Steve Lorenz

@cutiieepie6 Whiner

Some guy tipped me ten dollars in quarters, and I’m still trying to figure out what kind of person thinks that’s acceptable. I just finished a DoorDash order, and he casually mentions he forgot to tip in the app—which, fine, not ideal, whatever. Then he dramatically pulls out a literal roll of quarters like he’s handing me the crown jewels. He looks me dead in the eye and says, “Sorry man, I didn’t tip on the app, this is all I’ve got.” Yeah, thanks. I love holding a handful of coins like it’s 1998. I don’t use change. I’m not a parking meter. I’m not walking around with rolls of quarters or dumping them into a Coinstar just to get the money I already earned. I took it because arguing over coins isn’t how I planned to spend my day, but that doesn’t make it okay. Tipping in quarters is peak absurdity. Tip in the app, tip in bills, tip digitally—literally anything that doesn’t involve me schlepping around loose metal. Acting like this is normal? Pure comedy. And yes, no one should ever think a pocketful of coins counts as a tip.

@johnkonrad Lloyd’s reinsures lots of their risk too. It’s an incestuous market. They’ll Al be fine.

This is potentially the biggest Iran story nobody is talking about: the global insurance market may be heading toward a systemic crisis. Here’s why… Most people don’t realize London isn’t just a financial center it’s THE center of global insurance. Lloyd’s underwrites ~40% of the world’s marine cargo. Ship sinks, port gets bombed, canal gets blocked the bill lands in London. This is why the UK punches above its weight. Not the Royal Navy. Not diplomacy. Insurance. Control insurance, control trade. And London doesn’t just control the 90% of global trade that moves by sea. Lloyd’s and the London market are major insurers of almost everything skyscrapers, factories, ports, satellites, entire supply chains. You can’t participate in public markets or raise large amounts of capital without insurance. Now, the normal playbook for war risk is repricing, not cancellation. Canceling coverage entirely is a massive escalation in underwriting posture. It signals something beyond risk, it signals uncertainty so deep the underwriter can’t even price it. The question everyone should be asking: why? Why not just jack up premiums and make a fortune off the crisis like they did in the Black Sea off Ukraine? To answer that, you have to understand WHY London has maintained a stranglehold on global insurance while losing nearly submarket related to ships. The answer: better intelligence. It is no coincidence that MI6 headquarters sits directly across the Thames from the @IMOHQ, the world’s maritime regulator & a short distance from Lloyd’s itself. I have no proof of a direct pipeline, but it has long been speculated in the industry that intelligence flows from MI6 to Lloyd’s. Having the best intel in the world would be the single greatest competitive advantage any insurer could possess: the ability to price risk that competitors can only guess at. Here’s the problem: the majority of MI6’s intel doesn’t come from its own agents. It comes from Five Eyes the alliance comprising the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. And within 5Eyes, the dominant partner is obvious. The CIA, NSA, NRO, etc generate the lion’s share of intel. So if Lloyd’s pricing advantage flows from MI6, and MI6’s best intelligence flows from the US… what happens when that data pipeline gets throttled? All indications are that @Keir_Starmer was blindsided by the size and scope of the US/Israel strikes on Iran this weekend. That alone tells you something about the current state of transatlantic intelligence sharing. And we know there has been serious anger in Washington over the UK’s decision to sell Diego Garcia, home to America’s most strategically important base in the Indian Ocean, to Mauritius. It is not a huge leap to conclude that the submarine cables linking Langley to London have gone dark, or at minimum have been significantly throttled. What this means for UK national security is a question for the Brits. But what it means for EVERY company globally that’s insured through the London market has massive implications for the entire financial system. Because most large insurers worldwide don’t do independent intelligence work. They index off Lloyd’s rates. If you’re insuring a skyscraper in Tokyo, a semiconductor fab in Taiwan, or a port in Argentina you get a Lloyd’s quote, then shop that price around. Other insurers see Lloyd’s number and assume the diligence was done. They price accordingly. This means if London is suddenly flying blind it’s not just Lloyd’s policyholders at risk. It’s the entire global reinsurance chain. The cancellation of war risk coverage on ships isn’t the crisis. It’s the canary. If this hypothesis is correct, we could be looking at a systemic repricing event across global insurance markets…. the kind of cascading uncertainty that defined 2008 and COVID. Watch Lloyd’s. Watch reinsurance spreads. What Five Eyes. That’s where this story, and possibly Wall Street, breaks. CC @BillAckman

@berlin_bridge @MaMoMVPY Agreed

When Europe shows its true strength, dictators back down. Apply this lesson to Russia.

@Montreal_Browns @mvpbar Thank you!

@Montreal_Browns where do you watch the game together this Sunday?

@WestParkRunner Ugh. Hope they come around soon!

My son with his 8th (9th?) double ear infection since December. Also with the flu. My daughter with the flu as well. Hell of an Easter weekend on deck here.

@ABC Why do you spend the first five minutes of your 22 minute broadcast telling us what you’re going to tell us?

Anybody in search of a great 2 bedroom apartment near Kamm’s Corners? facebook.com/marketplace/it…

@disownedcustoms Is the city pursuing this or is it another group?

@Tweetmeslow Downtown Euclid is trying to pass the required 60 percent. But I 98 percent of the property owners are either absent or properties vacant. Only 3 business owner actually own their properties and they ain't invited to the SID meetings.

Concerned about the renewal of the SID in Kamm’s Corners. Hoping the CDC is pursuing it, and local property owners will continue to support it. It is important to Kamm’s!

@disownedcustoms They should clearly be invited as their signatures will be needed. Looks like a tough hill to climb

@disownedcustoms It’s about ⅓ of the businesses that own the property they occupy. Fairview Hospital and Kamm’s Plaza dominate the frontage. Their is a board of property owners that allocate the funds. I have been out of the mix for four years, so I don’t know how the meetings are handled

@Tweetmeslow How many property owners are also the business owners affected by the sids? Also are the business owners invite to all SID meetings or just the property owners?

@GenniferwithaG_ When will hearings on CDBG begin?

Griffin says the legislation has been amended to show Council's approval is needed to fill positions from the vacancy pool.

Cash Rules Everything Around me: I'm covering @CleCityCouncil's Finance, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee meeting today for #CLEdocumenters starting now!

@ericavirzi Coffee shops are a rip off IMO.

Starting a list of all the coffee shops in Ohio City that don't do top-offs after I spend $4 on a cup of coffee. First up, Lekko.

@MeganBkind The biggest small city in the country!

@ADayInTheSlife I remember some squawking when it was first announced, but no issues materialized. They have been good neighbors and successful in their mission too.

Laura's Home, the City Mission's shelter for women and children, is located in Ward 17. In 4 years representing the neighborhood, I've had 0 complaints. They're great neighbors and part of our community. Some of the people quoted in this article need to get their butts to church

@paulroetzer Hopefully that’s the land that Great lakes brewing was considering. Would keep them on the peninsula in the Flats, where they belong!

Perfect location on the west side. This place is going to be packed. ⛳️ “Topgolf plans to add a second Northeast Ohio location, this time a two-story, family-style concept with 60 bays in Avon. The golf center will be visible on the north side of I-90 on a 13-acre site.”

@WestParkRunner Same here!

Blessed to be married to someone who doesn’t care about wasting money on each other on stuff we don’t need for Valentine’s Day 🙏

@NickCastele No property taxes for the county on those lots. And for the most part, nobody wants them

Map of Cleveland Land Bank lots as of February 2023. Came across this while perusing last year's CDBG budget book.

@SkrticX A hidden gem, hiding in plain sight!

La Plaza Supermarket at 13609 Lakewood Heights Blvd., Cleveland. Owner Adrian Ortega, with 23 years of jewelry business success, opened it in 2011. Known for top-notch products and an amazing authentic Mexican menu. If you love tacos and haven't been here, it's a must-visit!