It is really surprising for me to see a bank run at this age. I always assumed that the banking sector is safe and solid. Thanks to the regulations in place after Lehman Brothers’ demise.  I think by now, the current bank run and bank situation need no further explanation from me.  But I do notice the flaws in my investing process.  Emphasis on the numbers As a value investor, I checked the financial statements. As they reveal the company’s financial health.  I checked the trend of the company’s net profit, revenue, and other important information for the past few years, to check if the company is prospering.  This information depends on the past few years' financial statements. It is important for me, as I prefer to hold the company for many years.  If for th

I bought ‘The World Ahead' yearly, hoping to have some idea of what may happen in the coming year. Here are my takeaways from this edition. Energy There are so many things that we need electricity for. Nations, including Singapore, that can't produce the fuel for it will have to import them and will be at the mercy of the market price. Thanks to the Russia and Ukraine war, oil and gas price rocketed & some nations have little choice but to refire their coal power plants, some even use their nuclear power plants. A blow to climate change efforts. But some countries benefitted from this war, as they have a good relationship with Russia. Russia can sell its oil & gas to these friendly countries at a cheaper rate while these countries can either use them or resell them. To top it o

McDonald's Corporation $McDonald's(MCD)$  ‌ needs very little introduction. The company was founded in 1940 by two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald, and it has since grown to become one of the most recognized and successful brands in the world. MCD operates more than 38,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries, and it serves millions of customers every day, making it difficult to rival its reach. Brand and Customer Loyalty‌ I am sure this is a common scene. When children pass by one of MCD’s restaurants and see its golden arch, they most likely pester their parents to go in and eat something. Not only that, if a person is in a foreign land, if he isn’t comfortable eating the local food, he might opt to eat at an international brand r

Date: 18/12/2022 Bank of New York (ticker: BK) is a custodian bank. A custodian bank is a specialized financial institution responsible for providing securities services. It safeguards the assets of investors, usually asset managers, insurance companies, and/or hedge funds, and is not engaged in "traditional" commercial or consumer/retail banking like lending money to clients to buy properties. Being the Biggest with a cost advantage BK is the world’s largest custodian bank with nearly $47 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration (AUC/A); while the next biggest custodian, State Street, has $43.7 trillion in assets. As one of the largest financial institutions in the world, it has a significant customer base and a strong presence in various markets around the globe. This gi

Economic Moat allows the company to keep its competitors at bay from taking it's business & profitability. ‌$Alphabet(GOOG)$  ‌Google is one of the most successful company will most likely have some advantages to maintain or even grow further its profitability. Here are some examples. Brand ‌ I am sure at some point in our life we will use this phrase, " I google it". The activity of searching and researching something has become a simple word, 'google'. How did it happen? To be honest, although Google was created in my lifetime, I can't recall why this phrase happens. Despite the start of the internet, there were a few search engine websites. I even remembered watching Yahoo! advertisements on television, trying to create an impres

Before we discuss airport operators, let's talk about airports themselves. Building an airport is a complex and costly undertaking, and there are many factors to consider, such as: Location, where it must accessible to the public with a possibility to expand. Runways, which must be a certain length and width and there must be enough of them to handle the anticipated traffic. Terminals to handle the passengers and cargo. It must have enough space for check-in, security, baggage handling, and boarding. It also must have enough space for taxis, car parks, and other transportation. Support facilities, like fuel storage, maintenance hangers, and air traffic control towers. Environment impact, the airport must have a minimal environmental impact. This includes minimizing noise pollution and prot