Long read: What’s Next? It’s All About Trade Policy
Matt Turpin’s posts on Substack are viewed by the cognoscenti as essential reading on China. A fortnight ago, in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory, Mr Turpin opined on the coming phase in the Sino-American relationship/rivalry. Mr Turpin is not someone who minces his words. He believes that it is reasonably clear what will happen: […]
Short read: High valuations may challenge India’s 25-year lead in real returns
As an investor, one of the columns worth looking out for is that of Akash Prakash’s in the Business Standard. Akash founded and runs Amansa Capital, a successful investment management firm out of Singapore. He highlights a report from Deutsche Bank and brings out some interesting insights about long term returns in equities: Why starting […]
Short read: Chocolate makers stoke boom for Indian cocoa beans
Whilst the adverse impact of global warming on rainfall and cropping patterns in India is a matter of growing concern, it seems that there might a silver lining in all of this. As the price of cocoa beans rises, it is becoming increasingly viable – in fact, lucrative – to grow cocoa beans in India […]
Short read: Warren Buffett’s shareholder letter – an update on his philanthropy plan
Back in 2006, Warren Buffett made the ‘Giving Pledge’ committing to give away in charity 99% of his wealth during his lifetime or at death. Now, 94yrs old, Buffett wrote this letter to shareholders last week sharing his plan to execute this. But typical of Buffett’s letters, this one has its nuggets of wisdom: “…hugely […]
Long read: The myths that made Elon Musk
How Elon Musk pivoted from once backing Democrats to putting all his might to get Trump elected is a question many have pondered. The closest explanation so far has been: “In the summer of 2021, President Joe Biden hosted a summit at the White House for manufacturers of electric vehicles. Executives from Ford and General […]
Long read: Midnight raid lays bare lives of Bihar’s underage dancing girls. Dingy rooms, drunk men & ‘owners’
Whilst we sit in the air-conditioned comfort of metropolitan and write books & blogs cheering the rise of Indian women, a new type of flesh trade is flourishing. In Bihar, underage girls from neighbouring states and traded like commodities and turned in celebrity dancers (with millions of followers) on Instagram. The Print’s Sagrika Kissu wrote […]
Long read:The Surprising Stagnation of Asia’s Middle Classes
Whilst we in India are dealing with a downturn in our own middle class’s fortunes (click here for our 23rd Nov ’24 blog on this subject), it turns out that we are not alone. In fact, as per this article in The Economist, India is in better shape than the rest of developing Asia. Says […]
Short read: Are U.S. Stocks Overvalued?
As Marcellus’ Global Compounders Portfolio which predominantly invests in the US markets completes two years and given the rally post the US elections, we get asked the question in the subject of this piece often. Ben Carlson helps answer the question. Using data, he makes the following three points: “Stock prices are up a lot but fundamentals have […]
Short read: Rafael Nadal may have been the Spanish ‘warrior’ but he evolved into a gentle giant of the game
Tennis has always had great rivalries but none greater than the one between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Yet the intensity of the rivalry on court contrasted with the bonhomie outside with utmost respect for each other. With Nadal following Federer into retirement as he played the Davis Cup earlier this week, the best tribute […]
Short read: Akbar’s treasury held glass vessels worth Rs 25 lakh. It came from Firozabad
We live in an era in India where almost everything is which of daily use which is valuable is either imported or bought to India in components and then bolted together by an Indian company. 500 years ago, India was very different. Some of the most precious daily use items were made in India then […]
Long read: Stan Druckenmiller: Inside the mind of a legendary investor
It is said that every investor inevitably has a rough patch, a period of weak to sub-optimal returns. Few demonstrate the consistency over long periods of time. But Stan Druckenmiller’s legend goes that he has NEVER had a ‘down’ year in his decades long career. The famed investor is most known for his ‘bet the […]
Long read: Iceberg A-68: The story of how a mega-berg transformed the ocean
We have all been told that global warming is because of excessive build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Here is a remarkable story from the BBC about how the disintegration of one of the largest icebergs ever seen might have actually reduced greenhouse gases. Michael Marshall writes: “In late 2016, scientists spotted a rapidly growing […]
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