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Become a Better Investor Newsletter – 17 August 2024

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Noteworthy this week

  • Real wages have fallen
  • PPI inflation falls to 2.2%
  • Chinese home prices drop
  • Buffett has a record cash pile
  • Throw tomato soup at the Mona Lisa, save the world

Real wages have fallen: Half of OECD countries have seen a fall in real wages compared to before the global COVID shutdown.

PPI inflation falls to 2.2%: The Producer Price Index (PPI) falls to 2.2%, below expectations of 2.3%, and the lowest level since March 2024.

Chinese home prices drop: Chinese home prices saw the largest decline in history last month.

Buffett has a record cash pile: Berkshire Hathaway’s cash, cash equivalents, and short-term Treasuries spiked to a new all-time high of US$277bn in 2Q24.

Throw tomato soup at the Mona Lisa, save the world: Or maybe not! If you want to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions, you need to look East.

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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

“Please find the above performance chart of the 5 stock strategies and 1 asset allocation strategy you have access to in the community.”

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Podcasts we listened to this week

The Education of a Value Investor – Luca Dellanna on his book Ergodicity, autism, and decision making in our brains

“Luca Dellanna is a management advisor and an author from Turin, Italy. His books cover topics ranging across management, human behavior, and economics. He talks to Guy Spier about his early career, his research on ergodicity and some topics from his other books, including autism and the difference of decision making and action taking in our brains.”

Listen to the episode on Apple or Spotify.

Readings this week

DALBAR’s QAIB 2024

“2024 marks the 30th annual DALBAR Quantitative Analysis of Investor Behavior (QAIB) report, the nation’s leading study on investor behavior since 1994.”

Download the PDF.

Book recommendation

Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar by Tom Holland

“Author and historian Tom Holland returns to his roots in Roman history and the audience he cultivated with Rubicon—his masterful, witty, brilliantly researched popular history of the fall of the Roman republic—with Dynasty, a luridly fascinating history of the reign of the first five Roman emperors.”

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

Ep790: Andrew Pek – Immersive Learning Experience with VR Technology

BIO: Andrew Pek is a co-founder of Amiko XR Inc., a groundbreaking company that leverages VR and AI technologies to create immersive, personalized learning experiences available 24/7.

STORY: Andrew shared his worst investment ever story on episode 376: Build Revenue in Your Startup Before You Build Up Cost. Today, he discusses his new business.

LEARNING: Learning can be more immersive, sparking curiosity and excitement.

Access the episode’s show notes and resources

Enrich Your Future 09: The Fed Model and the Money Illusion

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 09: The Fed Model and the Money Illusion.

LEARNING: Just because there is a correlation doesn’t mean that there’s causation.

Access the episode’s show notes and resources

Published on Become a Better Investor this week

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 08: High Economic Growth Doesn’t Always Mean High Stock Market Return.

Listen to Enrich Your Future 08: High Economic Growth Doesn’t Always Mean High Stock Market Return

EVN AG (EVN AG): Profitable Growth rank of 3 was same compared to the prior period’s 3rd rank. This is above average performance compared to 320 large Utilities companies worldwide.

Read EVN AG – World Class Benchmarking

Riverstone Holdings Limited (RSTON SP): Profitable Growth rank of 1 was up compared to the prior period’s 2nd rank. This is World Class performance compared to 1,210 medium Industrials companies worldwide.

Read Riverstone Holdings – World Class Benchmarking

Shenzhen Airport Company Limited (000089 SZ): Profitable Growth rank of 8 was up compared to the prior period’s 10th rank. This is below average performance compared to 1,210 medium Industrials companies worldwide.

Read Shenzhen Airport – World Class Benchmarking

PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP TB): Profitable Growth rank of 4 was up compared to the prior period’s 5th rank. This is above average performance compared to 320 large Energy companies worldwide.

Read PTT Exploration and Production – 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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