Skip to content
Learning that drives better investment decisions

Become a Better Investor Newsletter – 1 February 2025

|

Noteworthy this week

  • DeepSeek rattles markets
  • Manufacturing to stay in China
  • BoJ raises 0.25%
  • EU banks beat US Tech
  • We’ve passed peak air pollution

DeepSeek rattles markets: Anyone using the internet or consuming news won’t have missed the Chinese AI, DeepSeek. The picture is still not clear, but it appears to be a pretty big breakthrough. However, it wasn’t as cheap to build as some claim.

Manufacturing to stay in China: You can’t get goods out without ports. 7 of the 10 biggest container ports in the world are in China, and it took China 30 years working at the fastest pace in history to build them.

BoJ raises 0.25%: Japan raises interest rates by 0.25%. This move to 0.5% is the highest since 2008.

EU banks beat US Tech: Something that you maybe didn’t know (I didn’t) is that European banks have outperformed the Mag 7 over the past 2 years.

We’ve passed peak air pollution: Another thing you may not know is that global emissions of local air pollutants have probably passed their peak.

Join the world’s toughest valuation training

Become a Valuation Expert. Valuation Master Class Boot Camp graduates can confidently value any company in the world and possess in-demand industry skills.

Click here to learn more.

Weekly market performance

Click here to see more markets and periods.

Chart of the week

Discussed in the Become a Better Investor Community this week

“You can now access your weekly updated Market Cheat Sheet and Equity FVMR Snapshots.”

Try 1 month of the Become a Better Investor Community for FREE today!
You can cancel at any time. Click here to learn more.

Podcasts we listened to this week

DeepSeek and the Future of AI Competition with Miles Brundage – ChinaTalk

“I recorded a show yesterday afternoon with Miles Brundage, who recently left OpenAI after six years running its Policy Research and AGI Preparedness teams.”

Listen to the episode.

Readings this week

The Origins of Wokeness

“There’s a certain kind of person who’s attracted to a shallow, exacting kind of moral purity, and who demonstrates his purity by attacking anyone who breaks the rules.”

Read the article.

Book recommendation

From Darwin to Derrida: Selfish Genes, Social Selves, and the Meanings of Life

“In From Darwin to Derrida, evolutionary biologist David Haig explains how a physical world of matter in motion gave rise to a living world of purpose and meaning. Natural selection, a process without purpose, gives rise to purposeful beings who find meaning in the world.”

Get the book on Audible or Kindle.

Audible is great; have you tried it? If not, click here to get 2 books for free.

Memes of the week

New My Worst Investment Ever episodes

Enrich Your Future 23: Seeing Through the Frame: Making Better Investment Decisions

In this episode of Enrich Your Future, Andrew and Larry Swedroe discuss Larry’s new book, Enrich Your Future: The Keys to Successful Investing. In this series, they discuss Chapter 23: Framing the Problem.

LEARNING: Understand how each indexed annuity feature works before buying one.

Access the episode’s show notes and resources

Published on Become a Better Investor this week

Hengtong Optic-Electric Company Limited (600487 SH): Profitable Growth rank of 5 was up compared to the prior period’s 6th rank. This is average performance compared to 620 large Info Tech companies worldwide.

Read Hengtong Optic-Electric – World Class Benchmarking

International Container Terminal Services Incorporated (ICT PM): Profitable Growth rank of 2 was same compared to the prior period’s 2nd rank. This is World Class performance compared to 1,410 large Industrials companies worldwide.

Read International Container Terminal Services – World Class Benchmarking

China Communications Services Corporation Limited (552 HK): Profitable Growth rank of 7 was down compared to the prior period’s 6th rank. This is below average performance compared to 250 large Comm. Serv. companies worldwide.

Read China Communications Services Corporation – World Class Benchmarking

TIPCO Asphalt Public Company Limited (TASCO TB): Profitable Growth rank of 5 was down compared to the prior period’s 2nd rank. This is average performance compared to 790 large Materials companies worldwide.

Read TIPCO Asphalt – World Class Benchmarking

Hera SpA (HER IM): Profitable Growth rank of 5 was up compared to the prior period’s 8th rank. This is average performance compared to 330 large Utilities companies worldwide.

Read Hera SpA – World Class Benchmarking

DISCLAIMER: This content is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Readers should not consider statements made by the author(s) as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. While the information provided is believed to be accurate, it may include errors or inaccuracies. The author(s) cannot be held liable for any actions taken as a result of reading this article.

Posted in Newsletter