Wednesday, July 29, 2020

The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck's 1939 realist novel The Grapes of Wrath won him a Pullitzer Prize for fiction and won The National Book Award. It was probably also the biggest reason Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in 1962. I read it last week and found it both educational (because of the history) and rather one-sided, because of the perspective it takes on poverty.

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy

What allows a business to thrive sustainably in the long term? It must have a competitive advantage, or power. In 7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy, Hamilton Helmer describes those seven powers that allow a business to prosper.

Friday, July 17, 2020

Mea CULP

When I buy a stock, I'm usually prepared to own it for several years. But sometimes lightning strikes and I'm able to exit much sooner. Such was the case with Culp Inc, which I discussed only two months ago as a potential value investment.

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Jeff, Freeze!

Jefferies is a company I've had my eye on for a long time. But I've never owned a single share until this downturn caused a huge reduction in the share price. In my view, this represents a terrific opportunity.

Friday, July 10, 2020

The Plot Against America

As FDR prepared to run for his third term as US President, a vocal group of Americans were advocating for the candidacy of Charles Lindbergh, the stunt flyer who had rather pro-Nazi views. Lindbergh did not end up running, but what if he had? Philip Roth tells a story of what could have happened in America during World War II had Roosevelt not won the election in The Plot Against America.

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Imperial Ginseng

Ginseng is popular for consumption in Asia, but grows well in Ontario. Imperial Ginseng (IGP) is an Ontario grower and exporter of Ginseng that has hit a slew of what are hopefully temporary issues that have caused the stock to fall by about 80% over the last two years.

Friday, July 3, 2020

Karsan Value Funds: 2020 Q2 Results

Karsan Value Funds (KVF) is a value-oriented fund, as described here. Due to securities regulations, the fund is not open to the public at this time. Should that change in the future, there will be an announcement on this site.