Episode 36: Our thoughts on remote working, the debt ceiling, Alibaba and Facebook!

What’s on both Steve D and Steve W’s list of things to watch and isn’t a stock? What’s bigger than Paul thought? And what does Steve D think is the most anticlimactic thing in the world? Find out the answers to all of these things on this week’s podcast!

This week, the show opens with a preview of the Playing FTSE merchandise that’s now available in our online store! We start off with a discussion of the big issue of the day—whether hoodies should have pouches or pockets—as we unveil the range of clothes that Steve D’s designed for the show. Link below for those who want to join in the action. That’s swiftly followed by a dramatic game of “it’s gross!” as Steve W and Paul take on a game attempting to guess (blindly) at the gross margin of companies of all different types. This is a good one—you don’t want to miss it.

From a tense, dramatic, and exciting game to an issue that is none of those things. The debt ceiling in the US. Paul and Steve D sort out the issue, so check out why they think this is something that you should be aware of but shouldn’t be interested in, despite Steve W’s feeble attempt to pound some interest into the story. 

Moving on, it’s over to Facebook. With the stock down 12.5% this month, we take a look at everything that’s going on there. Whistleblowing, outages, and threats surround the company at the moment, but Steve W thinks this might be approaching an interesting point. Meanwhile, Steve D is as interested in Facebook as he is in the debt ceiling. 

On the subject of battered stocks and regulatory pressure, we turn our attention to Alibaba and the news that Charlie Munger has been adding quite substantially to the Daily Journal’s already quite substantial holdings in the Chinese online retailer. BABA stock is down 46% this year and is attracting attention from value investors. As we think about who’s buying what in these areas, find out which superinvestor Paul views negatively! 

We close out the show with remote working. As Boris Johnson warns that people who choose to work remotely might either be gossiped about or miss out on promotion opportunities, three people who are appalling candidates for promotion and not interesting enough to generate gossip sit and discuss how remote work affects them. Only on this week’s Playing FTSE!