Abishek S Panday @aspanday09

Warren Buffett’s behind-the-scenes story of the 2008 financial crisis. “Fear is extraordinarily contagious. And we saw that in September of 2008 like we’ve never seen it before in financial markets.” Lehman was days from bankruptcy. They reached out to Buffett looking for a lifeline. Buffett was on vacation in Alberta. So, he told them them to send a fax with the details and exactly what they wanted. But the fax never came. They had left a voicemail, on a flip phone he barely used…And Buffett’s daughter found the message a year later. Notably, 6 months earlier, in March 2008, Lehman had already approached him. He had printed out their 200-page annual report, read it cover to cover & passed. The numbers didn’t add up. While Lehman filed for bankruptcy, Buffett invested $5 billion into Goldman Sachs, on his terms: Preferred shares paying a 10% annual dividend, plus warrants to buy $5 billion more in Goldman stock at $115 per share. Berkshire ultimately made billions on the deal.

Larry Ellison just exposed the most important power shift happening on Earth right now. And it has nothing to do with money. Ellison: “Me and Elon begging Jensen for GPUs, ‘Please take our money. We need you to take more of our money, please.’” When the wealthiest men alive are sitting at a dinner table begging a supplier to accept their billions, something fundamental has changed. Fiat currency is no longer the apex asset. Compute is. The global economy is currently bottlenecked by a single piece of silicon. You can have infinite capital. If you cannot convert it into raw compute, you are mathematically locked out of the future. That is not a metaphor. That is the operating reality of 2025. Ellison: “The demand for GPUs, the desire to be first, the desire to build the most capable neural network in the world.” The board is not constrained by finance. It is constrained by physics. And the entities that secure the hardware first dictate the absolute ceiling of human capability. Ellison: “Getting there first is a big deal. Whether it’s getting there first in self-driving, or there first in reading cancer biopsy slides, getting there first synthesizing video and making movies.” If your model solves autonomous navigation or cancer detection six months before your adversary, you do not capture market share. You permanently overwrite the board. The models that arrive second do not become competitors. They become irrelevant. Ellison: “The guys who are in this race are very smart, and they understand they need to be best at something. They’d like to be first.” This is not casual investment. This is desperate acquisition of the only resource that determines who builds the next version of civilization. The most powerful geopolitical alliance on Earth is no longer between sovereign nations. It is between the architects of intelligence and the manufacturers of silicon. Ellison: “By 2029, I can guarantee you AI is not gonna be the problem. Because the simple phrase, the race goes on.” They are not building products. They are building the engine of the new world. And they refuse to be second.

“Fear spreads instantaneously. Confidence comes back through the door one at a time.” — Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett: “A stock is a piece of a business. And if you buy a piece of a good business & somebody’s running it for you [who’s] honest & able, and you pay a reasonable price, you’re going to make a lot of money.”

“If you stay rational yourself, the stupidity of the world helps you.” — Charlie Munger

India's Decade of Transformation: Corporate Debt as % of GDP 2015- 65% 2023- 50% Foreign Direct Investment: 2013- $22 B 2023- $46B Mutual Fund Investment: 2013- $100 B 2023- $500 B Electrified Railways: 2013- 4,100 km 2023- 28,100 km Corporate Tax Rate: 2013- 33.9% 2023- 22% RBI CPI Inflation: 2013- 10% 2022- 4.7% Direct Benefit Transfer: 2013- $0.89 B 2023- $32 B Highways: 2014- 25,700 km 2023- 53,700 km Digital Transaction as % of GDP 2016- 4.4% 2023- 76.1% Source: Morgan Stanley Report.

Larry Ellison just compressed the next decade into a single sentence. “The smartest people I know are investing fortunes. To be specific, they are investing their fortunes in building and training these AI models.” Not company capital. Their fortunes. Personal wealth. Corporate investment is strategy. You allocate, hedge, diversify. Personal wealth is conviction. That’s someone staring at the world where they built their entire fortune and deciding it has an expiration date. Think about who he’s talking about. Not venture capitalists fishing for 10x returns. People who already have more money than they could spend across ten lifetimes. Zero financial incentive to take risk. And they’re making the largest bets of their entire careers. Ellison: “That’s how important they are. That’s how extraordinary they are.” He doesn’t reach for that word. This is a man who built Oracle across five decades. Went to war with IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Salesforce. Survived every crash, every hype cycle, every false revolution since the 1970s. He’s buried more hype cycles than most founders have survived. And he’s telling you this one broke the pattern. In every bubble in history, the smart money leaves first. They spot the cracks. Sell quietly. Let everyone else hold the bag. That’s not what’s happening here. The smart money is accelerating. Data centers that cost more than some nations’ annual budgets. Power contracts locked for two decades. Every available GPU on Earth spoken for. These are not the moves of people riding momentum. These are the moves of people who saw what’s coming and decided the only risk is moving too slowly. In every genuine technological shift, there’s a moment where the gap between what insiders know and what the public understands becomes so wide it stops being an information gap. It becomes two separate realities running on two different timelines. The people with the most access, the most information, and the most to lose. They’re moving like the entire economic operating system of civilization is being rewritten in real time. And most people still think this is about chatbots. That gap is the signal. Not the benchmarks. Not the product demos. Not the funding rounds. The behavior of people who already won and decided winning wasn’t enough. Larry Ellison is 81 years old. Worth over $200 billion. Built one of the most dominant software empires in the history of computing. And he’s moving like a man who just realized none of it will matter unless he gets this right.

Rajeev Thakkar, Chief Investment Officer, shares a detailed note covering markets, outlook, our investment thinking, and insights. Click here to read the note- amc.ppfas.media/pdf/2026/mr-ra…

Rajeev Thakkar, CIO of PPFAS has just written a letter to unitholders. Here are some key points: 1. PPFAS hasn't even given FD returns - his response The only way to guarantee an FD return is to make an FD. Volatility is the reason equities can potentially beat FDs in the first place, not a bug in the system. 2. Why is PPFAS holding so much cash? Cash peaked near 25% during the 2024 exuberance, when the team was guiding caution. It's down to 14-15% in Flexi Cap now. Thakkar expects single digit levels as more opportunities open up after two years of time correction. 3. Is the underperformance due to its large size? No. He points to 2007, when he ran a larger drawdown on a PMS book of about ₹100 crore. The current stretch is ordinary for a strategy that buys out of favour names. 4. What about HDFC Bank? PPFAS holds a basket of 4 private banks. Thakkar says HDFC Bank's recent issues don't carry the scale of past sector frauds and don't threaten the franchise. No change to the outlook on the basket. 5. What about small and midcap valuations? Nifty 100 trades at 20.8x, Nifty Midcap 150 at 30.7x, Nifty Smallcap 250 at 34.6x, per Screener data as of August 4. Thakkar's point is that smaller doesn't structurally mean higher returns, and he cites the US market as a counterexample.

Prof Aswath Damodaran on AI bubble and why the correction would be unlike anything before.

I spoke to S Naren of ICICI today. He said: 1) We are not in a high return market. No AI boom. 2) Corporate profits to GDP are at a peak. Full podcast with him on our YT tomorrow. Please follow to stay updated. youtube.com/@the_fynprint

Shani Deva & A Bus Journey That Changed My Life I studied in my native town (Machilipatnam, AP, India) till 10th standard, in Telugu medium. Plan was always to go to a local junior college. Someone told me about a government residential junior college in Nagarjuna Sagar that usually got 6-10 out of of top-10 state ranks in Intermediate (12th standard) exams! I found out about its entrance exam at the nick of the moment and appeared at a local high school. Fortunately, I got a high enough rank to pick MPC English medium (Math-Physics-Chemistry, i.e. get into engineering stream later). In June 1985, my father took me to Nagarjuna Sagar for admission. That was my first time staying away from home for an extended period! Guru was transiting the 12th from my natal Moon and would be in 12th & 1st for the next year and half or so (bad transits!). Shani had entered my 10th house a few months back and would be there for 2.5 years (terrible transit)! Karma Shani is not considered a good transit for academic success and the start of good professional education. Moreover, I was in Shani mahadasha then! Based on various astrological factors, my father was confident that I would have great academic success 2 years later, but that it needed some propitiation. The bus journey was 6 hours long (with a change of bus or two). During that journey, my father talked to me in detail about my horoscope, the opportunity and the challenges ahead of me (I already had working knowledge of Jyotish). In a spur, he was inspired to teach me Shani Ashtottara Shata Nama Stotram (Shani's 108-name prayer)! Fortunately, I have excellent memory and usually remember anything I hear or read just once. After we repeated it a few times, it was fully memorized. I chanted it a few times by myself in the bus and my father was pleased. He strongly advised me to chant it EVERYDAY without fail. And I did! I started off there struggling. As I studied in Telugu medium till then, I didn't know English equivalents of many math & science technical words. And, I wasn't fluent in English. It was a real struggle for 3 months or so. Then I got used. Half the way into the first year, I was in the middle of the pack in my class there. But, by the end of the year, I rose to the top. And, I finished my 2 years there by standing state first with a record score (at that time) in my state in 12th standard exams. In fact, that junior college got 7 out of top-10 state ranks! I also got into IIT-Madras (where I again started off at the middle of the pack in first semester, but finished as second in class after 4 years). In fact, however smart I was, I wouln't have made it to IIT without correspondence coaching. I wouldn't have learnt about it in my native town, but, at that residential college, everybody had IIT aspirations and got either Brilliant YG or Agrawal coaching. I definitely benefited from that correspondence coaching. It gave a direction to my innate intelliegence, which WAS important. Standing state first & getting into IIT-Madras was foundational to my life later on - after all, I come from lower middle class. Now, when I look back at my chart, dasas and transits, I can explain why it happened. But it was not at all guaranteed. It could certainly have panned way differently, given Karma Shani transit of dasa lord Shani. I essentially ended up getting the absolute best of the spectrum of possibilities and I believe it was due to sincerely & faithfully chanting Shani Ashtottara Shata Nama Stotram everyday during those 2 years! Friends, don't overthink. If your elders or gurus advise you to chant a prayer, do it sincerely and faithfully. Its impact may not be visible immediately, but it WILL help you when you really need it! It will help you get the best result out of the spectrum of possibilities based on your karmik mometum!! Secondly, some people discourage others from doing sadhana (e.g. you can't chant Lalita Sahasra Nama Stotram by yourself, you can't do Homa by yourself, Hanuman Chalisa is a fake prayer, you can't chant Durga Saptashati without initiation, you can't chant Ashtottara Shata Nama stotras of grahas - especially malefic grahas - by yourself, you can't chant a prayer without following many rules, etc). Please do some sadhana, perfectly or imperfectly, and, more importantly, don't discourage others. 🙏🕉️🙏

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💥Golden words - "The day India becomes in favor, at that point of time, i think that would be the time to actually move money from India to those markets". (Spend outside only after Rupee appreciates)

Ronit Pereira @CAronitpereira

3 months ago

“Investing in USA has become a complete momentum play.” “Every salesperson in my company wants to know how to invest in US. It may work for next 1 year, but from long term horizon, I still question it.” - S. Naren. May 2026.

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Vinod Khosla on why most investors hurt the companies they back: Vinod Khosla doesn't pull punches when assessing his own industry: "90% of investors add no value. In my assessment, 70% of investors add negative value to a company." His reasoning is simple: most investors haven't earned the right to advise the entrepreneurs they're sitting across from. "Just because you got an MBA and joined a venture firm doesn't mean you're qualified to advise an entrepreneur." For Khosla, the qualification isn't a credential. It's having lived through the gut-wrenching reality of building something from nothing. He explains: "Have you gone through how hard it is, how uncertain it is, how traumatic it is to go through? I mean just this morning I was talking to somebody about how many times we almost worried about making payroll, of going bankrupt. Plenty of times, more than two." He recalls one stretch vividly: "There was probably a month or two when the earliest I went home was at 3:00 a.m. and the latest I was back in the office was 7:00 a.m. Unless you've felt that gut-wrenching decision, you can't advise." This is what shapes his frustration with boardroom advice that arrives in contradictory bursts. Khosla describes the pattern: "I hate board members who sit in a board meeting and say, 'Oh, can you improve quality?' And then five minutes later, 'Can you ship faster?' And five minutes later, 'Spend less money.' They've never gone through really hard trade-offs and how uncertain it is." The deeper problem, he argues, is that big-company experience actively misleads investors about what startups need. Someone who ran marketing at IBM has spent their career optimizing inside an established market chasing 5% year-over-year gains. That's a fundamentally different game from inventing a category that doesn't yet exist. "They're not qualified to invent whole new markets. Whole new approaches to market is the single hardest decision an entrepreneur makes. It's also where the right investors can really help you." Khosla shared a recent disagreement that captures his philosophy: "I had an argument just last week with another co-investor in a healthcare company. They wanted this healthcare person who had never dealt with change beyond 2% a year. And I'm like, experience doesn't matter. The rate of learning matters. First principles thinking matters." His closing rule for picking who sits at the table: "Pick for the best athlete, not the person who's the most established wide receiver who knows how to run one pattern and one pattern only."

In continuation of its press release dated 10 May 2026, the National Testing Agency wishes to inform candidates, parents, and members of the public of the following decisions taken in respect of NEET (UG) 2026. NTA had, on 8 May 2026, referred the matters then under consideration to the central agencies for independent verification and necessary action, consistent with its standing commitment to the fair, secure, and credible conduct of the national examinations entrusted to it. 1. On the basis of the inputs subsequently examined by NTA in coordination with the central agencies, and the investigative findings shared by the law enforcement agencies and in order to ensure that there is transparency in the system, the National Testing Agency, with the approval of the Government of India, has decided to cancel the NEET (UG) 2026 examination conducted on 3 May 2026, and to re-conduct the examination on dates that will be notified separately. The inputs received by NTA, taken together with the findings shared by the law enforcement agencies, established that the present examination process could not be allowed to stand. The re-conducted examination dates, along with the re-issued admit-card schedule, will be communicated through the official channels of the Agency in the coming days. 2. The Government of India has further decided to refer the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations therein. NTA will extend full cooperation to the Bureau and will provide all materials, records, and assistance the inquiry requires. 3. This decision has been taken in the interest of students and in recognition of the trust on which the national examination system rests. The Agency is conscious that re-conduct will cause real and significant inconvenience to candidates and their families. NTA does not take that consequence lightly. The decision has been taken because the alternative would have caused greater and more lasting damage to that trust. 4. The registration data, candidature, and examination centres opted for in the May 2026 cycle will be carried forward to the re-conducted examination. No fresh registration will be required, and no additional examination fee will be levied. In addition, fees already paid, will be refunded to the students and the exam will be re-conducted using NTA’s internal resources. 5. Further communications, including the re-conducted examination dates and the re-issued admit-card schedule, will be issued through the official channels of the Agency. Candidates and parents are requested to rely only on these official channels and to disregard unverified reports circulating on social media. Helpline: [email protected] | 011-40759000 / 011-69227700

Important update for all NEET 2026 aspirants. #NEET #NTAexam #NTA #NEETpaperleak #Reneet #NEETug2026 #NEET2026

Instead of watching a 2-hour movie, watch Warren Buffett’s most iconic 1 hour investing lecture.

@NTA_Exams @dpradhanbjp @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji @dyutie3 @ajeetbharti @Sanjay_Dixit The invigilators are possibly not adequately sensitised / trained for these nuance’s, which can make or break someone’s life.

@NTA_Exams @dpradhanbjp @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji @dyutie3 @ajeetbharti @Sanjay_Dixit The stakes are already very high for NEET and to see a year, potentially wasted like this is very sad and demeaning to the efforts of students.

@NTA_Exams @dpradhanbjp @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji #neet2026 @dyutie3 @ajeetbharti Guidelines are being openly violated. Today my daughter probably lost a year and so did many other students, 1)where they were made to complete the various formalities / biometrics / signing etc