The global network behind the fentanyl crisis
The opioid crisis in the US and the role of the pharmaceutical industry was brilliantly documented in the much acclaimed docuseries ‘The Crime of the Century’. Only now, it has been eclipsed by the far bigger fentanyl crisis. Fentanyl, a drug responsible over 70,000 deaths in the US last year alone is driving the world’s […]
Review of ‘Power and Progress: Our Thousand Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity’
Two weeks ago we began Three Longs & Shorts with a piece by the legendary VC Marc Andreessen in which he exhorted the world to stop listening to those who talk about the pernicious effects of technology and listen to techno-optimists like him (see https://marcellus.in/story/the-techno-optimist-manifesto/). In their book, “Power and Progress”, Acemoglu & Johnson, eminent economists […]
A Century Spent Answering Four Questions
Over the past century, every politician and policymaker who has governed India has wrestled with four critical questions: (a) Can the free market deliver economic development OR does the Government have to do the job? (b) Can India gain from opening itself to the wider world OR will the world act as a ‘drain’ on […]
Reinvesting Profits Back into the Business
Marcellus’ Little Champs portfolio (LCP) aims to discover companies with a high probability of entry into benchmark BSE500 index over the next 3-5 years thus capturing the outsized returns that accrue to such potential entrants. Over the past year, some of the LCP stocks have faced temporary headwinds mainly on account of Covid-19 demand normalization, inventory […]
The Annoyance Economy
This article is a follow up to the previous short read. If data shows that the average American is financially better off than 3 years ago, what’s with all the gloomy sentiment? Jobs data in the US hasn’t been better in a long time. Inflation seems to be easing off. The much awaited recession is […]
Great news about American wealth
As the rest of the world aspires to replicate the success of American capitalism, it is interesting to keep an eye on the much talked about inequalities. Noah Smith helps us with the key takeaways from the recently published household wealth surveys (Survey of Consumer Finances published by the Fed and the Treasury): “Americans’ wealth […]
I’ve been employed in tech for years, but I’ve almost never worked
Some of us who have worked in large organisations can relate to this as processes eventually overshadow purpose and we find ourselves mindlessly ticking boxes or attending recurring meetings which we can pass off as work. This article shows why this aspect is even more pronounced in the tech industry. The author begins with his […]
The reopening of the American mind
In various locations in America, a new type of ‘university’ is being created – a type that spurns typical liberal education in favour of teaching a different type of syllabus. Jemima Kelly’s super interesting long article in the FT says that this new type of university draws inspiration from, “…conservative philosopher Allan Bloom’s 1987 best-seller, which […]
2023 Economics Nobel And How It Relates To India’s Qualified, Underpaid Women
There is widespread misunderstanding in India about the underlying causes of India’s low Female Labour Force Participation Rate (aka FLFPR). Our view – which we have backed up with investment dollars – is that FLFPR is rising steadily in India but is being masked by the fact that rising numbers of women are entering university […]
No ceiling at Washington Post, WSJ, Financial Times, The Economist. Women are editors
Over the past year, several editions of Three Longs & Three Shorts have featured articles written by Antara Baruah of ThePrint. In this piece, Ms Baruah highlights an important point which is not just relevant for Marcellus’ clients but also speaks to the aspiration of India’s upwardly mobile female professionals. She says, “Many global news outlets […]
Would you rather be a manager or a leader?
Career progression in most firms often involves promoting employees into managerial positions. But does that make them automatically eligible for leadership positions? What is the difference? This piece in the Economist attempts to answer: “Managers, according to an influential article by Abraham Zaleznik in the Harvard Business Review in 1977, value order; leaders are tolerant […]
This land isn’t for you or me. It’s for the meat industry.
If like several of us in Marcellus, you are a meat eater, this article from Vox will make for very uncomfortable reading. The article focuses on the US beef industry and just how much land that industry needs (for cattle grazing) and how environmentally and ecologically destructive that cattle grazing is: “Almost half of America’s […]
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