mranski

It is still a major cost versus many countries other than the US that don’t have universal health care. I agree with you on the benefits, but it doesn’t seem to be helping entrepreneurship and gdp growth.

Universal Health Care has to be a huge cost/drag in the EU. But it is probably seen as a positive of living in the EU by your average citizen.

Allstate is not really comparable to Intact, as Allstate has their own retail branches. Also Intact has global operations now in Europe and US. A Canadian comparable to Allstate would be a for profit version of Cooperators Insurance. Also Intact writes some direct auto like a Geico.

My guess is the Cstore is a viable niche long term, in spite of the impact of EV and declining fuel sales. Anecdotally the 7eleven near me has constant lineups, but the vast majority don’t seem to be fuel customers. The ABC stores I visited in Hawaii seem to be very busy mostly without pumps. My guess is the number of service stations has been declining anyway due to land availability, municipal approvals and for other reasons. Couche Tarde recently bought Circle K in Hong Kong, and considering land constraints there, the stand alone cstore must be viable in their plans.

Don’t think there is a thread, but there should be as this is a great Canadian P&C insurer. Intact recently exited the auto insurance market in BC, as the government is bringing in no fault at ICBC. The private insurers are having a tough time competing I guess. There is an army of litigation lawyers that will be losing work.

Navalny apparently poisoned now. This is bad, as Russia may be losing Putin’s most effective courageous critic.

I would ditch the affiliation with Fairfax. Too much focus and commentary on a mediocre investment/company. Maybe Berkshire also.

It always surprises me how much is written about Fairfax when to me, the best Canadian P&C company (Intact) is barely mentioned on this board. Unfortunately it is priced at over 2x book usually. It is hard to say what their covid exposure is so I would get some clarity there first, but it might create an opportunity.

The comments about Barnard make me wonder about the reasons for Paul Rivett ‘retiring’ at a young age. It has to be a big negative to lose someone who was touted as Prem’s successor.

It sounds like they trade in and out of existing or previous holdings instead of buy and hold. Not very buffett like. It makes you wonder about tax drag, but they seem to overcome that. I think I read somewhere that they did well trading BRK.

You shouldn’t have to suffer from second hand smoke, pot or cigarette. This is a serious issue for people that have allergies, asthma or sensitivity to smells. It can affect their lives. Your building or city should have rules to protect your apartment. In my office we had complaints about perfume. At first it seemed ridiculous, but after hearing from people who suffered all day smelling perfume from a coworker, you realize it is a legitimate complaint.

You need to know the comps yourself, and find agent based on them accepting your number. But I wouldn’t give them your number upfront.

There is another thread on this.

Morningstar

Thanks. I was not aware of this. Let’s get this fixed.

I think long term Britain will do fine economically if they leave the E.U. As long as they aren’t restricted from negotiating international trade deals.

I recently switched to shower shaving and find it way better. One process instead of 2, and way easier on the skin. My soap puck is about one and a half years old and just about finished. I take the wood bowl in, and will keep reusing that. The only issue is I haven’t found great options on shower mirrors. That Van Der Hagen 10 pack may be the last shave soap I buy, I’m 62!

For a loose canadian comparable, Intact insurance selling at 2x book. It has been a solid performer but this seems like too large of a valuation differential. Intact is a bit of a yield play I think.

MTY Group. Franchisor, serial acquirer of 2nd tier food brands.

Thanks, I didn't have current holdings.

I watched a Google Talk YouTube video with Francois dated dec 5/17, and thought it was good. Apologies if it was posted elsewhere.

I've had a lot of problems since before and especially after the upgrade. They seem to think it is my browser or old cookies. The worst is the page jumping continuously when scrolling holdings. This problem is specific to the new website.

I find new web broker worse, but I don't use old one because the changeover is unavoidable.The new one seems to have more clicks and drop downs for no more benefit. I find it a slow especially if you flip to research or tdcanada trust. Also on my system your holdings are always jumping up and down when you scroll. Don't get me going on web broker. Staff are nice.

Turtle Creek Asset Management

FYI, I recall, (could be mistaken), that umbrella liability policies exclude business related activities?