The new asset of insurance companies: LeBron James bonds
The tool used by those with the greatest potential for damage. The WhatsApp message that created panic. And the smart securitization of LeBron James. A spotlight on several issues on the agenda.
Budget
Who receives budgets in Israel? The one with the greatest potential for damage. After the "sudden" strike at Ben Gurion Airport on one of the busiest days of the year, last week the workers' committee was busy playing innocent and claiming that "it wasn't us." Which did not stop them from claiming in the rest of the sentence, "The fact that nothing worked at the airport is because the Authority did not meet our demands." This is a work method that repeats itself among public sector employees. The goal - to create attention - is legitimate. The way - to disrupt activity at the most painful time - bends the state to surrender to extortion. Those who get things here are not those who deserve them, but those whose potential for damage is the greatest.
For years, the Teachers' Union struck the country "by coincidence" on September 1st. In recent years, the state surrenders in advance and approves the requested salary increases in exchange for quiet until an agreed-upon year. This also happened in Israel's seaports, until the privatization of most of them castrated the effectiveness of the strike. Meanwhile, the workers enjoyed salaries that compete even with high-tech. This is true for the poultry and dairy councils, and of course for the IDF. Every year anew, like a Swiss watch, the IDF wants more and more tens of billions of shekels annually. Every time anew, the IDF threatens to reduce units and reserves, close tank brigades, and more. The IDF knows that the state has no choice but to surrender. Security is required here. Most of the time this happens ahead of state budget discussions, but now there are elections, and the IDF has moved up the annual "gevald" cry to now. Efficiency? Less waste? The IDF is not willing to hear about that. As Tamar Levy-Buna, Deputy Commissioner of Budgets at the Treasury, said gently a few months ago: "With all the ability to hit a window hundreds of km from here with precision, perhaps the security establishment should learn how to satisfy its needs in a way that does not harm the standard of living."
Technology
The fake does not mean that information is not being collected about you. A chain message distributed in recent days on WhatsApp caused great panic among users and group managers. However, it is a fake. According to the false message, starting from the weekend, artificial intelligence will be embedded in WhatsApp that will get free access to all conversations, phone numbers, and personal information, unless managers activate an invented button called "Advanced chat privacy."
So yes, the owner of the application, Meta, has released Meta AI in Israel as well, and it will indeed be used in WhatsApp, but not in the way described. It is no secret that Meta builds its entire business model on sucking up mountains of data and mining browsing habits from every possible corner. But in this case, according to its public statements, even Meta is not capable of doing what the message claims. All messages, photos, and conversations in WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted by default. Even Zuckerberg's engineers, and certainly the company's AI models, are simply unable to access the content of your messages, even if they wanted to. Beyond the fact that the setting is not in the application at all, Meta's AI tools operate only when the user initiates contact with them and tags them directly. Meta will indeed be happy to continue collecting information about you, but this message is a fake. There is no need to change any setting, and it is recommended mainly to stop forwarding embarrassing chain messages.
Investments
The new asset of insurance companies: LeBron James bonds. Government bonds and corporate bonds are clear, but have you heard of LeBron James bonds? Well, it turns out there is such a financial asset - and it is even part of the investment portfolio of insurance companies. In 2018, a company controlled by the famous basketball player, bearing the modest name "King James," raised almost 300 million dollars from two life insurance companies in the USA. In exchange for the raised funds, the company issued bonds with a maturity date in 2049. The bonds will pay money from James' future income - mainly off the court, such as sponsorships and media ventures - and thus turn them into immediate cash.
In simple words, Wall Street found a way to package the brand power of "King James" as a debt product. The first deal carried an interest rate of 4.8%, and in 2022 additional bonds were sold for almost 60 million dollars at an interest rate of 5.75%. What does LeBron get out of it? Liquidation of future capital. Instead of waiting decades until he receives all the money, he turns his brand and future contracts into a financial asset that brings him "money in hand," which he can allocate for new investments. And the insurance companies? They can achieve a higher return on the premium money paid by their insured. This is because it is an alternative and quite "exotic" asset, for which LeBron is forced to pay a higher interest rate relative to the market price. James is not the first celebrity to securitize himself. The one known as a pioneer in the field is the musician David Bowie, who in 1997 made history when he issued "Bowie Bonds." He raised 55 million dollars from investors and promised them an interest payment based on future royalties from his first 25 albums. It seems that as in James' case, both sides were satisfied.
