The special role of arts in the day and age of machines
Author: Kapil Viswanathan, Sangita Jindal Source: Live Mint (https://www.livemint.com/opinion) Art has witnessed the evolution of human progress over centuries and it is our ability to appreciate beauty through art that set us apart from other living species & machines. In a changing world of data, Artificial Intelligence and autonomous machines, the arts are of greater […]
Auto-driver to IIM case study: Pyare Khan’s journey on uncharted highway
Vivek Deshpande has beautifully captured the story of Pyare Khan’s hard work, determination and his growth as well as opportunities which a developing country like India throws to its ordinary citizens. Pyare Khan’s journey starts from riding an autorickshaw in the by lanes of Nagpur. His desire of making big led him to take a […]
Should You Take the Annunity or the Lump Sum?
Author: Nick Maggiulli Source: Of Dollars and Data (https://ofdollarsanddata.com/should-you-take-the-annuity-or-the-lump-sum/) In the book Coffee Can Investing, co-authored by our colleagues Saurabh Mukherjea and Rakshit Ranjan, they highlight the gross under-provision for retirement amongst middle class Indian families, not just because of the sub-optimal asset allocation (often skewed towards real estate) but exacerbated by rising life expectancy […]
How Costco gained a cult following — by breaking every rule of retail
Author: Zachary Crockett Source: The Hustle (https://thehustle.co/costco-membership-economics) CEOs and management teams of companies are typically expected to focus on maximising shareholder value. Here’s a company whose investors have always complained for putting its customers and employees ahead of its shareholders and yet achieved greatness and delivered shareholder value – Costco, the American brick & mortar […]
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. […]
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