FT 110522: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19aSjk1tQAn...iew?usp=sharing



SMBC Nikko of Japan now involved in scandal:



FT Big Read: Mining Lithium in America:



Special edition of FT Wealth on risk management of financial institutions: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rxdHGaENXm...iew?usp=sharing



This post has been edited by TOS: May 11 2022, 12:54 PM

FT 120522: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16P_kIwgfUu...iew?usp=sharing



A look into book publishing business and industry:



Is lossmaking Affirm, the BNPL firm, a tech disruptor or just another traditional lender?

For Roche and other Big Pharma investors: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare...sts-2022-05-11/

FT 130522: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t4fupulJ7I...iew?usp=sharing



And for those in (or soon-to-be in) the legal profession, here's a special report on "FT Innovative Lawyers Asia Pacific 2022". I think I saw your name inside. Hansel

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Lnc6EUB2UD...iew?usp=sharing



No lah, just joking Hansel. Maybe you are not in the corporate law segment.

This post has been edited by TOS: May 13 2022, 03:09 PM

Heard on the Street

Toshiba Shareholder Payday Still Has One More Hurdle: Tokyo

The challenge for potential buyers will be to make a proposal that satisfies both activist investors and the Japanese government

https://www.wsj.com/articles/toshiba-shareh...share_permalink

----------------------------------------------------------

Europe’s Gas Market Is Still Counting on Russian Supplies

Russia has reliably provided gas to Western Europe for decades, but the risk of a cutoff keeps rising

https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-gas-ma...share_permalink

------------------------------------------------------------

TikTok Is Eating Up Rivals. Can It Keep Users Hooked?

The app capitalized on consumers’ bite-sized attention span. Now rivals are competing for the same eyeballs.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktok-is-eati...share_permalink


--------------------------------------------------------------------

dwRK Just curious, do you hold any "sin" stocks like tobacco, defense, gaming counters etc.?

lol I was referring to gaming stocks as in casino/gambling, not PC/mobile gaming.

But never mind, I got your point.

FT 14-150522 (this weekend): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NhKRJs2Xub...iew?usp=sharing



----------------------------------------------------------------------

FT Life & Arts (split into 2 parts due to large size, for travelers, food lovers, book lovers, and those who like fashions and styles):

Part 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cSopfUdomO...iew?usp=sharing

Part 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kg_r_8igGb...iew?usp=sharing

FT House & Home (admire the penthouse in Monaco...): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EqIvLE_-Ju...iew?usp=sharing

FT Collecting (for artists and NFT lovers): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vT6PXKUCq_...iew?usp=sharing

Are you a lobster lover too dwRK?



This post has been edited by TOS: May 14 2022, 03:08 PM

Indeed can take advantage of the weak Euro to scoop up some European blue chips, that's what I plan to do too. Still waiting for EUR to to go weaker...

USD rate by the time it goes down chances are the stocks may have also risen and you will proably miss the boat. So go bit by bit can smoothen the forex impact. And it also depends on your purpose of investment. If the purpose is to save for retirement in Malaysia, then in long run the rates will still favour you. But if say in SG, then it will be a different story.

This post has been edited by TOS: May 14 2022, 10:43 PM

What I can share is that a rule of thumb in investment is to let currency be a liability rather than tying to speculate on currrency movements. So if it's SP 500 funds, let the currency be USD, if it's Stoxx Europe 600, let the fund be denominated in EUR and so on.

Forex is not something we retail investors can control nor afford to speculate. Of course for larger entities like S-REITs with substantial income from just one country, they typically hegde their future distributions by locking in forward rates in advance.

Don't let the forex blind you until you have forgotten that your main purpose is to invest in the securities and not play around with the currencies.

Of course can do that, in this case the returns you obtain from your EUR shares will be purely due to the stocks return only and no currency movements are involved. But not sure if you can short a currency pair indefinitely or as long as you like to hold the EUR stocks.

The "shorting" part involves tehnical nuances here, as compared to just convert USD to EUR first then buy directly in EUR. In the "short" case it also depends on whether the broker wants to continuously lend you the EUR to short.

Technically, the complexity of the trade also increases. Convert USD to EUR settles one trade, the position is close. Then use EUR cash to buy EUR stock, you are just left with 1 long position in EUR stocks. But in your "short" EUR example, you end up with 2 positions 1 long and 1 short at the same time.

Not to mention that it can be tempting to start tying to profit from the still-open forex position after some time or when the stocks return are not good.

Some stuffs to read from Taiwan's 天下杂志 CommonWealth Magazine, 23rd March to 5th April edition. A bit old but some stories still relevant.

*Open image in new tab to view it in Imgur if loading is slow in forum.

1. For semiconductor counters' investors, learn about (Ajinomoto Build-up Film) ABF substrate's role in the semiconductor ecosystem and why Intel leads TSMC in the backend fab world of advanced packaging.



Yes, Ajinomoto is not just famous of its MSG in your food.

https://www.ajinomoto.com/innovation/action/buildupfilm


2. Why Google and Samsung workers start to form trade unions?



3. Some economic reads on rent seeking in the health and real estate sector in HK. Learn why 55% of registered HK doctors work in private hospitals in HK only take care of 10% of HK's patients while the other 45% works in public hospitals and have to take care of 90% of patients in HK, with the devastating result of having a median appointment waiting period for outpatients in public hospitals of 133 weeks or about 3 years.



This post has been edited by TOS: May 15 2022, 05:25 PM

Japan still has important roles to play in today's semiconductor world.

FT 160522: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1--c4mU-3ED...iew?usp=sharing



Not sure if there are any TMO investor here. I have been eyeing this counter for some time.

FT 170522: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vTpBhG8IoQ...iew?usp=sharing

Inside business: Frankness on need of oil an gas required in shift to green future. https://i.imgur.com/IPs2tV7.jpg

The current Fed chair J Powell earned anywhere between 20-50 million dollars when he worked for Carlyle, the PE firm based in DC.

SEC has difficulties regulating the world's richest person.
https://i.imgur.com/DKAV26N.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/AMxELPn.jpg

Equities. Cheap renaissance: Value stocks shield investors from worst of 2022 turmoil.
https://i.imgur.com/NKvricU.jpg

FT Big read. Property: The rise an fall of the great British mall
https://i.imgur.com/0lVd64s.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/z0PA0tC.jpg

FT Lex.
https://i.imgur.com/RCLTXbH.jpg

Hansel Are you going to join this year's WEF at Davos? It will begin on the 22nd of May and last till 25th.

This post has been edited by TOS: May 17 2022, 02:01 PM

Heard on the Street

Luxury Brands Are Counting on Americans to Keep Spending

With parts of China in lockdown, brands need demand in the U.S. to stay high

https://www.wsj.com/articles/luxury-brands-...share_permalink

---------------------------

India Can’t Hang Up on Chinese Smartphones

When it comes to smartphones, India and China have to keep the line open

https://www.wsj.com/articles/india-cant-han...share_permalink

-------------------------------

As what Ram says, valuations looks fine though. Just that people purchased more keyboards and mouse during those WFH days. https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/L...ech-sa/pe-ratio

You seem to have done researches in this company. Kudos to you for the effort.

I check their latest annual report, 2021's 10-K: https://ir.logitech.com/financial-info/annu...ts/default.aspx

Basically US and Germany account for half of total sales, about 35% and 15%, respectively. Manufacturing-wise half in its own factory in China, the other half outsourced to contract manufacturers in Asia too.

They focus on IT peripherals, but I don't see sustained recurrent business income stream in this sector. Most of us will just use a keyboard and mouse (or just a mouse if you already have a laptop). And chances are your keyboard and mouse can last a few years before you change them. So you don't have a recurrent revenue stream like the printer industry (e.g. Canon) or the medical diagnostic industry (Roche diagnostic division, Thermofisher Scientific etc.) where you need new toner, inks and test kits for each use and trial.

The only feasible (and pretty immoral) way of increasing revenue is to make your products spoil more easily. (I notice my mouse can last only 3-5 years these days, then the left-button no longer functions, compared to the old ones... Or maybe I didn't use it correctly. )

And seriously, the higher margin products will come from the gaming stuffs which are irrelevant to most daily users. The addressable market isn't large too as it's very difficult to convince a non-gamer to use all these high-end mouse and keyboards. My laptop built-in speakers are good enough for a 2-hour movie or Youtube videos and musics. Why do I need an extra set of speakers?

Branding side, I agree Logitech has some branding power here. But you don't see its ads on TVs every now and then, and since you will only replace your mouse and keyboard once every 5 years, you will have forgotten about this brand if a cheaper white-label mouse and keyboard brand comes right before you. Even if you can recall this brand, Logitech, I don't see much premium the company can earn over its customer when there are so many cheaper white-labels off the shelves, more so if the consumer knows 50% of the company's products are manufactured by other OEMs in the first place (i.e. no different from the other white-label mouse and keyboards except for the presence of the Logitech brand sticker on the products).

Of course, just my 2 cents.

This post has been edited by TOS: May 18 2022, 01:12 AM

FT 180522: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k7ThABjOjZ...iew?usp=sharing

Inside business. Asia: Japan's overly rigid jobs system stymies risk-taking innovation
https://i.imgur.com/KV65nY3.jpg

Boeing accused of heading in wrong direction with move to Virginia HQ. Relocation aimed at bolstering defence units comes amid airliner delays and a 40% share price slide
https://i.imgur.com/J2iDMBm.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/yJcS13g.jpg

Next time, don't take a Boeing plane. You should feel safer with an Airbus jet.

FT Big Read. Banks: Deutsche bids to escape a ruinous decade. After a tumultuous 10 years as chair of the German lender, Achleitner is stepping down. The priority for his successor is restoring the group's financial health ahead of a round of European banking mergers.
https://i.imgur.com/rLGZL5c.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/aPE6LLl.jpg

FT Lex. The leftmost column is interesting -> US baby milk: formula for market failure. The top 3 groups, Abbott, Nestle's Gerber, and Reckitt Benckiser control 90% of formula sold in the US, with Abbott alone reaching 42% of the market, data from Euromonitor.
https://i.imgur.com/X35jOwa.jpg

This post has been edited by TOS: May 18 2022, 01:52 PM

Good news. I have now found the full PDF version of the book. Let me know if you want to read.

----------------------------------------------

Another new arrivals this year:

Hedged Out: Inequality and Insecurity on Wall Street

by Megan Tobias Neely

https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520307704/hedged-out



About the book




About the Author



I have this book too, both electronic and hardback version.

This post has been edited by TOS: May 18 2022, 09:41 PM

Hi. Already PMed you the books. You should be able to find them in bookstore too. Have fun reading.

This post has been edited by TOS: May 18 2022, 10:39 PM

FT 190522: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XWpjmGJiYv...iew?usp=sharing

Some more Boeing and infant formula stuffs.
https://i.imgur.com/C2zti55.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/z9r1heu.jpg

-----------------------------

Asset management. Trading losses: Tiger Global suffers $17bn mauling in tech sell-off
https://i.imgur.com/Y86pcPN.jpg

-----------------------------

FT Big Read. Asset management. Can Pimco still prosper?

The surge in inflation could end a long bull market in bonds. The California-based asset manager, which was trying to adapt to an era of passive investing, must now adjust to rising interest rates.

https://i.imgur.com/voPgcRq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ycSiKHy.jpg

-----------------------------

FT Lex.
https://i.imgur.com/mjEO4dH.jpg

This post has been edited by TOS: May 19 2022, 01:59 PM