Weekend Reading Links 12/08/17
It’s been a busy but productive and incredibly exciting last few weeks. I recently started a new position which has been excellent. I joined the trust department of a very highly respected community bank to help build out the investment process and grow the overall wealth management offering. As I try to keep my daily work separate from the content I keep here, I won’t go into any further detail, but if you have any questions, I will be happy to talk more about it.
Plus, we have all the traditional December business. The kids have their Christmas programs and concerts, holiday parties, and trying to find time to get some shopping done. We ended up decorating the house just last night.
The financial world seems to be focused on just two things these days – Bitcoin and tax legislation. 2018 should be a very interesting year. While I am hopeful that December can take its time passing – I love the holiday season – I do look forward to what the future has in store. Let’s see what was interesting to read the last couple weeks!
Bitcoin
The first is in an interesting post on Medium which lays out the Bitcoin timeline. It goes from founding and development and quickly goes into speculation but its very interesting – The Three Economic Eras of Bitcoin
If you are still unsure of the difference between Bitcoin and blockchain, this is a good primer from MIT – Blockchain Explained
This is very critical take on the whole Bitcoin experiment from Preston Byrne (@prestonjbyrne). While I don’t agree with all the parallels made, it is an interesting take and something any crypto fan should read and think about – Introducing the Nakamoto Scheme
Books
If you are looking for some good books, check out these lists.
Great investor book list from Jason Zweig (@jasonzweigwsj) – Best Books for Investors
Dan Egan’s (@daniel_egan) reading list for behavioral finance – Behavioral Science Reading List
Economics
This article from CNBC asks the question I have been wrestling with for over a year now – Lack of Wage Growth Remains the Economy’s Greatest Mystery
Farming is actually growing as a profession for the first time in a very long time, as this article from the Washington Post points out. – A Growing Number of Young Americans are Leaving Desk Jobs to Farm
Investing
Lawrence Hamtil (@lhamtil) is one of the best at investing myth busting. Here he gets into what has become a pervasive argument about a company’s capital allocation – The Annoying Capex vs Buybacks Narrative
I wrote a post a while ago in direct response to some of the stock buyback critics – Why Stock Buybacks are Good for the Market and the Economy
Other Interesting Tid-Bits
Do you want to move to space? You could become a citizen of Asgardia. – Asgardia Satellite Launch
Have you ever wondered which general in history was the greatest battlefield tactician? Ethan Arsht (@ethanarcht) has your back. He took some baseball statistical methodology and applied it to battlefield prowess. Now you can see every general’s WAR ranking. – Napoleon was the best general ever and the math proves it
Are you having trouble getting into the holiday spirit? Well as Buddy the Elf says, the best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear. Let DMX start things off with his version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
That’s all this week. Let me know if you’ve read anything interesting lately!