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Become a Better Investor Newsletter – 11 January 2025

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Noteworthy this week

  • FB loosens censorship
  • Greenland to become the 51st state
  • S&P 500 to gain 12% in 2025
  • China 10Y yield crashes
  • US 10Y yield rockets

FB loosens censorship: Zuck announced that Facebook will get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with Community Notes similar to X. Free speech is vital for democracies. Additional info about the video: The Greubel Forsey watch he’s wearing costs nearly a million dollars.

Greenland to become the 51st state: Trump has said that he wants Greenland to become part of the US. While he typically says a lot, there are reasons for the US to want to control Greenland. Greenland has vast natural resources, especially rare earths, so the US also wants to block China from accessing it. In addition, its position is important to protect the area around the Arctic Circle.

S&P 500 to gain 12% in 2025: At least if you believe in Wall Street analysts. Only 3 of 21 analysts forecast less than 10% return. I guess we’re in for another good year! Or will it be one of those years that we’re reminded of analysts’ over-optimism?

China 10Y yield crashes: The yield has fallen below 2%. This reflects the deflationary pressures China is facing and expectations about a slowdown in the Chinese economy.

US 10Y yield rockets: The yield is nearing 5%. Investors worry that inflation isn’t under control and could rise again due to Trump’s fiscal policies. Also worth noting is that the 10Y yield has risen since the Fed started cutting. Typically, this should lead to falling yields.

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Weekly market performance

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Chart of the week

Discussed in the Become a Better Investor Community this week

“We just uploaded the performance review of our Global Asset Allocation Strategy.”

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Podcasts we listened to this week

The Investor’s Guide to China podcast: The bull vs bear debate

“Is China a treasure trove or a value trap? In this episode, two of Fidelity International’s veteran portfolio managers attempt to answer this question by going head-to-head in a bull versus bear debate.”

Listen to the episode.

Readings this week

Full Steam Ahead: All Aboard Fiscal Dominance

“Structural fiscal deficits have surpassed private sector lending and monetary policy as the primary drivers of economic activity and inflation, marking a fundamental shift in the economy’s liquidity dynamics.”

Read the article.

Book recommendation

Being You: A New Science of Consciousness by Anil Seth

“Anil Seth’s radical new theory of consciousness challenges our understanding of perception and reality, doing for brain science what Dawkins did for evolutionary biology.”

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

Published on Become a Better Investor this week

Join Bill Bellows and Andrew Stotz as they discuss what actions (or inactions) make us worse than thieves and how that relates to expiration dates, and acceptability vs desirability. Plus, stories about job swapping, Achieving Competitive Excellence, and birthdays.

Listen to Worse Than a Thief: Misunderstanding Quality (Part 9)

Heineken Malaysia Berhad (HEIM MK): Profitable Growth rank of 1 was same compared to the prior period’s 1st rank. This is World Class performance compared to 420 medium Cons. Staples companies worldwide.

Read Heineken Malaysia – World Class Benchmarking

After You Public Company Limited (AU TB): Profitable Growth rank of 3 was down compared to the prior period’s 2nd rank. This is above average performance compared to 700 small Cons. Disc. companies worldwide.

Read After You – World Class Benchmarking

Vallourec SA (VK FP): Profitable Growth rank of 2 was up compared to the prior period’s 4th rank. This is World Class performance compared to 340 large Energy companies worldwide.

Read Vallourec SA – World Class Benchmarking

King Slide Works Company Limited (2059 TT): Profitable Growth rank of 1 was up compared to the prior period’s 2nd rank. This is World Class performance compared to 700 medium Info Tech companies worldwide.

Read King Slide Works – 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.

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