The Weekend Bulletin (Vol. 1 | Iss. 3)
A weekly digest of some interesting stuff from around the world-wide-web for the discerning investor.
Volume 1 | Issue 3 | December 07, 2019
Section 1: Investing Wisdom
Everything Warrent Buffett in under six and a half minutes: In this 1985 interview, Warren Buffett talks about all the things that you would want to know about investing, from price vs value, to E.Q. vs I.Q., to time horizon, to circle of competence, to boredom thresholds, etc.
His is an interesting story - from selling stamps door to door to becoming a serial entrepreneur and a billionaire. In this candid interview, Mark Cuban walks through his journey as an entrepreneur while spelling some interesting beans of wisdom:
The health of a business is never reflected in the PnL statement, although the balance sheet always gives away signals. This article discusses a recent case of a good business whose stock corrected more than 75%. Had investors paid attention to the balance sheet, they could have saved themselves the agony of such a loss.
Section 2: Mental Models & Behavioral Biases
Us humans are incredibly good at linking cause and effect—sometimes too good. When we see something occur, our mind creates a narrative to explain what happened - even though cause and effect are not always comprehensible. Hindsight’s a beautiful thing. Here is one such example where a simple coincidence can be used to demonstrate a cause and effect relationship.
First there was FOMO, then there was Halo Effect, later there was Commitment Bias, until it all went downhill. This story is no less than a movie plot, only unfortunately, it's a real story. How a woman played the whole world in one of the largest scams in recent history.
Section 3: Personal Development
Here is a good lesson in humility. We are all gifted with some talent that makes us better than average. Over time, we take these gifts for granted, showing them off at every possible occasion. In a talk delivered in 2010, Jeff Bezos reminisces a lesson that his grandfather taught him: "It's hard to be kind than clever." Remember that you didn't choose your gifts, they chose you. However, you can chose your actions and let them define who you are.
Section 4: Trivia
In what seems to be the biggest heist since World War II, thieves broke into one of Europe’s largest collections of treasures and made off with glittering objects valued at as much as $1 billion. Their weapons? Axes and Fire!!
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Have a wonderful weekend!!
- Tejas Gutka.