Weekend Bulletin - 16th Aug'24 : Ed. 185
A compilation of few interesting, multi-disciplinary links from the internet
In their book, Breaking the Mould: Reimagining India's Economic Future, Raghuram Rajan and Rohit Lamba share the story of AgniKul as an example of bottom-up innovation that India can excel at. [Read this and more such book excerpts every Tuesday morning on our Linkedin page here]
Connect on various social media platforms here
Subscribe (free) to #AKGweeklycharts here [Newletter released every Monday]
July’24 review of our equity research strategy- Special Situation & Wealth Compounders [We have initiated 1 new stock positions in FC WC and 1 position in FC SS in the month of July. Visit www.fintrekkcapital.com for more details]
Section 1 - Investing & Personal Finance
Fishing in a very large pond - by Professor Bakshi [LINK]
The impressive thing about India is that a significant part of its GDP is contributed by large, unlisted businesses. When these businesses go public, the country’s GDP will not change, but its aggregate market cap will go up. In the last 10 years alone there have been at least 15 companies that went public and which today command a market cap of more than $10 billon.
Section 2 - Economic Trends & Themes
Why almost no one is buying Green hydrogen? [LINK]
There is a lot of hype about Green Hydrogen on the stock market specially in the last 1 year where “storification” of many such companies have taken the prices to exorbitant valuations. This article in HT give us pointers why despite the capex, no one is buying Green hydrogen yet.
What AI in music can–and can’t–do [LINK]
A thoughtful piece we read recently is on the relationship between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and music. Life will not be the same soon, Adam Clair writes on the Vox and raises a question. It will be easier to make music. But will it necessarily be better? There are other issues as well.
Section 3 - Personality study & Development
Focus on the process and not the outcome - by Jana Vembunarayanan [LINK]
Understanding concepts doesn’t happen on a fixed timetable. It can take hours, days, weeks, or even years to master a particular topic depending on its complexity and my readiness to understand it. You have to spend a lot of time reflecting on that concept until it yields its insights to you. Charlie Munger has a term for this: “rag the problem.”
Section 4 - Business History & management
Omniabsent State → Omnipresent Babas [LINK]
The reasons for stampede include the usual litany of administrative failures that have made such events death traps in India. Poor planning; absence of crowd management protocol for such events—the space was cramped and barricaded, the surface was uneven and when there was a rush to collect the ‘charan dhool’ , a few women fell and that led to a cascade of people getting trampled over; and lastly, the almost total absence of any emergency medical support at events because none among the organisers or the local administration believes something like this will happen despite multiple pieces of evidence to the contrary in India over the years!
Section 5 - Sports, literature & Entertainment
Storytelling reimagined [LINK]
In his recent column, Rahul Matthan discusses the inevitable impact of AI on the film industry. Many within the film industry are concerned about AI's ability to generate scripts, visuals, and even replace human actors. However, Matthan argues that rather than resisting this change, the film industry should embrace AI as a tool to enhance creativity and storytelling
I compete against myself - Olympics Gold medalist from Pakistan [LINK]
With Pakistan’s sports structure revolving around public sector organisations that offer employment opportunities to talented athletes, Nadeem’s athletic exploits generated attention locally, and various departments sought him out a few years later. Al-jazzera recounts story of Nadeem before he won the Gold medal
Money is not going to get you medals - Abhinav Bindra post-olympics views [LINK]
As the curtains were coming down on the Paris Olympics, Abhinav Bindra, vice chair of the Indian Olympic Committee’s Athlete Commission and Olympic gold medallist, spoke to Mihir Vasavda of The Indian Express. He made some pertinent observations
We have recently initiated a new stock position in our 'Special Situation' Strategy. The company is undergoing an ownership change and in the last leg of the open offer which limits downside. Company has been doing well operationally with more than 100% compounded growth in the last 3-years. Company is aiming for double digit growth over next 2yrs owing to the completion of majority capex in FY25 and still available at reasonable valuations. Company is also foraying into two key international geographical locations in FY25 for two of its top products. We believe the upcycle in the sector it operates in along with change in management will act as a re-rating trigger for the stock. #FCSS
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That's it for me. Have a great weekend ahead!
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The content of this newsletter is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security in any jurisdiction. The content is distributed for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to sell or buy any security or other investment, or undertake any investment strategy. There are no warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or results obtained from any information set forth on this newsletter unless mentioned explicitly. The writer may have positions in and may, from time to time, make purchases or sales of the securities or other investments discussed or evaluated on this newsletter