Monday, November 26, 2012

Oddly Relevant Nov-26-2012


Bruce Berkowitz: The return of a star fund manager: Fairholme is up 37% this year, and Berkowitz is still bullish on AIG (priced for 10 Sandys while moving to a better information system and away from low-frequency, high-severity insurance) and Sears (liquidation value of inventory approaches stock price alongside the value of real estate, potential upside with retail recovery). [Note: He had always been there]…Source: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/11/26/bruce-berkowitz-fairholme/

Demographics explain practically everything: HS Dent, an economic forecasting firm, compiled Census data on spending behavior and presented them as a series of demand curves. Here’s a tidbit, men spend less on underwear as they get old, but spending on robes spike near the end of life.  As we get older we use a lot less plastic cutlery.  And alcohol consumption stays pretty steady from the day we turn 21 until we turn around 70. [Note: HIGHLY VALUABLE. Long healthcare, garden products,  securities product, nursing homes]…Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/consumer-demand-curves-2012-11?op=1

Ranking and understanding the world’s top startup hubs: while Silicon Valley still reigns supreme, Tel Aviv’s second catches many by surprise. Boston got sidelined in the social media game; New York is the global capital of female tech entrepreneurship; LA has the most experienced and oldest entrepreneurs, while Moscow has the youngest; Canada is cash-poor, and Chile is, unsurprisingly with the backing of the government, is heating up. [Note: And China is nowhere to be found]…Source: http://readwrite.com/2012/11/26/ranking-and-understanding-the-worlds-top-startup-hubs-video

Inside Google Spanner, the largest single database on Earth: Google keeps its database synced with assistance from GPS and atomic clocks [Note: Hairier than you think, and this article is really bloated]…Source: http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/09/google-spanner/?utm_source=Contextly&utm_medium=RelatedLinks&utm_campaign=Previous

Uncontrolled: the surprising payoff of Trial-and-error: Per E. Jaksetic, “This ambitious book takes an interdisciplinary approach to discuss: (1) the scientific method; (2) why the scientific method cannot be mindlessly applied to any discipline or subject matter; (3) how the scientific method has been frequently invoked, but not effectively applied in the social sciences; (4) the limits of applying the scientific method to develop, test and improve business practices and strategies; (5) why the development and testing of public policy cannot be done within the constraints of the scientific method; and (6) how the inability to apply the scientific method to various subjects does not preclude using non-experimental methods of analysis to study, develop, and test business practices and public policies.” [Note: Pair this with Taleb’s Antifagile]…Source: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/046502324X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=046502324X&linkCode=as2&tag=abnorretur-20

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