The John Johnston Lounge

I summarize and discuss the latest Jeremy Grantham interview, with Bloomberg Wealth's David Rubenstein, in which the billionaire veteran investor Grantham discussed the super bubble he currently sees deflating the US stock market. Grantham believes the deflating of the super bubble is now being prolonged by a new artificial intelligence (AI) mini bubble, but that the US stock market crash will...

In TSLA stock news today, this update includes a look at recent Tesla stock price movements, a brief look at the new Tesla Model 3 update, and the significant price cuts to the Tesla Model S and Tesla Model X, as well as the surprise price cut to Tesla FSD! Timestamps 00:00 Tesla news intro 00:25 Tesla stock price update 02:49 New Tesla Model 3 update 05:08 Tesla car price cuts 05:50 Tesla FSD pri...

This Alibaba stock update includes a closer look at BABA stock in relation to the current Chinese economy and China stock market, including new Chinese government measures to support the stock market. I also compare the performance of BABA stock to younger megacap competitor PDD stock (PDD Holdings), which operates Pinduoduo and Temu. Timestamps 00:00 Alibaba stock update intro 00:20 China's m...

This episode includes a summary and thoughts on the Alibaba June Quarter 2023 Results, in the context of the current China economic backdrop and the huge drop BABA stock has had since its peak in late 2020. Timestamps 00:00 Alibaba earnings in the China economic context 01:55 High level financial results - growth and efficiency 03:58 Cash flow and cash allocation 07:14 Individual business segments...

Legendary "Big Short" Investor Michael Burry just revealed a new big short! I look at how Burry's shorting the US stock market, and I also take a look at his new long stock portfolio updates. Timestamps: 00:00 Michael Burry Intro 00:24 Michael Burry's 2 new big short positions 03:34 Burry's pessimistic outlook 04:40 Past and future SPY and QQQ 06:41 Burry's Q2 long stock...

Here's a detailed look at the stock portfolio updates of two guru or superinvestors from Q2 2023: Li Lu of Himalaya Capital Management and David Tepper of Appaloosa Management. See timestamps below for investor sections. Timestamps: 00:00 Li Lu and David Tepper Intro 00:15 Li Lu portfolio overview 01:10 Micron Technology (MU) 02:29 East West Bancorp (EWBC) 02:53 Postal Saving Bank of China (SH...

Here's a look at the portfolio updates of four guru or superinvestors from Q2 2023. The investors include Mohnish Pabrai, Chuck Akre, Seth Klarman, and Thomas Gayner. See timestamps below for investor sections. Timestamps: 00:00 Guru portfolios Q2 2023 Intro 00:26 Mohnish Pabrai - Pabrai Investments 03:04 Alpha Metallurgical Resources (ticker: AMR) 07:00 Consol Energy Inc (stock ticker: CEIX)...

Warren Buffett, founder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and arguably the greatest investor of all time, has some simple rules for successful investing. I look at seven of Buffett's top rules that could help us improve our investing returns over time. Timestamps: 00:00 Warren Buffett's simple investing rules - Intro 00:14 First investing rule 02:35 Second investing rule 03:35 Third investing...

JJ discusses the classic stock investing book 100 to 1 in the Stock Market, in which author Thomas Phelps, after decades of research, reveals what it takes to find and hold stocks that can deliver 100x returns for stock investors. Timestamps: 00:00 100 to 1 in the Stock Market intro 01:06 Buying right and holding on 02:31 First attribute to look for 03:27 Second attribute to look for 03:50 Third a...

JJ discusses the latest Memo from legendary value investor Howard Marks, Taking the Temperature, in which Marks explains his strategy of taking the temperature of the stock market at any given time. Marks has made only 5 stock market calls since 2000, and got them right. He thinks we can do it too. Timestamps: 00:00 Howard Marks, Taking the Temperature intro 01:15 Jan 2000 : Calling the Dotcom Bub...

I summarize and discuss what investor Mohnish Pabrai has said in recent Q&A interviews about his friend and colleague, legendary investor Li Lu. Timestamps: 00:00 Mohnish Pabrai on Li Lu Intro 00:20 Why Charlie Munger gave Li Lu $80 million to invest 00:55 How Li Lu became a great investor 03:11 Looking for investing anomalies 04:39 How Mohnish Pabrai got to know Li Lu 05:17 An missed opportun...

I summarize and respond to what famous "Big Short" investor Steve Eisman is currently predicting for US the stock market. Eisman was recently interviewed by CNBC about the recent US stock market melt-up, and the current economic environment. Timestamps: 00:00 "Big Short" investor Steven Eisman intro 00:23 Most anticipated recession and the market melt-up 01:32 Time to take prof...

In this episode I summarize and discuss a talk by investor and fund manager Mohnish Pabrai on US stock market bubbles since the 1920s. We look at the Motors Bubble, the Tronics Bubble, the Nifty-Fifty Bubble, and the Dotcom Bubble. I also discuss very recent market bubbles, including the EV bubble and emerging AI bubble. Timestamps: 00:00 Mohnish Pabrai stock market bubbles Intro 00:22 The Motors...

In this episode I discuss the young Canadian billionaire investor and entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson. He's the co-founder of Tiny Ltd , which has been labelled a baby Berkshire Hathaway of Tech. It's a small-cap holding company comprising many previous company acquisitions, start-ups, and company investments. Timestamps: 00:00 Andrew Wilkinson and Tiny Ltd intro 00:23 A Berkshire Hathaway o...

In this episode I summarize and discuss what legendary investor Steve Eisman, who was played by Steve Carell in the movie The Big Short, has been predicting for the end of the US stock market crash - after the market declined around 25% in 2022, and has been steadily rebounding since October 2022. I also respond to our value investing YouTuber friend Hamish Hodder's find that Eisman recently r...

In this episode I summarize and discuss a recent interview with veteran value investor Jeremy Grantham, in which he explains how he thinks the deflation of a financial markets super-bubble is currently being prolonged by an emerging mini-bubble in artificial intelligence (AI). Timestamps: 00:00 Jeremy Grantham Super-Bubble Intro 00:45 Who is Jeremy Grantham?  01:21 Grantham's prediction track...

In this episode I summarize and discuss selected parts of a recent Q&A session with value investor and fund manager Mohnish Pabrai. During the Q&A Pabrai offered his thoughts on investing mistakes and the reasons for the high average rate of investor errors, current Nvidia (NVDA) euphoria compared with Microsoft (MSFT) euphoria during the Dotcom Bubble, and what it takes to be a good inves...

In this episode I summarize and discuss a recent interview with legendary value investor Seth Klarman. During the interview Klarman discussed the “Everything Bubble” he sees unwinding, the investing opportunities that’s bringing, the nature of value investing in relation to growth, buying quality companies at the right price, how to get an edge in the competitive investing environment today, techn...

This episode discusses recent comments by three stock market investors, including legendary fund managers Stanley Druckenmiller and Joel Greenblatt, focusing on the question: we know there’s an artificial intelligence (AI) boom going on right now, but is there an AI stock bubble? We look at what these investors are saying about AI stocks, Nvidia stock (NVDA), the current stock market, and how they...

In this episode I summarize and respond to a recent Wall Street Journal article questioning the current Tesla stock market valuation. I also respond to popular investing YouTuber Joesph Carlson’s reaction to that Wall Street Journal Tesla analysis. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro: The Wall Stree Journal hit piece and Joseph Carlson’s response 01:40 Good company in a bad industry? 03:02 Not just an auto co...

In this episode I summarize and discuss an interview with legendary investor Chuck Akre, in which he lays out his three-legged stool investing approach that has enabled him to achieve multiple 100 bagger stocks, and many multi-baggers. We look at examples from Akre Capital Management’s portfolio, and how his investment strategy has achieved such impressive returns over the long term.  Timestamps:...

In this episode I summarize and discuss a recent panel interview with Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield and often referred to as the Canadian Warren Buffett. Flatt gave his thoughts on today’s stock market, what he thinks is currently overhyped, long term investing, investing in China, and the renewable energy transition. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro: Bruce Flatt and Brookfield 01:10 Brookfield’s super-in...

This episode summarizes and discusses a recent interview with legendary macro-investor Stan Druckenmiller. Druckenmiller talked about his current bullishness on AI stocks and how they’ve been dominating his long portfolio for the past few months. He also talked about the hard landing recession that he still sees coming, and his predictions for the economic environment. His comments are always wort...

This episode is an update on Alibaba’s ongoing spin-off plans for its various business segments, starting with the Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group within the next 12 months, with others to follow. I explore what these business are, what they do, and what their prospects are as future individual companies. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:37 First Spinoff: Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group 02:10 Next IPO...

This episode includes a summary and thoughts on Alibaba's Full Fiscal Year 2023 Results, the current China economic backdrop, Alibaba’s ongoing share repurchases, a brief update on Alibaba's planned spinoffs including Alibaba Cloud, some comments from the CEO and CFO, and the overall direction of company. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:25 BABA the controversial stock 01:20 Alibaba the company...