The Digest #216
The Digest #216
Trading Berkshire, The Theban Plays, The laws of economics, Fed fairy tales, Buffett's "retirement", Caro's writing process, Buffett's ground rules, Sherwin Williams, Mysterious owls, and more ...
Quote of the Week
“Just as many smart people fail in the investment business as stupid ones. Intellectually active people are particularly attracted to elegant concepts, which can have the effect of distracting them from the simpler, more fundamental, truths.”
Rational Walk Articles
Just Hold the Goddamn Stock!, September 21, 2024. Earlier this year, I wrote Too Clever by Half which was critical of Berkshire shareholders who traded the stock as it reached record highs. Intellectual honesty required another article to admit that I recently did what I had criticized, albeit at a materially higher valuation. Fortunately, I was able to correct my mistake without incurring any damage. (The Rational Walk)
Archive of Berkshire Hathaway Articles (2009 — 2024) (The Rational Walk)
The Theban Plays, September 23, 2024. My (long) article about the three Theban plays by Sophocles: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. (The Rational Walk)
Archive of Great Books Articles (The Rational Walk)
Note to Readers: I mention all new articles on The Rational Walk in each issue of The Digest but I no longer send out articles via email. Readers who wish to be notified of new articles when they are published can follow my RSS Feed using any RSS Reader. I would suggest Feedly, a news reader I have used for many years.
Other Articles
Shall We Repeal the Laws of Economics? by Howard Marks, September 19, 2024. Audio (55 minutes). “Anyone who thinks it’s better to live in a centrally planned economy that prefers evenly distributed benefits over free markets hasn’t studied history (or read Animal Farm). It may sound good in theory, but it has never worked. The laws of economics will always win out eventually. Nations can respect them and reap the associated benefits, or they can try to contravene them and pay the price in terms of underperformance. In the world of politics, there can be limitless benefits and something for everyone. But in economics, there are only tradeoffs.” (Oaktree Capital)
Howard Marks was non-partisan in his criticism of the Presidential candidates. In my opinion, both Vice President Harris and former President Trump believe in central planning, albeit with very different priorities. The United States does not have a political party that is committed to free markets. The dominant bipartisan political ideology today is the cynical pursuit of power at any cost, no matter the negative long term implications for the future of our country.
Fed up with Fed Talk? Factchecking Central Banking Fairy Tales! by
, September 20, 2024. “I believe that it is time for us to put the Fed delusion to rest. It has distracted us from talking about things that truly matter, which include growing government debt, inflation, growth and how globalization may be feeding into risk, and allowed us to believe that central bankers have the power to rescue us from whatever mistakes we may be making.” (Musings on Markets)Becoming Berkshire: 1969 Part 1- Buffett Retires by
, September 20, 2024. This is an interesting account of Warren Buffett’s decision to “retire” in 1969 … of course, he just retired from managing his investment partnership and shifted his attention to running Berkshire Hathaway which he still leads today at the age of ninety-four. Retirement is not for everyone! (Becoming Berkshire)Benjamin Graham: In Big Trouble with Money and Love, September 22, 2024. I’ve enjoyed reading Benjamin Graham’s granddaughter reminisce about his life. These articles are more personal than what we normally read about Graham and help to frame the psychology of the man who transformed security analysis and influenced generations of value investors, especially Warren Buffett. (Beyond Ben Graham)
The next generation of Buffetts is poised to become one of the biggest forces in philanthropy by Thalia Beaty and Josh Funk, September 16, 2024. Allocating hundreds of billions of dollars over a ten year period is going to be a monumental task for Warren Buffett’s children. Howard Buffett: “I can tell you, we’ll sit down in a room when the time comes, and we’ll get it figured out pretty quickly. … Somebody is going to spend that money. Somebody is going to give that money away. So, I would rather do that with my brother and sister and do it together, as a partnership, than see it done any other way.” (AP)
Re-Noted: Robert Caro's Cork Board by
, September 16, 2024. “On September 16th, 1974 a young journalist published his first book. It quickly became a modern classic, earning him the Pulitzer Prize among other accolades. The Power Broker remains one of the best books ever written about New York. As we celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, I thought it appropriate to share one of Noted’s earliest posts—on the notes Robert Caro took while writing his magisterial histories.” (Noted)The Complexity Paradox Curve by
, September 20, 2024. “Beginners and masters share one thing in common; a penchant for simplicity. They are two different forms of desire. The beginners want things to be communicated simply so that they can understand. The master wants that too, but the differences lie in from their ability to take a complex subject matter and communicate it as though it were simple. When you hear someone say ‘they make it look easy!’ it’s because that person has a deep enough level of understanding in their craft to do so.” (Investment Talk)My Secret Life as a Social Media Coach by
, September 24, 2024. This article contains good advice for those who are interested in building a social media presence. But I am skeptical that doing so makes sense for those who do not have any product or service to sell. Social media is a massive drain on time and attention — addiction is the clear goal of all current social media algorithms. (The Honest Broker)What the Ancient Greeks Can Teach Us about Innovation by
, September 18, 2024. “Today we’ve got Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Jensen Huang, Tim Cook, Mary Barra, Jennifer Doudna, and others. So, who needs Aristotle and other dusty throwbacks telling us how to innovate? What could they possibly teach us?” (Miller’s Book Review)Why Measuring ApoB Is The Key To Preventing Heart Disease by
, September 21, 2024. This article makes the case for tracking ApoB rather than relying on LDL-C, something that Dr. Peter Attia has also advocated. The test is not covered by my absurdly low quality, high cost, high deductible “ACA” health insurance policy, but the ApoB test cost is relatively modest at around $50-60. (Dr. Paddy Barrett)Podcasts
Building Buffett: The Foundation of Success, September 22, 2024. 1 hour, 13 minutes. “Kyle Grieve discusses an underrated book called ‘Warren Buffett’s Ground Rules’ by Jeremy Miller, he’ll discuss how to avoid being taken advantage of by Mr. Market, how to maximize the effects of compounding, how Warren thinks about tracking investment performance, how Buffett aligned himself with his partners, why contrarianism is such a good trait in investing, the challenge of scaling capital and a whole lot more!” (We Study Billionaires)
Warren Buffett’s Ground Rules, May 27, 2016. My review of the book covered in the podcast. I highly recommend reading it! (The Rational Walk)
Sherwin Williams: Brushstrokes of Success, September 18, 2024. 1 hour, 5 minutes. I’ve always viewed Sherwin Williams as the most important competitor of Berkshire’s Benjamin Moore subsidiary, so this episode was interesting. (Business Breakdowns)
Building a Robust Investment Strategy: Insights from Tobias Carlisle, September 18, 2024. 1 hour, 5 minutes. “Tobias Carlisle … shares his personal journey—from his beginnings as a corporate advisory lawyer in Australia to his transition into investing inspired by Warren Buffett. His career spans roles as an activist hedge fund analyst and general counsel, leading up to his authorship of Deep Value, Quantitative Value, and Concentrated Investing.” (The Education of a Value Investor)
The Mysterious World of Owls with Jennifer Ackerman, September 23, 2024. 1 hour, 5 minutes. “An owl will eat a rabbit whole, but owls can't digest the fur or the bones. So how do they survive? Why do their eyes face forward rather than to the side? Long-eared Owls don't have ears, so what's up with the name and how do they hear? How can dogs help us track owls--that seems impossible. Owls don't make nests, so where do they live?” (Econ Talk)
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Individuals associated with The Rational Walk own shares of Berkshire Hathaway.