competition
Contrary to the orthodoxies of classical and neoliberal economics, free markets do not, and never did, create perfect competition.
Instead of searching for firms with moats, we should be looking for those with market power.
Eleven rules for equity valuations from James J. Valentine, CFA, as described by Paul McCaffrey; suggestions for evidence-based thinking in retirement plans by Isaac Presley, CFA; and Sloane Ortel's examination of how Amazon fits into the active vs. passive debate are among the top EI posts from November.
The top 10% of firms account for 80% of all profits, Sloane Ortel observes. This leaves us with two seemingly conflicting truths: Winners win bigger than ever, but Amazon, one of the world’s biggest winners, is not making much in the way of profits.