Sikh drivers are transforming U.S. trucking. Take a ride along the Punjabi American highway
Author: Jaweed Kaleem Source: LA Times (https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-col1-sikh-truckers-20190627-htmlstory.html) In contrast to the preceding piece from the New York Times, the LA Times brings you a story about Indian immigrants to America who have created a more niche, and arguably more sustainable type of restaurant business focusing on Sikh truckers who haul heavy loads across America’s interstate […]
Fast food chain Subway got too big and its franchisees paid a price
Author: Tiffany Hsu & Rachel Abrams Source: New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/business/subway-franchisees.html) One of the first things we learnt when we started investing in India is that any business where barriers to entry are low will sooner rather than later become a cesspit as the lack of profits will make the stakeholders go for each others’ […]
Valuing longevity of healthy fundamentals
Without a deep understanding of a business’ fundamentals, valuation becomes a difficult exercise. A weak franchise trading at 10x P/E multiple appears cheap, when its fair value P/E might actually be 5x. On the other hand, a consistent compounder trading at 50x appears expensive, when its fair value P/E could be higher than 100x. Conviction […]
How modern life is transforming the human skeleton
Author: Zaria Gorvett Source: BBC (http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190610-how-modern-life-is-transforming-the-human-skeleton) The human body doesn’t cease to fascinate especially its malleability. For centuries, scientists believed that our bones were fixed and that they grow in a predictable way depending upon the genes we inherit from our parents. However, a Dutch scientist‘s investigation of a goat’s skeleton which had one leg […]
For Men Who Hate Talking On The Phone, Games Keep Friendships Alive
Author: Cecilia D’Anastasio Source: Kotaku (https://kotaku.com/for-men-who-hate-talking-on-the-phone-games-keep-frien-1835277944) Men spend way less talk time on the phone than women is no secret. This piece by Cecilia says why so and furthermore show how men are adapting their traditional ways of bonding with male friends – through activity – in the modern technology driven world – through say, […]
The best comic novel ever written?
Author: Thomas Graham Source: BBC (http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20190521-is-this-the-best-shaggy-dog-story-ever-written) Written in the middle of the 18th century by Lawrence Stern, an Anglican Parish priest who wanted to become famous, the autobiography of the fictional character Tristram Shandy, “The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman” is a wildly original bestseller which influenced some of the greatest writers of […]
Marcellus: The Marvel that is Munger: Learning from the Legend
Published on:27 June, 2019 Charlie Munger, as much as Warren Buffett, has lessons for those who invest in Indian stocks. The central tenet of our 12 stock portfolio from a 25 stock investment universe is inspired by Munger’s approach to developing deep knowledge, building mental models and staying within a tight circle of competence. [Marcellus […]
How people keep their cool during summer in Churu, India’s hottest place
For those who claim climate change is a myth, this summer’s global heatwave should have busted it without doubt. Last week, Kuwait recorded the world’s hottest temperatures with almost 63 degrees Celsius under direct sunlight. There are reports of cars melting in Saudi. In India too, 36 lives have been lost to the heat wave. […]
The promotion curse
The Peter principle states that workers get promoted until they reach their level of incompetence. This week’s Bartleby column in The Economist, revisits this principle to show why promotions (often leading up to a managerial role from being a functional specialist) may not necessarily be the best thing to happen to you from a career progression […]
How a janitor at Frito-Lay invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos
Whilst POTUS pursues his wall building ambitions, here is a heart-warming story about how a first generation Mexican immigrant who dropped out of fourth grade, went on from being a janitor at Frito Lay to Vice President. A story of self belief and the will to succeed through a pursuit of excellence best captured by […]
The Singular Pursuit of Comrade Bezos
In our Consistent Compounders portfolio, we try and identify companies with significant competitive advantages to the extent that some of them are quasi monopolies except that much of the competitive edge is built on supreme efficiencies which keeps their customers better off as opposed to monopolistic trade practices. In this Feb’ 18 piece in the […]
Scotland is on the front line in the fight against “cash deserts”
In order to meet clients, we often have to travel to smaller towns in India with population below 1mn. One of the most noticeable things about these small towns is how much harder it has become in the last couple of years to get cash from ATMs. Initially, we used to think this was because […]
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