Related previous post: Memortation, or One Way to Put What You Learn to Practical Use [There was also a nice sentence in The Daily Stoic that describes how I essentially use "Memortation" as a form of preparation for the day: "The Stoics were pioneers of the morning and nightly rituals: preparation in the morning, reflection in the evening."]You might not like the TPP. You are going to like the alternative less. - by John Hempton (LINK)
Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited: Reduction in Defensive Equity Hedges (LINK)
How T. Boone Pickens Sits Tight in the Riskiest of Businesses [H/T @iancassel] (LINK)
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy podcast: The Haber-Bosch Process (LINK)
It has been called the greatest invention of the 20th Century – and without it almost half the world’s population would not be alive today. A 100 years ago two German chemists, Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch, figured out a way (worked out how) to use nitrogen from the air to make ammonia, which makes fertiliser. It was like alchemy; “Brot aus Luft”, as Germans put it. “Bread from air.”Tim Harford on EconTalk (podcast) (LINK)
Related book: Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our LivesWhy Facebook Rules the World - by Jonah Lehrer (LINK)
Investing book of the day: Frontier Investor: How to Prosper in the Next Emerging Markets
Investing thought of the day, via Seth Klarman in Margin of Safety:
The single most crucial factor in trading is developing the appropriate reaction to price fluctuations. Investors must learn to resist fear, the tendency to panic when prices are falling, and greed, the tendency to become overly enthusiastic when prices are rising. One half of trading involves learning how to buy. In my view, investors should usually refrain from purchasing a “full position” (the maximum dollar commitment they intend to make) in a given security all at once. Those who fail to heed this advice may be compelled to watch a subsequent price decline helplessly, with no buying power in reserve. Buying a partial position leaves reserves that permit investors to “average down”, lowering their average cost per share, if prices decline.
Evaluating your own willingness to average down can help you distinguish prospective investments from speculations. If the security you are considering is truly a good investment, not a speculation, you would certainly want to own more at lower prices. If, prior to purchase, you realize that you are unwilling to average down, then you probably should not make the purchase in the first place. Potential investments in companies that are poorly managed, highly leveraged, in unattractive businesses, or beyond understanding may be identified and rejected.