Lots More on Why Japanese Stocks Are Surging

Tracy Alloway (0:10)

How's Hong Kong?

Travis Lundy (0:12)

It's okay. We're, we're perking along here. It's, it's feeling a little bit better, you know, the last week or two here.

Than it did for much of the second half of last year.

Tracy Alloway (0:28)

Have you watched, have you watched The Ex-Pats?

Travis Lundy (0:33)

No.

Tracy Alloway (0:34)

I'm debating.

Travis Lundy (0:35)

Categorically, I categorically refused to do so.

Tracy Alloway (0:39)

I think I'm going to watch it once all the episodes are out just for nostalgia value. But yeah, I have heard mixed reviews.

Travis Lundy (0:48)

Yeah, it's, it's, it's, I objected to the way they, you know, they did it and I objected to, I was sure I was going to object to certain portrayals and I bet I'm not going to be surprised.

Tracy Alloway (1:02)

Joe, did you, did you know about that?

Joe Weisenthal (1:05)

No, what is the expats?

Tracy Alloway (1:05)

So this was a huge thing in Hong Kong where during the pandemic, they let Nicole Kidman in, like without having to go through quarantine in order to film scenes for the show, which is all about expats living in Hong Kong.

It was like a huge controversy. Everyone was so annoyed about it because it was, it was just such an obvious double standard.

Joe Weisenthal (1:30)

I did a deadlift. One, two, three.

Tracy Alloway (1:32)

Hegemony.

Hegemony. Barges.

Joe Weisenthal (1:37)

This is an after school special, except.

Tracy Alloway (1:39)

I've decided I'm going to base my entire personality going forward on campaigning for a strategic pork reserve in the US.

Joe Weisenthal (1:45)

Where's the best squid ink pasta?

Tracy Alloway (1:47)

These are the important questions. Is it robots taking over the world?

Joe Weisenthal (1:50)

No, I think that like in a couple of years, the AI will do a really good job of making the Odd Lots podcast.

And people will think, I don't really need to listen to Joe and Tracy anymore. We do have.

Tracy Alloway (2:02)

Cha-ching.

Joe Weisenthal (2:05)

Welcome to Lots More, where we catch up with friends about what's going on right now.

Tracy Alloway (2:09)

Because even when Odd Lots is over, there's always Lots More.

Joe Weisenthal (2:14)

And we really do have the perfect guest.

Tracy Alloway (2:19)

It seems like it's fun to be an investor in the Japanese market again.

Joe Weisenthal (2:22)

But after like 35 years, yeah, you had to wait a while. I think stocks for the long run, right? The Nikkei I think recently on some measure broke its 1989, the infamous 1989 peak is back. So yeah, there it is. There's the chart. I just pulled it up on my terminal. Pretty impressive.

Tracy Alloway (2:42)

Travis, is it fun? Has it been enjoyable?

Travis Lundy (2:46)

Yes and no, partly, you know, being in Japan, you're constantly and I'm not in Japan, I'm in Hong Kong, but being involved in the Japanese market, you're constantly told, well, you know, the Magnificent Seven, they were up like, you know, 73% last year. How about you?

And then, okay, well, Japan's up 40% and the S&P is up less. Okay. But yeah, but that's in yen. And you know, the dollar was strengthened against the yen. And so there's always some naysayers here and there.

But yeah, it's been okay. And there's been a lot of changes. And those changes have really been rewarding for those of us who've been watching and waiting for these changes to manifest themselves more publicly.

Tracy Alloway (3:23)

Yeah. So we are speaking to Travis Lundy. He is, of course, a repeat Odd Lots guest and a special situations analyst who publishes on SmartKarma, one of the smartest people I know when it comes to both markets and general trends, I guess, in Asia, based out of Hong Kong.

But you have a lot of historical experience with the Japanese market, right? In fact, this is sort of your bread and butter, corporate Japan, special situations, big events in that market.

Travis Lundy (3:52)

Yes. I've been involved in the Japanese markets for 20 plus years. I lived in Japan for 20 plus years.

I moved to Hong Kong for a job and I'm still here. But I do a lot of my work related to Japan.

Joe Weisenthal (4:06)

So this is the thing that you hear. The thing is you've been hearing it for a while. So this is why I'm not entirely satisfied. But a thing that you hear is, oh, well, suddenly corporate Japan, management in Japan have become much more focused on returns or become more shareholder friendly, et cetera. I guess there was this perception at one point that management in Japan for a long time ran the business for management or insiders, and now they're running for shareholder.