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 […]
How a Maneuver in Puerto Rico Led to a $29 Billion Tax Bill for Microsoft
Microsoft, a stock which we own in our Global Compounders Portfolio, is the subject of this succinct piece on the investigative website PropPublica. The author, Paul Kiel, says “In the largest audit in U.S. history, the IRS rejected Microsoft’s attempts to channel profits to a small factory in Puerto Rico that burned Windows software onto CDs….On […]
Seconds
Scott Galloway is a professor of marketing at NYU Stern School of Business. He is also known for founding multiple businesses, an active investor, author and most importantly for speaking his mind. In this blog, he highlights the second round effects of the growing use of weight loss drugs. A drug initially developed as a […]
Superlinear returns
Whilst Marc Andreessen’s essay talks about the benefits of technology at the macro level (economy and society), here’s another thought leader from Silicon valley, Paul Graham talking about superlinear returns at the individual level. He begins by saying inequality is inevitable as it is naturally embedded in the way the world functions. “It’s obviously true […]
The Techno-Optimist Manifesto
Marc Andreessen, the renowned VC, begins this long article by claiming that we are being lied to about the pernicious effects of technology on our lives. He exhorts us to take a different point of view: “We believe growth is progress – leading to vitality, expansion of life, increasing knowledge, higher well being…There are only three […]
For more content on our strategy, visit the archives GO TO ARCHIVES