I enjoy extending my investment research beyond just the financial markets, to ensure a rounded approach to the world our businesses operate in. If you like this content please do share with your friends. They can also contact me at tim@timoshea.co.uk.
What I’m reading
You Can Be a Stock Market Genius by Joel Greenblatt
I re-read this book recently and was very glad I did, despite the sensationalist title! Greenblatt shows where to find situations of great value in the stock market and explains why those opportunities exist. The list of corporate events that can result in big profits include spinoffs, mergers and restructurings. In these events there are reasons investors simply sell their shares without working out what they are really worth. For example if a company spins off a division which is only 5% of its size and the existing investors end up with a new share in their portfolio post spinoff. If the original position size was 4% then they have a new position which is 0.2% of their overall portfolio, too small to worry about so they simply sell it asap!
So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport
Newport dispels the common myth that working in something you are passionate about is the key to happiness at work. Instead he argues that being great at your chosen work and continuing to learn makes you a “craftsman” and with it comes recognition, fulfilment, financial success and career progression. His thesis is backed up with evidence, and he finishes with practical advice on how to become a “craftsman” by building your “career capital”. An excellent read.
Business and Investing
I’m attending the Berkshire Hathaway 2016 Annual Meeting this week. If you don’t fancy the 14 hour trip from the UK you can watch it for the first time streamed live on the internet. The show starts on Saturday April 30th beginning at 9am Central Daylight Time, and can be viewed here.
As Warren Buffett himself knows, culture is central to a company’s success. Valve had a very different but effective culture as outlined in their legendary company handbook.
For those experiencing tough times this article on the journey of self discovery is very encouraging: “knowing loss, struggle, suffering, and defeat is crucial to the positive disintegration process and acts as a catalyst for personal growth, creativity, and deep transformation.”
Churchill wrote an excellent guide to management reporting in 1940:
Brexit
Food for thought on both sides of the Brexit debate, firstly a pro Brexit message from the Swiss MP Lukas Reimann:
…and secondly pictures from my recent visit to the WWI battlefields in Northern France is a timely reminder of one of the original drivers for the creation of the EU:
Blogs and News
Artificial Intelligence: Humanity’s Future Is at Stake.
Multi-tasking: Get hard work done well by stopping doing it.
How one Danish couple gets paid interest on their mortgage.
How to get it wrong in tech, like it is 2000 again.
..and following on about startups going off track:
Oil
With energy companies being out of favour on the markets I’ve spent a few weeks researching oil. If you have a business which is effected by the oil price, the following resources are useful:
Supply and Demand – Interesting data on oil consumption and supply. If the projections are correct the change in oversupply should change in 2017
The real reason Saudi Arabia can afford a price war against US shale
Cost of production of a barrel of oil
Great data on the oil market
Health and Wellbeing
Getting your family to eat well.
Jon Bradford recently lost 30 pounds and shares some simple tricks that helped him trim fat like brushing your teeth straight after dinner.
Help understanding why we crave comfort food.
“Of all the things that trigger cravings for comfort food, cold weather is pretty universal. Being cold is deeply uncomfortable, and our natural instinct is to want to warm ourselves both inside and out. But while your instinct to maintain your core temperature may explain why you don’t yearn for salad and gazpacho in the dead of winter, it doesn’t condemn you to four months of pancakes and mac n’ cheese. If you understand what your brain is ultimately after, you can tend to your deepest needs without diving head first into the cookie jar.”
The Tail End. A powerful graphical representation of the amount of days and activities left in our lives, makes you think.
However, your best days aren’t behind you!
Apps
Disney Life has been quietly launched in the UK. Disney’s movie and TV streaming app has a vast database of quality entertainment and at £9.99 per month better is value that Netflix in the UK.
A quote That Made Me Smile
“Envy is a lousy sin because it’s no fun.” – Charlie Munger
Disclaimer: The above does not constitute investment advice. The author has invested in some of the companies mentioned at the time of writing.
Tim O'Shea
Latest posts by Tim O'Shea (see all)
- Tim’s Newsletter, November 2017 - November 6, 2017
- Can tech be a value investment? - September 20, 2017
- What is some money advice I can learn in less than 10 minutes, which will help me become rich? - July 6, 2017
2 Comments
Really enjoyed reading this months newsletter Tim. Here are a few recent resources I've found that you may find useful:
1. If you submit your 23andme DNA report to the following free site it will give you supplement advice based on how good your genes are at absorbing vitamins https://www.foundmyfitness.com/genetics/1
2. Can also send 23 report here for free analysis and risk factor data https://codegen.eu
3. Consider getting your vitamin D3 levels tested and supplementing. Heres why - https://www.foundmyfitness.com/vitamin-d
4. http://brainsummit.com/ Free online brain hacking summit. Whats not to like!!
5 Best business book I've read in a long time ASK by Ryan Levesque,
If oversupply were to change and demand increases, what do you think about using LEAP options as a bullish two year trade on oil?
Thanks!
Rob, thanks for the links, very interesting.
With regard to Oil and Leaps, I don't trade commodities (I just try to invest in great companies). Oil supply and demand is an interesting for me to learn about and try and understand how it effects business, politics, etc etc.
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