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3% position in Hershey. Anchored to a price now and would buy more if it dropped. HSY + DPZ + NVO = $

War is expensive. The package is immediate and urgent, it perhaps doesn’t feel that way in the US, but it’s very different in Ukraine. I know many Americans don’t give a crap about Ukraine and that Russia threatening to overrun their country. The benefits to America from a defeated Russia aren’t immediately obvious either. In recent history America stood for something, it exported its values and beliefs to other countries, helped defend them and along the way made friends and became most powerful country in the world. That sphere of influence are a buffer to hostile nations. If America had withdrew from WW2 or the Cold War, its friends could have been overrun and America would have been less prosperous, more isolated and less secure. Is America secure if China and Russia team up whilst they simultaneously chip away at Americas friends? Of course not. That sphere of influence that America has in Europe and Asian contributes massively to its security. It’s in the best interest of the US and the West generally to ensure Ukraine survives. Trump was right about European nations. They don’t pay enough to their own defence, they aren’t grateful for US assistance, and they were beholden to Russian energy. I remember he got shit for this but he nailed it. Europeans know the value of American support now:

Sure there is. Look at all the spending packages being promoted as immediate and urgent. And all the other stuff they’re jamming in. War is always a great excuse to move money around

Canfor (CFP.TO) at C$14.35. Time to scratch my (monthly?) lumber itch. Market cap is $1.7 billion. Net debt is a positive $300 million (net cash position). So enterprise value is about $1.4 billion. They also have +$900 million of duties on deposit. This is worth something. The stock is selling off aggressively because interest/mortgage rates have moved higher.

Some of this is of course true but I also think some of it verges on conspiracy theory as well. I don’t think there is some plot to hand more control to government, either with the Ukraine or Israel war.

Couldn’t agree more. That said this happens all over the world. But for some reason this Israeli-Palestinian issue gets a lot of oxygen, from both sides and their unconditional-unbending-supporters talking their pre-established talking points. A tragedy but not the only one in the world. I think I am going to start a thread about the end-game of Azerbaijani and Armenian. There were three wars in the past 30 years, and just like the three Punic Wars each shorter than the one before. The end results is exodus of Armenian from their historical lands, which was part of formal post-Soviet Azerbaijan territory. One of the many frozen conflict that came because Soviet Union disintegrated so fast.

That is fair. Cannot argue with the logic that one needs a sociopath brute to beat the other guy’ sociopath brute. I don’t have a problem with that logic. Though it aches my body. As long we understand we are not confusing him with some modern version of FDR, Woodrow Wilson or Sir Winston. Men with vision of not only today but the day after. Have a nice weekend

Oh wow - my brother got married there ages ago Good ole Tarrytown - hopefully Westchester treated your family well!

What a disaster. Pretty much everyone in charge of staying cool and to think twice based on reason, and that have that obligation to their own citizens, have lost about all natural sense and reason. What a disgraceful chapter in the history of human mankind. It's soo embarrassing.

Netanyahu is definitely a man made for this time, to save Israel. Hamas is NO different than ISIS, Al Qaeda or the KKK. If Bebe can destroy Hamas, then the Palestinians will ask themselves how stupid they were to put their future into the hands of a terrorist government. What fools. And the world will be grateful to Netanyahu, regardless if he is re-elected or not.

Tax thing ..... sometimes it's beneficial to pay early; which really screws up your day Rather than have a 2nd capital repatriation this year, we chose to reorganise our estate planning; accelerating taxes due, and using the 2nd capital repatriation to pay them. The main driver being that these repatriations have become corrosive, we needed to get rid of the capital, and HMG was the better solution! Does have some very funny side effects; as all of a sudden I'm the straight-laced one! SD

Yeah, it will certainly be exciting and interesting to see, what he has been up to, over time.

Buffett is smart. The best time to raise money is when you don't need it. Especially if it costs 1%. That said yeah I agree he is probably buying more Japanese equities.

+1

Agreed, yet in the long term it is the only thing that matters.

Miners have incentive to borrow against their stash to pay the bills. Bankers have incentive to lend out the collateral via derivatives. As long as the miner can continue to pay the interest, everyone wins. But some miners are going to get liquidated, their stashes increasing the float and lowering prices. However, the obvious buyers have no incentive to buy, as all they need do is simply wait on puts to get assigned; and short along the way down .... for a few extra bucks. SD

I totally agree but this does make me laugh - half of these things were seen as negative 4 years ago, when Prem had lost it in the eyes of this board.

@AzCactus you may be well served by paying an estate planning or elder care attorney for an hour or two of their time and asking them a bunch of questions. If your grandma needs to be hospitalized or put in a nursing home, typically Medicaid doesn't kick in until their funds dry up. I am told some facilities will let you sign over their assets in exchange for caring for them for life, wherein they take the risk if the person lives longer than expected. I don't know how it works, but many people try to transfer a person's assets to the relatives before they need medicaid (medicare?) and apparently they have some kind of look back where they can claw back the assets. So knowing what the rules are may have an effect on your decision making and it may provide cover if the others who were expecting to receive something from your grandma's assets decide to point the finger at you.

I recently re-watched House of Dragons S1, before S2 is released in June. I highly recommend people to re-watch. It has great re-watch qualities and a lot nuances that needs reminding before S2 kicks off. Cannot wait for the Greens and Otto Hightowers to fall. They are nothing but usurpers.

Thanks. Will start this weekend.

@yesman182, Yeah. As if Mr. Buffett did not already have access to lot of cash and cash equivalents.

Not much different than Netanyahu himself. Who just happened to be democratically elected. So he gets a pass and Westerner are required to bend-knee and repeat and carry his words like gospel. Looks like he is got a new lease on his current job, and manage to get aid unblocked, divert attention from Gaza. Truth political survivor. I personally am an admirer of Moshe Dayan. The Israeli defence minister with the eye patch. Bygone era. That is when men were men. And soldiers were true soldiers. But that’s just me. Nowadays, people going around on twitter making meme on how their “truth” is more true than other side. Politicians just lie through their teeth. Anyways, enough of me talking in this thread. None of this is investment related.

https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/china-jan-mar-foreign-direct-investment-fell-26-1-on-year-to-cny301-67-bln-1f812956 FDI into China dropped 26% yoy

Haven’t done anything in months now, getting bored. So to scratch that itch, bought a little more Hershey, little Nintendo.

The amount of money and power available to the incestuous complex during times of “war” is too attractive to them. The complex includes military industrial but they’re just a piece of it. The powers that be love war. Look at how much freedom some were willing to give away to the government because of a bad flu strain a few years ago! Telling people they are in danger and in need of protection is the easiest snake oil to sell.