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Become a Better Investor Newsletter – 8 February 2025

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Noteworthy this week

  • The Trump thump
  • Just another crypto crash
  • Got gold?
  • The bookstore renaissance
  • Nuclear power is booming in China

The Trump thump: Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% on China. For Canada and Mexico, it was primarily about improving border control. Mexico gave in after one day, and Canada after two days.

Just another crypto crash: Following the tariff announcement, the biggest 1-day liquidation in crypto history followed.

Got gold?: The world is experiencing a real-time history lesson on the significance of gold.

The bookstore renaissance: This was surprising but good news to me. More physical bookstores, who would’ve thought! Barnes & Noble is adding 60 new stores in 2025, 2x the number of stores it opened in 2023. TikTok is said to be a driver, and who would’ve thought TikTok would lead to more book reading?

Nuclear power is booming in China: While Germany has phased out nuclear energy, China is expanding it massively. Luckily, some European countries said to build new nuclear. The question is if they’re too late.

Join the world’s toughest valuation training

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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

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

Review: Increased uncertainty drove up Gold

Performance: The strategy gained 1.4% in January 2025”

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

The Grant Williams Podcast Ep. 90 – Demetri Kofinas

“Demetri offers a compelling exploration of the concept of “financial nihilism,” a provocative investment philosophy that sees speculative assets as devoid of intrinsic value, before we delve into the societal and economic forces driving this mindset, including the erosion of trust in institutions, the corruption of money the prolific rise of gambling in everyday life, and the absence of both consequences and accountability for bad actors.”

Listen on Apple or Spotify.

Readings this week

Billionaire Ambitions Report 2024

“The UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report, in its 10th year, is the longest-running and most comprehensive wealth management study of the current era of billionaire wealth.”

Get the report here.

Book recommendation

Practicing the Power of Now: Essential Teachings, Meditations, and Exercises from the Power of Now by Eckart Tolle

“Eckhart’s profound yet simple teachings have already helped countless people throughout the world find inner peace and greater fulfillment in their lives. At the core of the teachings lies the transformation of consciousness, a spiritual awakening that he sees as the next step in human evolution.”

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

Ep797: Jimmy Milliron – Lessons From Love, Money, and Missed Opportunities

BIO: James “Jimmy” Milliron is Co-Founder & President of National Brokerage Atlantic, specializing in Wealth Enhancement, Estate Planning, and Asset Protection.

STORY: Jimmy wanted to invest $100,000 in Bitcoin, but when he couldn’t find an easy way to do it, he bought a car instead.

LEARNING: Research and learn all you can about investment opportunities before investing.

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 23: Framing the Problem.

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

Jet2 PLC (JET2 LN): Profitable Growth rank of 2 was up compared to the prior period’s 3rd rank. This is World Class performance compared to 1,470 large Industrials companies worldwide.

Read Jet2 – World Class Benchmarking

Chunghwa Telecom Company Limited (2412 TT): Profitable Growth rank of 3 was same compared to the prior period’s 3rd rank. This is above average performance compared to 250 large Comm. Serv. companies worldwide.

Read Chunghwa Telecom – World Class Benchmarking

Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Company Limited (600267 SH): Profitable Growth rank of 10 was down compared to the prior period’s 9th rank. This is poor performance compared to 380 large Health Care companies worldwide.

Read Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical – World Class Benchmarking

In January 2025, we published 3 new episodes of the My Worst Investment Ever podcast. Listen to all of them here.

Listen to My Worst Investment Ever January 2025

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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