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Become a Better Investor Newsletter – 31 May 2025

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Noteworthy this week

  • The TACO trade
  • EU might have some leverage on US
  • China is 50% of e-commerce
  • BoJ owns 52% of the gov’t debt
  • New BTC ATH

The TACO trade: “Trump Always Chickens Out” is a term coined by Wall Street related to Trump’s tariffs. He wasn’t too happy about that acronym when a reporter asked him about it.

EU might have some leverage on US: Mag-7s generate 20-30% of their revenue in Europe, and Europe holds 20% of US equities.

China is 50% of e-commerce: China makes up around 50% of the global e-commerce market, measured as global online retail sales. That’s significant.

BoJ owns 52% of the gov’t debt: The Japanese government now holds US$8trn of debt. The Bank of Japan owns 52.0% of all domestic government bonds.

New BTC ATH: Bitcoin jumped to US$110,000 after Trump Media announced a US$ 2.5bn plan to create a Bitcoin treasury.

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Weekly market performance

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Chart of the week

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Podcasts we listened to this week

The Hundred Year Pivot Ep. 4 – Dr. Pippa Malmgren

“Drawing from her extensive experience in US and UK political spheres, Pippa explores the collapse of shared narratives amid political polarization, economic pressures, and an overwhelming flood of information that drives people into ideological silos. She highlights how this ‘narrative collapse,’ fueled by repeated national traumas and algorithm-driven media, threatens public trust, rational discourse, and the very legitimacy of government.”

Listen on Apple or Spotify.

Readings this week

Drawdowns and Recoveries

“One of the hardest aspects of being a long-term investor is that even the best investments, or investment portfolios, suffer large drawdowns. A drawdown is the price decline from peak to trough.”

Download PDF.

Book recommendation

The Rape of the Mind: The Psychology of Thought Control, Menticide, and Brainwashing by Joost Abraham Maurits Meerloo

“In 1933 Meerloo began to study the methods by which systematic mental pressure brings people to abject submission, and by which totalitarians imprint their subjective ‘truth’ on their victims’ minds.”

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 33: The Market Doesn’t Care How Smart You Are

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 33: An Investor’s Worst Enemy.

LEARNING: You are your own worst enemy when it comes to investing.

Access the episode’s show notes and resources

Published on Become a Better Investor this week

It’s time for PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) Cycle 2 in John Dues’ journey to reduce chronic absenteeism in his schools. His team is using PDSA to quickly test ideas and learn on a small scale. Find out what happened and how PDSA can be a powerful tool for learning.

Listen to Powerful Learning with PDSA: Path for Improvement (Part 8)

Aker Solutions ASA (AKSO NO): Profitable Growth rank of 1 was up compared to the prior period’s 4th rank. This is World Class performance compared to 300 large Energy companies worldwide.

Read Aker Solutions ASA – World Class Benchmarking

Guangzhou Zhujiang Brewery Company Limited (002461 SZ): Profitable Growth rank of 5 was up compared to the prior period’s 6th rank. This is average performance compared to 540 large Cons. Staples companies worldwide.

Read Guangzhou Zhujiang Brewery – World Class Benchmarking

San-A Company Limited (2659 JP): Profitable Growth rank of 5 was down compared to the prior period’s 4th rank. This is average performance compared to 530 large Cons. Staples companies worldwide.

Read San-A – World Class Benchmarking

Centurion Corporation Limited (CENT SP): Profitable Growth rank of 1 was same compared to the prior period’s 1st rank. This is World Class performance compared to 310 medium Real Estate companies worldwide.

Read Centurion Corporation – 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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