than anyone is gonna eat for a meal, and left it on the counter to take home later.
Later, I was at the front standing around as there were no customers and heard the managers in the back come across my food and they went into a total shouting match angrily yelling about how greedy it was to take so much food and they couldn’t believe anyone could be so rude, then walked out front and started making passive aggressive comments about how I needed to stop eating so much. At first I thought maybe they had wanted to take more themselves and felt I was taking too much, but then I noticed later all of the food I didnt take was thrown away.
To me this seems really weird and like some social convention that people have convinced themselves must be followed even when it makes no sense, but maybe im out of line, i honestly do not understand. AITAH?

16-minute read.

the AM-AZ border delimitation in Tavush is drawn with 1976 maps; village Kirants gains access to lands unreachable since the 1990s; loses 4 properties

On May 15 the border commissions of Armenia and Azerbaijan held a meeting to discuss the continuation of the Tavush-Gazakh delimitation. They confirmed the completed work and agreed to continue.
The statement says that parties are using the 1976 maps by Soviet CoGS [the one that Armenia wanted].
A Protocol was signed on the meeting results. The sides agreed to set the date and the place of the next meeting of the Commissions.
REPORTER: What does this mean?
PASHINYAN OFFICE: The commissions had installed several border posts to locate the coordinates on the ground. These coordinates were taken from the 1976 maps. Now the cartographers have agreed on the border lines between the posts, again based on the same maps. In other words, the reproduction of the border in these areas is complete and signed, and the border is considered delimited in these sections.
REPORTER: Why the 1976 maps?
PASHINYAN OFFICE: It's the map with de jure power at the time of the collapse of the USSR. The Armenian government announced that we were not drawing a new border, but rather reproducing the existing border at the time of the collapse of the USSR.
REPORTER: The commissions' statement says that these 1976 maps went through legal procedures in 1979. What does it mean, and why didn't we use the 1990 maps?
PASHINYAN OFFICE: In 1979 the relevant USSR authority verified the 1976 maps and their legal basis. These maps were used until the collapse of USSR. These are the most recent maps verified by authorized state agencies of USSR.
REPORTER: Not all border posts have been installed in the convoluted section of Kirants. How will this be resolved? Will you build new roads or houses?
PASHINYAN OFFICE: The 3 remaining coordinates of Kirants were pinpointed with the use of a computer and the border posts will be installed later. The rest [another 8 posts in Kirants] are already there. The good news for Kirants is that around 25 hectares of land that have been unreachable for 33 years will be returned to the village. The border resembles the 1976 line. As we said earlier, yes, there is a need to build a bypass road, which can be accomplished in 2-3 months. We will also rebuild the road between H-26 and Acharkut and Kirants, which is an alternative road for Kirants. As for property issues, the volumes are small and the government will compensate in such situations.
REPORTER: What about Baghanis, Berkaber, and Voskepar?
PASHINYAN OFFICE: The most sensitive topic in Voskepar was the fate of the church, and on the Voskepar-Baghanis section, it was the Soviet-era road. Both issues received the best resolution: the road is fully within Armenia and so is the church, and the border line is quite far from the road and the church. As for Berkaber, there were no such sensitive topics.
REPORTER: When will the sides deploy border guards?
PASHINYAN OFFICE: Within 8-9 days, and a bit later in the 3 sensitive areas of Kirants after further clarifications. //
On Thursday, PM Nikol Pashinyan spoke about the May 15 border commission.
PASHINYAN: This is a major success for two reasons: (1) A very important cornerstone was placed for the future development of Armenia as an independent and sovereign state, (2) for the first time since independence, we have an officially delimited border, which will significantly increase the level of stability and security in that section and along the entire border. I'd like to thank the border commission leader Deputy PM Mher Grigoryan and all members, and every member of the National Security Council.
I'll provide further details. As you recall from the May 15 statement, it says the borders are delimited based on the 1976 maps that underwent the legal procedures in 1979. As you know, our principle was to reproduce the existing border with de jure power instead of drawing a new one. To accomplish this, we made a reference to the 1991 Almaty Declaration in the April 19 agreement, and it became the basis for the entire delimitation process. On May 15 we specified the 1976 maps; these are the most up-to-date USSR maps with de jure power.
In USSR, a map could be granted a de jure power by a special state agency that collected maps and legal processes and verified their accuracy and legitimacy before confirming the administrative border of Soviet republics. In the area where these delimitations are taking place, in 1979 this USSR state agency verified the 1976 map and it's the most recent map with de jure power.
This was a very important principle for us. We must accept wherever this border passes through. If we chose to draw new borders, that would create a ground for future military conflicts and escalations. The ongoing process, which should not be underestimated or overestimated, abides by the principle of adhering to the legal border and significantly reduces or eliminates possible escalations. This agreement was a major success.
Berkaber: there were no issues here.
Baghanis & Voskepar: at first we thought that some issues could arise here, around the church and, as the locals say, the "old road". If you've ever been there you have seen this road sign, when you pass Baghanis, the sign warns you that the road is being observed [under Azeri scope] and it was not advised to use this road during tense periods. Now, as a result of border delimitation, this road is not only confirmed within Armenia, but it will be safer for travel as a result of the new circumstances [border guards replacing the militarized armed forces, less dispute = less conflicts]. As for the church, we don't have a problem here because the border passes significantly further away from it.
So to recap, we recorded no problems in Berkaber, Baghanis, and Voskepar because we chose to follow the de jure border line and we did so. Following this principle is also why we will have certain problems in Kirants because we don't want to draw an entirely new border. We must use this principle for the entire AM-AZ border, with no exceptions. Not only we are creating a precedence for delimitation, but also a formula to be used for the future entire delimitation process and to make it predictable. If parties decide to make mutual concessions in certain areas, we could discuss the launch of legislative processes to authorize them, but for now, we have agreed on a principle to be used for the entire AM-AZ border. On each section of the border, we will use the most recent USSR maps that hold de jure power.
MHER GRIGORYAN: On May 15 the border commissions also discussed the Regulation and it appears we have an agreement to reflect these principles in the Regulation. Efforts are underway to prepare the Regulation. Azerbaijan wants to continue the border delimitation with the same framework and algorithm used thus far.
PASHINYAN: We should implement the reached agreements in full within 8-10 days. The border guards were deployed in Baghanis-Voskepar around 10 days ago. They were deployed alongside the installation of the white border markers. They are currently studying the terrain to launch the permanent service there. The same will be done in other sections.
source, source, source, source, video,

the list of properties that fall under the Azeri side of the border in Kirants after the delimitation of the 3 problematic sections

1 house, 1 lodging, 1 trailer-shop that doesn't operate, and 1 garage. The government plans to compensate for them and will build a new section of this road that passes fully through Armenia.
source, source, see the map here,

opposition MP from ARF/Kocharyan faction got fed up with protesters' road blocks in Tavush villages

Gegham Nazaryan, a father of a fallen soldier and an opposition MP who - unlike his colleagues - doesn't always engage in toxic exchanges with the ruling party, decided to visit the border village Kirants, where he asked the road blockers to open it.
He engaged in an argument with a protester from another region who came to Kirants to block the road. The MP complained that blocking the road is what Azeris would want.
The MP also engaged with an activist-reporter from an opposition outlet who was covering the road blockings. The MP accused the reporter of "having bad intentions" and of "manipulations". The activist-reporter accused the MP of having secret ties with Pashinyan during an intense yelling match. "Great speech. You call yourself a journalist?", rhetorically asked the opposition MP.
ARF leaders responded saying their MP was not speaking/acting on behalf of the party.
STYOPA SAFARYAN (pro-West figure): MP Gegham Nazaryan also senses that some forces are attempting to carry out Artsakh 2.0 in Armenia by attempting to derail the border delimitation process. //
In related news. The protesters pressured the mayor of Kirants who gave an interview last week and admitted that the delimitation went much better than he expected. On Thursday he offered to resign from his position during a confrontation with an opposition media outlet reporter who was unhappy about the mayor's positive portrayal of the delimitation process.
longer video, video, video, video, source, source,

Armenian government approves a $2 billion permanent housing assistance program for Nagorno-Karabakh refugees; rollout in stages

SOCIAL MINISTRY: We need to provide long-term housing to allow the forcefully displaced persons to socially and economically integrate into Armenia. The program has three components: (1) Obtaining a house or an apartment with a subsidy, (2) building a house with a subsidy, (3) subsidizing the mortgage if the refugee has already purchased a house.

... The size of the subsidy varies depending on the geographical location and the size of the family

(1) ֏5 million ($12,900) per family member to obtain housing in one of the 242 towns or villages.
(2) ֏4 million ($10,300) per family member to obtain housing in one of 148 towns or villages.
(3) ֏3 million ($7,700) per family member for all other settlements except Yerevan's 1st and 2nd Zones.
(4) and ֏2 million ($5,200) if you already have a mortgage.

... Conditions to qualify

(a) Families forcefully displaced after 27 September 2020.
(b) Refugees who accept Armenian citizenship.
(c) The living space cannot be smaller than 12 m² per family member.
(d) The property's value cannot exceed ֏55 million ($141,000).

... If you buy a house cheaper than the subsidy amount, you can use the remaining balance to...

(1) buy agricultural land worth up to ֏5 million
(2) renovate the newly purchased house if necessary, worth up to ֏4 million
(3) buy furniture and appliances, up to ֏2 million

... Which forcefully displaced families do NOT qualify?

(a) If they are already a recipient of another housing program that began immediately after the 2020 war.
(b) If one of the family members owned a house or apartment in Armenia as of 2023-09-19 or at the time of application.

... Conditions if you want to receive aid to build your own house

(a) Select one of the preapproved projects/plans.
(b) The construction company must be licensed in Armenia.

... The assistance will stop if

(a) If two family members under the age of 55 are absent from Armenia for >180 days per year unless they leave Armenia to receive education in one of the top 400 international universities, aviation training, or military training.

... The housing assistance will roll out in phases

The first phase will include families with 3 or more children if they want an apartment or 2+ children if they want a house, low-income families, those who already have a mortgage, families who lost a member in war, and creditworthy families who can take out a separate loan amounting 50% of the assistance size.
The second phase, starting 2026-01-01, will include families with 2 children if they want an apartment or families with 1 child if they want a house.
The third phase, starting 2027-01-01, will include everyone else.

... PM Pashinyan about the refugee housing program

PASHINYAN: The working group has done a lot of work to get here, thank you. Spread the word so people will know the details of this assistance program. No one should be forced to visit or call an office to receive basic details.
We have decided not to adopt a "flat" approach; the amount of aid increases based on the family size and the location of the house. We had to exclude the [expensive and crowded] central parts of Yerevan. We also have to ensure a proportional load on the educational facilities.
If the refugee has an active mortgage loan taken in Armenia, let's say taken in 2016, each family member will receive ֏2 million towards that mortgage. So if you have a family of 6 [Nagorno-Karabakh families are often larger than Armenia-based families], you receive $31,000 to pay off your mortgage.
On the other hand, our brothers and sisters from Nagorno-Karabakh who are well-off and already own a house without an outstanding mortgage balance, won't receive assistance because the goal of this program is to help those who don't have a house.

... How much will this cost?

FINANCE MINISTER: There will be up to 25,000 recipient families, and if we use the averages, it amounts to [voice is starting to crackle] ֏500 billion ($1.3 billion) for the housing costs alone. There will be additional expenses associated with this program. Every year, for the next 10-12 years, we will confirm the annual expenditures. So the overall costs will amount to ֏700-800 billion.
PASHINYAN: So that's roughly a $2 billion investment program in Armenia. Also, by becoming citizens of Armenia to take advantage of this housing program, the refugees won't lose any refugee rights or privileges, and they will not lose the ongoing monthly cash [40+10] assistance programs.
FINANCE MINISTER: We have launched a new line in the migration services to handle the expected uptick in applications in the coming months so people won't face long lines. The passport departments in provinces will begin to handle citizenship applications just for refugees; today this is only possible in Yerevan.
video,

EU's EBRD and US's USAID to develop connectivity in the South Caucasus

During the EBRD forum held in Yerevan, the two signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, to further enhance connectivity between Asia and Europe via the South Caucasus.
It's about expanding trade, green energy, investment, as well as transport and digital infrastructure in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

The MoU seeks to enhance the planning, design and construction of critical energy, transport, digital and agricultural infrastructure in the region. It also aims to: improve the efficiency of customs, tariff and border operations; attract private capital investment into the South Caucasus economies for the development of the Middle Corridor; and adopt the highest international standards to promote economic connectivity with Europe and among South Caucasus countries.

source,

other EBRD projects were announced

source,

Lake Sevan is back to 2021 levels after the heavy precipitation in May: VIDEO

OFFICIAL: As of May, the level was 1900.46, which is 2 cm higher than the 2021 mark and 29 cm higher than January 1.
2021 was a harmful year for Sevan because of unprecedented heat waves. In June 2021 there was an evaporation of 153M m³ water, which was a historical high, while the precipitation on the surface was only 4.8M m^3, which was 4x lower than the previous historical low [WTF?]. Also, the river flow was at 40%. As a result of all this, instead of the usual 7 cm increase for June, we observed a 10 cm decline.
This year the conditions have been much better. We are finally back to the May 2021 levels. The rains filled it up from above, and the Arpa-Sevan tunnel from below the rocks. This tunnel has already brought 89M m³ this year, which is 2x more than last year.
Another contributing factor is the reduced reliance on Sevan for irrigation because the agricultural fields are still wet. Last year we had to tap into Sevan starting May 14. This year the government hasn't even summoned a meeting to authorize a release of water.
The 5 largest reservoirs currently hold 605M m^3, up by 240M. Only the Aparan reservoir is lacking. In Ketchut reservoir the water is above the famous "flowers" (margaritka). This is the first time in 5 years that the water is above the margaritkas. When the water rises above margaritkas, it drops down and flows into Lake Sevan. Overall, 90% of the water entering Sevan is wasted by evaporation.
REPORTER: Rains will return starting May 22.
video,

EBRD will provide $10 million to finance the Armenian private sector’s investments in growth, competitiveness, and greener and more sustainable practices

upgrading their production facilities and processes to EU standards. At least 70 per cent of the loans will go to support the green transition. Borrowers will receive incentive grants and technical advice funded by the European Union

source,

anti-corruption: former MP from Gagik Tsarukyan's BHK party is arrested under the suspicion of defrauding several homebuyers through real estate machinations

AUTHORITIES: Ex-MP Aragats Akhoyan's construction companies collected ֏274 million from several prospective apartment buyers in 2010-2014. He pocketed the funds.
source, source, video,

Armenia signs Council of Europe's Bioethics Convention

The Oviedo Convention is the only international legal instrument that defines the principles for the protection of human rights in the field of medicine and biological medicine.
FM Mirzoyan met Marija Burić on Thursday in Strasbourg to sign it.
source,

Armenia will open an embassy in Cyprus

Currently, Armenia’s Ambassador to Greece also serves as Ambassador to Cyprus. The seat of the Cypriot Embassy in Armenia is in Moscow.
In March Cyprus said it would open an embassy in Yerevan.
source,

Belarus leader Lukashenko suggests he and Ilham Aliyev discussed the 2020 war before it began

Lukashenko is in Baku to strengthen the strategic AZ-BY relations.
LUKASHENKO: We are brothers and we have a common vision of the world and where it's headed. I remember our conversation before the 2020 war, your liberation war, when we had a philosophical debate at a dinner table. At the time we came to the conclusion that it's possible to win the war. That's important. It's very important to preserve that victory. I also agreed with you at the time that the most difficult period would come after the liberation of the lands. Today is that difficult period when we have to revive those lands and return people, while others will born there. It'll be difficult to revive these lands in 5-10 years; it requires extensive work. Belarus is ready to help Azerbaijan. //
Nikol should have greeted Putin at the airport to avoid the war.
source,

Luxembourg lawmakers urge government to act for implementation of World Court orders by Azerbaijan

Deputies have unanimously adopted a motion asking the government to act for the implementation of the ICC orders by Azerbaijan.
The MPs urge to demand from Azerbaijan an immediate release of all Armenian prisoners of war, support peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, expand the partnership between Armenia and EU, support the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey, deepen the diplomatic relations between Armenia and Luxembourg.
source,

ranking member of Armenia's ruling party about EU membership

The MP Khandanyan says Pashinyan has already announced that Armenia wants to deepen ties with the EU as much as possible and that how soon Armenia submits a bid to become an EU candidate will depend on the signals coming from the EU. In general, today the EU is not ready to expand because some EU members oppose it, said Khandanyan. When the EU sends a signal that it's ready, Armenia will "accelerate" the steps, said Khandanyan, adding that Armenia itself has already sent that "signal" that it wants closer integration with the EU.
But first, Khandanyan says Armenia must improve its resilience because the transitional phase will be full of risks. Armenia expects the EU's assistance to improve the resilience [reduce reliance on Russia].
source,

Բրյուսելի հանդիպման արդյունքներով ԵՄ-ն կշարունակի նպաստել ՀՀ տնտեսական զարգացմանը

PM Pashinyan hosted EU's Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis to discuss the implementation of the economic agreements reached on April 5 in Brussels to improve Armenia's resilience.
Pashinyan also called for the EU's assistance in implementing the refugee housing program adopted by the Government this morning.
The EU Trade Commissioner said the EU will continue to assist Armenia's development, including in the areas of energy, infrastructure, diversification of markets, implementation of higher standards, improvement of business environment, etc.
source, other meeting, other meeting,

U.S. Ambassador Kvien is "optimistic about the opportunities offered by Armenia to U.S. and other foreign companies"

A meeting was held at the central bank building participated by Ambassador Kvien and other guests of the EBRD forum that's being held in Yerevan this year.
Ambassador Kvien also highlighted Armenia's high economic growth rate in recent years.
source,

Armenia's membership to EAEU is beneficial for Armenia: Moscow

DEPUTY FM of RUSSIA: I don't know what the Armenian leadership plans to do in the future, but EAEU is undoubtedly a mutually beneficial process. This is reflected in the economic growth figures of Armenia.
source,

Armenian government invites the head of Metsamor nuclear plant to join talks with European Commission officials

The infrastructure ministry and NPP chief met a delegation led by the European Commission's Deputy Director-General for International Cooperation and Development Marjeta Jager.
The European Commission official thanked for the invitation and welcomed the steps by the Armenian government towards the energy reforms in Armenia. They spoke about NPP's operation and future plans.
They discussed the exchange of experience and financial programs.
source,

Armenia and European Commission officials discussed the implementation of April 5 agreements reached in Brussels

The head of the European Commission's Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations Adrienn Kiraly was hosted by foreign ministry on Thursday.
They discussed programs to improve Armenia's resilience under the April 5 agreement, the full implementation of CEPA and its expansion.
source,

Moscow released a somewhat misleading statement after the recent meeting between Pashinyan and Putin, according to National Security Council chief Armen Grigoryan

According to Grigoryan, Pashinyan did not "ask" Putin to maintain troops on the borders with Turkey and Iran. According to Grigoryan, Pashinyan asked Putin to remove the Russian guards from Yerevan's airport and AM-AZ border, and when Putin asked Pashinyan if he also wanted to remove them from TR and IR border, Pashinyan said "no", because those guards were installed under a different agreement. Context in Wednesday news digest.
Grigoryan also criticized Russia's attempts to stoke divisions between Armenia and Iran by presenting the EU observer mission as anti-Iranian. Grigoryan demanded Russia present evidence of the EU mission carrying out activities outside of their AM-AZ border monitoring mission. "Iran has already expressed its stance. I don't understand why Russia is attempting to use the EU's Monitoring Mission to cause issues," said Grigoryan.
source,

Armenia's NatSec chief Armen Grigoryan advised Russia to improve its own human rights conditions and freedom of speech before commenting on Armenia's internal affairs

Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova recently complained about Armenian police using force to clear the roads blocked by pro-Russian party activists. Zakharova also complained that the West wasn't criticizing the Armenian government for it.
NatSec GRIGORYAN: Armenian protesters have been able to fully exercise their freedom of speech during legally organized rallies. Illegal actions are obviously countered by police. Perhaps Russia should first look at itself before criticizing us.
REPORTER: Look at what? Russia doesn't have opposition, how can they oppress something that doesn't exist?
ARMEN GRIGORYAN: Russia should discuss its own kitchen. The developments in Armenia are not related to Russia.... or are they? If these protests are tied to Russia, Moscow should directly say so. If Moscow sees a problem, they must say it directly, and not do so by dragging others like they did in the case of Iran and the EU Mission.
source,

during a meeting in Yerevan, Jordan's foreign ministry expressed concern over the attempted takeover of part of the Armenian district of Jerusalem

The Deputy FM of Jordan met his Armenian counterpart in Yerevan to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues. The parties criticized the attempts to change the status quo in Jerusalem.
source,

Pashinyan and Diaspora Office held a meeting about the iGorts professional repatriation program: VIDEO

source,

monkeys could soon become smarter than you

Are monkeys entering the stone age? Capuchin primates were filmed using tools to dig for food underground, days after an orangutan treated its own wound with plant.
The footage joins a growing number of studies looking into the tiny South American primate's use of stone and stick tools, an emerging field that some research universities now describe as 'documenting the Monkey Stone Age in real-time.'
video,

Hi guys,
Me and my friend are both students (aged 20 and 21) and we have recently started an event company specialising in the drum and bass scene in our area. We thought this would be a good idea as we have always wanted to run events, love drum and bass, and found a nice gap in the market with good enough demand.
To get our foot in the door we had to partner originally for two events with the main event company in the area. They secured us the venue (which was free), sorted ticketing, and said they would promote (they didn't promote us at all, so we had to take care of that), and took a 50% split on ticket sales. Bare in mind at this point there was NO mention of not being able to collaborate with other brands/clubs/companies in the area.
The two events went very successfully due to mine and my partners work, so as a result they promised us a stage at the city festival they are organising as they obviously saw potential. They then promised many other things (huge stages, office work, become an official part of their company, etc) but everything kept falling through. This was until 2 weeks ago when they all of a sudden said we could perform at the festival. This was only because another company they were working with dropped out, so we were being used as the 'filler' space. They only gave us 24 hours to organise a line up, saying that if we didn't we would lose the slot. That meant tirelessly messaging DJs, promoters, sorting payments, etc. Nevertheless we managed to do it and send it off.
During this time period there were many event companies and venues asking us if we would like to do an event with them. We were very excited because opportunities started coming to us now, and we needed collaboration everywhere to survive and get our name out there as a new event company. Every time we said yes, but as soon as the company we originally started with found out, they would instantly be very aggressive, angry and threaten to remove us from all of their future events (which at this point we had already been promoting and generating hype and selling tickets). So we would have to sever ties with the other companies we wanted to collaborate with. Interestingly, they all understood and said the company we work with has a terrible reputation for exclusivity and they wont allow any collaboration.
Eventually we realised we are missing out on money and chances to do events which a brand new grass roots event brand needs to flourish, so we decided to take an event exactly one week before the big festival. We let the company know this to be professional, and instantly they removed our slot at the festival and 'wished us luck'. Bare in mind, we had booked and paid for DJs, advertised this stage, and created many ticket sales which goes right into their pocket. We will therefore make 0 money and are out of pocket.
We explained to them that, there was never a moment where they said we had to remain exclusive, and that at one point they were a small brand like ours therefore they should understand that collaboration is vital to success at this stage. However they have taken it as a 'backstab' and tried to make us look like the villains as they believe they helped grow and develop our brand. In reality, all they did was secure us two venues (which cost them nothing) and didn't promote or advertise our event once. They didn't provide any equipment (decks, sound systems, etc) and didn't assist in the lineup or overall organisation of the event. Therefore we dispute that they helped grow our brand.
We see this as bullying almost, if they don't get their way, then they will try to squash little companies. We are nowhere near the size of being able to compete with them, so for us it just doesn't make sense? After speaking with many other companies our size and local to our area, they have all said the same thing about companies like these.
As a result we are going to do a free pop up party in the middle of the festival (the festival takes place in many clubs/bars in a town with one wristband) and have the same DJs play who were meant to play at the festival. We thought this was a good way not to let the people down, still let the event go ahead and also almost show this company that we can survive without them.
This is a bit of a messy post, but my question comes down to how do we avoid these toxic relationships in the future? We want to continue to collaborate with many companies but do not ever want to be in a position where we are backed into a corner and threatened by the big dogs. Also, is there any advice you'd give us as young business owners getting into an industry which can be very dodgy at times?
Many thanks.

Hey everyone,
I've had to do this whole post again (absolutely gutted) as the draft function let me down so sorry if I skip through a bit quicker...
Another day, another set of memes to look through. As always, you can catch my previous day round ups below:
13th May
14th May
15th May
To reiterate, the description of each tweet is to the best of my knowledge the references made to allow you to make your own view in context and the speculation is pure speculation on my part. If you just want to look at the descriptions and not the speculation then just ignore the speculation part.
This is just for fun and shouldn't be taken as any financial advice, make your own decisions, I just like the stock.
If you have anything to add feel free to in the comments.
Let's begin:
10am - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791106334517010680
Description: First we have Jigsaw from Saw, "Hello, Do you want to play a game?", it then cuts to The Prestige with the quote "are you watching closely?" and then it cuts to Lucky Number Slevin talking about the Kansas city shuffle and finally it's Nas with Made you look.
Speculation: Jigsaw used to capture people who were not looking to live their life and play games with them to show them that they actually do care about their lives in the end. Maybe DFV is referring to shorts desperately trying to get out of their position and showing they will do whatever it takes to do it. The Prestige quote comes from the scene here and shows a magic trick of money appearing. The Kansas City Shuffle is "In order for a confidence game to be a "Kansas City Shuffle", the mark must be aware, or at least suspect that he is involved in a con, but also be wrong about how the con artist is planning to deceive him. The con artist will attempt to misdirect the mark in a way that leaves him with the impression that he has figured out the game and has the knowledge necessary to outsmart the con artist, but by attempting to retaliate, the mark unwittingly performs an action that helps the con artist to further the scheme" and the Made you Look songs full line is "They shootin', Aw made you look" maybe referring to what is happening to the stock right now.
10.15am - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791110102797172804
Description: Here we have a scene from Kill Bill where the bride is about to take on the crazy 88 gang and the music Nobody but Me by The Human Beinz.
Speculation: On the theme of ultimate revenge, The Bride in Kill Bill was on a mission to well.. kill bill. Lots of to go through in order to get to the final boss and the song is maybe making a point that Nobody but DFV could have seen this coming or maybe he is saying RCEO can do it
10.30am - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791113879684325383
Description: This is taken from Inside Man, i think it's the opening scene and has the music Chaiyya Chaiyya, also taken from the original clip. DFV has imposed a cat looking over and listening to the monologue which reads "Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself".
Speculation: Inside man is about an elaborate heist turned hostage movie on Wall Street. Don't think there is much more to say about that other than GME is most likely the hostage in this situation.
10.45am - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791117652276195516
Description: The first part of this meme is taken from The Office and Michael pulls up in a car with Lady Gaga - Let's Dance playing and states "it's Britney Bitch". We then cut to Britney Spears in her music video Hit Me Baby One More Time and the part "give me a sign" has the movie logo for Signs on it (much more of that to come)
Speculation: First part is a joke from DFV keeping the just dance theme going but then we go to hit me baby one more time and most importantly a reference to a "Just give me a sign". There are signs coming that something big is going to happen.
11am - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791121430836584789
Description: This is the intro to Goosebumps and follows a lot of the original clips theme, you can watch that here. Some key changes that have been made though, R.K Gill is on the briefcase, something has definitely been edited with the man's head holding the briefcase, the billboard shows a morph to Ryan Cohen, Ryan's dog is brought in and then it's "Bear Beware" and "Goosebumps, based on the memes by R.K Gill"
Speculation: This is a really fun meme, we see some more of RC and Roaring Kitty Gill all over this. Is there a partnership or does DFV just know that RCEO is about to do something big that will send goosebumps down the bears necks.
11.15am - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791125203147428066
Description: Next we have Broad City and the song Best Friend by Sofi Tukker. The meme basically just has lots of scenes around new york with friends just doing a lot of dancing. Just a fun meme of dancing really and a lot of it centers around the two best friends the sitcom is about.
Speculation: DFV and RCEO are best pals and with everything that is going on with the stock they are just dancing and having a great time. Essentially owning New York which of course is where the finance bros hang out.
11.30am - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791128976632459643
Description: The first scene is taken from Devil Wears Prada with the models hanging out in New York for a shoot and the song Crazy by Seal plays with the lyrics "we're never gonna survive, unless we get a little crazy" it cuts to the official music video then back to Devil wears Prada where they say "oh i get it, the piece is called urban jungle right?", "yes the modern investor unleashes the animal within to take on the big city" Roarrr
Speculation: Another meme from New York with predominantly girls hanging out. DFV maybe noting that we all unleash a little roaring kitty by taking on his thesis with Gamestop, dunno about you but I just like the stock. Things might get a little crazy, at least to people on the outside when they are asking you why you aren't selling.
11.45am - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791132751976120778
Description: This scene is taken from the movie Signs and the Rev Graham here is woken and staring at something on the roof that spooks him.
Speculation: There will be many more references to this movie, in this case the Rev Graham (who weirdly looks like Ken G) is getting spooked at something he thought he saw. Scary stuff if you are short on GME.
12.00pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791136527801807077
Description: This is also taken from the movie Signs and it's a quote, "See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?"
Speculation: Something big is coming, what kind of person are you? Is it possible there are no Cohencidences?
12.15pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791140301895352325
Description: Again from Signs, this shows the scene where the kid takes out his baby monitor and claims he can hear the aliens talking to each other. There's two of them talking he states and again we see the sign logo flash up. We then see an overlay of alien writing that isn't in the original clip so that's been dubbed on purposely.
Speculation: Things starting to get real interesting now. This looks to be a sign that something is happening behind the scenes. A baby monitor, what's RCEO got stored up? Maybe he is pregnant? Maybe GME is pregnant? Is there a merger happening? A split of some sort?
12.30pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791144075963298165
Description: This is the scene in Signs where they go to the crop fields and there are alien crop circles everywhere, only in this meme DFV has replaced those circles with GME logos. Many GME logos some with long running lines.
Speculation: Really looking like something big is on the horizon and DFV thinks he has seen the signs. This meme would suggest maybe its a merger with multiple gamestop logos but that's just my opinion. One thing for sure is that Gamestop has something on the horizon.
12.45pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791147851466047673
Description: This is the scene in Signs where the news start reporting sightings of aliens and they show a load of kids in a different country looking down an alley way only for an alien bearing Roaring Kitty as a face to walk by, scary stuff!
Speculation: This was actually the first scene from this film that made me realize i had seen the film before and a younger me was pretty freaked out by that scene. It could imply that they have landed, they are here and or DFV is at least. Certainly a they are coming sort of message.
1.00pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791151631259574559
Description: This is taken from the animated film Luca, where one kid says "what does it mean, the thing you just said?" and the other kid goes "Come on Ill show you more stuff"
Speculation: I think this is aimed at me writing this right now and whoever is reading this right now. Ultimately i have no idea what DFV is saying i can only speculate and DFV knows that, he can't outright say what he thinks but he can show us more and more cool memes.
1.15pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791155401091596494
Description: This is taken from 500 days of summer and DFV has changed a lot of the words here but essentially he is asked what he does and he says he makes Gamestop memes, the woman says he could be a really great investor if he wanted to be, he is asked why he went from being a great investor to making gamestop memes and he says "why make something disposable, like an investment thesis, when you can make something that lasts forever like a Gamestop meme"
Speculation: DFV having more meme lols here but really why would he need to do anymore investing, he already has his favourite company shares and the thesis is done, he knows what's going on and he is happy to stick with what he has. That doens't mean his thesis on Gamestop doesn't evolve, I just think he is done looking for other deep value plays.
1.30pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791159177785770273
Description: This is taken from The Shining and the song dubbed on is Matter of Time by Vandelux. The main protagonist and author in the movie, Jack is sat writing and it seems it is DFV and he is writing memes.
Speculation: Anyone that has seen The Shining knows that Jack goes to a secluded house with no distractions to write his book. Turns out it actually just makes him go completely mental and he ends up killing his family. I think DFV is just having some fun showcasing the time he has spent focusing on making Gamestop memes.
1.45pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791162950373527857
Description: We have Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See by Busta Rhymes and his music video. The lyrics he has chosen for this clip are emphasized and they are:
Flipmode Busta Bus (Uh, what?) Nine-seven (Come on, what?) Hot shit (Ha-hah) Check it out
Hit you with no delayin' so what you sayin', yo? (Uhh) Silly with my nine milli, what the deally, yo? (What?)
Do you really wanna party with me? Let me see (Uh) just what you got for me (Come on) Put all your hands where my eyes can see (Put 'em up, yo) Straight buckwildin' in the place to be (Wildin', nice, ha)
It then ends with If you really wanna party with Roaring Kitty
Speculation: More fun and dancing. Some interesting lyrics, Flipmode (reverse uno card anyone), Silly with my nine milli (could relate to shares, does RCEO have that much?) Could just be a fun meme without much else to it.
2:00pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791166726891061749
Description: This is taken from Sicario and it starts with the quote "so you wanna be a Sicario" and then shows the blonde reddit icon from the other sub tied up and then a guy looking pretty pissed off.
Speculation: The Sicarios were hitmen, that's basically what it means when it asks if you want to be a Sicario, do you want to be a hitman or assassin. The blonde icon from other sub tied up is in the place of a kid who was tied up in the film and certainly WAS NOT a friend of the Sicarios. Take from that what you will but I can't comment to much as it's about another sub.
2.15pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791170783277949042
Description: First we have a scene from No Country for Old Men with the quote "you can't stop what's comin" then we cut to a train tearing it up in Chicago and also taking out a double deck chair with a Chicago Bears logo on it then finally we go to a WWE smackdown with Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Speculation: No Country for Old Men has cropped up a few times before but it's about a killer who is pretty much unstoppable mowing these people down. The train wrecking Chicago and the Chicago Bears (as a Packers fan i liked that), well option contract writers are in Chicago I believe but also it's the original home of Citadel. The chair maybe is an answer to a Cramer tweet and the smackdown i'm not sure other than it being just a fun thing to watch.
2.30pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791174276604699013
Description: This is the music video for Punkrocker by Teddybears. It basically follows a man who is being chased by the police, the cops are coming but the guy seems pretty chill about it. He listens to the music with no fear and you can too. The words are in Gamestop white and red.
Speculation: I think that this could indicate that Gamestop isn't doing anything wrong with what's going to happen, they have warned again and again in their financial postings that the stock is being manipulated and is subject to squeezes. It could also indicate a GME investor has nothing to worry about legally either, just like the stock.
2.45pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791178049939182048
Description: This is taken from The School of Rock where Jack Black is trying to ask what it takes to rock out. If you wanna rock its not about scoring chicks, it's not about getting wasted, its about sticking it to the man, and you can't just say it man you gotta FEEL it it in your blood and guts.
Speculation: Only you can decide what sticking it to man means yourself in relation to having GME stock during a big squeeze event but for me personally it's been a long 3 and a half years of having crap tossed at me just for owning this stock and i certainly pissed with the amount of corruption and cheating that has and continues to go on. If shorts never closed and still have that position, that's their mess not mine.
3.00pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791181824754106742
Description: The main scene in this meme is taken from the film Stand By Me. You have two cars on both sides of the road. The good guy in this is driving on the wrong side of the road and the other gang are on the right side, it's a game of chicken with a truck coming towards the good guy as they both drive side by side. It then cuts to Bojack Horseman trying to do some comedy and being asked to get off stage, he states "I'm not done hold on" - it cuts back to the scene and the truck bails last second. The good guy just keeps on driving and goes in front of the other car having a victory sip.
Speculation: If you take DFV to be the good guy in this car scene then he just carries on with what he believes which is in GME regardless of trying to be chickened out of it in the face of adversity. You could also say he is Bojack and wanting to continue with his memes, he ain't done telling his memeroirs yet.
3.15pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791185600453783688
Description: This is taken from Everything Everywhere All At Once and shows a woman showcasing her awards, DFV has imposed some cat photos on her desk and also 3 awards that read

• DeepFuckingValue, Degen of the Month
  
• Roaring Kitty, 1st Cat in Congress
  
• Keith Gill, Best Ethics from the CFA institute (lol)
  

"The quote is Do you see these? You don't get one of these unless you've seen a lot of bullshit. Excuse my French. Now you may only see a pile of boring forms and numbers, but I see a story."
Speculation: DFV is a fucking dude, the guy has a meme trophy cabinet. To us or others we just don't quite see it like he does. If DFV thinks something big is going to happen you have the choice to believe it too or not, that's completely up to you. The awards are lol.
3.30pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791189376195854606
Description: The first scene is taken from Garden State, he asks her "what are you listening to", she goes "you gotta hear this one song" and you then hear Dont Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult and the opening lyric "all our times have come"
Speculation: Don't fear the reaper, if you hold GME you don't have to as it's not going bust. The company is not going to die. There are certainly some shorts that should be fearing the reaper though.
3.45pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791193149408223306
Description: This is a hilarious meme and i'm not sure where this is taken from but i'll try my best to describe it (really you should just watch it though). Two men are in a rich guys house, the host writes a note and then has to leave tearing the note off and taking it with him, the other sneaks up to the notepad, labelled Cohen, and tries to sketch the next page to work out what he wrote. What is revealed is a cartoon man with a huge dick.
Speculation: RCEO has a big slong, what else is there to say? Ok I think that he is going to do something big and it's an exciting thing to think about. Does make you think of the tweet of Steve Smith he posted with the erect penis too.
4.00pm - https://x.com/TheRoaringKitty/status/1791196925619789864
Description: A more recently made meme shows Jay Clayton talking about Roaring Kitty showing his first meme and saying "is this something that we should be tolerating in our markets, whether it's legal lalallull" then it goes to a clip of a guy saying "i mean what did he say fuck me for"
Speculation: DFV basically saying as we would say in the UK, "whatever mate". The guy is talking a load of bullshit and to bring up legality after all the stuff he has let slide as former SEC chairman, i mean bitch please!
Hope you enjoyed, still pissed i had to write this twice, my original had a lot more links to original clips and each Superstonk post as well! I'm off to bed, i'll update with the 8pm tweet tomorrow.
Love ya DFV x

Lots of lore included, but theres also a TL;DR 😂 I have been friends with this person for several years now. I have been slowly trying to distance myself from them, but recently find it necessary to put an actual end to our friendship. Their passive aggression & self centeredness has been a problem for the entirety of our friendship. I feel as though we have all had those “friends” that make us feel as though we are walking on eggshells, or only talk about themselves and when you are able to get a word in edgewise, they bring the conversation back to themselves. I have tried to address their passive aggression in the past, attempting to dig deeper and open a line of honest/safe communication when they have clearly been upset about something. They essentially were unreceptive and blew me off. Honestly, due to their unhealthy communication habits, I’ve been hesitant to even broach the conversation of their tendency to dominate the conversation and not be curious about me or my life. When they talk about previous friendships that have ended, it’s because the friends had the same issues I’m currently grappling with. When they retell these happenings, they seem as though they aren’t practicing introspection and throw the blame on the other party. This further affirms my belief that trying to communicate these problems would be futile. There’s been a string of events recently that helped me realize this friendship is no longer worth repairing. I have known this friend for YEARS and I’m very familiar with the ins and outs of their life. A couple months ago, they asked me if my partner was in construction. They are in insurance 😂 I have been with them since before our friendship, and have always shared their careers wins and woes with them. It’s baffling they would forget something like that. About a week ago, they sent me a text that verbatim said “Omg. Wasn’t your old best friend that fucked you over ____ ? They’re married to one of my work besties and they were stranded off a highway so I picked them up. Wtf I like them??? What happened with you guys I can’t remember!!!” My relationship with the person they are referencing was extremely hurtful to me. I learned a lot about myself and friendships in general from that wound. We were both mutually toxic to each other. This incident was a major event in my life, as it inspired me to “do the work” both for myself, and others. The whole reason I met my friend is because I was putting myself out there after what I had experienced, so I know I have discussed this event with them at length. I’m a forgetful person myself, but these are important pieces and parts of who I am that they’re forgetting. It makes me feel as though they don’t even really know anything about me. Most recently, this passive aggression and vindication is affecting my family. Their job includes interacting with the public, and they have taken it upon themselves to be extremely petty and unkind to a family member of mine because of an interaction that left them with a sour taste in their mouth. These series of events have assured me that severing ties with this friend is the best route for everyone involved. I expect them to try and contact me soon, as my family member filed a report against them. This is the response I have preemptively crafted: “At this point, I feel like it is in mine and my family’s best interest that we go our separate ways. There has been communication issues burdening our friendship for a long time now, and I don’t foresee them being resolved. I don’t wish you ill, and I hope you can pay the same consideration to me and my loved ones. “ I feel that they will most likely want to continue the conversation. My question is, would it be hurtful of me to not respond? I feel as though a “post mortem” of our friendship would not only open old wounds, but foster resentment for both of us. I do not feel as though it will truly benefit either of us to continue the conversation further afterwards, but I am wanting to hear other points of view before committing to this decision. I definitely do expect them to respond, as they have every right and reason to. I just want to know if it would be crappy of me to not offer further insight into my feelings/decision if that’s what they’re wanting?
TL;DR Passive aggressive friend with a tendency towards vindication has recently acted out a string of events that have not hurt only me, but my family as well. I’m wondering if it would be a crappy move to not respond after sending a singular message expressing my intention to end the friendship.

What type of loan do I need?
My credit score is 600. I don't own any assets, and I work based on sale commission. (My own business)
As a "kid" in my 20s I took out some loans, cell phones etc to either help someone or myself. These loan have since disappeared after that 7 year mark, then many I have paid back. In-between many, life got the best of me..but we got there.
What are my options, I was never taught this stuff growing up. Now I'm trying to get my life together, I don't have family that can help, I am the family that helps basically, my brother and mother are both disabled and can't work I am the main caregiver.
I know I might not get a loan for 20k but I'm on the brink of being without a home.
With a credit score of 600 and 10k debt (Technically 10,800) with assets and a fluctuating job, I cannot secure a loan.
What are my options? I've sold every of value, I stopped eating basically, I can't work full-time as I have to take of my mother and brother, can't afford a PSW, can't afford to move to cheaper wheelchair accessible housing. I've worked all my life since I was catching chicken at 6 years old, but I was never taught much when it come to stuff..I didn't even do my taxes till I was 27.
I don't know what type loan I need, like peer loans, secured, unsecured, line of credit, third party, credit card..secured or unsecured..should I got to Reddit for a loan..I'd even go to a loan shark at this point.
"Can 1 million people donate 1 dollar" to bad we don't start a sub Reddit for that, we could all get rich 😅
Just looking for some advice please, with my information. Like 600 credit, what are my options in Canada?
Please don't hit me with the "get a job" I had to quit 2 jobs to take care of my brother and mother. My situation is many times more worse that I am letting off. So please, legit answers only.
Yes, I would very much like the "get rich quick scheme" ideas if you have them, HOWEVER "in the long run" advice is good too. I need anything I can get. I just prefer the former. That said, I'm not trying to get rich, just trying to be happy and content, so I can secure a bigger house, hire a live in PSW or nurse for my mom and brother, and start working again via my career.
I think all us Canadians understand the crisis we are going through, I lost my home, my jobs, my career, so many unexpected expenses. I can't even afford to eat at times. Plus I hold the weight of everything by myself.
Please help me if you've read thus far.

Just curious how healers are feeling out there. I didn't see anything terrible, so I'm curious more what it will actually be like.
WHM seems to have a forward dash for mobility and a Fire IV/Fell Cleave (I guess?) thing going after Presence of Mind. And there might be an AOE shield judging from some people's take on the Job Actions Trailer (bubble visual that isn't Aquaveil). This latter thing might be them taking a step back from the hard pure/barrier line in the sand and having WHM/AST be a bit more viable in scenarios that require party mitigation.
SCH seems to have decided eating Eos isn't sufficient, so fusion dance for more potent healing it is, along with Miasma 2 or Shadowflare every 2 mins as a follow up to Chain Strategem and possibly more pure healing capability with Emergency Tactics/Seraphisim?
AST...I'm not quite sure what's going on here in full other than Arcanum/Cards getting a total makeover (questionable but I'm waiting for more) and Astrodyne being removed (which...given how controversial that ability has been, might be a good thing...?)
SGE marches forward supplanting SCH by robbing it blind of old and discarded abilities. Eukrasian Dyskrasia (despite the name being an oxymoron) seems to be the Miasma 2/AOE DoT everyone said SGE should have as a low hanging fruit. In addition, it seems to be gaining a AOE Kardia, the OTHER low hanging fruit people were asking for. So given it's getting outright 2 things the forums have been asking for it to have for 2 years now, are people happy about this?
Also, we have four concurrent discussions here - the Job Actions themselves (mechanically), the visuals on them (aesthetics), how they fit into the overall game (meta/balance/encounters), and how they fit thematically/how their abilities reflect their class fantasy (class identity). So there's a lot going on to talk about and I'm curious on other people's takes since I just got home from work and am drowning in the information at this point and want to see what others might be thinking.
Yes yes, I know, forums are not reflective of the entire playerbase, but it's still worth picking collective brains to just take a pulse on at least a segment of the community. Especially for cases like SGE and WHM which seem to be getting what people have been asking for them to have. And maybe get some insight into AST from people that understand...whatever it was I just saw, lol :D

So, my boss was trying to put me on performance management without ever giving me a warning about 'issues'. Now, I talked to the Union, and they told me I should file a grievance.

• I have been off sick for 2 weeks, but the union thinks I should stay off; I feel they will get rid of me on sickness before the grievance plus, won't it impact the next role as in a number of sick days and reason

I have Anonmised the letter THIS WAS SENT FROM HR TO MY UNION
Hi,
I hope you are doing well.
Typically, we correspond directly with individuals submitting grievances. However, the concerned party has requested that all communications be routed through their representative.
Could you please relay the following information to the concerned individual so that we can work on addressing their grievances at the earliest, depending on when all involved parties are available:
The formal grievance was submitted on May 9 and was acknowledged upon receipt.
Under usual conditions, the next step involves a response from the line manager during Informal Stage 1. It's not clear if the line manager was aware that a grievance had been filed regarding their conduct when they responded. Additionally, if the concerned individual's current health absence continues, it will need to be addressed (see below).
The Assistant Chief Executive will address the concerns raised and after meeting with the concerned individual, will seek further clarifications and responses from the line manager. In the meantime, the line manager needs to be informed about the grievance.
We understand this is a challenging period, so we want to remind the concerned individual about the free counselling support available, which can be accessed by calling [Counselling Support Contact Number] or visiting the [Occupational Health and Wellbeing Link].
The next steps include a meeting with the Assistant Chief Executive, arranged after reviewing the grievance submission. This meeting will also address any ongoing health concerns of the individual(THAT IS ME) if applicable. - DOES THIS MEAN THEY WANT TO USE THIS?
In the meantime, if you or the concerned individual have any responses to the points mentioned, please let us know. Please note: I am on leave starting tomorrow, returning on [Return Date], so please direct any correspondence regarding this matter to [HR Consultant], otherwise, your next contact will be from the Assistant Chief Executive.
Thanks.

Every post tomorrow needs to promote our mission, commitment, and focus. -NO SELL FRIDAY -PUSH PUSH PUSH AND HOOOOLLLLDD THE FFIE-ING LINE. -It’s payday for many tomorrow, make a bet on your future. - We haven’t gotten major media attention yet. - THIS IS A SHORT SQUEEZE THATS WHY FFIE, we are against the 95% of the float that is being shorted. Stay focused, ONLY FFIE AS ONE WE WIN!! -PERSONALLY IM GOING TO THE EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENT BEYOND THE WIN ON THE SQUEEZE. Call me crazy but I’m here for big change not a weekend party. -Big picture! Short squeeze stay focused. 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀

After living in the city for a while and just avoiding Bay to Breakers entirely I decided that this is the year I'm going to bite the bullet and check that box off of my SF bucket list.
I took Monday off so I intend to have a good time and find something to do after the race, but I'm not sure what all is happening. I live in Dogpatch and will be catching one of the shuttles back to the start at some point before making my way home, but don't really know what to expect.
Is there a bunch of stuff normally happening out in the Sunset near the finish line? I know there's an afterparty happening by me at The Midway too that I might check out. I think there's something happening at the Phoenix Hotel too?
Basically, if you don't get wasted on your way to the finish line, what's worth checking out?

we had a new college grad who was working remotely. He never had a job before, but we believed he was talented and had a lot of potential. He worked east coast hours and we worked west coast hours with senior dev coverage from 8am to 1am PST hours.
Over the course of about a quarter:

• While the code he created was well commented and the golden path performed functionally, there were always functional defects and the changes took much longer to implement than expected.
• Frequently, when he would encounter issues, he would move on to the next feature without finishing the first feature.
• He was resistant to change, and wanted to do things his own way, ex: “reading the code base” with a million lines of code to read through and not having mastery of the debugger, I felt this was not going well.
• took vacations with his family + religious holidays. When I asked about this, he would frequently cite his parents for scheduling his time.
• He was only willing to change his working hours by one hour and sign off at 6pm EST, to get better overlap with the team (only on certain days of the week)

In 1:1's, I chatted with him to understand the situation and had some candid discussions about his performance.
I used the Crucial Conversations framework (because hard conversations are HARD!)

• Start with heart
• Share you facts
• Share my conclusions
• Ask for their conclusions
• Agree on next steps

I told him that I believed he had great potential and explained that he needed to reach out to other devs if he was stuck and that he needed to deliver the features he was assigned. We also reviewed LEAN Software development principles and showed that it was unshipped inventory, a form of waste.
I brainstormed with my experienced devs and we decided that we would take a more hands on approach.

• We scheduled a daily mentoring session.
• We flew him in for a week to work more intensively with the team. The team worked in person for a week and he met others at the company holiday party

I met with him weekly (1/1’s) to make sure he was on track. To talk about the craftsmanship of software and discuss his progress on features and mentoring
However, performance did not improve in a material way:

• features still had defects
• he did not reach out for help and would only work with others when we scheduled meetings with him
• Continued to blame others, lack of ownership
• Dev continued to leave work exactly at 5pm, regardless of the condition of his work
• In his annual review, he wrote that he had no goals or ambitions and desired a 9-5 job.

Shortly after 1 year, he resigned.
Lessons:

• Improved interview questions - look for grit and ambition. Be wary of a resume without any kind of work experience or extracurricular activities
• Remote work is hard for singles.
• Remote workers need a way to bond with others on the team

I've struggled with the events for quite a while and I would like more opinions from experienced devs on the situation.
Why did you hire him? you might ask. Team said he was outstanding in leetcode and was their clear favorite. I failed my part in evaluating the non-coding skills.

Relatively new lawyer (practicing less than three years) here. Had a big ol' filing due by 5pm today. Crushed it on compiling substantive edits from multiple parties and attorneys. Got the formatting done right so the doc looked beautiful. Filed all 50+ pages of it with ten minutes to spare and served it immediately thereafter. I felt SO good.
And then I saw the certificate of service... Guess who forget to update the filing name when they copied the certificate from a prior filing? At least I updated the date.
Anyhow, just another reminder to other younger lawyers out there: you will make mistakes. Some of them, like mine, will be dumber than others. But, don't stress about it. When I found out, I immediately told my supervisors and they were pretty unphased. I'm just gonna file a line tomorrow correcting the certificate of service and reassuring the court that we did serve the proper document as required. Problem solved. As long as you hone up to your mistakes and take steps in good faith to immediately rectify them, you'll be fine. (This is what I'll keep telling myself).

Just curious if there's ever a commander that hits the table and you're just like "nope."
I'm fine with most commanders, however, there are a few that I just can't stand:
Abaddon the DespoilerLegendary Creature — Astartes Warrior55 Abdel Adrian, Gorion's WardLegendary Creature — Human Warrior44 Abomination of LlanowarLegendary Creature — Elf Horror** Aboshan, Cephalid EmperorLegendary Creature — Cephalid Noble33 Abuelo, Ancestral EchoLegendary Creature — Spirit22 Ace, Fearless RebelLegendary Creature — Human Rebel22 Acererak the ArchlichLegendary Creature — Zombie Wizard55 Aclazotz, Deepest BetrayalLegendary Creature — Bat God44 Acornelia, Fashionable FilcherLegendary Creature — Squirrel33 Adamaro, First to DesireLegendary Creature — Spirit** Adeline, Resplendent CatharLegendary Creature — Human Knight*4 Adeliz, the Cinder WindLegendary Creature — Human Wizard22 Admiral Beckett BrassLegendary Creature — Human Pirate33 Admiral Brass, UnsinkableLegendary Creature — Human Pirate33 Adriana, Captain of the GuardLegendary Creature — Human Knight44 Adric, Mathematical GeniusLegendary Creature — Human Artificer11 Adrix and Nev, TwincastersLegendary Creature — Merfolk Wizard22 Adun OakenshieldLegendary Creature — Human Knight12 Aegar, the Freezing FlameLegendary Creature — Giant Wizard33 Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre StraitLegendary Creature — Serpent55 Aeve, Progenitor OozeLegendary Creature — Ooze22 Agatha of the Vile CauldronLegendary Creature — Human Warlock11 Agent Frank HorriganLegendary Creature — Mutant Warrior86 Agrus Kos, Eternal SoldierLegendary Creature — Spirit Soldier34 Agrus Kos, Spirit of JusticeLegendary Creature — Spirit Detective24 Agrus Kos, Wojek VeteranLegendary Creature — Human Soldier33 Akal Pakal, First Among EqualsLegendary Creature — Human Advisor15 Akawalli, the Seething TowerLegendary Creature — Fungus33 Akim, the Soaring WindLegendary Creature — Bird Dinosaur34 Akiri, Fearless VoyagerLegendary Creature — Kor Warrior33 Akiri, Line-SlingerLegendary Creature — Kor Soldier Ally03 Akki LavarunnerCreature — Goblin Warrior11 Akroma, Angel of FuryLegendary Creature — Angel66 Akroma, Angel of WrathLegendary Creature — Angel66 Akroma, Vision of IxidorLegendary Creature — Angel66 Akul the UnrepentantLegendary Creature — Scorpion Dragon Rogue55 Akuta, Born of AshLegendary Creature — Spirit32 Alandra, Sky DreamerLegendary Creature — Merfolk Wizard24 Alaundo the SeerLegendary Creature — Human Shaman35 Alela, Artful ProvocateurLegendary Creature — Faerie Warlock23 Alela, Cunning ConquerorLegendary Creature — Faerie Warlock24 Alena, Kessig TrapperLegendary Creature — Human Scout43 Alesha, Who Smiles at DeathLegendary Creature — Human Warrior32 Alexander ClamiltonLegendary Creature — Clamfolk Advisor Rebel04 Alexi, Zephyr MageLegendary Creature — Human Spellshaper33 Alhammarret, High ArbiterLegendary Creature — Sphinx55 Alharu, Solemn RitualistLegendary Creature — Human Monk33 Alibou, Ancient WitnessLegendary Artifact Creature — Golem45 Alirios, EnrapturedLegendary Creature — Human23 Alistair, the BrigadierLegendary Creature — Human Soldier33 Alora, Merry ThiefLegendary Creature — Halfling Rogue32 Alquist Proft, Master SleuthLegendary Creature — Human Detective33 Alrund, God of the CosmosLegendary Creature — God11 Amalia Benavides AguirreLegendary Creature — Vampire Scout22 Amareth, the LustrousLegendary Creature — Dragon66 Ambassador BlorpityblorpboopLegendary Creature — Alien Advisor Guest33 Ambassador LaquatusLegendary Creature — Merfolk Wizard13 Amber Gristle O'MaulLegendary Creature — Dwarf Cleric33 Amy PondLegendary Creature — Human22 Amzu, Swarm's HungerLegendary Creature — Insect Shaman33 Anafenza, Kin-Tree SpiritLegendary Creature — Spirit Soldier22 Anafenza, the ForemostLegendary Creature — Human Soldier44 Anara, Wolvid FamiliarLegendary Creature — Wolf Beast44 Anax and CymedeLegendary Creature — Human Soldier32 Anax, Hardened in the ForgeLegendary Enchantment Creature — Demigod*3 Angus MackenzieLegendary Creature — Human Cleric22 Anhelo, the PainterLegendary Creature — Vampire Assassin13 Anikthea, Hand of ErebosLegendary Enchantment Creature — Demigod44 Anim Pakal, Thousandth MoonLegendary Creature — Human Soldier12 Animar, Soul of ElementsLegendary Creature — Elemental11 Anje FalkenrathLegendary Creature — Vampire13 Anje, Maid of DishonorLegendary Creature — Vampire45 Annie Flash, the VeteranLegendary Creature — Human Rogue45 Anowon, the Ruin SageLegendary Creature — Vampire Shaman43 Anowon, the Ruin ThiefLegendary Creature — Vampire Rogue24 Anrakyr the TravellerLegendary Artifact Creature — Necron44 Anthousa, Setessan HeroLegendary Creature — Human Warrior45 Anya, Merciless AngelLegendary Creature — Angel44 Anzrag, the Quake-MoleLegendary Creature — Mole God84 Ao, the Dawn SkyLegendary Creature — Dragon Spirit54 Aphemia, the CacophonyLegendary Enchantment Creature — Harpy21 Apothecary WhiteLegendary Creature — Human Cleric34 Aradesh, the FounderLegendary Creature — Human Soldier14 Aragorn and Arwen, WedLegendary Creature — Human Elf Noble36 Aragorn, Company LeaderLegendary Creature — Human Ranger33 Aragorn, Hornburg HeroLegendary Creature — Human Soldier44 Aragorn, King of GondorLegendary Creature — Human Noble44 Aragorn, the UniterLegendary Creature — Human Noble55 Arahbo, Roar of the WorldLegendary Creature — Cat Avatar55 Arashi, the Sky AsunderLegendary Creature — Spirit55 Arasta of the Endless WebLegendary Enchantment Creature — Spider35 Araumi of the Dead TideLegendary Creature — Merfolk Wizard14 Arcade GannonLegendary Creature — Human Doctor23 Arcades SabbothLegendary Creature — Elder Dragon77 Arcades, the StrategistLegendary Creature — Elder Dragon35 Arcanis the OmnipotentLegendary Creature — Wizard34 Arcee, SharpshooterLegendary Artifact Creature — Robot22 Archangel AvacynLegendary Creature — Angel44 Archelos, Lagoon MysticLegendary Creature — Turtle Shaman24 Arcum Dagsson
Ardenn, Intrepid ArchaeologistLegendary Creature — Kor Scout22 Ardoz, Cobbler of WarLegendary Creature — Goblin Shaman11 Arixmethes, Slumbering IsleLegendary Creature — Kraken1212 Arjun, the Shifting FlameLegendary Creature — Sphinx Wizard55 Armix, Filigree ThrasherLegendary Artifact Creature — Golem32 Arni BrokenbrowLegendary Creature — Human Berserker33 Arni MetalbrowLegendary Creature — Human Berserker33 Aron, Benalia's RuinLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Human33 Arvad the CursedLegendary Creature — Vampire Knight33 Arwen UndómielLegendary Creature — Elf Noble22 Arwen, Mortal QueenLegendary Creature — Elf Noble22 Arwen, Weaver of HopeLegendary Creature — Elf Noble21 Aryel, Knight of WindgraceLegendary Creature — Human Knight44 Ascendant EvincarLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Vampire Noble33 Ash, Party CrasherLegendary Creature — Human Peasant22 Ashad, the Lone CybermanLegendary Artifact Creature — Cyberman33 Ashaya, Soul of the WildLegendary Creature — Elemental** Ashcoat of the Shadow SwarmLegendary Creature — Rat Warlock34 Ashling the PilgrimLegendary Creature — Elemental Shaman11 Ashling, the ExtinguisherLegendary Creature — Elemental Shaman44 Ashnod the UncaringLegendary Creature — Human Artificer14 Ashnod, Flesh MechanistLegendary Creature — Human Artificer11 Asmira, Holy AvengerLegendary Creature — Human Cleric23 Asmodeus the ArchfiendLegendary Creature — Devil God66 AsmoranomardicadaistinaculdacarLegendary Creature — Human Wizard33 Astarion, the DecadentLegendary Creature — Vampire Elf Rogue44 Astor, Bearer of BladesLegendary Creature — Human Warrior44 Astrid PethLegendary Creature — Human22 Atalya, Samite MasterLegendary Creature — Human Cleric23 Atarka, World RenderLegendary Creature — Dragon64 Atemsis, All-SeeingLegendary Creature — Sphinx45 Athreos, God of PassageLegendary Enchantment Creature — God54 Athreos, Shroud-VeiledLegendary Enchantment Creature — God47 Atla Palani, Nest TenderLegendary Creature — Human Shaman23 AtogatogLegendary Creature — Atog55 Atraxa, Grand UnifierLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Angel77 Atraxa, Praetors' VoiceLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Angel Horror44 Atris, Oracle of Half-TruthsLegendary Creature — Human Advisor32 Atsushi, the Blazing SkyLegendary Creature — Dragon Spirit44 Augusta, Dean of OrderLegendary Creature — Human Cleric13 Auntie Blyte, Bad InfluenceLegendary Creature — Devil Advisor22 Aurelia, Exemplar of JusticeLegendary Creature — Angel25 Aurelia, the Law AboveLegendary Creature — Angel44 Aurelia, the WarleaderLegendary Creature — Angel34 Autumn WillowLegendary Creature — Avatar44 Autumn-Tail, Kitsune SageLegendary Creature — Fox Wizard45 Avacyn, Angel of HopeLegendary Creature — Angel88 Avacyn, Guardian AngelLegendary Creature — Angel54 Avacyn, the PurifierLegendary Creature — Angel65 Averna, the Chaos BloomLegendary Creature — Elemental Shaman42 Axelrod GunnarsonLegendary Creature — Giant55 Ayara, First of LocthwainLegendary Creature — Elf Noble23 Ayara, Furnace QueenLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Elf Noble44 Ayara, Widow of the RealmLegendary Creature — Elf Noble33 Ayesha TanakaLegendary Creature — Human Artificer22 Ayesha Tanaka, ArmorerLegendary Creature — Human Artificer24 Ayli, Eternal PilgrimLegendary Creature — Kor Cleric23 Ayula, Queen Among BearsLegendary Creature — Bear22 Ayumi, the Last VisitorLegendary Creature — Spirit73 Azami, Lady of ScrollsLegendary Creature — Human Wizard02 Azamuki, Treachery IncarnateLegendary Creature — Spirit52 Azor, the LawbringerLegendary Creature — Sphinx66 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
Okay so that's just the first couple. I'll update to add the rest later. Thanks! Can't wait for your thoughts!