The Monday Read

Carefully Optimistic Edition

Well, omicron is exploding in Japan, but I am cautiously optimistic this time. My guess is that we will see huge numbers of cases (and many times that number of undetected cases) but fewer hospitalizations and deaths. I am not expecting it to affect my wife’s business this time round.

Fingers crossed for now.

In happier news I’ve managed to write a couple of blog posts this week, so will be posting those on Tuesdays going forward.

お楽しみ！

Monday Read fodder

I am currently doing Cal Newport’s Analog January (no Twitter) challenge. So far so good, and it really shows how much time and attention I was giving to Twitter without really thinking about it. However, it does leave me with a bit less material for this newsletter.

If you come across any interesting articles that might be a good fit for the Monday Read, please do let me know, either by leaving a comment here, on Facebook, or by email.

Dividend stocks in Japan/USA

A few resources for people interested in dividend investing (in Japan and the US). This site in Japanese. CTC on Twitter. Jason Fieber on US (mainly) stocks.

However, for most people investing in low-cost diversified index funds is going to be easier/more profitable. This is what I do with most of my investments -the dividends are just a side hobby. Make sure you understand whatever approach you decide to take.

The Forum

The Forum is doing well (18,489 posts to date). Here are the latest active threads:

This week’s books

I finished The Anomaly (didn’t like the ending, mostly enjoyed reading it), then immediately jumped into a couple of biography type books about comedians: The Tao of Bill Murray, by Gavin Edwards, and The Call of the Weird, by Louis Theroux.

They are both light reads, the former mainly being a collection of anecdotes about Bill Murray and a description of his filmography, and the latter being a collection of anecdotes about meeting strange people in the USA.

This week’s links

  1. This TV program about/from Martin Lewis (the UK’s Money Saving Expert) is great: 10 things your child should know
  2. More bad news for American citizens: Americans seeking to renounce their citizenship are stuck with it for now
  3. This is a good list: 100 ways to improve your life without really trying
  4. After the last couple of years, some food for thought: THE LONG GAME – HISTORICAL MARKET RETURNS AND 2022 EXPECTATIONS
  5. It kind of was, eh? 2021 Was One of the Best Years in the Stock Market History
  6. Bad for workers, good for retirees? Japan pays a high price as it goes down market
  7. I enjoyed this truck living blog -seems like it is now finished: End of an era
  8. Pretty grim indictment of government: The good landlord
  9. Interesting analysis of how issues are framed in the US (and elsewhere?): An inconvenient truce
  10. This is a great article: Does not compute
  11. I must say that for now I am feeling better without Twitter: What Happened When This Online Business Owner Quit Social Media?
  12. Interesting (long!) video seminar on the Japanese stock market: Will Japan’s Stock Market Remain Undervalued and Underappreciated?
  13. Some useful context here as stock markets surge ever higher: Is This the Greatest Bull Market in History?
  14. 20m documentary: The rise of Nintendo
  15. Ray Dalio on macro trends: The Changing World Order: The New Paradigm
  16. And the outlook for this year: 2022: A Year of Transition
  17. Reasons to buy Rakuten (not advice!): Deep-dive: Rakuten
  18. And a railway company (some interesting data in here): West Japan Railway Company (TYO: 9021)
  19. Interesting exploration of announced government policies and how companies might benefit: Kishida as Prime Minister: The Path Ahead
  20. The man behind the face on the new 10,000 yen note: Shibusawa: From Fiery Rebel to Venture Capital Pioneer
  21. A lot of potential value to release: will this fuel the stock market further? Unlocks
  22. Cheap to the extent that it is painful to visit other countries: Dirt Cheap Japan
  23. And from the Fat FIRE forum, something a bit different: The most satisfying products and services you’ve consumed in your life

What do you think? Anything good in there?

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3 Responses

  1. The Japanese site on “Dividend Stocks in Japan and US” is quite good. I use it occasionally to check up on investments with the highest yields.

    Btw, thanks for your advice on adding social media feeds to my beginner’s blog. It’s been updated so check it out: https://expatcanadianintokyo.com

  2. Does anyone have a good source for COVID travel restrictions in Japan – they seem to change frequently, and the MOFA website is quite confusing.