Fat Prophets

FAT PROPHETS:  Over the weekend officials in India said a 100 billion rupee (US$1.5 billion) fund will be set up to encourage start-ups funded by the government and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). Regulations for starting new businesses will also be eased.  Start-ups will receive tax breaks, quicker patent applications, credit guarantees and other incentives […]

FAT PROPHETS: Last week we touched on how 2015 was a record year M&A and auto sales in the US, but according to the latest numbers from technology research firm IDC, it was an abysmal year for PC’s yet again… According to research firm IDC’s preliminary numbers, worldwide PC shipments totalled approximately 71.9 million units in […]

FATPROPHETS: Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings (HK: 0700, entry price HK$145.20) has a growing number of strings in its bow with which to generate revenue, with advertising and online payments on the ascent. We hold Tencent in the Global Opportunities portfolio. The company’s advertising business is growing at pace and put in another strong quarter of […]

FAT PROPHETS: As we do each month, we check in on how our exposures fared in terms of their US sales. It was a mixed bag in December, but with the exception of Volkswagen, sales for the calendar year came in higher. Toyota (NYSE: TM, initial buy $94.45) reported December 2015 sales of 238,350 units, an […]

Coming up to the end of the year is usually a busy time for most, with plenty of work to do but also preparation for (hopefully) a holiday with family or friends. Not everyone is winding down though; so spare a thought for how busy Santa’s crack team of elves are at this time of […]

Stars mobbed Hollywood Boulevard Monday afternoon in Los Angeles to attend the world premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in what director J.J. Abrams dryly called “incredibly low key.” Some took advantage of the occasion to ditch their standard snazzy suits or dresses worn for premieres to attend in more suitable garb, such as […]

The business for sale comprises several divisions, which include a commercial lending arm and automobile, office and construction machinery equipment leasing businesses. It is the second acquisition of a GE business by SMFG this year, the first being a European buyout-financing business. SMFG is the second largest financial group in Japan after Mitsubishi UFJ (TYO: […]

Over a decade ago, the Indian economist and politician Jairam Ramesh is credited with coining a term “Chindia” to describe the idea that China and India might cooperate closely in the region to each other’s mutual benefit. As the worlds two most populous countries encompassing approximately a third of the global population between them, the […]

For Alphabet, formerly Google, advertising remains its bread and butter and Tencent has been ramping up its efforts to earn cash from advertising to add new meaningful revenue streams to its core gaming cash cow. The Chinese social networking king has been succeeding in its endeavour. In the most recent quarter, online advertising revenue almost […]

Take merchandising for example; we suspect that many a parent who bought the new BB-8 droid to put under the Christmas tree may spend as much time playing around with it as the child for whom it was bought! Light sabres and other Star Wars toys have been levitating off toy aisles all year and […]