What I wrote last week

My Experience In Madrid

Business

The Complex Case of TikTok in the United States. I don’t believe for a second that TikTok will refuse data requests from the Chinese government. One way or another, they will comply. And I don’t blame them. It is what it is. Unfortunately, that is too big a risk for the US and they have the right to preempt that risk. TikTok and ByteDance have a choice to make. Relinquish the biggest advertising market in the world or change its identity forever by severing all possible ties to China.

So You Want To Be The Next Warren Buffett? Howís Your Writing? This quick read outlines how difficult it is to find an edge in the investing world and what you can do to get ahead. The advice sounds simple enough, but boy, it is hard to execute.

You Know LVMH for Its Luxury Bags. It’s Also a Titan of Real Estate. I imagine very few people wealthy enough to buy LVMH’s products will do so online.

Stock Buybacks, Demystified. A level-headed post and a simple explanation of a hotly debated topic: stock buybacks.

AI engineers report burnout, rushed rollouts as ‘rat race’ to stay competitive hits tech industry. This reminds me of a Warren Buffet quote: only when the tide goes out will you know who is swimming naked. Yes AI is hot and popular now. Some will even achieve success, but how many will be harmed by this rat race?

Other stuff I find interesting

The Era of One-Stop Grocery Shopping Is Over. Hard discounters will gain popularity in the near future as inflation, especially in essential items, is so stubborn. “You don’t save money shopping at Costco” is a hill I am willing to die on.

Amazon is filled with garbage ebooks. Here’s how they get made. I hate it that people use AI to write garbage and “fake” content, and then flood the market to the point that consumers are confused. Amazon needs to do better to make sure that this kind of content is limited on their marketplace. There is a fine thin line between hard-core suppression and protecting consumers, as some authors do actually create genuine content that is similar to other works. However, I believe Amazon can do more.

The Judge Deciding Google’s Fate. I appreciate a piece like this on the judge whose upcoming ruling will set precedents for antitrust cases in the country. Judge Mehta seems like a really cool person and a fair and hardworking judge.

‘I Will Never Forget Any of It’: Brittney Griner Is Ready to Talk. I admire Brittney Griner’s resilience. Her experience in Russian prisons sounds nothing short of hell. I am not even sure I would be able to handle it myself. I can’t even fathom the shock of going from getting paid handsomely to play basketball to being prisoned in inhumane conditions.

Tawaraya: Sleep like a shōgun-era samurai at Kyoto’s finest ryokan. Japan does not need to advertise its incredible culture and history to the world. The world knows about it and loves it. Yet, Shogun did a great job in making the world fall in love with the country even more. I would not know about a place like this inn, but now I’d pay to sleep in it.

Stats

Uber eats generated $15 billion in bookings in US and Canada in 2023.

Google allegedly paid Apple $20 billion to be the default search engine on Apple’s products in 2022

Unemployment rate in April 2024 increased to 3.9%