LC

I like the idea of this thread, either to discover investment ideas or threats to existing investments. I am looking at the concrete industry and a forum member advised me to look at newer formulations of cement which do not require massive energy sucking kilns. One such is here : http://www.blueworldcrete.com/technology/ Other innovative types include sulphur cement Slagstar cement also looks promising (http://www.welantech.com/en/6petrochemical/12slagstar.htm) Energy efficiency is becoming more prominent in the industry with more restrictive environment guidelines and higher requirements for LEED buildings.

I also look at Tesuji partners which I don't believe has been mentioned.

Congrats Keith and nice piece Norm. Tombgrt I agree :)

pull, format, visualize industry data

Ah thank you I missed that :)

More business (serious and funny) goes on in these sears threads than in the stores. i'll see myself out.

was the conference call auction taken down?

So they've been dead wrong for the last 6 years, but the market declines over a week & 1/2 period, and now they're right? This thread is ridiculous. I know you don’t like how Fairfax operates. And that’s fine! But let me ask you a question: if the market stays in some kind of turmoil for a while (a few months), if US government bond yields keep going down, and if Fairfax share price declines with the overall market, don’t you think it could be worth buying at least some shares before they announce 2014 year end results? Gio Why point was more about the point of this thread than the way the company operates. It's like someone buying JC Penny at $40, and then boasting that they were right when 2-years later the stock goes from $5 to $7. Diogenes can stop his search now, put down his lantern and rest. Here is an honest man. I had to Google this. I am still laughing. Heh me too. Kraven is one funny man :)

Davita, Collectors Universe, American Express, Philip Morris, maybe FICO? edit: Starbucks but I'm on the fence. Are they the McDonalds of coffee? If so, yes. This is one stock where I can't get over my own personal issues. I'm a coffee snob, I think their atmosphere ("third place") is too disingenuous, and I can't figure why anyone would go there time after time. So, probably Starbucks will outperform all the names above.

If there was only a way to make money off that. ;) Running for election is one way. 24/7 political news channels is another, TV/radio which air political commercials, hotels for political conventions, etc

I found I got a lot better "with women" when I started dating women I genuinely liked, not who fit some description of "hot". So much easier in the end to just be yourself and, if she doesn't like it, cordially move on.

The embedded option is what is most valuable IMHO. Rates go lower? Refi. Rates go up? Enjoy below market rates. I take a real estate finance class as part of my MBA program and everyone is questioning the validity of the 30 year mortgage, whether it is still useful. I think from a consumer perspective it is inherently attractive. The class cites how people average only 7 years in their home, but I don't see how that makes the mortgage any less attractive of an instrument.

Awwwww :D Congrats!

Info here: http://wealth-index.com/ Just as a disclaimer I have only used it to source ideas for research.

That's presumptuous. Shall I start naming hobbies which are predominately populated by women? Soapmaking, perfume making, sewing, knitting, yoga, gardening, writing, jewelry making, antiquing, etc. I can go on. This argument is totally facetious. There doesn't appear to be a single female on this board, and yet here we all are discussing the issue as if we have a clue? Reminds me of when some argument about race and poverty came up a few months ago. Remember: we're male, above average intelligence and wealth, and if everyone just listened to our opinions...

I'd say Berkshire. It's the greatest investor's lifetime collection of businesses. Second I'd say the ISE Wealth index etf.

That interview was ridiculous. The two hosts were 30 seconds away from publicly shaming Tepper for not being apart of the giving pledge. Is there no tact left? I felt embarrassed for everyone who was a part of that.

When do regulators become concerned given the growing amount of utilities etc that BRK owns?

They'll probably sue BAC.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-09-26/the-secret-goldman-sachs-tapes Interesting, albeit tangential, excerpt: ". In 2012, Goldman was rebuked by a Delaware judge for its behavior during a corporate acquisition. Goldman had advised one energy company, El Paso Corp., as it sold itself to another energy company, Kinder Morgan, in which Goldman actually owned a $4 billion stake, and a Goldman banker had a big personal investment. The incident forced the Fed to ask Goldman to see its conflict of interest policy. It turned out that Goldman had no conflict of interest policy"

A guy like Schloss made his money from the market's inferior wisdom, buying hundreds of stocks under book. A guy like Buffett made money from his superior wisdom, buying a few stocks where he felt he was right.

Good.

Well, if their gross margin is 25% per car and the average selling price is 40k, that's 10k gross per car. They currently trade for 35b. They need to sell 3.5m cars to make up their market cap in gross profit. There are currently about 255m cars in North America. Anyone have any insight into normalized ebitda or net margin per car?

Technophiles argue other phones are both technologically superior to the iphone and provide a better value (cost-benefit) to the end user. Yet look at the economic results. There's a reason Apple's competitors are playing in the low cost field. Also, product updates do not mean a moat is non-existent. Gillette would still be shilling 1 blade razors. Instead PG has added so many blades I can shave from my sideburns down to my adam's apple in one fell swoop.

Only took him 4 paragraphs to mention his book. I'm impressed by his mastery of delayed gratification.