Evening Bamboo Insight: 21 Jul 2014

Evening Bamboo Insight: 21 Jul 2014

Macro

1. The Risk Of Being Seen as Savvy; Who should get to invest in deals that aren’t available to the general public?

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702304223004580035533802993368

2. Germany’s Merkel Avoids Painful Economic Reforms; It’s what Merkel’s not doing that worries German economists

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-17/germanys-merkel-avoids-painful-economic-reforms

3. The BRICS Don’t Need a Bank of Their Own

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-17/brics-dont-need-development-bank-of-their-own

4. Through a flurry of recent enforcement actions, market cops are targeting suspected fraud among the thousands of tiny “microcap” companies, or penny stocks

http://online.wsj.com/articles/seven-indicted-on-a-charge-of-manipulating-stock-moves-1405613211

5. How Washington Whittles Away Property Rights; When government thinks that it ultimately owns all income, bureaucrats never tire of finding ways to spend it

http://online.wsj.com/articles/michael-boskin-how-washington-whittles-away-property-rights-1405552997

6. Companies are getting more expensive to buy. But instead of walking away, buyout firms are paying up

http://online.wsj.com/articles/buyout-shops-must-dig-deeper-into-wallets-for-purchases-1405550548

7. US Treasury Admits Collateral Problem In Bond Market; Considers Issuing Ultra Long-Dated Bonds

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-18/us-treasury-admits-collateral-problem-bond-market-considers-issuing-ultra-long-dated

8. The Quiet Movement to Make Government Fail Less Often

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/upshot/the-quiet-movement-to-make-government-fail-less-often.html?ref=economy

9. Holding Company Of Portugal’s 2nd Largest Bank Just Filed For Bankruptcy Protection

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-18/holding-company-portugals-2nd-largest-bank-just-filed-bankruptcy-protection

Asia Pacific

1. (China) – Huge embezzlement in China’s affordable housing projects

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-07/18/c_133493877.htm

2. A Japanese Hamlet Is Now an Economics Lab; Prime Minister Abe has designated six special economic zones for experiments in deregulation

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-17/japans-economic-experiment-gives-yabu-hope-for-farming-revival

3. (China) – In China, Joining the Army Will Cost You; It can cost Chinese families 50,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan to secure a spot in the PLA for their son or daughter

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-17/chinese-army-applicants-pay-recruiters-to-get-limited-slots

4. (China) – Chinese traders grew more cautious about private bond issuers after a construction company warned that it might default on a 400 million yuan ($64.5 million) bond

http://online.wsj.com/articles/chinese-construction-company-huatong-warns-on-bond-default-1405580900

5. (China/Tech) – Yahoo and Alibaba: Less Isn’t More

http://online.wsj.com/articles/heard-on-the-street-yahoo-and-alibaba-less-isnt-more-1405524610

6. (China/Energy) – China Flexes Might With Energy Giants; South China Sea Quarrel Chills Drilling by Some Oil Companies

http://online.wsj.com/articles/china-tells-oil-companies-to-choose-sides-in-territorial-dispute-1405529382

7. (China) – Chinese Commodity Contagion Leads To First Letter Of Credit Settlement Failure

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-18/chinese-commodity-contagion-leads-first-letter-credit-settlement-failure

8. (India/Healthcare) – Sutures India: Growing In Stature with Wound-Care Products

http://forbesindia.com/printcontent/38234

9. Bikaji Foods: Taking the Taste of Bikaner Global; The Agarwals of Bikaner, descendants of Haldiram Bhujiawala, are packaging their local flavour for a national and global market

http://forbesindia.com/printcontent/38228

Life

1. Leonard Cohen on Creativity, Hard Work, and Why You Should Never Quit Before You Know What It Is You’re Quitting

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/07/15/leonard-cohen-paul-zollo-creativity/

2. How to Find Yourself; “Little triumphs are the pennies of self-esteem.”

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/07/17/florence-king-finding-yourself/

3. The Art of Self-Renewal: A Timeless 1964 Field Guide to Keeping Your Company and Your Soul Vibrantly Alive

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/07/14/self-renewal-gardner/

4. Barbara Walters on the Art of Conversation, How to Talk to Bores, and What Truman Capote Teaches Us About Being Interesting

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/07/16/barbara-walters-how-to-talk/

5. Claude Shannon: The Man Who Turned Paper Into Pixels; If Alan Turing is to be considered the father of modern computing, then the American mathematician Claude Shannon is the architect of the Information Age

http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2014/07/claude-shannon-paper-into-pixels/

6. Seneca on Gathering Ideas And Combinatorial Creativity; Einstein: “Combinatory play seems to be the essential feature in productive thought.”

http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2014/07/seneca-on-combinatorial-creativity/

7. Paul Graham: On Arguing With Idiots, Where Ideas Come From, and What Makes Good Programmers

http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2014/07/paul-graham-hackers-painters/

8. Books – Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age

http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Painters-Big-Ideas-Computer/dp/1449389554

9. Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0231170246/

10. What would you do to be a little smarter every single day?

http://www.quora.com/What-would-you-do-to-be-a-little-smarter-every-single-day/answer/Shane-Parrish-2?srid=i6uc&share=1

11. Interruptions Are Even Worse Than We Thought

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118714/interruptions-work-make-you-way-less-productive

12. Book Review: ‘The Fantastic Laboratory of Dr. Weigl’ by Arthur Allen; Two scientists who worked to beat typhus and sabotage the Nazis

http://online.wsj.com/articles/book-review-the-fantastic-laboratory-of-dr-weigl-by-arthur-allen-1405713393

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/book-review-the-fantastic-laboratory-of-dr-wiegl-by-arthur-allen/2014/07/18/6b7a85da-01fa-11e4-8572-4b1b969b6322_story.html

13. Book Review: ‘The Intel Trinity’ by Michael S. Malone; A born leader, an ethereal genius and a tough taskmaster built the most important company on the planet

http://online.wsj.com/articles/book-review-the-intel-trinity-by-michael-s-malone-1405718089

14. The Intel Trinity: How Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove Built the World’s Most Important Company

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Trinity-Robert-Important-Company/dp/0062226762/

15. Job Hunting in the Network Age; The LinkedIn founder says you are no longer in charge of your résumé in an interconnected online world, but neither is your boss

http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-weekend-interview-job-hunting-in-the-network-age-1405724333

16. How to Get Ahead by Speaking Vaguely

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-17/abstract-speakings-power-when-communications-not-in-the-details

17. How Indiana University Cut Student Debt; By specifying the real cost of loans, the university got students to cut back

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-17/how-indiana-university-cut-student-debt

18. Peak Profanity: The Curse Of The Foul-Mouthed CEO; A Bloomberg review of thousands of conference calls recorded in the past 10 years shows CEO cursing spiked after the recession in 2009 and waned as the recovery strengthened

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-17/peak-profanity-curse-foul-mouthed-ceo

http://www.bloomberg.com/infographics/2014-07-16/graphic-language-the-curse-of-the-ceo.html

19. Who Made That Scotch Tape?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/magazine/who-made-that-scotch-tape.html?ref=economy

20. How To Persuade Anyone Of Anything In 10 Seconds

http://www.businessinsider.com/persuade-anyone-of-anything-2014-7

21. 23 Daily Habits That Will Make You Smarter

http://www.businessinsider.com/daily-habits-that-make-you-smarter-2014-7

22. Daniel Goleman: What Predicts Success? It’s Not Your IQ

https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140717120528-117825785-what-predicts-success-it-s-not-your-iq?trk=nus-cha-roll-art-title

23. GRANTHAM: Here Are 5 Lessons I Learned From 2 Failed Investments

http://www.businessinsider.com/grantham-5-important-lessons-2014-7

24. Here’s The Secret Behind Taco Bell’s 45-Year Success

http://www.businessinsider.com/secret-behind-taco-bells-45-year-success-2014-7

25. Bill Gates And Warren Buffett Have The Same Favorite Book – And You’ll Love It Too

http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-and-buffett-have-the-same-favorite-book-2014-7

TMT

1. It’s Not TV, It’s HBO: 21st Century Fox and Time Warner’s game of clones

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-17/fox-time-warner-combo-would-wield-much-bargaining-power

2. (China/Tech) – Yahoo and Alibaba: Less Isn’t More

http://online.wsj.com/articles/heard-on-the-street-yahoo-and-alibaba-less-isnt-more-1405524610

3. Chloe & Isabel Crafts Its Own Sales Model; Direct Jewelry Seller Branches Out With Help of Independent ‘Merchandisers,’ Considers Expanding Into Asia

http://online.wsj.com/articles/how-i-built-it-chloe-isabel-crafts-its-own-sales-model-1405557127

4. Coming Soon to Social Media: Click to Buy Now; Twitter and Facebook, which are fighting for the attention of social media users and advertisers, both announced baby steps into the world of e-commerce

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/17/coming-soon-to-social-media-click-to-buy-now/?_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=technology&_r=0

Consumer

1. Pernod Makes a Little Vodka in a Berlin Garage; Pernod aims to win locavore tipplers with a small brand made by franchisees in cities worldwide.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-17/pernod-tries-small-batch-vodka-franchises-for-locavore-appeal

2. Chip Giants Struggle to Break Into Cars; Intel, Qualcomm, and Nvidia lag less well-known chipmakers in the $27.9bn market for car microprocessors. One barrier to entry is the car industry’s safety and reliability standards

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-17/intel-qualcomm-and-nvidia-struggle-to-break-into-car-chips

3. Liberty’s Content to Wait at ITV; At a time when U.S. media companies are eyeing bigger content deals, staking a claim on ITV looks smart for Liberty

http://online.wsj.com/articles/libertys-content-to-wait-at-itv-1405604084

4. The outcome of 21st Century Fox’s battle for Time Warner will likely come down to which CEO shareholders trust more: Rupert Murdoch or Jeff Bewkes. Fox Move Signals M&A Time

http://online.wsj.com/articles/shareholders-choice-murdoch-or-bewkes-1405547743

http://online.wsj.com/articles/heard-on-the-street-fox-move-signals-m-a-time-1405539099

5. General Electric has stepped up efforts to find a buyer for its century-old appliance business, one of the company’s final ties to American consumer

http://online.wsj.com/articles/ge-seeks-to-sell-appliance-unit-1405543877

Healthcare

1. What Doctors Can Tell About Your Health Just By Looking At Your Nails

http://www.businessinsider.com/signs-of-disease-in-the-nails-2014-5

Investing Process

1. Buffett’s Achilles’ Heel: Investing in Retail; Billionaire and Berkshire Partner Munger Often Speak of ‘Failures’

http://online.wsj.com/articles/buffetts-achilles-heel-retail-investing-1405539148

Energy

1. (China/Energy) – China Flexes Might With Energy Giants; South China Sea Quarrel Chills Drilling by Some Oil Companies

http://online.wsj.com/articles/china-tells-oil-companies-to-choose-sides-in-territorial-dispute-1405529382

 

 

Morning Bamboo Insight: 21 Jul 2014

Morning Bamboo Insight: 21 Jul 2014

Macro

1. In a Subprime Bubble for Used Cars, Borrowers Pay Sky-High Rates

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/in-a-subprime-bubble-for-used-cars-unfit-borrowers-pay-sky-high-rates/?_php=true&_type=blogs&emc=edit_th_20140720&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=36114517&_r=0

2. This Way Up: Mobility in America; Economic mobility is alive and well for Americans who pursue technical or practical training

http://online.wsj.com/articles/this-way-up-mobility-in-america-1405710779?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird

3. Slim’s Asset Sales Has People Wondering What He’ll Buy Next; Mexican Billionaire Carlos Slim Owns TracFone That Could Serve as Building Block

http://online.wsj.com/articles/carlos-slim-will-he-go-shopping-in-the-u-s-telecom-market-1405722201?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303984304580029233486852668.html

4. Bill Marriott: Where Hotels Are Going; The Marriott International chairman on Chinese menus, bigger lobbies and the future of hotels

http://online.wsj.com/articles/bill-marriott-where-hotels-are-going-1405716717?mod=WSJ_hp_EditorsPicks

Asia Pacific

1. (China) – Qingdao Port Warehouse Receipts Forged with Phony Seals, Says Source

http://english.caixin.com/2014-07-18/100706072.html

2. (China/Tech) – Short-seller target NQ Mobile dismisses independent auditor

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/18/us-nq-mobile-auditor-idUSKBN0FN1C220140718?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews

3. (China/Tech) – Red flags: Alibaba’s Ma and Ma’s private equity firm

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/16/us-alibaba-yunfeng-idUSKBN0FL17220140716

4. (China/Tech) – A Westerner’s Inside View of Alibaba Successes and Failures

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/07/16/a-westerners-inside-view-of-alibaba-successes-and-failures

5. (Australia) – Lessons From the Aussie Carbon Victory; Tony Abbott has shown it is possible to challenge the climate orthodoxy and roll back an unpopular tax

http://online.wsj.com/articles/australias-carbon-tax-message-1405616207

http://online.wsj.com/articles/switzer-lessons-from-the-aussie-carbon-victory-1405616379

Life

1. Danish People Really Do Have The Secret To Happiness: It’s In Their DNA; the Danish concept of arbejdsglæde means happiness at work

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3033219/danish-people-really-do-have-the-secret-to-happiness-its-in-their-dna?partner=newsletter

2. Lessons Learned in Emerging Markets Resonate Elsewhere Too; Innovation designed to exploit opportunities in emerging markets can be transferred back home to positive effect

http://ww2.cfo.com/global-business/2014/07/lessons-learned-emerging-markets-resonate-elsewhere/

3. Love People, Not Pleasure: What do fame, wealth and lots of sex bring? Exactly the opposite of what you think

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/opinion/sunday/arthur-c-brooks-love-people-not-pleasure.html

4. The Future of Robot Caregivers

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/opinion/sunday/the-future-of-robot-caregivers.html

5. Many wealthy families living off their investments are returning to active business operations, impact investing or philanthropy, as they feel they lack of purpose

http://www.campdenfb.com/article/many-wealthy-families-feeling-lack-purpose

6. Leadership Lessons from a War Zone

http://www.fastcompany.com/3033095/hit-the-ground-running/leadership-lessons-from-a-war-zone

7. Math Camp in a Barn: Intensive Instruction, No-Nonsense Discipline; In North Carolina’s poorest county, Indian children get the equivalent of a year’s schooling in three weeks

http://online.wsj.com/articles/naomi-schaefer-riley-math-camp-in-a-barn-intensive-instruction-no-nonsense-discipline-1405724859

8. Why Is It So Hard for Us to Do Nothing? A new study shows that many people would rather get an electric shock than just sit and think

http://online.wsj.com/articles/why-is-it-so-hard-for-us-to-do-nothing-1405697956?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird

9. Financial Savvy Starts in Childhood; Early Financial Lessons Influence How Adults Handle Money

http://online.wsj.com/articles/financial-savvy-starts-in-childhood-1405816348?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsForth

10. Risk Is Never a Strict Numbers Game; We tell children to shun ecstasy but don’t fret about horseback riding-and other foibles of our view of danger

http://online.wsj.com/articles/risk-is-never-a-strict-numbers-game-1405728892

TMT

1. Amazon launches a Netflix-style subscription service for books

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/07/18/amazon-launches-a-netflix-style-subscription-service-for-books/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/18/us-amazon-kindle-idUSKBN0FN1NF20140718?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews

2. IBM Preps for Post-Silicon Era

http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1323078&elq=135f5c4b3c7c4793afb3de5cefcda3f2&elqCampaignId=18136

3. EE Times Silicon 60: Hot Startups to Watch

http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1323068&print=yes

4. Forbes sells control of media business to Hong Kong group of investors

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/18/us-publishing-forbes-idUSKBN0FN1XZ20140718

5. White spaces: An analyst explains the grand opportunities he sees for innovation

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/07/14/white-spaces-an-analyst-explains-the-grand-opportunities-he-sees-for-innovation/?wpisrc=nl_inn

6. Time Warner win would make Murdoch U.S. media king

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/16/us-time-warner-fox-idUSKBN0FL15T20140716

7. Gtech of Italy to Acquire Slot Machine Maker for $4.7 Billion; Lottomatica, controlled by the De Agostini family, acquired the United States lottery company Gtech in 2006 for $4.65 billion

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/07/16/gtech-of-italy-to-acquire-slot-machine-maker-for-4-7-billion

8. (China/Tech) – A Westerner’s Inside View of Alibaba Successes and Failures

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/07/16/a-westerners-inside-view-of-alibaba-successes-and-failures

9. (Tech/Healthcare) – Little-known InterSystems grows to dominate an IT market in age of Obamacare

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/little-known-intersystems-grows-to-dominate-an-it-market-in-age-of-obamacare/2014/07/17/db975f82-0ba0-11e4-8341-b8072b1e7348_story.html

10. How The Internet Of Things Impacts Industrials

http://www.valuewalk.com/2014/07/how-the-internet-of-things-impacts-industrials

Healthcare

1. (Tech/Healthcare) – Little-known InterSystems grows to dominate an IT market in age of Obamacare

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/little-known-intersystems-grows-to-dominate-an-it-market-in-age-of-obamacare/2014/07/17/db975f82-0ba0-11e4-8341-b8072b1e7348_story.html

Consumer

1. (Tech/Consumer) – Home Depot, Lowes bring the Internet of Things to DIYers

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-it/home-depot-lowes-bring-the-internet-of-things-to-diyers/2014/07/19/e5247790-0b75-11e4-8c9a-923ecc0c7d23_story.html

2. Acquisitions Are a Value-Enhancing Strategy for VF; Moat-building cost and brand advantages position the firm well.

http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=656350

Investing Process

1. Research – Do Hedge Funds Prefer Safe Stocks? Revisiting Hedge Fund Preferences for Stock Characteristics

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2449165