[Russia-Ukrainian War]

4 hours ago, TwoCitiesCapital said:

 

WSJ had an article today about China having interest in buying stakes in companies like Gazprom. 

 

You can bet that they'll eventually buy oil at a discount from Russia (just like they do Iran) and that they'll take a pound of flesh in strategic equity ownership in these companies now that valuations have been decimated. 

All that stuff doesn't sound like a win for China. Basically they "may" get some cheap Russian assets, but lose the goodwill of Europe, which they at least need to be semi-independent rather than for Europe to be more dependent on the US.

[Russia-Ukrainian War]

Why would China even dare to help Russia directly on its war effort?

[Short Taiwan?]

4 hours ago, nsx5200 said:

 

Taiwan is actually more Chinese than China, not having gone through the cultural revolution.  So you actually experience more of the thousand years of legacy there.  Some of the traditional spots may look older, but if you look closely, there is actually a lot more high-tech compared to a typical U.S. city.  High speed rail connect the whole (small) country.  Smart pass/card that's actually unibiqutious and usable.  Government services can actually be accessed via non-descript terminals in 7-11's.  Universal healthcare that covers both western and traditional medicine.  Open digital government platforms (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G0v) that hackers can contribute to.  Merit based society, starting from high school admission.  Having a smaller area means program experiements are cheaper to run, and so the government have a willingness to try new things.  For example, the smart pass/card has already evolved several generations already.  It was this attitude that got the government investing in the semiconductor industry back in the 80's.

 

Taiwan uses a lot of tech where it really matters.  IMHO, it's one of the most high tech Democratic country you'll find.

 

I agree with this. If you go to Taipei and compare it with the newer cities in China like Shen Zhen, Taipei on the outside is obviously much more antiquated ("ugly/old") than the new skyscrapers in Shen Zhen, which uses modern infrastructure and benefit from newer tech like all electric cabs. However, this is on the outside/hardware - Shen Zhen is all shiny. However, when it comes to services, I found Taiwan very good/better than Shen Zhen, e.g., medical services are better than in Shen Zhen, i.e., software is better. I also felt Taipei have a slower pace of life in Shenzhen, which I liked, but maybe younger people wants a faster way of life in the big mainland cities. That being said, I felt even Guang Zhou had antiquated areas too.

[A Saga of Courage by Seabury Stanton (PDF)]

Thanks Trevni, I took a quick look. Is the lesson that Stanton invested too much into a dying industry, while Buffett took capital out of BRK? The profile seem to indicate Stanton, due to history and family loyalty, basically went all in to invest into BRK, sound like a hero, but in the end it was all for nought?

[Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor]

I didn't think much of this book. It's ok for beginners. Initially, when I heard about the book, I was super keen to get hold of it. It was a bit of a let down - the book covers the basics of Graham 4 rules of investing, the psychology of misjudgement, the good investor behaviors and a few other things. Overall, extremely basic stuff (and a short book).