"Our experience has been that the manager of an already high-cost operation frequently is uncommonly resourceful in finding new ways to add to overhead, while the manager of a tightly-run operation usually continues to find additional methods to curtail costs, even when his costs are already well below those of his competitors." -Warren Buffett, 1978 Letter to Shareholders (Kindle)
Mohnish Pabrai on The Investors Podcast (LINK)
I finally had a chance to watch Chris Mayer's September MicroCap Leadership Summit presentation on 100-Baggers, and I highly recommend it. He also mentioned a couple of things worth checking out if you have never read them: 1) An Investor's Odyssey: The Search for Outstanding Investments - by Chuck Akre; and 2) Silent Investor, Silent Loser - by Martin Sosnoff
Inside Sears' death spiral: How an iconic American brand has been driven to the edge of bankruptcy [H/T Linc] (LINK)
Magic Eludes Bubble-Caller Jeremy Grantham, as Assets at GMO Drop by More Than $40 Billion [H/T Matt] (LINK)
Banks rush to bond market ahead of rates rise (LINK)
Banks have flooded the market with debt in the first days of the new year, propelling a record pace of bond sales as companies seek to lock in borrowing costs before interest rates rise further.
The sales have been met with ample investor appetite ahead of the fourth-quarter earnings season, when the majority of US banks are expected to report improved profitability.
Grandmasters of Work - by Morgan Housel (LINK)Banks have sold $42bn of the near $73bn of corporate debt issued so far this year, including a $5.25bn offering from Citigroup, a $5bn deal by Barclays and a $4bn sale from Credit Suisse, according to Dealogic. The issuance has bolstered overall activity at the start of the new year, with two of the 20 busiest corporate bond trading days on record set in the first three trading days of 2017.
Latticework Of Mental Models: Planning Fallacy (LINK)
The Ten Year Anniversary of the Apple TV - by Ben Thompson (LINK)
On January 9, 2007, ten years ago today, Steve Jobs took the Macworld stage and introduced the Apple TV.
That the iPhone had to share the stage the same day it was unveiled to the world is a footnote in history, especially given the degree to which that history has been indelibly shaped by the most consequential device the tech industry has ever produced.
Tim Ferriss: If You're Not Happy With What You Have, You Might Never Be Happy (LINK)