Professor Shubha Ghosh On The Current State Of Gene Editing
by ilene - July 11th, 2019 2:58 pm
Professor Shubha Ghosh On The Current State Of Gene Editing
Courtesy of Jacob Wolinsky, ValueWalk
ValueWalk’s Q&A session with Professor Shubha Ghosh, a professor of law and the director of the Syracuse Intellectual Property Law Institute. In this interview, Professor Ghosh discusses his background, the Human Genome Project, the current state of gene editing, 3D printing for organ operations, and gene editing regulation.
typographyimages / Pixabay
Can you tell us about your background as it relates to intellectual property?
I earned my law degree at Stanford Law School and took numerous courses in intellectual property and business law (as well constitutional law and international law). I did my third year paper on parallel importation of products protected intellectual property, and this work has been the basis for numerous publications, including a 2018 book from Cambridge University Press. I have taught intellectual property law courses at numerous law schools for nearly 25 years and am the author of several law school casebooks in the field of intellectual property law. In addition to my scholarly work, I have served as a consultant in several cases involving intellectual property.
When I was growing up, I remember learning about the genome being mapped – can you explain what that means and how much we have progressed since then?
The Human Genome Project was a multi-country, multi-university project funded by the National Institute of Health, launched in 1990 and declared complete in 2003. The goal of the project was to identify the nucleotides, or chemical codes, for all the genes in the human body, over 3 billion base pairs. After 13 years, the mapping was considered completed, but do keep in mind that the mapping is based on a composite across all samples that the many researchers were studying. So there is much more to learn about the specific genes in any given individual and how they work.”
In addition to the NIH sponsored project, there was private sector initiative as well, and many companies are working to further understand the chemical structure and function of genes.
Can you help folks without medical or legal backgrounds understand the current state of gene editing?
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Beyond Meat vs Impossible Burger: Comparing The Vegan Meat Burgers
by ilene - June 25th, 2019 11:13 am
Beyond Meat vs Impossible Burger: Comparing The Vegan Meat Burgers
Courtesy of Vikas Shukla, ValueWalk
Pexels / Pixabay
The trend of vegan food has been gathering momentum in the last few years as people become more health conscious. They have also begun to realize the environmental impact of raising meat for human consumption. According to PETA, it takes an estimated 1,847 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. Food startups like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have created vegan burgers that look and taste like beef. Here we compare the Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger to see how they stack up against each other.
Both companies have created meat alternatives in the lab. Industry experts believe that fake meat could become a huge market as more people decide to consume less meat. Impossible Foods is facing immense shortage for its Impossible Burger across the United States. Beyond Meat had also experienced shortages in 2017 and 2018, but it has since ramped up its supply chain to meet consumer demand.
Both Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are creating their products for meat eaters. That’s why their lab-grown vegan burgers look, feel, smell and even “bleed” like beef.
Beyond Meat vs Impossible Burger: Ingredients
Both Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger are vegan. They don’t contain any animal products. Beyond Meat claims its products have been certified vegan by the Vegan Action Foundation. The Impossible Burger is certified kosher and halal.
The Impossible patties are made of soy and potato protein. Other ingredients include coconut oil, water, sunflower oil, natural flavors, yeast extract, salt, Vitamin B1, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, and B12. You can find the full list of ingredients here.
Impossible Foods uses a plant-derived substance called heme from soy leghemoglobin to give it the meaty look and feel. The company has used animal testing to ensure the safety of heme.
The Beyond Burger uses pea protein isolate instead of soy protein concentrate. It includes a mixture of refined coconut oil, canola oil, rice proteins, potato starch, salt, sunflower oil, yeast extract, natural flavor, and cellulose. Beyond Meat uses beet…
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The “Tesla Killer” Car Is Nowhere In Sight
by ilene - June 22nd, 2019 4:08 pm
The “Tesla Killer” Car Is Nowhere In Sight
Here’s some catnip for the Tesla bulls on this email list: my analyst, Kevin DeCamp, a longtime TSLA shareholder and car owner, took a test drive of the Jaguar I-PACE and, while it “looks great and is fun to drive… it is lacking in a few areas where Tesla really shines.” He concludes that “Tesla may end up killing itself, but the “Tesla killer” car is nowhere in sight.”
The Tesla Killer Hasn’t Arrived Yet: My Test Drive of the Jaguar I-PACE
By Kevin DeCamp
As a long-time, devoted Tesla (TSLA) shareholder and car owner (a 2014 Model S), I’ve been reading for years with some amusement about the "Tesla killer" that always seems to be just around the corner. To this day, no competitors have managed to produce an electric vehicle (EV) with range and efficiency matching the 2012 Model S.
But with every major auto manufacturer in the world investing billions to develop EVs, you would think some will start to finally rival Tesla’s line-up, so I read the reviews of the new Jaguar I-PACE with great interest. It was clear that the first real competition had arrived, so I visited a dealer last week and took it for a spin.
On my way there, I tried my best to clear away all of my biases, preconceived notions, and expectations so that I could form a truly objective opinion.
But within the first five minutes, the Jaguar salesman was handing me ammo for my bullish bias. He didn’t seem too enthusiastic about the car and when I asked how to use the touch screen, he told me that one of the biggest problems with new cars is the software. “What happens when this screen goes blank, then what?” he asked.
He then offered to let me take a test drive by myself if I wanted to – he didn’t seem interested in telling me much about it. The sales pitch was, “Here are the keys, go nuts!! Hopefully the software doesn’t crash on you.”
First impressions
As I approached the I-PACE, I first noticed the design and styling, which are top-notch, as you can see by these
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More Examples Of “Typical Tesla “wise-guy scamminess”
by ValueWalk - March 29th, 2019 6:04 pm
By Jacob Wolinsky. Originally published at ValueWalk.
Stanphyl Capital’s letter to investors for the month of March 2019.
Friends and Fellow Investors:
For March 2019 the fund was up approximately 5.5% net of all fees and expenses. By way of comparison, the S&P 500 was up approximately 1.9% while the Russell 2000 was down approximately 2.1%. Year-to-date 2019 the fund is up approximately 12.8% while the S&P 500 is up approximately 13.6% and the Russell 2000 is up approximately 14.6%. Since inception on June 1, 2011 the fund is up approximately 85.4% net while the S&P 500 is up approximately 148.5% and the Russell 2000 is up approximately 102.4%. Since inception the fund has compounded at approximately 8.2% net annually vs 12.3% for the S&P 500 and 9.4% for the Russell 2000. (The S&P and Russell performances are based on their “Total Returns” indices which include reinvested dividends.) As always, investors will receive the fund’s exact performance figures from its outside administrator within a week or two. (If you’re an investor in the fund, you should have your 2018 K-1 next week.)
Q4 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc
I continue to believe that what we’ve seen since the market’s late December low is a bear market rally, albeit a fierce one. The U.S. economic slowdown is in its early stages and we’re a long way from QE4; in fact the Fed is still removing approximately $50 billion a month from its balance sheet and—despite the taper announced in March—will continue removing tens of billions of dollars a month through September, while real short-term U.S. interest rates are positive for the first time in over a decade. We thus remain short the Russell 2000 (IWM), an index which—despite incorporating almost a full year of drastically lower corporate tax rates—has a trailing twelve-month GAAP PE ratio of around 43 (and I strongly suspect the “E” will go down this year) and a record-high percentage of its constituent companies losing money…
…along with a median EV-to-EBIT that’s (almost literally!) off the charts:
Elsewhere in the fund’s short positions…
We remain short stock and call options in Tesla, Inc. (TSLA), which I consider to be the biggest single stock bubble in…
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Larry Kudlow On Why The Fed Should Cut Rates [Full CNBC Transcript]
by ValueWalk - March 29th, 2019 5:46 pm
By Jacob Wolinsky. Originally published at ValueWalk.
CNBC Excerpts: National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow Speaks With CNBC‘s “Power Lunch” Today
WHEN: Today, Friday, March 29
WHERE: CNBC’s “Power Lunch”
Following are excerpts from the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” (M-F, 2PM-3PM ET) today, Friday, March 29. Following is a link to the full interview on CNBC.com:
Q4 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc
Larry Kudlow On Supply Side, Rate Cuts, Powell And Mnuchin
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
Kudlow on 50 basis point cut
I am echoing the president’s view, he’s not been bashful about that view. He would also like the fed to cease shrinking its balance sheet and I concur with that view looking at some, the economy looks fundamentally quite healthy. We just don’t want that threat there is no inflation out there, so I think the fed’s actions were probably overdone.
Kudlow on why cut rates
There’s no emergency. It’s just a point of view, okay. I mean, I watch yield curves I have for a long time, tens to bills are actually negative slightly inverted commodity prices, commodity index took a big whack in the fourth quarter and earlier this year. This is not an emergency this is not anything, this is just our point of view frankly, I think they went too far…we don’t want to threaten this great recovery basically, the president has, in effect, redesigned and redeveloped and reengineered this economy with lower tax rates, and a big rollback in regulations, and opening the door to energy again and also, trade deals that I think will be very pro-growth. We don’t want to jeopardize that we’ve got more people working than ever. We’ve got remarkably low unemployment across the board, including Kelly, I might say, the biggest contributor to the labor force last year was women. And all the minority categories this is a terrific story.
Kudlow on protecting the economy
I don’t think that the rest of the world can overwhelm the U.S. In fact, usually, my view is, continues to be, we are the driver, we are the engine. Okay?…
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How Active Fund Management Is Like Playing Poker
by ValueWalk - March 28th, 2019 12:34 pm
By Michelle Jones. Originally published at ValueWalk.
Investors’ increasing preference for passive investment products over active ones has been well-documented in recent years, and the trend has been accelerating. Moody’s now estimates that passive products may overtake active ones in only two years. The firm also explained why over time, it could become even harder and harder to find an active manager capable of outperforming their benchmark.
In a report this week, Moody’s Investors Service compared the transition from active to passive products to the adoption of new and improved technologies. Senior Credit Officer Stephen Tu and team said passive products “more efficiently channel the earnings of corporate America to the end investor than do traditional mutual funds.”
Q4 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc
Active management compared to playing poker
They also said passive investment products are more efficient because they result in less “leakage in earnings” via management fees, commissions and trading fees paid to active managers. They also said passive reduces earnings “leakage” to investors caused by “below-average investment decisions leading to loss of capital from the average active manager to the small group of truly superior active investment managers.”
Moody’s describes the ongoing transfer of capital “from the larger number of average active managers to the smaller number of superior active managers” as essentially a form of “error collection.” The firm also said that over time, the nature of the market is that active management itself will become more and more difficult.
“In other words, the goal of ‘alpha generation’ can better be thought of as ‘error collection,’ just as a champion poker player wins earnings from others, and does not simply generate a return without considering the pool of potential winnings in the casino,” Tu and team explained. “Over time, only the best players will survive, leading to a more difficult game. Similarly, active management could become more difficult over time, as a growing number of below-average active managers drop out or see their assets continually decrease.”
Record-high outflows from active funds
The Moody’s team also said 2018 brought new record-high outflows from active mutual funds, based on data from the Investment Company Institute.
“Despite market volatility late last year…
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Robert Shiller: There Could Be Declines In Home Prices Especially At The High End
by ValueWalk - March 27th, 2019 3:06 pm
By Jacob Wolinsky. Originally published at ValueWalk.
Yale Professor and Nobel Prize Winner Robert Shiller discusses the housing market and factors affecting home prices.
Robert Shiller: There Could Be Declines In Home Prices Especially At The High End
[REITs]
Q4 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc
Transcript
Home price growth not seeing necessarily a nice boost or at least not as much as it was. It’s growing at its slowest pace since 2015. The S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller Index mark ten consecutive months of decelerating price growth. Joining us with more is Yale University professor Robert Shiller whose namesake index obviously. So Robert thank you so much for joining us so talk to me about the deceleration that we have seen and whether it’s slowing down whether we’re going to start to see an acceleration again.
Well the housing market. You have to remember is totally different from the stock market. The stock market is approximately a random walk in one day to the next you don’t know what the housing market. It’s not a professional market. I mean it’s everybody who buys and sells homes. And so the market has turned. Notably there’s also trends in the rate of change. If you go back to five years ago the market was going up in the U.S. National something like 10 percent a year. And then it’s Bend’s tree being down. This is the long term phenomenon. A year or so ago it was 5 percent. Now it’s 4 percent. In our big cities that our composite it’s more like three and a half percent. So those are. Trends that the question now is will those trends continue. Well they’ve been going on for five years so maybe they will continue but it’s not as it’s not going to be a one day catastrophic drop.
Professor Shiller I’m curious is there any period in the past where we can look back where we see these kinds of peaks and then the valleys and then the peaks to realize the past does not tell you where you’re necessarily going but at least gives you some insight into where you’ve been. Have we seen this before.
Well I like to take the most recent example that maybe it’s a scary example so I don’t mean to scare anyone but the…
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We DO Need To Maximize Shareholder Value. Here’s Why.
by ValueWalk - March 27th, 2019 2:09 pm
By Henry D. Wolfe. Originally published at ValueWalk.
Shareholder Value Maximization, Shareholder Primacy and related concepts have been drawn and quartered from all corners. Academia, the business and regular media, politicians and even some in the business community have skewered these concepts, portraying them as evil incarnate and responsible for a plethora of business and societal ills. I would suggest that this is unhealthy in general but even more so in a hyper-competitive business climate (that is not going to slow down). Further, I would suggest that what much of this reveals is how poorly shareholder value maximization is really understood.
In actuality, the current public company governance model with its emphasis on compliance, process, oversight, director independence and quarterly earnings is not a shareholder value maximization model. Nor is shareholder value maximization about a focus on shareholders to the consistent or intentional detriment of what are now considered “stakeholders.” Instead, it is about the development of the full potential of a company. In more concrete terms, it is about optimizing capital allocation and maximizing company performance, and thus shareholder value, over a longer period of three to six years.
Q4 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc
A shareholder value maximization model of governance will involve an in-depth understanding on the part of the board of the levers that can be pulled to maximize value over the period with key initiatives developed to actualize this value. In this model, there will be a short-term focus; likely more intense than the typical public company. But, the focus on the short term will be in the context of the longer-term targets of the aforementioned initiatives – you cannot get to the longer-term if you do not achieve the shorter-term steps. This model does not preclude divestitures, changes in the capital structure, special dividends, share buybacks or the sale of the company. These can all lead under the right conditions to the full potential development of a company.
Why do we need to maximize shareholder value? First, it is vital for our economic well-being now and as the future unfolds. This model will result in considerably more competitive companies on a sustainable basis. Today’s commercial environment is hyper-competitive and will continuously…
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Activist Takeover Attempts Rise More Than 50 Percent
by ValueWalk - March 27th, 2019 2:07 pm
By ActivistInsight. Originally published at ValueWalk.
Activist interest in buying companies outright have risen over the last 12 months to beat previous records, according to data from Activist Insight Online.
Ever since Elliott Management started a revolution by initiating a plan to take whole companies private, other activists have been inspired to get in on the act. Takeover approaches were up 58% in the 12-month period ending March 22, 2019, compared to the equivalent period ending March 22, 2018.
Q4 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc
Companies publicly subjected to activist takeover attempts in the 12-months ending March 22, each year, globally.
Elliott Management has made four takeover demands in the most recent period, with a previous effort at Gigamon in May 2017 its first since 2014.
Sharp volatility at the end of 2018 may have provided the spark for the overall uptick, with 12 takeover demands recorded since the turn of the year alone.
Companies publicly subjected to activist takeover attempts in the period January 1 to March 22 of each year.
Hostile bids using activist tactics such as shareholder proposals or proxy contests by Barrick Gold, MNG Enterprises, and Sports Direct also explain some of the uptick.
Other increasingly popular tactics over the past 12 months include a push for companies to divest assets, return cash to shareholders, and replace management.
About Activist Insight
Since 2012, Activist Insight (www.activistinsight.com) has provided its diverse range of clients with the most comprehensive information on activist investing worldwide. Regularly quoted in the financial press, Activist Insight is the trusted source for data in this evolving space. Activist Insight offers five industry-leading products: Activist Insight Online, Activist Insight Governance, Activist Insight Vulnerability – a tool for identifying potential activist targets – Activist Insight Shorts, and Activist Insight Monthly – the world’s only magazine dedicated to activist investing.
The post Activist Takeover Attempts Rise More Than 50 Percent appeared first on ValueWalk.
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10 Characteristics Which Make A Truly Great Venture Capital Investor
by ValueWalk - March 27th, 2019 9:52 am
By J. Skyler Fernandes. Originally published at ValueWalk.
To VC, or not to VC, that is the question? 10 characteristics which make a truly great venture capital investor
J. Skyler Fernandes is ranked as a Powerlist 100 VC and is the Co-Founder & General Partner of Venture University, a multi-stage investment fund and trade school for venture capital, private equity, and angel investing
Q4 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc
As a VC for the past 10+ years, I have had the pleasure of meeting thousands of investors at many stages of their journeys, from analysts to first time fund managers to VCs with 30+ years of investment experience. As such, I am often asked what are the key factors in becoming a top VC.
Research suggests that entrepreneurial experience separates top VCs from other investors. However, one needs to only look at the amazing careers of industry leaders without an entrepreneurial background like Michael Moritz, Fred Wilson, or John Doerr to debunk that theory. In fact, a recent TechCrunch study found that on average, only 27 percent of the partners at a randomly chosen sample of VC firms in the US had experience working as founders or senior executives at entrepreneurial companies.
While first-hand experience of growing a business is undoubtedly a plus, experience has taught me that when assessing investors, more often than not, the difference lies in character and quality investment experience more than anything else. It’s the point of nature (character) vs. nurture (relevant VC experience, which is rare and hard to acquire). You need both, but the challenge is that unfortunately going to a great undergrad or MBA, or working at a top investment bank or consulting firm, doesn’t prepare you with the skills needed to be a great VC.
With that in mind, here are the top ten characteristics I believe make a truly great venture capital investor:
- Intellectual curiosity
As an investor, you never know what pitch is coming through your door next. As such, effective VCs need to be constantly clued in about emerging technologies and product trends, which requires constant learning. The best VCs are both broad and deep in their…
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Philip R. Davis is a founder Phil's Stock World, a stock and options trading site that teaches the art of options trading to newcomers and devises advanced strategies for expert traders...
Ilene is editor and affiliate program
coordinator for PSW. She manages the site