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Midweek greetings to all, as we unveil the 305th chapter of Weekly Olio — a delightful concoction of laughter, insight, and a sprinkle of mystery. Within these pages, you'll discover a handpicked selection of fascinating finds from the vast realms of the internet.
Keep your eyes peeled for this week’s Publisher’s Parmesan, arriving this Sunday!
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The Quote 💭
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
The Tweet 🐦
In 2016, after EVA Air’s founder died and left the airline to his youngest son, the son’s half-brothers ousted him as chairman—so he launched rival Starlux Airlines from the same Taipei airport. Taiwan’s three carriers (EVA, China Airlines, and Starlux) now compete intensely with overlapping routes across Asia, North America, and beyond, turning Taoyuan into a major hub for U.S.–Southeast Asia connections. Starlux is trying to differentiate with superior cabins and new routes, but remains far smaller and less profitable than EVA, making the next couple of years critical for its survival.
The Infographic 💹
How does gold travel from a mine to a central bank vault? This World Gold Council map follows 4,826 tonnes of annual supply through refiners, bullion banks and trading centres. Using 10-year averages through 2025, jewellery accounts for 46% of demand, bars and coins 25%, central banks 15% and ETFs 6%. With 219,891 tonnes already above ground, gold is a vast accumulated stock: each year's new mine supply adds less than 2% to it.
Unlock up to $2 million licensing your company data
Have a business larger than 20 people that lives on Slack and is older than a year? Companies like Micro1 want to pay $100k - $2 million to license your data. They anonymize it and then use it to train the next set of frontier AI models.
The Short Read 📝
I Deliver Thoughts From Beijing - by James Crabtree
James Crabtree’s reflections on China describe a country split between remarkable technological dynamism and serious economic weakness. In Shenzhen, he saw a powerful ecosystem in electric vehicles, AI, drones and manufacturing. Yet the broader economy is struggling: investment and consumer demand are weak, the property crisis continues, businesses are cautious, and growth increasingly relies on exports that are provoking trade resistance. Crabtree argues that China risks a prolonged period of stagnation, similar to Japan after its financial bubble burst, as it works through enormous debts. He notes that weak job prospects are pushing many people into gig work. A deeper obstacle is political: officials and business elites benefit from an investment- and export-led model, making a shift toward household consumption difficult. Meanwhile, anti-corruption campaigns and rigid targets may encourage officials to conceal poor results rather than adapt.
China’s fierce domestic competition can produce globally formidable companies, especially when AI, robotics and manufacturing are combined with state support. But this strength coexists with overcapacity, price wars and fragile profitability. Beijing is also building tools to restrict technology exports, echoing US efforts to control strategic chokepoints. Crabtree’s central question is how an increasingly confident, technologically capable China will act internationally while its economy remains under strain. The article also recommends several essays on semiconductors, manufacturing, Chinese innovation and the future of reading. Read more…
The Long Read 📜
Letter to Shareholders - by Pershing Square
Pershing Square argues that today’s market is unusually narrow: a small group of large companies is driving index gains, while many individual stocks lag. It sees this divergence, along with volatile share prices that can move more sharply than business fundamentals, as a source of opportunity for patient investors. The firm expects its portfolio companies’ long-term value to be driven mainly by earnings growth, rather than by short-term market sentiment. It believes many of these businesses have durable advantages and substantial growth potential, while acknowledging that valuation multiples can fluctuate and either amplify or offset operating progress.
The letter’s clearest specific thesis is on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Pershing Square views them as high-quality, profitable businesses whose shares are depressed because investors are focused on political uncertainty over their government conservatorships. It believes they have accumulated substantial capital and argues that an eventual release from conservatorship and re-listing could cause their market valuations to rise significantly. The timing and outcome remain dependent on government action. For Howard Hughes Holdings, Pershing Square sees potential in reshaping the real-estate business to use less capital and generate management fees, while directing more resources toward its insurance operations. It believes this could improve returns and create a stronger platform for growth. Overall, the letter favors long-term fundamental value over short-term price movements and highlights situations where the market may be discounting future potential.Read more…
Analytics on Live Data Without Leaving Postgres
When analytics on Postgres slows down, most teams add a second database. Then they manage pipelines, sync lag, and drift forever. TimescaleDB extends Postgres instead. Analytics run on live data, in the database you already have. No pipeline. No migration. No new query language.
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We’ll be back in your inbox 2 PM IST next Wednesday. Till then, have a productive week!
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.