It has been a while since my last post! Work has been rather busy, but I have also been on the road for a couple of weeks, with recent trips to London and HK. It was wonderful to catch up with old friends in both cities, including some readers of this blog. Long flights also presented the opportunity to catch up on some movies, and I particularly enjoyed The Last Dance (not the MJ docuseries, although that was also excellent!). Thanks to Graham Rhodes of Longriver for the recommendation.

Anyway, back to regular programming, with a longer than usual reading list to make up for the lack of recent posts. Some highlights include Paul Cavey’s thoughts on why China might not be suffering from Japanification, William Green’s conversation with Pico Iyer about his new book “Aflame,” 3D’s corporate value enhancement plan for Toho Holdings, and a wide-ranging discussion with financial historians Edward Chancellor and Russell Napier.

Finally, I am hoping to organize another ideas dinner in the summer. The event last year went very well, although I suspect it might be even more interesting to bring together folks from a wider range of backgrounds, including those in operating roles, VC etc. The timing will be around June/July, but I will try to share more details closer to the date, in case any readers are also interested in joining.

• Money Makers Investment Trusts Podcast: Interview with Edward Chancellor and Russell Napier.
• Paul Cavey: Is China falling into Japanification?
• FT: Mario Time – Nintendo readies crucial Switch 2 launch.
• Business Wire: 3D Investment publishes corporate value enhancement plan for Toho Holdings (link to the presentation here).
• Michael Pettis: Chinese banks are told to expand consumer lending.
• RWH: The inner scorecard w/ Pico Iyer.
• Ruffer LLP: The Ruffer Review 2025.
• RIT Capital Partners: Annual report 2024.
• Longriver: Conversation with TP Huang on BYD.
• Coral Capital Podcast: Jonathan Shih of Keyrock Capital Management on finding growth in Japan (some of my notes are here).