Kidnapping – A Very Efficient Business
This unusual and interesting article is a review of two books on kidnapping. These books are ‘We Want to Negotiate: The Secret World of Kidnapping, Hostages, and Ransom’ by Joel Simon and ‘Kidnap: Inside the Ransom Business’ by Anja Shortland. The article explains that not only is kidnapping a well organised, professionally managed business but […]
The Truth about Dentistry
Millions of people dread sitting in the dentist’s chair and most of them can’t bear the sound of the dentist’s drill grinding into their teeth. Now they can draw solace from this article which says that dentistry is “…much less scientific—and more prone to gratuitous procedures—than you may think.” The article uses American data and American examples […]
Vanguard Patented a Way to Avoid Taxes on Mutual Funds
Vanguard, the world’s second largest fund management house, continues to astound. Not contend with becoming a giant in index funds, Vanguard has found a new innovation – avoiding capital gains taxes for its clients: “…Vanguard Group Inc. has figured out a way to shut off taxes in its mutual funds. The first to benefit was the […]
Marcellus: The Tussle Between What we “Should do” & What we “Must do”
Published on:10 May, 2019 For millions of professionals, the tussle between what they feel they should do (because of financial or societal reasons) and what they must do (in order to fulfill deeply felt urges) is the defining tussle of their lives. Life does not have to be like that. “The two most important days […]
My best pick for 2019 – Dr Lal Path Labs
Avoiding Stupidity is Easier than Seeking Brilliance
Farnam Street’s reiteration of its 2014 blog about a concept that we encounter everyday in our interactions with prospective clients. Most of us are enamoured with the hunt for undiscovered value or the big thematic plays that can go onto become multi-baggers when portfolio after portfolio we find that the more successful ones are less […]
China’s ‘Debt Diplomacy’ Is a Misnomer. Call It ‘Crony Diplomacy.’
Twin pieces with the latter cross-referencing the former, together summarising the point that China’s Belt and Road Initiative is less of a conspiring move on the part of the Chinese Government to colonise large parts of emerging Asia and Africa as contemplated by several commentators including our own Brahma Chellaney than a case of a […]
Political good girls are losing the battle
This FT article explains how our gender stereotypes influence women to think about the most appropriate course of action in a given circumstance. “Research has shown that girls are commonly praised for being “good” — whether that means sitting quietly, following instructions or excelling academically. Boys, on the other hand, do worse in school and better […]
Progressive Capitalism Is Not an Oxymoron
A brilliantly articulated and constructive piece from the Nobel winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, in conversation with Andrew Ross Sorkin, about the much discussed global “rise in inequality”. Stiglitz blames how in the name of free markets, the world economic order has brewed inequities not just among individuals but also among corporates. Indeed, these inequities have […]
How the Kleiner Perkins Empire Fell
Once the home of rockstar VCs such as Vinod Khosla this Fortune article contends that legendary VC firm, Kleiner Perkins, has lost its way and seeks to understand the roots of its malaise. Why did Kleiner fail to spot the potential of hot startups like Robinhood which repeatedly came knocking at its door? Part of […]
Marcellus: The Fed’s Accommodation of Wall Street: Endgame
Published on: 3 May, 2019 The renewed easing of monetary policy by the Fed is unsustainable. Therefore, we believe it is prudent to prepare for the end of accommodative monetary policy in the US. For India, such a regime change, would increase the cost of capital, hurt Indian real estate and those who finance the […]
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