Palantir

A very interesting idea giofranchi! I'll need to chew on this.

Hate to be a know-it-all, but I think meteorites are better described as "tail risks" rather than "black swans", as they are rare events, rather than simply unexpected.

#firstworldproblems

Would have been a good call even w/o the Buffett Bump.

^ I agree with writser. Don't see much optimism or reason for it. Even when the market goes up, the bears say, "It will be coming down soon....irrational exuberance". I think in their zeal to be contrarians, many bears are really herding together. (Like hipsters ;D).

I don't know much detail about Klarman's picks, so not qualified to comment, but Buffet notes him as the only "younger" value investor he respects and reads. "When I asked if he followed any hedge fund managers, he struggled to name any, before saying that he liked Seth Klarman, a low-key value investor who runs the Baupost Group, based in Boston." http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/for-buffett-the-long-run-still-trumps-the-quick-return/ Now, whether David Einhorn is a good stockpicker or not, that I'm beginning to wonder. ::)

An attractive 16 yr old girl saying the words "overbought, oversold, technicals". Not too shabby.

As the tech investors on this board know, there has been and will be vast demand for building, maintaining, and running data centers for the data and operations that servers run for all the important and interesting companies we follow. As a result, I think this sector presents interesting opportunities. The core value proposition, in my opinion is that you have a relatively cheap building and plot of land housing millions of dollars worth of really expensive and specialized equipment, however, it is difficult to suddenly pack up and move that equipment to another data center location some random location away. As a result, I believe there are some switching costs to this business. My concern is lack of barriers to entry. It seems to me that anybody should be able to put a building together and invite companies to park their servers there. In that sense it seems like an office REIT. But I hope I am wrong here. This sector has seen tremendous growth, and consequently, valuations are proportionately high, that being said, if the business and growth prospects are high quality, these high valuations may not be a major stopping point. Firms in this sector are : DLR, COR, and DFT. Appreciate it if anybody has any strong opinions on this subject.

Did CM or anybody provide clarity on what they're going to do with the newspaper business or the portfolio after the current management has retired/passed on? Are they expanding the business or milking it to provide for the portfolio? Sorry for the questions on this thread. I used to own it, but I have no idea what goes on inside this thing.

This stock is not cheap, but Bolt Technologies, BOLT, a maker of undersea seismic data acquisition apparatus is a good company with a moat. Basically boats take their sensors and string them out under them and go off to sea. They collect seismic data to form a picture, and oil companies use this info. It used to be Sub 100M, but is still basically in that neighbourhood. I strongly considered buying it at 9, but forgot.

Double entendre?

Ha, I always thought Trader Joes would also be a great fit. I would love to own that store.

Definitely seems to fit his model. I think Boston Beer Co could also be a good fit, but it is very expensive.

Txitxo- You mentioned that you're bearish on US, but what about Spain? Do you see major moves as likely in Banco Santander the way th e guys here have been bullish on BAC?

I like the watchlist idea....sadly all the ones on my watchlist went up....they're not undervalued anymore AND I missed out. Damn you Samuel Adams! Frankly, I just stumble around, for ideas, and they just randomly come to me, and something clicks. Usually it is a company that I have heard of know well but suddenly I just start seeing it differently. It's like developing feelings for a girl (or guy) that you've been in the "friend zone" with. :) One way that I've developed ideas is by actually starting out trying to research a different company. I started studying Citrix Systems and ended up with a long position in Red Hat. I started studying MSFT, and noted how much it was struggling to enter search, and bought Google. I looked at Actuant but was like....wait Parker-Hannifin is better. But I'm a novice investor, so feel free to ignore this post. :)

If 20% annual returns is mediocre for this forum...I'm going to be annoying all of you for tips.

I am 24% cash, however not based on any macro factors. I cannot find any securities worth investing in, as the undervalued ones that I bought all went up. 8) I hunt elephants, and I'm willing to wait. I'm looking for firms whose customers have high switching costs.

Can we have a Careers sections to post jobs?.... :)

I vote that Ericopoly start a fund.

Nope. He was investing very differently in his partnership days with far less capital. The implied leverage of insurance float is a huge benefit.

Hate to sound like the noob that I am. But if it is that undervalued, why don't we see aggressive buybacks?

Penny ;D

I do not use it to track famous investors, but it is a very nice site for panel data.

Hi. My firm is investigating using covered calls as a strategy to enhance income across its private client accounts. Does anybody have experience using any software packages or systems to do this? Just looking for info on how to get started.

Weitz Hickory is also good.