Tag: markets

• Market > individual performance

  It seems like eons ago now, but I remember when the pandemic hit in 2020 and pre-construction condominium sales in Toronto went on pause until the market could figure out what was going on.

  Then, at the beginning of 2021, 8 Wellesley by CentreCourt launched and sold phenomenally well. It was an important moment because it signalled that the market was back. Developers could launch again.

  Finding the right time to launch is something that developers weigh carefully, even in the best of times. I don’t believe that anyone can accurately time markets, but you want to feel like the market is strong and sentiment is positive.

  Warren Buffett once wrote that “when a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.”

  What this implies is that market dynamics ultimately trump individual performance. No matter how smart, creative, and diligent you may be, there’s only so much that you can do if the market isn’t there for you.

  And in today’s condo market, developers are once again waiting for the next 8 Wellesley.

  2026.10.14

• Would it be insider trading if Kylie Jenner traded on her tweets?

  Lately I have really gotten into Matt Levine’s daily newsletter about “Wall Street, finance, companies and other stuff.” Maybe that’s how I should describe this blog: Cities, real estate, design, and other stuff.

  If you aren’t familiar with Matt’s writing, here is an article that he wrote about Kylie Jenner’s recent tweet concerning Snapchat. You know, the one that wiped out $1.3 billion of market value because she revealed – using only 88 characters, I might add – that she was no longer using the app.

  sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me… ugh this is so sad.

  — Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) February 21, 2018

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  The article was spurred on by this question:

  “Would it be insider trading for Kylie Jenner to buy short term out of money put options on Snap and tweet out that she’s no longer using Snap?”

  And this is the start of his answer:

  Insider trading, as I am constantly saying around here, is not about fairness; it is about theft. It is not illegal to trade on your own nonpublic knowledge of your own intentions. Warren Buffett can buy stocks before he announces that he’s bought them, even though that announcement will predictably make the stocks go up. 

  If I did describe this daily blog like Matt describes his daily newsletter, this post would clearly fall into the “other stuff” camp. But maybe you too will find it interesting. If you do, you can subscribe here. 

  2018.03.17