For those who grew up or lived in Mumbai (it was Bombay then) in the late 80’s or 90’s, and read ‘The Afternoon’, specially in local trains, this post will sound familiar. And for a Saturday, a few stray thoughts and a few general observations and a few points of view (all my own work): … Read more
“Where is Cyprus?” asked my friend Swami as we were having our weekend coffee meeting. We had met after a long time, as my broker friend Jigneshbhai had been out of town. Jigneshbhai knew what was coming next from the ever-questioning Swami, but like all his terse, double-edged and somewhat unclear answers, he said “Somewhere … Read more
I have compiled some of my writings over the past couple of years into a book titled ‘Common and Not So Common Sense: Practical Lessons for the Individual Investor’. The book is now available for purchase at the publisher’s site. It is available in both print and e-book (pdf) formats. You may order a copy … Read more
Most personal finance books are boring. Most of them have nothing new as such. Of course, there are the legendary books on investing that make great reading. They are generally written by gurus who have a past investing record, or by academics or a combination. Or they are written by journalists or writers following the lives of these ‘gurus’ … Read more
Peter Drucker, the management guru, said, “This is by far the best book on investment policy and management.” The more I read books on investing, the more I get convinced that investing is much simpler than most people think or are told. Simple, but not easy as Buffett had once said. Most of what one … Read more
Seth Klarman is the founder and president of The Baupost Group, a Boston-based private investment partnership. He wrote a book named ‘Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor’ which is an investment classic, but has been out of print since 1991. If you google for this book, you will find a … Read more
My readers have been wondering where I have been for the past so many days, and why there have been no posts for a long time. My profuse apologies, but I must admit that I was busy in something more important. Well, not more important as such, but something that kept me busy. I was … Read more
In the late 17th Century, precisely from February 1692 to May 1693, there was a set of hearings and prosecutions in colonial Massachusetts in the United States for a set of people accused of witchcraft. These later came to be known as the Salem witch trials. People in the city of Salem believed that a … Read more
Aug 26, 2012 “Ben Johnson would seem a like a small-time cheat compared to Lance Armstrong.” Jigneshbhai tells Swami and I to not lose our heads, and stay composed in all circumstances, but he seemed truly angry today. Sarcasm coming from him generally meant that he was not at all impressed with what was happening, … Read more