"The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great at whatever they want to do."  Kobe Bryant

Over the course of anyone’s life, there are plenty of people you will never meet from whom you can learn. As an example, I have never met Warren Buffett or Charlie Hunger, Julian Robertson, Sam Zell, Ray Dalio, or Bob Dudley. Still, all have written or said things which have made an impact on my life, professionally or personally. People with positions in politics, sports, or entertainment have the ability to influence large numbers of people. With so much attention being paid to high profile jobs, and the massive impact of social media, it amplifies how much of an audience of those who are always in the media eye. The best example would be the billionaire creator of the lipkit phenomenon, Kylie Jenner. When you have a massive audience, you can leverage it to potentially create a huge business. Apple has done it with Airpods, watches, and payments, Amazon with advertising, and Microsoft in the cloud.

Anyway, one of the people who I never met but impacted the globe was Kobe Bryant. The tragedy on Sunday was quite powerful across the globe, but especially in the sports and basketball world. It was a very sad circumstance, especially for his family. As someone who was quite involved with basketball, I never met Mr. Bryant but I have a few lasting impressions. First, Kobe really grew to become a leader and an exceptional human being. He was a devoted father, and gave back to the community in many ways. He grew as a person and became interested in other professional pursuits, including investing. He made an exceptional investment in a sports drink company which was purchased by Coca Cola, turning six million dollars into well over two hundred million. He created a company which will carry on after his death, and it is tragic the investment world won’t see what else he would have been able to accomplish. As a basketball player, clearly he was one of the greatest players who ever lived. He was a warrior who gave everything he had to his organization and the game. He was a champion at every level he participated in high school, professional, and Olympics. I can recall seeing his first summer league game as a professional, he was just 17 years of age and he got two foul calls in the first minute of the game. He then argued the calls, and the referees threw him out of the game. The obvious lesson is it is not where you start, its where you finish. The other regrettable circumstance is the accident probably could have been prevented, either by just waiting an hour or two, driving instead of going by helicopter, or getting more guidance about how to approach this difficult situation (fog, in a canyon, etc). Still, we can all learn from Kobe how to compete, how to never give up, and how to constantly keep growing as people. It would be a very good way to honor Mr. Bryant.

In the investment universe, it was the largest week of earnings and nearly every industry had it’s largest companies report. Apple, Microsoft, GE, and Amazon all posted outstanding figures, while Boeing, Facebook, and 3M, not so much. In the energy domain, the largest integrated producers, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Chevron, all took it on the chin because of lower oil prices. They only made $10 billion instead of $20 billion. Tesla reported a number which beat expectations, and its market cap jumped from just absurd to a complete joke, which is what the situation has been for a long time. It is hard to outlast institutions who Mr. Musk has rewarded with billions in gains. They are not going to give up on him, especially when it looks like he is in pretty good position. Elsewhere, juggernauts ADP and Visa continue to post impressive results, which just continues what has transpired for the last twenty five years. Others companies providing nice reports include Ebay, SBUX, Servicenow, and Las Vegas Sands.

Clearly, the fly in the ointment for the market is the Coronavirus issue in China. History has shown from prior situations that usually it gets solved, and the selloffs were large overreactions to solvable problems. Right now, a vaccine is being pursued by large pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Until one is found, which may take up to a year, investors may continue to take a pessimistic view on its affect on China and global economic growth. Now let’s move to everyone’s favorite topic, politics.

Next week, the Iowa caucus will begin the Democratic nominating process, followed the next week by the New Hampshire primary. Interestingly, Mr. Sanders and other candidates from the start of the process are quite upset about Mr. Bloomberg potentially being allowed to participate in the coming debates because the DNC has waived a rule about donor number requirements. Remember, Mr. Bloomberg is a moderate. Oh yeah, I hear he has a few bucks as well. Certainly worth watching, eh?