The hottest Investments Substack posts right now

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Top Links 627 Is the dollar overvalued? Larry Summers feeling good. Gold & the price of a Rolex & The Rise and Fall of the Italian economy.

Chartbook • 329 implied HN points • 23 Jan 25
💰 Finance Investments
  1. The dollar's value is being questioned right now, which is important for understanding the economy. Many people are debating whether it's too high or just right.
  2. Larry Summers, a noted economist, seems optimistic about the economic outlook. His confidence might suggest some positive trends ahead.
  3. There are intriguing comparisons being made between gold prices, the cost of luxury items like Rolexes, and the state of Italy's economy. These links can help highlight larger economic patterns.

Daily Chartbook #266

Daily Chartbook • 1388 implied HN points • 25 Aug 23
💼 Business Investments
  1. Affordability for homebuyers has decreased significantly since August 2022.
  2. Homebuilder backlogs have decreased from 10.7k homes to 7.3k homes from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023.
  3. Household deposit balances are at least 30% higher in July 2023 compared to 2019.

U.S. Banking Fears, USDC post-mortem + March Q&A

DeFi Education • 539 implied HN points • 14 Mar 23
💰 Finance Investments
  1. There are concerns about the stability of U.S. banking, and this has created a sense of fear in the market. Many people are worried about what might happen next.
  2. The USDC cryptocurrency faced serious issues recently, raising questions about its reliability. Some are analyzing what went wrong and what it means for the future.
  3. In a time of crisis, quick actions and communication from venture capitalists helped to calm the situation. It shows how important leadership and support can be during financial troubles.

Top Links 583 Europe's disinflation is real. Elon Musk's state-like powers. Standing with crypto & Nigerian Japa.

Chartbook • 371 implied HN points • 10 Dec 24
💰 Finance Investments
  1. Europe is experiencing real disinflation, meaning prices are rising more slowly than before. This could impact the economy positively as inflation decreases.
  2. Elon Musk is being discussed for having almost state-like powers due to his influence and control in various sectors. This raises questions about the power of individual leaders in today’s world.
  3. There is a growing support for cryptocurrencies, particularly in Nigeria, where many people are looking for better opportunities, often referred to as 'Japa.' This highlights a trend of using crypto for economic mobility.

Top Links 623 The billionaire rally. NYC's taxi-insurance Ponzi scheme. Obvious bollocks about sterling assets & monster wolves in Japan.

Chartbook • 314 implied HN points • 19 Jan 25
💰 Finance Investments
  1. There's a strong focus on the impact of billionaires on the economy, hinting at a rally or surge among them. This suggests wealth concentration is becoming a big topic of discussion.
  2. The mention of a proxy involving NYC's taxi-insurance points to issues around trust in financial systems and possible schemes that hurt everyday people.
  3. References to rumors about sterling assets and unusual wildlife in Japan show how sometimes wild stories can capture attention, but they might not hold any truth.
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Tesla/Tornetta: Something's Happening Here...

The Chancery Daily • 379 implied HN points • 19 Jul 23
💰 Finance Investments
  1. A settlement involving Elon Musk and Tesla is pending approval in the Delaware Court of Chancery.
  2. There are cases related to director and Elon Musk compensation known as 'Tornetta' that are interrelated.
  3. There is something unusual about the settlement which the author feels the need to address further.

The Distribution Layer

Lewis Enterprises • 235 implied HN points • 06 Jul 23
💰 Finance Investments
  1. The future of alternative investments is undergoing significant changes in the market structure with emphasis on investment managers, allocators, and capital owners.
  2. Traditional asset managers are seeking growth by entering alternative investments but are facing challenges due to massive capital deployment impacting returns.
  3. There's a trend towards greater intermediation of capital allocation in the alternative investment landscape, leading to a more specialized distribution approach.

Lemons Ripen Early: Playing the Long Game

The Hard Fork by Marvin Liao • 235 implied HN points • 05 Aug 23
💼 Business Investments
  1. In venture capital, bad investments tend to fail early, making way for successful ones later on.
  2. It's important to play the long game, especially in the early stages of investing, to allow winners to emerge.
  3. Success usually takes time and persistence, with at least 2 years needed to see a project through and achieve product-market fit.

Inside the guts of Figma's S-1 Filing

Alex's Personal Blog • 131 implied HN points • 02 Jul 25
💼 Business Investments
  1. Figma is growing fast and has lots of international users. Most of its revenue comes from outside its home country, showing there's still room to grow.
  2. The company is profitable and has strong customer retention. Figma has improved its profits in recent years and continues to attract big accounts.
  3. Figma's IPO is important for the tech industry. A successful listing could encourage more companies to go public and bring new excitement to the market.

The Fed's Repo Defensive: Part II

Concoda • 367 implied HN points • 24 Nov 24
💰 Finance Investments
  1. The Fed's Repo Facility helps provide emergency cash loans to banks when needed. This is crucial during times of financial stress to keep the market stable.
  2. Recently, there have been instances where dealers didn't fully utilize the available funds in the repo facility, indicating issues with how it's being accessed. This suggests that the process needs improvements to encourage more usage.
  3. The Fed is looking to make changes to the repo facility to fix its shortcomings and ensure dealers can quickly and efficiently obtain emergency funds when crises arise.

Top Links 557 Inflation worries and the US bond market. Russian oil mega merger. Van Gogh & the art of dying.

Chartbook • 386 implied HN points • 11 Nov 24
💰 Finance Investments
  1. Inflation concerns are becoming a big issue again for the US bond market. This can affect interest rates and borrowing costs for everyone.
  2. There is a significant merger happening in the Russian oil sector. This might change the landscape of oil supply and prices globally.
  3. Van Gogh's life and art are being explored in a new way, touching on themes of mortality and creativity. His work continues to inspire deep reflections on life and death.

Thinking about Writing Down your Investment?

SaaS Engineering • 137 implied HN points • 07 Jan 24
💰 Finance Investments
  1. Understanding the difference between preferred and common stock is crucial for calculating holding values.
  2. Writing down investments only makes sense if a company's value decreases below the size of its liquidation preference relative to the investment.
  3. High valuations may not always benefit investors due to misaligned incentives, especially in scenarios where the company's valuation is higher than its true worth.

Daily Chartbook #171

Daily Chartbook • 1572 implied HN points • 30 Mar 23
💰 Finance Investments
  1. US petroleum inventory in the past week had a significant draw.
  2. Mortgage demand is up with rates on 30Y fixed rate mortgages falling.
  3. The spread between mortgage rates and treasury yields is at a record wide gap.

The Game-Changing Clause For Entrepreneur , VC Funds Are Mostly Just Wasting Their Time and Your Money, VC Jobs & More

Venture Curator • 219 implied HN points • 19 Aug 23
💼 Business Investments
  1. In negotiating convertible notes, entrepreneurs should include a clause to prevent early investors from taking advantage of rising valuations.
  2. A study by Morgan Stanley calls into question the superior returns claimed by VC funds, highlighting challenges and inconsistencies in the industry.
  3. Investors often face struggles in accurately valuing equity in VC investments due to complex structures, contributing to potential overvaluation.

The collapse of Alibaba’s New Retail? - Part 1: Shopping Malls & Home Furnishing

Tech Buzz China Insider • 79 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
💼 Business Investments
  1. Alibaba's New Retail initiatives, including offline investments, are facing challenges and potential failures.
  2. The focus on consumption upgrade led Alibaba to miss the shifting consumer trends towards practical and inexpensive purchases, affecting their strategies.
  3. There is a shift within Alibaba towards returning to prioritizing online business, user experience, and supporting small and medium businesses once again.

World’s First Approval for Cultivated Beef, Chocolate Made From Air, and Jackfruit-Based Meat

Better Bioeconomy • 117 implied HN points • 21 Jan 24
🍲 Food & Drink Investments
  1. First approval for cultivated beef given in Israel, using a unique hybrid meat approach.
  2. Multus opens facility for affordable serum-free growth media for cultivated meat industry, easing industry progress.
  3. Imagindairy enhances dairy production with AI-led fermentation, aiming for cost-competitive animal-free products.

Financial Bubbles: How They Make Us Poorer

QTR’s Fringe Finance • 17 implied HN points • 23 Dec 25
💰 Finance Investments
  1. When central banks pump money and push down interest rates, cheap credit funds projects that wouldn’t be viable under normal market conditions, creating malinvestment and financial bubbles.
  2. Those bubble activities are unsustainable and tend to collapse when money supply growth or cheap lending falls, causing boom–bust cycles, distorted prices, and economic harm.
  3. The cure is to stop monetary meddling and cut government spending so investment reflects real savings and consumer demand; simple tax swaps won’t fix the problem if overall spending keeps rising.

Top Links 538 The rise of options. "Little pipes" and "little fires". THE banana skirt & the Apple-Nike connection.

Chartbook • 371 implied HN points • 22 Oct 24
💰 Finance Investments
  1. The rise of options trading is becoming a big trend in the market. It's important to understand how this affects investments.
  2. The phrase 'little pipes and little fires' suggests small things can have big impacts. It's a reminder that minor issues can escalate quickly.
  3. There’s an interesting connection between brands like Apple and Nike, showing how different industries can influence each other.

Top Links 547 America's huge trade deficit. Hedge funds bet against green. Bout & the Houthis & the grate (sic) cheese robbery.

Chartbook • 357 implied HN points • 31 Oct 24
💰 Finance Investments
  1. America's trade deficit widened significantly in September, which means the country is buying way more from other countries than it's selling.
  2. Hedge funds are making big bets against green investments, which suggests they believe these investments won't perform well in the future.
  3. There was a strange robbery involving 'grate cheese' and the Houthis, showing how unusual events can grab attention in the news.

Data Update 5 for 2023: Pathways to Profitability

Musings on Markets • 439 implied HN points • 16 Feb 23
💰 Finance Investments
  1. A company's main goal is to make money, not just grow. Even businesses that do good need to be profitable to survive.
  2. Profit margins differ across industries and countries. Some sectors, like tech or energy, often show higher profits, while retail and airlines typically struggle.
  3. It's important for companies to earn more than their costs of capital. Many businesses are failing to meet this goal, meaning they need to rethink their financial strategies.

Understand All About SAFE | AI’s $200B Question: Long Term’s Good, Short Team Messy! | VC Remote Jobs and More

Venture Curator • 199 implied HN points • 02 Oct 23
💼 Business Investments
  1. Understanding SAFE Agreement - No Debt and No Equity. A different funding option for startups that doesn't fit traditional categories.
  2. 5 Types of SAFE Notes explained with examples. Different scenarios of how a SAFE investment can convert and affect valuation.
  3. Considerations about AI and GPU investments. Long-term benefits versus short-term challenges in the AI industry, highlighting the need for innovative startups to create real value.

Letter #86: Jensen Huang (2004)

A Letter a Day • 196 implied HN points • 27 May 23
💼 Business Investments
  1. Jensen Huang founded Nvidia in 1993 and helped revolutionize computer graphics with GPU technology.
  2. In 2004, Nvidia reached milestones like being first to market with programmable shaders and significant revenue growth in media and communication processors.
  3. Nvidia positioned itself as a leader in the Networked Digital Media Era, emphasizing on growth opportunities in GPU technology, media centers, mobile computing, and wireless handsets.

How to Find Founder-Market Fit

Startup Pirate by Alex Alexakis • 196 implied HN points • 24 Mar 23
💼 Business Investments
  1. Founder-Market Fit is crucial for startup success - ensure you are well-suited for the market you are targeting.
  2. Assess market dynamics, business model, key activities, and industry culture to determine your fit in a specific market.
  3. If you face Founder-Market (un)Fit, consider solutions like finding a co-founder, getting social proof, building a strong executive team, or exploring new opportunities.

Letters #82/83: Evan Spiegel and Mitch Lasky (2014)

A Letter a Day • 196 implied HN points • 16 May 23
💼 Business Investments
  1. Email exchange between Evan Spiegel and Mitch Lasky focused on financing, hiring, and communicating with Facebook
  2. Discussion on the importance of sustainable monetization before seeking high valuations and the need for strategic hiring for growth
  3. Insight into the market conditions, the importance of revenue generation, and Snapchat's focus on innovation and growth

Hub-and-Spoke Biotechs: Nimbus Therapeutics

The Century of Biology • 354 implied HN points • 20 Oct 24
💼 Business Investments
  1. Nimbus Therapeutics uses a unique hub-and-spoke model to develop drugs. This lets them separate the main company from individual drug projects, so they can sell successful drugs while keeping the main business intact.
  2. The company focuses on computational drug discovery to make the process faster and cheaper. By using advanced technology, they can predict which drugs might succeed before doing expensive experiments.
  3. Nimbus has successfully sold several drug assets, demonstrating the effectiveness of their model. They show that a biotech can grow and make money while being flexible and innovative.

Inflation Adjusted House Prices 3.0% Below 2022 Peak

CalculatedRisk Newsletter • 23 implied HN points • 01 Dec 25
💰 Finance Investments
  1. Real house prices, after adjusting for inflation, are currently about 3% lower than their peak in 2022. This shows that while house prices have gone up nominally, they aren't as high when you consider inflation.
  2. The price-to-rent ratio is significantly lower than its peak in 2022, indicating that renting may be more affordable compared to buying in some areas right now.
  3. National house prices are still higher than they were during the housing bubble, but the recent downward trend suggests it may take time for prices to recover fully or hit new highs.

World’s First Cultivated Eel, Europe's Largest Mycelium Investment, and China Embraces GMOs for Food Security

Better Bioeconomy • 98 implied HN points • 28 Jan 24
🍲 Food & Drink Investments
  1. Israeli startup Forsea unveils world's first cultivated eel using innovative cell-based technology for traditional eel texture and flavor.
  2. UCC's fermentation research centre advances Irish food sectors with precision fermentation techniques and sustainable practices.
  3. Bolder Foods introduces mycelium ingredient for cheese alternatives, offering nutritious, sustainable, and flavorful options.

Timing Is The Single Biggest Reason Why Startups Succeed! | On the Life & Death of Y Combinator Startups | VC Remote Jobs and More

Venture Curator • 179 implied HN points • 17 Oct 23
💼 Business Investments
  1. Timing is crucial for startup success - knowing when to enter a market can make or break a startup
  2. Different types of markets affect a startup's fate: small market not growing, large market with past growth, being too early, or small market growing quickly
  3. Entrepreneurs should focus on being in a small market that is growing rapidly to increase chances of success

Who’s raising, IPO updates, and what company is buying Grok?

Alex's Personal Blog • 98 implied HN points • 11 Jul 25
💼 Business Investments
  1. Shein is planning to go public in Hong Kong, which is exciting news for investors. Although a US listing would be preferred, there is optimism about the move.
  2. Several companies have recently raised significant funding, including Bilt, which is known for its unique rent payment system. They reached a new valuation of $10.8 billion with a recent $250 million funding round.
  3. Grok 4, the new AI model, shows strong capabilities but also raises concerns about its reliance on the views of its founder, Elon Musk. This has led to questions about how competitive it will be against other AI models.

How Banks (Zeros) Make Money

DeFi Education • 899 implied HN points • 12 Apr 22
💰 Finance Investments
  1. Banks make money by accepting deposits and giving loans. They charge fees for services like managing assets and processing transactions.
  2. Decentralized finance (DeFi) is changing how finance works, allowing people to cut out banks and manage their money directly. This means banks might lose some of their income.
  3. Crypto and other digital methods are making it easier for people to manage their money and investments without needing traditional banks. This could change the banking industry a lot in the future.

IPOs are underpriced

Something to Consider • 19 implied HN points • 25 Jun 24
💰 Finance Investments
  1. IPOs, or initial public offerings, often sell for less than their true value. This means companies miss out on money they could have earned.
  2. There are better ways to sell shares, like auctions, that could help get a fairer price. Selling all shares at once is not ideal.
  3. Releasing shares gradually could lead to better pricing and less underpricing. This way, companies wouldn’t leave money on the table when they go public.

The Space Industry today: beyond headlines

Space Ambition • 539 implied HN points • 23 Sep 22
🕹 Technology Investments
  1. There are more than 1,700 private companies working on innovative solutions in the space industry today. This means a lot is happening beyond just the big names like SpaceX and Blue Origin.
  2. Sending things to space has become much cheaper, thanks to reusable rockets and new technology. This makes it easier for smaller companies to launch their satellites and projects.
  3. New technology like 3D printing and robotics is helping reduce costs and improve how space missions are done. Plus, supportive government laws are encouraging even more startups to join the space race.

Global Space and Technology Convention 2024: Highlights by Space Ambition

Space Ambition • 59 implied HN points • 22 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Investments
  1. The Global Space and Technology Convention is a big event in Asia for space tech, attracting over 1,000 people. It offers great networking opportunities for those interested in the space industry.
  2. There were interesting discussions about how space data is being used in finance and how money pressure can hurt sustainability in startups. It's important to balance profit and environmental concerns.
  3. Panels discussed innovation in space exploration, covering topics like robotics and energy needs in space. It's exciting to think about future missions and technologies that can help us explore beyond Earth.

Deep Dive: Maple Finance

DeFi Education • 499 implied HN points • 30 Nov 22
🔮 Crypto Investments
  1. DeFi stands for decentralized finance, which means financial services that operate without central authorities or intermediaries. It's like banking without a bank, where everybody can access services freely.
  2. Maple Finance is a platform that combines finance technology with decentralized finance. It offers users a chance to lend and borrow funds in a decentralized way.
  3. The goal of DeFi is to create an open finance system accessible to anyone. It aims to improve transparency and inclusivity in financial transactions.

In "Debanking 2.0," Trump Sees Himself As A Victim of Discrimination

Fintech Business Weekly • 66 implied HN points • 10 Aug 25
💰 Finance Investments
  1. Trump claims he's a victim of banks unfairly closing his accounts because of his political views. He feels this is discrimination against him and his supporters.
  2. An executive order by Trump aims to stop politicized banking practices that deny services based on beliefs. He wants banks to focus on fair, risk-based assessments instead of political affiliations.
  3. There are ongoing concerns about a proposed law that would require banks to serve all legal customers, regardless of the risks involved. This could make it harder for banks to manage their own risk effectively.

Israel: An In-Depth Look at Its Thriving Space Tech Ecosystem

Space Ambition • 219 implied HN points • 09 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Investments
  1. Israel has a strong space tech startup scene with over 6,000 active startups. This impressive number shows how innovative and entrepreneurial the country is.
  2. The Israeli space community includes various organizations like the Israel Space Agency and numerous private companies working together on exciting space projects, boosting collaboration and development.
  3. Israel's history of challenges has driven its focus on innovation, helping it become a leader in space technology despite being a small nation with limited resources.

So... When Does The Economy Crash?

OK Doomer • 191 implied HN points • 17 Feb 25
💰 Finance Investments
  1. Many experts are predicting an economic crash, but no one knows exactly when it will happen. People are worried about the potential impact of technology and global events.
  2. A lot of individuals are tied to their investments, making it hard for them to react quickly to market changes. Most people can't just sell off their stocks easily because of employer-based retirement plans.
  3. There’s a mix of genuine concern and opportunism in the market around impending crashes, with some people genuinely preparing and others just trying to sell fear-based products.

'ZIRP' No More: A Founder Playbook for the Market Downturn

Condensing the Cloud • 157 implied HN points • 01 May 23
💼 Business Investments
  1. Nap pods and extravagant perks in tech companies are becoming less common due to market downturn.
  2. Private-company leaders are advised to focus on building great products and growing efficiently, especially during a potential recession.
  3. Software companies have the potential to thrive by reducing cash burn, optimizing operations, and focusing on efficient growth strategies.