Weekend Bulletin - 31 Mar'23 : Ed. 131
A compilation of few interesting, multi-disciplinary links from the internet
[Due to a technical glitch, the latest issue was not delivered on Friday evening for all the subscribers]
“Risk is not inherent in an investment; it is always relative to the price paid. Uncertainty is not the same as risk. Indeed, when great uncertainty—such as in the fall of 2008—drives securities prices to especially low levels, they often become less risky investments.” —Seth Klarman
For more book quotes, follow #FCBookexcerpt on our Linkedin page here and latest post here.
Notes on Aftermath of Debt MF restructuring (see here) and AI ramp up (see here)
Interview with News9 here [from 25:00] in this week
Section 1 - Investing & Personal Finance
Mental Liquidity - by Morgan Housel [LINK]
Beliefs take effort and investment, and it hurts to realize that there may be limited ROI on your hard-fought convictions. For a lot of things in life – particularly politics, investing, and relationships – people don’t necessarily want the truth; they want certainty. Changing your mind is hard because it’s an admission that the certainty you once thought you held was an illusion. The path of least resistance is to cling to beliefs for dear life.
Section 2 - Economic Trends & Themes
Lessons from the South Korea fertility rates [LINK]
NPR reports that South Korea has the world’s lowest fertility rates since 2013, and that poses a threat to the country. “The fertility rate — the average number of children born to a woman in her reproductive years — is now 0.78, according to figures released by the Korean government in February. It could be years before the country can reach the 2.1 rate that experts say is needed for a country to maintain a stable population without migration.”
The data delusion [LINK]
The evolution of ChatGPT and the data needed to power Artificial Intelligence (AI) is mind boggling. Where do we begin to come to terms with it? Jill Lepore makes a brilliant attempt to do that in the most recent edition of The New Yorker.
Section 3 - Personality study & Development
Meta’s year of efficiency [LINK]
That Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has made public its plans to lay off 10,000 people is well reported. What hasn’t been discussed much is why. Mark Zuckerberg’s letter on the company’s website offers pointers. He describes 2023 as The Year of Efficiency. What is that supposed to mean?
Section 4 - Business History & management
Ghost town of Kerala [LINK]
Most literature on India’s large population focuses on how the problem can be turned into an advantage because most people are young. But few mainstream narratives discuss the downside that can play later on. BBC’s Soutik Biswas talks about just this from his visit to Kerala.
Section 5 - Sports, literature & Entertainment
Kara Swisher call the shots [LINK]
This is the age of content creators. And those who create original and thoughtful content often don’t think enough about money. It’s a reason why I would urge you to read a brilliant profile of Kara Swisher in Vanity Fair in detail.
Connect on various social media platforms here
For more recommendations every weekend, follow #FCOTTReco and #FCBookReco on our Twitter page here. Check out last week recos - Wizard of Lies and Intelligent Fanatics by Sean Iddings and Ian Cassel
Subscribe (free) to #AKGweeklycharts here [released every Monday morning]
That's it for me. Have a great weekend ahead!
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Disclaimer:
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