Finance Trends Letter

Lessons on Being Wrong... and Profiting Anyway While revisiting the 1996 documentary Triumph of the Nerds this week, I came upon this fantastic segment on Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs. Finding it eminently quotable (and useful), I just had to share his thoughts from this special clip here. "I don't really care about being right. I just care about success." - Steve Jobs While Jobs was an entrepreneur in the emerging computer industry, and not an outright share investor or speculator, his quote about the relative unimportance of being right hit me right in the trader's gut. Here is a game changing company founder saying, "you know what... I don't need to have the best forecasts or even the most original insights and innovations (hence the looting of Xerox's PARC). I don't need to always be right. I just want to ship the best products and win. That is what will ultimately make Apple the most successful company in our industry....

On CNBC India, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is feted in the same way Warren Buffett is here in the USA.  He is known as one of the great bulls of the Indian markets, and while his success has coincided with the recent decades' secular uptrend in Indian shares, Rakesh is also an adept trader who has made money selling short. He cites Buffett and Marc Faber as two of the greatest influences on his trading and his understanding of markets. CNBC-TV 18 profiles the Indian share trader and investor in this biography special, Wizards of Dalal Street . Rakesh tells Ramesh Damani the story of how he got his start in the share markets and how he searches for attractive investments today.  Here are a few excerpts from the discussion, in which Jhunjhunwala talks about his childhood interest in the workings of share market and shares a few lessons on speculation: CNBC :  "But you're a bureaucrat's son. I mean, weren't you compelled into [that area]?" Rakesh : "I wa...

Famed Indian stock investor and trader Rakesh Jhunjhunwala recently sat down for an interview with FT.com's "View From the Markets" video series. I'm sure many of our Indian and Asian readers are familiar with Jhunjhunwala's career, but for those outside the region who may not know him, check the Wikipedia link above for a brief introduction to the man currently tagged as the "Warren Buffett of India". Those who are familiar with Rakesh's reputation as one of India's most prominent stock bulls (he has also played the short side with success) may be unsurprised to hear his view that the "mother of all bull markets" in Indian shares lies not too far ahead. Click on the interview link to find out why he feels Indian shares will be an attractive opportunity in the years to come. You can also find out more about Jhunjhunwala's investing and trading background in the following related articles and links below. I find it fascinat...

We bring you two recent video clips from the CNBC-TV18 channel in India, featuring investors Jim Rogers and Marc Faber. In the first clip, Jim Rogers tells CNBC-TV18 that he is still bullish on gold and agricultural commodities, despite the recent sharp correction in most commodity markets. Jim thinks commodity prices will be higher in the next decade. For now, he says we are in a recession and will likely see lower commodity prices for the near-term. Rogers is still bearish on the dollar's long-term prospects, and he hopes to use the recent rally as an opportunity to sell the dollar in the near future. He is bullish on the yen, renminbi, and Swiss francs, which he has been buying. Marc Faber also spoke with CNBC-TV18 last week. He offered the view that contracting liquidity worldwide had a varied effect on the timing of asset price declines, with all major asset classes (stocks, commodities, currencies) eventually tumbling in a domino effect. While he sees the possibility for co...