What Buffett Looks For and What to Avoid:
Source: The Investing for Beginners Podcast @IFB_podcast on X
Diamonds vs. Gold
Source: Bloomberg
In Germany, labor productivity has stagnated—or even declined—since 2020.
Meanwhile, US companies have embraced AI's benefits and recently achieved significant productivity gains. Notably, productivity trends in Germany and the US have been diverging since 1999. This divergence may also be linked to the introduction of the euro. Since the euro became undervalued for Germany—at least from 2004 onward—German companies may have felt less pressure to improve productivity. Source: HolgerZ, Bloomberg
As of Sept. 2024, Tesla led global BEV market share at 18%, down from 19% in 2023, per EV Volumes.
BYD rose 9 points since 2021 but may shift focus to hybrids in 2025. Legacy automakers like VW and Geely held 7-8%. In 2023, 14M EVs sold, but 84% of cars were non-electric. Source: Statista
Why Most People Will Never Be Rich
Source: Seek Wiser
90% chance BOJ hikes next week.
Source: Michael J. Kramer @MichaelMOTTCM on X, Bloomberg
The insight from John Exter’s pyramid underscores the unseen layers of risk in financial flows, urging a broader consideration beyond balance sheets in investment decisions.
Amidst flaws in the financial system, gold offers liberation from credit and government risks and currency devaluation. As sovereign debt defaults loom and trust in public institutions to solve economic and societal issues shrinks, investors will more and more focus on asset with no counterparty risks like gold Source: Capitalizing on Gold’s Positive Tailwinds in 2024 : Hard Assets Alliance
BREAKING: The US budget deficit hit a massive $711 BILLION for the first 3 months of Fiscal Year 2025.
This is ~$200 billion, or 39%, higher than in the same period last year. The deficit reached $2.0 TRILLION for the full calendar year 2024, up $248 billion YoY. Also, deficit spending rose from 6.4% to 6.9% GDP in 2024. Such a high percentage has never been seen outside of wars or major economic crises. Source: The Kobeissi Letter
