Odd Lots Jim Chanos on Who's Getting Caught Swimming Naked
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Apr 12, 2025 
Jim Chanos, founder of Chanos & Co. and a legendary short seller, dives into the current state of the market and the lessons learned from volatility. He discusses the overlooked strategies of short selling, especially during downturns. The conversation touches on AI's impact on data centers, the challenges of monetizing AI technologies, and the shifting dynamics in private equity. Chanos also critiques Elon Musk's lofty claims amid economic pressures and warns about the risks of inflated corporate profits as inflation rises.
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Short Selling as Insurance
- Short sellers can outperform when markets decline.
- Their gains offset losses from prolonged bull markets, acting as insurance.
AI and Data Center Economics
- AI's profitability is uncertain, even for major tech companies.
- Legacy data centers face challenges due to high capital expenditures and low returns.
NVIDIA's Deals and Dot-Com Parallels
- NVIDIA's recent deals with CoreWeave and a distributor resemble telecom practices in the dot-com bubble.
- Such behavior, though not inherently bad, can indicate companies stretching to meet financial targets.