Boycotted or not

I carry shares of ELBIT, an electronic weapons factory, with an order book of 20 billion US$. The company is profitable and pays off dividends of 40% of the profits. Yet its stock has lost some 15% lately, which is very bad. The cause of its recent loss of value is caused by large investors selling Elbit - they want to avoid being identified with Israeli armament enterprise. This problem will not be solved for a while.

ICL, the Israeli potash company, has also lost a lot lately. I do know the reason, although world fertilizer prices have been falling. Prices of phosphate and potash have retreated since the back half of 2022 from their peak levels attained in the first half riding on the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war and disruptions due to the sanctions in Belarus. Lower prices are expected to weigh on the company’s sales and profitability in the near term. The problem with the Houties who have closed the port of Eilat may be affecting ICL. 

In general, TASE bourse is maintaining its level and not sinking. Israel's economy has not collapsed because of civil disturbances and the war in Gaza, but it is growing. Paradoxically, in 2024 total economic activity (GNP) is rising. Many working men are in the Army, Palestinian workers are not allowed in Israel, and foreign workers have left because of the war, so it is not clear what is happening. 

Ivri

 Cabezon.

China Still Cannot Feed Itself

China, the world's biggest agriculture importer, has set targets to drastically reduce its reliance on overseas buying over the coming decade in line with its push for food security, but they will be exceedingly difficult to meet, experts say.

With limited land and water, China will have to sharply increase farming productivity through technology, including genetically modified crops, and expand the area under cultivation to meet Beijing's 10-year projections.

The government envisions 92% self-sufficiency in staple grains and beans by 2033, up from 84% during 2021-23, according to a document released in late April, on a path toward Chinese President Xi Jinping's goal to become an "agriculture power" by the middle of the century.

From: Japan Times. 

So China has not been able to solve how to feed its people. When I first visited China, the issue on the table was famine, the population was growing, and agricultural yields were low. I thought that by now they were past this issue. 

B-21 Raider: This Changes Everything.

 

Gradually the planes are evolving. Maybe the ultimate form will be a paper circle, a flying saucer. Apparently, the pic left exaggerates its thinness. 

B-21 Raider will be capable of penetrating the toughest defenses to deliver precision strikes anywhere in the world. The B-21 is the future of deterrence. 

New Game: Automated Credit Trading

Automated credit trading has been growing for years, particularly among brokers and dealers, but was focused on helping traders buy and sell securities more efficiently. What’s different now is that the robots are making more decisions about what securities to buy and sell.

To come up with their assessments, the Barclays team counted all the US mutual funds that have the terms “systematic,” “quant” or “algorithm” along with “corporate,” “credit,” “bond” or “fixed income,” and found that their assets under management had doubled to $3.7 billion over the past year. They also spoke with Barclays’ algorithmic trading desk to find that one in six electronic requests for quotes come from systematic accounts. From Bloomberg.

Investors are playing against robots. A new game. 

Everything we can do, robots can do better. 

They also outlined risks associated with increased systematic trading, especially the potential for trend-followers creating “herding behavior” around certain names and amplifying volatility. Similarly, factor models that try to build on momentum, search for underpriced bonds or take advantage of bid-ask spreads can cause sharp movements in prices, as can tactical strategies that trade individual bonds.

Hamas on the Roof

GAZA YESTERDAY 

The second one offers himself as a target. 

Mohammed: "Urgent! Stop sending me more martyrs. I am out of virgins!"

Without Feathers

 

	Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul
	Emily Dickinson Hope is not "the thing with feathers." The thing with feathers has turned out to be my nephew. I must take him to a specialist in Zurich. What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet. Woody Allen