Book review: James Clear – “Atomic Habits”
Although I usually stay away from “self-improvement”” books, I bought the book as it has been recommended in a blog. In short, this is one of the best books I have read for a long time.
Special Situation “quicky” – KAS Bank (ISIN: NL0000362648) take-over
DISCLAIMER: This is not investment advice. Please do you own research !!!!!
Background:
Some readers of my blog might remember KAS Bank. I bought the stock in August 2012 and then sold it with a decent profit in MArch 2015 because I had not paid attention to the pension liabilities.
Looking at the stock chart, the decision to sell in 2015 was a good (and lucky) one:
Zur Rose AG (ISIN: CH0042615283) – Loss making failed IPO or long term growth opportunity ?
Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. DO YOU OWN RESEARCH !!!!
The company
Zur Rose AG is a Swiss company that specializes in selling / distributing pharmaceuticals. The core business is Swiss distribution business where they distribute pharmaceuticals to Doctors, as in some parts of Switzerland, Doctors canboth, prescribe and sell pills. In 2012, Zur Rose made a smart/lucky buy: For only 25 mn EUR, they bought German based online Pharmacy Doc Morris from Celesio, a German Pharmaceuticals wholeseller that got later acquired by McKesson (I owned the stock as special situation)
Some links
Warren Buffett now has abandoned book value officially as measure for Berkshire’s success
Damodaran is looking at the mess at KraftHeinz
Bill Gurley on the success of digital market places plus a checklist of what makes digital marketplaces interesting
Broyhill Investment’s 2018 letter
Deep thoughts on value chains (Walmart, Amazon, Google, Microsoft) from Ben Thompson
An interesting stock pitch on Nintendo
UK Fintech Revolut seems to be a tough place to work at
Some links
Warren Buffett’s 2018 letter to the Shareholders
A very interesting and comprehensive annual fund letter from Semper Augustus (h/t ValueInvesting World)
Zillow,the US Real Estate online classified leader, tries to become THE one stop shop for online real estate.
Morgan Housel has a very smart collection of the “different kinds of stupid”
The UK Value Investor has a look at HSBC
Good write up on Pershing Square Holdings and Central Securities
Some links
A great summary on how to create “Atomic habits”
The Rational Walk blogs looks back on 10 years of blogging
Ryan Holiday on how to seize the day
A collection of interesting investor letters from the Tollymore fund
Must read: Morgan Housel’s 29 Money Rules
Why Lithium and Cobalt prices are still falling
Some links
China’s impact on the world economy has increased significantly
Interesting rant on why AI won’t replace any job and Won’t drive any car
Fantastic slide deck on how the VC market has developed (hint: a lot of value is now captured pre IPO)
Pabrais’s “free lunch portfolio” tanked in 2018 but he is proposing a new one for 2019
“Bond King” Bill Gross now has officially retired. Maybe a few years too late.
Random thoughts on HoldCos, Netflix, SPorts Media company and some links
Some links
An interesting collection of investment ideas are “SumZero’s top stocks for 2019”
Seth Klarman these days is concerned about capitalism as such
It’s maybe a good idea to stay away from industries where everyone seems to be a winner
The Bank of the bAnks (BIS) surprisingly doesn’t think that Proof-ofWork Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin will work in the long run.
Elliott has released a plan how to make EBAY “great again”….
Forager likes Fast Fashion Retailer Glasson
Some links
Recommended: TGV Partners 2018 letter to shareholders and TGV Truffle 2018 letter to investors
Ben Evan’s doesn’t think that 5G networks will be a revolutionary new technology
Is Computime really a “high quality Net-Net” stock ?
Good write up on Edgewell Personal Care which looks like a cheap defensive consumer stock
An interesting portrait of Masa Son from Softbank as the “Most powerful man in Silicon Valley”
An excerpt of the 2018 letter to investors from Rangeley Capital
You think your personal data is worth a lot ? Maybe think twice….
Some links
Rob Vinall (RV Capital) has released his 2018 letter with deep thoughts on subscription models. There will also be a Live Stream of his upcoming investor meeting
Marketfolly has good write ups on the London Sohn Conference
Interesting thoughts on the strength of different platform business models
GreenWood Investors explains its “12 month re-underwriting” process
Fellow blogger Wexboy with his 2018 review as does JohnKingham (UK Value Investor)
Strong versus weak technologies
Yet another value blog with write up on Radisson Hospitality and Telecom Italia
value and opportunity 