Why 2022 kicked ass & top media picks
Congratulations on surviving the year!
Hello market participant, how goes it?
First and foremost: thank you for being here. I’m glad that you’ve signed on! The growth of this Substack has exceeded my expectations, and for that I’m awfully thankful.
My hope is that this ends up being a place with a healthy dose of community interaction. In my ideal world the Unhedged Capitalist wouldn’t be the largest publication, but the one with the most talkative members.
A fine objective, but to get there the content must be good. To that end, do you have any suggestions? Articles you like or find vile? Topics you wish I would cover more or less? I’m always open to feedback, although a comment like “i think this is your worst article so far, respectfully,” is respectfully received, but the impact is greater if I know *why* it’s the worst article ever.
At any rate, here’s to a market bottom and green shoots in 2023. If bumbling Ben Bernanke can win a Nobel Prize, who knows the heights we’re capable of reaching!
About the author
I write the Unhedged Capitalist, but who am I? Here’s some background about the peddler behind the words.
I grew up in a small town in the American north east, however, unlike most of my friends I had one tremendous advantage: worldly parents. My father inculcated in me a love of books, and my mother took me all over the United States and opened my mind to different lifestyles.
In college I studied psychology and minored in Russian. After college I moved to Russia where I taught English for a year. After becoming fluent in Russian I started traveling and in the next ~8 years I visited and/or lived in Germany, India, Peru, Nicaragua, Thailand, Dubai, Ukraine and Vietnam, to name about half. I also worked for a multi-millionaire New Yorker and learned firsthand how the wealthy live. I consume dozens of books a year and my phone tells me that In the last 4 years I’ve listened to 1,389 hours of podcasts. Education isn’t an important part of my lifestyle, it is my lifestyle.
In investing I turned $6,000 into a lot more than $6,000, and I’m excited to continue growing that capital.
What I am not
I’m not an ex-Wall Street analyst. I don’t know the difference between GAAP and non-GAAP reporting, I can’t explain a butterfly spread nor have I ever laid on a curve steepener, although I do understand the theory behind it. I’m just a simple hyper-chicken from a backwoods asteroid, who can hopefully offer a unique perspective that differs from the drek proffered by the inept mainstream media.
What we’ve got here is a failure to succeed
I make mistakes, lots of them in fact. In my next piece I’ll outline every major error I made in 2022. I’m going to do my damn best not to make the same mistakes in 2023!
Topics I won’t be covering on this Substack
Consumer staples, FANG stocks, auto sector, healthcare, fashion, airlines, etc. I am primarily interested in energy equities, precious metals, commodities and Ethereum
Covid. While I exercise every day and eat well, I have no interest in matters of health and only a limited interest in the political angle, as absurd as it is. Furthermore, there are so many amazing Substacks devoted to Covid/government response to Covid that I have zero alpha to offer
The news. While I might occasionally cover a story if it relates to investing, I generally won’t go over the news
Politics. This is an a-political publication and I truly mean that. On a personal level I’ll vote for whoever I think is competent (a tough challenge to find suitable candidates) and at a Substack level, I don’t find writing about politics to be very interesting
No advertising
For the entire year of 2023 there will be zero advertising on this platform. No paid content or product reviews, no product placement, no affiliate programs. You’ll notice that when I post a book review there’s not even an Amazon affiliate link. For the next 365 days this an advertising free zone, to be evaluated again in 2024.
Evergreen content
Lots of content quickly goes stale in the fast-changing world of finance. However, that’s not always the case. The following articles are just as relevant today as when I first posted them.
Book reviews
Book review: The Rise and Fall of American Growth
Book review: I Will Teach you to Be Rich
Book review: Production Versus Plunder
Book review: The Expectation Effect
Book review: Business Brilliant
Book review: The Prize - The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power
Book review: Nothing is True and Everything is Possible
Book review: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Articles
5 observations on Russian culture from someone who lived there
3 Germans tell me about the energy crisis
The problem with buying gold as a LT inflation hedge
Why the US Government might nationalize Ethereum
5 reasons an individual investor can outperform the institutions
If you don't know the sucker at the table, it's you
Working with a wealthy New Yorker changed my life
10 reasons why high interest rates blow up the world
How 2008 broke the Eurodollar banking system & crushed growth
The world's most powerful philosophy
Why we need new words to describe inflation
How the Eurodollar system works (and why it matters)
The obscure way Bitcoin could get used in the financial system
Why the Fed doesn't control long-term interest rates
Here's why Germany secretly loves bailing out Greece...
How Wall Street tricks us into giving it money
Not just the Fed: why we've had 0% rates for so long
The Nomad's escape: life in South East Asia
Top picks for 2022
Favorite podcast
Favorite book
Favorite movie
Favorite TV show
That’s a wrap
Thanks for being here, I appreciate it! If there’s anything you’d like to say, maybe a book or movie recommendation, leave a comment below. I read them all.
Cheers
