Financial Times (September 15)
Internal combustion engines “are on their way out,” while sales of EVs “are set to increase worldwide from about 10mn in 2022 to about 14mn in 2023, or 18 per cent of all cars sold.” This partly explains legacy carmakers low valuations, but the switch also lowers barriers to entry. “Chinese imports already account for about 15 per cent of EVs sold on the continent,” with Chinese automakers hoping to seize more of “a $130bn revenue opportunity by 2030.”
Tags: $130bn, Barriers to entry, China, EVs, Ice, Imports, Legacy carmakers, Opportunity, Revenue, Sales, Valuations
Institutional Investor (August 14)
“A public market downturn and an abundant supply of private equity stakes have culminated in an unmissable opportunity for secondaries investors.” Favorable “supply/demand imbalances and market dynamics” have arisen due to “the dramatic outperformance of private equity thanks to lagged marks and flat or marginally down valuations in 2022,” causing “asset owners to become overweight PE as public equity markets declined materially.” Pensions, endowments, foundations and other asset owners have become “forced sellers of private equity stakes to return to their strategic weights,” and “because of illiquidity, overhang, supply/demand imbalance, and forced selling, buyers require a material discount to transact.”
Tags: Asset owners, Discount, Downturn, Endowments, Forced selling, Foundations, Illiquidity, Imbalances, Market dynamics, Opportunity, Outperformance, Overhang, Overweight, Pensions, Private equity, Secondaries investors, Supply, Valuations
Seeking Alpha (February 13)
“Bank of America argued Monday that international stocks offer a potential opportunity of outperformance compared to U.S. equities. However, the firm added that investors need to remain ‘choosy’ when selecting positions.” For example, Bank of America favors “regions with the greatest structural advantages, such as strong demographics, energy independence, and high productivity.”
Tags: Bank of America, Choosy, Demographics, Energy independence, International stocks, Investors, Opportunity, Outperformance, Potential, Productivity, Structural advantages, U.S. equities
Reuters (June 6)
“Even though supply disruptions in many parts of the world are severe and policy solutions are challenging, Western governments do have the opportunity to reverse the rising cost of food through the simple scrapping of biofuel mandates. This would remove a very large non-food demand for crops and turn the current grain shortage to a surplus, easing the pressure on inflation.”
Tags: Biofuel mandates, Crops, Demand, Disruptions, Food, Governments, Grain shortage, Inflation, Opportunity, Solutions, Supply, Surplus
Institutional Investor (May 25)
“Managers that want to run fixed-income funds with a focus on environmental, social, and governance factors face larger research challenges than those in stocks. But the massive opportunity in bonds may make the uphill battle worth it.” Compared to equities, the “patchwork of standards” increases the “risks of ESG fixed income funds.”
Tags: Bonds, Challenges, Equities, ESG, Fixed income, Funds, Managers, Opportunity, Patchwork, Research, Risks, Standards, Stocks, Uphill
Wall Street Journal (January 24)
“The financial industry has spotted an opportunity to make money by helping people feel good about themselves. Despite claims to the contrary, these investments don’t do much to make the world a better place…. The explosion of ESG investing… is mostly—but not completely—a waste of time.”
Tags: Better place, Claims, ESG investing, Feel good, Financial industry, Investments, Money, Opportunity, Waste, World
New York Times (August 21)
“The speed and scope of the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan has prompted introspection in the West over what went wrong…. China, though, is looking forward. It is ready to step into the void left by the hasty U.S. retreat to seize a golden opportunity.”
Tags: Afghanistan, China, Hasty, Introspection, Opportunity, Retreat, Scope, Speed, Takeover, Taliban, U.S., Void
New York Times (March 21)
“Gig companies have drawn billions in venture capital funding to help underwrite a system that is a race to the bottom for labor protections. But it doesn’t have to be that way.” Britain’s Supreme Court has ruled that Uber must now classify its drivers as workers. “If Uber can sustain its business while granting drivers improved guaranteed benefits and a financial safety net, then surely that model can be replicated elsewhere.” Uber drivers and other Gig workers “deserve the opportunity to make financial headway.”
Tags: Benefits, Drivers, Gig, Labor, Opportunity, Protections, Safety net, Supreme Court, Uber, UK, VC, Workers
WARC (March 4)
“Ultimately, the cookie was one of the aspects of the internet (and, by extension, digital advertising) that gave it a bad name. But at least they were everyone’s problem/opportunity – what comes next could lead to a vast concentration of power.” One proposal, federated learning of cohorts (FLoC), is facing growing skepticism.
Tags: Concentration, Cookie, Digital advertising, FLoC, Internet, Opportunity, Power, Problem, Skepticism
Washington Post (January 19)
“The challenge — and the opportunity — for Joe Biden is that he succeeds the worst president in U.S. history. Donald Trump’s tenure was characterized by colossal incompetence and mind-numbing indifference to the public good.” As a result, the new president will face the biggest challenges since Franklin D. Roosevelt. “Paradoxically, by taking over at such a low point in our history, Biden is set up for success” and his approval rating is already “higher than Trump’s ever was.”
Tags: Biden, Challenge, Incompetence, Indifference, Opportunity, Public good, Roosevelt, Success, Trump, Worst
