Phil’s Weekend Roundup – October 26, 2019
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Seeking Alpha Analyst Since 2014
Philip MacKellar is an analyst, portfolio manager, and investor at Contra the Heard Investment Newsletter. He has been with the company since 2011 and has been investing since 2004. The newsletter’s primary focus is on contrarian and value-oriented investment opportunities traded in the United States and Canada. In addition, Philip sometimes engages in M&A, other special situations, and holds bonds, preferred shares, and convertible securities. Contra the Heard is a Toronto based company and was founded in 1995. Philip also blogs about personal finance topics on his own website called mymoneymoves.ca in his free time. You can also follow Philip at the Globe & Mail, on Twitter @Rallekcam, and catch him on YouTube at Contra the Heard.
Welcome to the latest edition of my weekend roundup, intended to present investors with interesting articles, interviews, and long form reads while cutting through the clutter of the news cycle. Here are some highlights from the last two weeks.
- Read: SoftBank’s misadventures in WeWork continue. This week, SoftBank took an 80% stake in the company and announced a $5 billion financing package. To add insult to injury, another SoftBank investment in Vir Biotechnologies crashed during its IPO debut, ouch!
- Read & Watch: China’s imports and exports fell more than expected in September. Chinese annual GDP Growth Rate slowed to its lowest level in 27.5 years too. Meanwhile, fallout for the NBA over Hong Kong continues, Mike Pence weighs in publicly on the side of protestors, and the S&P flirts with new highs on US-China trade deal optimism.
- Read: The Fed is set to increase its repo market interventions again. All is not well, apparently. I’m not usually a central bank watcher, but keeping an eye on the upcoming Fed meeting scheduled for October 29-30 may be interesting.
- Read: In Greece, the government recently announced a program called “The Hercules Asset Protection Scheme” to address the staggering non-performing loan issue plaguing their banks. This prompted me to pen a Seeking Alpha article on the topic: GREK: Greece Summons Hercules.
- Watch: And now, just for fun… Emergent Order and AIERvideo have done it again in their latest YouTube video, The March of History: Mises vs. Marx - The Definitive Capitalism vs. Socialism Rap Battle. Years ago, they produced the equally informative and hilarious three-part video series on Keynes vs. Hayek: Fear the Boom and Bust, Fight of the Century, and Hayek’s Gift. Enjoy!
Stay tuned for more content in the coming weeks.
The opinions expressed – imperfect and often subject to change – are not intended nor should be taken as advice or guidance. Contra the Heard Investment Newsletter is not an investment advisor or financial advisor. Contra the Heard Investment Newsletter provides research, it does not advise. The information enclosed in this article is deemed to be accurate and reliable, but is not guaranteed by the author.
Analyst's Disclosure: I am/we are long GREK.
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