LC

Definitely the former. Humans are social creatures. Everyone I know is sick of being cooped-up inside. I think once the social distancing measures are lifted, maybe people will be a bit wary at first, but eventually we'll take back the streets :D

A man walks out to the street and catches a taxi just as it's going by. As he gets into the taxi, and the cabbie says, "Impeccable timing. You're just like Frank." Passenger: "Who?" Cabbie: "Frank Feldman. He's a guy who did everything right all the time. Like my coming along when you needed a cab, things happened like that to Frank Feldman every single time." Passenger: "There are always a few clouds over everybody." Cabbie: "Not Frank Feldman. He was a terrific athlete. He could have won the Grand-Slam at tennis. He could golf with the pros. He sang like an opera baritone and danced like a Broadway star and you should have heard him play the piano. He was an amazing guy." Passenger: "Sounds like he was really something special." Cabbie: "There's more. He had a memory like a computer. He remembered everybody's birthday. He knew all about wine, which foods to order and which fork to eat them with. He could fix anything. Not like me. I change a fuse, and the whole street blacks out. But Frank Feldman could do everything right.” Passenger: "Wow, what a guy!" Cabbie: "He always knew the quickest way to go in traffic and avoid traffic jams. Not like me, I always seem to get stuck in them. But Frank, he never made a mistake, and he really knew how to treat a woman and make her feel good. He would never answer her back even if she was in the wrong; and his clothing was always immaculate, shoes highly polished too. He was the perfect man! He never made a mistake. No one could ever measure up to Frank Feldman." Passenger: "How did you meet him?" Cabbie: "I never actually met Frank. He died and I married his wife."

In Colorado, check out black project. Great sours.

Good question and idea. I am thinking some of the banks? And maybe oil majors? Maybe even Berkshire given their banks exposure. I need to check the option prices but the general thesis is look for good businesses with one time COVID impacts.

a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico is an individual who: Is physically present in Puerto Rico for at least 183 days during the taxable year; Does not have a tax home outside of Puerto Rico during the taxable year; and Does not have a closer connection to the United States or a foreign country than to Puerto Rico.1

https://supchina.com/2020/04/09/more-than-240000-chinese-companies-declare-bankruptcy-in-the-first-two-months-of-2020/ More Than 240,000 Chinese Companies Declare Bankruptcy In The First Two Months Of 2020

I would also want occupancy and pricing curves for a period of the business' history, and also independently do some analysis of the surrounding area as that will be your tenant mix.

I've raised some cash, sold some of the visa and berkshire LEAPs i purchased a few weeks ago but I have kept the vast majority. If the rally continues I'll cash out of those and go back into holding those stocks. Going to hold the bank stocks, AT&T, phillip morris and get paid 7-8% div yields; going to hold exxon and iron mountain and get paid 10+% yields. Barring tobacco or oil literally going out of business, those I plan to hold those for a long time. Sitting around 10% cash which I'll hold onto if we see another big dip, and if needed I will go on some margin to bring that up to 20% if the bargains re-appear.

Unsurprisingly, the guy paid by insurance companies and writing for an insurance journal claims that business insurance does not cover this event. No conflict of interest here, I suppose?

LC, Huh? You know, I am getting old. I was referring to this post: https://www.cornerofberkshireandfairfax.ca/forum/general-discussion/login-over-http/msg386500/#msg386500 But mis-remembered Sanjeev's message. I'll show myself out :D

Have you read this? If so I am curious for your thoughts. It looks intriguing but I fear it could be a bunch of "if your employees don't have the freedom to tell the CEO to screw off, it illustrates failing moral courage and the company will go belly up!"

Meanwhile the politics section is likely ignored (and Sanjeev hinted it would be removed). I poured a little beer out for the soon-to-be departed subforum ;D

I was specifically referring to options on "dead men walking" so to speak (companies which have declared covenant breaches, things like that). Regardless I'll throw out some counterpoints: -They've got 400M of cash, not a lot of debt - can probably get thru 2020 lease and interest obligations -They may be eligible for lease forgiveness or modification due to COVID as other tenants are doing. -These are not anchor stores or locations. Property owner's may have difficulty kicking out BURL and finding a replacement tenant. May be easier to extend terms. -I agree the demographic may be hit harder by the pandemic and therefore slower to return to stores -On the other hand, this company has a long history and has shown to be quite resilient. I don't think it's a BK risk. Additionally, have you looked at Ross? I would think the similar thesis applies there although they appear slightly less levered.

Is this your first time buying puts on dead companies? I've done so in the past, hilariously usually breaking even. I've had companies technically in BK with 100s of millions in equity value, buying 6 month puts and having them breakeven. It can be infuriating.

In tragic news, Charlotte Figi died from COVID complications: https://coloradosun.com/2020/04/08/charlotte-figi-cbd-coronavirus/ For those who aren't aware, she was a de facto figurehead of the marijuana legalization movement.

The travel restriction was put into place on Jan 30 and was sadly flawed: The ban applied only to foreign nationals who had been in China during the previous 14 days, and included 11 categories of exceptions. Since the restrictions took effect, nearly 40,000 passengers have entered the United States from China, subjected to inconsistent screenings, The New York Times reported.

Thanks Liberty. Your username is especially relevant in such case :D

Traders have received special consideration to WFH but that function should remain on site post-corona. Most middle and back office can be done remotely.

Was speaking about this with two coworkers today. One loved the idea because it saves him 2hrs of commute daily into the city. The other hates it because he lives in the city (brighton) and is in his apt with wife/kids. I think now everyone is testing it, so we may see an uptick of people who are WFH for the first time and decide to stick with it.

If WB and CM died tomorrow and sold everything to Gates, I think a fair valuation would be around 600, 625B Call it 250/sh.

Imagine, if Trump did more to help NYC, maybe his numbers would look better. But of course, he doesn't actually care because it's a blue state The two states with 20% of the nation's GDP are the biggest mess, you must be kidding!

Yes - I hate using book value and think it is an outdated metric. Maybe the exception is pure and simple financial companies but I would argue Berkshire is not in that category anymore. Earnings power, replacement value, sum of the parts...I would use any of these methodologies before BV. Just my opinion!

I am not looking but I heard prices are dirt cheap right now as dealers are trying to move anything off their lot. Also, apparently a fire near the Ft Lauderdale airport destroyed a giant fleet of rental cars. Now, I'm not saying it was for the insurance payout or anything like that, but I'm also not not saying that either.

Personally I agreed with Buffett. I did think stocks were cheap (or fairly priced) in the context of 2-3% long term rates and nobody knowing what a coronavirus was. But I've got Buffett beat because I didn't get on CNBC and publicly say so (not that they would have me), so I don't have to deal with anyone's ire :D

Don't forget weed stocks - they're the great equalizer ;D