Capitalogix

Here Are Some Links for Your Weekend Reading - May 14th, 2017

Happy Mother's Day!

 

 

Here's to simpler times. 

 

 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

 

• Now We Know - Bill Clinton Cost His Wife the Presidency. (Washington Post)
• Creating Simple Rules for Complex Decisions. (HBR)
• Quantum Computing Demands a Whole New Kind of Programmer. (SingularityHub)
• Christian Governor in Indonesia Found Guilty of Blasphemy against Islam. (New York Times)
• Just How Crazy is the Trump Presidency? (FastCoD)

 

Trading Links:

• Forbes Small Giants 2017: America's Best Small Companies. (Forbes)
• Apple Becomes First US Firm to Cross $800B Market Cap Threshold. (AppleInsider)
• IBM Faces Credit Rating Cut from S&P. (FT)
• Businessmen Start to Replace Soldiers as Israel’s Political Heroes. (Economist)
• It's Happening Again - And the Last 2 Times this Happened, The S&P 500 Fell by 57% and 19%. (Fool)

 

The World's New Most Valuable Resource ... Data!

What is the #1 world commodity?  

Is it Oil?  Try to name a country that hasn't been reliant on it to survive.

OK, then what about water?

Nonetheless, arguably, a new commodity has taken over.  In our new digital era, the #1 commodity is data.  And countries (and businesses and people) are becoming even more reliant on it. 

Consequently, some of the new tech titans - Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft - have an unprecedented amount of data (and power). 

 

via Statista

The new tech titans also make a massive amount of money.  According to the Economist, they collectively made over $25 billion in net profit in Q1 2017.

With those titans controlling so much of the industry, they're facing calls for them to be broken up, as Standard Oil or AT&T was. 

There are questions, though.  Is size, alone, an issue? Are these titans abusing their power?  Do we need new forms of antitrust laws (or consumer protection laws) to handle them?

At this point, most of these titans' sites are monetarily free to use for consumers ... But, does that mean that they don't require regulation?  Realize, the free sites are a way to attract users, and then to sell data and ads to companies marketing to them.

One thing is for sure ... Privacy is a rare commodity in a time of digital omniscience. 

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - May 5th, 2017

I'm not above using obscure Mexican battles to justify a party. 

Hope that you had a fun Cinco de Mayo.

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting. 

Lighter Links:

• A Beginner’s Guide to Biohacking. (Bulletproof)
• How Baseballs are Manufactured. (ReliablePlant)
• Google Trips Wants to Make Your Summer Vacation Easier with New Features. (AndroidA)
• Amazon Wants to Put a Camera and Microphone in Your Bedroom. MotherBoard)
• The Inventor of Siri Says One Day AI Will Be Used to Upload and Access Our Memories. (Re/code)

Trading Links:

 

• ETFs are ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction,’ FPA Capital Managers Say (Globe&Mail)
• No-Fee Stock Trading App Robinhood is Now Officially Worth $1.3 Billion. (BI)
• Life is Good for U.S. Home Sellers. (Money)
• Warren Buffett's 1991 Letter Perfectly Explains ESPN's Troubles. (Insider)
• ESPN Fires 100 On-air Personalities, Will Focus on Apps W/ More Live News & Video Streaming Features. (9to5Mac)

"The Absolute Dominance of the U.S. Economy"

Despite all the drama with Trump, fear of economic issues, etc. America's status as an economic superpower is intact. 

The chart below tallies the GDP of nations and represents each nation's GDP as a percentage of the global economy. 

 

via MarketWatch

 

The U.S. economy is by far the largest at over $18 trillion.

By Continent, Asia overshadows North America and Europe.  Yet, China (America's closest competitor) only has a GDP of approximately $11 Trillion.  

There is a vast difference between the "Have" and "Have Not" countries.

For example, South America's four biggest economies account for 4% of the global GDP, while Asia accounts for 33.84%. 

Impressive, but I suspect that America's success (globally) engenders the same resentment that the "One-Percent" get here in America.

The Top 50 Corporations (By Revenue)

Which are the largest corporations (based on Fortune's Global 500)?

Before we answer, keep in mind that "largest" doesn't mean most successful; revenue is only one indicator of corporate success. 

 

via Reddit's Data Is Beautiful

 

Any up there (or not up there) that surprised you?

Looking at it organized by nation is pretty interesting as well.

To see the full list, check out Fortune's article here.

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - April 29th, 2017

Might be easier to solve a Rubik's Cube than to be President Trump.  Check out his first 100 days. 

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting. 

Lighter Links:

• Elon Musk and the 100 Hour Error. (MichaelHyatt)
• Gigaom's AI Startup Challenge – Finalists. (GigaOM)
• Access to Nature Reduces Depression and Obesity, Finds European Study. (TheGuardian)
• Fixing Lousy Sleep Could Keep Us Healthy Longer. (Futurity)
• Lab-Grown Meat is Almost Here. (BigThink)

Trading Links:

• Former Fed Advisor Says the Central Bank Shouldn't Comment on Equities. (CNBC)
• Quantopian Makes First Allocations to Crowd-Sourced Algorithms. (HedgeWeek)
• Fintech: Revolution or Evolution? (Ritholtz)
• Norway to Spend $315M on World's First Ship Tunnel. (CNN)
• BlackRock Signals Active Overhaul with Shift to Quant. (FTAdviser)

Last Person Born in 1800's Dies at 117

Emma Morana was an Italian woman who lived to the ripe old age of 117. She was born on November 29th, 1899 and died April 15th, 2017.  

Photo: ANTONINO DI MARCO, EPA via USAToday

Her life spanned three centuries.

In her lifetime, she saw trains evolve from steam engines to bullet trains. She saw horses fall out of use, and cars and planes come in to use.  She saw the rise and fall of many countries , two world wars, and she saw Italy's transformation from a kingdom  to Mussolini's fascist regime to a constitutional republic.

Not to mention computers, the internet, and cell phones. 

117 years alive is currently a HUGE amount of time - approximately 40-50 years longer than the average lifetime, but in our lifetime - it'll likely become closer to the norm.

Think of the innovations seen in her lifetime - and think of the fact that innovation spurs innovation. 

via Startupyard

 

What will you see in your lifetime? What will the world look like?

It's a fascinating frontier - and we live at a great time in history. 

Onwards!

How Much Time Do You Have Left? How Much Time To Make a Difference?

We only have a limited time on this earth - and a lot of it is taken by frivolous activities. 

How much time do you think the average millennial spends on their phones ... or a baby-boomer sits in front of the TV?

The answer is a lot.

This chart based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts it in perspective. 

 

How Much Time Do We Have?

via dailyinfographic

 

9 years in front of entertainment devices - another 10.5 years spent working.  You get the idea.

If you have goals you want to accomplish, aspirational travel and lifestyle plans - this really puts the idea of finding and living your passion in perspective. 

Here's another representation of the same data, using jelly beans.   I think it's pretty powerful and worth watching. 

 

Ze Frank (via YouTube)

 

In my TEDx talk, I talk about the Time Value of Life ...

In finance, the "time value of money" refers to the principle that the purchasing power of money can vary over time (meaning, money today might have a different purchasing power than money later). In part, this is because the value of money at a future point in time might be calculated by accounting for other variables (like interest earned, or inflation accrued, etc.).

A similar calculation applies to life ... or living.

Live Like You Only Have a Year Left.

During the last part of my Dad's life, I think he would have done almost anything for a little more time.

Things that used to be unimportant, or even mildly irritating, took on increased importance. For example, a dinner together became almost a sacred event; a kiss goodnight was truly heart-felt; and saying good-bye meant something ... because it could be the last time.

Nevertheless, as a result of that focus, he took more life out of that time.

Shouldn't we do the same thing?  Think about it ... We are never going to be younger than we are, right now.  We are never going to have more time to fix a big mistake.  Isn't it likely that the time value of your life, is worth maximizing?

If you realize that the time you have now is worth more - what can you do differently to get the most out of it?

So, if an average person only gets 2,740 days to do with what they want, those days are precious.

Based on who's reading this, you may have half that time (or a fourth).

What are you going to focus on? Making the most money? Helping the most people? Spending the most time with your family? Relaxing?

There's never a better time than now, to live a life worth living ... and only you can decide what that means!

I'd love to hear what you choose.

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - April 22nd, 2017

Proof no one wants to die alone ... Yahoo and AOL are combining to form a new company.

or

 

via Gunshow

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting. 

Lighter Links:

• Harvard Thinks It’s Found the Next Einstein — and She’s 23. (LI)
• Infants Show Racial Bias Toward Members of Own Race and Against Those of Other Races. (Science)
• Ensuring Smarter-Than-human Intelligence Has a Positive Outcome. (Intelligence)
• Hacking DNA: The Story of CRISPR, Ken Thompson, and the Gene Drive. (Y Combinator)
• Being Lazy is the Key to Success, According to the Best-Selling Author of 'Moneyball'. (Inc)

Trading Links:

• Indexes Beat Stock Pickers Even over 15 Years. (Wall Street Journal)
• This is the Jeff Bezos Playbook for Preventing Amazon’s Demise. (Re/code)
• Frank and Steven’s Excellent Corporate-Raiding Adventure. (The Atlantic)
• Stunning Drops in Solar and Wind Costs Turn Global Power Market Upside Down. (TP)
• An Insider’s Take On Why the Fed is Bad for America (Video). (Danielle DiMartino Booth)

Will Robots Take Your Job? How Soon?

I often talk about how robots are changing the workplace (For example here, and here) because it's a topic that hits close to home. 

I remember, back in the late 90's, starting to trade based on my knowledge and my insights (and feeling like I had an edge).  By 2003, most of my trading was automated.  But, I wouldn't have believed how much of today's daily volume is now traded by computers.

Likewise, I remember the tech bubble and recognizing that more businesses were going online.  But, I wouldn't have believed what the Internet did to retail, music, TV, banking (face it, to Business and the World in general).

Could it take your job as well?

Most don't think so.

 

 via Pew Research

Interesting.

People are not good at recognizing their biases.

For example, take "Fake News" or the recent claims from Trump that Obama wiretapped him. 

 

 

It turns out, people consistently underestimate their susceptibility to fake news - especially if the story favors their preferred candidate.

In the case of wiretapping - despite no credible evidence of wiretapping and the heads of the FBI and NSA categorically denying that Obama ordered wiretapping of Trump Tower - 47% of American and 74% of Republicans believe it's likely that Trump was wiretapped during the campaign

Regardless of the veracity of the statement, it's evidence that we have a tendency to think emotionally, and aren't always great at rationally analyzing facts. 

As proof that it's everyone, the week after the election, many Democrats believed the economy had already worsened.

Roddy Roediger is a leading expert in learning and memory, and he says there are 3 key principles that make false information believable:

 

1. Plausibility;
2. Suggestions and innuendo can be just as convincing as assertions; and
3. The more we engage with the lie, the more we misremember.

 

Good thing we're not biased ... Right?