Twitter pal Dasan takes a look at Anthony Gallea's 1998 book, Contrarian Investing, in his recent post, "Contrarian Investing - a Classic Investing Book".
Here's an excerpt from the lead-in:
"I believe serious investors are always trying to improve themselves. One of the ways to do this is through constant reading...
...I recently came across a book written in 1998 that a few smart hedge fund managers that I respect said had a great influence on them. I summarize its key points below, but don't let that stop you from reading the book yourself.
"Contrarian Investing" By Anthony Gallea. Written 1998.
In 1998, Anthony Gallea, a Portfolio Manager at Smith Barney, with help from William Patalon, a professional writer, wrote the classic “Contrarian Investing.” Jim Rogers wrote the forward to the book. Many successful investors have cited this book as a book that greatly influenced them. This volume, like Ben Graham’s “The Intelligent Investor” is at times dated, yet full of classic investing principles that stand the test of time. Every serious stock market investor must read this book... "
Dasan provides a summary of some of the main contrarian investing themes and key points from the book's chapters. If you have an interest in fundamental value investing strategies or contrary investing methods, it should be worth your time to take a look at the info assembled here.
I've never read Gallea's book, though I have seen it sitting on the library and bookstore shelves and read the similarly titled, Contrarian Investment Strategies by fund manager, David Dremen. Maybe I'll pick up Dasan's recommendation at some point to brush up on some value and fundamental analysis knowledge.
If you like the post, check out Dasan's new follow up, "Contrarian Investing Mania Checklist: Is China a Mania?".
Related articles and posts:
1. Dasan on poker & investing - Finance Trends.
2. Jim Chanos on Charlie Rose Show - Finance Trends.
Charlie Rose interviews investor Jim Chanos, the noted short-seller and hedge fund manager (Kynikos) who now insists there is a property bubble of epic proportions in China.
We shared this interview link on Twitter earlier in the week, but I wanted to post this here for everyone to see. If you've seen some of Chanos' past presentations on China, you'll be familiar with some of his arguments on the real estate bubble, but this interview provides an excellent update to, and clarification of, his thoughts.
Enjoy the discussion, and see our related links for more on this theme.
Related articles and posts:
1. Jim Chanos: "Overheating in China" - Finance Trends.
2. Pivot Capital report: China's investment boom - Finance Trends.
Just taking a look this hour at the newly posted Friday links at Abnormal Returns.
They've got the latest on Tim Geithner's troubles in this AIG swaps fiasco, plus coverage of 2009 hedge fund returns, Jim Chanos' views on China, Iceland as an indicator for sovereign defaults, and more.
All topics we're interested in here at Finance Trends, so head on over to AR and have a look at their linkfest. Have a great weekend, and we'll see you soon.
We mentioned a possible divergence of opinion between Niall Ferguson and Jim Chanos on the future of China's economic path in Monday's post, "Niall Ferguson: world tilts towards Asia" (although Niall does hedge quite a bit on possible outcomes for Asia & China towards the final paragraphs of his article).
Is China's economy sailing along thanks to a skillful implementation of government-directed "stimulus", or is the country's current prosperity and stated economic output merely a mirage?
Jim Chanos is on record saying that China is "Dubai times 1000" and that the government-directed economy is being propped up with phony GDP statistics. His firm, Kynikos Associates, has also been influenced by a report on China's economy from Pivot Capital Management:
"The Pivot Capital report was extremely popular in Chanos’s office and concluded, “We believe the coming slowdown in China has the potential to be a similar watershed event for world markets as the reversal of the U.S. subprime and housing boom.” "
I thought it would be insightful to follow-up Monday's post with a look at this research, so I'm currently reading Pivot Capital's report, "China's Investment Boom: the Great Leap into the Unknown" (pdf).
If you're inclined to read along and share your thoughts on China's economy with us, we'd appreciate it.
Niall Ferguson is out with a new opinion piece in the FT that discusses China, America, and "the decade the world tilted east".
"I am trying to remember now where it was, and when it was, that it hit me. Was it during my first walk along the Bund in Shanghai in 2005? Was it amid the smog and dust of Chonqing, listening to a local Communist party official describe a vast mound of rubble as the future financial centre of south-west China? That was last year, and somehow it impressed me more than all the synchronised razzamatazz of the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing. Or was it at Carnegie Hall only last month, as I sat mesmerised by the music of Angel Lam, the dazzlingly gifted young Chinese composer who personifies the Orientalisation of classical music? I think maybe it was only then that I really got the point about this decade, just as it was drawing to a close: that we are living through the end of 500 years of western ascendancy."
Ferguson has been thinking and writing about the rise of China and the shaky state of the US' undeclared empire quite a bit lately. He now points out, citing economic research from Goldman Sachs, that China could surpass the US economy in terms of GDP by 2027.
The long-term trends of rapid industrialization in developing nations and the gradual transfer of wealth and economic influence towards Asia are undeniable. However, one has to wonder if the current strength of the Chinese economy and the effectiveness of its stimulus efforts are as solid as Ferguson seems to believe. On these points, he and hedge fund manager, Jim Chanos may disagree.
