fareastwarriors

Feeling "rich" is relative. If all your neighbors/friends are earning millions and you're doing half a mil, you wouldn't feel rich at hard but more likely feel like you're doing something wrong.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-24/berkshire-s-weschler-holds-almost-150-million-of-davita.html Ted Weschler has a personal holding in the dialysis provider valued at almost $150 million. Weschler has 1.19 million shares, or about 1.1 percent, of the Denver-based company, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. The holding was amassed before he joined Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire, according to the document.

So are there any publicly traded toll road/bridge operators trading at modest valuation right now?

Maybe I sold way too early. (a small allocation and a small profit)

No need my friend. Watch it free on Bloomberg.com http://www.bloomberg.com/video/72756316-michael-burry-profiled-bloomberg-risk-takers.html and here is the link to other "risk takers." It's a great show. I hope they have more new episodes soon. http://www.bloomberg.com/video/risk-takers/

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-22/tesla-repaying-loan-for-losers-gives-obama-green-win.html Tesla Repaying Loan for ‘Losers’ Gives Obama Green Win

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-03/matty-moroun-detroits-border-baron Read this a while ago. The bridge might be a great investment but I personally feel the owner is an a-hole. He is just protecting his business investment I understand but I think another bridge might be for the greater good in this case.

Doesn't always work out. Tonnes of these nail houses. Like this one - newly built for 600,000 yuan compensated 260,000 yuan when government decided to put a highway right through it. Classic picture though. http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/03/chinese-nail-house-finally-demolished-from-middle-of-highway-after-duck-farmer-agrees-41000-payoff/ I'm surprised they used all that effort to build around it. Just demolish and keep going. What is the owner going to do? Sue? funny.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-15/tesla-the-stuff-of-short-seller-heartburn#r=rss Tesla: The Stuff of Short-Seller Heartburn

Canadian products? Nope. There are more good choices for US investors, I think.

1) take anything the CBO says with a very large grain of salt. Their prediction record has been abysmal. 2) housing prices are increasing? Maybe the third time since 2009 will be the charm. Tell me who will buy them when the coming generation is graduating with the largest amounts of student debt and the lowest paying jobs we've seen in a decade? 3) trade balance is improving precisely because individuals can no longer afford many of the imported luxuries they used to buy IMO. Hardly bullish. 4) stock mutual fund flows have consistently been negative up until this year. Not sure if this will last through the next correction or not. 5) deflation takes years to culminate. Even Greece is just now experiencing it. Increased Federal debt has made up nearly every penny of consumer deleveraging. All that's hit the economy has been corporate deleveraging if I recall my numbers correctly. Realize that all interests have to do is go back to the 4-5% they were at before the crash and we're spending more than 30% of current government receipts servicing interest. You don't think that will be a drag on th future economy? Spending will have to be cut somewhere or revenues will have to rise or we can keep interest rates artificially low until we've inflated enough of the debt away where that's not a threat (not bullish for the economy either), 1) industrial production increasing isn't a substantial part of the economy anymore. I'd say this is more of a lagging indicator and is a small part of a much much larger economy. 2) debt service is only at multi-decade lows due to extremely low rates. What happens when rates rise with a recovey? 3) bank capital ratios mean nothing in light of the trillions of derivatives that they hold on their books with global counterparties who aren't as strong (European banks leveraged 30-to-1 who have gone double or nothing in buying European sovereign debt). 4) the level that housing construction is rising from is meaningless without the context of the overbuilding that occurred. There are still empty neighborhoods with vacant houses in places where the most overbuilding occurred. 5) housing may be the most affordable it's been, but only for those who can obtain credit. Not the easiest task nowadays. 6) non-farm jobs are being added but they're typically low wage, part time jobs that are replacing the full time jobs. Not bullish for real wages (which have been declining for a decade) which means its not all that bullish for the long-term economy. Granted, some jobs are better than no jobs. All of this isn't to say that I think Watsa will be right. It's simply saying arguments could very easily be made for the other side. He's been cautious in his approach to protect capital, not necessarily to maximize short term gains. Also, we're seeing unprecedented amounts of global stimulus that aren't sustainable. What happens when trillions in liquidity stops? The velocity of the dollar has continued to slow and has fallen very far from where it began in 2007. This is not the sign of a healthy economy, but is partly why we aren't seeing inflation from printing. I think Watsa made a very smart choice. He looked at the unprecedented rise in global debt over the last 30 years, asked himself what are the consequences if this goes South, and hedged accordingly. This was a way to protect his business. Could we have profited from it? Sure. Was that the intention? Unlikely. Secondly, you focused on all U.S. statistics but the majority of the deflationary derivatives were written on Europe. Europe does appear to be heading towards a deflationary end game and these may still pay off in the next 5 years. I have nothing to add but do I count as an upcoming generation? I graduated in 2011 and I bought a house in 2012 and now I am trying to buy another. ;D This is in the SF Bay area too so no 200k house for me. Plenty of people still have money. As for inflation or deflation, I have no clue!

Wow!! To hear Mr. Tepper's case for markets really makes me feel like I am being cautious and conservative at the worst time possible… basically, it makes me feel like a fool! :( giofranchi He can trade in and out at any time. He's not really a traditional value buy/hold type. He has a different style of play goign here.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-13/adding-an-electric-car-cut-the-payback-point-of-our-solar-panel-investment-in-half#r=nav-f-story Adding an Electric Car Cut the Payback Point of Our Solar Panel Investment in Half

I have seen a few model S's in my area (SF Bay Area). It looks so sexy.

Since we're checking history on Tesla... This position is still < 5% of my portfolio, but is up 197% for me (from Oct 2011). is it enough to buy a tesla car yet?

Just wondering Parsad, is the forum revenue neutral (or positive) or do you have to put in money to keep it up?

just donated $50.00 CAD thanks for reminding me to support such a valuable place. *happy mother's day

Which ad in particular is causing the grief? I switched over to that text ad at the end of the posts to try something new...is that the one? If so, I can get rid of it and go back to the smaller Amazon one. As for the last ad on the bottom of the page...that one stays. Cheers! 1 - Where do I send the $$$ 2 - Yes the text ad at the end of the posts are causing the problem. On the iPad the ad scrolls along with the posts and keeps resetting the page back up to the beginning of the posts. There is a Donations button near the top next to Home, Help, Search icons.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-10/berkshire-ceos-spend-quietly-match-buffett-on-heinz-deal.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-08/tesla-posts-first-quarterly-profit-on-model-s-deliveries.html

I doubt it's a problem. I mean, how hard can running A/C be compared to accelerating a big sedan from 0 to 60 in 5 seconds? Tesla is claiming 4.2 seconds 0 to 60 for the one I'm buying. That's awesome

G&D: Is your fund open to new investors? LL: The fund has been closed to new investors for nine years. However, we will open it up a bit this year. We have more opportunities than we have money around, but that’s rare. I guess there are still some opportunities out there despite the ever-rising market and new records or the worry from the other thread http://www.cornerofberkshireandfairfax.ca/forum/general-discussion/i-worry-about-the-shot-heard-around-the-world/msg115796/?topicseen#msg115796

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-08/whole-foods-profits-by-cutting-whole-paycheck-reputation#r=rss Whole Foods Profits By Cutting 'Whole Paycheck' Reputation

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-07/berkowitz-s-mbia-bet-soars-as-wagers-on-insurers-pay-off.html Berkowitz’s MBIA Bet Soars as Wagers on Insurers Pay Off

I (unfortunately) watches way too much CNBC for my own good. It is Joe being Joe. He is like that everyday and every interview. I like how WEB sent him an Acme brick. hahaha